#to be clear this is all dnf stuff

[thatgirlissopeculiar]

-

[batsplat]

current wins of title contenders this season (out of 11 races, another 9 to go): bagnaia - 7; martin - 2

number of sunday race wins per title winner this century (wins/number of races)

2001: 11/16

2002: 11/16

2003: 9/16

2004: 9/16

2005: 11/17

2006: 2/17

2007: 10/18

2008: 9/18

2009: 6/17

2010: 9/18

2011: 10/17

2012: 6/18

2013: 6/18

2014: 13/18

2015: 7/18

2016: 5/18

2017: 6/18

2018: 9/18

2019: 12/19

2020: 1/14

2021: 5/18

2022: 7/20

2023: 7/20

current wins of title contenders this season (out of 9 races, another 10-11 to go): bagnaia - 6; martin - 2

[maxillness]

🇳🇱 || Head Over Heels || MV33 x Driver!Reader

Warnings: 18+, unprotected sex, slow burn, (five years) age gap, Lewis likes reader (if you squint), (hint of) Lestappen, (slight) jealous!Max, masturbation (f), fingering, sub!Max, (a lot of) marking up, oral (m), possessive!reader, praise kink

Wordcount: 4.2k

Based on this

Very proud of this 💪

Ever since she had signed with Mercedes, she had had a rivalry with Verstappen

It wasn’t one she initiated. She just wanted to be his friend, just like she was with the rest of the grid

She never understood why he hated her so much. He wouldn’t even look at her unless it was absolutely necessary

I would be fine if he kept it outside of the track, but he had a bad habit to take it with him onto the track, almost always resulting in some kind of damage

This weekend, she and Max had crashed, resulting in both of them in a dnf and a red flag

“What the fuck happened out there?” Toto asked in the debrief after the race. He was obviously mad

“Why are you asking me? It clear it was his fault” She said calmly, trying to distract from her anger

“You two have a rivalry you need to resolve” He stared he deep into her eyes

“This is a one sided rivalry. I have nothing against Verstappen, he’s the one who have an issue” She explained, leaning back into her chair

“I don’t care if it’s hatred, one sided, neglected feelings, or whatever, you need to fix it” She hated when he talked with his hands

She had agreed to talk to him, so that’s how she ended up in his drivers room, sitting on his couch while he stood up

“What’s your problem with me?” She asked calmly, not raising her voice

“You’re a know it all” He shrugged, natural facial expression

“Know it all? What’s that supposed to mean?” She stood up, not being eye to eye, but she took a step closer to him

“You got signed to Mercedes straight out of f2, you think you’re somebody when in reality you’re just like everybody else on the grid” He explained, crossing his arms over his chest

“Think I’m somebody? I know I’m no one. You’re making stuff up to have a reason to hate me” She rose her voice, startling the man in front of her

“You hate me too, let’s not forget that” His voice rose as well, matching her

“I don’t hate you. I only ever wanted to be your friend, just like I am to the rest of the grid” Her chest rose up and down with her heavy breathing

“I have no reason to hate you, but maybe I do now” He swallowed the lump in his throat, but she spoke up again before he could “This was a bad idea”

She pushed past him, opening the door but turned around before she walked out “This is something you need to fix, Verstappen” She closed the door behind her

“Did you fix anything?” Lewis asked as they sat in one of their hotel rooms, sharing a bottle of wine

“Nope” She said before taking a sip “But I know why he hates me” She chuckled slightly

“Why?” He asked with knitted eyebrows

“He thinks I’m a know it all because I signed with Mercedes straight out of f2” She explained, looking with soft eyes at her teammate

“Didn’t he sign with Toro Rosso out of f3?” He asked, sipping on his wine

“Yeah, he did” They chuckled both in sync, feeling the alcohol in their blood

“I told him this is something he needs to fix. Don’t think he liked that” There was a little silence between them, but it was comforting

“Thanks for this talk, Lewis” She smiled

“Of course” She felt his warm hand wrap around hers that were laid in her lap “Every time you need it” He smiled

The talk she had with Max must’ve worked, because he didn’t crash into her, or actually talk to her at all up until the drivers parade

“I’m sorry because I rose my voice at you” He said, standing beside her

“It’s fine. I’m sorry too” She said, turning her head to look up at him

“I’ll try to be better, I promise” He said, not making eye contact with her

He spoke the truth, because for the first time, they both finished a race and got podium

He was still acting arrogant. Still wouldn’t look at her, but he kept it outside of the track from now on

He didn’t even want to congratulate her on her podium the next race, didn’t spray champagne on her, only Charles

I mean, they were best friends, but Charles sprayed on her, why couldn’t Max?

They were at a local club celebrating the podium winners

She saw Charles and Max sitting by each other, drowning down shots and other drinks. She walked pass them, going for Lewis sitting in a booth, but Charles stopped her

“Hey, winner. Wanna join us?” He asked, green eyes soft and innocent, almost like he knew nothing of her and Max’ rivalry

She hesitated for a moment, debating if it was worth it “Sure” She sat down beside Charles, opposite to Max

“Here” He handed her a shot as well as one over to Max

They all took the shot in sync, placing the glass upside down on the table, making a slight face at the feeling of the burn down her throat

“What are you drinking?” Charles asked, noticing the half full glass she brought with her

“Rom and Cola” She answered “What about y’all?” She noticed the ray of empty glasses on their table

“Little bit of everything” Charles chuckled “I’m gonna go up and order more shots and drinks” He stood up and walked towards the bar

There was a silence between them. A rather awkward one

“Congratulations” Max said, not looking up at her “You did good”

“Thank you. You did good too” She said softly, but it was loud enough to hear over the music

“What do you do outside of racing?” She was taken aback from his question

Never in the two years of them racing together did he ever ask about her personal life. Never wanted to learn anything about her

“Not much. I like reading, baking… Swimming too” She said, his eyes still not meeting hers “What do you do?”

The first time his eyes had met hers. It wasn’t soft expression in his eyes like when he looked at Charles. They were filled with fear

He was about to speak, but Charles had come over with a tray filled with shots and their various drinks

They didn’t speak to each other after that

It was two months after she spoke to him alone again. It was the winter break, and she was home in Monaco

She entered the small Café near her apartment. She ordered her usual, and waiting for it to be ready

She looked up from her phone for a second, but it was enough for her to notice Max sitting alone in the corner

“Can I sit?” She looked down at him. He didn’t look up at her but recognised her voice immediately

“Sure” He nodded slightly, watching her body out of the corner of his eyes

“How’s your break been so far?” She asked, popping the lid of her hot beverage off so she could take a sip

“Fine” He said, swallowing the lump in his throat so he could speak proper “You?”

“It’s been fine so far. Spend some time with Lewis” The way his fits curled harshly into each other didn’t go unnoticed by her

“I’m sorry. I need to go” He stood abruptly up, taking his beverage with him

She noticed the napkin he left. It had been drawn on. She took it closer. It was phone number. His phone number

She smiled slightly to herself as she folded it a put it in her pocket, leaning back into her chair

Hey. You left your number

She got home and was laid on her bed. Soft comforter tangling her body. The sound of the tv low in the background

Yeah, I just realised I have the other drivers numbers and not yours

She chuckled at his statement

You could just had told me it, Y’know?

And actually speak to you? I don’t think so

She laughed louder than she wanted to. Hiding the way she actually enjoyed speaking to him

Goodnight, Verstappen

Goodnight, Y/L/N

They kept talking over the phone the next few weeks. Texting all most every day. Never missing a ‘good morning’ or a ‘good night’

Wanna meet up for dinner?

It came out of the blue, so she was taken slightly aback

Are you asking me out, Max?

She smiled as she wrote it out, hoping he would say yes. Wanting to be close to him

What? No, of course not. Just as friends, Y’know?

Oh. Yeah, of course. When?

She felt the bottom of her stomach drop

Is tonight good or do you have other plans?

Tonight’s good. Are you gonna pick me up, or am I gonna meet you there?

I’ll pick you up at 6. Okay?

Yeah, that’s good. See you

She called Lewis immediately. Her hands shaking as she bit her nails

”Hey, Y/N. What’s up?” His voice was slightly raspy

“If you’re going out with a friend, who said it’s only a dinner between friends, but you have bigger feelings for him, what would you wear?” She rambled. She usually did that when she was nervous

”You’re… Going out with somebody? You have a crush?” He sounded hurt

“Yeah. Both, I think. I’m not quite sure I have a crush on him, I just know… I don’t know what I think. Will you help me?” She asked, wanting him to help her so badly

”Do you have a shirt that shows off your boobs but doesn’t show too much skin?”

She had texted him her address. He had texted her that she was there. She got the last of her things. Keys, phone, put her jacket on before she walked out

As she walked out, his eyes were scanning her body. Her clothes fit her perfectly, showing off her curves

“You look good” He said as she walked closer to him

“Thank you. Lewis helped me pick it out” She said, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear

“Lewis?” Something changed in his eyes as she said her words

“Mhm. I always liked his clothing style” His jaw clenched as he opened the car door for her “Thank you”

They both had a lovely time at the restaurant. They shared a bottle of wine with their dinner and had dessert as well

“I really had a good time today” He said, following her up to her apartment complex’ front door

“Me too. Nice finally talking to you” She chuckled as she spoke, earning one from him too

“Yeah…” He said low, fading out at the end, getting lost in the colour of her eyes “I should probably go”

“Yeah- yeah. Of course. It’s late” She spoke, and he turned around and walked back to his car

She sighed as she realised how dumb she was. She had fallen head over heels in love with him over the winter break, and she didn’t act upon it

She should’ve asked him to come in. Share another bottle. Have him an excuse to stay the night. Getting him too drunk to drive

She walked into her apartment. Throwing all her stuff away before changing into some pj’s, getting comfortable under her comforter

She turned on the tv, but her mind was racing, yet the only thing that was displaying was Max

The way he looked today was beyond what he’s ever looked like

He looked so fucking good. Biceps flexing under his shirt, his hair soft, his hands looking good as well

The thoughts took over her mind, so much she didn’t even notice til it was too late that her fingers had slipped pass the waistband of her shorts

She had pushed her panties to the side, drawing her fingers through her folds, moaning as she rested at her clit

She circled it softly, pulling out whimpers from her, the images of Max still flowing in her mind

Her fingers entered her as the thoughts of him naked started filling her head. Her other hand grabbed the sheets as she started pumping herself

She started imagining his naked body pressed up against hers. His cock buried inside of her. His cum filling her up as she was shaking rapidly around him

Her fingers started curling, hitting her spongy walls, drawing her closer to her orgasm

Loud moans were spilling from her throat. Her hips grinding down on her fingers, trying to reach that one perfect spot inside her she never managed to reach herself

Before she even got close to finding the spot, she clenched rapidly around herself, her thighs shaking at the images of Max’ sweaty body laying on top of her

The next time she saw him was a Bahrain pre-testing. They had both been busy ever since their dinner, and she was also too afraid to look him into the eyes after that night

It was the last day of testing. She stood outside of the Mercedes Motorhome, talking with Lewis, laughing

She was so caught up with their conversation, that she hadn’t noticed Max waking over to them

“Hey. Good finally seeing you” He was right. They hadn’t had the chance to speak to each other before now

“Yeah, you too. How’s it going?” She asked, a small smile splaying on her lips

“Not too bad” He said “I gotta go” In the time he spoke to her, he never paired attention to Lewis

“You okay, Lewis?” She saw his brown eyes darkening, and the hatred in his clenched jaw

“I’m fine” He nodded and continued the conversation

During the next week, she had noticed Lewis touching her more and making her laugh more. She had also noticed it was whenever Max was in the room

She was standing with a few other drivers when Max walked over to her. His actions didn’t go unnoticed by Lewis who stepped closer to her

“Hey, Y/N. I need to talk to you about something. Would you care to go out later?” He asked, reviving stares by the other drivers

“Sure. Yeah” She nodded slightly

“Good. I’ll pick you up at 6” He said shortly before leaving

“Is there something between the two of you?” Charles asked with knitted eyebrows

“What? No. He’s just being friendly. We’ve gone out before. It’s just a friend date, Y’know?” She explained. Lewis did not like that, and it was obvious

They were almost done with their food, and he hadn’t said anything other than ‘you look stunning’ ‘what’d you want?’ and talked to the waiter

“Max” She put her fork down, her voice making him look up at her “We’re almost at desert and you haven’t said shit. What do you want to talk about?”

He swallowed at lump in his throat before he spoke “I don’t want this to come off the wrong way, but…” He paused “I like you- scratch that. I love you. I’m head over heels for you, I have been ever since the day in the Café, I was just scared to say anything”

“Why were you scared?” He hadn’t expected her to answer that way

“Because of Lewis. The way he always looks at you, the way he always touches you, the way he looks at me. I was afraid there would be anything between you two and I would ruin it”

“There’s nothing between me and Lewis, I promise you that” She put her hand over his, feeling his soft skin beneath hers ”And to answer you, I’m head over heels for you too, Y’know”

Her confession and the way her hand felt on his made him see her way different. She had leaned over the table as he did, getting closer to him

He turned his hand that was under hers, making them hold hands instead. His lips was quickly on hers in a soft kiss

Her other hand came up and was softly placed on his jaw with a feather like touch as she kissed back

“I wanna skip dessert” She spoke softly as he eyes opened slightly, looking into his blown eyes

“Yeah” He nodded, getting the waiter over to pay for the food and their drinks

The ride back to the hotel was tortures for him. Her hand laid on the top of his thigh, dangerously close to his crotch

If they weren’t in the car and on the open road, he would’ve taken her right then and there

Her finger ghosted over his crotch, making him whimper and his cock twitch in his pants

“Don’t” He squirmed in his seat when she did it again, but doing it longer

“Why? You obviously like it” She did it again, but further down over the head of his cock, drawing whimpers out of him

“Afraid you’ll come in your pants like a highschooler?” She said with a smirk on her lips, watching the blush on his cheeks get a deeper shade of red

“Mhm” He nodded, barely fixating on the road as he was getting harder under her touch

“Good thing we’re there soon, no?” She said, taking her hand away from his thigh, drawing a whine from him at loss of contact

Kisses lingered on the skin of her neck as she fumbled to get her keycard out. His hands was placed on her waist, holding her tightly

She had barely gotten the door closed before she was pressed up against it, lips slotted in between his

Her hands were placed on his jaw, pulling him closer. His own hands were traveling up under her shirt

She pushed his hands away, using his surprised figure to turn them around, his back now against the door

Her lips traveled to his neck, placing soft kisses before she started sucking, drawing out whimpers from him

“Please” He bucked his hips into hers, trying to get some kind of friction as her tongue soothed over the marks she had made

Her hands went to the hem of his shirt, pulling it over his head as he lifted up his arms

Her lips sucked down his skin as she went to her knees and her hands landed on his belt

She started sucking on his skin above his waistband as her hands fiddled with his belt, getting it unbuckled

“You do love marking up, hm?” He chuckled, looking down at her as she pulled down his pants

“Wanna make sure people know you’re mine, no?” She smiled watching the way his body squirmed at her words

She sucked on his hip bone as she pulled down his boxers, letting his cock slap against his lower abdomen

If she wasn’t so caught up in the moment, she would’ve sat back to admire him like this, all naked and flustered. A deep blush spread all over his body

Her nails dug into the skin on his hips as her tongue darted out to lick at head of his cock, licking off al the pre-cum

“Fuck” His breath stuttered as he held onto her shoulders “Please” His head was thrown back and his eyes shut as her tongue started swirling around his tip

“Please, baby. I-I need you, please” He bucked his hips into her mouth, but she pulled back slightly “Please”

She gave in and swallowed him whole, gagging slightly as he hit the back of her throat, sending vibrations through his cock, making him moan

She started bopping her head, setting a pace that worked for both of them. Her tongue dragged up his vein, pulling him closer to his orgasm

“Yes- fuck. Please- Ah. So good” He started bucking his hips into her mouth, meeting her half way

“Yes, yes- fuck, please. ‘M close. So close” His loud moans filled the room, maybe even a few next door

His thighs began to shake and his hands trembled as they ran through her hair. He came down her throat with no warning

His whole body shook at the force of his orgasm. His hips kept still as he held her down onto his cock

She popped off him, a trail of saliva connecting his cock and her mouth. She swallowed before wiping her mouth and standing up

She kissed him soft, spitting praises at him as he held her waist close to him

“Please, I need more” He mumbled against her lips “More, please”

“You want more, baby?” She asked teasingly. His only response was to nod “Get on the bed for me”

He got out of his pants and boxers as well as his shoes and socks before he laid down with his back against the bed

She slowly started walking over to him, taking her clothes off a piece at a time

In the meantime, he had propped his body up to rest on his elbows, eyes scanning her body, slowly starting to get hard again

She got on the bed, capturing his hips in between her knees. She put her hands on his chest, pushing him down to lay

His breath got heavy and quick as her hands slid up his arms, positioning them above his head, holding them still with one of her hands while the other was on his jaw, forcing him to look one way as her lips went to his jaw

She started sucking from the joint where his jaw was connected and all the way over to where her hand was placed

“They- They’re gonna see” He bucked his hips up to try and get some friction, but were unsuccessful

“That’s the plan, darling” She turned his head, doing the same on the other side

He was trying to get out of his grip, but his hands were shaken too much, and the added force by her hand and nails digging into his skin made it hard

“Lay still, baby” His whimpered at the feeling of her tongue dragging over the marks she had left on his skin

“Please. It’s race day tomorrow. The interviews- It’s gonna be all over the internet” His eyes were closed as he tried so hard to lay still

“Better leave more then, no?” She smiled against the skin of his Adam’s apple, feeling it bop as he whimpered

“Please, please. I need to be inside you, please” Tears were starting to swell in the corners of his closed eyes

“Mhm. I know, and you deserve it. You’ve been such a good boy” She leaned back, looking at his flushed face where he had managed to open his eyes

She loosened her grip around his wrists, pulling them close to her mouth, kissing over the marks her nails had left

She made soft eye contact with his glossy eyes as she kissed over every mark on his wrists

She let go of them, and he placed them softly on her waist. She took his cock into her hand, chuckling as he closed his eyes again and whimpered

She lined him up with her entrance, both moaning as she slowly slid down on him, staying still as she got all the way down

His hands were grabbing tightly at her skin, his back arching off of the bed. She ghosted her nails over the skin of his chest, soothing him as she adjusted to his size

He started moaning loud as she started moving, going up and down on him, pulling moans out from herself

“Fuck, you’re doing so good, baby” She praised him, starting to roll her hips “Looking so fucking good like this”

She already started to feel him twitch inside her as her words slipped out. It only encouraged her to go faster

One of her hands came down to her clit, circling it as she started clenching around him, pulling him closer to his orgasm

“Fuck- baby, please. ‘M so close. Please, feels s’ good” His words were slurred, coming closer to the edge

He had a hard time laying still, letting her take the control as his thighs shook rapidly

“Fuck, you gonna come for me, darling? Gonna come in me? Make my walls white?” He nodded as best as he could, a few tears slipping down his cheeks

“Come for me, baby” She leaned down, capturing his lips before leaning back again and watched his face as he came inside her

The filling of him filling her up with his cum sent her over the edge, coming with his name rolling off her tongue, chest heaving as she did

She slid off of him, laying down beside him, laying on her side, propping her head up with her hand

“We should shower, Y’know” Her fingers circled some of the marks she had left, and would be even more visible tomorrow

“I just wanna lay with you” His voice was low as he scooted closer to her

“We’ll shower in the morning then” She said, spooning him from behind, her hand laying on his waist, soothing him

She whispered small praises and sweet nothings as he fell asleep. She kissed the top of his head in his sweat damp hair, laying herself down to try and fall asleep

[sunrizef1]

What Happens in Vegas pt 14

Pairing: Charles Leclerc x Reader

Warnings: Cursing, verbal abuse

Word Count: 1.6k

Authors Note: No Charles content in this one but important nonetheless

Summary: Logan and Y/N talk, y/n finally reveals who’s been texting her

Masterlist

“Have I ever told you about my family?”

Logan doesn’t reply for a moment, annoyance still resting under his deadpan expression. You’re both sat on the floor of his drivers room, backs resting against the wall behind you, coffee from the Williams hospitality sitting in foam cups getting cold as they sit, untouched. Champagne dries on the top of your skin, casting a sticky residue onto your face and the ends of your hair.

Your win was now forgotten, the trophy having been left in your room to be picked up by a random Porsche employee who’d eventually get it back to you. Logan’s DNF was also now forgotten, although it did leave a lasting effect on his mood, eyebrows furrowed and arms crossed tightly.

“No, but I know your dad.”

You tilt your head, pulling the inside of your cheek between your teeth as you respond, “Well, you know him now.”

Logan doesn’t respond, not in the mood to play into your vagueness. He’d invited you here to explain. He knew you’d clarify eventually, whether he asked you to or not.

“It’s a complicated story,” you pause, bile rising to your throat at the notion of explaining your childhood and forcing you to swallow it back down, “You don’t have to say anything.”

Logan hums, obviously not planning on speaking much anyway. Both of you stare off toward the floor in front of you, unspoken words hanging in the air around you.

“I was born in France, not sure if you knew that,” you start after a moment, hesitance laced in your words, “Everyone thinks I was born in Texas but my mom would’ve rather died than let that happen.”

“You probably know my mom, Amelie Laurent, French, vogues favorite person and I guess she’s a pretty famous model,” Logan pauses for a second, no doubt not aware of who your mom was, before he nods in recognition of the name.

“When my parents had me, they were still in love, I think,” you furrow your eyebrows as the words leave your mouth, “Um, but after they had me, I guess they got really busy with their jobs and stuff so they sent me to live with my grandparents in Texas for a while.”

“Didn’t really see them much growing up. My dad took me to the paddock a lot though, I got to hang out with everyone at McLaren, which was nice.”

“But he was busy so I usually got stuck with Kimi and then eventually Lewis, when he joined, which is where the uncle Lew thing comes from. Sometimes I felt like McLaren and Mercedes raised me more than my dad did,” the end of your statement comes out in a whisper, this being the first time you’d voiced the idea.

Logan glances over as your face sours, his hand coming out to hand you your, now cold, coffee. You grasp it from him and take a sip, sliding it back down to the ground after.

“When I was 8 my parents had my brother, which I think was the final straw. They got a divorce right after and my dad moved me to England. My brother stayed in France with our mom,” you wince.

“I started karting, my grandma moved to England to take me around to races when my dad couldn’t. Despite my own… objections, I spent my summers at my moms house with her and my brother.”

You pause, stomach turning as you let out a shaky breath, memories flooding back. Logan shows his first emotion of the night, glancing over to check you're not going to die. When he confirms you're, in fact, breathing, he looks back to the floor.

“I don't think she wanted kids. Maybe she did. At one point. But I think, after the divorce, all I did was remind her of my dad, a man she hated more than anything. She made it obvious with the way she treated me, as well. Well actually, the way she treated both me and my brother.”

“She never wanted me in karting, made it clear. Only reminded her of my dad again, made me do ballet in the summers. Thought it was more proper, or whatever. Didn't let us speak English at her house either, we were only allowed French, took Juli forever to learn English correctly, he'd only grown up with her.”

“Juli?” Logan asks, adding his first bit of input since you'd started talking.

“Brother,” you mumble into your knees as you pull them into your chest, resting your tired face against them. Logan nods.

“Um, she yelled a lot, I guess. A lot of stuff about our futures and how we'd always be failures if we went through with racing and football, she didn't like that Julian only wanted to play football, either.”

“Dad didn’t know, I didn’t tell him,” you mumble, “I didn’t think there was that much wrong with it until I left.”

“She just sucked, man,” you groan, eyes shutting tight as your head falls back against the wall, “I hated her so much! Because I was winning, I was getting these championships and getting these trophies and I thought she’d finally accept that I wanted to kart but the only thing she’d tell me was that I’d never get anywhere!”

You take a deep breath, holding back the faint tears in your eyes.

“But yeah, that's the worst of it, really. Completely cut contact at 15. Begged my grandparents to let me spend summers with them. They let me.”

“It just stuck with me for a while, you know? The shit my mom would say. A lot of crap about how I was failing myself with racing or how I would never have a future if I continued down that path. Said a lot of things about how I'd always find a way to lose and that it would never be worth it if I wasn't the best. Everytime I lost a race, she would find a way to use it against me, proof that I shouldn't be racing.”

“I did block her though, couldn’t stand the constant texts when I lost. Probably wasn’t even very easy to find those results, they weren’t exactly mainstream,” you furrow your eyebrows, confusion passing over your face momentarily, “Anyway, three years later, I’m 18. I move out and sign an f3 contract. My dad got super busy with Lewis’s championships and Mercedes. Kimi was actually the first to congratulate me.”

“I haven't spoken to my mom or my brother in, what? 8 years? I've mostly forgotten them by now, paris a thing of the past,” you trail off, the air of Logan’s room suddenly feeling a lot colder.

“All this to say, um-“ you rush out, shaking your head quickly.

You finally look over toward Logan, moving your body to face his, “She texted me, in Australia. Told me that the crash was all she'd ever expected from me, anyway. She's been calling ever since.”

Logan turns his head, concern written on his face.

“I think I'd forgotten about everything she said since it's been so long. But that text kind of brought it all back. It's been stuck in my mind for every single race. That's the reason I’ve been so unfocused lately. I don’t even know how she got my number, she was blocked on my old number and then I just got a new one, I don’t know how she could’ve got it.”

Logan, having dropped his previous spite, quirks his head, “What about yesterday?”

You swallow thickly, “Julian texted me. She kicked him out. He’s staying with a teammate. He’s sixteen, Lo. He’s still a kid.”

You fall back against the wall with a thump, your hands coming up to cover your eyes, “He’s still in France, still training with PSG. He’s asked to talk to me before Monaco.”

“Monaco?”

You nod solemnly, “My least favorite race, too close to my mom. I was so relieved when they took France off the calendar, you know? I’m pretty sure that, until recently, she didn’t know I was even in F1. She’s sworn off any media that isn’t French and I chose to race under dads last name. Makes me think someone told her I was.”

Logan hums, trying to process all the information you’d just told him. Eventually, he pats you heavily on the back, groaning as he stands up. You look up as he reaches a hand down to you, questions laying in your gaze.

Logan pushes his hand further down toward you, “Seems like a good enough reason to go out, celebrate your win. We can talk heavy solutions in the morning. For now, you are a race winner. A race winner who needs to get her mind off her fucked up family.”

You grin at his words, grasping his outstretched hand and letting him pull you up, “You reacted better than Arthur did. Think he was about to throw up with me.”

Logan pauses, his face screwing up with faux betrayal, “You told Arthur before me?”

You roll your eyes, “I was having a panic attack on the floor of the bathroom, talking about it was the only thing to get me out of it.”

Logan smiles softly at your response, slinging an arm over your shoulder as you two walk out of his room, “Let’s go, winner. Who do you think the most famous person you can get to celebrate with you tonight is?”

You take a moment to think about your response, “I think I saw Kendall Jenner, I’m sure I’ll probably see her at some point.”

Logan hums, looking out ahead of both of you, “You know I’ve seen the pictures of you two in Miami last year? You were so far gone.”

You laugh, hitting him in the ribs, “Shut up. We should leave soon, Porsche has probably already started partying without us.”

Logan laughs, patting your shoulder lightly as you both go to leave the Miami paddock.

———————————————

[brandinotbroke]

Linux distros - what is the difference, which one should I choose?

Caution, VERY long post.

With more and more simmers looking into linux lately, I've been seeing the same questions over and over again: Which distro should I choose? Is distro xyz newbie-friendly? Does this program work on that distro?

So I thought I'd explain the concept of "distros" and clear some of that up.

What are the key differences between distros?

Linux distros are NOT different operating systems (they're all still linux!) and the differences between them aren't actually as big as you think.

Update philosophy: Some distros, like Ubuntu, (supposedly) focus more on stability than being up-to-date. These distros will release one big update once every year or every other year and they are thoroughly tested. However, because the updates are so huge, they inevitably tend to break stuff anyway. On the other end of the spectrum are so-called "rolling release" distros like Arch. They don't do big annual updates, but instead release smaller updates very frequently. They are what's called "bleeding edge" - if there is something new out there, they will be the first ones to get it. This can of course impact stability, but on the other hand, stuff gets improved and fixed very fast. Third, there are also "middle of the road" distros like Fedora, which kind of do... both. Fedora gets big version updates like Ubuntu, but they happen more frequently and are comparably smaller, thus being both stable and reasonably up-to-date.

Package manager: Different distros come with different package managers (APT on ubuntu, DNF on Fedora, etc.). Package managers keep track of all the installed programs on your PC and allow you to update/install/remove programs. You'll often work with the package manager in the terminal: For example, if you want to install lutris on Fedora, you'd type in "sudo dnf install lutris" ("sudo" stands for "super user do", it's the equivalent of administrator rights on Windows). Different package managers come with different pros and cons.

Core utilities and programs: 99% of distros use the same stuff in the background (you don’t even directly interact with it, e.g. background process managing). The 1% that do NOT use the same stuff are obscure distros like VoidLinux, Artix, Alpine, Gentoo, Devuan. If you are not a Linux expert, AVOID THOSE AT ALL COST.

Installation process: Some distros are easier to install than others. Arch is infamous for being a bit difficult to install, but at the same time, its documentation is unparalleled. If you have patience and good reading comprehension, installing arch would literally teach you all you ever need to know about Linux. If you want to go an easier and safer route for now, anything with an installer like Mint or Fedora would suit you better.

Community: Pick a distro with an active community and lots of good documentation! You’ll need help. If you are looking at derivatives (e.g. ZorinOS, which is based on Ubuntu which is based on Debian), ask yourself: Does this derivative give you enough benefits to potentially give up community support of the larger distro it is based on? Usually, the answer is no.

Okay, but what EDITION of this distro should I choose?

"Editions" or “spins” usually refer to variations of the same distro with different desktop environments. The three most common ones you should know are GNOME, KDE Plasma and Cinnamon.

GNOME's UI is more similar to MacOS,  but not exactly the same.

KDE Plasma looks and feels a lot like Windows' UI, but with more customization options.

Cinnamon is also pretty windows-y, but more restricted in terms of customization and generally deemed to be "stuck in 2010". 

Mint vs. Pop!_OS vs. Fedora

Currently, the most popular distros within the Sims community seem to be Mint and Fedora (and Pop!_OS to some extent). They are praised for being "beginner friendly". So what's the difference between them?

Both Mint and Pop!_OS are based on Ubuntu, whereas Fedora is a "standalone" upstream distro, meaning it is not based on another distro.

Personally, I recommend Fedora over Mint and Pop!_OS for several reasons. To name only a few:

I mentioned above that Ubuntu's update philosophy tends to break things once a big update rolls around every two years. Since both Mint and Pop!_OS are based on Ubuntu, they are also affected by this.

Ubuntu, Mint and Pop!_OS like to modify their stuff regularly for theming/branding purposes, but this ALSO tends to break things. It is apparently so bad that there is an initiative to stop this.

Pop!_OS uses the GNOME desktop environment, which I would not recommend if you are switching from Windows. Mint offers Cinnamon, which is visually and technically outdated (they use the x11 windowing system standard from 1984), but still beloved by a lot of people. Fedora offers the more modern KDE Plasma.

Personal observation: Most simmers I've encountered who had severe issues with setting up Linux went with an Ubuntu-based distro. There's just something about it that's fucked up, man.

And this doesn't even get into the whole Snaps vs. Flatpak controvery, but I will skip this for brevity.

Does SimPE (or any other program) work on this distro?

If it works on Fedora, then it works on Mint/Ubuntu/Arch/etc., and vice versa. This is all just a question of having the necessary dependencies installed and installing the program itself properly. Some distros may have certain prerequisites pre-installed, while others don't, but you can always just install those yourself. Like I said, different distros are NOT different operating systems. It's all still Linux and you can ultimately customize it however you want.

In short: Yeah, all Sims 2-related programs work. Yes, ReShade too. It ultimately doesn't really matter what distro you use as long as it is not part of the obscure 1% I mentioned above.

A little piece of advice

Whatever distro you end up choosing: get used to googling stuff and practice reading comprehension! There are numerous forums, discord servers and subreddits where you can ask people for help. Generally speaking, the linux community is very open to helping newbies. HOWEVER, they are not as tolerant to nagging and laziness as the Sims community tends to be. Show initiative, use google search & common sense, try things out before screaming for help and be detailed and respectful when explaining your problems. They appreciate that. Also, use the arch wiki even if you do not use Arch Linux – most of it is applicable to other distros as well.

[alittledizzy]

this a big ask and feel free to ignore but you seem like the right person to come to.

can you give like a dnf overview for those of us who know almost nothing but are sooo curious (minecraft? face reveal? queer?)(i follow for dnp lol)

Okay so... I'm gonna try and do a bullet point overview and for the purpose of not getting in the weeds I am not going into the controversies. I'll be happy to discuss that part - OFF anon.

Dream and George met on a Minecraft server when Dream was 16, George was 18/19 and became best friends.

When Dream decided to start youtube when he was 18, he asked George (and Sapnap) to come along with him. They both said yes.

In 2019, George started talking about moving to America. At the time Dream lived with his girlfriend, though they broke up by 2020. (George and the girlfriend did not get along. But that's also a whole other can of worms because she fucked Dream up pretty badly with consistent cheating and verbal/physical abuse.)

Plans for George to move to the US got more concrete and at some point over 2021 became him moving into a house with Dream and Sapnap.

Dream also came out multiple times in this general period of time. He came out in a post on reddit, on twitter, and on a stream. He does not explicitly state that he's bisexual, but he does explicitly state he isn't straight.

Sapnap had already moved in with Dream for Dream's protection since he was being swatted pretty regularly. Dream had plans for a face reveal but people were stalking and harassing him both to 'reveal' him and also because at this point the Kiwi Farms targeted attack on him had gained a lot of steam.

Speaking of: George used face cam pretty regularly, but Dream did not face reveal. Based on things he's said it seems pretty clear he was trying to lose weight but at some point set the goal of face revealing once George was in America because he wanted George to see his face before anyone else.

George applied for his Visa and would have had about a 6-9 month wait, and then was denied. He had to apply a second time, and wait another extended period of time, which put it September 2022 when his visa finally was approved. This means they'd known each other for seven years and he'd been trying to move to the US to live with Dream for three years at that point.

George arrived in the US and Dream posted his first video with a face camera on. George posted a vlog meeting Dream irl for the first time, which is a great starting point for a watch.

In terms of the ship stuff: they've always had a heavily flirtatious relationship and Dream is open about how attractive he finds George. They've acknowledging having a conversation about if they'd date or not.

Once in a while Dream will reiterate that they're not dating, and we know he spent 2023 having a variety of hookups but no confirmed relationships. (Which lines up with his long history of women that flirt with him complaining he'll be great to them and make them feel good but always says he doesn't want a relationship.)

2023 was pretty wild for them in terms of nonstop travel, events, and making very little content besides Dream's music. So far in 2024 we've seen a complete 180 of that and Dream and George have noy traveled at all, staying at home in Orlando together. (Sapnap has traveled and spent time in LA, but alone.)

This is partially due to controversy, I'm sure, but also seems to be just in line with a rededicating of themselves to Minecraft and content impending. They're working on a project that hopefully will come out soon.

Right now in terms of what they've publicly told us, they're just in the category of Super Not Normal About Each Other. Here are a few of the Not Normal things that are just fun from a shippy pov:

Before George moved, they were open about living most of their life on a call together. This includes sleep calling and staying on the phone while taking showers.

One of Dream's early videos was gifting his friends money to thank them for supporting him. He gave Sapnap and another friend $500 each. He gave George $5000.

Dream took 'am I in love with my best friend' quizzes on stream twice with George on the call and neither treated it quite like a joke.

Dream sent George an oversized Dream hoodie which George has worn repeatedly and even admitted to spraying with cologne before he'd put it on. Dream took pictures of George in the hoodie (a private call, not one fans were in on) and then later shared them saying they were the cutest pictures of George ever.

The first time we really got to see them interact irl at length was a stream they did around Christmas. Here's a supercut that just really shows the vibe between them.

Initially in late 2022 Dream was wearing a very specific chain. At some point in January 2023, George started wearing that chain (the specific one Dream used to wear) and has not been spotted without it since.

At one of his concerts Dream described George as a friend he just met a year ago that he's so in love with.

The entire song Spotlight which everyone immediately associated with George, to George's embarrassment and pride.

And there's obviously way more... but I feel like this is a good starter kit for Them.

[pennotfound]

Pen! DNF number 25 for the game! I feel like that’s perfect for you :)

Ali! Thanks for the ask :)

I had so much fun with this and I hope you like it. No angst, but 1000 words of suggestive, sassy fluff!

25. ....as a 'yes'

With a sigh, Dream ended the discord call and took off his headset. He paused for a moment, then pushed his chair away from his desk and leaned forward, cradiling his head in his hands.

What the fuck did I just get myself into?

He knew it really wasn't a big deal. People posted embarrassing, cringe-worthy tiktoks all the time. If he was honest, the one he'd posted earlier this morning fell into that category, even if he insisted it was a challenge (that he succeeded at, thank you very much).

But dancing? The freaking griddy?

Doing stuff like that just wasn't his thing. It was more like something Drista would do on a dare, or Sapnap, or George.

George.

Dream sat up, his anxiety slipping away at the realization that he had the perfect person to help him just upstairs. Someone who not only didn't care about being cringe - someone who enjoyed it.

Spurred on by a burst of hope in his chest, Dream stood from his chair, opened the door to his office, and dashed to the stairs.

Where he abruptly froze.

There, at the top of the curved staircase, stood the object of his search, wearing his usual 'fit of shorts and an oversized T-shirt.

And the biggest shit-eating grin ever on his lips.

"So," George ran his hands across the banister. "I heard about your little punishment."

"Punishment?" Dream squeaked, then cleared his throat. "It's... it's not a fucking punishment, George. I lost a bet. I agreed to do this. It's only fair after all. I embarrassed DrDonut with that Tiktok of me beating him, and he beat me fifty times with the crystal kit -"

"Which is embarrassing in itself," George smirked.

"Shut up," Dream sassed back. "Anyway, he orignally wanted me to post a tiktok of him beating me with the axe kit, but you know I couldn't do that, so this... this was the only other option."

"Mm-hmm," George nodded, leaning on the bannister, then gripped the edge and leaned back. Forward, then back. Forward then back. "So, are you going to ask me something?"

Dream sighed and leaned against the railing, then put one foot on the first step. This would be so much easier if George hadn't been watching the stream. If he'd been able to walk into George's room and casually ask him for help with a tiktok that DrDonut just happened to have suggested.

But now... with each second that passed, George's grin only grew. Oh, he was enjoying this so much. He was like a cat, toying with the mouse that was Dream's pride.

Dream wracked his brain, trying to figure out some way to turn this around to his advantage. Play dumb? Too late for that. Ignore George and walk away? No, George would just chase him down until he got what he wanted.

For Dream to ask him. And not just ask... to beg, to implore, to get down on his knees and plead for George to save him from his embarrassment with his superior knowledge of cringe tiktok dances.

Dream sighed again, then walked up the stairs.

Better get it over with.

"So," George leaned on the banister with one elbow when Dream finished trudging up the stairs. "Out with it."

"George," he said, "Can you help me with my TikTok?"

"I don't know," George giggled, his hands shaking a little as he pushed away from the banister and took a step towards Dream. "What do I get out of it?"

"Um," Dream pondered. "I can buy you sushi. The good stuff."

"That's a good start," George replied, then took another step. "But I'm going to need a little more than that."

"Oh," Dream's shoulders sank. George was usually easy to appease with his favorite sushi. "How about I help you edit your video? The one you've been begging me to edit for weeks."

"You're getting closer," George crossed his arms and popped out his hip. "I was thinking something more... personal."

"More personal? What could possibly be more personal than -" Dream stopped, his cheeks flushing red as he caught the way George's gaze raked over his body before licking his lips.

"W-what the..." Dream stammered, his heart suddenly beating much faster. "George, this isn't funny."

"I'm not laughing," George replied, his voice dead serious. He took one last step until the toes of their shoes were touching, then looked up. "For my payment, I want you to..." he stood on his toes, then leaned forward and whispered the rest in Dream's ear, making the flush on his cheeks darken even more.

"So?" George said, leaning back and looking up at him. "Do we have a deal?"

Without hesitating a second - probably just like George had planned - Dream pulled him in by the collar and kissed him. He kissed George soft at first, testing the waters, then harder, with more purpose. He parted George's lips with his tongue and dove into the depths of George's beautiful mouth, all while pressing their bodies together until not even a sliver of air remained between them.

Until George was breathless.

Untill they were both breathless.

Then, just as suddenly as he'd started the kiss, Dream ended it, popping off George's lips and wiping his own. "Does that answer your question?"

"Um," George replied, flustered and so fucking adorable. "Yeah... it... it does."

"Good," Dream replied, tugging the hem of his shirt, glad to have finally turned the tables on him. "Let's go film that TikTok then."

"And afterwards?" George blinked, "My... my payment?"

"I think that can be arranged," Dream replied with the same smug expression George had used on him earlier, turning towards the stairs. "After we're done."

George stepped in front of Dream, laying a hand on his arm to stop him. "One more kiss though?"

Dream smiled, then turned back to face George and took his chin in his hand. "What do you think?"

And kissed him again.

[resident-gay-bitch]

for the 21 q thing 1) James

2) Prongsfoot

3) I have so many controversial opinions-- I hate WS and Jegulus and i don't think they could ever really work. I don't like Remus much. I hate Snape. I think PF is the best ship. I don't like Jily. feel like James would have been a bit neglected growing up (bc I see his parents as like dumbles age-ish old). I think Remus and Peter and sirius were all inlove with James but James only was in lov with Sirius and that he (james) was the guy like everyone wanted and I think James was Voldy's kid. James is scottish

4) Sirius.

5) First came in 2019 (I only read fics then and had no idea that there was a fandom j thought people randomly made fics aboug HP lol) but then left and came back in 2022 (properly with knowledge of fandoms)-- both times thro WS fics that i abondened withint he first 10 chps bc I could not get WS at all. But i came and stayed for James both times.

6) Tall Sirius! With James being second and like 5 or so cm shorter (remus is so average hieght in canon that JK didn't even bother mentioning his height lol) like that dude could never be short. Regulus got the short genes j like he got the ugly genes :>

7) Prongsfoot

9) ooh I have a few-- Marauders Guide to Saving the Wizarding World Tattered I've never known colour (like this morning reveals to me) Professor Tommy Welcome to The Black Charade These Wounds don't seem to heal Never Leave I don't want to Listen Anymore Darkness Only For an Year Till My Last Breath

15) I like AUs a bit more, though I'm fine with canon compliant. fav AU is either Werewolf James, Vampire James, Royalty AU neglected James AU or Voldy is James' father AU (PF fics tho)

16) I started reading but then dnf it. I was given the impressiont hat ATYD was a prequel, and I'd even seen people say it was written by JK and completely canon and stuff, so I looked for it for two years b4 finding and dowloading it and the whole thing confused me so much. Orphaned Remus, Sirius and Remus' dynamic, Dyslexic Remus. I left it aft the scene where Sirius points out the book james wanted in the 6th I think chapter. tbh is I read it as a fanfiction i might have been less bothered and read for a bit longer, but the way it was presented and how long I'd waiting meant that I couldn't manage it bc i was filled with confusiont hat gave way to pure rage and hatered. It is a WS fic so tbh I was neve gonna finish it.

17) I feel like James would have been a bit neglected growing up (bc I see his parents as like dumbles age-ish old). I think Remus and Peter and sirius were all inlove with James but James only was in lov with Sirius and that he (james) was the guy like everyone wanted and I think James was Voldy's kid. James is scottish. I also like the thought of a vampire or werewolf James. And I think the Blacks were legimens/occlumens and Poitters were necromancers. James is ambidextrous, a mother hen and pretty good and is not good at asking for help (thinks he has to be there for others but that he doesn't deserve someone to be there for him). Oh and that James spent like 60% of his money in the war making sure everyone was alive an not dyign of dehydration or starvation or summat (my fav character is pretty clear lol)

20) is being a necromancer secretly a secret talkent (my HC for James/Potters)

21) I think Jily would have broken up and James and Sirius would choose to do some stupidly dangerous thing-- a curse breaker and a magizoologist or something like that.

Hellooooo, thanks for playing! I'm glad you're a prongsfoot enthusiast because I've been wanting to write some more prongsfoot recently and haven't had the energy to open up and work on my longfic for them, lol. Anyway, I'm gonna write some vampy prongsfoot for you :)

Warning, it gets a bit suggestive at the end sorry

🐾🦌🐾🦌🐾🦌🐾🦌🐾🦌🐾🦌🐾🦌🐾🦌🐾🦌🐾🦌🐾

James is fascinated by the tall, dark man across the pub.

He's got long hair, a set jaw, the most piercing eyes, is unequivocally handsome, and his blood smells divine. James hasn't smelt blood like his in a very long time.

He's been watching the man all night, as he dances and drinks and beats every man he challenges to an arm wrestle. James is under his spell, completely, without much worry about it at all.

He wondered, for a moment, if the man were a warlock, or perhaps a wizard, a spell caster of some sort. Though, vampires can sense the magic sorts from a fair way away, their blood smells metallic and rusted. No vampire wants to feed on a magic man.

So James is at a standstill, wondering how such a man has him this heavy under trance. It's almost embarrassing. Well, it would be if the man weren't so unbelievably handsome.

And James can't quite put his finger on why he's so familiar.

James knows that if he had ever seen this man before, he's sure he would remember it. He could never forget a face so charmingly perfect, never forget a smile so sharp. But there's something about him, something James can't quite place.

And so he remains stumped. And he stares, and watches, and daydreams all through the night.

He orders another drink, and looks back into the room to find he's misplaced his dark beauty. Frantically, he scours the pub with his eyes in hopes of finding him, of following him home and feasting on his sweet, sweet blood.

"Missed me?" A deep, raspy voice whispers in James' ear from behind, and he spins to find himself a mere breath away from the man he's captivated by.

"I beg your pardon?" James splutters out, already a mess somehow.

One thing James prides himself on is his ability and confidence to talk to people, to flirt with people, but there's something about this man. Something that's frying his brain.

"I hope you don't think you've been subtle." He smirks, looking James up and down as he sits dumbstruck on his stool.

He feels as though he's stripped bare under the mans intense gaze.

"I noticed you watching me hours ago. I was curious to see how long it would take for you to approach me." He leans in closer to whisper again, "I've been waiting, Vampire."

If James still had the ability to blush, he knows he would absolutely be flushed pink in the cheeks right now. However, he is un-dead, and so such a thing has not happened, and he has never been so thankful.

How on earth does this man know?

He stands up straight, holds his fore-arm out and pulls his sleeve up for James to see, and there, on his lovely, pale skin, upon his muscular arm, is a tattoo-- Or, rather, not a tattoo, but a mark.

A hunters mark.

Well, shit.

"Oh, well, would you look at the time. I really must be going now, farewell--" James tried, but he was immediately shoved right back down onto his seat.

"You're not going anywhere."

Bloody hell.

"I'm not here to feed, I'm just after a few drinks is all! Not a bad vampire, I promise."

"So that's not blood in your glass?"

James peered back at his glass on the bar and coward, "Well, not fresh blood."

"Hmm." The hunter nodded, squinted his eyes to assess, "It's my sworn responsibility to kill any vampires I come across, the moment that I do, you know?"

"So why didn't you?" James asked, finding the gall, "You said you noticed me watching hours ago, what took you so long?"

"Maybe I couldn't be bothered..." He muttered before a sly smirk appeared on his lovely, pink lips, "Maybe I liked the attention."

"Wanted a fight, did you? Wanted to see if I'd try and feed on you?"

"Were you planning on it?"

"Well, it depended." He began to ramble, hoping to find a safe rout out of this inevitably terrible situation, "Do you have low iron? Because you look rather pale, and low iron blood tastes terrible--"

"I don't get out much throughout the day." He interrupts, "A perk of the job, hunting you night creatures."

James studies him for a moment, the lack of distaste on his perfect face. The hunter is almost smiling, like he's enjoying this back and forth, isn't repulsed by James' mere existence like the rest of them.

And no wonder it's taken so long for him to realise the familiarity of the hunter, he's a Black. The Blacks have been hunting him for centuries, and he has their face, for sure, but he's never seen a Black wear any expression other than a disgusted frown.

It's almost charming, how different this one seems, even though he's planning to kill James tonight.

Why the bloody hell did he have to be attracted to his predator?

"How does it feel to be the fist Black to ever catch me, hm?" James asks, desperate to drag this out as much as he possibly can, "Centuries your ancestors have been itching to get half as close to me as you are right now. Your father, I'm guessing, the great Orion, almost tore the last town to smithereens on the hunt for me."

"Yes, it's all a little bit homoerotic, isn't it?"

James couldn't help but snicker at his joke, "Well, I don't know if I'd call it that, but sure. Whatever helps you sleep at night, Hunter."

"My family would be very proud." He answered stiffly, "They'd implore me to take over our Clan. I'd be Sirius the Victorious, a hero, my story passed down for generations. It would be... everything to the clan."

"Well, isn't that just neat?" James sighed, "I almost feel bad, trying to escape from you now. It would be rather depressing for you to get so close and then have to head home defeated, like every other hunter in your family, Sirius."

Sirius kisses his teeth, arms folded across his broad chest, and James spots a sheath with wooden bullets slung over his shoulder, and guns and spikes on his sides. He wonders if the hunter had been wearing them the whole time, or, if James had been so distracted by his mere beauty that he hadn't even noticed the obvious.

"Yes, depressing, sure." He mumbles, rolling his gorgeous blue eyes and sets a heavy gaze on James, "In a family like mine, eternal fame is not something to take lightly. To be the best hunter, means a life time of high expectations, and that sounds like an awful lot of responsibility and effort."

James raised an eyebrow at the hunter, "I'm sorry, I'm not sure I follow. Are you going to capture and kill me, or not?"

The hunter reaches a strong hand out, his finger tracing along the thin wire of James' glassess, over the shell of his ear, and up into his unruly hair before grabbing a fist full of it and pulling back.

"Ow--"

"Capture you, yes. To kill you though? Hm, well, that's undecided."

"Lovely." James groaned, rather confused at the combination of emotions circling through him right now; terribly afraid he's about to die, and rather flustered by this devilishly handsome man.

"Now, you're going to quietly follow me up to my room. If you dare make a sound, or so much as try to escape, I will kill you instantly, and I will make it hurt." He whispered, pointing upwards towards the boarding rooms above the pub, "But if you comply, you may get your chance to live."

James has never been very good at following instructions, he rather hates being told what to do. However, this charming man has him under wraps, and so, for once in his un-life, James does as he's told.

The pair of them make their way up stairs with kind smiles and head nods to passers by, and James longs for his half finished glass of blood on the bar, and prays that he is not about to die in a moldy little boarding room.

The room is full of weaponry, and James knows there is no hope for him now. He should have tried to escape when he had the chance, yet, he's an idiot, apparently. His brain turned to mush at the sight of one damming attractive man, who's about to be his demise.

Welp. He's had a good five hundred years, he supposed.

"I'm not going to kill you." Sirius says, as he binds James wrists together behind his back and shoves him into a chair, pouring himself a tall glass of whiskey, "Well, not yet at least. It really depends on how much you piss me off."

"Right, well, good chance I won't make it much longer than." James comments, "I'm known to be rather annoying. Big mouth, people say, been saying it for years."

"Hmm, charming." Sirius sighs, "My family, as you know, is renowned for hunting vampires, all our incredible feats over the years. We're bread to be the perfect hunters, I made my first kill at age five, I remember it vividly."

"Sounds tragic."

"It's... suffocating, all those expectations to be perfect, all these... responsibilities. I'm rather sick and tired of it all. My parents have been high on my tail about it for years. And slowly, I've been rebelling. I'm sick of all the murder."

"You want out." James wonders in bewilderment.

"Yes." Sirius answers, "To an extent. But I know it's stupid, I have nothing without them. But I'm through with them all. I want to see how hard I can push before they snap."

"Oh, you're acting out are you? Hmm, I remember my rebellious phase. Happened before I was turned, I said the fuck word to my parents-- terrible, terrible things. We were from high society, the fifteen-hundreds, it was rather inappropriate."

"Charming." Sirius hummed, sitting down on the edge of the bed across from him, "What had you watching me for so long tonight? You didn't know who I was-- if you realised I was a hunter you would have ran. So why?"

"Hm, you really want an honest answer?" James asked, and the man nodded, "Your blood."

"What about it?"

"It smells good." James grinned, "It smells divine. I've been dreaming about sinking my teeth into your neck and draining you of every drop." He chuckled to himself, "How tragic would it be for your family to find you dead at my hand?"

"So very tragic." Sirius said with a grin, and James' stomach begin to twist, "Which is why you're going to feed on me--"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Kill me or not, I don't care." Sirius shrugged, already unbuttoning his vest and removing it, along with his jewelry, a sight which has James rather flustered again, "Feed on me, make it known you were here. Seek them out and brag about it."

"Wouldn't that just be terrible for you?" James asks, eyes fixed on Sirius' broad chest as he unbuttons his shirt. He's covered in black swirly ink, and James is entranced.

"Perhaps. Though, not if you kill me." And with the most crazed grin James has ever seen, Sirius said, "Not if you turn me."

Oh bloody hell.

"Turn you?"

"Wouldn't it be fun?"

"I doubt that, Star."

Sirius stood up, unbuckling his trousers next, removing his shoes, "Leave your mark on me, Vampire. Make it stick. Make them pay for all the harm they've caused you over the years."

James snickered, "Hmm, revenge would be sweet."

"I could be sweet." He says, now completely naked, "Turn me, and I'll run by your side for eternity, protect you from their attempts to kill you. It will be the ultimate revenge for the both of us, for all that they've done to me to shape me into their killer. Now, the very thing they've sworn to kill."

"Hmm, love, I admire your ambition, and you're rather fit I must say." James nods, giving him a once over, "But I fear you're a little young for me."

"I'm twenty seven." Sirius mutters.

"I'm five hundred and sixteen-- or maybe seventeen now. What month is it? It's hard to keep track after all these years."

Sirius glared at him, "Turn me."

"Feisty, aren't you?" James said, "You just met me."

"I've been studying you my whole life." Sirius smiles, wanders over to lean into James' space, "I've been dreaming of you my whole life."

"Well, no pressure." James muttered, really quite surprised. This man has to be insane, dreaming of his enemy for twenty seven years.

James wonders if that's why his blood smells so sweet. Perhaps they're intertwined. Perhaps...

Every magical creature has one soul that they're designed for. One soul they're meant to stand by for all of eternity. One soul, instant attraction, a sworn desire to protect them at all costs, intertwined until death, and when one dies, the others life loses all meaning.

It's just... usually they'll pair with another magical creature. Not the one designed to hunt and kill them.

But maybe...

"Let me smell you."

Sirius isn't perturbed by this, and he leans into James' space, his neck bared for James to breathe in his scent. And it's perfect, brilliantly sweet, metallic and warm. He smells of everything James has ever dreamed about, he's what James has spent the past five hundred years searching for.

"Hmm, well, I suppose I was turned when I was twenty one."

With that, Sirius grins, climbs into his lap and kisses him. And Merlin, his blood tastes divine.

🐾🦌🐾🦌🐾🦌🐾🦌🐾🦌🐾🦌🐾🦌🐾🦌🐾🦌🐾🦌🐾

Hope you enjoyed and thanks for sending an ask!!! This was fun to write lol :))

[tellyouily]

where every wish comes true

dnf - fluff - christmas tree decorating - 1.9k words

fluffmas fic yippee :D 🎄

-

When Sapnap is out of town, Milo and Naomi are left in George’s care.

In Dream’s care, too, obviously, but he has Patches, and since George’s room is right next to Sapnap’s where the cats usually hang out, most of the responsibility just sort of naturally falls on him.

He made a fuss about it to Sapnap before he left, making him agree to owe him something of George’s choosing, but really, George doesn’t mind at all.

Milo and Naomi are the easiest cats he has ever had to deal with. It also helps that he’s definitely their favorite.

He pokes his head into Sapnap’s office when he doesn’t find them in his bedroom, and sure enough, they’re fast asleep on the couch, all twined together. The urge to go in there and bury his face in their soft fur is strong, but they look so peaceful that he just about manages to resist.

He’ll let them be. For now.

Making his way downstairs, he hears rustling coming from the kitchen and steers in that direction. He was going to head straight for Dream’s office and haul him out of it so they could do something together, but it seems no such hauling will be needed.

Dream is standing by the kitchen island with his back to him and George can just about make out the edges of a cardboard box in front of him.

He walks over and peeks over his shoulder. “What are you doing?”

Dream jumps slightly. “Fuck, you scared me.”

Disregarding him, George takes in the things Dream is laying out on the counter one by one. It’s their Christmas decorations from last year. The little dream team key chains that they hung on the tree and everything.

“Huh,” he says.

Dream turns and glances at him. “My mom dropped it off earlier. And I was bored, so…” he pulls out a wreath with what George assumes is a red bow on it.

Did they have that last year? Where in the house would it even go?

George frowns. “Why did she have it?”

Dream shrugs. “‘Cause she’s the one who took it all down last time probably. I honestly don’t remember half of this stuff.”

Something gold and glittery catches George’s eye at the bottom of the box, and he reaches in and starts to pull it out. It’s a piece of tinsel, a longone – so long that when he walks backward with one end of it, he makes it all the way to the couch before the other end slinks out of the box onto the floor.

No one needs this much tinsel.

“What do we even do with this stuff?” He mutters.

There’s no reply from Dream who is busy lifting the empty box down from the counter and putting the lid back on it.

George gathers up the tinsel as he walks back over to him. When he’s close though he lifts some of it over unsuspecting Dream’s head and pulls it back against his throat with the lightest pressure.

Dream sputters and reaches up to remove it.

“ Stop ,” he says with a smile.

“I’m gonna kill you with this.”

The little scoff Dream lets out isn’t nearly as exasperated as George had kind of wanted it to be, because it’s fun to annoy Dream sometimes. Instead, it is just fond. Soft.

“Alright well, do it after we’ve decorated,” Dream says.

He turns around to face George who reluctantly drops his tinsel slash murder weapon.

He gives Dream a look. “ We? ”

“We, yes,” Dream says with a laugh and takes the tinsel from George’s hands.

Before George can think twice, Dream has looped it around his back and is using it to pull him closer. That was a rookie move of him, he should have known from the slightly evil look in Dream’s eyes.

“It’ll be fun,” Dream promises, caging him in with his arms.

So fine, George caves.

. . .

After struggling with the different parts for a good thirty minutes, the tree is finally nearly up and standing.

It was Dream who had to carry the heavy box all the way from the garage, but George still makes sure to complain loud and clear when he has to hold the base in place while Dream stands on a chair to put the top part on.

Dream only laughs at him. “You’re so impatient.”

“That’s it, I’m letting go.”

“ No , just wait , you idiot,” Dream says, making George groan again.

“There.”

Finally, Dream stops rustling the tree and steps down from the chair. “You can stop holding it now, your highness.”

George huffs and takes a step back, rubbing his hands together. It might not be a real spruce tree but the needles are still prickly.

Gazing up at it, he thinks the tree is taller than he remembers.

He shrugs. “That was easy.”

Dream laughs and shakes his head. “It was not .”

George watches as Dream heads back to the array of decorations on the kitchen counter. He’s wearing a dark green sweatshirt and those stupid ugg slippers he got from his sisters last Christmas that both George and Sapnap bully him for liking, but right now the sight of them — of Dream in general — sends a softness for him spreading through George.

He blinks when he realises Dream is already walking back to him, now with a bundle of lights in his hands. Because right — the tree.

“I forgot how we did this last year,” he’s saying, untangling one end from the mess of wires.

George takes a big step up onto the chair. “We started at the top,” he says, holding out a hand for the lights.

It took them ages last year, he remembers, but to be fair, Sapnap was there that time and he is more than willing to blame it on that. Slownap.

But Dream is set on being an idiot today, apparently, because instead of handing George the lights, he tries to bite at his fingers, making George laugh and push his face away. And his cheek is so warm, his stubble slightly rough against his palm, and he can’t keep getting distracted like this.

George shakes his head. “The lights, you idiot. Give me one end and I’ll hold it near the top while you circle around.”

Dream laughs. “Alright, alright.”

. . .

“It looks good!” Dream’s mom’s voice rings through George’s phone.

She is on FaceTime per Dream’s suggestion and George is trying his best to show her the tree in its entirety, the star and all. They put every ornament on it that they could find and managed to loop the gold tinsel around it relatively evenly, and he thinks it turned out pretty good.

It looks kind of sweet, in a way. It’s their tree.

“I did most of it,” he says jokingly.

Dream, reappearing from behind the tree after plugging the lights into the wall, shakes his head.

“He didn’t,” he calls back and George pans away from him quickly, making his mom laugh.

George flips the camera back and hands his phone to Dream who comes up behind him.

His thought was to hand the call over to him and slip away; let the two of them chat for a bit, mother to son.

But an arm snaking its way around his waist stops him before he can even take a step. His back hits Dream’s chest and he can’t help the heat that creeps up his neck at the small gesture.

“Yeah, it’s the same tree we had last year,” Dream is saying to her, a small, secret smile on his lips as he loosens his arm and closes his hand around George’s instead — keeping him there, by him.

And if they were alone George would probably have dragged Dream over to the couch right about now and kissed that stupid smile off his face. But alas.

“How’s the outside of the house coming along?” Dream’s mom asks, snapping George back to reality.

“It’s looking good!” Dream says. “The decorating people came over yesterday and put everything up. Here, actually. Let me try to show you.”

The next thing George knows, he’s trailing after Dream toward the windows that overlook their backyard. Dream’s hand is warm and strong around his, pulling him along.

Through the glass, around the corner of the house, you can just about make out the warm glow of the lights that decorate the driveway and the porch.

It’s darkening outside which makes them more visible, but George thinks snow would have helped even more. Would have made them look even better.

“Alright, love you.”

He blinks and tunes back in at Dream saying this, and oh he had stopped listening again . George didn’t even realise he had tuned them out in the first place.

He looks at Dream who turns to him with a soft smile after clicking the phone—George’s phone—off.

“Here,” he says, slipping it into George’s pocket and wrapping his arms around his waist again. Thank god, George thinks. Back where they belong.

“So we’ll keep the decorations in the garage this year,” Dream says, his face exactly how George likes it to be: close.

George loops around Dream’s neck and frowns. What is he talking about?

“ What? ”

Dream’s smile turns into a laugh. “Were you not listening at all?”

George says nothing and it seems to be enough of an answer. He wasn’t, to be fair.

“You’re so distracted,” Dream says and there’s a slight tease in his tone. “Am I distracting you?”

“No,” George lies. “You just talk too much. Ever considered that?”

Dream’s gaze is flickering between George’s eyes and someplace further down on his face, and it always makes George feel smug how Dream can’t ever not be obvious about what he wants.

It makes it slightly less embarrassing how easily George has been getting distracted by him today, but only slightly.

“Alright, I talk too much,” Dream says. “Let’s put up the mistletoe next.”

George makes a face like he has bad news. “That’s too bad.”

“Why’s that?” Dream asks, still laughing.

George twists his fingers in the curls at the back of Dream’s neck. His hair is that perfect length again where George can card through it and grab proper handfuls of it that he can pull on to annoy him.

“‘Cause I ate it,” he says.

Dream raises his eyebrows. “You ate the plastic mistletoe?”

George nods. “But it wasn’t plastic, it was real. It was good.”

Then there are lips pressing against his again, in that way Dream does that is so quick and yet so soft and catches George off guard and makes him relax again a split second later.

He’s tired of any sort of distance between them, so he leans into it. And it’s bliss for a moment, but then Dream pulls away and George is left to chase his lips like an idiot.

It nearly pulls a frustrated sound out of him, something humiliating like a whine, but thankfully Dream takes his hand and leads him toward the couch before George can stoop that low.

“So impatient,” Dream says as he practically lets himself free fall onto the couch, pulling on George so he lands right on top of him.

And there’s no mistletoe here either, but George has never believed in that stuff anyway.

Besides, with Dream so close tangling their legs together, George doesn’t stand a chance.

[xxnailbatzxx]

an on going list of almost every Ghostbuster fic that read, (silly) reviews included.

Get real, Ray Stantz :modern au, Egon runs a b&b, trans character, autistic character(s), worth the read :3 I promise 

Doing it for science : inappropriate use of funky mood slime, also Ray is trans 

Groovy:

hold me now (hold  me in your loving arms) : silly fluff where two idiots who struggle to sleep realize that being held helps you sleep

checking out at the library

The Psychomagnotheric Mood Slime Incident of 1989 : oh that’s why it’s tagged “mild dubious consent” 

Was It Obvious? : DNF. was absolutely written by an amino roleplayer, the [i] for italics made it clear. I know what you are. 

The Hazards of Smoking While Driving

The flea bites laid out on my wrist : made me almost cry. Slightly too relatable. May never read again. 

He Slimed Me! : a t4t smut fueled read. Egon is so autistic, but when is he not?

Co-regulation : actually made me cry. Idk. Stop making Egon relatable. Plz. I’m begging. 

Where It All Began:

Heatwave:

Sweets, Flowers, Roses:

Ghostbusters in Love: 

thank god for boyfriends:

Science vs. Romance:

slow morning:

ray gets hurt and then other stuff happens: 

now it's sweat, it's sweat now:

Breathe: comfort fic. Agere ray. Ray needs all the hugs ever. 

Helping Out in the Lab

Ghosts: Hot to the Touch

Sleepy Stimming

[ofliterarynature]

FEBRUARY 2025 WRAP UP

[ loved liked okay nope dnf (reread) book club* ]

First Test • Changeless • Penric and the Shaman • The Poisoner's Handbook • Everfair • Shades of Milk and Honey • Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear • The Archive of the Forgotten* • Penric's Fox • The Girl from the Sea • (Wizard's First Rule) • Blameless

* * * * *

First Test (graphic novel) - Protector of the Small is one of my favorite series of all time I think, so I was very excited to see we were getting a graphic novel adaptation! Even if it then took me almost a year to read. This was fun to flip through and I had a good time, but not really anything stronger than that (it could never match up to the book). And it cut enough from the story that I wonder how it reads for someone unfamiliar with the original.

Changeless - I wasn't entirely sold on the first book, but decided to pick up the second one anyway because it was at least entertaining. I liked this one a bit better! Probably because all of that messy introductions and getting-together stuff was out of the way now. Still quite silly, but that ending! Harsh. I had to pick Blameless up as soon as I could, and honestly? It was fine, but speaking from the farther future, I think it's where the series started to lose me.

Penric and the Shaman / Penric's Fox - enjoying these very much! It was nice to see some continuity of side characters - going in I knew Bujold wasn't writing these chronologically so I had now idea how the chronological order was going to actually shape up.

The Poisoner's Handbook - picked this up after seeing it mentioned on a tumblr post. Was a very easy listen on audiobook and I had a decent time! Nothing too interesting though, because I've listened to a lot of medical history nonfiction for some reason, and it tends to repeat. For some topic crossovers, check out The Radium Girls or The Divorce Colony

Everfair - I really *wish* I could wholeheartedly recommend this one, but I've just got too many reservations about it. The premise is fascinating and the writing is very good, truly. BUT. It's a very long book, and it's mostly told in the style of short vignettes that skip between character, place, and time! Time!! The next bit could be a few days from the last, or months, or years! (Mostly months or years :/ ) With such sprawling worldbuilding and a large cast of characters it never really felt like a cohesive work and was very frustrating and ultimately dissatisfying to read. I bet the author's short fiction is very good though.

Shades of Milk and Honey - I really wish I'd written some notes about this earlier because I have to confess, I've forgotten almost entirely everything about it. Sometimes I wanted to like it, but it never really won me over. One thing I can say in its defense - while not trying to be a 1:1 Jane Austen retelling, it manages to incorporate numerous subtle nods to characters and relationships from her works that I enjoyed and found much more successful (and less cringe) than most direct reimaginings.

Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear - the new Wayward Children installment! As always a nice read, though I still prefer the ensemble books. I hope we'll see Nadya in them again.

The Archive of the Forgotten - we read the first book in this series for book club and I did like it, so I'm not sure what's up with this one. I picked this up on audio as a break from a longer title that was dragging, excited to read something interesting! Only to realize after the first day that I was bored to tears. If I'd been reading it on my own I'd probably have dnf'd, but alas, book club, and I didn't hate it enough to not finish it. It wasn't really a hit with anyone else either but we've for some reason decided to see the series through.

The Girl from the Sea - I've been putting this one off for a long time now it feels like, and for some reason my expectations had dropped really low. But I really liked it! Both a great story and great art that I loved looking at.

Wizard's First Rule - reread of an old favorite from high school - I've already spoken about this one a bit elsewhere and knew it would probably be bad going in, but the rant I could give!!! On a sentence level the writing is entirely passable, but everything else? The characters are all kind of similar and one dimensional, the worldbuilding is unimaginative, the villains are so unbelievably vile that's it's boring (I fast forwarded through most of their scenes), it takes itself so incredibly seriously regardless, and even with the "heroes" there's something definitely off. I had to shut my brain off for so much of this book in order to not get too hung up on it, because it's pretty obvious to me now that there's something rancid about the core beliefs of the book and it infects everything else. TLDR: it's bad and I don't recommend it under any circumstances. Still compels me though, I'm tempted to keep reading.

[the---hermit]

my physical tbr

While writing my reflections on my 2024 reading goals I realized that I should probably talk about my physical tbr a bit. One of my goals for the year was to decrease my physical tbr, and I did, by a few books, but I am aware I have a very specific way of thinking about my physical tbr and the books I buy so why not waste everyone's time with another long postTM.

I mentally divide my physical tbr in very different sections that I approach in different ways. Firstly we have the books I buy during the year, they are not part of the physical tbr in my mind. They are a thing of their own. For quite a few years now my main reading goal has always been reading the books I buy right away. The real goal is to be as mindful as I can about what I buy, which means getting things I know I want to read right away. Of course every now and then I end up buying a "acorn books" (people who listen to books unbound know, but basically they are books you get knowing they will stay unread for a while, like a squirrel collects acorns for winter). These specific books will eventually become part of my physical tbr, and I know that when I am buying them. It is very rare I buy a book I think I will read soon and then leave it to rot on my shelves. Anyway the books I buy during the year are placed on a shelf I have by my bed as that is my immediate tbr shelf, and once they have been read they are crossed out from my list of "book bought this year" and find their place on my main bookshelves.

Then we have my actualy physical tbr, so all the books I own, that I have been collecting from years and years and somehow have not been read yet. All the books that I have dnf-ed and that I still own for a reason or another are not considered in this section, they are a specific group. I don't have a lot of dnfs on my shelves, because they aren't too common and I often end up getting rid of them. But there's a few books I still keep because I might end up giving them a second chance in the future, I haven't fully given up on them. So, my physical tbr is mixed with all my other books, but I have a list on my reading journal, so I can cross the books once I have read them. I rewrite this list every year for two reasons: firstly I might get rid of stuff when I declutter and reorganize my shelves during the year, and I have to add the acorn books I might have gotten during the previous year. And of course I will not write down all the books I have actually read during the previous year. This way every year I have a clear view of what I have finally got off my physical tbr because I either read or dnf-ed it, and at the beginning of the year I havea clear overview of all my unread options, which is very exciting.

This physical tbr has very specific sections. Firstly there should be a graphic novels/graphic non-fiction section, except I have no unread graphic books in my collection. I have conquered that tbr a few years ago (and have regretted it ever since, but more on this later). Then I have a non-fiction tbr and a fiction tbr. The latter has one specific section inside of it, which includes a very specific collection of classic books. They came out as a collection a few years ago, they were a weekly release with a newspaper, and are all classics from the early fantasy, horror and scifi genres. I consider them as a section of their own for two reasons: firstly they have increased my tbr by a lot in a short amount of time, because as I said they came out weekly over a year and I got 51 of these books (fear not I have read almost half of them now). Secondly they are classics, so I need to be in the right mindset to get to them because they are definitely not the most lighthearted read I can go for. When I was getting them I was very well aware I was going to need years to read them all, and to be honest I am fine with it, I know that when I am in a mood for classics I have quite a few options ready for me. My regular fiction tbr is quite short actually, half of it, if not more, is made up of books that were gifted to me, so books I didn't conciously add to my tbr and therefore have not read right away. To be honest some of these I don't even know if I'll ever get to, but for the time being they'll stay on my shelves. The remaining books on this shelf are those acorn books I have mentioned before. As for my non fiction tbr, it's made up of mainly historical non fiction, which is also what I have to read for uni since I am an history major. Which of course means that during the year I get one or two books read in my free time and no more than that. I have to focus on uni books until I am studying, so again most of this section of my tbr will get read in the far future, and that's okay.

This means that most of my physical tbr right now can be seen through the metaphor of the wine cellar bookshelf. You may have heard it online, to be honest I am not sure who is the person who came up with the concept, but I really like it, because it clearly resonates with me. The idea is that you can think of the unread books on your shelves as bottles of wine in cellar. Each book is there waiting for you to pick it up in the right moment of your life when you'll be able to savour it and enjoy it the most. Which also means that a lot of those books will stay unread for years maybe. In the past I have been tempted to try and make my physical tbr as small as possible, but it just can't work for me. I am a mood reader which means I will not force myself to read a book just because it's there, and most importanly I really like to be able to look at my shelves as see options for new reads. And here come my regrets of having completly conquered my graphic novel tbr. I hate that if I am in the mood for a new graphic novel my only option is to go and buy a new one. For some people having a minimal tbr might be very freeing, apparetly to me it's not. I like to have a tbr with books that were picked mindfully, so you will not see me going on a shopping spree and buy random stuff, because as I said I consider each book I buy as well as I can before actually getting it. But also I don't think I'd be happy having shelves of fully read books. I do have a goal of not increasing my tbr too much, and honestly I am pretty sure that ever since I started keep an account of it, my tbr has actually decreased by a few books each year (even though I always end up with a few new unread books at the end of each year). So far this year my physical tbr has decreased of 16 books despite having some acorn books additions.

I don't know how to conclude it, I get that a lot of people feel stressed by the idea of having a lot of unread books, but I think I have found my personal system and it works very well for me. Keeping a list of the unread books of the start of the year, from which I cross off my reads has been very helpful. And keeping a list of the books I am buying during the year, to again cross off what I am reading has also been incredibly good to stay mindful of my additions to my shelves. Overall as I said I think in the last four or five years I think I really found a system that works for me, which also means that I came to the conclusion that I will be not doing any more tbr challenges, or specific years tbr lists to get books read. I am too much of a mood reader to do so. I will keep an account of what I am reading, adding and taking off my shelves, because that is what works best for me.

[nosenipped]

��　ະ ⁺ ₍ BOUNDARIES ◞ BYI / DNF　₎

✼⠀⠀won't be shipping jack with anyone within the guardians besides katherine. i've got my own terms when it comes to tooth fairy, seeing as the movie completely white washed her ﹠ * william made her a COMPLETELY different character.

i only ship frostfairy with the very few that acknowledges that she's southeast asian ﹠ * goes by the name vanish.

✼⠀⠀i'm perfectly fine with doubles! i have no anxiety regarding them, however i need to reinstate that i've rewritten my jack til' the point of canon divergence. he will adhere to the rotg's canon with a few tweaks, so fellow rotg jacks ─┄┄ he's someone entirely different, with the same ties.

i also don't appreciate stealing hcs nor lore, but that should go without sayin'. [:

✼⠀⠀i don't ship j/elsa, nor do i ever intent to. i'll preface jack claiming they're both siblings in characters ﹠ * interactions. on this note, i also don't ship hi/jack. a major personal preference, i'll gladly answer questions pertaining.

✼⠀⠀i use the block button freely ﹠ * happily. i enjoy curating my space, and tend to clear out the bad stuff whenever i get the chance. all i ask is that i'm not to be questioned if i've blocked a friend of yours.

✼⠀⠀my replies may vary from day to day. surprise! this jack isn't solely on tumblr, he's a mental illness widespread 'cross all my platforms. if you wanna catch him elsewhere ( .. why would you. /silly ) he's on twitter ﹠ * instagram under the same username.

✼⠀⠀i tend to get to friends' inbox asks / drafts first as opposed to new faces. it's a matter of comfort, don't take it to heart. my DMs ﹠ * discord should be opened to new friendships formed. <:

✼⠀⠀don't spam like my posts. it's a no—go for me, it will ultimately end with a hard—block, and i tend to not look back. this can go for direct messaging too, i'm fine with rambling ( because i tend to do it myself ) but constant pings about reminding me to reply or whatnot will end with a soft—block.

✼⠀⠀also, let's keep the flirting ic, yeah? it gives me a major ick. this should also go without saying.

✼⠀⠀i also most likely won't be interacting with those blogs using AI generated images for their posts or writing. as an artist and a graphics designer it's already kinda telling why i don't fw that. i also encourage everyone else to not do it, for the sake of your fellow artists ﹠ * writers.

additionally i am not comfortable with interacting with z!onist materials. i am however, very opened to giving other face—claim suggestions if change is wanted.

[stardustandash]

Well, I'm finally playing BG3 and I have thoughts. Keeping them below the cut since I don't want to invite Discourse lol

Its.... not great. Everyone told me it would be just up my alley and I'd love it and it's just so... meh. It's not awful, but it's not interesting. I'm 20 hours in (or thereabouts) and it just hasn't gripped me at all. My metric for loving a game is wanting to read, or writing fic for it. Nothing about this game compels me to do either.

People raved about the character creator and I don't know why. You get like 6 preset faces you can't change. You have 2 options of a male or female body type. Sure, they have lots of skin, eye, and hair colours, but that doesn't make up for the fact that all the Tav's just end up being cookie cutters. If I get to make my own character in a game, I should be able to MAKE the character. Sure, a lot of RPGs only let you do the face, but at least they let you actually make the face!

The DnD system doesn't vibe for me in a videogame. Let me be clear, I play DnD. In fact, I am a dungeon master for most games I'm involved in beyond oneshots. I like DnD. It's fun! I love it! So every time I'm playing BG3 all I'm thinking about is how much I'd rather be playing actual DnD. I'm also not a fan of turn based games, and when there's 5+ enemies on the battlemap it feels like every battle is a boring slog.

As well, I know why Tav is voiceless in cutscenes, but with the amount of voicelines the other characters seem to have, I can't help but feel it brings the game down. Especially when paired with the fact that Tav is expressionless. You'd think with a preset face it would actually move, but no. I laugh out loud during scenes where the camera cuts to Tav for a reaction shot and they're just stone faced. Its hard to actually feel like I'm roleplaying when the character doesn't feel alive.

Where the game does shine is the party outside of Tav. At least they all have strong personalities, if very archetypal. DnD is a game built on archetypes, so I let that pass. They comment on every little thing, they're good at dragging out the mysteries of their backstories, and they're the only things keeping me playing the game because the main plot isn't very interesting.

... that being said I was expecting more conflict between the party members, especially after seeing lots of people saying that Veilguard's companion conflicts were so miniscule in comparison and I... didn't feel like there was any more hostility than that betwen Lucanis and Davrin. Sure, Shadowheart had a knife to Lae'zel's throat, but like one dialogue from Tav and they made up. I'm not against having a party that meshes together even while holding different ideals, but it was sold to me as a "be careful who you have in your party! They might argue and fight about stuff" kind of game. Maybe there was more before all the patches? I wouldn't know.

I have more nitpicky negative thoughts (why tf is party banter subtitles in the year 2025 above the party member's head and not just across the bottom of the screen. I lead. I can't see it half the time so I keep missing it) but since they're more nitpicky I will refrain.

I will say the armours are pretty and the fact that we can dye them is super nice. I am obsessed with Scratch and the Owlbear, and also Withers. There's fun NPCs in the world and some hysterical dialogue choices. I just don't think this game lives up to the hype.

I'm really hoping that it improves once I'm out of act 1 and into act 2. Because otherwise this is probably gonna be a dnf from me.

[ballsballsbowls]

2024 Reads in Review # 3-10

@wordcubed wanted me to answer all of the questions for this ask game. Because it's all of the questions, and I am still working on it, this section is going to be questions 3-10 (I wanted to save overall best/worst for last).

I guess it's worth a reminder that my ebook TBR has only been cleared to about September, so a lot of the true gems I have been getting from events haven't come up yet.

3. DNF With Prejudice: Book(s) you didn't finish on purpose

I DNF a LOT of books (print books, probably hovering right around 50% and with ebooks probably more like 75-80%). I’ll stop basically the second I realize I’m bored. Most of them are wholly unmemorable, but I keep brief-but-detailed notes on why I DNFd if I get past the 25% mark in a book (mostly so I know if I should try something else by the author or not). These were my favorite DNF notes this year, lightly cleaned up for other humans to read.

The Bride of Lycaster by Perci Jay – DNF notes: ~75% No fucking?

Suck It Up by Emm Darcy and May Sage – DNF Notes: ~70% Everyone here sucks so bad

Knot My Type by Evie Mitchell – DNF Notes: ~30% insipid and unrealistic even for a romcom

ETA: Mercy by Ian Haramaki - DNF Notes: ~30% "What's with the boob window?"

4. DNF With Regrets: Book(s) you didn't finish but want to get back to

I can’t think of a single one. Even the books I DNF’d in November/December, I don’t think I cared enough to go back and try again. I did set a few aside to try again later but I don’t count stuff like that as a DNF.

5. Crowd Pleaser: Book you would recommend to almost anyone

Bombshell by Sarah MacLean (Historical Romance MF). I recommend Sarah MacLean to anyone who thinks they’re “just not into” Historicals/Regencies. The fact that most of her series exist in an interconnected world makes it that much more fun. She was inspired to write this series based on historical accounts of a girl gang. Bombshell would be a fantastic entry point into her books and into Historical Romance/Regencies in general.

Dragon Blood Series by Lindsay Buroker (Fantasy Romance MF). I’ve read the first three books and bought the next three. It’s got WWI-style airplane dogfights; it’s got someone using magic to give a guy jock itch; it’s got a steampunk society; it’s got romance subplots; it’s got a sword infused with the spirit of a horny woman. If you’d rather not read sex scenes it’s got shockingly few of those, too.

Playing the Game by M.Q. Barber (Contemporary Erotica MMF). This came highly recommended to me, and I can see why. It’s really sweet and well-written.   

6. Dead Dove Do Not Eat: Book you would recommend to a select audience with a mountain of caveats

This one’s only really the caveat that it’s, you know, Phantom of the Opera, but Angel’s Mask by Jessica Mason (Historical Romance MF) was quite good. It’s just also, you know, Phantom of the Opera but hornier. If that’s a problem.

I also have been having a lot of fun so far with the Seven Omegas for Seven Alphas series by Vivian Murdoch (Historical Omegaverse Erotica MF), which starts with A Duke’s Christmas Rejection. But Vivian Murdoch is not playing around when she says a series is dark.

7. Wasted Potential: Great premise and/or characters but fell down on execution

House Isador series by Joely Sue Burkhart. The worldbuilding is fascinating and fun and there’s MMMMMF and it still manages to be shockingly unpleasant to read. I read the first 6 books in a sort of fugue state and remember saying “I am still reading this and I’m not even sure why” a few times.

8. Blorbo Of The Year: Perhaps not your favorite of the year, but contains The Character

This series could easily have been slotted into almost any other “not perfect but fun” category on this list, but The Wayward Sons series by L Eveland (Contemporary Serial Killer MM) has THE blorbos of 2024. Mind the trigger warnings, mind the continuity and timeline, mind fifty other things, but definitely my favorite of the suspiciously prolific “gay serial killer adopted brothers and the first one is a psychopath and the second one has OCD and the…” genre. I had a FANTASTIC time with them and read all 4 existing books this year and have been sending my loved ones screenshots of pages where my Blorbos are Blorbo-ing. I am not even much a person who ends up with Blorbos or Book Boyfriends and I’m deeply invested a few of these idiots. It’s a shame that they are such fun and interesting characters and that their boyfriends are all thoroughly mediocre by comparison.

9. Compels Me Though: Okay, maybe not all of it made sense, but you had a great time anyway

I’m not sure it’s quite as bad as the ask implies, but Merry Farmer’s MF historical romances that I’ve read are definitely proof that there’s value in books that aren’t an A+ read, too. Her stuff is fun and an easy read and a solid B+. She’s a prolific writer as well and has started getting into MM historicals and MM contemporary now as well.  

I think On Thin Ice by Calliope Stewart (Contemporary Omegaverse Romance MMF) fits in this category as well. There’s a TON of stuff in the book that simply doesn’t work, but what does work really, really works.

10. Sleeper Hit: Not a book that you have to force into people's hands, but well-executed

Lord Holt Takes a Bride by Vivienne Lorret (Historical MF). It was silly, it was touching, and even people whose opinions I respect are completely unimpressed with her work for some reason I currently cannot fathom.  

Come Undone by Madelynne Ellis (Contemporary Rocker Erotica MF). I’ve been a fan of hers for years and rarely hear anyone else talking about her, and the Black Halo universe is surprisingly complex for being marketed as an erotica. She’s currently doing a lot of promos for Reflex/Replay/Refrain/etc., since she just finished that series but Come Undone is the first in the overarching series and has a couple major plot points that come up later.  

[alittledizzy]

i liked your dnp stuff but the fact that you still feel comfortable posting dnf is actually insane. regardless of the details of the situation why would you even want to think about those men they're such creeps.

I'm happy to hear you liked my Dan and Phil stuff!

Unfortunately I think we're just going to disagree on the rest of your message. The fact that you think they're creeps indicates to me that you're being very truthful and you don't care to look into the details of anything, which we differ on. The details of the situation are actually very important to me, and not at all something I want to disregard.

Here's a fun detail: did you know the campaign against Dream, the root of all of this public opinion about him, started on Kiwi Farms? I'm not going to link it because it's a vile site, but if you've never heard of it you can google for verification. It's an alt right hotbed where the users orchestrate mass harassment and doxxing of anyone they don't like. This is not an insubstantial fan defense of Dream - like I said, you can literally google it. You can look at the thread on him, the over five hundred pages of it. You can see them planning how they'll take him down and spread the lies/rumors.

Can you guess why they might not like an openly queer, neurodivergent content creator in the gaming space? Their actual goal was to try and see if they could get him to kill himself. They set out to start enough rumors that would go mainstream and spread enough about him (doxxing him, his family, etc) and it worked, to an extent. He didn't kill himself, but they absolutely succeeded in making people who aren't familiar with him genuinely believe he is an awful person though none of the facts really stand up because his story is just like most other people's. He grew up in a conservative home and had some dodgy posts about politics from when he was fifteen. (Did you know Phil Lester did the same thing?) That's been warped into "Dream is a Trumper Republican." when he's absolutely not. He's not perfect, but he's literally just a human being who has had a growth trajectory that people want to ignore because it doesn't fit the "creepy" box they think he belongs in.

He was in an abusive relationship as a teenager (where he was abused) and he had some messy situationships with other people his age. Most people with a high school/teenage social experience also go through that. But Dream's actions at 17/18/19 are held on a pedestal compared to real life (not online) adult relationships instead of other messy teenagers. None of the allegations about him are true. They came from fans who couldn't provide any proof, and burner accounts. They were all dropped and recanted. But people don't want to hear him clear things up. They don't want to see that people admitted they were lying. It doesn't fit the narrative of creepy.

Anyway - like I said, I'm glad you liked my dnp stuff, and I wish you the best! But I'm just not someone who is going to distill people down into one specific category or drop anyone based on public opinion without looking at the facts myself and coming to my own conclusion.