#yes that last post DOES apply to both of them

[sleepyzukka]

atla textposts say whatttttt

[thewispsings]

personal photographer | daniel ricciardo

pairing: daniel ricciardo x photographer!reader

summary: the one where daniel ricciardo is dating his personal photographer.

liked by danielricciardo, maxverstappen1, landonorris, and 527,153 others!

yourusername: my favorite daniel is a smiling one :D

view comments below!

user1: he looks so good

user2: y/n always makes sure she gets the BEST angles of daniel

user3: he is her bf 😭 can’t post photos of him off guard

maxverstappen1: gorgeous

yourusername: 🤨

danielricciardo: don’t be jealous baby (max we talked about this…)

maxverstappen1: i can’t help it, you look so good 🤤

yourusername: that’s MY boyfriend you’re talking about

maxverstappen1: until i make him mine ☺️

user4: #freeynfrommaxverstappen

landonorris: when can y/n come to my garage and take pictures for me?

danielricciardo: um never?

yourusername; don’t be rude daniel 🤨 just text me lando! we’ll figure something out

danielricciardo: um no you won’t. youre MY photographer, not LANDOS.

landonorris: i just want some pictures mate 😕

danielricciardo: WELL GET THEM SOMEWHERE ELSE

user5: jesus daniel it’s okay yns all yours…

liked by landonorris, maxverstappen1, charles_leclerc, and 725,018 others!

daniel3.jpg: the photographer gets photographed

view comments below!

user6: does anyone know what camera y/n uses professionally?? if you do pls let me know 🙏🙏

daniel3.jpg: she uses a canon EOS C70 cinema camera!

user7: that is…a 7 THOUSAND dollar camera.

user8: what the fuck

user9: sometimes i forgot that she’s like rich??

user10: i think that’s the camera daniel bought her as a birthday present, she used to use a Canon EOS Rebel T3i DSLR Camera!! that one’s more on the affordable side, and it lasted her yearrrsss

landonorris: oh but when i take photos of her it’s weird???

daniel3.jpg: YES!! she’s MY girlfriend

landonorris: I TAKE THEM SO I CAN SEND THEM TO YOUUUUUU

user11: y/n is so pretty 🤭🤭

daniel3.jpg: correct!!

user12: she’s so gorgeous

daniel3.jpg: 1000000% agree

user13: the easiest way to get a reply from daniel is to compliment y/n

maxverstappen1: why don’t you post me like this? 😕

daniel3.jpg: we’ve talked about this, you know y/n gets jealous

yourusername: WOW OKAY YOU SICK LIAR 🧍

user: i wonder how many pictures daniel has of y/n like this…

landonorris: LITERALLY thousands.

liked by danielricciardo, daniel3.jpg, maxverstappen1, and 410,017 others!

yourusername; he’s trying to take my job 😡

view comments below!

user14: he could NEVER do it like you tho

user15: y/n we know it’s like your literal job to take pictures of daniel, but pls pls pls the world wants more pictures of YOU

user16: uh pls tell me if the tattoo is on his butt cheek

landonorris: i know where it is 🤫🤫

user16: is it on his butt cheek???

user16: lando pls

user16: is it on the downstairs cheeks

user16: pls lando

user16: LANDO PLEASE

maxverstappen1: you get a tattoo for HER? but not for me. did you ever love me??

danielricciardo: baby please, you know you’re the only one for me

yourusername: he says as he places a kiss on my head AS we cuddle

maxverstappen1: YOURE A SICK MONSTER YN SICK SICK MONSTER.

user17: i’m so jealous of y/n

user18: you and me both sister

user19: i’m actually going insane I NEED TO KNOW WHERE THAT TATTOO IS

user20: man that chicken wing looks nice

user21: where exactly does one apply to take pictures of f1 drivers all day??

user22: wait..were y/n and daniel dating BEFORE she was hired or??

user23: they met on the job!! it was a straight out of wattpad moment

user24: you guys are the cutest ever

maxverstappen1: me and him are cuter.

user25: i’m starting to think it was never a joke..

. . .

notes; i’m thinking of making this like a series?? like f1 drivers dating their __ and it’ll be like, personal trainer, engineer, stylist, and things like that! thank you for reading ♡´･ᴗ･`♡

[akirathedramaqueen]

The Five Stages Of Grief: Verosika vs. Stolas

Alright, guys, it's time to play the complete denial card and ignore for a moment what we've just seen in the last short Viv dropped like a fucking nuke on our heads (seriously, this woman makes me swear more than a sailor).

Are we going to talk about something light? Ha-ha, you are looking at the angstiest person out here. Sorry. No relief for you.

But maybe some bits of analysis will do? Let's go.

The setup

Some time ago, I discussed how differently Stolas and Verosika react to their breakup with Blitz in response to one of my previous posts (it might be useful to read that to have the whole picture, but it's not crucial—here).

S2EP9, Apology Tour, 8:05

If we recap that reblog, I find that Stolas deals with his emotions much better and processes them in a more mature manner than Verosika does.

We could stop there, really, but I wanted to explore the situation from a different angle. Using the Kübler-Ross five stages of grief model, we can pull out more nuance from their actions and words.

They both went through a similar traumatic event—Blitzø hurt them in arguably one of the worst ways possible. The circumstances, Blitzø's intentions, and the outcomes are slightly different, but at their core, they are both left broken and deeply wounded.

Left: S2EP8, The Full Moon, 22:00 Right: S2EP9, Apology Tour, 18:03

So, what about their personalities makes their responses to trauma so contrasting?

Disclaimer about the model's credibility

This is probably me being overly pedantic, but I want to point out that this model is deemed to be popularized by the media, and professionals’ opinions are conflicted—some say it is accurate while others criticize it for its lack of flexibility or go as far as to say it has no application in real life. The studies are also inconclusive—there are papers both in favor of and against this model.

What am I trying to say here? This is a silly analysis about silly demons from a silly show, and if you do happen to unfortunately experience grief in any way (I am so sorry you have to go through this!), it is essentially experienced by all people differently. You should not feel bad if you skip stages or if their order is messed up.

Okay? <3 Okay. You’ve got this in your own way.

Tomorrow will be better than today.

Stolas: A Classic Way

One of the things I noted in my previous post is that Stolas immediately recognizes the pettiness of the party, and I praised his remarkable ability to see through the issues with such events.

The one day a year the spirits can rise amongst the living and it's spent celebrating mutual pettiness. S2EP9, Apology Tour, 6:55

And don’t get me wrong—his own way of dealing with problems is just drinking them away, and that’s not healthy. That’s why he actually belongs at this party.

But emotionally, Stolas is much more aware of what’s going on with him and the people around him. I think that despite his drinking problem, this awareness helps him process his own grief faster and find resolution—or at least an outlet—in just one night.

Let’s apply the five stages of grief model to him and see what’s going on.

Denial

You can see the denial seeping through during their morning conversation—there are moments when he clearly hopes Blitzø will suddenly listen to him and change his demeanor, despite Blitzø being consistent in his brashness and hostility.

Left: S2EP9, Apology Tour, 3:56 Right: S2EP9, Apology Tour, 4:23

Can you see the hope in his eyes? Can you see how ready he would be to brush off the whole shitshow happened between them just for Blitzø to take at least a bit of accountability or accept his feelings?

Additionally, although it doesn’t fit the term perfectly, we could stretch the concept a bit and say that the following lyrics below are somewhat denialish. Notice, by the way, that it’s not linear to the suggested model—you’ll see why later.

But I, I keep on waiting Waiting to want you less than I do And I do, oh, I do, yes I still do want you S2EP9, Apology Tour, 11:08

'Cause I am not a thief, but you were mine to earn S2EP9, Apology Tour, 11:42

He struggles to accept that the relationship has ended (we struggle too, baby owl, and we're not accepting it… but it gets worse before it gets better), and he still waits for Blitzø to return, maintaining a possessive feeling—“you were mine to earn.”

Anger

Stolas's anger is vastly different from Verosika's—I promise to elaborate on it later.

He uses his anger throughout the morning confrontation with Blitzø to protect himself from Blitzø's attacks and futile attempts to retain the status quo. His anger serves to assert that he is done with the transactional arrangement and Blitzø's behavior.

As shocking as this might seem, Blitzø, I don't think I'm in the mood to "do sex" with you. In fact, I don't think I'm even in the mood to do words with you! So, how about you respect that? S2EP9, Apology Tour, 0:57

[Stolas]: Get out. Right now! [Blitzø]: What?! [Stolas]: I'm tired of this! I'm uncomfortable how you're speaking to me now! S2EP9, Apology Tour, 2:24

And all of this happens just the night after that disastrous full moon meeting! Stolas is pissed off, and rightfully so. But he still gives Blitzø the chance to correct his behavior, explain, and apologize. He asks Blitzø to leave him in peace but stays to hear him out until it becomes clear that Blitzø is not going to relent or give in.

His anger is not used to destroy those he is angry with; rather, it is directed toward keeping himself whole—at least as much as possible.

Bargaining

The whole verse of All 2 U, where Stolas contemplates what went wrong and if there's something they could still do, represents him trying to bargain for a better future.

Maybe there's something here for us to glean? For you to teach and me to try and learn? S2EP9, Apology Tour, 11:32

Of course, this is also something very useful for when they come back together (not if!). Despite Blitzø being the focus in the Apology Tour episode, Stolas has a lot of work to do, too. And him realizing that is a positive step.

But for now, from the perspective we’re looking at, this is a clear sign of him trying to trade anything he can for their relationship to flourish.

Depression

Eventually, Stolas breaks down publicly. He can’t hold the mask on anymore; seeing Blitzø is unbearable, as it reminds him too much of everything that happened and everything that could’ve been.

You! Why are you here? I don't want you here, go home, please! Let me not feel so sad! S2EP9, Apology Tour, 15:50

And he manages to compose himself incredibly quickly…

S2EP9, Apology Tour, 16:07

It takes him just 17 seconds to fall into crying and calm himself. But there was more brewing beneath the surface—he just didn’t show it.

Calm yourself, young prince. You know excitement is unbecoming of a Goetia. S2EP1, The Circus, 00:20

Acceptance...?

Then there's the guy who received more hate than he (allegedly) deserved—Better Than Blitzo guy. He asks Stolas for a dance, and Stolas accepts. He seems to quite enjoy himself there, actually… maybe even a tad too much (arguably).

Well, I just wanted to see if... Maybe... I dunno... You'd wanna... Dance? S2EP9, Apology Tour, 16:16

S2EP9, Apology Tour, 19:08

S2EP9, Apology Tour, 20:08

Did he move on? Did he get over Blitzø? We don’t know. I don’t think so. But that dance was certainly an outlet. A relief he was ready to accept. He was ready not to dwell on negative emotions and allow himself to feel something good for a change.

Verosika: A scorched earth way

Now, let’s see how Verosika is doing after all these years post-breakup. Surely she can’t care less about Blitzø now, right?

Anger

Right… No petty feelings at all.

S1EP3, Spring Break, 8:13

There's still resentment...

A selfish imp in the sheets And just as bad in the streets A reckless, heartbreaking freak! S1EP7, Ozzie's, 11:54

Anger… to the murderous degree, actually…

Fuck Blitzo in the fucking ass! S2EP9, Apology Tour, 8:14

Disrespect...

That cock-sucking motherfucker! S2EP9, Apology Tour, 9:36

Remember when I said their anger is different?

She uses hers to fuel her determination to destroy Blitzø’s reputation. She uses her fame and all her resources to humiliate him.

She never moved past anger. Never really processed it.

But wait…

Acceptance?!

S2EP9, Apology Tour, 18:55

All it took was just one long-overdue genuine talk. The moment she saw Blitzø's remorse and let her feelings out, she immediately warmed up, stopped using his dead name, and even gave advice—it’s debatable whether it was the best one, but I believe she meant well for both Blitzø and Stolas.

Hold it, Blitzø. Y’know, if you wanna change, it just starts with saying: “Good for him, hope he gets laid.” S2EP9, Apology Tour, 19:18

You know, I feel there’s a good chance that the next anti-Blitzo party might not ever happen again.

Because she leaped through all the stages in one night, and, maybe not at that exact moment, but she is on the path to acceptance. Finally letting it go.

Baby, I'm not over it, but I'm over you.

Could've saved many years of simmering in rage and destructing herself over Blitzø though.

Conclusions

Oh shit, now I need to somehow connect all the dots, don’t I?

Well... *chuckles nervously* I guess I gotta put on my nerd glasses and pretend I knew what I was doing here and not just threw shit at the wall and saw what stuck.

What I really wanted to say is that Stolas is much more self-aware and was able to work through all his feelings and process them in one day. He went through the complete journey and made immense progress. We don’t know how it will go further, but from what we’ve seen, his emotional intelligence helps him, if not to avoid problematic behaviors like binge-drinking, then at least not to burn bridges behind him, leaving space for understanding, forgiveness, and acceptance.

It’s not to say that Verosika’s way of doing things was wrong because she was angry and skipped through some stages. It was wrong because she made her entire personality revolve around it, turning bringing Blitzø down in any way possible into her ultimate life goal. It was wrong because she never processed it.

And it shows why, even after the break-up, #stolitz can still work, given that Blitzø is open about how he feels and Stolas is open to listening to it.

AGAIN! There’s no right way to process grief. But there should be a priority to heal and accept instead of doubling down and ruining yourself and everything you cared for.

(I am watching you, Blitzø hater. Don’t you dare to shit on my poor lizard. He has his own heap of issues and has had enough after that fucking penguin slur short. So don’t. >:()

[actual-changeling]

Welcome back to a meta post that was not supposed to exist, but I fucking love answering questions, so here we are.

i got an ask (the answer contains a tl;dr) about why I think Crowley has unstable relationship patterns, and the following will be a detailed look at why this is the case, how Aziraphale plays into it, and what it ultimately means for the two of them.

This won't be as unhinged as my usual analyses, so consider this a special edition of Alex's unhinged meta corner - now hinged.

As always, please remember that this is my personal interpretation—not a generalization—and that genuine questions are welcome, either here on the post or in my inbox!

Everything I will say is based on research I have done, books & studies, and many, many conversations with my therapist (and at points my psychiatrist too); just so you know I'm not making shit up as I go.

Now, in the context of trauma-related/based disorders, what exactly does it mean to have unstable relationship patterns, and how does it apply to Crowley and Aziraphale's relationship?

Canonically, heaven does not care about what Aziraphale is doing and they are not keeping an eye on him. We know this both from references in the script and their dialogue and what we see throughout the show as a whole. That "fear" of being found out should he openly commit to Crowley is, for the most part, self-fabricated.

Yes, hell would potentially punish him (that potentially is another long post), but that is not something Aziraphale gets to take and use against Crowley, and the fact that does it anyway to 'prove' that he is not behaving incorrectly is a big issue.

What that leaves them with is a very common and well-known relationship pattern that requires a lot of self-awareness, control, and work to break it.

Aziraphale and Crowley get closer, spend more time together, their relationship grows and the intimacy increases, resulting in their behaviour changing to reflect that. They go on more romantic-coded dates (e.g. 1827, whatever the fuck 1941 was), eat together more frequently, drink together and feel comfortable enough to get drunk drunk while in each other's company—which always carries the inherent risk of doing something 'forbidden' while their impulse control is lowered.

I think the second episode of season one is actually a great example for all of this. When they drive to Tadfield, there's a mutually respectful conversation, they tease each other, they bicker like an old married couple, and don't fall into blaming the other for the situation they're in. At the manor, they are openly flirting from the start, laughing about the paintball guns and blowing kisses to miracle away stains, and the wall slam scene honestly speaks for itself.

I wrote a detailed analysis of it right here, which contains the conclusion that the entire interaction was intentional and orchestrated by the two of them.

They are doing great, they're comfortable, intimate—both physically and emotionally—and their sides are already on their asses about the apocalypse, so why not commit to the relationship?

Because Aziraphale gets scared, scared of intimacy, scared of what it would mean for his life, scared of what it would force him to confront (his faith, mostly, which is another gigantic topic), scared of the changes it would bring to their relationship, scared of breaking out of the pattern they have been moving in since the very beginning.

So he pushes, hard. He insults and denies and hurts Crowley to get as far away from all of that as possible. Push & pull, no matter when, no matter why, it's always the same.

At this point you might be thinking Alex, this is all on Aziraphale, how is this also Crowley's unstable relationship pattern? The answer to that question can be roughly summarized in one sentence:

He does not punish or discourage Aziraphale's behaviour.

There are NEVER lasting—if any—negative consequences for Aziraphale when he forces them into the push/pull dynamic, when he insults him, denies their relationship, calls him evil, you name it. No matter what Aziraphale does, Crowley always forgives and forgets and comes back to him, essentially resetting their loop. That way there cannot be any progress because they're not moving a single inch in either direction that isn't carefully organized and controlled by Aziraphale.

Why does Crowley not confront him? Because he is scared too.

Now, THIS is the part where I explain why I said Crowley has unstable relationship patterns. It is important to understand that Aziraphale's kind of instability is only one possible manifestation, and that they are—broadly speaking—on opposite ends of the spectrum, which not only makes them incredibly compatible, but also makes them worse.

Crowley is terrified of losing Aziraphale permanently and being on his own. God rejected him, heaven rejected him, hell rejected him—his life as been one traumatic incident after the other with a strong focus on abandonment and neglect, especially from people he cared about.

He says himself that Aziraphale is his only friend, he doesn't have anyone or anything else. The bookshop is Aziraphale's anchor, but Crowley has nothing except the Bentley and whatever Aziraphale allows him to partake in. Hell can take his job, his flat, punish and torture him as they please, and make his life, well, hell.

With the Bentley only appearing in the early 20th century, for 99% of his life he had nothing except for Aziraphale, his best friend, the person he loves.

So what does he do? He clings, he circles him and tries to push his orbit just a tiny bit closer whenever there's a gap he can use, trying to solidify their relationship. Terrified of being abandoned again, he swallows and ignores everything and anything negative.

The final fifteen are the FIRST TIME that Aziraphale asked him for something and he said no without changing his mind later—and it was literally the worst case scenario, the one boundary he has that he is not willing to cross for him, literally the barest minimum.

Every other time he relented, gave in, apologized for something that wasn't his fault, have Aziraphale everything he wanted from Hamlet over shooting a gun at his face to giving him the Bentley. Crowley's primary objective is to do whatever it takes to avoid being abandoned, so whenever Aziraphale DOES push back and abandons him/says that he will, he panics. He panics even more when there is an outside source threatening Aziraphale's presence in his life.

Look at how frantic he is when he finds Aziraphale after the bandstand, trying to say whatever it takes to get him to come with him. He does the apology dance, gives in when it comes to Gabriel, and never reacts to Aziraphale in a way that would prompt him to re-think the choices he is making, let alone stop doing the push/pull.

His identity revolves around Aziraphale, his only relationship is with Aziraphale, he allows him to shape him to his liking as far as he can take and then some, he needs him to be happy, to enjoy himself, to live a life worth living—and Aziraphale needs him to be and do all of those things so he can keep up his behaviour.

They are dangerously co-dependent and just spiral deeper and deeper until they hit rock bottom and are forced to separate.

Look, I have BPD on top of everything else, I have been in a relationship with this exact pattern in Crowley's role, and it is fucking horrible. Absolutely unbearable. My ex-partner was like Aziraphale, pulling and pushing and pulling and pushing but on a daily basis, every few hours. No amount of talking or begging could get them to not behave in a way that would hurt me, and I was so emotionally tied to them and terrified of being alone that just like Crowley, I relented every. single. time. A year and a half and they never, not ONCE, apologized for anything. Ever. Not for hurting me, not for being an asshole, nothing.

The only way I got out was with a lot of therapy, support, and so much emotional work I was having several panic attacks a day because I was so fucking exhausted. Crowley and Aziraphale separating was the best thing that ever happened to their relationship.

Now, Aziraphale is facing negative consequences for his behaviour and is forced to examine himself and deal with all those fears causing him to behave the way he does. Crowley on the other hand is now forced to learn how to exist without Aziraphale to orbit around—he needs to develop an identity that exists outside of Aziraphale, so he can have boundaries and stick to them.

[epicbuddieficrecs]

Weekly Recap | May 27th-June 2nd 2024

That finale sure was... something.... Can't wait for all the fix-it fics we're gonna get over the summer!!

Complete

the same damn thing that made my heart surrender by fleetinghearts/ @shitouttabuck (Crack, Getting Together | 1,5K | Teen): “Ever since that barbecue at Bobby and Athena’s last weekend I’ve been getting the weirdest targeted ads on my Insta,” he pouts, scrolling some more. On the screen is an ad for… a pale blue babydoll tee with the word BRAT screenprinted across the chest in curly pink letters. or, buck’s instagram algorithm is plaguing him with salacious clothing ads and eddie can’t be held responsible for playing Beefcake Barbie dress-up in his head about it

seeing you with him just don't feel right (you're giving me a heart attack) by bellabrady (Post-S7, Crack | 1,9K | Not Rated): Or: Buck and Eddie accidentally give their homophobic captain a heart attack.

stained by my mistakes by Tizniz/@tizniz (BTHB: Accidental Murder | 2K | General): Like an overslept mistake or killed a dude mistake? Under any other circumstances, Eddie would probably laugh at his best friend’s reply. But he’s not laughing. Not right now. He swallows the lump in his throat and stumbles over his reply. …the second option.

Everything you lose is a step you take by justhockey (Getting Together, Post-Lightning | 2K | General): For a while, when Buck would find himself about to float - about to slip into that space where he couldn’t believe he was still here, still breathing - he would need something to keep him steady. To keep both feet firmly planted on the ground. That’s how all of it started. Because it had been instinct, like it always has been with them, for Buck to reach for Eddie that very first time he felt like he was floating. And Eddie, like he always does, reached back. Through fire and trauma, under fire trucks, across blood-soaked asphalt - Buck and Eddie always reach for each other. It’s what they do. It’s who they are. They reach, and hold on, and they pull each other to safety.

that's the way love goes by heartbeatdiaz/ @loserdiaz (BuckTommy Break-up, Buddie Getting Together | 4K | Teen): Tommy thinks Buck and Eddie used to date and never really got over each other... he is very tired and confused. But it makes some feeling realizations come to light and a pair of idiots to see what they've been missing all along, so it's all good.

Sweet as Sugar by Tizniz/ @tizniz (BTHB: Chronic Illness | 8K | General): “There’s still something wrong with me.” “I don’t like that phrasing, but your labs did come back positive for something, yes.” Buck swallows, rubs his hands down his thighs, “Okay. What?” “Evan, you’re diabetic.”

What’s Your Order? by JJK/ @trenchcoatsandtimetravel (Post-S7E5, BuckTommy | 18K | Teen): 5 Times Buck Guessed Tommy’s Coffee Order + 1 Time He Didn’t Have To

🔥 a place we both know by not1_2write (A/B/O AU, Not A Firefighter!Buck | 42K | Mature): This whole thing is Bobby's fault. He's the one that suggested Eddie apply for the mate matching service, it was his idea to look for an Omega that would love and care for Christopher, to find a mate to be by Eddie's side. Eddie's gonna have to send him a fruit basket or something. It was the greatest idea Bobby's ever had and because of it they now they have Buck in their lives, in their pack and firmly nestled right in Eddie's heart.

WIP

🔥 stuck now so long, we just got the start wrong by Daffi_990_ao3/ @daffi-990 (Canon Divergent, Different First Meeting | 7/10 | 55K | Not Rated): Probational Firefighters Evan “Buck” Buckley and Eddie Diaz meet on a call which ends with them at odds with each other. As the months roll by, they keep running into each other on the job, much to Eddie’s dismay and Buck’s delight. Can they put aside their first opinions and misunderstandings and allow the seeds of friendship, and possibly something more, to take root?

🔥 like a bird stealing bread out from under your nose by Daisies_and_Briars/ @cal-daisies-and-briars (Post-S7, Fix-It | 2/7 | 6K | Mature): If you’d asked Eddie back in May what rock bottom looked like, it was his son leaving him. That felt like it; everything ruined so entirely that there was no way to ruin it further. There’s always more to lose.

🔥 Things We're All Too Young to Know by Daisies_and_Briar / @cal-daisies-and-briars (Canon S1-S6, Divergent Post-S6 | 128/? | 401K | Mature): This is a love story. Even if it doesn’t always look like it. Even if it doesn’t always feel like it. A look back on Eddie and Buck's lives up to now, and what led them to each other, interpreted from the current 9-1-1 canon.

🔥 Held Up a Lightning Rod (Wonder Why I'm Struck) by letmetellyouaboutmyfeels/ @letmetellyouaboutmyfeels (Not A Firefighter Eddie, Sugar Baby Buck | 3/22 | 14K | Explicit): When Eddie Diaz stumbles his way into money, he finds himself one of the most eligible bachelors in Los Angeles - to his dismay. He needs a way to get people off his back without confessing his messy marital situation, and Shannon's still not answering his calls, so he caves to a friend's suggestion: hire someone to pretend to be his partner. Enter Evan "Buck" Buckley: sugar baby, fire fighter, and the man about to turn Eddie's world upside down.

Podfic

🔥 [Podfic] Your Fingerprints Smeared on My Heart (Lead Me Back to You) by MistMarauder/ @mistmarauder for letmetellyouaboutmyfeels/ @letmetellyouaboutmyfeels (Cowboy AU, Reincarnation, Soulmates | 10-15h | Explicit): In 1880, Evan Buckley of the arriviste set is sent out west to oversee his family's railroad and recover from a broken heart - and meets Eddie Diaz, cowboy. When fate tears them apart, they make a promise: find each other again. In 2018, Buck walks into his fire station in Los Angeles - and meets Eddie Diaz, new recruit.

[redjademilktea]

Marisha on 4SD today talking about Laudna (and Marisha herself) leaning into the darkness these last few episodes just brings me back to one of the really fascinating parts of Imogen and Laudna's post kiss conversation.

When talking about Laudna's desire to use Delilah to make herself stronger, Laudna says "maybe it's our destiny to harness it," regarding the powers both women have within them. While she may harbor some guilt over giving in ("I think I'm a bad person, Imogen"), she ultimately thinks embracing it is what she needs to/wants to do.

For Laudna, it gives that feeling of control she is so desperate for. She claims, for example, that they're playing Delilah's game by "her rules." Regardless of how real that control may actually be, she certainly *feels* that she is in control of the situation by utilizing that power. For someone who's been defined for so long by tragic circumstances that she had no agency in, gaining control over those circumstances - harnessing what they have presented her with - gives her just that. Control.

Contrast that with Imogen's "maybe it's our destiny to fight it." Imogen has spent the entire campaign thus far growing more and more comfortable with herself and her powers. To her, the powers are a part of her, but they ultimately don't define her entirely. Yes, being weird and having powers is "what makes [them] right," but that doesn't mean the nature of the source of that power and all its accompanying baggage needs to shape her. Her powers are hers, but *she* decides what they are to her, not myths, not legends, not rumors.

Imogen saying she "knows what's right" is her asserting that those connotations applied to her by other people don't control her. For Imogen, saying "maybe it's our destiny to fight it" reads more like her saying she wants to push back against letting outside forces define that power for her. Yes, Ruidus and Predathos are the source of her powers. Yes, they are a part of her. Yes, she feels a connection to them. But that doesn't mean they get to decide for her what she does with them.

So here, you have two completely different perspectives on how to reckon with the power/darkness both these women have within them, captured beautifully by two simple lines.

This has, of course, led to some interesting tension over the course of the past few episodes. Imogen was disgusted at the idea of Delilah "being here all the time." Laudna didn't want to stop Imogen if she joined the Ruby Vanguard on Ruidus because "what if that's what [she] really wanted to do?" Both of them don't really know how to handle the way the other is approaching this fundamental aspect of both themselves and their relationship.

There is, however, the all-important line after this exchange - Imogen saying, "Together either way."

I am so, so interested in how this is going to manifest as Imogen and Laudna seem to entrench themselves further into different approaches to their innate abilities. If they are going to be each other's tethers, what does it mean for them to be pulling in different directions? How will it shape their dynamic/their relationship?

Whichever direction it leads them though, I very much hope they hold fast to one thing - that they do it together.

[neptunescore]

Literally started this blog just to say how hypocritical F1 – both the people working in it, and the sport itself – is becoming. The main 3 things I want to address is: no.1 women in motorsport, no2 the ongoing genocide in palestine and no3 F1's disallowance of anything political, yet enabling the absolute political shitshow that was the 2024 miami gp.

Numéro 1: I just think its absolute bullshit that the FIA genuinely created a whole ‘Women in Motorsport Commission’, assigned SIX STRONG ambassadors to it, and THEN proceeded (come 2023) to launch a wholeass unfair investigation onto one of them, based on the MOST groundless claims?? Like wtf?? (Talking abt Susie Wolff here). Also, the whole Cristian Horner situation really showed just how much they care about women working under them, bc tell me why the possible victim in his situation was the one getting SUSPENDED, while this possible filth of a man is still parading shamelessly around the paddock?? Like??? AND SOME OF THE DRIVERS COMMENTS ON THE SIRUATION?? pissed me off so much u dont even understand. Anyway, my last point on this convo is how women should ALSO be taken accountable of their actions, and not just glossed over because they’re ‘women’, over here im specifically talking abt Bianca Bustamante and her liked tweet which calls lance stroll autistic… girl :| and her apology was so atrocious as well. T-T

Numéro 2: The fact that not ONE driver (excluding Lewis Hamilton — that man is so much more than a driver) has spoken up/ posted about the situation pisses me off SO much bc?? THOUSANDS of people are dying, and with the platform you have, the fans you have, you could have such a positive effect! This is ESPECIALLY targeted on the drivers so I FULLY KNOW have control of their accounts (Charles Leclerec, Esteban Ocon, Lando Norris [GOD DO I HAVE ALOT TO SAY ABT HIM], Pierre Gasly, etc) bc tell me why drivers are fully capable of uploading a post 2 years ago stating how the WHOLE of F1 stands with Ukraine (which i do applaud them for) but cant say SHIT abt the same situation occuring in Gaza, but SO much worse?? Lando can genuinely go f himself, bc as much as i used to adore him there’s no way he did NOT know abt the atrocities happening in Palestine, no way he did not know abt the company boycott when he decided to fully display that Starbucks logo on his little reel. And IF (literally a 0.0000001% chance, bc by then a 1000 articles were already written on it and the WHOLE world was aware) he genuinely didn’t know, then that is just ignorant as fuck. Icel. Anyway, literally all drivers should be held accountable, no matter if they’re ur favs or not; I like Carlos a lot but that doesn’t mean i dont get the ick every time i think abt the fact he’s stayed completely silent on the matter. OH MY GOD, DONT get me started on lance stroll and his confirmed (yes, i DO fact check) Zionist girlfriend, like?? Ew.

Can i also just say, that if any of u are gonna msg me saying ‘oH bUt NeP, thE FIA BanNeD AnY anD aLl PoliTiCaL StAtEmEnTS’ Shut up. If you guys could just READ the rest of the statement, you'd know that this rule only applies to when the drivers are ACTIVELY in the paddock. The FIA has literally included the fact that driver can do WHATEVER the want, stand up for WHOEVER they want in their personal lives – which brings me to my next point,

Numéro 3: The FIA bans any and all political statements in the paddock, (without their written consent) YET INVITES TRUMP (a man who has been charged with EIGHTY EIGHT criminal offenses) to the race, is the most disgusting and hypocritical thing ive seen in all my years of watching F1. And don't even get me started on all the shit lando said abt him, like bro?? What are you saying?? Why are you saying these things?? I get u cant speak bad abt him, but that does NOT mean u need to praise him to the sun and back. T-T

That's my rant! Additional reminder abt ppl bringing up how '*retired driver (insert name)* would NOT stand for this, and would post and talk ALL abt palestine if they were still racing,' this is a reminder that those drivers are still alive and well, with WORKING platforms and can STILL do all those things now if thry CHOOSE to :]

-Nep○~

[shaniacsboogara]

i think a lot of things i agree with are already being said about watcher tv, so instead of focusing on those, i'm going to try to highlight things i think need to be reiterated or haven't been discussed enough.

first of all, i've been a fan of watcher's content for a long time. i followed shane and ryan over to the network after unsolved ended, and since then have made a TON of incredible friends and memories because of their shows. to anyone at watcher reading this, i really hope you're doing alright. thank you for everything you've done to foster this incredible community. and to anyone here in tumblr who's followed me for my watcher content or to any of my mutuals, i hope you're doing as well as you can. drink some water, get outside, and make sure you're getting enough sleep. this has been a rough time for a lot of us, and understandably so.

obviously, watcher tv is a massive change, and everyone who feels upset or disappointed is extremely valid in feeling that way. however, the calibre of hate being sent to the watcher crew is kind of horrific. yes, this could turn out to be a bad business decision for them, but that does make them evil morally bankrupt capitalists who never actually cared about their fanbase in the first place??? honestly, i think this type of commentary is doing a disservice to everyone who's trying to discuss this situation from a genuine analytical standpoint. not only that, but these are real people??? sure, they're on the internet and have probably had people send hate comments their way before, but as a community there are so many more productive things we could be doing instead of tearing down the folks over at watcher.

it is disheartening for content you've enjoyed to suddenly be locked behind a paywall, especially if it's not something you'll be able to afford. i've seen a lot of people emphasizing that artists should be compensated for their art, and i think that definitely applies here, but that doesn't mean people don't have a right to be upset. the fandom community we've built here on tumblr is incredible, it's brought so many people together and overall been so positive, fun, and welcoming to be a part of, so it's understandable that a change threatening the stability of that fanspace would make people upset. i'm not happy about the possibility of the watcher fandom dissipating after this announcement, but i think it's highly likely. watcher TV has created a divide in the fandom, and no matter what it looks like after this is over, it won't be the same. what's going to happen when most people can't access watcher content anymore??? no matter what happens, being in this fandom was absolutely incredible while it lasted.

what's my overall take on the situation??? i don't know how this will turn out for them, i'm not sure the announcement was carried out in the best way (it was hyped up in a way i don't think it should've been, a slower lead up to this could've made it more digestible), i'm sad that a lot of people won't be able to enjoy content that used to mean so much to them, but if this is a business move they think they need to make, then think i understand that. i'm no business expert, i have no idea how this will work out, but i'm absolutely not manifesting their downfall. i think it's very important to discuss this in a civil manner, to critique and analyze the effects of this situation on both the community and the company, but letting that turn into blatant hate and threats to watcher employees is WAY TOO FAR.

these are just some of my thoughts. if you want me to clarify anything or know my thoughts on specific aspects of this situation, please don't be afraid to ask!!! my only request is that this post doesn't turn into a vessel for hating on anyone, whether that be watcher or anyone posting about the situation.

[fiveredlights]

the oversharement of the author: old habits die screaming (daniel team principal au) edition

welcome back to another edition of five yaps on for a million words about their own fic. this time with pictures! below is me discussing everything and anything, deleted scenes, as well as an insight into what the css/html looked like and those racing graphics that gave me five grey hairs by the end!

THE PLOT

Matthew and Callan (and the many parallels)

You can’t ask me (a Maxiel writer) to create original characters and not have them mimic Max and Daniel. Like. I think it’s physically impossible.

First chapter I did keep it very chill, lowkey because I was very worried about the reception of Matthew and Callan but luckily it seems like most people enjoy them, so I really unleashed their parallels in the rest of the story.

A couple of ways this was done. Easiest one was their drivers number. I didn’t wanna do 3 & 33, so I took the fact that Maxiel’s numbers were 30 apart and applied that instead= 41 & 71. And obviously they had their own Baku 2018 moment because it wouldn’t be a fiveredlights universe if I didn’t make someone Baku.

Originally it was going to be Callan moving to Red Bull and Matthew staying but then I thought about it. I wanted balance for both of them and Callan was always going to win in Abu Dhabi, so it felt like I was leaving them on uneven footing. So then I went okay, reread what I had posted and thought it made more sense for Matthew to go to Red Bull. And with Callan’s win it also gives him that negotiating power with other teams, he could and he does look into other teams. This next part wasn’t included because it just didn’t fit the timeline, but is all canonical.

In the first few races of 2031 Red Bull offers Callan the other Red Bull seat, as Yuki moves to Aston for the 2032 season. He declines the offer and moves to Mercedes instead :)

Matthew is obviously flabbergasted and does not understand why Callan declined (we all know why*—Daniel especially knows why) and then we get this lovely period of Matthew and Callan ignoring each other for a good couple months. I assume Mattllan nation are very distraught and Maxiel nation are like yeah we’ve been through this before and it lasted for YEARS. Good luck!

Isn’t that canonically so fun!

[*Callan declines Red Bull’s offer for a number of reasons he tells himself that make total and logical sense and he’s absolutely not hiding the fact he values his relationship with Matthew over a potential championship winning team. He’s not doing that. Also who’s to say Mercedes aren’t gonna win the championship. Have you seen how Red Bull are moving in this universe? I still haven’t forgotten about The Great Red Bull Second Half of the 2028 Season Flop!]

(Also the news drops in the morning, like at 7am on a Thursday press day, race before summer break. Callan’s already inside the Red Bull energy station to hide from everyone named Matthew Evans-Campbell because he didn’t listen to Daniel and Max when they said he should tell Matthew before it’s announced. Matthew has been operating under the assumption that Callan automatically said yes when RBR asked, and that this long gap was for all the boring contract stuff. Yikes.

At 7:41 am the door swings open and Callan is dealt with by a very pissed off Matthew, they have a whole argument loud enough for basically the whole building to hear. Luckily because it is 7:41 am, no one is in except for Daniel who’s having a lovely oat latte with a side of his drivers having a relationship-altering argument in the background. He wants Monza 2028 back.)

Enchanté x MV33

I made the first logo on June 4. I had Canva and a dream. I was rereading glitter on the floor and forgot I had included an Enchanté graphic and probably wanted to play more with that idea. The whole website idea is 90% from this web illustrated multimedia series called Heroverse by illustraice on IG I read years ago. It basically involved readers using codes and clues to unlock a website that moved the plot forward. Like this series changed my brain chemistry on how stories could be told. Other 10% comes from Taylor Swift. Because of course it does. Imagine if I made you do a version of the 1989 TV vaults to get the password. You’re lucky I don’t know how to make an actual website (yet). I was hesitant because I wasn’t sure if real Daniel would actually do a collaboration like this but then RicAllen dropped and I was like oh. He’s making a company produce a little RPF short film to sell headphones and merchandise. Then it was full steam ahead.

Here’s the progression of how we went from blank page to the final enchante drop:

For the longest time it was only going to be one item shown (the email graphic) but then I thought I should put the website and then I had make two more other shirts. Should be three, but my brain ran out of ideas. The tulip & rose is a little nod to takes one to know one — that au daniel has the two matching tattoos on his hand. Once again, you will be taking intertextuality out of my cold dead soul. 

DELETED PLOTLINES: 

Daniel back to Red Bull (again, again)

The biggest one for me was Daniel returning back to Red Bull in 2031 as team principal. I briefly considered it for a couple days, but then I chose against it. I mean I had Daniel say it in the fic, he has no desire to go to Red Bull as a TP or other senior management. There’s a winning expectation there—and not that RB doesn’t—but I think he enjoys the midfield fight a little bit more. 

Being TP means going up against Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari and whilst I think he would be fine, those are still legacy teams who’s TP’s are vastly more experienced than he is. Remember, in 2031 it’s still only his sixth year leading a racing team and fourth year in F1. 

I think he enjoys working with the younger, less experienced-ish drivers. Clearly he’s hugely influential and I think his management style just works better within RB’s environment. 

Also you want to make me move Max and Daniel back to England? They just broke through the screen and started talking about how great Faenza and Monaco are. 

Callan’s new partner

So I wrote at the end of Ch4 that I had deleted texts between Callan, Matthew and Daniel over Matthew finding out Callan had a new partner. Lots (I say lots, like three people) were mildly upset that I cut it (I get it, I would be upset too) but I felt like a lot of Matthew and Callan’s Secret Third Thing relationship was very slowly starting to be developed off screen. Also no matter how many times they insist, this is not your story! Now that we know Callan never makes it to Red Bull I give it like another couple years until they pull their heads out of their asses.

ALL THE DELETED SCENES:

The many versions of the Max Monza 2028 call with Daniel

I think I rewrote this scene at least thirty times. It was going to be over texts. Then calls. Then texts again. I gave up at the end.

ATTEMPT ONE: 

Hey. How are you going with the debrief?

Nope. 

You laugh, but every time I try to bring it up they just start going at each other. They’ve turned into toddlers, honestly—I can’t. Max, seriously I don’t think it’s Matthew and Callan in front of me right now. 

How bad are we talking? Like us bad or worse? 

What’s worse than us? 

Lewis and Britney. 

I don’t know, somewhere in between. I knew something was up with them. Fuck. I should’ve pushed. 

Daniel. You know what it is like for your team principal to try and push the relationship with your teammate too much.

I just don’t get why they’re so pissed off at each other. Fuck. I knew something was up too, Matthew said something about Callan not liking him. 

Callan? Not liking Matthew? I don’t think that’s physically possible. 

Daniel. 

Yeah? 

Do you think they’re dating? 

What?! 

Max. Max. Why would you say that?

[00:02:33]

You’ll be okay Daniel. 

How are you always so sure that I’m going to be okay? 

Because you’re Daniel. I don’t—you’re you. I think you always try and do good in every situation.

ATTEMPT TWO: 

Max

7 Sep 2028 at 5:47pm

I got that spaghetti you like waiting for you when you come back 

And your pizza

Thank you

You are godsend

How’s debrief going? 

Not well

I understand why the team acted like they wanted our heads in the ground after Baku 

I am so close to just leaving but I can’t because I run this team

I’m going insane

Are they talking at least? 

Yeah

In like one word increments

It’s like watching the past versions of ourselves Max it’s so weird

Like I feel like I have to double check they’re JUST friends now otherwise I’m in a whole other shit

Does it look like I’m qualified for couples counselling

Don’t answer that I can see you typing Max I know the answer is no

Well at least you are honest

The fact it took us ten years to get together shows I should not be any authority on relationships like ever

Like can someone invent time travel to tell 2018 Daniel to just pull his head out of his ass and tell him 2018 Max really was looking back?? Or 2024 Daniel to actually listen to what 2024 Max was saying and maybe you should invite him to your farm

Okay Daniel one problem at a time please my brain doesn’t have the capacity for two things right now

That is so not what you were saying last night

Daniel

Yep sorry serious team principal Daniel is talking

Daniel you will be okay

It will be okay

I sure hope so because it turns out I quite like my job and I do not want to be fired 

I just heard a bang I really hope they haven’t managed to punch a wall through their rooms or something

Great I’m go check that my drivers aren’t secretly dating or something but I will hopefully see you soon

Please don’t eat my pizza

🙄

Good luck 

Team Red Bull vs Team RB Escape Room

Shamelessly stolen after Singapore or Baku Fanstage where they’re asked which driver they would take to an escape room. 

Oracle Red Bull Racing VS Visa Cash App RB ESCAPE ROOM

[00:02:29]

MATTHEW: We’re going to be cool. We’re going to be calm. We’re going to be collected.

CALLAN: You say that but I guarantee the second that door is locked you’ll start panicking. 

MATTHEW: A little positivity would be good Cal.

PRESENTER: Max, Yuki—how do you fancy your chances up against these two?

YUKI: Great. I think we’re going to do really good. 

MAX: They probably will be there overnight still locked inside. 

[00:09:29]

Shows an Italian word attached to the computer screen. They need to type the English translation in order to get the next clue.

MAX: You live in Italy!

YUKI: It doesn’t mean I know every Italian word! And so do you! 

MAX: Where’s my phone?

Cuts to Matthew and Callan still stuck trying to find the last playing card. The whole room is a mess, cushions on the ground, fake plants tipped upside down and chairs placed on the side.

[00:09:12]

Max is holding his phone whilst the Facetime tune rings, before someone on the other end picks up. The camera cuts to show Daniel, with the ID tag: Daniel Ricciardo – Team Principal, Visa Cash App RB. He looks mildly confused at Max calling him but goes along with it.

DANIEL RICCIARDO: Hiya Maxy. Ooh, hi Yuki. What’s up? Aren’t you meant to be in that video with Matt and Cal? 

MAX: Yeah, it’s an escape room—look, what does INSERT ITALIAN WORD MEAN.

DANIEL: 

MAX: Thank you. Bye bye.

YUKI: I thought you were going to google it.

[00:23:22]

CALLAN: We’re gonna die here. 

MATTHEW: Positivity! 

CALLAN: There is no place for positivity here.

Blake’s full hypothetical conversation

Let’s just say I was hypothetically dating a driver

Would I have to declare this to my team

Mate

How hypothetical is this

Can you just answer the question before we get into the hypothetical details of my hypothetical relationship 

Yes

You very much would need to and you would need to do like now

Hypothetically I would then ask how long this hypothetical relationship has been going on

Hypothetically since the summer break 

Okay

So it’s hypothetically Max then

I didn’t say that

Well he’s in Faenza, you live in Faenza and unless you suddenly decided to ask Yuki on a date, which we all know he would say no for incredibly valid reasons, all signs are pointing to your ex Red Bull teammate who you haven’t gotten over

Like ever

Yeah Sebastian really broke my heart when he left me for Ferrari 

Do you want my advice or not

Not particularly but I’m probably going to get it anyway

I am not your HR department . You have a HR department. Go to your HR department 

Yeah but you’re less scary 

How did they let you run a whole team

With my powers of persuasion 

And a powerpoint

I learnt that from George

Do I not deserve some credit too mate

You laughed at me when I told you I was going to Trident you don’t deserve credit

Yeah but then I unlaughed when I realised you were serious 

Unlaughing is not a thing

Yes it is mate because I did it

Also I literally specifically tabbed that section in your contract dude

Yes but we weren’t dating then and I’m not reading through it again

Jesus christ 

RB Group chat after Summer break + Shenanigans 

RB’s Exclusive F1 Driver Club

(After summer break, before the 2028 Dutch Grand Prix)

Matthew: Had a good holiday Daniel? 

Daniel: Very good thank you

Matthew: Good company too or? 

Daniel: What are you asking

Callan: He’s asking if you had good company too or? 

Daniel: Okay Matthew I get you

Callan however this feels like a betrayal

Callan: Due to contrary belief we’re actually smart

Callan: We can put two and one together

Matthew: That is not the saying dude

Matthew: It’s two and two together

Callan: No it isn’t

Matthew: It so is just google it

How are you older than me

Daniel: I mean this with love but it is too early in the morning to deal with this

I hope you enjoyed your holidays

Callan: I did very much thank you because a certain someone didn’t crash it like last year

Matthew: Not my fault we both ended up in New Zealand

Callan: When I asked you to point to New Zealand on a map you pointed to Tasmania 

Matthew: That was done in confidence and you swore to never repeat it

Daniel: I have so many questions 

Matthew: Don’t ask because I cannot answer them

RB Exclusive Driver Club 

(During COTA, when Matthew and Callan discover Max and Daniel are in a relationship)

Daniel: Guys where did you run off too I literally can not find you

Callan: We’re hiding in Alpine

Daniel: Well no because Jack would’ve called me to throw you two out

Matthew: He meant Williams

Daniel: So if I call Alex will he say he’s hiding you two

Callan: I meant Red Bull

Daniel: I am literally at Red Bull right now what are on about

Okay I can do this all day you forget how many of these people have known me since you were in pre school 😇

I can’t believe I have to say this but please stop harassing Max and leave him alone

Callan: Whipped 

Matthew: 😄

Daniel: Can we go back to when you hated each other's guts for like three hours you were easier to deal with

Matthew: We just felt the need to do some shovelling

Matthew: I’m like a profit I knew you two would get together 

Callan: Sure Matthew

Daniel: That can’t be the word

Callan: Sometimes you’ve just gotta let him believe it is 

Max and Daniel before Abu Dhabi

Max

Are you sure you want me there

At your final parc ferme or whatever 

Daniel of course

You are part of my family

Do you not want to be there

Of course I do

I just don’t want it to be awkward or whatever

Everyone already thinks we’re married

At this point anything we do can not change that

Oh

Do you want to get married

If you want to be married we can be married if you don’t want to be married we don’t have to be married

But as long as I have you that is all that matters

Baby

Okay we should not be having this conversation over text I’m like two seconds away from crying

GP says hi by the way

And apparently you have to tell him if you are proposing which I think is stupid because why does he need to know 

Are you in a meeting????? 

Max???

Yeah, what are they gonna do? Fire me? 

You’re so fucking annoying I love you

BEHIND THE SCENES

This was technically my most challenging work. Like I learnt HTML and photoshop for this. This is what my screen showed at least 90% of the time. As a girlie whose HTML knowledge was b for bold, i for italic and u for underline, I do not know how we got here. If you told May me that I understood what any of this means I would be very proud.

This absolutely made zero sense but my brain is fried. I'm off to take a very long nap. And to not look at photoshop, Red Bull content pool, the HTML box in AO3 for a very long time.

[ruinofchimera]

It’s more convenient for me to analyze these arguments in depth in a separate post, so here we are. 1.

This is almost exactly what I’m suggesting, but you’ve managed to twist it. I wonder what exactly was so funny about Severus being attacked, humiliated, and threatened. In addition to this whole very “comical” situation, he was her friend. Let’s not forget this little detail. If this reaction seems absolutely reasonable to you, well, I wouldn’t envy your friends. I would never forgive such a reaction to my public humiliation, but maybe we have different standards for what should be called friendship.

In fact, she did join the mockery. Doesn't the use of a derogatory nickname, in addition to the mockery of his clothes, illustrate this enough? No, of course not, because she was just acting on emotion.

2.

Yes, I’m implying that Lily should have handled this situation with complete grace. Why shouldn’t she have, if she is the saintly and morally pure person you make her out to be? Why wouldn’t anyone expect her to be completely calm and polite in this situation? You expect exactly the same from a guy who was bullied and threatened in front of everyone. What are these double standards? Let’s make up our minds whether people still have the right to let loose emotions when they are being mentally destroyed, or whether there is no such right.

You state that Severus' words are not just a random insult, but a full attack on her identity and a bold sign that Severus associates himself with blood purists. You believe that this outburst of anger defines Severus. It doesn’t matter that he’s mentally broken at the moment. No. He had to behave with grace. He had to remain calm and polite. However, how he acted instead is seen as nothing more than malicious intent and a calculated situation (lmao, him being a mudblood too—and yes, anyone except pure-bloods is considered a mudblood by blood purists—definitely only confirms that his insult was well-considered and all). But does Lily play by some other rules? Doesn’t the same logic apply to her? Interesting. And I ask you to stop underestimating the power of bullying and abuse. That’s hardly on the same level, huh? If you're going to go into the emotional damage that Snape caused Lily with his insult, I can do the same. Severus’s mental state, already fragile from years of bullying and struggles with identity, was crushed even further by the realization that his only friend used the same cruel nickname his bullies had used to degrade him for years. Oh, and somehow she even managed to come up with a brand-new mockery to double the pile of bullying. She witnessed his public humiliation but joined the abusers at the first opportunity. And, of course, Severus’s trauma doesn’t mean anything. Only Lily’s trauma counts, given your constant highlighting of her hurt. 3.

No, that’s where you’re wrong. I don’t think she’s a hypocrite for rejecting Severus’s apology after everything. I implied that she was a hypocrite because she forgave James, who never even apologized for his behavior. And this whole idea that she started dating him only after he changed and became valiant is not supported by anything at all. Sirius and Remus pointed out that James continued his bullying—just not on dates with her, but behind her back. Anyway, I don't really care about Lily's love choices. She has the freedom to believe in James' redemption, just as she has the freedom to reject Severus' apology. And she was not obliged to stick around. I've written this I don't know how many times, and I have little faith that this will be the last time because you people are still ignoring it. I wasn’t talking about their reunion; I was talking about a sense of remorse. Whether Lily forgave Snape or not, he felt guilty about his behavior and apologized. Lily never did. She didn’t think she had done anything wrong, and this is a significant difference between them. They both followed their emotions and hurt each other, but only one of them repented. Such things, whether you like it or not, say a lot. 4.

I hate to judge something by how it’s talked about. Show, don't tell, you know? The characterization of anything will vary greatly depending on the narrator and their biases. We explore the story through Harry’s eyes and hear the perspective of his father’s friends. If we were to study the story through Draco’s eyes and hear his father’s perspective on the events, I’m sure many things wouldn’t match. And this is the natural state of affairs. So forgive me if I don’t remember a single scene where Lily behaved like a good friend, and therefore I’m skeptical when someone proclaims her to be one. The fact that she justified her friendship with Severus to others can have a very double meaning. The fact that she defended him is also very questionable if she did so in the manner shown in the only scene of her "heroism." For me, this is all unconvincing, especially when, in contrast, we have the precedent of Sirius and James' friendship, which in some ways mirrors the situation of Lily and Severus, except for the differences that actually define the concept of friendship. Both Sirius and Severus grew up in abusive families, both had dark tendencies that were just expressed in different ways. But Potter stayed loyal to Black after the Prank, even though James was forced to sort out the situation by himself. Apparently, for James, the bond with Sirius was more important than punishing him for his recklessness, and this bond wasn’t broken. When Sirius finally decided to run away from home, he ended up with the Potters because he knew that James was fully aware of his family’s atrocities and, more importantly, ready to shield him from it. I could go into this for a very long time, but my main point is that I have no doubt James was a good friend. And I don’t even need to hear Sirius praise him for this. Show, don’t tell—this is exactly the case. Everything that has been shown of Severus and Lily’s friendship seems disturbing, and not just because of Severus' actions. That was the point of my previous post. 5.

Well, I started my original post with the phrase, "If you want to talk about her toxic friendship with Snape, don’t try to erase her contribution to the equation." Toxic friendship (mind that I didn’t say that only Lily was a toxic friend) and contribution to the equation (not her fault for ruining their friendship) are the key words. Lily Evans was the focus of my thoughts, but not the scapegoat. Don’t confuse these things. I didn’t delve deeply into Severus' contribution (though I haven’t ignored it in my post) because I’m not new to the fandom. In the more than 12 years I’ve been here, I’m well aware that the incident with the slur has been covered as much as possible.

Moreover, it is actively used as a way to shut down any discussion about Snape, conveniently omitting that Lily was, in fact, an active participant in this unhealthy dynamic, not a victim. And yeah, she wasn’t a good friend.

Although it depends on everyone’s understanding of friendship, I admit that some may consider her approach to friendship to be worthy. But again, you need to make up your mind: if Lily has the right not to be held accountable for her emotional outburst, then Severus does too. If the circumstances don’t mitigate words spoken in a state of distress, then Lily is responsible for her sudden bullying. Otherwise, it’s hypocrisy. I’m not going to be convinced that Lily was a suffering friend, if only because I’m fortunate enough to know what real friendship and support look like. Their friendship was toxic, but not solely at Severus' hands. He misstepped, and so did she. He apologized, she did not. That’s pretty much the whole story.

[suzukiblu]

WIP WEDNESDAY GAME

Taken from @kedreeva.

It’s WIP Wednesday, time for a little accountability, sharing your work, and getting a kick in the pants.

Here’s how it works:

In a reblog of this post (so people can find you in the notes) or new thread (w/ rules attached) if you want to play on your own, post up to five (5) filenames of your WIPs; not titles, file names.

Post a snippet from one of them. Snippet must be words you wrote in the last 7 days. We’re posting progress here. If you haven’t made any, go make some and come back to play!

After you’ve posted, people can send you an ask with one of your file names. You must then write 3 sentences in that file. If the filename is one you can’t share from (for example, an event or gift fic), write 3 sentences on it anyway, and then 3 more on another to share.

That’s it! You can invite others to join in, or just post. I’ll be searching the reblogs to find people to send asks to!

If you’re reading this, you’re invited!

If you see someone posting a WIP Wednesday Game snippet, send them an ask! Make them write.

file names:

think pink

mirrorverse!Clark and Kon's daddy issues both get some

Match and Kon and the time magic made them do it

interdimensional whoring for TimKon

the Core Four gangs up on Kon's objectification kink

Yes, yes it IS the porn edition of WIP Wednesday this week. You're welcome or I'm sorry, whichever one more accurately applies, haha.

And just to remind you all, I'm totally cool with people requesting multiple WIPs, but I'd prefer if you sent them in multiple asks! Just a little easier for me that way.

snippet from “think pink”:

“Made you wait long enough already, yeah?” Kon says, biting his lip before flashing them both a grin and spreading his thighs a little farther, and a little more deliberately. “Show me what all the fuss is about, man.”

“Ngh,” Tim says. Bernard curses, then laughs in disbelief and grabs the lube. 

“I actually cannot believe you’re letting me touch you,” he says. “Like, at all.” 

“I want you to touch me,” Kon says firmly. Tim picked Bernard. There’s no way this isn’t gonna be good.

Bernard flushes and laughs again, shaking his head and shifting over to kneel between Kon’s thighs, and Kon feels–not self-conscious, exactly, but just very much aware of the fact that this is not the usual kind of thing he does in bed and not the usual way people touch him or look at him, and not really something he knows how to . . . 

“That still feels so nice, geez,” Bernard says, which is when Kon realizes his TTK’s gotten a little bit away from him and wrapped up both Bernard and Tim. He flushes himself, a little embarrassed, and tries not to look sheepish when he grins up at Bernard again. 

“I aim to please,” he says. “What do you need me to do?” 

“Nothing,” Tim says, stroking his collarbones again. “Just relax and let us take care of you, alright?” 

Kon isn’t actually sure how to do that, but . . . 

It sounds nice, he thinks. Like–several kinds of nice. 

Like really nice.

[respectthepetty]

Pit Babe Colors Finale

I'm challenging myself with this show and seeing how good my color skills really are, so I'm doing my normal thing of watching it double-speed on mute, but now, the captions are off also.It's just colors and vibes here. It's been a chaotic journey, but it finally ends today, most likely with a character death, so . . .

Disclaimer: I'm just screaming this entire post.

Surprising absolutely no one, Barbara immediately forgave Charles. Like I wrote last week, I'll hold this grudge for both of us, Babe.

If this bastard is still alive by the end of this, there is no justice in the world.

Did he just give them a key to get out? They could just walk through a door, but . . . I'll take it. Kentana is trying to redeem himself. Now, KILL YOUR SHITTY FATHER, and you will earn the top place in my heart.

Don't do it, Way Way. Don't. I see you eyeing that man, but you will take zero bullets for Pete or Babe. Am I clear?! NONE! I don't care if you are wearing white compared to everyone else's black. You will not die. No.

I'm not even going to say shit about these two's colors because BIG RED JUST KILLED A KID!

OH FUCK! HE IS KILLING EVERYONE!

KIMBERLY! I LOVE YOU!

And this is why you deserve to die. Who does something like this? It's not a porn, sir. This is a murder. You're about to die. Not get laid.

WAYMOND, NO! I TOLD YOU NOT TO FUCKING DO THIS! NOOOOOOOOOO!

I know it's blood, but the 'smoke' being red too is great and I need more of it as BIG RED DIES FOR KILLING WAY WAY!

Y'all are letting Big Red talk too much while Way Way is just bleeding out on the floor, and I just need one of y'all to apply pressure to the wound so Way has a fighting chance. Please for the love of God. PLEASE! LET WAY LIVE!

Oh, shit, this is awful. Do NOT think about any good memories with this man who wore red in the past but no longer does for some wacky reason. Those memories are all tainted. He is awful. KILL HIM ALREADY AND GET WAY WAY TO THE HOSPITAL!

I HATE HIM! Barbara, don't you trade your life for Charles. Don't fucking do it. Charles came back from the dead once. He can do it again. KILL BIG RED ALREADY!

OH MY FUCKING GOD, YES! I LOVE KENTA! KILL HIM!

YOU KILLED YOUR SHITTY FATHER! YOU'VE DONE WHAT NO OTHER BL BOY HAS EVER DONE!

YOU WON MY HEART!

Now, someone go hug him! Pete what the fuck are you doing?! One boyfriend is dying and another is breaking down. DO SOMETHING, PETER!

I knew this was going to happen! I knew Way was gonna die taking a bullet for Babe. I knew it, and I'm still upset! WHY?! Why can't Peter have TWO boyfriends?! Why do we always have to kill someone to redeem them and to cancel them out of the poly plot equation. LET POLY HAPPEN!

Fuck, Alan is crying.

FUCK!

I will not be pacified with Jeffrey finally being consumed by blue. I'm still very upset about Way Way having to die instead of Peter just having two boyfriends.

Vegas' Hedgehog, I'm so over your ass! Red flowers?! At Way's funeral?! That is sooooo rude! What is wrong with you?! Read the room, you pretty bitch! RED IS OUT! Way died for the blue! THE BLUE!

I hate this necklace. I hate that Way is dead instead of being taken care of by his two boyfriends. Where the hell is Ken anyway?! Why is he not holding Peter's hand right now? WHAT IS THIS LIE?!

I trust your dad, Barbie, because he is wearing blue, but you have had to cry a thousand tears this episodes, and I pray like GMMTV's First, you stay hydrated because crying can wreck havoc on a thirsty body.

Y'all cannot fuck the grief away in the blue. You can try, but Waymond is still gonna be dead instead of having two boyfriends. This is a real problem, and I want it addressed. RIGHT NOW!

KIMBERLY! YOU'RE BLUE NOW!

Everyone is in blue, and then we have Vegas' fucking Hedgehog in those damn orange pants, and . . . AHHHHHHH *starts throwing clothes around the room and out the window*

Barbie is lighter. He is still black, but now he has the white mixed with it while he looks longingly into the eyes of his Blue Boy (who lied to him several times including lying about his death, pero I'll carry this grudge for both of us, Barbara)

Now why the fuck are you wearing red, Alan?! Why won't this show just let me have nice things?!

So . . . now that this is all over and I, unsurprisingly, did NOT get poly nor Kenta x Pete, I will be unblocking the tags because seeing black boxes on my dash is driving me crazy, and I need to reblog some GIFs of Kimberly, Alan, and Waymond x Peter x Kentana to fill this huge void in my heart where a poly plot would have perfectly fit.

I will never go back and watch this show with subs. Never. Whatever I got from it was exactly what I needed to get from it, and I need nothing else. Because what I got was a boy FINALLY deciding to

KILL HIS SHITTY FATHER

Kenta, you deserve my respect. You loved Pete. You helped all the guys in your own way. You killed your shitty dad. You committed queer wrongs, and I forgive every single one of them. You deserve a happy life, and I hope you are laying in Pete's bed with his arms around you thinking about what y'all will have for breakfast, so he can read your mind and go make it for you.

I like you.

I respect you.

I love you.

And so does Pete.

GIVE ME POLY, DAMN IT!

[featherwingfae]

So the nonhuman theme of the day that I've been seeing on the Internet seems to be self doubt both due to internal and external influences.

My response to this theme is this. You are who you are. And no one can tell you who you are but you. (The rest of the post is pretty much just this^^ in way more detail than necessary. You have been warned lol. Buckle up this is gonna be a long one. Literally took all day to write 😅)

Most of us live in a society where we've been told since infancy who we are are and what we must be, and if we don't fit in the predesignated boxes then there must be something wrong with us and we just need to be forced into a box. But just think about the vastness of life for a second. From macro to micro there's just so much to everything it's breathtaking. Everything is layered. Why should one being's existence be any different. There is what is seen and then there is everything else. Some thing's don't need to be understood by others, because they are not there for others. They are simply there. Wether we understand them or not. And that in itself (I think) is quite lovely.

I am Fae. Not just because of ______. I am Fae because it is simply what I am. It's what feels right.

It's ok to just exist. It's ok to live without ever fitting into boxes or labels. And if you find a label or box that fits you, that's ok too. It's your existence. Do what makes you happy. I've also found that sometimes, finding that feeling that you fit somewhere, comes first and the reasons why come after. Be patient. I know it's maddening sometimes when you've got a million questions bumping about in your head, or even just one or two burning ones, but life is a journey. A mystery to uncover through experiences.

I could give you a whole laundry list of reasons why I can call myself Fae. But at the end of the day, the only reason I need is that it feels right. I don't need to act like the stereotypical Fae (from folklore, media etc), I don't need to have magical experiences, I don't need memories. Keep in mind that your nonhuman identity does not need to match anyone else's.

If you're a Fae who loves technology and finds the modern age fascinating. Guess what? There's nothing wrong with that. (I LOVE Minecraft 😁 Though that may or may not have to do with the fact that I get to fly around and build whatever I want from nothing. Yes I'm obsessed with creative mode 😅 I usually get bored in survival)

If you're a Therian who's never enjoyed being on all fours or who doesn't like gear. It doesn't make you any less Therian. Do what makes you happy 😊.

If you're some ancient entity and you use an ungodly (hehe) amount of emojis and/or abbreviations (ex. Lol, omg, etc) it doesn't make you any less ancient or awesome. Do what you enjoy. You are too old to not be having as much fun as you can experience. I'm also an ancient creature, you really think I want to spend my time not doing what makes the happy chemicals 😊✨👁️🪽😁.

If you're an Alien who's not obsessed with space stuff. That's ok. Human portrayals probably don't do it justice anyway, and there's so many other things to be interested in. Like have you seen mushrooms? Those funky little guys come in so many varieties it's absolutely delightful 😊🍄✨.

If you're a vampire who can't stand the sight of blood. Don't worry about it. I can almost guarantee you're not alone (plus there's a lot of different types of vampires. If you know you are/were definitely sanguine then you're still valid 😊).

If you're fictionkin and you're absolutely nothing like your fictionkin type/character. That's ok 😊. People often change with their experiences, it doesn't make you any less yourself.

That last one applies to most nonhumans identities in general honestly 😅.

If you're an angel that doesn't/didn't have big feathery wings. You are still an angel. The universe is filled with too much color and variety for me to believe that all ______ have the same or very similar designs. I've never heard of an angel with dragonfly or beetle wings. That doesn't mean they don't exist 🙃.

You can be a plant who loves salads, a placekin who hates going outside, an objectkin that doesn't use it/it's pronouns or is super expressive, a vampire who adores sunbathing or just sunlight in general, a carnivore that doesn't like meat, an avian that's afraid of flying or heights, a demon with a heart of gold, a deity with social anxiety and/or low self esteem, an herbivore that loves going hunting, a dragon who prefers minimalism, an aquatic creature who doesn't like water, a void that's constantly overthinking, you can match all the known stereotypes for your nonhuman identity or none at all. You can have phantom shifts constantly or never get any, you can have countless identities, you can have just one, you can remember your past life/lives in detail or remember nothing at all, you can believe in past lives and souls, or not, your identity can be psychological, physical, spiritual, etc.

It's s your identity. No one else's. Just because you choose to share yourself or your identity with someone else does not mean they own you or your identity. It is, was and always shall be, yours. (Btw please please please, be careful who you share your nonhuman identity with. Not everyone is going to "get it". And not everyone is going to accept it. Stay safe, mentally, physically, emotionally etc.)

They say names have power. They also say not all things are what they seem. Whatever your nonhuman identity looks like, only you can know what it truly is. Understand that I am not saying that the appearance of one's nonhuman identity should be dismissed altogether, especially when one is still questioning. I am saying, that we shouldn't rely solely upon appearances. If your nonhuman identity fits in the category of x as far as appearances go but x just doesn't feel like it fits, then chances are, you're not x, or there's more to it than just x. I've known I was Fae since right around 2019. However I doubted myself for a long time because as far as I knew Fae were "supposed to have insect wings" and on top of having big feathery wings, I have a lot of them. In fact many of my nonhuman features could be considered angelic. However I've never felt particularly comfortable identifying as an angel. It just never felt like the right fit. It took awhile but eventually after I'd already accepted that my "angelic features" didn't make me any less Fae. I remembered why I had those features to begin with, and it all just clicked into place.

It's ok to not have all the answers or even the correct answers right away. Life is experiences. From moment to moment you are who you are. Things may change, new truths may be revealed, that doesn't make you or your identity any less real. You are whoever you are right now. Wether that is someone/something from everything you have ever been or ever shall be or just one thing right now, unconnected to anything else. You are not fake for changing. You're not fake for not changing. Most have doubts about themselves about all sorts of things. To the point where it seems like doubt is just part of the human world experience (not saying it's only a human world experience, just that everyone here seems to doubt themselves about something or other) and perhaps working through our doubts is a lesson of this place, then again maybe not 🤷. In the end what you believe is up to you😊.

Now, I'm not expecting that this single post from a total stranger will erase all your doubts. Not at all. I didn't write it to erase doubt, but rather to give it a little bit of something to fight against. To plant just one more seed in the hearts and minds of others who might need it or whom it might help in any way. This post is far from the only one out there, fighting doubt in its many forms and faces. And what I've said has already been said in many times and ways. But it's my take and not everything will click with everyone. If this post helps even just one being, then it has served it's purpose. Each and every single one or plural of us is unique in our own ways. And I truly believe that's one of the most wonderful things about life as a whole.

If you've read this far, I apologize if I got a bit carried away and made this post longer than necessary but it means a great deal to me and things that matter to me are very difficult to "sum up" 😅. And if you follow me. I warn you now that most of my posts will probably be a bit lengthy if not extremely so.

And now my dear creatures, crawlers, beasts, beauties, hellions, heavenlies (no I don't care that that's not a word it is now lol), magicals, marvels, wonders, wanderers, wildlings, winged things, whimsies, and whatsits (and everything beyond and in between) I wish upon you a most wonderful day/night. May you always know/remember that your existence makes the world a more magical place. 🌍✨ (And in my opinion we could use all the magic we can get 😊)

👁️🪽✨🍄🍀🪻🌱🥀❄️🌟✨

Till next time.

[psychokittycat101]

(Wriothsley x fem reader) Warnings: Mentions of injuries (treating them), 612 words count

Note: Sorry for not posting as much but this for one of my friend’s birthday lol

|A Gift for you|

Being the head nurse of a prison does show your skills more often than you think. Though a place of restraint and punishment, there are times when things could go haywire.

For example, a fight had gone loose in the prison cells earlier today. You don’t know the details of it, but many were left injured, with bruises, and open cuts from impact you assume. While your coworkers were tending to prisoners who were caught in the crossfire, you were left to tend to the one and only Prison Administrator, Wriothesley.

You must admit, his tall physique and multiple scars do seem intimidating, but he is a very kind and smart person. You have to admit you do have a small crush on the administrator, but he doesn’t know. That’s all you and your coworkers have been talking about lately. They deemed you lucky to be tending to Wriothesley’s cuts.

As you were disinfecting some cuts near his bupper abdomen. Wriothesley hisses in pain as you apply disinfectant to the cuts. “I’m sorry boss, just need to get a few more spots,” you mutter. “It’s alright, it seems you're doing a good job as well, no wonder you were promoted to head nurse,” he said in return.

You giggled as you began applying bandages to the areas that had cuts. Though he thought you were being professional and calm about this situation, it was hard not to be at the same time. In addition to treating his cuts, you couldn’t help but ogle at his very seductive biceps, muscles, and toned abs.

The scars all around his upper body just made him even more sexier. “Do you feel any pain anywhere else on your body sir?” He shook his head as he put back on his shirt. It was fun while it lasted to see him shirtless. “Also I saw that today was your birthday, is it not?” he asked. You looked towards as you were putting your supplies away, “Yes it is how did you know Sir Wriothesley?”

“I put it on my calendar, that way I wouldn’t forget such a gorgeous girl’s birthday,” he winked. Your face started turning to a shade of pink, he laughed as he saw your expression, “And don’t I didn’t see you ogling at me while treating me.” You only became even more flushed as you started profusely apologizing.

As you kept apologizing a sudden object came atop your head. You looked up to see Wriothesley smiling with a gift box in hand. “This is for you, also are you free after this, maybe we can have a nice birthday dinner together?” he asked. You wanted to mess with him a little for embarrassing you earlier, “Are you indirectly asking me on a date Wriothesley?” you giggled and gladly accepted the gift Wriothesley had presented to you.

“And what if I am,” he said as he took my face in his hands. You blushed hard as he went in and kissed you. You were stunned dropping the gift box, it falling to the floor. The thud had brought Wriothesley back to his senses as he pulled away.

“Sorry I just couldn’t wait to do that until tonight, unless you don’t want to go to dinner with me,” he says in a low voice. You only pull away for a second, until you go in to kiss Writhesley on the cheek. He reddens as you say, “Yes I’d love to go out to dinner with you Wriothesley, it’s better than celebrating alone anyway,” you sighed. You both did nothing but smile at each other and went in for another kiss, you couldn’t wait until tonight either.

[fullmetal-scar-simping]

i was thinking earlier about how a lot of folks love to praise mangahood/broho for its "feminism" and having "strong female characters" but as i was re-reading the manga last year, a lot of the girlboss characters that the fans love are...kinda mid?? like, you have olivier and izumi and their entire thing is "i'm so much stronger than you isn't that hilarious?!" (and i love izumi so she gets a pass but still.) and then you've got lan fan who is supposed to be this badass fighter, but immediately gets taken out in a fight against bradley and then cuts off her arm, and all of that is used to further ling's character arc (and i love both of them but like...alright. that's a choice.) then you have riza, who's whole backstory is mostly to prop up mustang, and then you have the moment where she finds out he "died" ala lust and she just... gives up?? like lmao what?? and then winry, who's (despite what fans say) entire role in the story is to be ed's love interest and when she's not needed for automail stuff, she just waits around for him, even at the end. like.... ok. which, sidenote, aside from how racist scar killing winry's parents is (and the way it's used to further the romance of edwin) i always hated how ed tells winry her hands were meant to "give life". like... wow, a male character telling a women she's meant to not fight and heal instead?? never heard THAT before! /s and yet edwin fans/mangahood fans will praise this as if it's the epitome of feminism and it's like... i mean i guess it's better than some other shonen out there but it's not what i'd call perfect lol. and anytime you try to point this out everyone is so quick to say "fma's written by a woman!!" and it's like... yes lol obviously but that doesn't mean some of her writing choices can't be side-eyed (see: how the ishvalans are treated).

What, didn't you hear? The presence of women is maximal feminism and peering any deeper than that is misogynist. The same kind of thinking that leads people to proclaim mangahood to be an anti-racist, anti-military screed when it fumbles the former and is absolutely the opposite of the latter.

Never let a shallow reading get in the way of heaping endless praise on your fave shonen fare. Feminism is when there's women and it's written by a woman, not a broad ideological/philosophical framework that needs to be intentionally understood and applied to a story.

Whatever feminist cred we can give mangahood is pretty shallow. And what sticks out to me is how overtly the Brotherhood anime upholds typical patriarchal gender roles. Girl/women characters berate the boys/men for being wimpy/failing their duty for utmost machismo. Various characters prod at Olivier for being an unwed older woman without kids, and although this is met with consternation on Olivier's part, it ties back into larger patterns of women as 'innately' maternal. Obviously the presence of sexism doesn't necessarily mean a support for it, but Winry getting moulded into the perfect idyllic white pastoral wifey does subtly tip the text's hat.

Ed is shocked that Lan Fan is a woman, despite his alchemy and combat teacher being a woman too. And as you said, we are constantly meant to gawk at Izumi and Olivier for being adept fighters, combat-savvy, and brutal when need be. The 2003 anime is not obsessed with Izumi's prowess; you're meant to take her seriously and respect her as a formidable fighter and alchemist.

Lan Fan does get to shine a bit as a fighter when up against Ed, and later when taking down Gluttony post-arm loss, but she doesn't get fleshed out beyond her dedication to protecting Ling. It does read a bit odd when, after witnessing Lan Fan's sacrifice of her arm for her and Ling to escape Wrath, Ling then kicks Gluttony's ass while hauling her around on his shoulder. Like. He's a stronger fighter than his own bodyguard. (Arguably Gluttony is a less adept fighter than Wrath, but he does have sheer mass on his side and that should not be manageable for someone encumbered by a fallen comrade.) I wouldn't expect him to be incompetent, but the disparity in quick succession of scenes is odd.

Of course feminism also isn't reducible to "when female shonen characters are good/bad at battle". More than everything mentioned, Lan Fan doesn't exist outside of Ling and her clan's duty. She has too few scenes as well, given Brotherhood's juggling of 300 characters beat by beat.

Riza truly is just a mess when looking at her place in the story. The codependence between her and Mustang is intentional, and I wouldn't knock that against the writing for that choice. Women having flaws, being wholly human in variety is not antithetical to a feminist reading. But it's when she's constantly put in situations where she's barely holding herself together, where she's a damsel for Mustang to rescue, where her distress is classically Woman™, and that the scene with Lust is meant to reveal just how that deep dependence runs. It renders her null the moment she thinks Roy is out of the picture. That's when its hard to just prop Riza up as Feminist (girlboss genocider addition which, y'know. Nothing more Imperial Feminist than ethnic cleansing, because women of colour don't count in the grand calculus for pop media feminism.)

(Also Ishvalan women also basically don't exist beyond the one elderly woman who rats out Scar.)

Yes, it's a character trait of hers: she can keep her cool so long as Roy is alive. Barring if she thinks its time to kill him herself, any other major threat to him is excruciatingly existential to herself. She revolves around him, whereas I'm not convinced Roy would be as instantly and emotionally destitute in a reverse situation. We got a taste of his Righteous Man Anger with Lust (the symbolism of this faux womanizer scorching a seductress to death who threatened his and his monogamous situationship, as well as leading on his buddy, reifying the Good Loyal Non-Sexual Woman and condemning the Vindictive Harlot is 😬). His self-destruction would likely be codified Male, the way Riza's is codified Female. It's gender roles at fairly essentialist level.

Everything you mentioned about Winry is spot-on. Her passion for automail engineering is slowly stripped away to keep her more as ship fodder and as the continual spectre for mangahood's Scar Was Wrong thesis. She's gonna bake Ed a pie when he returns home from the war front, she'll bare their children, she'll be a wife first and anything else second. Meh. How disappointing. I'll take the staunch automail freak that is 03 Winry, whose destiny is not wrapped up in the nuclear family, anyday.

Which is the other big, glaring character of Brotherhood: the power of the cisheterosexual institution of the nuclear family and marriage. It has its own healing powers, eeking the humanity out of Pride and Wrath, being the driving force for Hughes to survive genociding people long enough to establish his own family, the will-they won't-they vice grip of Roy and Riza, Ed's big reward for ending Father once and for all, Hohenheim's salvation was in part his family (becoming the true father that his homunculus doppleganger never could be); families at least exist outside of the Western nuclear model from what we see of the Xingese characters, and what little we get to see of the Ishvalans, but that's hardly expounded upon.

We weep at the purity of Madame Fuhrer's love and concern for her Fascist Supreme Leader husband and her star son, pulling on the heartstrings of the nation. (The Ishvalans don't matter.) We're stirred to righteous horror at what befalls the Rockbells, a loving family ripped apart by Amestris by Scar. Gracia is the picture perfect widowed wife, proud of her patriotic husband, and dutifully rearing the country's future. Envy, a gender freak making a mockery of her and Hughes meets brutal retribution by our idealized Man, who struck down the other aberrant gender of Lascivious Evil Woman. Winry's future shines golden, as her hands deliver a baby, channelling her parents and, (barely) subtextually, some sort of Woman's Intuition. Lust isn't even a character beyond the archetype of femme fatale (she's more interesting to analyze as the Female Sexualization of desire from an inhuman being masquerading as a cis man than as a character herself).

It's a lot of failed potential on top of being very normative.

To actually give a solid, deeper critique on the ways Brotherhood is and isn't feminist would be a greater undertaking if you want to delve beyond what's been mentioned here, and I just don't have the time to really get to the meat of it all.

Still, I don't think it isn't without some positives. At least I find Madame Christmas a solid example of an older woman not couched in maintaining a standard of feminine youth or thinness, yet carries herself with an air of confidence that the narrative and characters never balk at. The sex workers she leads are also spared sanctimonious bullshit or anxiety over their existence.

So that's something. (These are not major characters in the slightest.)

I'm not shocked by how shallow the series actually is regarding its female cast and its overall gender politics, but fan insistence that it's a prime example of a feminist story is laughable. Yeah, shonen stories, especially battle shonen, are ABYSMAL in these regards, so compared to total shit mangahood stands above its contemporaries. But if your standards are higher than total shit, than mangahood really won't knock you off your feet.

Despite what some may think, you can acknowledge the flaws of Brotherhood while still enjoying the story and characters. It isn't actually a personal attack to like imperfect media (which is pretty much all media lbr). But try bringing any of this up without people flying into a conniption, as if you killed their dog right before their very eyes. ¯\_ (ツ)_/¯

[sneppu]

For Your Snirius/Snupin Consideration !!

I show up unannounced like a disheveled and unpaid intern interrupting a board meeting to pitch yet another unrequested idea, BUT:

Though I have made a wholeass post here describing ways in which Severus Snape is a little black shelter cat (real and true), I am here to talk about Snirius/snack (and snupin as well for that matter) and the alternate Raven Sneep approach (also extremely real and true).

Black Cat Sneep and Raven Sneep are very similar, but in my mind, they bring two distinct possibilities to the snirius/snupin table (both fun and good) The key difference is that Black Cat Sev has a more fiery and contentious relationship with Sirius/Lupin (the ye olde cat vs dog classic) but Raven Sneep has the potential for a more sympathetic relationship right from the start - a shared bonding over troubled home lives perhaps? because you see (and this is what this post has been building up towards all along, yes I ramble and never get to the point, big sorry.) there is one key interaction between Ravens and Wolves (yes, wolves and dogs are different but a canine is a canine is a canine and the grim is a very large boy, thus this applies to snirius as well as snupin.):

Ravens and Wolves share a Symbiotic relationship! Ravens have been known to create friendships and relationships with wolves! They will play together, and Ravens will lead wolves to prey so that they can have the leftovers - in fact, some joke that Ravens are "domesticating" wolves all over again.

Anyway, I'm saying that the implications are adorable, and so I see it like this: in the context where The Marauders are on the more horrible side of the spectrum? Black cat Sev makes sense - trust has already been broken before, and a level of enmity has already been established. The classic enemies to lovers type deal that we have come to expect from Sneep x marauder ships. but in aus where things go a different route before things get too bad? aus where things never went down that road to begin with? thats where Raven Sneep can truly shine! Those Aus where Severus is befriended by the marauders from the start to become a marauder alongside them work well with this especially.

These things are not rigid of course, a black cat flavored Sneep in an early friendship AU with the marauders can bring a lot to the table as well, making for delightfully sassy Sneep interactions; and for that matter, lategame Enemies to lovers Raven flavored Sneep has the potential to be truly devastating - nothing can hold a grudge better than a corvid, after all! and boy does Severus Snape have a LOT to be resentful for. (and if its Sirius x Severus x Remus?? thats when things can get REALLY interesting. I had a lovely conversation with someone last night and so Snirius/Snupin have been on my mind as of late.)

In the end, all flavors of Sneep are exquisite and good! There is always a perfect Sneep for every occasion, as per usual.