#DUKE IT OUT LADIES who is the fan favorite????

[bugeyedfreaks]

Finally, the ultimate question can be answered:

[deadsetobsessions]

“I ate paint once,” Danny nonchalantly threw out in the middle of game night.

The entire table stopped. Heads whipped towards Danny.

“Yeah, me too. Cardamom yellow was my favorite. Ugly as hell but the chemicals just tasted right.” Tim replied, using the distraction to nab some of Bruce’s money. Monopoly money, that is. Everyone’s heads snapped towards Tim, only Cass and Danny (who was part of the scheme) caught him cheating.

“Really? I think mine was those spray can blue cosmos paint. But that might have been more my thing for space than the actual taste.”

“WHY WERE YOU EATING PAINT?!” Dick asked, looking like he wanted to lunge over the table and shake Danny until he puked out paint. Bruce looked like he was about to have a heart attack.

“Yeah, what the fuck, Tim?” Jason snickered.

“In my defense,” Danny grinned. “I was left unsupervised. Also, Steph, you owe me $24 in rent.”

“Ugh! I’m almost out of money! Can’t you loan me some, Alfred?”

“I am sorry, Miss Stephanie, you are not qualified for another loan. In fact, one of your properties is about to be confiscated as per the collateral agreement.”

“Noooo!” Stephanie made dramatic dying noises.

“What was your excuse, Timothy?” Damian asked, eyes glued to the board and determined to win the game.

“Hey, I was probably less supervised than Danny was.”

“Yeah,” Danny perked up. “My parents brought us down to their lab all of the time. Taught us a lot of stuff.”

“Really? Like what?” Duke asked, casually slapping away Tim’s sneaky hands.

“Oh, like what a rocket launcher sounded like up close! And how to build a laser gun! Oh! And what human organs looked like when they’re fresh!” Danny chirped, collecting his money from a stunned Stephanie’s hands. He looked up.

“Oh, don’t worry! I at least learned what not to do when it comes to lab safety. And we wore hazmat suits to protect ourselves from the radiation.” Danny smiled in a ditzy fashion as the table fell silent in a horrified manner. Cass tapped his arm amusedly, but allowed his bullshit to stand. After all, it’s not like he lied.

“Radiation?” Duck’s voice raised a couple of octaves. Oh yeah, Danny’s going to laugh about that pitch for a long while.

“Organs?!” Jason’s hands closed around the plastic house he was holding rather forcefully.

“Do you even know what basic lab safety practices are, Danny?” Damian demanded, finally looking up with brows furrowed. He rolled the dice and grabbed a mystery card. He gets $100 from Alfred.

“How old were you??” Duke asked.

“Like… 8, when they first brought me in?”

“Eight.” Bruce rumbled, slipping into a more Batman like persona. When Danny sent him a confused look, Bruce straightened back into his Bruce persona. “Wow, they must have trusted you a lot!”

“Sure?”

“What were their names again?” Stephanie asked sweetly, Cass nodding at him.

“Jack and Maddie Fenton.” Not that they’ll find them here, considering his parents are dead and in another universe.

“Cool, cool, cool!” Stephanie blinked, beaming as her hands formed lethal fists underneath the table.

Danny blinked and tilted his head in an unassuming way, pretending like he had no idea what Stephanie was thinking of. He sneakily handed over $600 to Cass in order to complete his monopoly on his side of the board.

Danny stood up and spread his hands out, one hand clutching his new found victory.

"Well, lady and gents, you've all been floundering against the inevitable tide of capitalism. I am here, as a reminder that you can never win against the hopelessness that will be your financial ruin! I, Danny Fenton, have obtained a quarter of the board and therefore have won against even your best efforts!" He cackled, holding up his fan of properties triumphantly. He shot a mischievous grin at Cass, who held up a solemn thumbs up in support for his monetary takeover.

"... Danny, are you... planning on a career in villainy?" Bruce asked, after a brief and total wave of shocked silence. Damian looked like he was having a conniption at having been bested, unknowingly. Yeah, Danny was disarming like that.

"Yeah, that was concerning." Tim piped up, nabbing a ten from a shell-shocked Damian.

"Hey! The Riddler gives surprisingly good monologues! And he's really loud, so it's hard not to pick up on things. Duke, your turn." Danny sat back down, pouting. The villainy comment was a little too close to his fears.

"Damn it." Duke, who had rolled, landed smack middle of Danny's territory. He handed over a sheaf of bills to a grinning Danny.

"Wait a minute! You have cheated!" Damian bolted upwards from his seat, finally done running through the purchases he remembered Danny making. "You acquired that property not within the games' rules!"

"Okay, first of all, the rule book is a suggestion, like lab safety rules," Danny saw the others open their mouths to protest, but he quickly shut it down. "Second, there's totally no rules about selling and buying places from a private owner so suck on it. And thirdly? Cass sold it to me, so you all can take it up with her."

"Diabolical!" Damian muttered indignantly.

"... Dammit." Dick sighed, falling back into the chair and balancing on its two legs. He couldn't say anything, considering his current of bankruptcy.

"Danny. Danny, I'll buy a property from you." Jason said, eyeing one of Danny's other properties near his own cluster.

"What do you have that would interest me?" Danny asked, falling back into his Vlad-like imitation.

"Ew, don't do that," Steph reached over to jab him in the arm.

"Yeah, Jason, what do you have?" Duke said, the lovely subtle instigator that he is.

"Red Hood's signature."

The others blue-screen, gaping at the actual audacity Jason had to offer up something that would take him no effort. Danny, prepared with a poker face that came with lying straight to Jazz's ever perceptive eyes about whether he nabbed the last of her ice cream or not, was prepared.

"Red Hood? The condom guy working out of the... um. Upper East Side?" Danny asked, pretending to hesitate. He knows where Jason operated. That doesn't mean he couldn't simply pretend otherwise. For science, of course.

...

...

...

The table howled with laughter, Jason's indignant spluttering unable to say anything against Danny's wide eyed look of innocence. Cass leaned against the table, chuckles falling out of her mouth and eyes crinkled in mirth. Dick had fallen out of his chair, helplessly wheezing on the floor. Duke is hiding his face in his hands, mirroring Bruce's pose as they both shake from silent laughter. Damian is smirking, wicked and sharp as he smugly stared at Jason. Stephanie and Tim are leaning against each other, repeating "the CONDOM GUY" in alternating and increasingly louder voices. Alfred had a smile on his face and a tight grip on the bills in front of him that betrayed his amusement.

"He's a crime lord!" Jason exclaimed, indignant.

"Uh, okay. Well, I mean, why would I want a crime lord's signature? I don't want to be on his radar. Or echolocation or whatever. He's... a Bat, right? That's what you guys call that group, yeah?"

"How do you know the Rogues better than the vigilantes?!" Jason glared at his unhelpful family. Those assholes better prepare for a load of rubber bullets the next time they're on patrol near Crime Alley.

"Hey, it's not my fault the vigilantes here are unsociable. Maybe if they monologued more, I'd know who they are."

"Wouldn't- wouldn't that make them more villain like?" Tim asked, stuttering from his laughter.

"I dunno?" Danny replied, enjoying his the family's unabashed joy. "I mean, they're pretty legit and they help people already so I guess they don't need to be sociable... but still I swear I haven't heard anything about Batman other than that he grunts and is mean towards criminals."

Is mean towards criminals, Duke mouthed at a recovering Dick who was in the process of heaving himself back up. It sent him careening back down to the floor with restrained giggles. Cass tapped Danny, reminding him to eat some food.

"Tt. Of course not. They're efficient at their jobs and have no need to be seen as welcoming to criminals." Damian puffed up.

"Yeah, but they've gotta feel safe, right?" Danny shrugged as he plucked a cookie from the cookie platter. "The... one with the sword, what was it?"

"Robin." Damian supplied, eyes narrowed and trained on him.

"Yeah, the baby bird. The kids think his swords are cool so they trust him. But like, the others? The flippy blue one? Not so much."

"Wait," Dick said from the floor. "They don't trust Nightwing?"

"Nah, they trust him to protect them, but he has a history of bringing the kids to the police, you know?"

"What's wrong with that?"

Danny shrugged. "ACAB. But also because everybody knows that half the guys in the GCPD and CPS are child traffickers."

"Wait, what?" Jason and Tim straightened.

Bruce piped in, the emotional whiplash of amusement to concern to amusement to concern visibly making itself known on the man's baffled face. "I thought Batman and Commissioner Gordon took care of that?"

"Sure, the obvious ones." Danny hesitated. Well, he's pretty sure they think he's a meta so... "There's... a meta trafficking ring that they're a part of. That's. That's kind of what I was running from."

Danny looked up pleadingly. Cass placed a hand on his arm in comfort, not knowing that he was fibbing about running from them.

Danny was on the streets helping his own Alley metas to run from them.

Danny is as feral as she was, and that meant he could hide just as much as she could read off of him. Cass was the best and he felt kind of bad about lying to her, successfully or not.

"Uh. Some people said you know Batman, Bruce. I know- uh, that might not be the case but if you do, could you ask him to look into it?" Danny made his eyes tear up. "And maybe he wouldn't care about me much, I mean, I know he doesn't really like metas but if he helps out, I could totally like, leave the city once the kids are safe, promise."

Ooh, Danny put a little too much sincerity into that. He could practically hear the hearts breaking in the game room as everyone glared at Bruce.

"You won't have to leave."

"... Promise?" And Danny's voice was a little too desperate, too hopeful, because Bruce's eyes tugged down in sadness.

"Promise." He rumbled, all Bruce Wayne and all Batman. Danny's core warmed. Danny also saw the rest of the family's faces darken in pure agreement. And partial wrath.

"Yeah! We'll kick Batman's ass if he even thought about kicking you out!" Stephanie proclaimed.

"He's far more proficient in combat than you are, Brown." Damian immediately leapt to Batman's defense and that was that.

Well, later, as Danny was "sleeping" and Phantom was hovering in the cave, invisible and intangible, he got confirmation that his Alley meta kids were going to be safe, soon.

After all, the entire Batclan was suiting up and baying for blood, with Oracle's all encompassing presence behind them, fingers reaching for their enemies' weak points.

[fangirl-dot-com]

Chapter 13 - I-T-G-I-R-L, You Know I am That Girl

So this chapter is a little different. As well all know, the reader is an ICON and no one is near her level and she will do some iconic things in 2024

Look out for the dates to see how the time line goes (its a bit all over the place so I apologize but this will end with the start of the F1 Season with her clip in the Formula One Intro for every race and some other little things.)

And I know most of the pictures I used were Max but we play pretend here :D

Like always comments, questions, concerns, reblogs, and likes are always appreciated <3

TAG LIST IS OPEN

February 20, 2024

acrosstheline.podcast we are so privileged to have sat down with y/n.89 for this all exclusive interview where we discussed her opening races, femininity in male-dominant sports, and what it takes to be a racer - read now in our special edition

liked by y/n.89, landonorris, oscarpiastri, and 751,836 others

lilymhe is this what you've been working on! so so proud of you

y/n.89 hehe it is! and love you too - tell Alex that I'm taking you alex_albon I'm right here y/n.89 and? lilymhe gagged him

y/n_updates OH MY GOSH OUR GIRL'S FIRST MAGAZINE

y/n_lover and hopefully not the last! y/n.89 definitely not y/n_updates SHE RESPONDED?!

change_ur_f-car the questions were top notch! good to see interviewers who aren't looking to poke and prod for a reaction

y/n.nation favorite quote - "I never thought I'd podium on my first race - let alone finish it in the points. I hope that this means that this season will be good. I've always said that I was born to break records - and I'm glad to see that I wasn't lying."

formula1fanatic this was beautifully written, I was skeptical about her joining - but now I have no doubts. she truly belongs in the car to win

May 15, 2024

duke Y/n L/n has taken the Motor Sport World - and everyone else - by storm. we had the opportunity to sit down with the rookie and discuss the inside feelings that might take over during the pressures of her first year. these are the unfiltered thoughts of y/n l/n.

liked by charles_leclerc, formula1, and 284,937 others

y/n-lover MOMMY, sorry, MOTHER, sorry, MOMMY

maxiel_obsessed glad you put my thoughts into words

y/n'soneandonly can arthur_leclerc fight? post up frenchman

charles_leclerc he's MONEGASQUE

girls4girls this is the moment I became a fan

89_all-the_way "I looked around one time and really thought about how I was the only female racer. I was waiting for the doubts to creep in but instead pride found its way into my soul. I made it and no one can stop me" WHAT AN ICON

box-box literally one of my favorite moments number1y/n-fan I love her so much

maxverstappen1 where is your shirt young lady?

y/n.89 its called fashion - something you haven't heard of mr. I only wear RedBull merchant lewishamilton glad to see you went with my outfit suggestion georgerussell33 what was wrong with my suggestion!? y/n.89 I was not about to wear a Tommy Hilfiger jumpsuit

francisca.gomez loml - so proud of you girly

y/n.89 thanks kika! tell pear I want you back

pitstopfailure BARK BARK BARK BARK

October 7, 2024

voguemagazine "I think that I was born for this. there's nothing else I'd rather be doing than getting in my car every weekend and putting my life on the line for the sport I love," says Y/n L/n. Her days are directed by high speeds, training, and breaking records.

liked by kellypiquet, lewishamilton, and 820, 184 others

redbullracing that's our rookie!!

emotionalsupport-rivals and everyone liked that bullsrunred they are everything to me your honor

verstappensfam first kelly, then y/n! now max just needs a vogue addition

y/n.89 oh I'm working on it!

y/n-on-top they hit us with that "no one is on her level. they may be close, but we haven't seen talent like this since Lewis Hamilton's rookie year. even then, it feels different - she's different."

iamred-iamyellow and then they follow up with "her poise and composure are unmatched. she wins and maturely celebrates, she doesn't too well in the race - she takes it to heart and fixes it. she is everything a formula 1 driver aspires to be."

y/n.89 BEST BIRTHDAY PRESENT EVER!!!!!!

oscarpias-tree the way her birthday is right in the middle of Max's and Arthur's birthdays y/nxarthur exactly 7 days after max's and 7 days before Arthur's

December 4, 2023

time Y/n L/n (y/n.89) is TIME's 2024 Woman of the Year.

In her freshman season of Formula 1, L/n talks about her phenomenal rookie year, carving her spot into the sport, and the up's and down's of the expectations that were on her shoulders.

liked by taylorswift, zendaya, and 926,824 others

y/n-lover LETS GO!!!!!!!

maxverstappen1 so so proud

taylorswift congratulations y/n.89! you deserve this and everything!

y/n.nation that's our girl right there - woman of the YEAR

y/n.89 why is everyone tagging me in this post??

landonorris uh, did you even look at it??? oscarpiastri you were announced woman of the year? y/n.89 oh. boxbox_nightmare where'd she go logansargeant oh she's screaming right now - I can hear her though the walls y/n.89 LOGAN

y/n_updates everything about this article changed the way I think about life

lestappenlove this is my Roman Empire

December 20, 2024

motorsportsproduction The "Minds of Champions" special issue is out now!

We thank sebastianvettel, maxverstappen1, and y/n.89 for sitting down with us for this exclusive. Inside you will find separate as well as joint interviews from the drivers.

liked by arthur_leclerc, danielricciardo, and 2,947,935 others

lastlaplando the way they had not only y/n and max but SEBASTIAN VETTLE TOO

vettelsvetos this is everything to me, I know y/n isn't a champion yet but the way she talks and acts - she's truly champion material

emotionalsupport-rivals max, y/n, and Sebastian are the perfect trio, I could see them win a Le Mans race one day

box_box oh my gosh yes - they'd be the perfect line-up

redbullracing our three generations: past, present, and future

sebastianvettel thank you for having me - it was a special time

y/n.89 it was so good to see you again seb! planning my Switzerland trip as we speak maxverstappen1 am I invited? charles_leclerc Sebastian's favorites ONLY maxverstappen1 then why are you still here? y/n.89 shots fired (you're all wrong - I'm the favorite) landonorris popcorn is out and the girls are fighting

landonorris sad I wasn't invited for this interview

motorsportsproductions next time mr. Norris, next time

y/n.nation half of these interviews made me cry

y/ndoesiconicshit so, y/n dyed her hair navy and red just for a RedBull commercial? she is COMMITTED - sad that she eventually got back to her blond hair

liked by lastlaplando, maxiel-lover, and 170 others

y/n.nation sorry to tell you but these were wigs, y/n mentioned it once in an interview :(

y/ndoesiconicshit NOOOOOOOOOOO y/n-on-top her hair would have been crispy af if she actually dyed it

formula1fan when I tell you I switched teams because of this commercial

y/ndoesiconicshit y/n put out bts pictures of her first photoshoot and lemme tell you - I am in LOVE

liked by y/n.nation, pitstopfailure, and 239 others

f1-today this photoshoot was everything to me

y/n-loves-me people better be glad that y/n chose to be a driver and not a model

formula_uno the way that half the drivers could be models if they quit their day jobs

y/n_updates those pictures are on my wall

y/ndoesiconicshit apparently y/n wasn't ready when Max came to pick her up before media day - so she got ready in the car (what a queen)

liked by y/n-lover, y/n_fan, and 361 others

piastri_81 the way she's so unbothered, in her vlog from that day she sounded so chill while max was freaking out about being late

icon-y/n I quote "max what would they do? fire us? yagirl89 the follow up "YES" and then the "oh" had me dying

lastlaplando her skin is flawless - she needs to drop that skincare routine asap

y/ndoesiconicshit y/n's birthday was wild - y/n hinted at what happened but nothing was confirmed. all we know is that the wags took her out to celebrate the night of and they all went radio-silent (max and Arthur were panicking)

liked by change_ur_f-car, formula1fanatic, and 613 others

f1_wags apparently they went to a club where phones weren't allowed for privacy reasons

y/ns_oneandonly the leaked videos tho were hilarious

y/n-and-wags but the outside videos of Arthur and Max coming to get her melted my heart

maxiel-lover i NEED the details like water - y/n better drop them

y/ndoesiconicshit y/n at the premier of the Formula 1 film "Can't Catch Me" starring Tom Holland - when she stepped out on the red carpet ALL cameras went to her, like no one else was photographed during this time

liked by y/n.89, arthurxy/n, and 729 others

tomholland-fan DID ANYONE NOTICE Y/NS CAMEO THO

y/n.nation I thought that woman looked familiar! y/n.89-love where was she! I'll go back and watch it just to find her tomholland-fan it was when Tom's character needed to go to the mechanics for his Honda - she was the one he talked to and she was also at the end race as a engineer as well!

RedBull.nation the way everyone held their breaths when she stepped out of the car, the only sound was the clicks of the cameras and then the crowd just erupted in a roar to get her attention

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Start of the actual chapter!

Your sunglasses sat perched on your nose as you sat in the back seat of whatever rental you were in for the day. Your fingers swiped the screen of your iPhone, constantly switching videos before they could even finish. Vito sat next to you, looking out the window as he talked to someone on the phone. Words about contracts, signings, photoshoots, and interviews rattled around in the car. The driver turned the wheel as he pulled up to the studio. The car lurched as it came to a stop. 

Vito quickly hung up on the phone with a short goodbye. You turned off your phone before you stepped out of the car. 

“What was that all about?” you asked as he guided you to the front of the building. 

You heard the click of his phone as he locked it and opened the door. You said a quick thank you as you were blasted with the air conditioning. 

“Just some calls I had to make. Lots of people are wanting to interview you kid. I have to make sure that they’re not just using you or plan to ask you stupid questions.” His fingers flew over the screen, probably typing yet another email. 

You just nodded. Vito had taken care of you for so long, he’d take care of you now. You knew how dangerous the media was, especially as a woman in your occupation. 

The two of you followed a long hallway down to a big room where cameras and other filming equipment were set up. Right now, Max was in the middle in his racing suit working on poses. Since he was the 2023 champion, you guessed he’d be doing what he did last year and the year before. But you’ll have people know you tried to convince him to do an actual pose, but he was resilient against your puppy eyes. 

You however had no clue what pose you were going to do. So, you were really hoping that someone would be able to assist you. 

Max quickly glanced at you and shot you a smile before being directed to pay attention. His smile melted and his stone-cold façade showed up. You wanted to shiver since you knew that Max was this big softy that had been broken down by the villainous persona that had been built by cut scenes and misplaced wording. You’d rather go back in time to tell little Max that he wasn’t the big monster everyone said he was than win a world championship. But because time travel hasn’t been confirmed – yet, you’d stick with helping present Max and work toward your own championship. 

You were ushered to a small changing room where your new race suit was hung up. Your fireproofs were neatly folded and were lying on the small bench. The shoes sat next to them. This year, the suits were a bit different. Max and you had voiced how much you liked the matte gold and navy look. Yes, the navy and red were the big staple colors of Red Bull, but you could do well with a little pizzaz. 

So the design team listened and made the red a sub color. The lettering and stripes down the sides were gold. The bulls on the main logos were gold as well. Red lined the seams as well as being the main color for all the sponsorship logos. 

The one thing that Max was happy about was that the hats stayed the same. He had too many from the year before to not be able to wear them. You didn’t see the appeal as you were more prone to hat hair than he was. 

You put on the all navy fire proofs before stepping into the thicker race suit. You kept the outer layer on your hips as you sat down on the bench to lace your shoes. Standing up, you noticed a mirror. You walked over and just took a moment to look at yourself. 

Possibly for once in your life, you liked the way you looked. The once dark circles under your eyes had finally gone away with some good sleep. Your hair looked more shiny and healthy and you had put on some good weight in the form of muscles that were needed to steer the car. Your trainer had put you through vigorous training, but it was all to help you prepare. 

A knock on the door let you know that they were ready for you. Vito stood to the side with your 2024 helmet. You were known for switching your helmet almost every other race in Formula 2. Your argument was that you just had too many good ideas not to use them. To keep it simple, you went with a full navy helmet with gold logos to match the suits. 

Some of the Red Bull team had mentioned that your helmet looked similar to Sebastian Vettel’s helmet. You only shot them a sly smile, basically telling them everything they needed to know. And it’s not like you didn’t know the German racer, quite the contrary. And did he give you his blessing to take inspiration from his glory days at Red Bull? The probability was huge. 

But again, people really didn’t need to know that either. 

All you knew was that the helmet matched to a tee, and it would be lucky to be used for more than 10 races. You had a list where you’d use special helmets. Vito was already on it with getting them ordered. You didn’t pay him to not order multiple custom helmets per year. He was already used to your antics. 

You shook hands with multiple people before walking over to Max. You took your place next to him. 

“So what’s the plan. I go left, you go right, and we leave with a giant explosion behind us? Taylor Swift Bad Blood style?” 

Max wheezed through his nose, not expecting your full-proof plan. 

From behind, Vito spoke up, “There will be no explosions. Here’s the plan. The producers talked to me and they actually want Y/n’s segment to go last as like a ‘surprise’.”

You interrupted him, “But people already know I’m driving.” 

Vito sighed before continuing. “I know. It doesn’t make sense but they’re the bosses for today. So they want Max to hold your helmet, turn to the left and hand it off screen. Then the camera would cut to you ‘taking it,’ you’d look down, and then put it on.” 

Your hands flew up. “So I don’t get to do the pose I rehearsed and Max doesn’t get to continue to look dead inside?” 

Max looked at you and squinted. “You didn’t have a pose ready. You were just texting me and panicking that you didn’t have one.�� 

You only pouted after his confession. 

Max went ahead and redid his segment. This time, he did manage to do a little smile, just because you were the one taking the helmet and you made a weird face at him. 

The film techs said that the last take with the smile was the best one. And to Max’s chagrin, it would be the one to be used in the official video. 

You were told to stand on the massive X in the middle of the background. You were looking around at all the lights as someone helped you fix your hair. You hadn’t done anything pretty with it because it wasn’t realistic. You had never curled your hair and done anything special with it on race day. People would always find your hair in a braid, bun, or a Founding Father’s ponytail. And today was no different. 

You took a bit of time to actually make a nice braid that sat on your shoulder. Made you feel a bit like Katniss Everdeen. 

Speaking of, you wanted to have a little bit of fun. Your nickname wasn’t Kid for a reason.

“And action.” 

Your hand scrunched into three fingers that rose to your mouth for a kiss and then was lifted above your head. 

“I volunteer as tribute!” 

A couple of giggles filled the studio. Max and Vito were trying their best not to laugh out loud too much behind the camera. 

“Cut! Let’s try it again!” 

Your segment took about three more tries to get correctly. One of them, you accidentally dropped your helmet. Another, the helmet wouldn’t go on properly with your braid on your shoulder so you had to move it and undo it, so that you didn’t look like you didn’t have hair – the ponytail worked better. And then the third take was perfect. 

Max had been the one to hand you the helmet off screen and you did the opposite that he had done. You started off with a small smile, before going cold faced when you put the helmet on. You tried not to giggle once the thing was one since it felt weird without the balaclava. But you managed to keep your shoulders still until the man yelled Cut once more. 

You, thankfully, were allowed to now go change out of the hot suit. A Red Bull manager was the one to take the suit from you and hold on to it until preseason testing, which was going to be in a few weeks. You knew that when you said goodbye to Max as the place, it wouldn’t be too long until you would see him again. 

Wasn’t like you were ten minutes away, or that you didn’t work together, or that you somehow had the same simulator testing times just to catch up on what you missed during the week. But during the last few weeks, you spent more time with Arthur. 

He had called you in tears once he finally got confirmation that he was going to be out of Formula 2 and then cried once more when he had to leave the Ferrari Academy program. Your heart just ached and ached for him when you held him. 

You remember when he finally opened up a few nights after. 

You were bundled up in a giant blanket. He had come over to your apartment since Charles was staying with their mom for a few days while his apartment was being remodeled. Arthur’s head was tucked in your neck as a random movie played on the screen. 

He had finally spoken up. 

“You know. I really knew from the moment that I couldn’t continue karting all those years ago that racing just wasn’t for me. It never was.” 

You looked down at his face that was stained with tears. “Thur, don’t say that.” 

He only shrugged. “It’s true. If it wasn’t maybe Papa would have chosen for me to continue racing. And I know I begged Charles to be selfish, but maybe now I’m wishing I hadn’t.”

Your hands grabbed his face and made him look up at you. 

“Please don’t say that. Please.” 

By now, you had your own tears staining your face. 

“Because if you weren’t in Formula 2 this year, I would have never met you.” You took a breath. “My best friend wouldn’t be my best friend without it.” 

His eyes closed as he nodded little nods, almost as if he was having a hard time excepting what you called the truth. 

“I just feel like I don’t have a purpose anymore. You and Charles have racing, Maman has her store, and Lorenzo has the business. I have nothing.” 

Your arms wrapped around his figure. “We’ll find something and figure it out together. If anything, you can follow me to all my races.” You had a shit-eating grin on your face. A small laugh escaped his lips and you took that as a win. 

“What, and be your WAG?” 

You elbowed the Monegasque. “Sure. That’s exactly what I’m going for. I think I’ll have separation anxiety without you.” 

“Then that’s what I’ll do. Or unless I find something else.” 

“That’s all I ask. For you not to give up Thur. We’re in this new world together.” 

Arthur, feeling bold, laced his hands with yours. You were thankful for the dark room so he couldn’t see your red cheeks. 

“Together.”

And together is what you did for the remaining weeks. You and Arthur scoured every possibility he had to get back into racing. You reached out to many people – people who knew your godfather well and had helped you back with karting. You also reached out to many other people who normal fans didn’t know you knew. 

On this list, which Arthur had a hard time believing, were people like Sebastian Vettel, Kimi Räikkönen, Jensen Button, and Nico Rosberg. 

Arthur had tried to persuade you to not go to all your famous connections, but you were on a mission. He even threatened you that he wouldn’t take any offer since he didn’t want you to feel like he was using you. You only threatened him back when you told him that you wanted to do this and didn’t mid at you. You believe that you scared him since he never questioned you again. 

It was the day before preseason testing in Bahrain before you got an offer, or actually two, back. Arthur, keeping his promise to follow you until he found something, came with you. He was under the guise of being with his brother for support, but most knew that he was actually there for you. 

The first one came from a face time call from four time champion Sebastian Vettel. 

“Kind, it’s good to see you!” Sebastian’s voice echoed in your hotel room. Your laptop was on the desk. You sat on the second bed while Arthur sat in the rollie chair. Before, the two of you had argued about who got what seat. You sadly lost the game of rock-paper-scissors and was banished to the bed. 

“It’s good to see you too Seb! How are your kids?” 

A squeal could be heard from behind his office door. Sebastian smiled at the sound of his children. 

“They’re doing just fine. How are you doing Arthur? I know that losing a seat is hard but I was delighted to hear from Y/n when she told me that you weren’t giving up racing entirely.” 

You shot Arthur a knowing grin as to say “see, you still have a spot in this world with me.” 

Arthur spoke up, “Ah, yes sir. I was a bit discouraged. But she somehow convinced me to not give up.” 

Sebastian clapped his hands. “Well I do have an offer for you. However, it wouldn’t be for this year and maybe not the next. There will be a lot of preparation but I know you could handle it.” 

Arthur shot him a shy smile. “I’m down for anything at this point.” 

“Well, I have been in the talks about endurance racing. And as you know, I am getting a bit older, but I still want to be involved. So I need to come up with a team. I would either be a driver or the team leader, I have yet to decide. But that means I need to start creating a team.” 

The young Monegasque took a moment to bring everything in. “So you’re asking me to be on your future team. Even after all the mistakes I made in Formula 2?” 

The German winced. “You are just like your brother. A bit too self-deprecating but we can work on that. Like I told Charles, don’t waste it. Don’t waste your talents away by not trying. We will have to do months and months of training as to get over making mistakes, but that’s also part of life. We just need to learn from them. So what do you say?” 

The rest of the facetime call was filled with tears, smiles, cheers, and talks of sending over contracts to go over. You and Arthur were over the moon. 

He might not be racing in 2024 or even 2025, but he’d be doing something. 

Now, the next two offers came during media day when you had testing. Nico Rosberg and Jensen Button had apparently been looking for the two of you the entire day. Thankfully, it was just media and Max was the one to drive the new livery around for everyone to see. You just got to sit back and relax, well, as much as you could when you weren’t discussing data. 

Nico and Jensen both cornered you when they had the chance. 

“Good to see you again Brittany.” You shot Nico a smirk when you exchanged greetings. Arthur, polite as ever, shook both men’s hands. 

You smiled at the two older men. “Now to what do we owe this pleasure of this fine Tuesday?”

The two former drivers looked at each other before they casted their gaze at Arthur. 

Jensen spoke first. “We just want to preface about how terrible we feel about you losing your Formula 2 seat. It was your rookie year and you had some pretty bad luck.” 

Your eyes rolled. “Way to rub salt in the wound Button.” 

He shot you a glare, but Nico spoke next. “However, we have a solution. Y/n here told us about your taken offer from Sebastian. And we know that there are going to be weekends that you won’t have anything to do. So to save you from quote on quote from Miss L/n here ‘separation anxiety from missing your best friend’ we are offering you a type of paid internship at Sky Sports.” 

Jensen cut in, “Obviously you would be helping either Nico or I depending on what weekend, but you’d be interviewing, commentating, or taking videos of drivers throughout the race time.” 

Arthur had sparkles in his eyes, but you knew they were probably tears. With this offer, he’d be closer to you and his brother. You knew he didn’t want to be alone somewhere while you two were living his old dream. Well, it could still be his dream, but he told you time and time again that it was easier to put the Formula 1 dream in the past so that he could move on. 

That day was also filled with smiles and contract talks. 

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday were filled with you in the new RB20. If the fans thought last year was a rocket ship, this one had to be some type of vehicle from a Sci-Fi movie cause you think it was even faster. 

But, the Ferraris and McLarens were very close behind. The end of the weekend determined that Red Bull was still on top as you were able to take the fastest time out of the whole weekend, while you and Max did the most laps. 

You were practically vibrating in the debrief meeting from excitement. What this year would hold, you didn’t know. 

But you couldn’t wait to get started.   

y/n.89 has posted

y/n.89 it's go time

liked by arthur_leclerc, sebastialvettel, box_box_express, and 65,294 others

y/n.nation babygirl's new helmet - I'm in love!

sebastianvettel I see you're coming for my spot as Red Bull's golden child

maxverstappen1 sorry that was me, I have taken the seat y/n.89 sit down max, there's a new golden child

box_box_express middle picture is slaying

y/n-on-top I mean she did graduate from the university of servington with a degree in cuntology and slay sciences y/n.89 PERIOD

arthur_leclerc photo creds would be nice...

y/n.89 sorry ThurThur - EVERYONE ARTHUR TOOK THE MIDDLE PICTURE JUST LETTING YOU KNOW landonorris ok then.

redbullracing rookie of the year right there

y/n.89 I'm the only rookie? but thanks admin :D

iamred_iamyellow everyone was so close with only a few seconds separating the top three

ferrari'slastchamp this year is our year the-bulls sure - you all say that EVERY YEAR

f1 only six more days! see you drivers in the paddock

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[transbookoftheday]

Trans Books To Read If You Love "Bridgerton"

From the bestselling author of Husband Material comes a lush, sweeping queer historical romance where sparks fly between childhood friends after a life-changing separation—perfect for fans of Bridgerton, Evie Dunmore, and Lisa Kleypas!​ When Viola Carroll was presumed dead at Waterloo she took the opportunity to live, at last, as herself. But freedom does not come without a price, and Viola paid for hers with the loss of her wealth, her title, and her closest companion, Justin de Vere, the Duke of Gracewood. Only when their families reconnect, years after the war, does Viola learn how deep that loss truly was. Shattered without her, Gracewood has retreated so far into grief that Viola barely recognises her old friend in the lonely, brooding man he has become. As Viola strives to bring Gracewood back to himself, fresh desires give new names to old feelings. Feelings that would have been impossible once and may be impossible still, but which Viola cannot deny. Even if they cost her everything, all over again.

From the USA Today bestselling author of Boyfriend Material comes a riotous Regency romp full of art, expensive hats, and a love that is nothing short of spectacular. Peggy Delancey’s not at all ready to move on from her former flame, Arabella Tarleton. But Belle has her own plans for a love match, and she needs Peggy’s help to make those plans a reality. Still hung up on her feelings and unable to deny Belle what she wants, Peggy reluctantly agrees to help her woo the famous and flamboyant opera singer Orfeo. She certainly doesn’t expect to find common ground with a celebrated soprano, but when Peggy and Orfeo meet, a whole new flame is ignited that she can’t ignore. Peggy finds an immediate kinship with Orfeo, who’s just as nonconforming as she is―and just as affected by their instant connection. They’ve never been able to find their place in the world, but as the pair walks the line between friendship, flirtation, and something more, they may just find their place with each other.

Emma meets Snow White. Harmony has it all. Apple has nothing left to lose. A chance meeting changes everything. Having none of the “normal inducements” to marriage, Harmony Worth is content to enjoy her family’s fortune, meddle in the lives of her seven older brothers, and master her passion for brewing mead. With wealth, beauty, and wit there is not much she wants for, or so she thinks. Apple Forthwright is many things, a diviner, an illusionist, a potion master, and most importantly they’re a person on the run. Intent on surviving on their charms and staying in the shadows to avoid their wicked Mother, the last thing Apple planned to do was fall in love. With their love blossoming as Apple’s evil Mother is on the hunt, can they learn to lean on each other or will their Happily Ever After be poisoned? If you’re a fan of TV shows like ‘Once Upon a Time,’ ‘Bridgerton,’ And ‘Sanditon,’ or enjoy reading comedies of manners, you’ll love the novella “A Heart To Hold.” Featuring some of your favorite tropes: Sworn off Love They Fall First Opposites Attract The Regency Revisited series is a collection of interconnected novels set in an inventive Regency-inspired world. Each story follows its own protagonist as they go on their own journey of self-discovery, adventure, and ultimately romance. Every book has a guaranteed Happily Ever After! If you enjoy lush fantasy worlds, diverse ensemble casts, comedies of manners, and a heaping helping of humor, the world of the Regency Revisited series is awaiting your visit.

Fans of Bridgerton will love this “delightful” Regency romp (Julia Quinn, New York Times bestselling author​) named one of the best romances of the year by Entertainment Weekly. As a master of disguise, Thomasina Wynchester can be a polite young lady—or a bawdy old man. She’ll do whatever it takes to solve the cases her family takes on. But when Tommy’s beautiful new client turns out to be the highborn lady she’s secretly smitten with, more than her mission is at stake . . . Bluestocking Miss Philippa York doesn’t believe in love. Her heart didn’t pitter-patter when she was betrothed to a duke, nor did it break when he married someone else. All Philippa desires is to decode a centuries-old manuscript to keep a modern-day villain from claiming credit for work that wasn’t his. She hates that she needs a man’s help to do it—so she’s delighted to discover the clever, charming baron at her side is in fact a woman. But as she and Tommy grow closer and the stakes of their discovery higher, more than just their hearts are at risk.

Lady Agnes is a scandal, thanks to her sister’s marriage to a prizefighter. Or rather, she should be, but as a charitable spinster-to-be, she remains firmly invisible, even to those she loves. Always dutiful, Lady Agnes should be the toast of her family, but only if she marries well. Finding the prospect of wedding a man unpalatable, Lady Agnes cannot be the social savior of her sister. Suddenly, receiving attentions from the unpredictable and surprisingly resourceful Mr. Jack Townsend, Lady Agnes finds herself believing he might love her and not her dowry. After being overlooked for so long, can she believe he cares for her, or is she a means to an end as her family insists? Jack About Town is London’s best Finder of Lost Things. What few realize is that Jack transcends the spheres of men and women, existing as both, or perhaps neither, sex. True, his most lucrative finds are pornographic artifacts for rich toffs. But now he has found Lady Agnes, a meticulous, generous, knock-down incredible lady who wears men’s boots. Best of all, Lady Agnes accepts him in his entirety—a jewel so rare that even Jack is surprised he could find it. When Jack is commissioned to steal from Lady Agnes’s cousin, can Jack find a way to prove his love and still earn the money he needs to protect himself and his home?

[nnon-but-cwnancydrew]

Secret Sleuth Exchange (@secretsleuthexchange) for @katmichail13

Merry Sleuthmas Kat! I was honoured to be your Secret Sleuth this year. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas season and I wish a wonderful 2024 for you.

I'm so sorry that the initial fanvid gift fell through. Rest assured I'm still working on it but I'm starting completely from scratch so I wouldn't have had the time to finish before the dateline. Instead, I hope you'll enjoy a Christmassy version of your icon, a playlist, a couple of mood boards depicting AUs of our favorite platonic soulmates, and a few ficlets to go along with it.

And the playlist is here

Without furthur ado, let's begin:

1) Princess and Knight

AU Concept: Nancy "Crown Princess" Drew-Hudson and Ace "First Knight" Hardy  Tropes: Forbidden Romance, Childhood Acquaintances to Lovers, Slow Burn, Princess x Body Guard Dynamic, Royal AU Theme Songs: King (Florence + The Machine), Icarus (The Crane Wives), YOUTH (Troye Sivan), False God (Taylor Swift), Afterglow (Ed Sheeran), Fool's Gold (Niall Horan), King and Lionheart (Monsters and Men), Long Live (Taylor Swift)

Plot: Growing up, Ace's father was King Carson's First Knight until a wartime injury forced him to resign lest he wanted to forfeit his life. Thom started training Ace to become a knight after that, the exercises taking up Ace's time and slowly distancing himself from his friends.

Before Thom's injury, Ace and Nancy would play together with the children inside the palace walls, including George Fan, the cook's apprentice. The children would wreak havoc all around the castle, no one was safe; servants would spring it if their way, nobles would learn to fear when things got too quiet and the kitchens gave up trying to stop them from stealing a bun or ten.

Alas, good things never last and when Thom's injury happened, the group began to disband. Ace was taught in the ways of the sword, the bow and more. When Thom taught him all he could, Ace was gifted his own horse, a dappled brown mare, which he named Florence and was sent off to squirehood.

Nancy was saddled with more responsibilities and lessons, etiquette and diplomacy, languages and conversation, politics and household organisations (who said being a princess was easy?). George worked longer hours at the kitchen to earn better wages, needing to feed three younger sisters at home.

Things started to liven up when Bess Marvin, Marchioness Diana Marvin's long lost niece turned up at their citadel. Then, Duke Ned Nickerson, a distant cousin of Queen Consort Tiffany Hudson, appeared from the far south and started to court Nancy. The crown princess, equally besotted, returned his affection. And for a while, that was enough.

Then Queen Consort Tiffany Hudson was murdered.

Nancy didn't particularly care for her stepmother, but Tiffany was always kind to her. Setting out on a harebrained journey to find Tiffany's murderer, she would soon find a trustworthy band of friends in Sir Ace Hardy, Lady Bess Marvin, Ms George Fan and Duke Ned Nickerson. They'll go in to fight witches, evil within the kingdom and anyone that wishes them harm.

Three years later, she would find something even more precious than friendship in Ace, her heart, her love. When he proposes, it as at their secret glade, hidden from the burdens of Crown Princess and First Knight, becoming just Nancy and just Ace.

"Will you solve this part of the mystery with me?" he asks, the golden light reflecting off the water into his blue eyes, Kate Drew's diamond ring in his hands.

Her voice is watery when she says, "Yes", and she moves him until he's standing again, for she doesn't want him to be kneeling to her for this part. "Always. Forever." And she hugs him and kisses him and it's like the first time all over again but it's better and she can't help but laugh with joy.

Her Ace, His Nancy, together in the song of the afternoon. She couldn't think of anything else that sounded more right.

Other Tidbits of this AU:

Nick and Nancy break it off mutually then he has a whirlwind romance with George that ends in disaster. they both do their own thing for a while as friends before coming back together because they realize there's no one else for them romantically.

Bess falls for a couple of women, including Lisbeth the castle guard (they weren't right for each other), Odette Lamar the foreign businesswoman (before she found out Odette had a wife back home named Mary), and Addy Soctomah the small town of Horseshoe Bay's elected mayor (third time's the charm).

Other Tidbits of this AU: Nick and Nancy break it off mutually then he has a whirlwind romance with George that ends in disaster. they both do their own thing for a while as friends before coming back together because they realize there's no one else for them romantically. Bess falls for a couple of women, including Lisbeth the castle guard (they weren't right for each other), Odette Lamar the foreign businesswoman (before she found out Odette had a wife back home named Mary), and Addy Soctomah the small town of Horseshoe Bay's elected mayor (third time's the charm). Ace never became a physician, but he did invest a lot into their kingdom's medical research, helping the industry prosper and saving them from an unknown plague that other kingdoms fell victim to.

And they all lived happily ever after.

2) Ice Skater and Boxer

AU Concept: Bess "Figure Skater" Marvin and George "Hockey Player" Fan

Tropes: Strangers to Lovers, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Kinda Instalove, (Just a Soft Little Fic)

Theme Songs: Silk Chiffon (MUNA, Phoebe Bridgers), Tis the Damn Season (Taylor Swift), Girls Like Girls (Hayley Kiyoko), Friday I'm in Love (Twenty One Two), Enchanted (Taylor Swift), Slow Dancing (Aly & AJ), Ashes (Celine Dion), Daylight (Taylor Swift)

Plot: Girl I'm sorry I tried but I can't really view them from a romantic lens and so for Georgess I'm just gonna leave you with the vibes. I'm thinking a soft dreamy winter love in the big city.

If anyone wants to take a crack at this AU (or any of the others) please feel free. Just tag and credit me because I would love to read it!

3) CEO and Bodyguard

AU Concept: George "Spy/Bodyguard" Fan and Ned "Businessman/Inventor" Nickerson

Tropes: Strangers to Lovers, Spies AU, Forbidden Romance, Ballroom Scene, Making Out to Avoid Being Caught

Theme Songs: I Can See You (Taylor Swift), Plastic Hearts (Miley Cyrus), Weapon (Against the Current), Teeth (5SOS), Delicate (Taylor Swift), Roman Holiday (Halsey), Perfect (One Direction), New Year's Day (Taylor Swift)

Plot: Ned Nickerson thinks he’s done well in his life. Accepted into MIT on the honors roll, top intern at tech billionaire Tom Swift’s R&D department then branching off to start a very successful tech company of his own with the help of Tom and socialite and rich heiress Tiffany Hudson; all before the age of 28. Sure, his life is a little bland and his assistant Addy Soctomah had a bit of a point when she said that he was the most vanilla Black man she ever met but boring was good in the business world.

Then, the universe remembered he existed and made him the sole witness of Tiffany’s murder (which, was very traumatic, thanks for asking) by some terrorist company called the Road Back. Now, he was on the hit list of said terrorist company and had to be assigned a bodyguard (who very clearly did not want to be his bodyguard) that was maybe sorta cute when she wasn’t ignoring him like crazy. George said it wasn’t personal but it didn’t seem like the case to him when she stared at him unblinkingly when he was trying to close a business deal.

The mantra of ‘Fuck Drew’ was all that ran through George’s head when she had to protect Mr “Call me Nick”, rags to riches wonder boy and media darling, every day. She could be out chasing the Road Back with her team right now if Nancy had pulled the pin on that grenade 5 seconds later. 5 seconds and Owen wouldn’t have died; 5 more seconds and her foot wouldn’t have gotten pinned under all that rubble, and she could have lifted that column off Owen before he suffocated to death while their friends tried to get to them in time. 

The thought that it took four minutes without oxygen for a person to sustain permanent brain damage was all that ran through her brain as she listened to the harsh wheezing from the person underneath the column slowly stop. George had never really seen the fragile process of human to corpse before, never sticking around after her bullets left their chamber, but she could swear that it took hours for Owen to flatline. 

It took three minutes. The brain damage would happen after four minutes. The team took eight minutes to get to them and they were the longest eight minutes of any of their lives. 

The team fell apart: Nancy blamed herself bitterly, Bess mourned her cousin, Ace kicked himself for sending them into a trap and George- George was numb. Then she became angry. Claw Superiors kicked their team into mandatory leave and psych eval after 2 months. Guess Carson didn’t want his only daughter to crack mentally even more than she already had. 

2 weeks in and George begged Carson for any assignment, after barely passing her psych eval. She snatched the first case he held in his hands from him, not even looking into the file and just showing up at Ned Nickerson’s company the next day. Boy did she regret not negotiating more. Turns out Nick witnessed the murder of Tiffany, the woman whose husband cheated on with George years ago, and now he was the Road Back’s No. 1 target. Talk about awkward. 

It took spending 3 days in Nick’s presence to figure out that 1) He had a ridiculously good moral compass, 2) He and Tiffany were super close and 3) Telling him about her past history with Tiffany would make him hate her. So she kept quiet and kept her walls up, not wanting to get close to another person so soon after Owen’s death, not she was just starting to bond with him. 

But it’s difficult to spend day in day out with someone and not get close to them at some point. Nick was gentle and persistent with her, prying personal details from George like she was one of the machines he was experienced with. How she was the eldest of four sisters, how she almost went into law school, how her favourite colour was green. In return, he told her about wanting to help troubled kids find a community, how he was discovered by Tom Swift (and had a brief fling with him), how his mother taught him piano because they couldn’t afford it at the time and for her last birthday he’d bought her a grand piano to play to her heart’s content. It wasn’t her favourite mission by far, but Nick wasn’t bad company, and there was little chance of her PTSD triggering in civilian bodyguard life while the rest of her team recovered. 

Then Nick caught wind of a Road Back operative that was gonna be at a major social function that’s being hosted by Nick’s dickhead rival companies’ CEO: Everett Hudson. George hatched a harebrained dream of capturing the person to win back the grace her team lost at their agency. Nick offered to be her date so she could sneak in and around but she has to help him find dirt on Everett about the Bonny Scott which can bring justice to 12 innocent people and send Everett to jail. George accepts, which was a horrible idea for them both because now they’re catching feelings for a colleague-ish person.

(As long as you save me a dance, Fan.

You're on, Nickerson.)

At the party, there’s a point where they’re in Everett’s office digging through his files and they hear footsteps coming so they panic. There’s nowhere to hide in the office, and George grips Nick’s arm tightly. 

‘Do you trust me?’ she says, urgency coating her words.

There’s a beat of hesitation when they look into each other’s eyes, George begging Nick to say yes. Still, looking, he nods, and she spins him around to pin him against the wall.

‘I’m sorry about this,’ she says quietly, before kissing him. 

For a moment, everything in the world narrows to his back against the wall, the girl he likes pressed up against him, her lips on his, her hands on him. Realising his hands are just hanging dumbly by his side, he moves one to run through her hair and the other to cup her cheek.

‘OI! You’re not supposed to be in here!’ A loud voice cut through the air, and he remembers why he shouldn’t be doing this. They spring apart, and he’s sheepish when he addresses the person who caught them.

‘Sorry sir. Won’t happen again.’

‘Not today anyway.’ George’s coy face and satisfied smirk makes him blush and he finds he can’t look at the security guard for more than a second without looking away in embarrassment.

‘I don’t care what you do and where you do it as long as it isn’t in here. Now get going before I change my mind.'

'Got it, sir.' He blocks George from view as she surreptitiously swipes the hard drive that had finished downloading information in the time they were caught by the guard. He repeats, 'Won't happen again.'

Outside, George apologises and they go home but there's still an air of awkwardness. She hands the drive over to Claw Agency superiors and is called back in the week to pursue Road Back members with her old team. Since the Road Back is disbanded, Nick doesn't need a bodyguard anymore and they part ways, both thinking this is the last time they'll see each other again.

Three months later, they round up the last of the Road Back members, and George hands in her resignation form. She makes her team promise to keep in touch, thanks the Claw superiors for giving her a lifeline back then, and shows up at Nick's house to confess her feelings.

'You know,' she says, after the heavy emotional talk. 'We never did get that dance.'

'Never too late,' says Nick. He holds out his hand. 'May I?'

'But there's no music,' she laughs, taking his hand anyway.

He smiles at the sound. 'Don't need music. Your laugh is the most beautiful sound of all.' And she proves him right by laughing again.

When they have their first dance at the wedding, they're laughing merrily through the whole thing, calling each other Mr Fan and Mrs Nickerson.

Other Tidbits of this AU: Everyone on the team is field cleared but George and Owen were the only true field agents so they were closer because they have to trust each other's back in the field. Ace is the Hacker, Nancy is the scientist with a focus on biochem and Bess is the pilot/driver/etc. George and Nick play chess but George is more logical and Nick is more passionate. They're equally skilled. Bess meets Addy while the team visits George and they start talking and start dating just before Fanson's wedding. Nace dance around each other for years before everyone locks them in a small room and they come with messy hair and red lips to a chorus of "Finally"s

In every universe, the Drew Crew wishes Kat Michail a very Merry Christmas and hopes that she enjoys her gift. In this universe, Shannon wishes Kat a Happy New Year too. I hope you liked your gift Kat!

[thealmightyemprex]

Sci Fi Month Frank Herbert's Dune(2000)

So I talked about David Lynchs attempt at a Dune adaptaion ,but there have been other adaptaions of the story,with Denis Villenuves Dune PArt 2 currently in theaters by the time of this post,but the adaptaion I am looking at today was a 3 episode miniseries made for the Sci Fi Channel (Still never calling it Syfy ,I can be petty ) .Ive kind of avoided this version because welll......Its a early 2000's TV adaptation of an epic novel for the Sci Fi channel ,which is unfair,as I love a good miniseries but I'll admit I can be a snob sometimes,but over the years I have heard praise and to this day many people (My dad who is an old school Dune fan ) call tyhis the best adaptation of Dune

In this 2000's miniseries Duke Leto Atredies (William Hurt ) is given control of Arakis by the Emperor Shaddam IV (Giancarlo Giannini) who uses it as a ploy to destroy Leto by giving support to Letos enemy the Baron Vladimir Harkonen (Ian McNeice ) to destroy the house of Atredies,but Letos son Paul (Alec Newman ) and Letos concubine Jessica (Saskia Reeves) escape ,join the native people of Arakis ,the Fremen to seek revenge on the Emperor and House Harkonen ,while also taking advantage of a prophecy

.....SO I enjoyed this a lot.Its not flawless but if you are in the right mood it is enjoyable .I will say it is not as grand as the Lynch or Villinuve films,its shot on soundstages and lacks the all star casts of those films....But what I like is its more Shakespeare then space opera ,very theatrical sort of sci fi .I actually like the sets(GEidi Prime in particualr is perhaps my fave take on the planet ).The costume design is where this shines ,I heard the costumes were inspired by Moebius (The French comic artist) and you can tell,the characters feel like they walked right out of a sci fi comic,and with the designs and colors this mybe my favorite LOOKING version of Dune .I think the three episodes tell the story very well,though the best written is part one,and part 2 feels a bit padded but it sticks the landing for part 3 .I also think this miniseries nails the darker parts of the story better then the 84 Dune ,mainly that Paul is NO hero

The actors are mostly good,though very few are my favorite takes on these character.Some stand outs are Karel Dobry as the enigmatic Liet-Kynes(My fave take on the character),Julie Cox in an expanded role as Princess Irulan,Barbora Kodetova is good as Chani ,Saskia Reeves is a very good Lady Jessica ,Jan Unger is a suitably slimey Piter de Vries ,and Matt Keesler is suitably villainous as Feyd .The big star gets of the miniseries are Giancarlo Giannini as the Emperor who is better then Jose Ferrer but still lacking a bit of gravitas ,and William Hurt as Duke Leto ,who I think does a fairly good job as the noble duke even if its funny he is top billed as a guy wh dies in the first part .The scene stealer of the series is our villain ,the Baron played deliciously deviously by Ian McNiece ,who might be my favorite take on the Baron ,he feels like a classic Shakesperian villain and McNice is clearly having a ball without going as over the top as Kenneth McMillian in the 84 film

If the miniseries has a weak point the weakest has to be Paul.Alec Newman is not bad ,in fact hes pretty good at anti hero Paul near the end....But his begining PAul feels like it is written younger,and he comes across too petulent and whiney

However I do reccomend this and it is very solid ,higly reccomended

@ariel-seagull-wings @the-blue-fairie @piterelizabethdevries @themousefromfantasyland @theancientvaleofsoulmaking @princesssarisa @countesspetofi @filmcityworld1

[notbadforafailedvessel]

Resident Evil backstory generator

Find out your backstory for the Resident Evil universe! Some scenarios generated won't make sense canonically because it's pretty random, but just have fun! Write down your results (And some head canons if you want) for yourself or an OC and tag me or reblog this so I can read it!

Birth Month - Figure out who you're related to:

January - Albert Wesker February - Jill Valentine March - Mother Miranda April - House Heisenberg May - Ada Wong June - Leon Kennedy July - Barry Burton August - House Moreau September - Chris and Claire Redfield October - House Dimitrescu November - Rebecca Chambers December - Ethan Winters

First Letter of First Name - What Game Your Story Takes Place In:

A - Resident Evil: Outbreak B - Resident Evil: Revelations 2 C - Resident Evil 8 D - Resident Evil 5 E - Resident Evil 7 F - Resident Evil: Code Veronica G - Resident Evil: Revelations H - Resident Evil 4 I - Resident Evil 6 J - Resident Evil K - Resident Evil 3 (Remake) L - Resident Evil: Code Veronica M - Resident Evil 7 N - Resident Evil: Zero O - Resident Evil: Outbreak P - Resident Evil 3: Nemesis Q - Resident Evil 2 (Remake) R - Resident Evil 8 S - Resident Evil 2 T - Resident Evil 5 U - Resident Evil 8 V - Resident Evil: Code Veronica W - Resident Evil X - Resident Evil 6 Y - Resident Evil 3: Nemesis Z - Resident Evil 4

First Letter Of Last Name - Who Your Partner Is

A - Piers Nivens B - Chris Redfield C - Jill Valentine D - Ethan Winters E - Leon Kennedy F - Carlos Oliveira G - Sheva Alomar H - Moira Burton I - Claire Redfield J - Ada Wong K - Sherry Birkin (Grown Up) L - Barry Burton M - Jake Muller N - Mia Winters O - Leon Kennedy P - Barry Burton Q - Chris Redfield R - Sheva Alomar S - Claire Redfield T - Ada Wong U - Carlos Oliveira V - Jill Valentine W - Ethan Winters X - Zoe Baker Y - Piers Nivens Z - Leon Kennedy

Favorite Color: The Main Villain You're Fighting Against

Red - Nemesis T Type Orange - Albert Wesker Yellow - Chief Brian Irons Green - Mr. X Blue - Mother MIranda Purple - Derek Simmons Pink - Lord Osmund Saddler Brown - Lord Karl Heisenberg Black - Alex Wesker White - Lady Alcina Dimitrescu

Favorite Voice Line (Out of the ones provided): Who You Save

No thanks, bro! (Leon Kennedy) - You save Ada Wong

I'm not gonna die on you and leave you in a cold, cruel, Carlos-less world. (Carlos Oliveira) - You save Jill Valentine

Hmm... Starting to go a little stale (Alcina Dimitrescu) - You save Rosemary Winters

You want S.T.A.R.S? I'll give you S.T.A.R.S! (Jill Valentine) - You save Carlos Oliveira

You were almost a Jill Sandwich. (Barry Burton) - You save Chris Redfield

This is getting old. Saving your ass - That's twice. (Ada Wong) - You save Leon Kennedy

I'm sick of bugs! (Ethan Winters) - You save Mia Winters

I'm going to murder that boulder-punching asshole, but you're first! (Karl Heisenberg) - You save Ethan Winters

Staaaars! (Nemesis) - You save Mikhail Viktor

What're ya buyin'? (The merchant) - You save The Duke

My results:

I'm related to Ethan Winters (I'm hating this already 😒😂).

My story takes place in Resident Evil 4.

My partner is Claire Redfield.

The main villain I'm fighting against is Mother Miranda (after having Ethan as my relative, I think I would prefer to make team with Mother Miranda to get rid of him 😂😂😂 afterwards I deal with her 😌).

I'm saving Leon Kennedy.

Thank you so much for tagging me, @ctitan98! This was fun. I really don't know many RE fans here so I wouldn't know who to tag, but if you see this and you want to do it, go ahead pls!

[natalieironside]

Masters of the World, part 1

Hey there, Age of Mythology fans! You can head on over to https://www.patreon.com/posts/77895021 and download the first map in a campaign I been working on (nothing is for sale, I'm just hosting it there while I work on my big-girl website)

Heyyy everybody, here's one of my side projects!  I'm making a custom campaign for the super great historical fantasy RTS game Age of Mythology: Extended Edition,which I'm pretty sure at least one other person on Earth still plays.  You can get it here if you don't have it:  https://store.steampowered.com/app/266840/Age_of_Mythology_Extended_Edition/  It's been a lifelong favorite since I was a kid and it's a great relic of the early 2000s RTS golden age; highly recommend.  Once you've got the base game plus the Titans and Tales Of The Dragon xpacks, you can just drop this bad boy into the "scenarios" folder in your game files and you'll be good to go.  More on the technical issues in a minute, but if you run into any problems try opening it in the editor and just selecting one of Player 1's units and that should fix it. 

First, a word on the production.  To put it bluntly the AoM scenario editor absolutely stinks.  A lot of stuff just straight up doesn't work.  For one thing, I've confirmed with other mapmakers that the campaign maker is irreparably broken and the only way to knit all the scenarios into a campaign is to manually write an XML document, which . . . I am not doing that.  Also, a lot of the text-based storytelling elements from AoE2 were cut and replaced with visual ones, and listen Ensemble Studios I love you but I am not going to sit here for hours and make an entire claymation movie one if-then statement at a time.

All this is to say that this scenario is not done, but it is as done as it's ever going to get, so I'm just gonna send it.

Masters of the World part 1 is a single-player battle royale (well technically it's 1v1v1v1v1v3 but who's counting) build-and-destroy map with 7 AI players.  Much like Swords of Outremer, I went a little wild with this one and as a consequence it's mad chunky.  I recommend playing with your video settings turned alllll the way down.  Also much like Swords of Outremer, I used an RMS for the skeleton; this one is Alfheim.  I'm planning on telling this story in about 7 or 8 single-player maps, and you can expect Masters of the World part 2: The Fields of Pentecost sometime soonish.

***

Masters of the World is a high fantasy scenario where you play as Ajax Ironroot, king of the dwarves, who has come south out of his mountains to deal with an ancient threat:  The Master of the World.  The Masters, a band of mighty and nigh godlike wizards, lorded over by the mysterious figure known only as "the Wizard," have long scourged the land and laid it waste as they vie against each other for ultimate mastery.  Ajax, afraid that this destruction may spread across his borders, will march forth to challenge the Masters on their own terms . . . But, to challenge them means becoming a Master of the World oneself.  

Featuring a robust cast of characters, including the vain and proud Lady Pentecost, queen of the elves, and the mysterious vampire lord Gretta, Duchess of Shadows, as well as various and sundry other original the characters (do not steal).  If you like protracted mountain sieges and massive endgame doomstack fights, like I do, this should serve; during playtesting I let the AI duke it out amongst themselves and they whupped on one another with no clear contender for like 6 or 7 hours until the game ran out of memory and crashed. 

Have fun and let me know what you think!  :)

[mermaidsirennikita]

I'm on a Lorraine Heath kick thanks to your recommendations so I'd love to know your Top Reads of hers!

Aaah I'm so glad! Lorraine is really so good. A true icon.

My chief favorites include...

Obviously, When the Duke Was Wicked, which feels stupid to say as I'm word vomiting about it right now, but in case someone is in my recs tag later, I love this book and I think it's probably one of the most well-executed romances I've ever read.

Waking Up with the Duke is one that I think has risen among Lorraine fans to be upheld as one of the best, and if I think about everything I've read by her... There's one thing that I think is, in terms of dating and the way we talk about romance, worth critiquing. But in terms of the quality of the love story, her prose, the plot, the EMOTION, it may be her best yeah. It's really moving and really angsty and it takes a truly bizarre plot and plays it so straight and gives you SO MUCH feeling. I just really love this book.

The Earl Takes All is Gorilla Twins, so you've kinda gotta read it, but it's also genuinely a great book. Like, the entire plot is incredibly wild lol, but the drama and twists are done so well. The way she does the REVEAL is not what I think anyone would expect when reading this novel. And it's so messy. God, I love it.

The Duke and The Lady in Red is another one I think we could discuss on some levels but damn did I love it. It's sooooo romantic, and Avendale is honestly a difficult hero because he's such an asshole beforehand, and he has a genuinely super rough backstory. This one made me cry, but I also found it very sexy and like, full of tension throughout because our hero and heroine do initially have a very transactional relationship that gradually becomes more genuinely emotional.

Between the Devil and Desire is one I'd argue could possibly rival Waking Up with the Duke for the crown, because it just hits every beat. A snappy, rough hero who doesn't seem to care about anyone; a chilly, bitchy (yet incredibly horny) widow who sees him as a threat on every level. One of the only children in romance who WORKS and that's because Jack Dodger is the ULTIMATE father who stepped up in romance, imo. Fabulous.

The Scoundrel in Her Bed is a recent favorite. It's second chance, it's extremely angsty, and it destroyed me emotionally. Like. This one probably made me cry the most out of any of the Lorraine books I've read because it just really luxuriated in how like. Sometimes love doesn't fix everything that's gone wrong because love isn't a time machine, but we can still move forward and so on and so on. Also, I'm a sucker for a second chance romance, especially one where they like, took each others' precious flowers and then got separated and are both now SUPER BITTER TBH.

Scoundrel of My Heart is another second chance one where it's like "what happened to us, what did we lose, can we get it back" (no but you can get something new!!!) and obviously I love that shit. It's also one of those second chance books where they were separated when they were just beginning, and they never got to have sex, and now they're back in each other's orbit and it is TENSE.

[hrh-the-royals]

The Wedding Addition - San Sequoia / Part One

Today, we introduce the second Kingdom this series, The Kingdom of San Sequoia. Here at Royal Collection's, we are going through a new series that explores the wedding tiara's of various queens and kingdom's. We'll be going in order of wedding date's unless there is a repeat! Let's take a trip through history together. We'll be starting off with the Kingdom of San Sequoia. The throne has long been held by the Sorensen family. A fan fact about this kingdom, the current King Luca is the sun to King Louis of Westonbury. In fact, the Kingdom of San Sequoia was created through a break and bitter family rifts. To add on, a lot of the tiara's in the San Sequoia collection, came from the Kingdom of Westonbury.

The ArchDuchess tiara

On her wedding day in 1924, Queen Matilda worn the The ArchDuchess tiara. The tiara was owned by the last ArchDuchess of Westonbury. By the time the reign of King Henry came around, the usage of titles such as arch and grand duke's and duchess had faded into history. The last ArchDuchess was, Freya, the 6th Duchess of Windslar. She was the second wife of Henry's father King Edric, was made an ArchDuchess when he was crowned as she would get the title of Queen. That would go to his first wife. She was also the mother to King Charles, who had left the family and created the Kingdom of San Sequoia. The tiara was commissioned by Freya in 1915 and left to her son, Charles. The tiara is made of diamonds and the center diamond came from a necklace gifted to her by King Edric.

Halo Moon tiara

Lady Josephine Burrey, married into the royal family in 1945 and would go on to become the second Queen of the country. Lady Josephine's family came from sections of the nobility that sided with Charles. On her wedding day, she wore the Halo Moon tiara. After the Kingdom split, King Charles and Queen Matilda slowly started to built up the royal collection. This tiara came from a collection of tiara's and jewels that were owned by the late Duchess of Tolworth, of the Kingdom of Neverly. She was last seen in 1607, before leaving her husband with her most expensive personal items and one suitcase. It is unknown what happened to the duchess, some say she was hidden away with a lover. The palace has never explained how the collection came to be in their possession.

Queen Matilda Ruby Crown

Princess Catherine, daughter to King Charles and Queen Matilda married her husband, Prince Allen McBurg. A union that proved fruitful, as the country was finding itself. On her marriage day, she became the Duchess of Van Hunt. They married in 1946 and she wore her Queen Matilda's Ruby Crown. The tiara was purchased in 1925 by King Charles for Queen Matilda on their second anniversary. The gold based tiara was filled with rubies, diamond's and pearls.

Freya Crown

Princess Royale Freya married in 1956. On her wedding day, she wore the Freya Crown. Another piece of the collection that been given to King Charles, the name of the crown comes from Freya, 6th Duchess of Windslar, herself. Princess Freya was also named after her great-grandmother. The crown was made in 1865, shortly after the duchess was born. It was gifted to her on 18th birthday. It was a go-to favorite of the duchess and often saw events.

Connaught Sapphire tiara

Princess Matilda, the daughter of Princess Catherine married in 1970. On her wedding day, she wore the Connaught Sapphire tiara. The tiara was made in 1897, at the request of the Countess of Connaught of Westonbury. The countess, held a lot of influence on her but held a close friendship with Freya, 6th Duchess of Windslar while also holding a more reserved friendship with Queen Mary |||. The tiara was worn by the countess to various events and had even been loaned out to Queen Mary who favored the tiara. Before she passed, she gifted the tiara to Freya, wanting no squabbles after her death. This was a blow to Queen Mary and the two both passed without mending the their friendship. It's say though, that the countess wasn't too bothered about the loss. When Freya passed, the tiara went to her son Charles.

Emerald Raindrop tiara

The next marriage in the family (recognized at least) wouldn't come until 2017, with Princess Annabella June Irene McBurg marrying into the family. For her wedding day, she wore the Emerald Raindrop tiara. This piece was one of the first few tiara's that had been bought or commissioned by King Charles. He wanted to slowly fill the royal vaults with their own collections, separate from what came from Westonbury. While, they rightfully had claim, King Charles wanted pieces that didn't have such a murky past attached to them. The tiara was made by the company, Belleau & Co. The emerald's in the tiara were sourced from a deconstructed necklace owned by Queen Matilda.

Pearl Fan tiara

In 2018, Lee Ahyoung married into the family to Richard, the 3rd Duke of Von Hunt and the great-grandchild of King Charles and Queen Matilda. She wore the Pearl Fan crown, gifted to the family in 1930. This was the first state visit that hosted the Kingdom Of Kurai. It was a sweet moment as though, Ahyoung lived in the Republic Of Uspana, her family originated from Kurai. It is one of the more simple tiara's in the royal collection but does often see events.

Poltimore tiara

Lastly, we have Queen Noelle, now, Queen Noelle and King Luca married in 2023 when they were both still apart of the Wettin family. On their one year anniversary, the couple held a vow-renewal that acted as second wedding in their now home country. For the renewal, Noelle wore the Poltimore tiara. The tiara belonged to the sister of Queen Mary ||| of Westonbury, Lady Justina Poltimore. The tiara was made in 1894 and was a favorite go-to tiara of Justina. Mary wore the tiara herself once. The two had a falling out and cut contact with each other. When Lady Poltimore passed, the fate of the tiara was uncertain. It appeared at an auction in 1960 and was purchased by King Oscar.

And that is all for San Sequioa! I hope you enjoyed this trip with us and remember to keep up with Royal Collect for all of your royal tiara needs!

[greensparty]

RIP Dr. Ruth, Richard Simmons, and Shannen Doherty

I was on vacation and wanted to combine multiple deaths that occured during my getaway:

Remembering Dr. Ruth Westheimer 1928-2024

Sex therapist and talk show host Dr. Ruth has died at 96. She became an icon in the Reagan 80s for her frank discussion of sexuality, most notably on her TV talk show Dr. Ruth Westheimer  (Lifetime 1984-1991). She was a staple of TV talk shows in the 80s and was often imitated, including Mary Gross who played her on SNL. She appeared as a fictionalized version of herself in Electric Dreams, an episode of Moonlighting, and an episode of Melrose Place. Worth checking out is the 2019 documentary Ask Dr. Ruth directed by Ryan White (who I interviewed in 2022).

Dr. Ruth as a guest on David Letterman in the 1980s.

The link above is the obit from Hollywood Reporter.

Remembering Richard Simmons 1948-2024

Fitness guru Richard Simmons has died at 76. Of all TV aerobics instructors he was one of the biggest personalities. In the 1980s he had many fitness videos including "Sweatin' to the Oldies" and like Dr. Ruth, he was a frequent guest on talk shows. He appeared in a 1994 episode of SNL (in a Coffee Talk sketch) and Eddie Murphy portrayed Little Richard Simmons, a mashup impression of Simmons and Little Richard. Within pop culture, Simmons appeared in several movies and TV shows as a fictionalized version of himself on a number of shows including a 1985 episode of Amazing Stories and some episodes of Arrested Development. In recent years there have been podcasts about him and there's a biopic in the works with Pauly Shore set to play him.

VHS cover

The link above is the obit from Hollywood Reporter.

Remembering Shannen Doherty 1971-2024

Sad news that actress Shannen Doherty died at 53 after a long battle with cancer. She was actually an early crush of mine circa late 80s. My favorite performances of hers were: Heather Duke in the 80s teen masterpiece Heathers, as Brendan Walsh on Fox's Beverly Hills, 90210 from 1990-1994, and as Rene in Kevin Smith's Mallrats. Smith's follow up to Clerks was a bigger budget movie and thanks to Doherty he had a big name star in it. When I met Smith in 1997, I had him sign my 1995 Film Threat with him and Doherty on the cover and he jokingly drew a mustache on her! I was a fan of the first 2 or 3 seasons of 90210, but it's really sad that since this teen show that was on when I was a teen, we've lost Luke Perry in 2019 and now Doherty (for the teen cast that is).

Jason Lee and Doherty in Mallrats

She got her start as a child / teen actress. Early roles included voice acting in The Secret of NIMH, Night Shift (still my favorite Ron Howard movie), TV's Our House (NBC 1986-1988), and then the 90210 era. She played herself in an episode of Parker Lewis Can't Lose, Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult, and she returned to the View Askewnaverse as herself in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. She hosted SNL in 1993 with the great "Denise Show" sketch where Adam Sandler is pining for his ex played by Doherty.

Alf and Doherty

In 1987 to promote NBC's Saturday Morning TV season, they had a promotional special Alf Loves a Mystery, with Alf trying to solve a mystery...with the help of NBC TV shows. Doherty, who was on Our House at the time, appeared as a The Lady in Red. After the passing of Alf's Benji Gregory and now Doherty, it's a tough week for Alf fans like me :(

The link above is the obit from Hollywood Reporter.

[dhaaruni]

Do you have any recommendations for romance novels with women who are sexually dominate?

Lol idk about sexually dominant per se but here's some romance novels that have that vibe.

Brazen and the Beast by Sarah MacLean: at one point she ties him to the mast of the ship, enough said. I'm personally a huge Day of the Duchess fan as well, and one aspect of that book that I really loved is that it was about giving Seraphina agency that she lacked. Also, Heartbreaker is also a really great book in terms of sexually dominant female leads because for one thing, Adelaide isn't a blushing virgin so there's no easing in period and it's hotter for that.

Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas: So like, Sebastian St. Vincent is recovering from an injury and making himself be celibate ("I'm Sebastian, Lord St. Vincent. I can't be celibate. Everyone knows that") so that his wife will fuck him and said wife basically climbs on top of him while he's comatose (it's all consensual obviously) and rides him. It's very hot but also hilarious.

A Rogue's Rules for Seduction by Eva Leigh: a truly excellent second-chance romance, and well, let's just say that Willa gets to ... take charge so to speak, in a way that's very rare for mainstream romance that's not ~erotica~

Thief of Shadows (Maiden Lane #4) by Elizabeth Hoyt: There's a blowjob scene in this one that made me gasp out loud (and then start crying) and I'd definitely classify that as dominant. Plus, the hero in that one is a virgin! Also, Duke of Midnight (Maiden Lane #6) has a scene in a chair that's ... intense and I don't know if I'd classify it as dominant but that particular one is one of my favorites because it's a cross class romance that doesn't feel remotely inequal, which is super rare when the man's the wealthier party

The Duke Gets Even by Joanna Shupe: This is probably my favorite Shupe novel (along with The Prince of Broadway), and something I loved is that Nellie, who's basically a lady rake for lack of better term, gives as good as she gets. There are multiple instances where she CLAWS at Lockwood to the extent of leaving marks, and it's just so refreshing to read.

For the Duke’s Eyes Only by Lenora Bell: I haven't read this one in a while but from what I can remember, aside from the fact it's like, basically a gender-swapped Indiana Jones (Lady India Rochester) and Marian Ravenwood (The Duke of Ravenwood) with a very dramatic and headstrong heroine, there's a rare 69 scene, which almost never happens in historical romance.

Her Night with the Duke by Diana Quincy: A widow heroine who attempts (and fails) to have a one night stand lol. Also, I loved that this book really hits on the fact that just because you end up together doesn't mean that all your flaws as an individual just go away. At one point, the hero stalks away from the heroine during an argument because he's avoidant and instead of just letting him have his time, she stalks out after him to tell him he's being stupid (and they end up having sex against a tree).

A Rogue of One’s Own by Evie Dunmore: the best of Dunmore’s books, a childhood friends-enemies-lovers and I cried a LOT. Also, Oscar Wilde shows up!

That should get you started!

[ballplayersxo]

“Her family is well known and it’s a small town he wouldn’t dare 😡”

🤨🧐🤨🧐🤨🧐

Princess Diana from the Spencer family got cheated on by the now King of the Commonwealth who has married his mistress

Kate Middleton, the Princess/Dutchess of Wales (or whatever it is) is allegedly getting cheated on by the Prince/Duke of Wales and her family was also well known in their city before they got together

Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter’s family was pretty much known by not only the entire city of Houston but the state of Texas before she got with JayZ, and now they are known by the entire world, and guess what???? BEYONCÉ herself still got cheated on

Jackie O “allegedly” got cheated on by the President when she was the First Lady and her family was well known before she got with JK

Hillary Clinton literally got cheated on by the President in the f*cking Oval Office when she was the First Lady of the USofA and got humiliated in front of not just the nation but the entire f*cking world

Im sure there are women who come from well known families in their hometowns who are married to local/statewide politicians or even just regular dudes who are getting cheated on as well

And the sad part is, guess what all those women (excluding the OG Princess Diana) have in common?

Once they found out about their partner’s infidelity: they stayed.

and there are people who most likely knew this was happening, but to those people, why say something against this powerful man (yes we would usually call those people cowards with no back bone) and it has nothing to do with them and ain’t messing up they pockets?

Im not saying JB9 is a cheater, I really hope he isn’t because that shit isn’t cool at all, and I have nothing against his girlfriend, but to say that she wouldn’t get cheated on because of her family is some top tier nonsense when the most powerful women in the world throughout history have gotten cheated on.

Y’all know the saying: “If Beyoncé got cheated on what does that say about what happens to the rest of us?”

(Of course, not everyone is getting cheated on, there are good men out there believe it or not and I want to believe JB9 is one of them)

Again, I’m not saying he cheats, I really hope he doesn’t because no one deserves to get treated like that whether they accept it or not, but she’s not exempt from it happening to her. Especially when that man is the franchise QB1 that brought that team out from the trenches and is arguably the 2nd best quarterback in the league

I personally don’t think I could stay knowing my partner is out there doing me wrong whether in public or doing it quietly,

but those women I listed above have the mindset that “ a power couple is better than what else I could get or if I stay single” (which is unfortunate, bc we deserve the force that a single Beyoncé would give). JB9 & her ain’t on that level, maybe in Cincinnati I guess, but ykwim

I don’t know what goes on in their relationship it really ain’t our business, but it seems like the girl is doing just fine regardless

But y’all fans need to be so forreal

And if it helps, I used to be painfully naive too, but then when growing up and reading blogs like this or LSA or hearing things in the news, or just seeing what happens in my city……yeah, unfortunately the rose tinted glasses fall off and get stepped on real fast without mercy (and this is coming from a 24yo hopeless romantic)

Sorry this is so long but last thing:

I’m rooting for all y’all ladies out there 😘 be safe girly pops!

It’s hard out here for women, and people (including women) don’t care about us when it protects their favorite men

this is such an excellent post lmao thank you for this anon cause the girlies have lost their damn minds when it comes to speculating about athletes cheating. none of us are safe and i think that’s the main point we have to remember

[triviareads]

Do you have any recs with heroes like Cross from One Good Earl Deserves a Lover? I love that man

Sure! He's a more gentle iteration of a gambling hell owner to me, so while I think Clay Madden from Prince of Broadway by Joanna Shupe, Gavin Hunt from Her Wanton Wager by Grace Callaway, Jack Dodger from Between the Devil and Desire by Lorraine Heath, and Derek Craven from Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas are all excellent heroes with similar professions, they generally go harder than Cross. Which isn't a bad thing for Cross! He's one of my favorite MacLean heroes. So here's are books with comparable heroes:

For club owners, I love Aiden Trewlove from The Duchess in His Bed by Lorraine Heath; he owns a pleasure club that caters exclusively to non-heirs and non-debutante-aged women where they can freely hook up, and he gets propositioned by this widowed duchess who it turns out, is trying to get him to impregnate her so she can pass of the kid as her dead husband's heir lolol. There's also Silas from The Rake Gets Ravished by Sophie Jordan. The heroine sleeps with him to distract him from the fact that she's stealing back the deed to her house that her brother gambled away, and when he wakes up, she's left him with an apology note and her VIRGIN BLOOD on the sheets so now.... he must hunt her down.

Also, Benedict aka BEAST from Beauty Tempts the Beast by Lorraine Heath is a brothel owner but like, an ethical one and he's trying to find all his employees new jobs and asks the heroine to teach the women in his employ how to act like ladies in exchange for him giving her sex lessons.

SPEAKING of sex lessons, for heroes who gives sex lessons, I'm a big fan of Kit from The Lady Gets Lucky by Joanna Shupe, Raven from My Kind of Earl by Vivienne Lorret, and (this one is quite underrated imo but PROOF that once upon a time Sophie Jordan could bring the heat) Nate from The Duke's Stolen Bride by Sophie Jordan.

For a celibate hero who still ends up being an animal in the sack, Winter Makepeace from Thief of Shadows by Elizabeth Hoyt is your man; I'm pretty sure he actually took a vow of celibacy and he's a virgin!

For a hero who WILL come in his pants like Cross does in that scene, partially because he's been celibate That Long, Eden from Scarlett Peckham's upcoming The Mistress Experience is deeeefinitely worth checking out.

For the rare redheaded hero, there's Spencer Halifax from In Which Winnie Halifax Is Utterly Ruined by Alexandra Vasti, and to a lesser extent, the Mackenzie brothers from Jennifer Ashley's Mackenzies series.

[denimbex1986]

'Legendary pop star David Bowie was a man of eclectic pop culture tastes. The artist formerly known as Ziggy Stardust and The Thin White Duke was famous for his mysterious, otherworldly personas, but he wasn't actually all mystery all the time. Bowie passed away in 2016, but fans can still excavate lists of his personal favorites and influences online, like this one from Far Out Magazine that notes that he counted "Trainspotting," "Un Chien Andalou," and "Moon" (directed by his son, Duncan Jones) among his favorite movies.

Bowie may not have always been very public about his pop cultural interests, but we know about at least one television show that he loved prior to his passing: "Peaky Blinders." The BBC series turned Netflix original ended its TV run in 2022 (a film is still to come), but series creator Steven Knight revealed back in 2016 that Bowie was apparently a massive fan of the show. "We've had an amazing response from famous people for some reason," Knight told Radio Times (via The Independent), mentioning Bowie alongside other major celebrities like Steven Spielberg, Snoop Dogg, and Tom Cruise.

Bowie wanted a song from Blackstar to appear in the show

Bowie's love for "Peaky Blinders" isn't just an apocryphal story from after his death. According to Knight, he actually sent a sign of his adoration for the show directly to star Cillian Murphy. "He sent a photo of himself with razor blades in his cap to Cillian about a year ago," Knight shared in 2016, ahead of the show's third season. "I got in touch with his people who came back straight away and said he was a big, big fan." Knight even says a Sony representative visited him a week ahead of the release of Bowie's album "Blackstar," which was released just two days before the musician's death. As he put it, "It seems that his people were keen to establish that we could use it before he died."

The show ultimately incorporated Bowie's song "Lazarus" into its third season, underscoring a sequence in which Tommy Shelby (Murphy) slowly and painfully recovers from a skull fracture, numbing his pain with drugs in the process. The scene fits the lyrics and title of "Lazarus" perfectly, as Tommy is resurrected from a trip to death's door, sipping from a prescription bottle while Bowie sings "I'm so high, it makes my brain whirl." Murphy has also spoken about Bowie's wish to see one of his songs featured in the show, telling Spin 1038 in 2017:

"He was into the show and he wanted his music to be used in the show and it was very humbling, you know? For someone who grew up listening to David Bowie, that was a massive honor and privilege that he was interested in the show and keen to be involved. So we were all very humbled that he was."

Bowie's influence continues in Murphy's career

It's heartbreaking to think that Bowie didn't get to see his music featured on the show he clearly loved, or get to see how "Peaky Blinders" wrapped up in its final season. Still, crossovers between the actor and the show's cast continue today. A cover of his song "Lady Grinning Soul" by musician Anna Calvi appeared in the show's fifth season, playing during a scene in which Arthur (Paul Anderson) severely beats a man ahead of a Quaker meeting.

Murphy, meanwhile, has gained his own unexpected inspiration from Bowie as his career has continued. The actor revealed that Christopher Nolan actually used Thin White Duke era Bowie as a costume reference point for "Oppenheimer" protagonist J. Robert Oppenheimer. "In our story, he puts on the hat and picks up the pipe and it's him kind of creating this persona, kind of self-mythologizing," Murphy noted. The actor noted that it was important to him to get Oppenheimer's silhouette right, complete with a "very fragile" look to him. "Weirdly, Chris sent me a couple of shots of David Bowie" Murphy shared. According to the actor, the reference points were of the musician "around the 'Young Americans' time, with these massive trousers, and he was so emaciated but so f***ing cool."

"Peaky Blinders" is set for a film continuation sometime in the future; let's hope there's room for another Bowie tune on the soundtrack.'

[meili-sheep]

You knew this was coming at some point. The harem with Duke and Lady? Perhaps the pet’s ratings of the harem as well? If you don’t mind?

OK so lets start off by saying The pet's Rating of Diluc.

Like Duke, Diluc is a 10/10. Best friend for life. Never will be topped perfect score. Lady is 9.9/10 still great. A good friend but not Diluc and that's the key.

To Lady, on the other hand he's like a 9.5/10. Definitely great and near perfection but the only one who is perfect is Lady herself. Oh and Duke's rating is like 5. Some days he's a 6. Others he's a 4. but that's siblings for you.

Albedo

So Albedo isn't really a pet guy and had to be told a few times not to run experiments on Diluc's pets. And this has rather tanked his ranking with both pets. Duke a little more forgives tho, and after the treatment was corrected, they started to get along great. So with Duke he's at like a 6.3, and it's getting higher because Albedo keeps making him special treats. They are honestly just biscuits to help common issues in basset hounds.

Lady, though is still very, very suspicious and tends to avoid Albedo if she can. And of the pair, she's the only one who's a little more suspicious of people approaching Diluc to start. She's not really fond of people getting too Diluc. But just like Duke Albedo does bring her special treats, so 3.

Al Haitham

So out of all of the harem, Al Haitham is the most indifferent towards the pets. Which, funny enough, makes him Lady's favorite. It also helps that he'll sit down and read. And Lady will jump in his lap, and he has no issues sitting there and petting her until she's bored. So a very solid 5. Don't expect a rating higher than that from her.

Now Duke. He loves how Al Haitham smells. I think he in generally like the leafy smell that comes from people who use Dendro. Al Haitham, however not a fan of Duke's slobber. He's pretty understanding, though, and gets that... In some ways, these pets provide Diluc with something he can't, so you know. It's fine. he probably actually likes taking Duke for runs and walks, though. Which automatically puts him at a 7.

Ayato

Ok so Ayato adores Duke. He loves his soft fur his floppy ears and his sad looking face. And he will actively be involved in Duke's care. He just likes dogs that much. I think he also likes knowing Diluc has someone so Loyal following him around. It's a little reassuring. So for that Ayato is probably Duke's favorite at a 9.

Lady, however. She will just stare at Ayato from afar. Often playing this, his sleeves are enough to tear before hurrying off. They do not care for each other. But it does make Ayato reconsider his opinion on cats when he sees Lady with Diluc. As she is happy, calmer, and happier. And often, she lets Ayato know when Diluc is hurt by purring abnormally loudly against Diluc. Lady still doesn't think great of Ayato, though, and thinks of him mostly as a toy. So 1. His sleeves even aren't that fun to tear.

Childe

So. I'll be honest. Childe is very, VERY jealous of how much attention the pets get. Like, HE UNDERSTANDS why the pets get so much attention. Because they are lives, Diluc is responsible for, BUT THEY ARE ANIMALS. WHY DO THEY GET SO MUCH ATTENTION. They don't even get that much attention. It's just that Diluc's attention isn't 100% on Childe.

But Duke? Duke totally loves Childe. Like really best buddy and friend. Childe ends up warming up to Duke once he learns that not that Duke's breed are hunting dogs. But Diluc actually trained Duke to hunt. Diluc took them out once, and Childe was amazed. And started taking Duke out all the time, so 8.9, almost a 9.

Lady, however. Is very indifferent to Childe. And honestly likes actively taking attention from Childe. But against Lady is ultimately a predator and Childe respects that. So it works out 2.

Eula

So I've mentioned before some Eula and Duke headcanons before because, again, Duke would love Eula. Because she would always secretly pet him and give him treats when no one is looking. He would absolutely be that dog in the romantic movies who like ties up his owner with the pretty lady by running around them while on his leash. 8.5

Now Lady tolerates Eula. Diluc is happy when Eula is around, and so the dog and Lady is happy when the others are happy. So 3.7, still not a fan of when someone takes Diluc's attention away from her.

Itto

So the big guy loves both of Diluc's pets and enjoys Itto's company in return. Well, Duke does. Itto tends to be waaaay too much for Lady, and has a bad habit of following her and chasing her. Which Diluc quickly corrects when he notices that she's stressed. 2. He's only above Ayato because He does try to be more gentle.

Duke, though, loves the attention. He loves that Itto takes him out to sniff out Onikabuto for him. Just Itto is a high-energy guy, and Duke's got the endurance to steadily keep up. Plus it's nice he gets to come back and take and nice cuddly nap with Diluc. 7.8.

Kaveh

Honestly, between he and Thoma are the most liked by the pets in general. As in. Both Lady and Duke like him. Especially after he builds Duke a custom dog house and Lady a special scratching post. Honestly, Diluc probably has a room for each pet, and Kaveh goes ham designing things for the rooms. So that's a big old 7.5 from Duke. Could use more cuddles and treats. And a very high 4.9 from Lady. She'd like him more if he settled down and petted her. Maybe some more fish.

Thoma

Like Kaveh both pets really love when Thoma comes to visit. And while Kaveh makes buildings for the pets. Thoma knits sweaters. Duke is... Less of a fan of this. Lady though. Really likes it because Thoma normally grooms them both when he dresses them and Loves a good brushing. So again, 4.9 from Lady. Duke, though, while not a fan of the sweaters, still loves the pets, belly rubs, and general care 8.4.

Xiao

So Xiao doesn't understand pets super well. He doesn't quite get the companion nature of animals. So he originally thinks Diluc got the pets as like protection, and then he meets Duke and is just like

"This think protects?? It looks so... Floppy and sad."

Duke, honestly, probably is a little uncomfortable around Xiao to start. As I think the Karmic debt probably doesn't have a good smell. But other times, Xiao smells really good. Duke is a little confused by this but probably starts alerting Diluc when Xiao is hurting. Which earns him lots of hugs and pets. And a bit of respect from Xiao 7.

Lady is the one Xiao respects more from the start. Because she defiantly has a look of. "Bother Diluc, and I'll cut you," Which he approves of. So They end up getting along decently well. And You know how purring helps heal wounds? Well, it also helps ease the pain of karmic debt. 4.

Zhongli

So Zhongli is a hold man who will happily sit out with a good book and tea while petting a cat in his lap and a puppy sleeps at his feet. it's very content. He's pretty active in taking care of Diluc's pets with him so both generally enjoy his company.

Lady being a cat, still isn't super fond of the lizard-smelling guy and plays a little aggressively with him. 3

Duke wishes that there was more playing in general, but he is content with just being tossed snacks. Diluc has had to tell Zhongli more than once that

"No, Duke can't eat that!"

"But... he looks so sad. he really wants it..."

"It will make him sick!"

8. He appreciates the effort.