#answers under the read-more

[radioiaci]

Wanted to answer all the nice things I was given in one post, so find them under the read-more cuz it's long. <3

@radiiosugars ⧐ you are a wonderful writer and i enjoy seeing your portrayal! I smile when you're on my dash <3 the little details you include with his perspective really do paint a picture! (and i hope your day gets better! )

WEH THANK YOU SO MUCH SALT, you're a blessing and I wholeheartedly appreciate whenever you spam me on Discord with SILLIES even though I don't always have the capacity to respond right away fjkdjgjdg I LOVE YOUR PORTRAYAL AND YOUR ART TOO and thank you for the kindness 😭

@copaceticjillybean ⧐ You are…soooo good at stuff! Your Alastor portrayal, your art, it’s all just really really cool! I’m always so excited, when I see you post your animatics, or a new drawing, or a reply, because I know it’s gonna brighten up my day a bit! ; I know you’re having a hard time today, but I just wanted you to know that I think you’re really neat and good at what you do. ^w^ ; Oh, and I almost forgot- you’re also just FUN. Like, your ooc posts are just cute and funny, and I like seeing you pop on and tell us what you’re thinking. You’re easy to talk to, and that means a lot, especially for someone like me who can get nervous talking with people >u<;

AAAA THANK YOU, I really do try to be as approachable as possible given the type of person that I am, so I really don't want anyone to feel like they CAN'T talk to me. sometimes the RPC can feel really limited and exclusive and I like to change that in whatever way I can. you are always very kind and fun to write with as well AND I CAN'T WAIT to see what sort of sillies Alastor and Jillian can get up to

@helluvaflames ⧐ I love the way you write Alastor and I'm still loving writing Fizzarolli and him in these scenes. You write Alastor so well and its been so fun to get to know him through our threads!

YES THANK YOU YOU GET ME, I love writin' with your lil Fizzy too! I'm also excited for Alastor and Angel's "date" LOL I'm sure there will be RIDICULOUSNESS there, just knowing how they generally interact. Thank you for putting up with me and my silly deer boy!!

@tinyfieryghost ⧐ YOUR ART IS SIMPLY INCREDIBLE. I love how you draw Alastor and writing with you is always a pleasure! I also love how you write Alastor! Silly guy who can and will murder and maim!!! Also you're great to talk to in general!

LISTEN YOU, YOUR ART IS ALSO PHENOMENAL and I didn't think I genuinely would get as invested into Alastor/Ghost's relationship but him in my brain was just like? ? ? ? "this one is mine? ? ?? actually???" so I MEAN IT JUST HAPPENED THAT WAY and I'm not mad about it. I'M EXCITED for Al's encounter with Reaper fr fr and I love writing with you!!!

@visage-of-hell ⧐ *violently kicks in the door* DID SOMEONE SAY POSITIVITY???? ; Bitch, you're one of the most TALENTED fuckers I know on this site. Amazing writing style? Check. Brilliant character portrayal? Check. AND knock-your-socks-off gorgeous artistic skills to boot???? Dude, you are a triple threat of sheer creative genius--don't you DARE be doubting that for even a second!

WUH HUH BUH LISTEN you are ALSO very talented and I VERY MUCH love writing with Al and Vis together because they're a real ENEMY TO LOVER ARC MAYBE? AND I KNOW IT'S SLOW MOVING BECAUSE ALASTOR IS STUPID but I LOVE IT ALSO??? Thank you my friend, I love to talk with you too and share funny sillies and fawn over them being so STUPID

@damnedrainbows ⧐ //you’re one of my favorite alastors and truthfully I admired from the sidelines for a while because I felt inadequate hehehehe I can!t wait to interact with our muses more and see where it go for him and lucifer ; also forgot to tack on, amazing artist ; like seriously I link my friends your art all the time on discord lol

WHAT???? ONE OF UR FAVS???? STOPPIT. That always means a ton to me, especially because I know how many TALENTED and wonderful writers there are playing Alastor out there so that RLY MAKES ME FEEL GOOD AND VALUED and YOUR writing is also fantastic! Al/Lucifer's first thread is so weirdly deep after starting off as like almost a meme and I'm LIVING for it LOL. AND I'M GLAD YOU LIKE MY ART LMAO maybe some day I'll draw something like actual serious for people to share jgdljgd but I enjoy drawing shitpost Al too much BUT THANK YOU this means a lot.

@lilitophidian ⧐ HEEEEY YOU, I LOVE YOUR LITTLE DEER, AND WE GOT SOME DOPE ASS SHIT GOING ON LIKE??? your writing is so fucking good I wanna do more threads with you at some point even though I have verbal diarrhea ; BUT YOU DESERVE THE BEST LIKE I TAKE TIME ON MY REPLIES TO YOU SO THEY ARE GOOD EATS??? Like, let me love on ya!!! ; Also your art ; I'd tattoo the pink dress wearing Alastor on my body fr

MY LIL DEER BOY YES I'M SO EXCITED for him to be.... tortured... mercilessly (that sounds bad LMAO) but LISTEN we are both wordy and I do NOT hate that one bit, I EAT IT UP YUMYUM gimmi all that good good exposition and artsy prose I LOVE that shit and you do it SO WELL. Also thank you for recommending frilly pink dress Alastor, I think he will never live that one down LMAO.

@ducktastic-dad ⧐ you are SO funny and sweet pascall, i love writing with you ( and your writing is amazing obviously i cannot live without it ) but even just our conversations ooc bring me lots of joy !! you have fantastic art and i am FLOORED by how creative you are ! thank you for making me funny shitposts and indulging my horrible brainrot 😭💜

I'M GRABBING YOU AND SHAKING YOU BY THE SHOULDERS listen the fact that you have put up with my dumbass over the last few weeks just constantly spamming you with radioapple shit means that you should get some type of AWARD HONESTLY. every IC interaction we have is so good and whenever you reply I'm like *VACCUUM NOISES* as i ABSORB IT. YOU're the one indulging MY horrible brainrot and u know what there's something beautiful about that. THANK YOU ily ily

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

Thank you all for such kind words, it really did make me feel better about my poopy day. <3

[turrondeluxe]

[originalartblog]

I'm in love with your "mori is functionally skk's dad" art! I keep thinking about it 24/7! Partially because it's funny, partially because it reminds me about the time my father called me an "accessory to sin" and yeah that sounds like something that would happen in this AU.

Anon I need you to understand that this is no AU this a strong belief of mine, canon Mori has some serious issues with being a parental/mentor figure for overpowered kids he won't stop and it's so bad

I was gonna put it in the tags but it got needlessly long so

Fucked up dad Mori arguments (spoilers everywhere)

(Fifteen) Mori projects himself onto Dazai and subtly teaches him manipulation techniques. He also has a soft smile when Chuuya accepts his vision of leadership and pledges his loyalty to him.

(Storm Bringer) Accompanies Chuuya and sits next to him during the Flags' funeral. Sounded pleased when Chuuya said the PM was his family now. Chuuya's actual dad was also said to be a military doctor, which when combined with his mom and Kouyou also being very similar, should definitely be an intentional parallel.

(Dark Era) Mori wanted to teach Dazai another lesson in leadership on "necessary sacrifices" and "personal attachments vs decision making", it dramatically backfired, he is still disappointed to this day.

(Yosano backstory) Was protective of this little girl surrounded by army men, yet prioritized his grand plan to win the war over her emotional well-being.

[ ^ hey look how similar the last two points are (Mori doesn't learn shit) ]

(BEAST) When removed from the mafia, took over a shitty orphanage and made it good + offered emotional support to a lost teenager by LITERALLY offering to be his dad (+expressed his past will to save another lost teenager)

(also BEAST) Elise could be an adult, and yet she's always a child. That man is trying to fill in a hole in his life and when he got the orphanage he didn't need to do so anymore.

(Guild arc) Under the disguise of the local physician, he redirected Atsushi and taugh him one of his little lessons basically unprompted and Atsushi's impression of him as a mentor was very positive.

ANYWAY Mori has issues because he stuck himself between wanting to mentor the younger generation to help them grow into their potential and throwing everyone's emotions and desires (including his own) out the window in favour of the """optimal solution"""

[eightyones]

Lando has said he feels pretty confident in McLaren heading into 2024, obviously you hope you guys will be up there challenging Red bull, closing that gap that we’ve seen through 2023. How competitive are you expecting to be? I- I dont know. I think for Lando to be confident is quite a big statement. You know he’s obviosly been with the team a lot longer and seen the fluctuations that every team inevitably goes through.

The biggest confidence for me is that everything we put on the car this year has worked. All the upgrades did exactly what we wanted them to do. The direction we’ve been going has been working and that’s a very comfortable place to be in going into a new season, especially with stable rules and regulations. We know that Red Bull are going to be strong again. It’s going to be interesting to see what the other teams around us are going to be like next year, but I think we can be comfortable that the way we’re working is the right direction and if we keep going that way and do it better than the others then, yeah, it’s pretty exciting to think what the possibilities could be.

[moongothic]

This is gonna turn into some Crocodad Propaganda eventually but putting the man aside for a little bit

Let's be real for a moment. Regardless of who Luffy's other biological parent is, regardless of if they're relevant to the story or not, no matter what has become of that person, if they're dead or somewhere out there alive, etc-- I believe Oda "knows the truth".

Although it took One Piece until post-Enies Lobby to reveal some of Luffy's blood relatives to us, Oda had technically introduced both Garp and Dragon to us all the way back in the East Blue saga. And Ace was introduced not too long after in the Baroque Works saga, along with his tattoo which held that secret tribute to Sabo all along. (Also he was introduced as "Portgaz D. Ace" meaning Oda must've intended to make the two non-blood brothers from the get-go.) All this means that Luffy's family, both adopted and blood relatives, have been in Oda's mind from the very begining of the story. And so if Oda had figured out Luffy's grandfather, father and at least one brother (if not both) from the begining, then why would he not have decided what became of the person who gave birth to the idiot as well? Like considdering how detail-oriented and meticulous Oda can be, would it not be unusual for him to essentially forget about a character that important (in the sense that Luffy literally would not exist without them) and just handwave them away without much thought? Would that not be out of character for Oda? As such, I don't think it is not unreasonable for us to believe that Oda would know what happened to Luffy's other bio-parent. Mind you, it really could be just something like "Luffy's mother died of The Disease when Luffy was a baby", or "the mom fell down the stairs" or "was eaten by a bear in the woods" or something, anything, whatever. Even if it truly does not matter to the story one bit, I'm sure Oda knows the truth of what happened and why that character wasn't a part of Luffy's life.

But at the same time, if the identity and the fate of Luffy's birthing parent truly did not matter to the story at all, then why wouldn't Oda just tell us who that was and what happened to them? In an SBS or an interview? It's not like people haven't been asking about it, because fans and staff alike have been asking about it for years. If the information really would not change anything, be it the direction the story will take or how we view the characters, if it really is just worthless trivia, then why keep it away from us?

Now of course, I'm sure you'd want to point out that one time Oda told Mayumi Tanaka that "A young boy's adventure begins after he leaves his mother's arms. I want to tell this young boy's adventure story, so his mom is not part of it." And Oda isn't known for lying, we do kind of want to take what he told Mayumi Tanaka at face value. At the same time though. If Luffy's other parent did become a plot relevant character in like the final 200 chapters of the story, after a 1100 chapters, they and their potential connection to Luffy would not have mattered to the story for 90% of its run. For an overwhealming majority of Luffy's adventure, that person would not have been a part of it. So if that character did become relevant, and Oda was lying, then it'd be a white lie at worst. But also, if Oda did intend to reveal that other parent eventually, when the time was right, then surely he wouldn't want to get people hyped up about it way ahead of time. If it did turn out to be a big plot twist or an otherwise important plot point, Oda would want to keep it under the wraps and a secret until the right time, you don't want to spoil something like that. Not to mention it could end up working like a distraction and make people not focus on the more important things happening in the story currently. So really, I think we'd all forgive him for a white lie there. Not to mention, technically speaking, if Luffy doesn't even have a mom but two dads, then Oda wouldn't really be lying either.

But that does bring up an important thing to considder.

If Crocodile does turn out to be Luffy's other dad, when did Oda get that idea, and when would he have committed to it?

Because, keep in mind, One Piece began back in 1997. Twenty seven whole years ago. Which means there's two things to considder; the evolution of queer rights over the past near three decades, as well as the fact that One Piece has more than surpassed Oda's original plans for the series. We must not forget how for a manga to remain serialized in Weekly Shounen JUMP, you need to perform well in the popularity polls consistently; if your manga starts dropping in popularity, JUMP can cancel it and force you end it prematurely. Of course, Oda arguably does not have to worry about those polls anymore after all these decades, there's no way in hell JUMP would ever cancel fucking One Piece in this day and age. But that might not have been the case 15 years ago, that was not the case 20 years ago, and that was absolutely not the fucking case 25 years ago. Like we all famously know that Oda originally planned One Piece to maybe run for like a year, then five years, then ten etc etc. That really is because at the begining of his career he had no quarantee he'd be able to tell the full story he was slow cooking at the back of his mind. Back in the early days, One Piece could've been canceled and ended prematurely, so Oda smartly chose to write it focusing very specifically on what mattered to the story at that moment, in the short term. Yes, he did start laying out the groundwork for things to come, but he did it so subtly that had OP been forced to end early, the series wouldn't have been left with too many massive, gaping plotholes or unresolved sidestories. Another thing to keep in mind is how comic artists for JUMP do have editors etc who can have a say in what goes into the manga (famously, Sasuke only existed because Matashi Kishimoto's editor suggested it). So again, while Oda might be able to do whatever the hell he pleases in One Piece at this point, that wouldn't have been the case 20+ years ago. He would have been more or less at the whims of his editors back in the day.

So would Oda have thought about giving Luffy, the main character of the series, a transgender father back in the year 2000? Could that really have been the secret plan from the start? And would Oda's editor(s) at JUMP have allowed that? Or, did Oda maybe come up with the idea later?

Now just so we're clear, I am NOT suggesting Crocodad was Oda's original intent and that his editors didn't let him do it or anything like that, my tinfoil hat isn't on that fucking tight. What I do want to suggest, is that it is plausible Crocodile being Luffy's other dad was an idea Oda was playing around with at the back of his mind from the begining, but wasn't sure he'd ever get to, mainly due to the uncertainty of series' future and partially because he could've been unsure if his editors would even allow him to write that story. And IF this was the case, Oda may not have even started committing to to the idea until around the CP9 saga. Or, it's possible Oda only got the idea sometime after the completion of the Alabasta arc/during Skypiea saga, and started laying down the groundwork for during Summit War so that, if he ever got around to it, he'd be able to commit and tell that story.

Regardless, let's be real.

It is interesting and kind of suspicious how Crocodile does just happen to be introduced around the same time the rest of Luffy's family was first shown to us, even if we didn't know Garp and Dragon were Luffy's family yet (this was also the same time the first canon queer character was introduced; Oda was playing around with queer characters during Crocodile's introduction, possibly testing the waters to see what he could get away with?) During the CP9 Saga we got the Miss Goldenweek cover story, where we see what's become of Crocodile after the fall of Baroque Works. This is of course adding to the world building of the CP9 Saga (where we're told the criminals who go through Enies Lobby are either sent to Impel Down or to Marineford; so us finding out Crocodile's gone to ID is playing off of what we knew would become of Robin and Franky and the Strawhats not come to rescue them. AND it's foreshadowing for the Summit War Saga), but also, soon after we were reminded of Crocodile and told where he's been sent off to, we were finally formally introduced to Garp and Dragon (Garp having already been mentioned by Aokiji at the begining of the Saga). And we close off the Saga watching Ace and Blackbeard have their fateful match. So again, Crocodile was on Oda's mind around the same time the rest of Luffy's family was. And indeed, after Thriller Bark we then move onto Summit War proper, where Oda does all The Things we would considder The Groundwork for Crocodad, most important being the introduction of Ivankov and their Devil Fruit. But again, just like before, Crocodile just happens to be there at the same time as this saga, which really heavily focuses on Luffy's family, plays out. While we learn about Dragon's secretive nature and connection to Iva-chan, Garp's feelings for the boys, Ace's struggle with his heritage and Luffy's love for him, Sabo and Garp... Yeah, Crocodile's just... Also there.

Whenever Oda starts dwelling into Luffy's family, Crocodile is always there. It's a bizarre coincidence if nothing else.

(And oh won't you look at that, Crocodile has once again become a plot relevant character, just in time for The Final Saga where Dragon has also started becoming actually plot relevant as well)

All of this to say, again.

The fact that Oda has refused to tell us anything about Luffy's other parent is sus, and to me indicates that either although unusual for him Oda genuinely just doesn't give a damn about Luffy's other parent, or he's been trying to play it safe for years so that if he ever got the opportunity, he could give Luffy two dads. (Or maybe there's some other twist that has nothing to do with Crocodile, that is possible too, I just feel like if that was the case then why hide it for 27 years?)

Whatever the case, I'm sure Oda knows the truth.

And I'm sure we will find out the truth eventually, be it on the pages of the comic or in the SBS.

[nightgoodomens]

Anna and Georgia trying to get people to ship them the way people ship Michael&David is so funny/sad. I also have a terrible feeling they both will make an appearance in GO 3 since it seems the only way they both can get jobs is through their partners.

Response under ‘read more’

Haha, I don’t follow them so I have the pleasure of missing most of it. I do laugh when I see it though, not so much because they do it for attention and clearly when there is something to promote, but because people buy into it. They have to do so very little for people to eat out of their hands and it’s just fascinating to me.

But what’s even funnier is that M/D shippers get torn to shreds for shipping even though they have so much material to work with, and a genuine relationship, meanwhile two women hashtag themselves once and everyone buys into it, ships them, and messages them lots of intimate things that if M/D shippers did it… damn. It’s seriously fascinating. Maybe people aren’t freaking out so much because with them they know it is fake. But damn different rules apply to them.

It is interesting how people can go into such depth to tell shippers why they’re wrong about M/D but somehow with the two women they mumbled wife once and the same people jumped on the train and screamed cho cho.

I will be angry if NG shoves them somewhere for the sake of it because they can’t act for shit and I do genuinely want a good show. Good Omens matters to me a great deal, we have an important storyline to resolve, it is the last season, and I want it to be good. Not Bingo or Where’s Wally?, sorry, another Tennant. Or Michael’s girlfriend.

There are so many good actors and actresses out there, I hope NG gives a chance to someone who deserves it.

[draagu]

starting my outer wilds art posting arc, I suggest filtering the spoiler tags for the base game and dlc if you don't want to be spoiled!!

you get a gold star and a high five if you can tell me which fella this is (frens who already know, no you cannot guess but you can still have a high five, maybe a hug too)

[sysig]

Delusions (Patreon)

"Could I have your hand, sir?" Max didn't move, which Dexter was, sadly, getting used to.

"Sir?" Max jerked, then turned and stared at him, lost and blank. "Your hand, please."

Max's hand lifted shakily, and he laid it gently in Dexter's upturned palm. Dexter gave a quick and quiet "thank you," then turned it over in his own hand, observing him closely.

Too closely - his knuckles were rough and his fingernails were dull and cracked in places. His once-soft, not-a-day-in-his-life-subjected-to-hard-labour hands were now, already, toughened and split and scarred in places, especially the heel of his palm. He turned it over again, this time to stop looking so intensely. He had only wanted to give it a cursory glance to begin with.

"Do you know what I see, sir?" he asked as conversationally as he could manage, running his fingers along Max's abused flesh. He seemed to be at least half paying attention, his eye gazing down between them, and he'd occasionally twitch, encouragingly Dexter thought. He seemed to want to curl around him, then stopped and shook, his hand squeezing into a fist. Dexter coaxed him back out, encouraged him to hold himself lightly.

"What do you see?" He was almost startled by Max actually continuing their conversation, that happened so rarely now, shaking and quiet as it was. He took a deep breath, was he really going to do this?

"I see a hand, with five fingers." Max remained quiet, though his brow curled, and a guarded look came into his eye, though he still wasn't looking at Dexter. He felt a pang of guilt, but he had to try. "What do you see?"

Max's eye unfocused and began to water. He looked up, but not enough to reach Dexter's gaze in return, instead staring through his chest, and he felt just as hollow and empty as he must look to him.

"Do you take me for a fool, DAX?" Quiet and as close to angry as he'd heard since they'd been here.

No, not angry.

Betrayed.

He swallowed down the stinging lump at the back of his throat. He had to put on a brave face, had to keep his composure if he wanted Max to get better. That was the only thing he wanted, more than anything.

"Of course not, sir. Genuinely, what do you see?"

Max pulled his hand away and turned his body, his bandaged side facing Dexter. Shutting him out, pointedly. Dexter's empty hand curled into a fist, he was no better.

"Please, don't..." Max took a shallow, shuddering breath, and several beats before he spoke again, even quieter. "Don't ridicule me." Dexter could hear his breath catch, and he wanted nothing more than for this all to just stop.

"Sir, I didn't-"

"I've had enough of that." He shook his head stiffly, the action strange and wrong, like he had forgotten how. He stilled, his head turned even further away. "More than enough."

[maxemilianverstappen]

Hey I am a new f1 fan and i have to say Lestappen is the reason I actually got into f1 recently and I jus realised that Lestappen is the most followed ship tag on f1 tumblr. Why do you think ppl seem to navigate towards Lestappen even though as a ship, we hardly get content as opposed to some other ships, say, Maxiel piarles carlando etc.

Like the amount of fics for Lestappen or their dynamic in general seem to attract more fans than the usual f1 ships. I wonder why. Is it cuz of the enemies to lovers trope or cuz both of them are cuties who have a seemingly intriguing vibe between them or ?

Hello new fan 👋

I can't speak for everyone, but I can talk about why I came to like them:

Purely from an aesthetic perspective, they look absolutely irresistible together. They are both very handsome/pretty guys. They really have this beautiful and vibrant energy around them as individuals, and when they are together, they look like someone's fever dream. So, it is very understandable for people to look at them and think: "Wow, these two would look so fucking hot doing nasty/bad/good/horrible/lovely things to each other, let's write them down so everyone can agree with me."

But it is never just this simple.

Lestappen's true allure lies in the way that their destiny seems to be literally intertivined from day one.

Their past before their F1 careers is filled with so much lore as I am sure you're having fun reading about. They have literally been racing against each other since they were toddlers. Everyone who knows them both says that they are of equal talent in different flavors. That they are generational talents and if they're given the machinery and team atmosphere that they deserve, we'll be in a delicious few years of them fighting for championships against each other (i am looking at you, ferrari). So, the childhood rivals narrative is already grand. At this point, I need to say that I liken them to a reverse Brocedes (brocedes were childhood best friends who broke apart as adults due to their championship rivalry. Lestappen is childhood enemies who as adults became closer and I hope if they get to fight for a WDC, they'll get even more closer like Launt and Makkinen.)

They fit all the popular media tropes both as a couple and as individuals:

They are the Sun and the Moon, the Red Oni&Blue Oni, the Fire and Ice/Water. All the best dichotomies you can think of... Dichotomies are attractive for people and in narration because they generally deal with people sewn from the same cloth who have turned out different due to their circumstances, meanwhile being fundamentally the same. Like both sides of a coin...

They also both fit into these contrasting roles and subvert the trope, too. (I am on the 'subvert the fanpopular assigned roles' team because people cannot be fit into simple stereotypes.)

More than the Enemies to Lovers trope (which i always approach varily because most people write Max like a brute and Charles as a helpless damsel), I think the Fated/Starcrossed Lovers, the Mirror of One's Self/One's Better Half/Soulmates tropes are much more explorable and lend themselves to character study better. Because, their situation looks both simple and yet very complicated.

Of course, I am speculating here as a fanfiction author who works on what I can see/read about these men, but apart from the "differents attract" and the "twink/hunk" flavoured fics going around, what pulls people in is how they seem to have been literally created for each other, this connected by the red string of fate thing they have going on. Their whole worlds seem to be revolving around each other:

They just can't help themselves about showing their fascination with each other (one more so openly and loudly, the other is a bit reserved about it, but slowly slipping and it is delicious to watch).

They are each other's both destinied and chosen rivals (God, the intimacy of this shit right here... leaves no room for anyone else to even be an "afterthought" as long as they have each other in their sights as their target).

The single minded attention they have for anything the other does even if they pretend to not pay attention (they do).

The tension between them. (Sometimes spicy with adrenaline and the need to best the other and sometimes tasting like soft, years long unnamed yearning).

Unnamed, unlabeled... as if the moment they put a name on it, call it friendship, joke about it as a bromance, it will turn into something especially Charles doesn't seem that ready to embrace. Yeah, this is them... They have certainly been something for each other for years, since they were kids... That something grew with them, evolved, sometimes had very sharp edges, sometimes soft and fluffy... the way it never died off, never tapered off even when you think Max has become everything Charles has ever wanted to be, gained everything he has ever wished for meanwhile Charles can only watch and possibly blamed himself for falling short and feeling admiration warring with jealousy in his heart whenever Max looks back at him with an expectant smile as if wanting to share his happiness with him. Possibly hoping that one day, when Charles achieves his dream, he will also look at him with a soft smile and be happy with him, too.

God, it must have twisted Charles' heart so badly when he realized that Max genuinely wants to share his joy with him instead of how he expected him to rub it in his face like many others have done to each other and many people believed Max would have done to him. The way Max is so soft and sunny and kind and thoughtful when Charles must have been expecting a merciless killing machine ready to tear him apart both with his words and his on track moves. But the reverse happened and it is so compelling, like, how the hell Max can be so soft for this guy who repeatedly said he hated him in the past as if he wanted to keep the distance as stable as possible. Lol, it is like we are watching an ice castle named Charles crumble irl, and I bet it is a spectacle for the people of the fandom.

And also, the way Charles can be written as someone who thinks he has more to lose if he falls for/accepts his love for Max, because he might feel he is always going to lose to him and never win against him in a meaningful way... (Here, I must say I don't like the fics where they write Max willingly losing to Charles after they become an item. Charles wants a fight and wants it especially from Max, because in his eyes only Max's kind of fight is both "just" and on par with the way he believes what racing is actually about. This is what made him fall in love with the sports and also with Max.) This right here is soooo juicy to pass for the lovers of angst. You can write Max as his mirror that he both wants to smash and also adore like narcissus did, the way you can write them as soulmates in which Charles feels trapped by his fate, the way you can write them as My Better Half whom I hate....

They elicit a huge emotional response in the fans/consumers of fanworks. So, it is only understandable for people to seek out those strong emotions again and again. They induce heart palpitations and it is an addicitive rush of serotonin and dopamine, so who are we to deny ourselves the pleasure of enjoying them?

[foolishlovers]

hi, i’m going through it with uni right now (finals season rip) and was wondering if you have any recs for some really soft, tender fics that will remind me of the good in the world 😭 maybe with some soft smut too, preferably over 20k if they’re out there and i’m happy with non au or au whatever. just need something comforting yknow. hope you’re doing well :)

oh hello love, i feel your struggle and am sending you lots of strength!!

here are some of my favourite softer good omens fics:

[You can request more fic recs here.]

Caramel Delight by AJ_Constantine (E, 16k) After years of enduring hellish neighbours, Crowley is delighted when they finally move out, and even more delighted when their replacement is easy going, friendly, doesn’t leave his bins on the kerb for weeks, and… attractive in a way that causes a fluttering in Crowley’s midsection like a battalion of butterflies attempting to form ranks. Crowley knows that hooking up with the person who lives next door to him is a Bad Idea. But a jar of his Nan’s famous caramel sauce as a ‘welcome to the neighbourhood’ gesture couldn’t hurt. And what’s he supposed to do when Aziraphale continues to show up at Crowley’s door with an irresistible smile, asking for more?

Liquid Gold by smolalienbee, Tarek_giverofcookies, Sodium_Azide, fashioncriminal (T, 36k) Goth beekeeper Crowley starts a new life in the countryside, in a suitably gothic house, with suitably goth furniture, tombstones, and bees. One day Crowley finds a surprise singing to the bees. And Crowley's suitably goth life changes. A gentle cottagecore human AU, featuring a bit of a bastard, a bit of a soft touch, and many many bees.

First Class (Hons) Christmas, University of Tadfield. by heloluv (M, 41k) Dr. A.Z. Fell is a renowned literature tutor at the prestigious University of Tadfield. December is upon the University, and Dr. Fell is leading the Christmas Charity Drive. He needs volunteers. Dr. A.J. Crowley is a skilled plant ecologist who recently began his tenure at UoT. He can't stand Christmas, and nothing at all could ever possibly convince him to partake in "festivities". Until a certain literary expert catches his eye. A Christmas and New Years fic, in which Aziraphale teaches Crowley how to enjoy the most wonderful time of the year. Lavender Apiary Of Your Honey Eyes by snek_of_eden (E, 62k) The first thing Aziraphale registered was fiery red hair matted with sweat. The second thing was the man’s face, sharp and intelligent and a little guarded, sunlight dappling a spray of freckles. Upon seeing this, two contradictory thoughts crossed his mind: ‘Gosh, he’s pretty’, and ‘I don’t believe I’ve ever heard a man use that many expletives in the space of a minute’. “Oh,” he said, swallowing hard. “Hello, then.” When Aziraphale inherits a small, cosy cottage in the countryside, he finds unexpected company in a gardener he didn't even know he had. Crowley is sweet, and strange, and about as foul-mouthed as you can get. Before he knows it, he's falling pretty goddamn hard for a man whose friendship he's terrified of risking. Ah, the foils of love. (To the surprise of no one, they're both pining extraordinarily hard for each other)

and now all of my garden is grown in lavender by ilikeblue (E, 70k, WIP) Popular queer romance author, A.Z. Fell, has been lying about having a husband and a happy marriage for years. Longing to escape a string of failed relationships and looking for a fresh start, Aziraphale moves into the cottage left to him by his Great Aunt Agnes. When a TV adaptation of one of his books leads to sudden popularity and throws him into the limelight, his fans (and the press) are eager to catch a glimpse of Aziraphale's own mysterious leading man. Unfortunately, he still has to cast someone for that role. Enter the handsome gardener… Under Crowley's meticulous care the cottage's neglected garden slowly comes back to life, and Aziraphale finds himself writing the most important love story he'll ever write: his own

you know i'll never be lonely (you're my only one) by SylWritesStuff, ladydragona (E, 256k) Anthony Crowley has long since given up on love of the romantic sort. Besides, after the tragic passing of his cousin and her husband he now has a preteen pup to care for. If only the courts and social services would quit assuming a single, unclaimed omega isn't competent enough on his own to raise one, things would be going just fine. Warlock's problems at school aside. Aziraphale Fell is an accomplished author, bookshop owner, and does quite well, if he should say so himself. Love might have conveniently passed him by and the nights can be quite lonely, but he'd rather be alone than not be himself. And the thing they're both longing for might just be each other.

[you can find more fic rec masterposts here]

[scrapnick]

🔞 carrie Ann lol

🔞 something sexy

Putting this one under a read more since it’s a bit spicy 🌶️ 👀

Heating up in the kitchen 😮‍💨

[supercantaloupe]

What is the antisemitism in TUC season 1? Does it have to do with Wally the golem?/gen

[ID: an ask from an anonymous tumblr user that reads "would love to hear more about the antisemitism in unsleeping city! was a while ago that i watched it and can't remember what you might be referencing but definitely want to be aware of it.]

no, it's not about willy the golem -- i actually think willy is a great addition to the season (even if i wish we got to see more of him), and an indication to me that brennan/the showrunners were definitely trying to be sincere and inclusive. i want to make it clear that i don't think anything antisemitic in tuc is there intentionally; i think it's there out of simple ignorance, which is also why i think fans don't frequently see/comment on it either. but i don't think that's an excuse, either.

my grief with tuc1 is largely centered around its portrayal of robert moses as the villain. especially by making him a greedy, power-hungry lich working en league with bloodsucking vampires. (also his mini is literally a green skinned skull man in a suit. yikes.) here's the thing; i know robert moses was a real life horrible person, who actually was racist and powerhungry etc etc. and i know that robert moses, the real actual person, was jewish. my grief with tuc1 is not that they chose to use robert moses over literally any other person (real or fictional) to be their season villain (though i'd be really curious to know what tuc1 would have looked like with a different villain), but that they chose to take a real jewish person, turn them into an antisemitic caricature, and then only barely add other portrayals of judaism to balance that out.

like, tuc isn't completely devoid of other jewish representation. as you mention, there's willy the golem -- and again, i really like willy, and i love that it's a portrayal of a golem that's faithful to jewish folklore (ie as a benevolent, guardian construct rather than a mindless destructive monster. i am not a fan of how 'golem' is so frequently misused as a generic enemy creature in other fantasy and ttrpg spaces, including other seasons of d20). but as i said earlier, i wish we see more of him in the season, because he's not around very much, and feels a little more like worldbuilding than a full character to me. also, he's not human. jews are people.

the only other human jewish character in tuc1 is...stephen sondheim. which, again, yeah, that's a real person who really was jewish. but i really wouldn't blame you if you had no idea of that when watching tuc1. maybe from the name you could guess he might be jewish, but i don't think people ought to make a habit of trying to 'clock' someone being jewish by having a 'jewish-sounding' surname. as he's portrayed in tuc1, you'd never know he's jewish, unless you happen to already be pretty knowledgeable about the man in real life. it's far more likely you'll know him as a theater legend than anything else (may his memory be a blessing).

now i'm not saying that brennan or the showrunners should have played up the jewishness of Real Person Stephen Sondheim to counterbalance the depiction of robert moses; that just feels weird to me, especially considering that sondheim was literally alive when tuc1 was filmed and released. it's a tricky thing to portray real people in fiction alongside made up characters, especially when they are contemporaries, and i don't think 'outright caricature' is the way to go about that. nor do i think that moses' jewishness should have been played up at all, because again i don't think that would have been particularly true to the person/character, and also Fucking Yikes. but, c'mon, if you hear the names 'moses' and 'sondheim' next to each other, which one do you associate more with judaism?

and as it stands, these are the only representations of judaism in tuc1. one admittedly nice but very minor nonhuman character; one human character you'd never be able to tell was jewish; and a third human character who, while never explicitly referenced as jewish, plays into some really hurtful antisemitic stereotyping. and it was a choice to not include anything else. maybe not a deliberate one, probably more likely one made out of simple ignorance than anything else, but a choice nonetheless. in a city with one of the largest and most visibly jewish populations in the country, and a culture that is inextricably influenced by that jewish population. a jewish population which has been and continues the target of rising hate crimes for years. i know that nyc means different things to different people, and everyone's nyc is their own -- but my nyc is jewish, and it sucks that that its jewishness is referenced directly in only one very minor way, which is greatly overshadowed by its, in my view, really insidious indirect references.

i don't know exactly how to go about addressing this. obviously, the show can't be changed by now. even if it could, i think the final product would be very significantly different from what it is now if the villain was something/someone else. i think including more references to jews in new york, more (human) jewish characters, hell, even mentioning hanukkah celebrations and menorahs in windows (it takes place in late december, after all; depending on the year it's not at all out of place for hanukkah to coincide with xmas!) would help. having literally any more positive jewish representation in tuc1 would, i think, help balance the bad stuff that's there. because, yeah, robert moses was real and he was terrible and he was jewish. but he's one jewish guy in a city with over a million jews, the vast majority of whom are just normal people. i don't want him to be the only vision of us that people get, in tuc1 alone or in any media. i'm not saying that jews can't or shouldn't be villains in fiction; but especially if you are a goyische creator, you should be really careful in how you're portraying us, and if there are other contrasting depictions in your work, too, in order to not (even accidentally) demonize jewish people as a whole.

[the-eclectic-wonderer]

Frankly I’m astonished at the level head on that statement giver. Writing an academic paper after such a traumatic experience about the traumatic experience itself is a ballsy move. Of course, writing an academic paper is a horror in and of itself, so

[front-facing-pokemon]

[in-omni-scientia]

What is a "motor carriage"

It's a good thing you didn't ask this of Interfacing -- he would have described them near-pornographically with zero substance.

A motor carriage (abbreviated as both 'MC' and 'car') is a type of passenger vehicle which is self-propelled, primarily transports one or more people rather than cargo, and may run mostly on roads created specifically for the thoroughfare of vehicular traffic. Popular brands that mass-manufacture MCs include the Coupris MotorCorp, Linnea and LUM, though there are a wide range which may range widely in price, power and style.

Motor carriages generate power using an internal combustion engine (ICE). These engines work by converting chemical energy into mechanical energy, or torque. The reaction of oxidizers mixing with a fuel and being ignited causes pistons to move up and down within a cylinder; the pistons are connected to and spin a crankshaft, which in turn rotates the wheels of the car and causes it to move. Most engines will contain anywhere between one to twelve cylinders and be four-stroke; this means they work by first drawing in the air-fuel mixture as the piston moves down (intake, induction or suction stroke), compresses the mixture as the piston moves up (compression stroke), the mixture is ignited forcing the piston down (combustion, power or ignition stroke), and then the spent mixture is pushed out through the exhaust port (exhaust or outlet stroke). Multicylinder engines will offset each individual cylinder's cycles to ensure the engine runs smoothly, and the cylinders will be arranged in either a line (such as in the KR18GU engine of the Coupris 40) or a V-shape (such as in the V12 engine of the Coupris Kineema).

MCs have several forward 'gears' which dictate how much power you would like to use from the engine. These range from 1 to 5, with 1 being low gear (generally used when you first start your MC to move it) and 5 being your highest gear. There is also neutral, which means you are in no gear, and reverse. The car is controlled using the brake, accelerator and clutch; brake slows the car, accelerate speeds it up, and clutch disconnects the wheels from the engine.

Modern motor-carriages are operated using two clutch levers, two brake levers attached to the aforementioned clutch, a gearshift pedal operated with the left foot, and an accelerator and differential lock operated with the right foot.

MCs are steered using a hybrid of clutch-brake steering and braked differential steering systems. Early MCs only used the clutch and brake to steer the car; rather than turning the wheels to change the direction it is moving in, power is disconnected from either one side or the other with a clutch. Some would also apply slipping of the brake in order to tighten the turn. One issue with this braking system was that, since the wheel is disconnected entirely, the average forward momentum is not maintained, and so the car would slow significantly; as well as this, on downslopes, sometimes declutching one side to turn would result in a turn in the opposite direction. An alternative, coming later, was braked differential steering; using a differential (a gear train which has the property of one shaft's rotational speed being the average of the others), braking power is applied to one side to turn the vehicle. This had an advantage over clutch-brake systems in that it would maintain the average speed, as the opposite wheel would speed up accordingly due to the differential. However, this system had a problem that, in the case of one wheel meeting a higher rolling resistance than another, the differential action would engage. In some models, particularly ones made for off-roading in rough terrain, this had to be solved by creating a differential lock to prevent unwanted differential action. Modern MCs use a clutch, brake and differential system with a differential lock.

[loverboyromanroy]

Ok but the way she spends two seconds alone with him and figures out he has no intention of selling

i mean the tragedy of it is that it's SUCH a good romangerri interaction. ALL the beats are there!!

gerri is trying to be strictly business, but he's being flippant and antagonistic to a point that she fires back (matching his tone but still being glib!!!), only for it to hit him too close to home slash hurt his feelings (something that she's never really done intentionally), which sends them wavering into their old kind of blurred line conversation space with each other, but now colored by hurt and anger on both sides

and i'm OBSESSED with the fact that he couches it in that language of whether or not she respects him because a) it sets the precedent that everything he felt like he achieved before, he could do because he knew he had her respect/support and b) of course he can't admit "i'm on shaky ground right now and i can't have you around me unless you can believe in me, because otherwise i know i can't do it"...and it's SOOOO so good that she basically admits that she will say whatever he wants to hear, but she's not going to lie to him and say she has faith in him when he's literally acting irrational and irresponsible! she literally likes him too much to lie to him!! because if she didn't care about him she would've easily been able to just say it and not mean it!!

AND then to cap it off with her instantly recognizing that they're going to tank the deal (and the way she says his name in that moment – pain!) and trying to appeal to him by saying "your dad wanted the deal!!", only for him to shirk her off and conjure up something that will hurt her feelings as much as his feelings are hurt...which he does!! because he knows exactly what to say to cut her deep and she's shocked and kinda devastated that he would go there because he's been stupid and/or awful to her before but never this cruel!! ahhhhhh!!