#what else did you expect of me /lh

[lightbulb-warning]

i like keeping all my wips open because otherwise they go straight into "i forgor"-ville (population? everything im not currently staring at.)

my laptop fucking HATES it though. very unsupportive of you, bestie. wdym you can't handle the weight of 12 different overly ambitious projects at once?? massive you problem, you inanimate object.

[mosaickiwi]

Heyyyy MOMO!! 💖

Can you write me Teo fic?/silly /lh

lol jokes apart, but I have had this lil headcanon of artist Redacted and their muse angel. Or a WEBTOON creator redacted and their editor angel, slow burn pro max hehehe ✨✨

Blowing you up mwah mwah 💥 🖤🖤

forgot my own formatting WHATEVERRR

💜🖤💜🖤💜🖤

Unsociable Webtoon Artist Ren yayyy

"Thank you for supporting us! Enjoy the rest of the con!" With a bright smile, you wave away the two attendees and sit down. 

The man beside you gives off a grumble as he loudly slides your chair closer to his. "Finally. 'Thought they'd never leave." He practically drapes himself over your shoulder, pink hair brushing against you. [REDACTED]'s lips press to your cheek, chin, then find a favored spot on your neck.

"You're gonna get us kicked out," you whisper, but make no move to get away. 

"Don't get my hopes up."

You let him be. It was your last day in the artist alley. They'd done almost everything to keep people away from the booth, but the allure of Always With You merch and an autograph from the (disgruntled) creator was enough for a few devoted fans to approach.

Some even stopped by more than once. 

"Heyyy you guys!" came the voice of a patron you'd seen plenty over the weekend. They wore an obscure cosplay each day, and today's outfit was a sight to see.

You stood up as they came closer — both of you ignoring your partner's tch of annoyance. "Oh my god. A Gloomy cosplay??" You scrambled out of the booth to get a closer look.

"Yeah, I just had to after yesterday. It was rushed, and I didn't really do too well with the wig—" They shake their head to let the dark bangs fall over their face. "—but I think it looks great, right?"

"It's amazing!! Ren, we've gotta take a picture!" Excitedly, you turned back to him. 

He reluctantly stood, dragging himself over to you as if pulled by a leash. "We're not supposed t'leave the booth unattended, Angel. Regulations."

You give him a look. The gall of him to say that after running sabotage all weekend. "Okay, nerd. Make it quick then."

[REDACTED] pushes up his glasses and pulls out his phone. As you scoot beside the cosplayer, you suddenly remember his… horrible picture taking etiquette. "Actually, let me do it."

You take his phone — despite the screen being cracked to shit, it did have much better photo quality than yours — and nudge him towards your number one fan, then line up the shot.

The fan wore a huge grin, completely opposite to Gloomy's character. But someone had to be smiling in this picture. "Rennn," you goaded him. 

He managed to draw his mouth into something more presentable than his trademark frown, and gave a sarcastic thumbs up.

It was the best you'd get. You snapped the photo.

💜🖤💜🖤💜🖤

You spent another twenty minutes gushing with the fan about AWY while [REDACTED] openly sulked. Having someone else around to match your non-stop-yapper energy had other attendees coming up to take a look. In spite of your partner's menacing aura, the cheery atmosphere of your booth didn't drop when the Gloomy cosplayer left. There was even a line for a little while.

By the time the artist alley closed, you'd sold way more than you expected. But you were exhausted.

"Ugh, I'm so glad we're not tabling tomorrow," you mutter as you shove the remaining merch box into his car. 

Your blue eyed companion gave a smug smile over the open trunk.  "Never goin' to a con again?"

"Not what I said." You roll your eyes and lean against the car. "Come here."

He slams the trunk shut, all too happy to have the ordeal over with. As they step closer, you're tempted to collapse into his arms. 

Instead, you reach up to ruffle his pink mop of hair. "You survived another ten hours of people who aren't me. Good job."

The sudden blush creeping up his neck betrays his outward calm. "... 'S fine as long as y'had fun."

With a quick look around the parking garage to make sure no one was around, you decide to tease him further. "Who's my good boyyy?"

"Me," came his instant, proud reply. He lets you go on a bit longer before leaning down to bump his forehead against yours. "Ready to go home, love?" 

"Oh good you're still here!" The smile on [REDACTED]'s face melts away into pure disgust, and you turn around to find the source of his mood. 

The Gloomy cosplayer waves as they run over. "I forgot to give you my socials so you can tag me!" Surprisingly, they approach your notoriously unfriendly partner. 

You can see the angry gears turning in his head as they hand him a crinkled napkin scribbled with their information. 

They seem unperturbed and continue talking as he stands there with a frown. "I can't wait to see the picture! And for the next Always With You chapter. Gloomy is such a great love interest! He really compliments the main character so well and — I mean I don't need to tell you that but honestly they're my OTP!!"

"... … … … Thanks," [REDACTED] eventually replies. You stare in amazement. He hadn't said a word to them all weekend.

Someone across the garage shouts for them and they hurry away. "Bye!!"

Confused but somehow satisfied with the interaction, you take the paper from his hand before those unhealthy urges get the better of him. You both get into the car. [REDACTED] mulls over his thoughts, biting the corner of his lip for a few moments.

"I coulda ripped that stupid paper up in front o'them just now," he suddenly says. You nod. "But I didn't." 

You nod again. "Yeah, you didn't."

He confidently nods along as he starts the engine. "So I deserve more praise n' head pats when we get home."

"That's not how it works."

[halcyon-writings]

hiiii do you think you could write a normal mark or sinister mark where they are expecting a baby? maybe omni-man is there and is a happy grandpa ?

I think girl dad mark is real trust (and thank you canon vindication /lh)

— mentions of pregnancy, but no gender is specified for the reader, they can have kids though so go wild I guess, as I finished writing this in docs, I completely forgot possibly including Nolan being a grandpa my bad fjskfj

nav.

“Mark, I think you’ve moved this crib around twice by now,” You note, seeing that he was ready to pick up said crib and move it again.

It certainly didn’t help that he literally had the strength to just grab it and move it wherever. Although, you had to admit that it was convenient when you started decorating initially.

Still, Mark reluctantly tucks his hands into his pockets, to ensure that he doesn’t feel the need to adjust anything else.

“But what if I just—?” Before he can finish, you steer him away from any furniture that he looks at for longer than a second.

“Everything is already set up,” You halfheartedly scold and assure him at the same time. “Now we’re just waiting for the final stretch to finish.”

Immediately his eyes drift towards your abdomen, to the swell beneath the taut fabric of your t-shirt. His eyes softening into a fondness filled look as he lets you lead him out of the nursery, back down the hallway to the living room. He sighs, but still there is a smile on his face.

“I know, I know… it’s just, I want to make sure everything is ready, so that way you can recover after they’re born without any problems.” Mark rubs the back of his neck, a bit shy now that your attention is fully on him.

Warmth blooms in your heart at his words.

“And everything is going to be fine,” You respond, placing a hand over his, as it comes to rest over the curve of your bump. “We went over the checklist how many times by now?” You raise a brow playfully.

“A lot,” He says.

You nod, parroting back, “A lot.”

The Checklist, as he liked to call it with a funny sounding tone like he was some secret agent on a mission, was just a small thing that you both had come up with in regards to the baby’s approaching arrival.

Baby supplies? Plenty and Mark was ready to buy more of them.

Easy to bake foods that Mark had asked Debbie for help with? Your fridge was halfway filled with them and so was your freezer.

Just little things that you both had decided would make the first couple of weeks easy in case you both were dead on your feet.

It was a little bit of an inside joke between the two of you also, that Mark fretted and nested like you somehow managed to transfer every bit of your concerns to him. You practically just went with the motions of pregnancy, no stress or anything.

That is to say, you weren’t not worried for the approaching due date of your child. But you had the assurance that Mark would support you every step of the way. That had to mean something, didn’t it?

And it did. Ever since he’d found out about the baby, Mark had thrown himself into preparations. From selecting the best for the nursery, to making sure your bag was packed now that you were in the final trimester, he had it down pat.

But you also saw how he worried in other ways.

He had been under the impression that you were asleep. Otherwise, he’d have been terribly embarrassed if you heard him as he spoke to the baby.

“You know,” He began quietly, as he settled in bed beside you, “Despite being a surprise, kiddo, you’re so loved.”

His palms carefully cradled your bump, mindful not to wake you. (But, you had been awake, you carefully did not stir.)

“I hope I can raise you to be the best that you can be,” He murmurs, as you feel a tremble in one of his hands, “That I don’t screw up irreversibly. And mess you up for life. They’re too good for me,” He adds, referring to you now, “How they put up with my insane life, I have no idea. But we’re both as excited to meet you.”

You can’t stop Mark from fluffing up pillows for your back. But as you sink into them, you don’t mind. The weight of the baby always had your lower back sore by the time you were done standing and moving.

“Hungry?” He hands you a plate of a sliced up apple anyway, no doubt looking to see what to make to eat or reheat some leftovers.

You chew thoughtfully, a hand resting on your bump as you use it like a mini table. But then you smile at him, one that makes Mark fluster.

“I love you,” You hum, taking a bite from another apple slice.

Despite Mark being the reason why you’re in this condition, he blushes. The tips of his ears even become a bright flushed color.

Oh the duality of him, you think fondly as you eat your snack.

But you still hear a soft, “Love you too.”!

You grin.

—

Small omake for Sinister Mark:

Are we sure he wouldn’t try to eat the baby /j

While he isn’t gonna be like main Mark, there’s a level of care I think he would have, at least in regards to having a child as a means to show he’s got a legacy.

But he’d also be as possessive over a child like he’d be over a partner, because he’s made enemies and plenty of them.

I think he’d lowkey be a helicopter parent-(get it bc he can fly…)

Would he be an A+ parent? Probably not. But there’s certainly an attempt to try to be.

[everestgale]

Red petals flying through the breeze, laying upon gently on your bloodied corpse.

...but you survived. So please, let me spend forever with you.

Hello everyone! It's finally time for me to subject Tumblr to my very self-indulgent Skeptunist AU 🙂‍↕️ What else to expect from Everest Gale /lh

@slay--the-dragon wrote a short fic (thank you, bunny! and thank you for helping me torment these birds /silly) that started this whole AU, you can read it here: "Red Petals".

Basically, Red Petals takes place in my post-construct world where miscommunication happens, and Smitten did an oopsie at an attempt to save his brother Skeptic from potential heartbreak. This doesn't go as expected.

The road to recovery is long and arduous, relationships broken and torn apart at the foundation. But even in the ashes of a burnt forest lies the seeds of fresh poppies, blooming beautifully with the right amount of love and comfort.

Separate thanks to @pink-november for helping me write this post, and for all other help/support for this AU <3

[strawbairicake]

hallo Lia, before i say anything else i think i should apologize for taking so long to submit a request for your event—i kept either forgetting or endlessly second-guessing any draft of an ask i came up with because i didn’t want to end up annoying you, i hope you can forgive me :((

since it’s so late i completely understand if you don’t want to write this (especially if you aren’t interested in the idea), but would it be ok for me to request aventurine and a merman/merfolk au? i think it would be interesting to see him attempt (keyword: attempt) to court a human reader, but feel free to change the concept however you like ! thank you in advance, have a great day ♡

part of your world -aventurine x reader (mermaid/merfolk au!)

synopsis: the cute guy that mysteriously came ashore the beach is really intriguing, isn’t he?

warnings: none, it’s pure fluff! might be ooc though, apologies for that!

word count: 498

author’s note: yes the title was from the song from the little mermaid. no, i don’t have any regrets or better title names. anyway, thank you for requesting, Ruu! please don’t hesitate to come say hello or drop a request in my inbox! no beta, we die like my hopes n’ dreams /lh! would love to hear more from you! hopefully this idea fits (and maybe exceeds) your expectations; hope you enjoy! <3

book n’ dash event

tagging: @cmiru

acquiring human legs after having a mermaid tail all your life is quite the flex. that’s what Aventurine thought anyway. he had just washed up to shore when you came running over to him, in quite the panic.

“oh my gosh, are you okay? where did you come from?” you asked as you approached him. and Aventurine felt like he had come down with an ailment: he couldn’t speak, think, move (not that he tried any of these things). he was just frozen. god you were so pretty, did you know that?

“washed… up,” Aventurine replies, somewhat stunned at his lack of being able to form words. you nod, seemingly understanding what he said (you didn’t understand) and trying to give him the benefit of the doubt. you don’t want to overwhelm him, either.

“where are you from?” you asked after a few minutes of silence.

“the ocean. why?”

“okay… how did you get here, friend?” you asked.

friend… such a safe and comforting word. he knows you didn’t slip the word out intentionally. it was a speaking before thinking moment but you didn’t seem to regret or take back the word. 

“i… don’t know. i’m just… here.” he replies. you nod again. 

“i’m (name), nice to meet you. come with me, I’ll help you get on your feet. two more questions, can you understand what i’m saying? and what's your name?” 

“I’m Aventurine, and i can understand you well.”

satisfied with his answer, you help him off the sandy beach, giving him a towel you were carrying earlier. you help him wrap it around his waist and start walking to your apartment, not far from the beach luckily. you both make the short trek back to your home and you let him settle in before overwhelming him with more questions and activities for you to do.

“once you’re comfortable and dressed, we’re going to go to the mall and get you some clothes, okay?” 

“sure, thank you.” 

And so you were off. you headed to the mall, and got to the clothing store for your new friend. you let him pick out whatever he wanted. but before you both left the store, a small pearl bracelet caught his eye. 

“(Name), look,” Aventurine points to the bracelet.

“what’s wrong?” you ask as you see where his finger’s pointing, “oh, the bracelet? we can get it!” and as the nice clerk gets it out of the display and grabs it for you. you check out and head back to your apartment.

“what’s with the interest in the bracelet?” you asked him after he sat down on your couch.

“it’s a sign of loyalty and love in the mermaid language. you’ve also been kind to me.”

your breath hitched, and you gulp a bit nervously, “and?” 

“and even though we’ve just met, i want you to have it.” he says as he pushes the box to you. you think this cute mermaid-turned human is sticking around for a while longer.

©2025 strawbairicake. do not repost, copy, translate, modify, or use for AI.

[the-s1lly-corner]

Brick (Ending 8) (Shrimpo x Reader)

And to think I added his trinket as a gag 💔😭 absolute disgrace that he got an ending before my beautiful king rodger/j/lh

Notes: gn toon reader, pre game, possibly the shortest ending yet, shrimpo is... shrimpo..., technically an indirect vague confession if you read between the lines, dear God I hate writing in all caps, you scold him into using a partial inside voice, its... shrimpo.... not sure what you guys are expecting, tbh this one kind of turned into a vague/soft vent i fear the admin has some pent up anger and he inserted himself into the reader for this because shrimpo kinda acts like some people in admins life, no kiss there is only rage here, reader does NOT rock with shrimpo

Word count: 2.2k

CWs: none

Everyone’s eyes glue onto you as you reach your hand into the opening of the sack and pull out…

Whatever it was, it felt rough and cold on your fingers. Like it a chunk of concrete- rough and stony. It definitely had some weight to it as you tried to wrap your hand around its girth… some awkward blind shifting and you finally found a decent hold. You could hear whatever it was scrape against everyone else’s belongings as you dragged it as carefully as you could to the opening- you bite back a slight cringe… even as you tried your best to minimize any damage you had a feeling some of the more delicate trinkets were at least a little scratched. 

It was stone. Concrete? It was a brick, that’s what it was. Someone had put a brick in the sack and you had no idea who would do that. For a passing second you looked to Looey- perhaps he was branching out of his jokes in favor of pranks. The balloon toon’s brow scrunched together with a squeak the second your gazes locked onto one another. He shook his head as silently as he could against his latex. Next you looked to Dandy who genuinely looked just as lost and confused as you. 

“I ain’t too sure who’s that is Dewdrop-” Dandy started before a loud and harsh scoff (which quickly turned into a shout) cut his sentence off right there. 

“I HATE THIS GAME ALREADY!” Shrimpo’s voice nearly growled between his sharp teeth as he basically shook in his spot from his seething. His fists were curled tightly in on themselves, as they usually were as he eyed the brick in your hand with an intense stare. 

You… actually weren’t expecting the crustacean to put something into the sack but… now that you thought about it he always had a tendency to do anything to find something to complain about. Or do nothing at all. Complaining and hating were the two things he always did and quite frankly you didn’t feel too keen about being stuck in a room for him for a round. Part of you wanted to reject him right there on the spot… but that felt… cruel- when every other toon’s eyes were bouncing between you and him. 

You don’t think he would have given you the same mercy. 

You almost wished he would have stormed out of the party right there just so you didn’t have to nurse the inevitable headache that would come from him. 

Alas, Dandy had to do one of the things Shrimpo hated the most: a suggestion. 

“You know Shrimpo, you don’t have to play- You can sit out this round if you don’t want-” 

And just like that the flower had sealed your fate. It didn’t matter that he gave you an apologetic look as Shrimpo’s face curled into an ugly snarl. The blushing marks on his cheeks melded into the redness spreading over the rest of his face.

“DON’T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!” The angry toon snapped back. Even from here you could hear his molars clacking together. The noise made you cringe inwardly… one had to wonder if he ever cracked his teeth under the tightness he forced his jaws through. 

You nearly shrunk under Shrimpo’s gaze as his hot black eyes landed right on you… if looks could kill you were sure you’d already be six feet under. Clamminess claimed your palms as he suddenly stomped forward and snatched the brick out of your sweaty hand. 

“Erm… right! Right, okay! Well… in any case, you both have seven minutes,” Dandy cleared his throat. The flower gave you another apologetic look as you shuffled quietly a few feet behind Shrimpo as he stormed down the hallway to the Christmas gift shop. He was so slow you could feel the muscles in your thigh burn and tense as you forced yourself to remain slower- just so you didn’t catch his attention again, to avoid being at the receiving end of his rage. 

Seriously, what was his problem? Why was he made like this…? 

That was mean, and as much as you were dreading this you felt bad for the thought. It’s not like he was designed to be like this- at least you don’t think he was… were… toons predetermined before they were created? Were you destined to be like this by someone else- was it by design that you were currently walking down the hall with a pit in your stomach as your eyes absentmindedly trained themselves on the flexing tail on the back of his head? 

You shake yourself back to the moment. You can be existential later when you were out of an enclosed space with a fishy smelling crustacean. 

Shrimpo didn’t even bother holding the door open for you as he marched into the storage room- the pit in your stomach deepened as you followed after him. The moment the door closed you wished you at least tried to convince him to stay in the gift shop area. 

The staleness of the air only seemed to make the briny fish smell clinging onto him worse. He smelled raw. Why did he smell like that- 

The amount of self control you needed to exercise to keep a neutral composure on the outside was immense. 

You planted yourself against the wall and tried to stare straight ahead as Shrimpo paced around impatiently around the room. His feet left obvious footprints in the thick layer of dust under him. Some stings of it where it had clumped to someone’s shed hair clung to the soles of his feet. You hated it but you chose not to say anything. Even if you wanted to start a conversation you were sure Shrimpo would just get pissy or shut it down in an instant. 

Seriously, what was the point of participating in something if you were going to be so blatantly upset about the entire ordeal? It made no sense- what was the point of doing it if you weren’t having fun? You press your shoulder blades deeper into the wall. He hadn’t even done much to acknowledge you but his mere existence made you angry. His attitude made you angry. The way his face scrunched made you angry. 

Maybe anger was an overstatement, but it was definitely at least some level of annoyance. He hadn’t even said anything directly to you and you were already so over this. 

Would you be blamed for ending the round early? A minute hadn’t even passed. 

Thump thump thump. 

His feet continued to slam against the old wooden floor under him. It wasn’t even a consistent rhythm or volume- and as tired of you were of the word already it tacked on another level to your irritation. 

ThumP thuMp ThUmp 

You tried to focus on the floor in front of you instead of the noise. Repetition never sat well with you, even worse when it was imperfect repetition. Misophonia or perhaps something else you weren’t sure; but you didn’t feel all that interested in trying to pick apart that aspect of you at the moment. 

“THE FACE YOU’RE MAKING LOOKS STUPID.” Shrimpo’s voice suddenly broke through the not silence. You didn’t even realize you were making a face but once he brought it up you could feel the soreness already making itself home in your jaw. A knot of pain started to form itself in the middle of your creased forehead- every attempt to try to smooth over your brow failed as it knitted itself back into the bunched position it now felt natural… you never liked how it felt like someone was hovering their fingers above the skin of your forehead when you focused too hard on forcing your face to fall flat. 

You weren’t the only tense toon in the room. His voice was far too loud. It bounced against the dirty cold walls and that seemed to be enough to push you over the edge. 

You swear you weren’t this quick to upset. You promise, to no one at all, that you never lost your temper like this. You preemptively felt stupid for dignifying the toon literally made to be a bully and a hater with a response. The words spilled out of your mouth- as sharp as his voice was booming. The tone felt foreign on your tongue despite the way the words rolled right out.

“Do you ever actually have some real input or do you just talk to hear your own voice?” You snapped back- and you kept going as you tensed up against the cold wall. Your stance remained otherwise the same, save for the rigidness settling in your bones and muscles. 

“You sure talk real loud for someone with nothing valuable to say.” 

The shrimp actually looked flabbergasted by your words- or maybe by your sudden lash out. Most people just moved on from what he said or simply walked away. 

But you were stuck in here and the rush of pride to stay right where you would kept you rooted to the spot. Whatever that said about you as a person you didn’t care, your ego couldn’t take the idea of him thinking he won this. Perhaps not the most healthy thing, but to hell with maturity and being the bigger person. 

Shrimpo’s eyes fixed themselves hard on you before they drifted down to his feet. For once in his rage filled life the fire in him seemed shaken. Why didn’t you feel more proud of that? Was your intention not to get him to back down and go quiet? 

You didn’t apologize and you didn’t feel like you had to. 

Maybe that was a bad thing but the stinging of the dust in your eyes just kept you on edge enough to keep from working through the knot of thoughts suddenly bouncing around in your head. 

Why would he partake in something he clearly hated so much? 

Why would you participate in something that was making your insides feel like hot oil? 

For pride? 

You glanced at Shrimpo out of the corner of your eye as he remained in his stunned stance. No pity passed through you in the moment. Only about two or three minutes have passed and things were already getting tense. 

If toons were designed to act a certain way they certainly did a good job at making Shrimpo as unbearable as possible. Nasty attitude, short temper, and he always had something nasty to say to someone with no regard to how it would make them feel. Toon and visitor. It didn’t matter to him… and for someone who was so open to slinging it out he couldn’t seem to take it when it was tossed right back in his face. 

Sure, your words were harder and far more specific than his general blanket statements but could you be blamed? 

Excuses. 

Maybe not sympathy and hardly pity but you came back down just enough to hiss through your teeth to release some tension. 

“Sorry. I shouldn’t have gone off like that,” 

The back of your tongue curled awkwardly in your mouth as you dragged the words out- only half sincere. If it wasn’t going to be you, someone else was going to say it eventually. Right or not it was going to happen. 

The crustaceans mouth morphed from his usual scowl to a pulled thin line. 

And for the first time since you met the wretched toon you actually heard his voice take on a softer edge. Still a tense growl but no longer a shout. 

“I don’t like how you make me feel.” 

He didn’t use the word hate. He didn’t curse at you- though… now that you thought about it you don’t think you’ve ever heard him drop a swear word oddly enough- he didn’t look angry. Not even embarrassed. Sheepish maybe, but there was clear conflict riddled in the crease between his brows. 

It sounded more than a simple “I didn’t like how you made me feel just now” statement. 

“It feels weird.” 

You look away from him. It wasn’t worth risking going off on him again. You were starting to feel weird. Rapidly the rage burning inside you melted away into something lukewarm and slimy. Guilt, awkwardness, shame- you felt weird, too. 

You didn’t bother with responding to him either. There was little trust in your vocal cords to make the words sound calm and normal again. 

The final four minutes of the game felt almost agonizing, but you were grateful when Dandy came around to let you both know time was up. 

Absolutely no time was wasted as you pushed yourself off of the wall and towards the door. A half glance was spared to check if Shrimpo was following you- who had looked as deep in thought as he could be- 

Dandy at least tried to get his attention as you slinked your way out of the storage room and back to the party- though the desire to mingle and play games with everyone else was tarnished. Made worse when several toons glanced over at you. The feel of your face still felt wrong and stiff. They had to have noticed. 

The muttered whispers only stuck the knife in deeper- had they heard the two of you? They must have heard Shrimpo… but were you louder than you thought you were? 

You don’t notice Shrimpo rejoining the party- or his lack of reappearance. At the moment you simply wanted to stew and recuperate by yourself over a glass of whatever concoction was mixed in the punch bowl. 

The entire interaction was…

Weird.

[peachdues]

Hii mind giving us a mini teaser for compass 3?

Oh okay, fine. You got me in a good mood /lh (anything for my babies!!)

I love you, Sanemi.

He’d done something curious; there’d pain in his eyes, enough that it had felt like a lightning bolt to the heart. You’d nearly thought that pain was born from a place of rejection; a hurt that you’d further crossed a line you’d already asked him to blur. That, despite the sheer possession embedded in every movement of his body and lips as he’d claimed you, he could not and would not return your feelings.

But, there’d been something else, too, in his eyes as he stared down at you, lips parted in shock. Something hungry; the kind that consumed, an inferno that could not help but engulf everything in its path.

He didn’t say it back, and you hadn’t expected he would. But he also didn’t outright reject you, either. Instead, he hugged you. Strange, how the most intimate part of the night hadn’t been the sex itself, or even the fact he’d came in you. It was right then, in the seconds after you’d let your confession slip from your tongue, when he’d snatched you up tightly into his arms, your bodies still connected. He’d still been buried inside you while he held you to him, his hand cradling the back of your head as though you were liable to break at any moment.

And then, he kissed you. Hard. Deep.

That had to mean something. Maybe it was gratitude or maybe it was his own way of expressing what he could not yet bring himself to say, whatever the reason why. But it meant something, and perhaps that something was the very reason he stayed the night, slept entangled with you, naked and vulnerable.

No matter how outlandish the rumors surrounding his bedroom habits had been, one thing always remained consistent: Sanemi Shinazugawa and intimacy were diametric opposites. He did not share a bed with anyone beyond the time it took for him to get his fix. In fact, you’d heard that he could be rather pushy when it came time for his partners to leave.

And since Sanemi wasn’t known for allowing his distractions to linger, he certainly hadn’t been rumored to be the type who enjoyed cuddling.

You, apparently, were the exception. Because he hadn’t just stayed the night; he’d kept you encased in his arms the entire time, even as you’d slobbered all over him in your sleep.

The memory of his fingers caressing the length of your back that next morning sends a shiver down your spine. at the time, you’d thought it better to pretend to remain asleep and oblivious to his gentleness; now, you can’t help but wonder what would have happened had you sleepily opened your eyes.

Maybe he would have kissed you; maybe you would have done more. Or maybe, you could’ve cornered him in the safety of your bed and demanded you at least talk about what the previous night meant.

Because it had to mean something, didn’t it?

meanwhile, pussy so good it has Sanemi out here opening secret trust accounts in her name 💀

[mysteriouslyjovialcolor]

Monaco 2025

-Did anyone make up places lap 1?

-Yuki pitting

-VSC??

-I was probably a little too optimistic about a lead change into Turn 1: Rookie mistake

-Oh god the strategies are making my head spin

-Not Ollie running fastest on track

-The commentators are giving me too much hope on Ollie points ( I’m so delusional right now)

-Pierre?!? What happened to his tireee??

-He went into Yuki??

-How does the brake just fail like that??

-Only Max can give me hope of a Monaco overtake

-FA: “Do you think the car in front respected all the yellows?”

-Isack boxing

-Please VCarb don’t mess up

-CL: “What do you want me to do? You want me to keep pushing? Stay with him? Let him go?”

-Aston Martin!! Don’t mess this up!

-Woah! Good on VCarb for undercutting Fernando

-LH: “What do you need from me?”

-This is such a team race

-Okay wasn’t expecting Lewis to pit right now

-The way I’m invested in Ollie’s race

-Woah Lewis p5!

-Charles leading- end the race now

-“Hadjar pitting again” Well he was on the softs

-F offff, do not box to overtake Leclerc

-Anshjsnsghs, Monaco was not supposed to be so chaotic

-OP: “So now what’s the plan? Because that didn’t work very well.”

-Williams deserves being annoyed by VCarb, after Carbono traumatized Isack in Saudi

-“Is it fair game, James, the team game?” Well duh

-Haha Williams is annoying Mercedes now

-Did Alex overtake Ocon or was this a pit stop situation?

-I hate whatever is happening right now

-CL: “Ah this is a joke”

-Agreed

-Woah what a stop for Liam

-MV: “Ah my shifts feel like Monaco Grand Prix 1972”

-Liam and Carlos doing god’s work

-NOOOOOOOOO

-ffs whyyyyy

-Go Liam Go Liam Go Liam

-Okay, how guaranteed are we on Carlos points?

-Okay I think Williams has lost it

-“Car behind is now Sainz”

LL: “Why are they doing that?”

-I feel you Liam, although it is kind of smart to help out Carlos with his stop

-How are we only a little over a halfway through?

-Again, too much is happening for me to keep track

-No way George has done that

-AA: “I think intentional corner cutting is worse”

-GR: “I’ll take the penalty, he’s driving erratically”

-So…George has given up on everything

-Kimi?? What is Mercedes doinggggggg?

-GR: “To be honest… I prefer not to speak”

-Man George should just retire at this point

-Alex played that team game extremely well

-Yes Max, play that team game for Charles

-Oh who am I kidding, no one’s overtaking anyone now

-CL: “Yeah, Norris is slow”

-And yet we can’t overtake

-“Cheery little wave there from Alex Albon”

-God the drama they both caused

-LN: “Where’s Oscar? I need him to put Charles under pressure”

-What do I have to do for a miracle to happen???

-CAN YOU REALLY NOT OVERTAKE ANYWHERE HERE???

-CL: “He’s doing many mistakes at the moment”

-Please please please please please

-And I’m done

-I’m ready to move on

-“This is close. This is very close” Ha

-However,

-Charles podium!!

-And what a masterclass from Racing Bulls

(Gotta look at the positives or else I might smother myself with my pillow)

crochet

[whump-in-the-closet]

6. Bait for the prompt game please! For OC, generic, or hero/villain, whatever you prefer :D

...What? Did you expect anything else from me? /lh

-- @whumperofworlds

Expected nothing else <2 went with a team dynamic hope that’s okay

Oh and @janetm74 who also asked for Bait, this is for you as well, my friend

Leader rushed forward, shoving their gun into their holster to undo Youngest’s restraints.

“Watch the door!” They shouted over their shoulder to the rest of the team.

Youngest screamed into their gag, the sound muffled. With wide eyes they shook their head back and forth, back and forth.

“Hold on, hold on!” Leader hacked at the restraints with their knife, apologizing fiercely when it slipped. The work was sloppy, brutal even, but they had to get Youngest out.

In the closeness of the moment, Leader noticed three things. The small drain in the middle of the room. The remnants of dried blood around it. And the heavy shock collar around Youngest’s purple-bruised throat.

They saw red.

The last of the restraints cut through, youngest stumbled forward and ripped their gag out with a violent cough. More blood splattered the floor. “It’s a— fucking trap. It’s a trap! Run!”

Youngest was shaking, and they collapsed to their knees. Still, they gestured frantically towards the door.

“Shit.” Leader realized their mistake too late. Their team had been too silent for far too long. They scooped youngest up and ran towards the door.

It only took one mistake for everything to fall apart.

Whumper was waiting for them outside the gates, the rest of the team captured and bound. “Ready to join them?”

[the-star-cluster-system]

Kinda uncharacteristic rant about endo’s

So, I know for a fact most of us (and the ones I don’t know for sure about I just haven’t talked to them much) are anti-endo. I’m chill most of the time, I just try to avoid them, but sometimes they just piss me off more than anything. Like, if someone claimed that they willfully made themselves have let’s say, ADHD or Autism or BPD or PTSD, they certainly will get their ass handed to them by almost every corner of the internet. So why is that any different for DID? Why can people say “oh hey, I made myself a system for fun!” And get less pushback from the internet for it. Only anti-endo’s give endos their ass handed to them from time to time. Why can you fake a mental illness and actually have a massive group supporting you for that? Why. And everytime that (pro)endos give any sources, it’s always sources that have been disproven and/or the doctors are discredited, and they tend to get pissy if you point that out. But if anti-endos give sources, (pro)endos don’t pay any attention to them, even though the sources anti-endo’s give haven’t been disproven.

I’m tired. I’m sick of endos invading our safe spaces, using our terms, acting like they are a system. Bitch please. Systems can’t form without trauma. How can y’all be a system if you don’t have the childhood trauma needed for it to form. 

And just to make things worse, they always tend to not respect boundaries people have set. If someone says “endo’s DNI” I don’t know, maybe don’t interact with their post. That includes editing their post with a screenshot and/or a reblog. That includes getting angry and rebloging the OG post with rude comments. That includes rebloging with your “trustful sources” showing that endos are valid. Because guess what! That’s breaking a boundary someone has set! I know! Shocking! Guess what’s even more shocking! Breaking boundaries gets people angry with you! Omg, it’s like this is new information for you! Congratulations on learning something new buddy! 🎉✨🥳🖕✨🎉

Endos, hear me out for a moment, if you just stop faking a system and actually start respecting others boundaries, you might be liked more on the internet! I know learning to respect others boundaries might be a hard thing to do since it seems like such a new topic for you, but I believe in you!

Can you fucking hear my sarcasm yet?

Anyways, genuinely, I believe that if endo’s stop faking a system and stop supporting non-traumagenic systems, I genuinely believe they can change. It’ll take a while because it takes a bit for someone to change, but I genuinely believe they can change./srs

I know this rant/vent was a complete random thing I threw out here, but you’re following a system blog, or at least, system tags, what else do you expect?/lh/nm

Anyways, hope you have a good day. Bye for now!

-Angel Dust

[stationarcadia]

Announcement

Hello everyone. This is J. R. Steele on the Station Arcadia account today bringing you some updates, announcements, etc.

Firstly, you may have noticed that our website domain is currently unused. We've recently taken down our website, but failed to consider that transcripts would no longer be available. The link to our transcripts will replace the link in our profile bio. Thank you to everyone in the discord server who has been patient with our radio silence, and have updated us on what they need to access.

Second, we want to apologize for dropping off after Season 1. With Season 2 in full production; myself, Andy, and Eli were incredibly overwhelmed by both college, and the responsibility of managing not only a company, but our cast and crew who were also getting burnt out. Pushing this production was proving to be detrimental to our mental and physical health, and so we just left it to sit for a while.

I've been doing my best when possible to reply to folks on discord, and get organized for our next steps, but going radio silent was not the best solution, we know now. As 17/18 year olds, we sort of panicked when everything started to go less smoothly. In addition to that, college apparently takes up a LOT of time? I certainly wasn't expecting that... /lh

But we are not abandoning this podcast. 2020 was a hard year for so many people, but Station Arcadia was the highlight of mine and many others' year. A lot of creatives experienced the hardships of continuing a creative project once real life came back, and we did too. But we managed to create an incredible first season, and a little bit of a second season.

Season 2 does exist! But not in its full form. Over the course of maybe the next few months, or years, the executive team will be discussing how to distribute our content so that you amazing, supportive folks can have full access to our baby. Our writers, worldbuilders, audio editors, musicians, cast members, and everyone else who helps to make this show happen worked incredibly hard to do S2, and we won't let any of that hard work go to waste.

Third, a few internal snags have hit us pretty hard over the past year now. We will not be releasing this information until we've spoken fully with our entire production team and our cast (but rest assured it's nothing too severe).

We've loved our time with every single cast member who has joined this ambitious project. And if any of you have a specific question, we will not hesitate to answer it. It may reach us quicker if you DM or email me (Jaymes) at penofsteele@gmail.com. I will do my best to respond concisely and truthfully.

Lastly, we want to say a few words of thanks to the folks who have stuck with us since the beginning, have supported us both financially and verbally, and have had faith in this project. We promise that even though it will take time, we will not disappoint you!

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you. Stay safe, stay moving, and please stick close. We'll be back soon.

[dblk-archives]

Dark before dawn.

Chapter 2. Royal Blood.

My rose-colored days get awakened in the full moon, Eternal Melody, only love is able to kill me.”

Summary: Beneath a bloody moon, a fallen angel stands at a crossroads.

Characters: Ruki Mukami, gn! reader.

Tags/warnings: fallen angel AU, blood, mild injury, feelings are confusing for Ruki, series.

Author's note: Chapter 2 is here! I struggled a little in this one haha Writing actual plot is not my forte /lh. I still hope you like it ♡

His chapped lips had forgotten how to savor such a rich taste.

The warmth from days lounging in the sun, now returned to him in the form of liquid spoonfuls;

The soft yet savory flavor of evergreen vegetables grown naturally.

And something else he can’t quite place.

For all his royally divine blood, Ruki can’t remember ever having tried such a tasty meal.

Are these the side effects of falling? Maybe he’d been starving for so long even ashes wouldn’t taste bad.

“I take it you’re enjoying your meal?” You call out to him.

There you go again, sitting cross legged across from him, that annoying grin on your face.

“Do you always mock your guests?” He retaliates, the defiance in his tone in total disarray with his wounded self.

“Are you always so pleasant to your hosts?” You stand up from your chair, arranging some blankets on the couch. You sigh, “I’m not mocking you, you just seemed to like my soup. I… Nevermind.” You cut yourself off with a rueful smile, shaking your head. 

“I’m gonna hit the hay, so good night, Ruki. Let me know if you need anything.”

The broken angel stays there, the tainted universes contained in his gaze following your retreating figure.

He picks up his spoon again, only for his tongue to taste it empty.

Maybe he did like the soup.

༊*·˚

The makeshift bed you had prepared for him is oddly comfortable.

Soft blankets are gentle on his marred wings; the light of the full moon filters in through the floor to ceiling windows; the translucent curtains flutter every now and then, their waves reflected in his eyes.

A pleasant scent envelops him, in tune with the quiet of the late AM’s. 

That is, until an offkey melody finds its way into the tranquil scene.

He can pick up someone’s ragged breathing, followed by the sound of broken glass.

Maybe some burglars? Not that he particularly cares, he had already planned on leaving before dawn.

However, without knowing how or why, a sense of dread washes over him.

“Please no… Not now…” 

Those pleading, anguished cries… Is that the same person who had been so insistent his wounds needed treating? 

The sounds seem to be coming from the kitchen.

And, for once in his life, he acts before thinking.

He rushes towards the source of the noise.

What he sees when he opens the door wasn’t what he expected at all.

There, on the kitchen floor, shards of glass all around, lays you, crouching and gripping one of the sharp pieces in your palm.

Blood has begun pooling on the floor around your hand.

“What are you doing?” He chides, running to pull the glass away from you.

“Please… Go…” You briefly meet his gaze, breathing still short and shallow.

But wait, were your irises always that scarlet hue? And were your canines always that sharp?

“Ruki…” You rasp. “You have to leave… Please, listen…”

For an instant, he stands there paralyzed. An unusual occurrence when it came to him.

Are his feelings playing tricks on him? He can’t stand you, can he?

So why does he want to stay? 

Ruki closes his eyes for a moment, an exasperated sigh leaving his lips.

“You really are a handful.” He lets out, prying the glass bit away from your fingers. 

He takes your bleeding palm, examining the cut. Luckily it’s not too deep.

Your distress is still palpable, sweaty strands sticking to your face as you try to relax your breathing.

The edge of the moon illuminates the space in the cold of the late hours.

However, before neither of you have time to stop it, something warm prickles the side of the fallen angel’s neck.

“What-” The man gasps.

“Mngh…” 

To see you biting into his shoulder with sharp fangs is more shocking than the scene he first witnessed when he found you just minutes ago.

The feeling is not unpleasant though, it’s actually quite… intoxicating.

No, what is he thinking? For someone of sacred blood to be touched so casually…

As if reading his mind, the human, or well, creature, pulls away brusquely, retreating against the kitchen cabinets.

“I… I’m sorry…” You manage. A trail of angel’s blood trickles down the corner of your lips.

Complete silence settles, save for a beast’s erratic heartbeat and a former angel’s exhales.

The moon’s gaze is obscured by clouds that only augur impending storms.

And in the firmament’s blind spot, a divine royal holds cursed blood in his arms. 

“Yeah, a hassle.” The dark haired man sighs, scooping you up in his arms.

༊*·˚

Dawn is approaching.

A wingless angel sits on a balcony railing.

However, his eyes do not pay any attention to the beauty of a rising horizon.

They are trained on the person sleeping in the bed he was supposed to be resting in.

Vampire would be more accurate, actually.

The feeling of your hands on his bare chest, the crease in between your brows the moment he tried to leave your side; and the calm that graced your expression when he lay beside you again.

Troublesome.

'One night.'

That had been the deal.

He sighs.

As if in contrast to his sister the moon, the first rays of a new day would witness the steps of a once angel entering the living room.

Threads of hesitation wrap around a fallen seraph’s erased feathers, rooting him beside a new acquaintance.

“Who are you really?” He whispers.

[lanternlight-foxkit]

@eternalera

I don't actually have all of the characters in this AU properly fleshed out yet, so a lot of them don't have assigned magic/powers yet. of those that do, I have a few with magic/powers that I think are very cool and deserve recognition. so, obviously, I'm going to yap about all of them ^-^

(not in any particular order)

firstly, we have Ro with his soul magic, specifically specializing in the sentient soul aspect of it. he does nefarious things with this magic, including manipulation, both subtle and unsubtle :D

second up, RAT who is a spellcrafter (essentially a mage who does technical magic like enchantments + crafting magic items, kinda like dnd artificers but. yk. magic) and a blood mage. (quick tangent on blood magic: it's powerful but dangerous to the caster, as it corrupts the user and can is addictive)

betcha didn't expect to see RAT here lol

i'm full of surprises ^-^

anyways! the fun thing about blood mages is that they can drink the blood of others (who have magic, ideally) to steal a bit of their magic + energy, which can act as a pick-me-up. drinking the blood of another can also create a bond that allows the blood mage to keep track of the victim :D (it can be mutual, but the process is a little different. also different traditional uses lol)

(yes. yes I did essentially make RAT a vampire. what else did you expect from me /lh)

uhh third cool magic person and second csmp member: diansu who is basically a human spellcrafter (specifically technopath) and somehow integrated himself with a buncha tech, technically making him a cyborg AI thing? idk tbh I just think it's cool (in a magic-based AU, no less)

um. that's it for the amount of worldbuilding I've got rn, I think (like seriously I have like 2 nearly empty sheets full of characters I have not developed yet bc it's not really necessary rn this is kinda ridiculous). drop an ask in like 6 months/after i've started posting a longfic on this au asking me abt the characters with my fav magic/powers and I'll almost definitely have extra answers /hj

(honorable mention: literally any csmp member their magic is mutated so they're so interesting lol)

[unapologetiicapathy]

OKAY HELLO THERE FOLKS im here rn to tell you abt a heathers au i have where jd survives !! i wrote most of this vv late at night so forgive me if it doesnt make sense or if its dumb lol, also this is based off the movie bcuz i havent seen the musical yet

(copypasted from notes)

(putting it under the cut cuz its long as FUCK)

-okay so theres multiple versions i have of this au, in one of them jd and veronica arent together, but that made me kinda sad (my poor little mega-crush-on-jd heart doesnt want him to be lonely </3) so i have another au where their shared secrets end up keeping them together, and then that one also has two versions, one where they have a kid and one where they dont (this is proof i have too much free time amd i write shit way too late at night) (also i have way more hcs abt the "they do stay together" version lmao)

-so the bomb didnt work quite as well as he thought it wld. he still got blown the fuck up but not bad enough to kill him (obvi). someone called an ambulance (im not sure who but definitely not veronica /lh), he got rushed off to hospital, he was there for quite a while and got a lot of scars and stuff but somehow he managed to survive (they thought he was a total goner man)

-veronica didnt know he was still alive for a few weeks. the explosion was on the news, but she was majorly avoiding tv altogether at the time (no matter where you are the news is always reporting on some sort of death and tragedy, and it served as WAYYYYY too much of a reminder of what she and jd did). she didnt find out til she actually saw him in person

-she was at the 711 (or wherever the fuck they got the slushies from idk its midnight rn) getting potato chips (yes this is an important detail to me. dont ask me why.) and he happened to be there at the same time

-she totally freaked the hell out when she saw him ("no. no! youre dead! youre dead! youre fucking dead!" "well you see, the thing is, im actually not.") and it took her awhile to come to terms with the situation

-in the "veronica-less" au, they ran into each other a few times after that, veronica refused to talk with him, and he ended up leaving sherwood and going to. um. somewhere else idk thats honestly as far as i got with this version 👍👍👍

-in the "they stay together" version (holy fuck i need proper names for these man), they also kept running into each other, but this time it worked out different yk (god i sound stupid sorry). they were both rlly conflicted abt it. it was like they both wanted to see each other again, but at the same time it felt like the worst thing that cld possibly happen. but you see, it kept happening. and happening. and happening. its like they couldnt  avoid each other. and at some point or another, they started just wanting it to happen. then kind of actively trying to make it happen. and then he finally just asked her out. she said no bcuz she needed some time to think abt it (they did go out a couple weeks later tho)

-(skip back in time a lil here bcuz im a fuckin scatterbrain lmao) when veronica found out jd was still alive she was scared of him yk (i mean i wld be too if my supposed-to-be-dead ex showed up outta nowhere) but she realised that like. he changed. smth happened in his silly lil head when he nearlu died, and he realised that everything that happened was totally fucked up and he actually regrets it and wants to do things different yk. (wanna be a better person? have a near-death experience /j)

-youd expect them to go get slushies when they finally do go on a date. NOPE. they actually go out for breakfast and get waffles (jd absolutely 100% loves waffles and you cannot convince me otherwise)

-at some point or another, veronica buys him little vinyl dinosaur stickers (yknow like the kind you can put on laptops and helmets and stuff). i dont know when this happens. i dont know why this happens. but i know it happens.

-jd kinda wants to be a theatre actor for a lil while, he ends up having tiny roles in a few things but he never rlly has any cool roles yk (im not quire sure why this is part of my au now but its probably just bcuz i wanna watch the musical lmao)

-okay i told you there was two points where this au branches off and congratulations youve just reached the second point 👍👍👍 this is where the path splits between "jd and veronica with no kids" and "jd and veronica with a kid"

-in the "no kids" version, they cant have a kid bcuz theyre scared that they wont be able to raise a child properly and the kid will turn out like they did, and thats the scariest thought in the world to them

-in the "jd and veronica with kids" version (srsly i need the power to create au titles man eueueue), they have a teenage daughter named alina

-theyre super super SUPER protective of her and like theyre always fretting abt whether theyre doing a good job

-they dont tell her abt what they did in '88 bcuz theyre worried abt how shell react, sometimes they think maybe they shld say smth but they always end up agreeing to "just wait til later" (theyre never gonna tell her man theres no way in hell)

-jd knows that the only reason veronica was involved in the deaths was bcuz she was with him, and so he gets extra extra worried whenever alina starts dating someone bcuz hes scared that shell get taken down the same path that he took veronica down all those years ago (which is very unlikely but i mean can ya blame him?)

-jd 100% needs therapy but cant get it bcuz how the fuck do you tell a therapist that you murdered three ppl and then tried to explode yourself. so instead he has a diary he writes in every day and he uses it as sort of self-therapy (i tooooootally didnt just take one of my own personality traits or habits or wtvr the word is and give it to him. totally not. totally. 👍)

-uh thats it for now but i definitely have more au hcs tucked away in my one singular braincell, i just need to find em apparently- also apologies for the excessive parentheses 👍👍👍

[saintslewis]

https://www.tumblr.com/saintslewis/776369681636474880/its-interesting-that-zhou-is-an-ambassador-and?source=share

Here y'all go again 😭 y'all will be mad for 5 business days, and then back to "omgeee love him" and when others are still holding him accountable, you guys will come out and say "you guys don't like him anymore, do you still want me to write fics? The interactions have slowed down, are you not attracted to him anymore" 😑

It's one boring back and forth tango 🤣 y'all were mad about the Drake stuff, meanwhile Kendrick was flexing Rosberg winning the wdc. And not once did Kendrick congratulate Lewis. One of your fan club even admitted to still listening to Drake even tho she crucified Lewis for being on Drake's side 😭 the lh fan club is actually ridiculous, filled with nothing but hypocrites 🥱

you take me for a poes 🤣

in everything i do, i still hold him accountable while being his fan. just like everyone else does and if you have a problem, then block us all msunu kanyoko

the fic thing was unnecessary and you know it. you took time to scroll and read through the ventings and yet you still don’t get it and it’s fine, wouldn’t expect you to.

this has shit to do with a rap beef and i couldn’t give two shits what a rapper thinks of my driver. again, if you don’t like what you see, just block me.

don’t ever come to my page writing bullshit like this. i’m still a lewis hamilton fan at the end of the day. ningezi la nizong’jwaleya amasimba.

[thef155]

Note: this was posted prior to the LH->Ferrari news

I really, really hope the rumors that Carlos might have only a short-term contract extension (i.e. until the end of 2025) are true. That may be a blow to his pride, and I feel for him deeply, but breaking away from Ferrari by 2026 would be the absolute best thing for him.

If you don’t know, Carlos and Charles are both currently contracted to Ferrari until the end of 2024, and both are now currently in talks for extensions. According to La Gazetta (grain of salt required), Charles is taking a five year extension to 2029 (whyyyy Charles? why do that to yourself?). Meanwhile, Carlos has asked for a 2-year extension, but Ferrari reportedly only want to offer him 1 year for now. Carlos potentially becoming a free agent for 2026 is very significant because that's the start of the next regulations era in F1; a new formula and new rules come into play, ushering in new engines and new cars and opening up the field for new contenders. It’s also when Audi will be stepping onto the grid as they take over at Sauber (currently Alfa Romeo). Importantly, Audi have been long-rumored to be interested in Carlos as the driver they want to sign and build their new team around.

I'm not going to delve into how much Ferrari has treated Carlos like shit, because we all know that story, and none of us are actually surprised to see the team undervalue the man who keeps them afloat when all else fails and gives them their only win in a season. I don't think Ferrari ever expected Carlos to be so competitive and push il Predestinado the way he has, and now it's bit awkward for them. But the fact is that Ferrari have now gone all in on Charles with this 5-year deal, and now they have no choice but to make every other decision around that. It makes sense that they would offer just a 1-year extension if Carlos is asking for 2 years because they know a 2-year contract would be no more meaningful than a 1-year if other teams are seriously interested in Carlos. If Audi (or McLaren, if Lando leaves) really want to get Carlos for 2026, they will have no qualms about swooping in during the 2025 silly season to buy Ferrari out of Carlos’s last contract year. They know what they have with Carlos even if they aren't going to publicly recognize it, so it's in Ferrari’s best interest to keep their options open for shopping if they don’t want to risk being caught out dry in 2026.

But let’s forget all that and talk about the most interesting part of all this to me: that Carlos asked for something as short as a 2-year extension. He knows Charles is getting 5 years, so why?

This tells me that Carlos has finally begun to lose faith that Ferrari is the best place for him. That’s a pretty damn big deal, because—although this gets overshadowed by Charles’s love story with the Scuderia—Carlos’s passion for Ferrari and the Tifosi is no small thing. I think he smiled bigger on the third step of the podium at Monza than he did at Silverstone for his maiden win. Winning a WDC with Ferrari is (or was) his life’s dream.

But maybe 2023–his best year ever—is what Carlos needed to stop ignoring the writings on the wall. Maybe he’s starting to admit to himself that he’s never going to get the support (or competence) he needs from Ferrari to achieve his dreams. Maybe he's understanding that he's found success not because of Ferrari, but in spite of them.

Carlos is too good to be a No. 2 driver. We know it, Ferrari definitely knows it (and that’s their problem), and—most importantly—Carlos knows it. Ferrari can go ahead and search for someone this talented who's also willing to roll over and be their next Rubens Barrichello. Because it sure as hell won’t be Carlos Sainz, Jr.