#brave new world: season 1

[analyticallyminded]

tag drop 3/?

verses (part 1).

[analyticallymindedaa]

tag dump bc tumblr ate all my tags part 4

[sbdskate]

Pencils Down (18+) - Daniel Ricciardo x lawyer!fem!reader

Pairing: Daniel Ricciardo x fem!lawyer!reader

Summary: At the end of the 2022 F1 season, Daniel Ricciardo finalizes his legal affairs by signing as a reserve driver with Red Bull. The tempting young associate who’s handled the negotiations is no longer off limits.

Warnings (18+): language, *smut (!!!), dry humping, oral (f receiving), fingering, NSFW

Word Count: 2,957

A/N: Surprise! This is an alternate Laws Of Attraction scene that I turned into a one shot. Initially, I had written the hook up to happen immediately after the contract signing, but realized it disrupted the flow of the story. That being said, I still want it to see the light of day. If you're new here: (1) welcome! (2) if you liked it and want the full story, you can find it here. Again, new to smut writing so feedback is always welcome and appreciated. Thank you!

Daniel Ricciardo had finally signed with Red Bull as a reserve driver. After a tumultuous 2022 season filled with lots of lows, you had been the one shiny bright spot as he navigated what his future might look like in the sport. Everybody seemed to have an opinion and something to say, though rarely to his face – how many times had he read in the press that he was “washed up” or that “his career is over” if he didn’t get a primary seat on the grid. But you’d listened to him and supported him as you traversed the fallout with McLaren’s termination and braved negotiations with other teams. Granted, as his lawyer it was your job to act as his fiduciary so he shouldn’t have read as much into it as he did. But from Belgium to Abu Dhabi, he shared his hopes and dreams with you for now and for the future and you received his words with care and without judgment.  

Stress, despair, and proximity created the ultimate concoction that laminated the bond between attorney and client. The more time you spent together, the more you learned about each other, and the harder it was to keep personal feelings from muddling the professional relationship. He watched as you navigated worlds surrounded by men, both in Daniel’s field and yours, and he admired your wit, intellect and steadfast determination in the face of being constantly undermined and underestimated. And you, ever the skeptic and cautious to a fault, couldn’t help but succumb to the charm of the handsome driver even when he was at his worst.

Which brought you to the hallway of Red Bull hospitality, the ink from his signature still wet on the new contract for the 2023 season. The other lawyers and representatives had cleared out, leaving the two of you to contemplate whether the little touches and prolonged glances over the last three months were more than they seemed.   

“So that’s it?”

“Yeah.”

“Pencils down.”

“Yep.”

“I’m not your client anymore.”

“Correct, I no longer represent you.”

“Now what?”

The irony of the situation was not lost on either of you. After months of buildup and counting down the seconds until the end of your attorney-client representation, you were stuck in a country that criminalized PDA and the cohabitation of unmarried couples. He was scheduled to go back to Perth and you back to the New York office of your law firm tomorrow. You hadn’t allowed your daydreams to get this far and you were stumped.

“I don’t know.” The universe was cruel and unforgiving. You checked your surroundings and bit your lip in frustration.

“Follow me,” he whispered. “I know a place.”

You followed the driver a pace or two behind in silence as you tracked the maze of Red Bull hospitality, cutting through the kitchen, hallways and corridors, until you reached Max’s driver’s room. He closed the door and locked it behind you. He grabbed your hands.

“Tell me you don’t want this. And I’ll leave you alone. You’ll never have to see me again.” His voice was low and gruff, in a way you had never heard before. He squeezed your hands, eyes pleading, trying to convey more than he could put into words in the moment.

You shook your head in disbelief that somehow that was the conclusion he had come to. You cupped his face with your hand, thumb rubbing along his stubbled jaw line. Your voice was soft, barely able to get the words out.

“I want this. I want you. Please.”

You didn’t have to say it twice. His lips crashed into yours in a passionate kiss that almost knocked you off your feet. Months of pent-up sexual tension and mutual curiosity were released in an instant. Your hands roamed each other’s bodies, too many places to explore to stay in one place. Your hands finally found a home in his soft, beautiful curls while his hand firmly held the base of your neck. His other hand rubbed circles around your lower back, cautiously moving downwards. You smiled into the kiss and moved his hand to your bottom, granting permission to proceed.

Having the green light, he moved his other hand down to grab a handful of your ass and picked you up. Instinctively, you wrapped your legs around him as he pushed you up against the wall. The hem of your pencil skirt scrunched up at your waist. The thin fabric of your underwear and the bulge of his pants caused friction against your sensitive clit, and you wiggled your hips to get more from the sensation. You kissed him back with ferocity in an attempt to stifle the moans you desperately wanted to scream out, especially as you felt him harden from the contact. You pouted when he pulled away, only for his lips to land on the sensitive spot on your neck. You threw your head back and closed your eyes, unfortunately with too much gusto causing a loud *thud* when your head hit the wall. He immediately stopped.

“Are you ok?” His concern was immediately replaced by giggles when he saw you laughing. “Shhhh we still need to be quiet.”

“I know, I know,” you said between fits of laughter. “It’s just – are we crazy? We’re in a glorified closet with paper thin walls.” You paused, your laughter slowing. “Maybe this isn’t a good idea,” you said with a sympathetic smile. He gave you a chaste kiss.

“If it were up to me,” Your eyes rolled back as his lips met the column of your neck again. “I’d wine and dine you so hard,” *peck*  “maybe somewhere in Monaco,” *peck* “and then take you home and fuck you on the balcony.” You were practically drooling by the time he pulled away to look at you. “This is nowhere close to being good enough for what you deserve. We can stop whenever you want.”

You looked at him, dazed. His warm chestnut brown eyes were so earnest, but it was hard to keep your head straight with him still firmly pressed against you.  You absentmindedly wiggled again but he steadied your hips with his fingers. He pressed his forehead to yours.

“I need you to use your words. Do you want to stop?” You frowned.

“No,” you paused. “But I don’t know if I want to continue here.”

“There’s always tonight.” Skeptical, you raised an eyebrow.

“Go on?”

“Well, I can come to your room once all the festivities are over and everyone goes to bed. If you’ll have me, of course.” You swooned.

“Don’t be ridiculous, I already told you I want you. It’s risky though, no?”

“I mean yeah, a little. But …” he grabbed your wrists and pinned them besides your head. “…trying not to get caught is half the fun.” His hot breath tickled your face. All sense of logic and reason went out the window. As a lawyer, this whole situation went against your very nature of rule following. 

“Oh,” was all you could croak out.

“Can I do something for you before we go outside?”

“Please,” you begged, eliciting a wicked smirk from him. It dawned on you that he enjoyed seeing you frazzled. But you enjoyed it too. Considering how intense your job was, the mental reprieve was just as thrilling as his touch.

Peeling you from the wall, he continued to hold you until he sat down on the massage table so that you were straddling him. Free from you prior constraints, you rolled your hips over his hardened bulge as you made out. His hands moved from your ass to unbutton your shirt partially, just enough to expose your breasts. He moved a hand to cup one, gently rolling a thumb over your unlined bra where your nipple lay beneath. He separated from the kiss to make his way south, not missing the opportunity to take you in.

“Holy shit,” he breathed. He remembered when you burst into his own room just a few weeks ago to apologize for abandoning him in Austin. Flushed rosy cheeks, messy hair, clothes disheveled, panting - as you were now. He loved how easily he could make you come undone and that only he could ever see you this way. He raised his hips to meet yours when his mouth finally landed on your neck again. You leaned forward and gently bit his shoulder to suppress the noises that threatened to spill from your lips as you bucked your hips. Not trusting your ability to stay quiet, you began leaving a trail of kisses starting at his jaw and down his neck. He stopped you part way down his chest when he realized what you were doing, grabbing your hips roughly. You looked up at him innocently.

“What’s wrong?”

“Don’t.”

“I want to make you feel good.”

“You already make me feel good. This is about you.” He hoisted you back up on his lap, positioning so he could pick you up again. You let out a small yelp at the sudden movement, only for him to place you back down on the massage table. He leaned down to give you a kiss on your forehead before spreading your legs and kneeling in front of you. If you weren’t blushing before, your face was now beet-red. His hands lightly caressed the length of your leg, starting at your ankles and slowly making their way up your thighs. Your toes curled in your heels in anticipation.

You took a sharp inhale as he leaned in to leave a trail kisses up your inner thigh. You held your breath when he stopped at your panty-line, his hands playing with the sides of your thong. He looked up at you intently.

“Do you want me to keep going?” Eyes wide, you aggressively nodded and he chuckled at your eagerness. He drew little patterns over and around you, but purposefully just shy of your clit. You bit your bottom lip in frustration, the teasing becoming unbearable. He lightly dragged a finger over the center of your underwear, feeling your wetness through the fabric. As cool, calm, and collected as he looked to you, he too was quite literally bursting at the seams. His hardened cock strained against his pants seeking release. He wished he could fuck you right then and there, but understood the obvious risks you so pointedly observed.

Your legs trembled as he slowly pulled the fabric down. You wanted to scream feeling his hot breath over your entrance. You slapped a hand over your mouth when he closed the gap. He drew little circles around your bundle of nerves with his tongue before he switched to flicking. Your free hand found its way to his curls again, grasping for anything to keep you grounded as you felt like you would float away. Looking up from between your thighs, he saw the rise and fall of your chest and your bra peeking through your shirt. He unwrapped an arm to bring a finger to your folds, pausing to gauge your reaction.

You subconsciously bucked your hips, desperate for more contact. Accepting the sign, he inserted a finger, then two as he continued to lap at your clit. You arched your back in response to the dual sensations, doing your best to focus on your breathing. You wanted to shout his name to the world, to let everyone know that he was yours and you were his. Every obscenity known to man was on the tip of your tongue, but you held it in. His hands and mouth fell into a comfortable rhythm as your hand found a place in his hair again, running fingers through soft ringlets. Your core tensed, pressure pooling in your lower abdomen. He sensed you were close as you subconsciously squeezed your thighs around his head, encouraging him to keep going. He wished he could stay there forever. He looked up again a few moments later to see your eyes squeezed shut and your whole body convulsing around him as you reached your climax. He’d never seen a more beautiful sight.

You melted into the table as you came down from your high. You gave him a small pat on the head to indicate that you had finished, though your limp body was evidence enough to him. He smiled as he pulled away, giving a small kiss on your inner thigh before sucking his fingers that had been inside you moments ago. You lazily glanced at him slack-jawed. You still weren’t sure whether this was all just a fever dream. He began to wipe his mouth but you grabbed his shirt to stop him.

“No,” you mumbled. You haphazardly pulled on the shirt in your hands to encourage him to meet your lips and he happily obliged. “I want to taste myself,” you said under your breath just as the gap closed.

He wasn’t exactly sure what he had done to deserve such praise but was thankful nonetheless. You felt another wave of pleasure pulse through you as you tasted your own salty essence on your tongue. You began palming him over his pants, moving to unbuckle his belt when he stopped you. Sometimes he even surprised himself with the amount of self-control he had. But he knew it was only because if things progressed, the little he had left would dissolve into oblivion. He would happily go to jail for you, but he was not worried about getting caught himself. The repercussions for you would be detrimental in more ways than one and he wasn’t sure his celebrity would be enough to shelter you from reprimand.   

“Nooooo,” you whined as he peeled your hand from his crotch. He gave it a kiss before returning it to your side.

“Not here. Later, I promise.” His cock was pulsating, he tried to think of the Bills, Zak Brown, or literally anything else to take his mind away from the vision in front of him. You moved your hand down to play with yourself, but he grabbed it again. Your lower lip jutted, and you spread your legs wider for him. He was pretty sure he would give you almost anything you asked for with the eyes you gave him. Almost.

“Why?”

“Because we’ll get caught.”

“If I go to jail, I go to jail.” He laughed.

“That’s not what you said earlier. Plus -” he gave you a peck on the cheek. “I can’t fuck you if you’re in jail.” He had a point. You closed your legs, finally conceding.

“Fine. But I’m not happy about it.” Taking your hand again, he helped you to your feet. He knelt before you to pull your panties up, unnecessarily taking his time. He didn’t miss the opportunity to kiss your hips and gave your butt a light tap to close out the encounter. He straightened your skirt, taking care to smooth out as many wrinkles as he could. You bit your bottom lip, your heart felt so full with how delicately he handled you but you also ached for him to rip off the clothes he just took great care putting on.

“You’re being awfully needy.” He continued to dress you as you complained, buttoning your shirt back up.

“What can I say? I’m a strong, independent, needy woman.” He bit back his laugh. He didn’t need you to know this hurt him as much as it pained you.

You pulled him in for a kiss again, though it only lasted a second before he practically pushed you away. You frowned and were about to ask his what was wrong, but looked down and quickly realized his conundrum. You were reminded of one of the few benefits of being a woman: the ability to hide arousal in public.

“Oh – oh shit. I can help…?” You gently touched his chest and began kneeling but he placed your hand back at your side and encouraged you to stand upright.

“Nope. No. I just have to… think of something else for a bit.” You looked at him intently but he was very focused on the ceiling. You didn’t want to make him feel bad, so you pursed your lips together to hold back your laughter.

“Ok. Well, um, I’ll see you later then.” He shut his eyes hard when you went to give him a kiss on the cheek. “Oh fuck, I’m sorry,” you said again, realizing you were not helping the situation. “I’m just - going to go.” You turned around and bent over to pick up your work bag, which incidentally prominently displayed the curves of your rear.

“Oh my God, please just get out.” You immediately stood up straight to find him covering his eyes with his hands.

“I know, I’m sorry!” You walked backwards to the door to avoid any further accidental temptation. “This was fun, I’ll see you later,” you said with a giant smile.

Not removing one of the hands from his face, he waved with the other one. “Just be careful on your way out. But please, for the sake of both of us, you need to leave,” he said with a smile.

“I know, I know, I’m leaving. Byeeee,” you whispered as you shut the door.

You quickly checked your surroundings and made a b-line for the bathroom where you finally had a moment to process what just happened. You looked at your reflection. Your heartbeat had finally returned to normal, but your cheeks were still a little flushed from the encounter. Otherwise, you pulled your slightly tangled hair back in a bun – no one would be none the wiser.

You didn’t look much different, but your sense of reality had been permanently altered.

[novalizinpeace]

you know, I think I'm starting to see a pattern in Craftycorn family...

Hympis=Bad

Easel=Good

Canvas=Bad

Craftycorn=Good

I just really think if that Poppy Co idea of a season with the character childrens came true, Crafty and Dogday child would be a little demon.

Not at the point of starting a war like the other 2, Crafty and Day wouldn't let it happen, but I still feel like they would would be a anti-hero creating conflict throught the episodes.

That or they're a chaotic cremlin like their uncle(Catnap), just with even more energy like Dogday.

Good to see someone realizing that fact with crafty's family even before i finish the explanation of the wars, it true that history tend to repeat itself, but Play.Co was a coward

but you know who isn't a coward?

i present to you, the fanfic that Charlie and Alba had been writting for those two

The concept is simple, basically the next gen having Catnap as a mentor to find their place in this world, specially Dogday and Craftycorn's children, since they all are in a constant fight with the ''who is going to get our parents pendant?''

(first concept i made for this yesterday when i didn't have electricity)

To resume each children (i don't have their reference yet, 'm fast but not this fast):

-Sunrise (red puppycorn): the oldest of the triplet, she's a menace in all the ways possible, but not in a evil way, more in a young Gaia way, she like to explore and her nose is almost always on the ground, looking for new things. A leader just in paper, 'cause half the time she doesn't know what she's doing.

-Palette (Cream flying puppy): Middle triplet, he love to use his wings to get away from trouble, or mess with his non-flying sibling, he repeat the word ''what?'' a lot.

-Shylight (white and blue puppycorn): the youngest triplet, he's just brave when he's making a mischief with his sibling, but when he's left alone he become a babbling, nervous mess, probably having a mix of the insecurities in young dogday and craftycorn, Catnap insist he's like this 'cause crafty babied him to much.

-Prisma (yellow alicorn puppy): she was a surprise baby from the stork, nor Dogday nor crafty remember writting a letter for her, but the stork insist they had send one for a ''last special baby''. Since this story is write by adults for adults readers, Catnap think they write it while drunk (aka a literal upsie baby lol). She's around 5 y/o, but she hadn't leave her pacificier yet, and her sibling know is a baaaaad idea to try to take it from her

-Berry Bearhug (brown bear): Catnap's and Bobby's baby, a 1 y/o cutie that had spend to much time with her mother's side of the family, so she tend to run in all four and grow. Catnap isn't bothered by that.

There's also the rest of the characters, that are children of the rest of the critters

we have Cuckoo (black chicken), Kickin's daughter (not revealing the other parent, just know is another man). And Osuke, Picky's son with Inoshishi.

Then we have Bubba's daughter, Smarty Tiny (yup, he give her his parent's middle name).

and the oldest of the other critters children, Hoppy's son, Spring Seashell (the only one that already got his mother's pendant).

'm not making something with this whole concept, my hands are already full with the cartoon and the factory Aus, but be free to think in ideas for this little rascals, the factory gang would love to read about it

[shesnake]

flop shows cancelled after a single season that you should watch anyway:

brave new world 2020

selfie

cashmere mafia

powerless

dracula 2013

1899

I am not okay with this

snatch 2017 (this actually did get a second season and it's the greatest 10 hours of television you will ever see. totally different show to season 1 which was a MESS)

shows that HAVE been renewed for 2nd seasons that not enough people watch imo:

the lazarus project

the serpent queen

chapelwaite

we are lady parts

sort of (actually confirmed for season 3!)

miniseries no one really talks about anymore that you should watch anyway:

the bisexual 2018

it's a sin

picnic at hanging rock

miss sherlock

brand new cherry flavour

Emma 2009

hungry ghosts

[trutrustories]

STUDY IN LOKI ROMANCE

Part 2: Breaking Brad

Since we're only a few days away from the last episode, I decided to COUNT DOWN everything we´ve got so far ( that can be interpreted very easily as romantic ) and discuss what the actual fuck is going on with second season. Because even though I shipped lokius practically from S1E2, I absolutely did NOT expect this kind of development. (Not that I´m complaining)

Warning: This is gonna be LONG post, lots of screenshots, lots of SPOILERS, lot of "oh-my-god-they-so-cute" language, and little bit of meta.

I originally thought that this post would be everything at once, but since I have just too many screenshots this time around, I´ll have to split it. so every post will be one episode. Color coding means:

IIIIIIIIII = anything, that coud potentialy be just acting choice.

IIIIIIIIII = everything else (tzn.: whatever was written, and/or carefully prepared by filmmakers. )

side note: I already wrote, about how amazing it is, that Mobius is unable to fight but fights anyway and how beautifuly, and ridiculously brave he is HERE. But this is about Loki/Mobius interactions, so I´ll try my best not to talk about THAT. (Even when I´m really happy, that s2 continues with this formula and Mobius is still his completely defenseless while aggressively brave self. I love him, btw.)

EPISODE 1 HERE

Okay, Check-list, ep 2:

11) matching suits part 1 THIS ⬇️ costume department did a great job and they look badass together also, they´re walking very close to each other.

12) Loki defending /saving Mobius from Brad (with magic!) also, Mobius, dear, (my beloved) you were really going for it! Always so ready to fight! I can´t xD

Loki "don´t u dare hurt him" Laufeyson, look at his face!

13) Mobius and Loki struggling to assemble IKEA furniture- sorry Tapmad together

14) " And he knows..." I mean yeah, sure. keep remind us, that Mobius knows everything about Loki, and saw him at his worst, so we can appreciate even more the fact, that Mobius likes him and cares for him so damn much 💚🤎

15) Loki finding Mobius´s joke amusing Mobius: cracking joke right after Loki´s threatening speech:

Loki:

16) Loki being very concerned for Mobius after his outburst, saying that It´s okay, and then suggests having pie because he knows Mobius so well and is avare of the fact, that his man is stress eater I´m gonna cry they´re too pure for MCU someone adopt them

17) Bickering like married couple (part 2) 18) The whole freaking pie scene!

Just them, sharing calm, intimate moment together

Mobius opening up to Loki, and admiting he "lost it"

Loki trying to make him feel better and absolutely KILLING IT! btw, I know, that some people think, this scene doesn´t make sense, because Loki didn´t "lost it" during avengers, but was controlled by mind stone, etc.... well I think that it actually doesn´t matter. Guess what else doesn´t make sense? For example the fact, that they already talked about Loki fighting Avengers ( during their first meeting.) Loki is aware, that Mobius saw New York invasion at least twice now, and he´s telling him anyway. I would say, that point here is Loki trying to lift Mobius´s spirit, entertain him, make him smile. Why else woud he start his monolog by "remember, when...?" And I think, that this is huge, actually: Loki, using his bad memory, defeat, his humulianting experience to make Mobius feel better. So not only, that we see, he no longer care about being rurel but we see him making lightly fun of it FOR MOBIUS´S SAKE! He has different priorities now... our immortal god is a grown man now... it´s just so fucking beautiful... 🥺

Also Mobius saying to Loki: "come on, you´re the God of Mischief" Like it´s a best thing in the world, and Loki gives him THIS LOOK! (I mean that head tilt would be considered "acting" category, but I´m already making concessions by including all these things under one number :D

19) Loki and Mobius: mischievous duo

Mobius trusts him so completly!

They both such a drama queens!

And they works so well together!

like... seriously, Brad didn´t see this coming, AT ALL! xD

also... Loki complimenting his plan?!

20) "They say opposites attract. NO." Mobius´s wishfull thinking xD (But hey, it IS true. Opposites attracts. And works greatly together. That´s the only reason, why, for example, trope like grumpy one/sunshine one is so popular!) I can´t! just look at his face 🤣 Oh honey! just calm down

He is sooooooo NOT chill here xD bless him

21) Loki, not following Sylvie, but actually staying with Mobius and comforting him. AGAIN. (which is an absolutely glaring contrast compared to episode 2 in first season!)

[phyrestartr]

Simple Things [1] | Miguel O'hara x Male!Reader

# SFW, fluff, light comfort, light angst, male!reader, dad!reader, spider!reader, smoking, implied depression, implied trauma, old men just doing their best, dad energy, miguel is a sweetheart and a nerd, multi-part drabble collection

[ 1 ] Smoke Break | [ 2 ] We Change Like the Seasons | [ 3 ] Meet The Kids

Notes: Yes, this will have more parts to it! I'm editing the next bit as we speak (beheh) and it should be up within the week? Maybe? I keep bouncing around from draft to draft, so finishing parts can take a while, pls forgive :pray:

--Smoke Break--

You were just another hero. There wasn't much else to it, you'd decided, and in joining the Spider Society, the same rang true--Miguel didn't think much of it, you didn't think much of it, none of the others did, either. It wasn't a bad thing, no, it was just how it was when one gathered hundreds of superheroes together. Everyone was special in their own worlds, so being a cut above the rest when you were all insane super freaks was exceptionally rare.

Miguel O'hara, however, proved to be exceptional.

Even after all the time that stretched on, he still existed as an anomaly of sorts within HQ. Cool, calm, collected, he led everyone with his head held high and his words resonating like a church bell; everything he said became gospel, everything he said affected their way of saving the multiverse.

Miguel knew that.

You knew that.

Most thought him invincible, unyielding and unforgiving towards the laws of the multiverse, and most admired his dedication. You knew troops clicked well with strong leaders, that they felt secure in their mission and battles when lead by a brave soldier, but your experience-trodden understanding burned in the forefront of your memories.

To you, it was obvious. If you watched his back long enough, if you too often caught glimpses of what he thought were well-hidden tells, the fracturing became all too easy to see.

Miguel was breaking.

You knew that feeling well, the feeling of being unable to bend anymore, to have your limits pushed and surpassed, yet still somehow stay intact and working, like a frayed web.

Maybe that was why you couldn't keep him off your mind. Maybe your primal loneliness, the weeping cracks you'd endured on your lonesome, resonated with another's. Maybe it begged you to do something while you still had the chance.

--

You'd come to see him one day to force some baked goods into his hands and leave, the excuse that you and your daughters had made too much armed and ready on your tongue.

Yes, you were caring, and yes, fine, you were a bit awkward approaching your fearless, strict, hard-ass of a leader with a piece of pie in your hands like you were at some fucking chummy pot luck or parent-teacher night, so you needed an excuse, something to veil your heart. Were you supposed to tell him you were worried about him, or something? No, no, that'd come later (if there was a later).

You expected to see his broad back turned to you, to hear him mumbling to himself or talking into comms; instead, you found him tucked away in the corner of the lab, sat in an old desk chair, napping. His arms rested crossed over his chest, and his head hung down. It was reassuring, a nice reminder that Miguel, too, was mortal just like yourself

The corner of your mouth twitched into something fond and lopsided, though barely there, before quietly, slowly, you left the Tupperware container on his stage console and saw yourself out. You couldn't bear the thought of waking a fellow "old man" from a much-needed nap.

--

Time stretched the way it usually did; missions assigned, spiders injured, anomalies captured--nothing new, nothing out of the ordinary.

But, shit, were you tired. You were always tired, sure, but these days the stress of life and love threatened to break more of you down and grind you into dust. It must have felt terrifying. But you couldn't feel it. Your mind wouldn't let you.

The smoke from your cigarette burned your lungs as you inhaled, grounding you, and reminding you of your existence. You sighed, thankful, and rested your head back against the outside wall of the secluded little balcony you'd found in your mindless wandering. Smoking inside always got you an earful from anyone and everyone in all dimensions, anyway, so you figured you'd skip the scrutiny and take it outside right away. Besides, it was easier to think and wallow this way.

But the door beside you slid open, ruining your quiet. You sighed, letting your eyes fall closed, waiting for the intruder to say something, do something, make themselves known. Seems they weren't in a rush, however.

You cracked an eye open, and spied him. He stared out at the city, his city, and held a clean Tupperware box in his hands. Miguel's fingers drummed against its sides in thought. His twitchy, fidgety restlessness made him too endearing.

"Finished the whole thing, eh?" You asked, cigarette hanging limply between your lips. "Guess you really do have a sweet tooth."

Miguel huffed a laugh, short and sweet, before handing back the box. "Yeah, well, can't say no to homemade food. Besides, Peter stole some." His face soured, nearing an annoyed pout.

"Ah. Bastard." You took the box back, words of gratitude light under your breath. "I'll give him a piece of my mind later."

"Let me know how that works out since, well, that Peter doesn't listen to anyone." Miguel crossed his arms.

"Pretty sure he just doesn't listen to you, Boss."

"Oh, great. Even better." Miguel was smiling, despite his annoyance. His eyes, warm and sullen like those poppies from your memories, flickered over to you, drawing your gaze. You'd never had the chance to speak to him so intimately, to be the only one standing beside him. It felt like a privilege, but it was too mundane to be so. You welcomed it.

"Didn't take you for a baker," Miguel said. His eyes followed your fingers plucking the smoke from your mouth. "Or a smoker."

You sighed as you glanced down at the wisping cigarette. "Yeah, well. I'm not much of the prim and proper hero type, I guess."

Miguel tilted his head, curious. "Never even had a phase?"

You thought back, far back, but shook your head. "Nah, I don't think I ever really had any pep in my step. Not that I can recall, anyway." You took another drag to suffocate resurfacing memories. "...A lot happened before Spiderman happened." For a long moment, you watched the smoke coil. So did Miguel. "But you? I can definitely see you as a peppy youngster."

Miguel sighed, something exasperated and light. "Dios, you're making us sound old."

"Aren't we?" You quirked a brow, almost smiling as Miguel put his hands on his hips. "What, you think we're young when we got kids like Hobie and Gwen running around? Damn, Pav too. That kid's the epitome of 'friendly neighborhood Spiderman.' Don't even get me started on May--"

"Okay, okay, stop, stop, stop," Miguel motored out, raising his palm to defend against the painful truth. "I get it. Y'know, talking to you is a lot more humbling than I thought it'd be."

Oh. You laughed. It surprised you with how it exploded past your defenses, choked and ugly, hampered by the plume of smoke in your lungs. Your hand waved at Miguel as you got lost in your fit, tears pricking your eyes and a smile aching unused muscles.

"Y-you're a dick," you eventually wheezed. "Humbling?"

Miguel smiled, too smug. "It's just been a while since I met another miserable bastard."

"Is that self-awareness?" You flicked ash from the end of your cigarette and shook your head, the aftershocks of laughter still shaking your voice. "Incredible. Inspirational, even."

"Alright, now who's being the asshole here?"

"That'd be me."

"Ah. Self-awareness."

"What can I say? You've inspired me. Such a good leader."

"Yeah, well, inspiration and good leadership come with a fee." His eyes flicked to the Tupperware tucked under your arm.

Your brows raised. Huh. Unexpected. But you nodded, and tapped more wasted ash onto the ground. "You're lucky my kids like to bake. You got a hankering for anything?"

Miguel's lips parted, surprise painting his face cool shades. He blinked then, breaking from whatever spell he found himself in, and ran a hand through his hair. "I--ah. Yeah, just, anything. Whatever your kids want."

"You're gonna regret that, but hey, your call." A comfortable silence fell for a few beats before, very unlike your blasé self, you pressed for the sake of curiosity: "So? Were you a plucky youngster? Sparkling eyes, heroic intentions 'n all that."

Miguel's gaze, pointed at the city, stared through the buildings and perhaps into a time you were not privy to. The tightening of his jaw told you more than you needed to know.

"Yeah, I guess I was." Miguel took a step and rested his elbows on the railing of the small patio. "Things weren't easy back then, but..."

"You didn't have to look after the multiverse?" You wondered, voice soft. The other's unshakeable shoulders slumped. You stuck the cig back in your mouth as you thought about your own history, about what you wish you had the chance to do, about who you could have been, who you wanted to be.

"Did you at least get to live a little?" You asked, maybe a little bit to yourself.

Miguel nodded. "Yeah. But I think I started really living after I became Spiderman."

Somehow, you understood.

"Kinda ironic."

"You're telling me. But it was eye-opening. Life-changing, in a bad way, in a good way." He paused before nodding with contemplative shrug. "Humbling."

"Hm. More humbling than me?"

"If you can believe it."

You snorted and shook your head. "Guess I have no choice."

He hummed, agreeing. Miguel turned, leaning back against the railing and crossing his arms as he regarded you. "You must've had a 'the hero is born' moment," Miguel suggested more than he asked. "We all do." And he was right, logistically--if you were all Spiderman, you all had to have a moment where you really became a hero.

So, you thought for a long, slow moment.

But too quickly did something find a soft, hollow place to fester in your chest. The pain pierced so like losing yourself in December's glacial lakes, so wicked with languid tortures and polar punishments. The pain could fade if you stopped fighting, if you let the water pull you into the peaceful darkness, but you'd indulged in the shameful malady of shadows too many times; your patience and self-loathing had grown so thin.

You don't need to remember, the lady of the lake would whisper to you, voice dripping with tears in a way that sounded so much like her. She lulled you, she pulled you back in, she urged you to turn her way instead of fighting her, instead of reaching for the roiling inferno that was the past. In those moments, in her arms, you never knew if you'd find your way back to the surface, but you were not one to obediently decay in ignorance.

Her wail filled your mind as you breached the blaze, and found that sunny day in the Bronx, with the wind carrying the honeyed scent of summer life when you'd met that pretty little thing from the flower shop...

You twitched a smile. "Well...I guess I--"

"Hey," Lyla suddenly cut in, blipping into existence between Miguel and yourself. The level of relief you felt upon being saved from talking about yourself was unhealthy, but you silently thanked Lyla for it: memories of the blaze and the ice could be put aside for a while longer.

The sprite adjusted her sunnies before continuing, "totally loving the bromance here, really cute, but we got a new anomaly that needs some extra love. You guys feel like kicking some bad guy butt, buddy-cop style?"

"Sure," you cut in before Miguel could. You need out of this conversation now. "I call bad cop. Wanna see good cop Miguel butter up a baddie."

Miguel twitched. "Hey--"

"Oooh, me too," Lyla agreed, nodding sagely.

"I don't think I like you two being on the same side--"

"Let's get the show on the road, Boss." You butted your cigarette out on the wall and set down the container. A warm sunset glow bloomed across you as a portal whirled open, shimmering and humming.

You tapped his chest playfully with your knuckles. "Last one there buys me a six pack."

With a hop, skip, and a jump, you were gone.

Miguel rubbed his face. Lyla fluttered around his head. "Well? Better go after him, good cop."

"You. You aren't allowed to team up with him," Miguel stated as he headed towards the portal. "Starting now, colluding is not allowed."

"Oh, what? Sorry, connection's getting fuzzy--"

"Lyla, don't--"

"Sorry--shhhrk--breaking up--" and she, too, disappeared.

Miguel rolled his eyes. His mask materialized over his face as he followed you, a comfortable fondness resting in his chest, chasing out any turmoil the day had brought him.

Good cop. Bad cop. It was stupid, childish, but maybe that was a good thing. Maybe it was a dumb little something that he needed.

[bronx-bomber87]

The Rookie Reviews Season's 1-5 Master List. Will be Pinned To Blog for Easy Access. S6 To Be Added This Summer.

Top Eps Listed Season's-1-4 Made a ranking list my fave eps for an ask. Wanted to include in this list.

Started: 5/13/23

Last Updated : 02/13/24

Works: 98

Season 1

1x01-Pilot

1x02-Crash Course

1x03-The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

1x04-The Switch

1x05-The Roundup

1x06-The Hawke

1x07-The Ride Along

1x08-Time Of Death

1x09-Standoff

1x10-Flesh and Blood

1x11-Redwood

1x12-Heartbreak

1x13-Caught Stealing

1x14-Plain Clothes Day

1x15-Manhunt

1x16-Greenlight

1x17-The Shakeup

1x18-Homefront

1x19-Checklist

1x20-Freefall

Season 2

2x01-Impact

2x02-The Night General

2x03-The Bet

2x04-Warriors and Guardians

2x05-Tough Love

2x06-Fallout

2x07-Safety

2x08-Clean Cut

2x09-Breaking Point

2x10-The Dark Side

2x11-Day Of Death

2x12 Now and Then

2x13-Follow Up Day

2x14-Casualties

2x15-Hand Off

2x16-The Overnight

2x17-Control

2x18-Under The Gun

2x19-The Q Word

2x20-The Hunt

Season 3

3x01-Consequences

3x02-In-Justice

3x03-La-Fiera

3x04-Sabotage

3x05-Lockdown

3x06-Revelations

3x07-True Crime

3x08-Bad Blood

3x09-Amber

3x10-Man Of Honor

3x11-New Blood

3x12-Brave Heart

3x13-Triple Duty

3x14-Threshold

Season 4

4x01-Life and Death

4x02-Five Minutes

4x03-In the Line Of Fire

4x04-Red Hot

4x05-A.C.H

4x06-Poetic Justice

4x07-Fire Fight

4x08-Hit and Run

4x09-Breakdown

4x10-Heart Beat

4x11-End Game

4x12-The Knock

4x13-Fight or Flight

4x14-Long Shot

4x15-Hit List

4x16-Real Crime

4x17-Coding

4x18-Backstabbers

4x19/4x20-Simone/Envervo

4x21-Mother's Day

4x22-Day In The Hole

Season 5

5x01-Double Down

5x02-Labor Day

5x03-Dye Hard

5x04-The Choice

5x05-The Fugitive

5x06-The Reckoning

5x07-Crossfire

5x08-The Collar

5x09-Take Back

5x10-The List

5x11-The Naked and The Dead

5x12-Death Notice

5x13-Daddy Cop

5x14-Death Sentence

5x15-The Con

5x16-Exposure

5x17-The Enemy Within

5x18-Double Trouble

5x19-A Hole in the World

5x20-S.T.R

5x21-Going Under

5x22-Under Siege

[datcloudboi]

List of Video Games Turning 10 Years Old in 2024

Alien: Isolation

Assassin's Creed: Rogue (the one where you play as an Assassin turned Templar.)

Assassin's Creed: Unity (the one set during the French Revolution.)

Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky

Azure Striker Gunvolt

The Banner Saga

Bayonetta 2

The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth

BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea (the DLC where you go back to Rapture)

A Bird Story (a sort of spin-off of "To the Moon")

BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel! (is this a sequel to 1 or a prequel to 1? I forgor)

Bravely Default (in North America)

Broken Sword 5: The Serpent's Curse

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (the one with K*vin Sp*cey)

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 (to date, the last new Castlevania game to release)

Child of Light

The Crew (going offline at the end of March)

D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die (a wonderfully strange game from the guy that made Deadly Premonition)

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (in North America)

Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair (in North America)

Dark Souls II

Deception IV: Blood Ties

Demon Gaze

Diablo III: Reaper of Souls

Disney Infinity 2.0

Divinity: Original Sin (from the team that would go on to make Baldur's Gate 3)

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

Dragon Age: Inquisition (the winner of GOTY at the very first TGAs)

Drakengard 3

Earth Defense Force 2025 (EDF! EDF! EDF!)

The Evil Within (from the creative director of Resident Evil)

Fable Anniversary

Fairy Fencer F

Far Cry 4

Freedom Planet

Guilty Gear Xrd Sign

Hyrule Warriors

Inazuma Eleven (in North America. And digital only.)

Infamous: Second Son (as well as its expansion, First Light)

Kirby: Triple Deluxe

The Last of Us Remastered (just one year after the original version came out...)

The Legend of Korra (the game from PlatinumGames that you can't buy anymore)

Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham

Lego The Hobbit

The Lego Movie Videogame

Lethal League (from the team that would go on to make Bomb Rush Cyberfunk)

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII (the third and final chapter of the Final Fantasy XIII trilogy)

Lisa: The Painful (yes, really)

LittleBigPlanet 3

Lords of the Fallen (not to be confused with Lords of the Fallen, which came out in 2023)

Mario Golf: World Tour

Mario Kart 8 (the original version)

Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes (the prologue to Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, which came out 18 months later)

Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor

Might & Magic X: Legacy

Murdered: Soul Suspect (it's like Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, but not as good)

Natural Doctrine

Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty! (a from the ground up remake of the first Oddworld game from 1997)

Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures 2 (yes, it got a sequel. I don't know how or why.)

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax

Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth

Pokemon Omega Ruby & Pokemon Alpha Sapphire

Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy (the last time that Professor Layton himself was the protagonist. At least, until the New World of Steam comes out)

Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

Pushmo World

Risen 3: Titan Lords

Sacred 3

Samurai Warriors 4

Shadowrun: Dragonfall

Shantae and the Pirate's Curse (the 3rd one)

Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments

Shovel Knight (yes, really)

Skylanders: Trap Team (the 4th one)

Sniper Elite III

Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric

Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal

South Park: The Stick of Truth

Steins;Gate (in North America)

Strider (the one from Double Helix)

Sunset Overdrive

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Nintendo 3DS (or Smash 4 for short)

Tales of Xillia 2

Tales of Hearts R

The Talos Principle

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call

Thief (the reboot)

This War of Mine

Toukiden: The Age of Demons

Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark (this game merged the storyline of the War for/Fall of Cybertron games with the storyline of the Michael Bay movies. I’m not joking)

Transistor

Valiant Hearts: The Great War

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter

The Walking Dead: Season Two

Wasteland 2

Watch Dogs

The Witch and the Hundred Knight

The Wolf Among Us (sequel this year!)

Wolfenstein: The New Order

Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z

Yoshi's New Island

[giowritess]

fortnight [1]

gif by @dameronscopilot

pairing | Benny Miller x female!reader [Grace Stratford]summary | you somehow end up pretending to be Benny's girlfriend for two whole weeks. is your heart going to survive that? probably not. warnings | mentions of sex, alcohol, mentions of cheating by a third character word count | 1.7k author's note | so. happy new year! i deeply apologize for not showing my face here for the last two years lol things have been complicated and i haven't found the time to write. i've recently fell in love again with the miller brothers from triple frontier and this came up completely random, it's gonna be a small series and i'll post as soon as i write them. future smut. no mentions of y/n; grace's name is only mentioned once. english is my second language and this wasn't proofread so i apologize for any mistakes. hope you enjoy it. xx masterlist | main masterlist

fortnight

"Meaning: 14 days; fort·​night ˈfȯrt-ˌnīt : a period of 14 days : two weeks."

Pretending to be Benny Miller's girlfriend for two whole weeks wasn't how you planned to spend your days off, but here you were.

After working so hard for so long, you finally had your well-reserved month off, plus a few days more. You spent a few days with your family and now were all set to enjoy two weeks of summer bliss at a friend's super fancy summer house, along with lots of other friends and others not so much, as you soon found out.

The moment you got there, you could hear the laughter coming from the house—a mansion, one could say—even from your car. The moment Will showed up at the doorway, Maddie, your best friend and his girlfriend, jumped out of the car to run to him and you rolled your eyes. They saw each other yesterday. But then Benny showed up at the door, shirtless, laughing as Will picked Maddie off the ground, and you sighed. 

Yeah, you had it bad, and he was completely oblivious to it.

While you and Maddie made the trip there, she filled you in on a lot of things. The house belonged to Luke's parents, Luke being an Army buddy of the boys and your long time friend since high school. What a small world, right? Besides him and the three in front of you, you couldn't say you were “friends” with that many other people there. At best, “acquaintance” was the most appropriate word, but you didn't mind, you were there to enjoy the summer, the Fourth of July and Luke's birthday. But the thing is, Maddie also told you some other rather interesting things. Benny was pissed for two reasons: one, he was the only single guy there, and two, his ex-girlfriend was there with her new boyfriend. His ex that, according to Maddie, was the one who broke things up and he still had a thing for. His ex that Maddie hated because she was a typical Regina George—nevermind being almost thirty.

The idea started to form in your head the moment Maddie told you all that, but you still weren't so sure of it.

The thing was, your relationship with Benny was weird. Since Maddie was your soul sister and you were always around when you weren't deployed, he was basically a brother-in-law to you. You two had always been friends, got along just fine; there was, however, one alcohol-filled event two years ago that changed the trajectory of your relationship. 

You still remembered it as if it had happened yesterday. You'd just gotten back from deployment, happy to be home at the beginning of summer, your favorite season. Maddie and Will were in the early stage of their romance, lots of longing glances and unsaid words, so you were starting to be around Will and Benny more frequently. The thing was—you had a thing for Benny since, well, ever. You just couldn't help it, guys who knew how to make you laugh were your downfall, and it was only a bonus that he was handsome as fuck and had eyes that made your parties drop. Suffice to say, Benny Miller was your dream guy, but he never made a move on you as seemed interested in you. It wasn't that you weren't brave enough to go for it—you just couldn't bear the possibility of being rejected by him, so you accepted your fate of liking him from afar. 

That night in particular, your first night back, the four of you were at your favorite bar to celebrate your Captain promotion—after four whole years in the Air Force, you finally had a helicopter to call your own. To say you were happy was to say the least; you were estatic. Your little brother would be proud of you. All drinks that night were on Maddie and the boys; you weren't a heavy drinker, but that night you let loose and really enjoyed yourself. And shit, you could swear Benny had never looked as good as he did that day. It didn't help that you hadn't had sex in a million years and he was basically sex on legs, nor did the fact that the trash bag of your ex, who cheated and dumped you through a phone call while you were overseas, had just walked in with his brand new girlfriend, the one who he cheated with. It served only to make you want Benny even more—he was so much more man than your ex, and you'd bet an arm that he was better at sex, too. You were sure of it, even though the only place he'd been recently (every night) was in your dreams. 

You were both drunk, you more than him. Maddie and Will had abandoned you already. You weren't sure how—maybe because of your sex deprived and lust-filled mind—, but the subject turned to sex, asking each other what sort of crazy things you'd already done. The thing in question was 69, which you'd never done, and Benny surprised you when he denied it, too.

And then, maybe it was the alcohol running through your veins, fogging your brain. Or how close he was and how good his perfume smelled. Or maybe you'd just had enough, so you said, taking a sip of your beer:

“I bet you know how to properly eat a girl out.”

You saw the moment his eyes darkened, one of his eyebrows raising up. He slowly placed his beer on the table. You didn’t breathe, feeling as if you were about to die while waiting for his reply. 

“Wanna find out, Captain Stratford?”

You were bracing yourself for a rejection, for him to say he wasn’t interested in you that way, anything but that. You definitely weren’t expecting that. He didn't ask, but you'd never had sex in a car before. Or had three orgasms on the same occasion that weren't self-induced before. But yeah, he was way better than your ex, and your dreams. 

But then it got awkward between you two afterwards. Sure, it was the best sex of your entire life, and sure, you'd love for it to happen again, but you weren't really sure how to treat Benny. So you tried to act as natural as possible and so did he, almost as if pretending that nothing had happened. Except it had, and every time you looked at him, you remembered it. Everytime you looked at his hands, you remembered how well he worked you up with those long fingers. Everytime you looked at his face, you remembered his beard glistening with your juices after he made you come twice with his lips alone. Whenever you saw him holding something, you remembered how good it felt to have those fingers wrapped around your throat while his cook hit every right spot, again and again. Safe to say, you were having a hard time focusing whenever he was around, and it made you wonder if the remembered it, too, when he looked at you, because sometimes you could swear he looked like he did. And sometimes... sometimes he looked at you the same way he did that very same might when he asked you that question. But then it faded as quickly as it came. So you tried to treat him like you used to, but for the past two years it seemed to have an elephant in the room with you, and you just didn't know what to do about it.

Truly, you'd already accepted that nothing would ever happen between you two again. But the moment Maddie told you all that, the gears in your brain started working. It was risky—what if he didn't like it? And honestly, why? It wasn't as if you really wanted him to get back with his ex... yeah, there was no rational motive you could come up with. At least no motives that weren't selfish. But then, still sitting at the driver’s seat in your car, you glimpsed your ex, wrapped around his current girlfriend—a new one, who looked suspiciously like you—by the pool, and that gave you the courage to go ahead with your plan. So that was how you found yourself in your current predicament. Exactly when Benny was awkwardly talking with his ex, still by the door, you called out his name and went to him, the surprise evident in his face. And then you kissed him.

This was the defining moment. You were scared of his reaction—and then he kissed you back, way more fiercely than you expected, his tongue slipping into your mouth, until the girl in front of you cleared her throat.

“And you are?” She asked, and the tone of her voice made you want to strangle her.

Instead, you took the jealousy and anger cursing through you and transformed into confidence, and you gave her your best smile.

“I'm Grace,” you replied, and you felt Benny's eyes on you. “Benny’s girlfriend.”

You didn't know what surprised you more: the giant scowl in her face, or one of his hands going around your body. 

“I'm sorry, what is it again? Pam, Tam?” You asked before she said a thing.

You knew damn well what her name was.

“Sam,” she replied through gritted teeth.

“Oh, that's right. Lovely to meet you.” You turned to him, dismissing her entirely. “Help with the bags?”

He nodded and gave her an apologetic look, before grabbing your hand (another surprise) and following you to your car. The moment you opened the trunk, he let go of your hand and you already missed the contact.

“What's going on?” He asked, confusion clouding his beautiful features.

You glanced around to make sure you were alone and tugged him closer.

“Look,” you whispered, “both our exes are here, and according to Maddie, you still like her. This way, you make her jealous, maybe win her back, and I rub it in his face that I landed someone way better than him.” His lips tugged up in the slightest shadow of a smirk. “What do you say?”

You didn't realize you were holding your breath until he replied.

“Huh. That's really smart,” he said, surprising you once again.

You expected him to say something more, but then he grabbed the bags and walked back towards the house.

And that was how you found yourself pretending to be Benny Miller's girlfriend for two weeks.

Would your heart survive those two weeks? Probably not.

by @reveriesources

➜ part two

[punkpandapatrixk]

Full Hunter’s Moon in Taurus ♦︎ Moon Magick Pick A Card

I read around the Internet; it seems this year’s Full Hunter’s Moon in Taurus is a big deal for all people, because it marks the end of a 2-year long cycle of Taurus-Scorpio eclipse. That cycle began in November 2021. So, if you could remember what specific misery started then, this year’s eclipse is the end of that suffering😊BANZAI!🎉Or, for some people, an intense healing journey might’ve started then and this eclipse marks your full-recovery or something along those lines🥰

Aenergetically, I feel that this Hunter’s Moon in Taurus is inviting us to take stock of many elements in our lives that no longer serve us. That’s such a cliché, right? We do this every full moon anyway, but with this powerful eclipse, and it being in the Taurus-Scorpio axis, this releasing of old narratives extends far back into childhood conditioning. And in some cases, childhood traumas.

Taurus is the ruler of the 2nd House of personal autonomy and how we view ourselves in relationship to our immediate, closest environment: the family environment. This sign/house tells us how we perceive our individuality in relation to the grownups immediately near us, and how they perceive us. When elements of life ruled by this sign/house is afflicted, disregarded, ignored, dominated and manipulated, traumas in childhood develop and…

Scorpio as the ruler of the 8th House of traumas can tell you a lot about ways you could pull yourself out of this loop of misery caused by terrible conditioning or bad parenting. Often, for many people, the development of new traumas continues to happen way into adulthood and so, when you carry a lot of pains, you will need to heal yourself over and over again until almost all of those layers of a false concept of your Self are taken down.

This full moon eclipse in the Taurus-Scorpio axis, I feel, brings immense relief from the maelstrom of a healing journey that is often quite world-shattering. I have faith that even now as you’re reading these words, many things in your world—your inner world—are already calming down and the winter season will allow you plentiful of rest, before the spring of your Life begins again next year🌱😜🎍

‘Chill…

You’re going to end up where you’re supposed to be.’

[Masterlist] [Patreon] [Paid Readings]

☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・.

Pile 1 – King of Your Own World

outdated patterns, DISSOLVED – King of Pentacles

I sense you’ve come from a very restrictive background. When you were growing up, parents or teachers were incredibly strict. They placed so much cruel expectations on you without caring for your feelings as a person. For some of you, this debilitating sense of restriction could also have come from religion, tradition, custom, race/ethnicity bullshit, and all such things. You felt like there were so many things you weren’t supposed to do because you belonged to a certain religion or because of your ethnicity or whatever. Meanwhile, for the same reasons, ridiculous expectations on you were abound as well.

You constantly felt like the sky above your head was so low and you couldn’t do anything about it. Naomi Campbell’s quote fits perfectly here: ‘The sky has never been the limit. We are our own limits.’

Recently, you’ve been able to overcome so much of this bullshit patterning from your childhood. I think you’ve been working on this unravelling for a number of years. You are free now. Quite nothing is restricting you anymore; you’ve figured out how the Matrix works. And now, you’re the King of your own Reality. What are you going to entertain and create in this brave new world of your own making? Your North Node sign and house placement will have some hints for you to know what options would make you feel the best about yourself in this incarnation!🥰

authentic self, EMBRACED – 4 of Wands

In spite of all the conditioning you were subject to, you’re essentially a Soul who’s always been rather clear about who you are on a fundamental level. Actually, you knew yourself, you knew what you liked, you knew what you wanted to become. But yeah, those restrictions put around your sky caused you to feel confused a lot. Or that you felt helpless on so many levels. What you wanted, what you knew you could be so good at, and what you were allowed to do… they seemed all to be separate circles.

But now, now that you are your own person, you’re reclaiming those bits and pieces of your authentic self that became dormant as you were trying to survive! They are all coming online one by one. For some of you, I feel old skills/abilities are going to get reactivated and this will point towards what you’re meant to do in this incarnation. For some others, you may suddenly gain insane skills you never knew you were capable of and this might shock you a lot. These are actually skills you’ve polished in past incarnations. They’re coming back to help you ascend into New Earth more easily! This is your time to shine, baby!🌤

life purpose, EXPRESSED – 4 of Cups

Okay, let’s get to the real stuff here. For a lot of you reading this, I sense you may be occasionally dealing with stagnation or a sense of feeling absolutely stuck in the manifestation of your ideal world, ideal reality. There’s this feeling like, even though you know what you’re supposed to do as part of your Life Purpose, you feel like there’s just no way you can build that bridge towards that life purpose at the present moment. Don’t worry, honey, I promise you that you can’t fuck up what’s meant for you.

Many of you, you’re currently in that gestation phase where you’re supposed to gain a lot, A LOT, of spiritual strength before you’re ready to take on the world. Your path may sound unnecessarily tougher than other people, but it’s because you have a higher calling to be of service to your community. Maybe even the world, WHOA. Your experiences have shaped the amazing individual you’ve become, and even now you’re still becoming even more awesome than you could ever imagine in the meantime.

You are where you’re supposed to be. Learn as much as you can, enjoyably. Breathe as deeply as you can, enjoyably. Play your videos games. Watch your favourite series. Aren’t you aware you’re having so much time on your hand now to be building new positive habits, too? All of these seemingly unrelated activities are leading you towards your Life Purpose; embrace everything nice and calm that you have now. It is going to get wild sooner than you realise!🎆

full moon self-care🔻🌒🌓🌔🌕🌖🌗🌘

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Pile 2 – Comfortable New World

outdated patterns, DISSOLVED – 5 of Cups Rx

Not to touch on conspiracy theories, but if there’s a new world order on a microcosmic scale, you’re having it all to yourself XD You are dissolving an old world order that involves mental lethargy and a general sense of spiritual confusion, which I think you’ve needed to deal with for almost your entire Life. I sense, for many of you this was caused by a very traumatic childhood in which you were constantly, systematically let down by the people around you, or your environment in general. It feels like, you were never given what you wanted, what you needed; whatever you asked, if you asked, you would be granted its non-delivery.

I think you had toxic parents? Grandparents? Maybe teachers? Just incredibly venomous adults who actually saw your potential for success, and so, they deliberately attempted to murder your Light from a very young age. At this point of reading, I think you’re healing and transitioning into more peaceful waters by your own conscience. I’m sure you’ve worked really hard to heal yourself, work on your inner demons, defeated negative thought patterns that weren’t even your own, and created new neurological pathways all on your own. You’ve successfully made the unconscious conscious. You have better control over your own emotions, thoughts, choices and conducts now. Congratulations!🎊

authentic self, EMBRACED – 3 of Pentacles Rx

Before this point, you were probably a people-pleaser of sort, right? You thought too much about other people and I think you were conditioned to think that self-love or prioritising yourself is incredibly selfish. That choosing to live Life on your own terms was incredibly selfish! The adults around you were probably the type of parents that would say, young people choosing not to have babies is incredibly selfish! Whereas such adults are choosing so precisely because they don’t want to bring into this miserable world babies that are unloved and unwanted. That’s all gaslighting, you know that, right?

With this energy, I’m seeing you choosing to cultivate solitude for the time being. You’ve finally been able to tap into this consciousness of calm and harmony. You are in rest and recuperation mode for both your mental and spiritual. You are not yet ready to connect with people. Right now, it’s time to build a deeper connection with yourself, perhaps your inner child and all the things that make you feel joyous from the inside. This is also your time to feel more connected to the Planet herself as well as understand your unbreakable bond with the Cosmos itself. If you ask me, I think you’re currently in a really good stage where you’re being led to your best Life as of yet!🌞

life purpose, EXPRESSED – 2 of Pentacles Rx

As of right now, your Spirit Guides and Higher Self are sending you many synchronistic messages that give you a clearer idea as to what your next steps should be. It’s perfectly OK to be casual and relaxed about them though. You are not at all in a rush. Even when you see these YouTube readings that say crap like URGENT MESSAGES FROM THE UNIVERSE, no, you’re not in a rush anywhere. Your new world order is gestating right now and you can be patient with yourself. Those types of titles are just for the algorithm or for grabbing your attention, but in reality, there is no such thing as the Universe or Higher Self or Spirit rushing you towards anything. You can’t fuck up what’s meant for you, trust that.

When you allow the process of your new world of comfort to unfold naturally, in the future, you will always know when to make the right decision for almost every life choice you will be making. You will be guided more by your intuition and so, whatever choice you make will reflect the highest good of you and those you care about. That’s the spiritual lesson you’re learning as of right now and I think it’s such a wonderful stage to be in! Trust that you’re being prepared by your Higher Self to receive so much abundance and joy in the next chapter of your Life. You’ve come so far😊

full moon self-care🔻🌒🌓🌔🌕🌖🌗🌘

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Pile 3 – Bittersweet Transition Into the Light

outdated patterns, DISSOLVED – 6 of Pentacles

In spite of the title, I feel that your transition into the Light is actually a pretty lighthearted one! More like, all the rough times are over, for realz for realz. You’ve been to the depths of hell and returned safely; scathed, yes, but you’re still alive, so you’ve won! For this Pile, I feel like you might’ve been attracted to the other piles, too, and they contain insights about the kind of struggles you’ve had to deal with. But if you feel that this Pile is your main pile, you’ve literally crossed over many bridges and the Light is dawning fast on you! You’re travelling at light speed towards a world of your ideal!

If up until now you’ve been the character who receives help and charity from other people, soon you’ll finally embrace a transcendent version of yourself with which you’ll be the one sharing your riches and knowledge! You are now the enviable main character but without the envy… hopefully XD But those who are actually envious of your transformation or success are not your people, so I hope you know how to protect yourself from the beady eyes of those who will be seeking to harm you in the future if you let them!

authentic self, EMBRACED – 7 of Cups

For the most part, I’m sensing that you didn’t necessarily come from extreme poverty or anything like that. But the manifestation of your dreams has been nothing short of difficult damn near impossible at times. I hope you understand now that this has been your script only because the things that you want to see manifest in this world are so precious, pure and high-vibrational that Earth herself was not ready to assist their manifestations. Do you understand? Often we hear about needing to raise our frequencies so become a vibrational match to our higher desires. But what happens when our desires are SO high-vibrational Earth herself couldn’t contain those dreams? LMAO

So it was that the collective of Mankind needed to collectively raise their frequencies enough for your time to come. It may sound weird to some people but I didn’t make the rules, hon, so just take these words, I promise you it will make sense soon enough XD And with that said, have faith that you will see all that you’ve ever dreamt of manifest in the physical. Never lose your sight on the prize and don’t settle for less; you’re meant to see it all happen😉

life purpose, EXPRESSED – 5 of Pentacles

Do you perhaps have significant Capricorn, Scorpio or Aquarius influences in your birth chart? These three, in all of the zodiac signs deal the most with a sense of restriction (Capricorn), ridiculously dangerous people/situations and traumas (Scorpio), as well as a disturbing sense of not belonging anywhere in the world (Aquarius). These energies tend to be really difficult to navigate through, but there’s always a great prize to be had when you’re through! Essentially, you needed to go through your experiences to really understand how poverty mindset works or how it’s developed in the first place. Poverty mindset can deal with many things beyond just the conception of money.

It is part of your life’s blueprint to come in touch with it, transmute it via first-hand experience, and dissolve it for all of Mankind. It is part of your Life Purpose to help other people learn to overcome this lack mindset on their own. You don’t necessarily need to become a teacher, but through your own example, or your self-expression whatever it may be, you help others realise their beggar patterns and tendencies. This energy is reminding me of both Bob Marley and Bob Ross though as you can see, their expressions or styles were very different from each other, but they showed people there was more to Life than just numbers in your bank account and that there is so much joy in giving and sharing your gifts with the world. That at the end of the day, what truly matters is Love and what’s truly exciting is charity to others💝

full moon self-care🔻🌒🌓🌔🌕🌖🌗🌘

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[gentlebeardsbarngrill]

05/01/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; Samba; Con; Rachel House; Gizmo Darby; Nathan; Vico; Leslie; Watch Party Reminders: Palm Royale tomorrow; Adopt Our Crew Breakdown of GLAAD Fan Spotlight; Love Notes; Daily Darby / Tonight's Taika

= Cast & Crew Sightings =

= Samba Schutte =

It's the last week to order this limited edition Crew For Life T-Shirt! All proceeds go to benefiting "EVERY MOTHER COUNTS". Order your Crew For Life shirt here!

Img Src: Samba Schutte's IG

= Con O'Neill =

Our dear Con O'Neill is encouraging everyone to get out and vote! #VoteTheFuckersOut

Img Src: Con O'Neill's IG

= Nathan Foad =

Quick peak of Nathan on his IG again <3

Img Src: Nathan Foad's IG

= Rachel House =

There's a new article out featuring Rachel House and her first time directing!

Rachel House on first-time directing and the power of mounga

Img Src: @temaungafilm Instagram

= Vico Ortiz =

Vico's posted a few updates, the first link relates to recent events. Check it out below.

Img Src: Vico Ortiz IG

In addition, there's a new episode of Date My Abuelita First Podcast! Date My Abuelita, First! Podcast Links

Img Src: Vico Ortiz IG

= Leslie Jones =

Reminder! Leslie is hosting "Netflix Is a Joke" Fest at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, CA! Want more info? Visit NetflixIsAJokeFest

= Gizmo Darby =

Samba must be out visiting the Darby Family because here's Gizmo taking residence in Samba's lap.

Img Src: Samba Schutte's IG

== Watch Party Reminders ==

= Palm Royale =

Palm Royale WP May 2 via @LCWebsXOXO with the lovely @/dominicburgess approx. 4pm EDT/9pm BST/1pm PST!

= Wrecked Season 1 =

Another week of Wrecked Season 1 is on the docket! Don't have access? Reach out to me on @gentlebeardsbarngrill on tumblr, or @aspirantabby42 on twitter.

Days: Apr 29 - May 3

Times: 3:30 pm PT / 6:30 pm ET / 11:30 pm BST

== Adopt Our Crew ==

You may have heard that GLAAD released their "Where We Are on TV" report. Well our fantastic crewmates over at @adoptourcrew were kind enough to do a thread on twitter breaking down the various aspects. @adoptourcrew's Twitter Thread Here. If you have access to twitter, please head over there and give their post some love. Thank you friends for putting this all together!

Full GLAAD Report

TV Line Article

The Wrap Article

Hollywood Reporter Article

Gay Times Article

= Fan Spotlight =

= Cast Cards =

Tonight we have the priest that officiated Stede and Mary's wedding, Benton Jennings! Thank you @melvisik for making sure he made it in with the rest of the cast!

= OFMD Colouring Pages =

Ooo @patchworkpiratebear has done it again! This one looks so cool! I can't wait to color this one myself! Thanks hon!

@patchworkpiratebear's Tumblr

= Pixel Art =

Our awesome @blueberreads started MerMay off strong with the SaveOFMD MerMay prompt of Spanish Jackie'z!

Source: @blueberreads Tumblr

== Love Notes ==

Hey there lovelies. I know that there's a lot going on right now in the world and it's especially tense for those of you who are in Uni or in cities with Universities. This is a really tough time for you, and I want you to know we're thinking about you.

If you need to vent, or you need help getting access to something, please be sure to reach out to your crew. We care a lot about you, and we know these are scary times. Make sure to stay safe if you can, and if you're in a position to be out in harms way, make sure you've got emergency supplies and support in case things get hairy. There's a link above in the Vico section specifically regarding if things get really hairy where you can go for help (or how you can help those who need it).

You all are so very brave. Seriously, whether you're on the ground, or supporting financially, or bringing supplies, or just spreading the word online and keeping eyes and cameras on things to keep the situations honest, or even just staying put where it's safe and taking some self-care time-- you're doing everything you can.

Sometimes it feels like what we do doesn't make an impact. Sometimes it feels like these tiny ripples won't go anywhere. You're making the ripples, and those inspire others to make ripples as well.

You're making a difference no matter how big or how small, don't forget that lovelies. Please stay safe wherever you are, were thinking of you.

== Daily Darby / Tonight's Taika ==

Today's theme is "Zoom zoom zoom!"

Gifs courtesy of the fantastic @kiwistede and darling @meluli <3

[fandomestuff]

I've seen many people shit on the live action atla ((as we should this is such a bad adaptation and honestly a mid show in itself)) but I haven't really seen people talk stuff about Sokka and Suki

And I want to point out a couple of things that I absolutely hated about what they did to them in live action.

1. The kiss

I hate that they made them kiss at the end of the episode. I hate it so much. Like yes, in the original they both clearly had feelings for each other (especially that later Suki talks about losing sb very important to her, who we know was Sokka), but they weren't rushed like that.

In the original they both grow so much between their meetings. Sokka finally gets together with a girl (not the first girl he meets that's his age, like Suki), kisses sb for the first time, travels the world, meets new people and in general matures.

We don't know much about what Suki is doing during that time, but we know she finally does sth that helps people during war, sth that she said was important to her. She can finally put her skills in leadership to greater use and she feels great about it. She also matures during that time and we know that she still thinks about Sokka and misses him.

Them kissing immediately makes their relationship so much more bland and just... flat.

2. If they make all three seasons, we will probably not get the most iconic line of the show...

Because now Sokka's first girlfriend is technically Suki...

3. The whole scene with Suki teaching Sokka

I cannot empathise enough how important Sokka's sexism is in their relationship. It's something that Suki fixes in him, something she manages to show him... by absolutely kicking his ass. In live action... the fight scene next to those melons was a joke not a fight scene if I can be honest. Idk if it's the writing or the choreography or the actors but it looks so fake and just so bad 💀 And she attacked him while he was still "stretching"??? Suki would never.

What is this 💀💀

But the most important scene, and the one I hate the most in live action, is the one where Suki teaches him a very sacred and traditional and important to Suki and to her culture way of fighting.

In the original, Suki highlights that no man should learn their art and only after Sokka begs Suki to teach him does she agree.

But not without a very important piece that was fully missing from live action which baffles me so much.

The entire armor, the dress and make up.

Not only is it incredibly important to upholding the traditions and keeping the cultural aspect important, but the beautiful, might I add, outfit gives us the depth of Kyoshi Warriors that is just missing from the live action.

"The silk thread symbolizes the brave blood that flows through our veins. The gold insignia represents the honor of the warrior's heart."

It's beautiful. It's meaningful for both of them. It's important. And it's also a way for Suki to mess with Sokka which we love and stan.

I ALSO DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY SUKI TOOK OFF HER MAKE UP FOR THE ALMOST KISS AND THE KISS. It's not like being a Kyoshi Warrior is sth that's bothering her. NO. She's incredibly proud of it!! So. why. take. an. important. part. of. it. away. for. some. stupid. kiss.

WHY NOT GO THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION?? Instead of her taking off her make up for the romantic scene why not just... put make up on Sokka... honestly what's more romantic than putting make up on your crush.

They could have made such a beautiful and intimate scene between these two.

Them sitting in front of each other. Suki putting on Sokka's make up, while either talking about herself or about how important this whole set up is for her and her culture. I wouldn't mind it then because it would give their relationship some depth instead of "omg he's so pretty" "omg she's so pretty." *kiss*

But no. Instead they kissed right next to a group of people (including Suki's mother which just makes is so much more weird) after Suki said sth about Sokka showing her a bit of the world.

And I hate it so much.

It takes away the part where Suki teaches Sokka something very important, something that changes his personality, helps with his arc to Sokka "showing her a bit of the world". How?? With what?? It's not like he took her away from the Island itself or introduced her to his culture. No. He just... showed up and kissed her.

Great writing.

And don't get me starter on the "I'm not just a warrior. I'm a Kyoshi Warrior" line. It's a good line. It really is. But it would be better if the producers actually focused on Suki being a Kyoshi Warrior and not just a girl that has a crush on Sokka.

And while it's compared to "I'm a warrior. But I'm a girl too"... gods I... ughhhhhhh

So yeah. I hated it. I hated the show. All I have to say is:

They ruined my favourite couple. They ruined many great characters. They completely missed the point of the original story.

[sbdskate]

Laws Of Attraction (part 1) - DR x lawyer!fem!reader

Summary: McLaren is in breach of contract, dr3 hires a lawyer to deal with the aftermath. Tropes ensue. Slow burn. Enemies(kind of)-> Friends/colleagues->Lovers

Pairing: lawyer!fem!reader x Daniel Ricciardo

Warnings: language, eventual smut

Word Count: 4,177

A/N: Very self-serving fanfic of everyone’s favorite honey badger. I thought it was going to be a oneshot, but it ended up taking on a life of its own so expect Part 2 and maybe even 3. This is my first time writing, so please provide feedback! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

“Write the fanfic you wish to read in the world” or whatever Gandhi said.

Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Epilogue 1

When McLaren pulled the rug out from under Daniel Ricciardo in the middle of the 2022 season, he knew he needed to lawyer up. The mental toll of the sport alone was enough even in a good year without this contractual mess. To add an uncertain 2023 season and strained professional relationships in his current workplace despite almost three months left before Abu Dhabi was truly a low blow. He needed to find a home at another team and deal with the ramifications of McLaren’s contract breach. 

You were a mid-level associate at the law firm you’d been with since you graduated law school.  You had enough experience that you were finally gaining confidence in your practice and work product, but relatively speaking you were still young in your career. Which is why you were shocked when the partner picked you to be backup for such a high-profile client as Daniel Ricciardo. Time for client meetings would be difficult since it was the middle of the season and Daniel was still balancing races and the associated travel and training. The firm would simply have to meet Daniel at the race locations in order to get time with him and hold negotiations with McLaren and other teams. 

The time finally came for the first client meeting and as much as you tried, you couldn’t seem to suppress your nerves. You had read through Daniel’s employment contract dozens of times over the last few days to the point that you had practically memorized it. You panic-bought a new suit to try to put you at ease, finally settling on a well-fitted light pink pantsuit.  Professional yet feminine, understated but powerful. You threw on a pair of nude pumps and hoops – who didn’t feel confident in heels and hoops? Yet as you looked yourself in the mirror you kept fidgeting and tugging at your sleeves. You had to shake it off. You stopped, power posed in the mirror for thirty seconds and repeated your mantra to yourself. “I am a boss ass bitch, I am kind, I am smart, I am important,” you muttered over and over again hoping it would stick. Finally you let your arms slump at your sides. “Welp. This is as good as it’s going to get,” before heading out the door.

Your phone went off as you were in the cab heading to the paddocks. You saw it was the partner and quickly picked up.

“Good morning Joe, I’m on my way now. I should get there -”

He cut you off, “That’s great y/n. I’m going to need you to handle this one, I got pulled into a new deal that’s urgent and won’t be able to make the meeting.” Your heart dropped.

“But sir –“

“You got this, I wouldn’t have brought you in if I didn’t think you could handle it. Remember, this is just a client meeting, there’s no opposing counsel.”

You gulped, your throat suddenly feeling very dry. You had to put on a brave face. “Understood. I’ll let you know how it goes.”

With that, the partner hung up. You continued to fidget the rest of the ride. You arrived at your destination fifteen minutes early, as you had planned. A McLaren employee showed you to Daniel’s space and you got yourself set up. 

You checked your watch, he was late. Five minutes, you thought it was just another meeting he was in that went over. Ten minutes, you thought he was stuck in traffic. At twenty minutes though, you were fuming and considering leaving. I better be able to bill for this you thought to yourself. The swelling annoyance actually helped calm your nerves. At the end of the day, the handsome and charismatic driver was actually just another entitled celebrity.

Finally the door swung open and Daniel strode in. He gave you his signature thousand-watt smile and stuck his hand out. You wanted to melt into the floor but maintained your professionalism.

“Hi it’s nice to meet you, I’m Daniel.” As if he needed to introduce himself. Nor did he bother to apologize or offer an explanation for his tardiness. It didn’t matter that he was even more handsome in person. You adjusted your posture, standing up a little straighter.

“Nice to meet as well, I’m y/n. Shall we get started?”

He gave you a confused look. “I think we’re still waiting for Joe. I’ll take a coffee though please.”

Your heart dropped. Of course he thought you were an admin or a paralegal. Despite pushing thirty, you looked young for your age and were just barely above five feet tall. You silently smacked yourself, you’re sure the pink suit didn’t help. In a field dominated by men, it wasn’t the first time this had happened over the course of your career and you knew it wouldn’t be the last. Nonetheless, it didn’t make his comment any less infuriating or hurtful.

You unclenched your jaw and cleared your throat, doing your best to remain calm and level your voice. “Actually, I’m the associate attorney that’s been assigned to your case. Joe had something else come up and he will not be joining us today.”

His eyes widened, clearly realizing his mistake. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t know… I mean I didn’t – “

You raised your hand to stop his stammering. “It’s fine, let’s just get on with the meeting.  We have a lot to go over.”

After going through the McLaren contract, you paused. “Next, we need to discuss what your goals are for next year before we approach other teams. What’s your bottom line?”

He looked down. It had only been a few days since McLaren informed Daniel he would be replaced for 2023, surely this was all still very new for him and he was still processing. Or so you thought. After a few moments he seemed to regain his confident persona and started listing off salary minimums he would consider, other compensation metrics, and various conditions. 

You stared at him blankly as he was rambling. You finally interrupted him, choosing your next words very carefully. 

“Mr. Ricciardo, with all due respect, I don’t think you fully appreciate the position you’re in. I need to know your real bottom line. I have immense respect for your skillset, and what McLaren has done to you is terrible. But what I don’t think you realize is that through all of this, McLaren has put your reputation in question. You and I know that your subpar performance this season has not been due to your skill as a driver, but on them for refusing to invest in you. A reasonable person in this industry, hopefully including other drivers and other teams, can see through this and get to the same conclusion. However, that’s not a guarantee and the rest of the world does not know that.”

You paused, checking his reaction. Seeing none, you continued.

“Your real bottom line. You are not in a position to be negotiating salaries. To best represent you, I need to know whether you would rather be on any team that can take you if it meant you could drive, including lower tiers like Haas and Williams, or would you rather sit out next season.” 

You knew this hurt his ego. Going from the highs of Red Bull, to falling to mid tier teams like Renault and McLaren, and now this. It couldn’t be easy. Despite your awkward meeting earlier, you couldn’t help but feel bad for him. He was quiet and focused on his hands. You studied him. You always wondered whether the world got to see the real Daniel Ricciardo or whether it was all an act. You had a sudden urge to reach out for his hand across the table but immediately pushed the thought away. How incredibly unprofessional.

You broke the silence. “Look, I know it’s been a long day, we’ve been at this for almost four hours. Why don’t you sleep on it and let’s set up another meeting and go over strategy later in the week.”

Whatever trance he was in broke, again regaining his signature peppiness. He looked relieved, dramatically letting his head roll back as he ran a hand through his hair. “Oh, thank GOD.”

“You mean you didn’t think this was fun? I had a great time,” you said sarcastically, trying to break the previous tension.

“Of course you had fun, I’m paying you $600 an hour.” You both chuckled.

“How about we do it all again on Thursday?”

“I’ll see you in Belgium on press day then,” he confirmed.

“Sounds like a plan.” You shook hands again as you got up to leave. “Here’s my business card, my cell is there. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you need anything or have any questions.”

“Don’t threaten me with a good time,” he said with a coy smile.

You were sure he was being sarcastic, yet you couldn’t help the blush creeping its way to your face and you turned away to hide it. “It was nice meeting you Mr. Ricciardo, I’ll see you Thursday.”

-

You hated press. You didn’t want to draw attention to yourself, especially since news was just starting to become public about Daniel’s situation and didn’t want to get hounded with questions as his lawyer. A sensible and boring gray skirt suit it was.

Daniel was in the middle of an interview when he spots you as you arrive at the paddock. He grins and waves. You make your way over when you realize the media personnel around him, your smile quickly fading. How stupid of you, you forgot to prep him for how to handle interviews as all of this unfolds, especially when you knew your meeting would be on press day. The only thing that brings you solace is the knowledge that he has a PR person and you pray whoever it is isn’t an idiot.

As you approach he gives you a quick up and down, his eyes not lingering long enough for it to be inappropriate but you notice. You keep walking.   

“Hello Mr. Ricciardo.”

“You can call me Daniel.” 

In your focus you miss his attempted familiarity, burdened by the stress of your recent oversight. “Let’s get set up somewhere private.”

“Wow, you’re not going to buy me dinner first?” he says mockingly trying to keep up with your pace as you power walk towards his garage. With furrowed brows you shoot him a stern warning glance, but say nothing.

As soon as the door closes you jump right to business. You were pleasantly surprised by how the meeting goes. You hadn’t been sure whether your words from the first meeting had stuck, but it was clear Daniel had done his homework. He was articulate about his desires and through a series of follow up questions you were able to tease out any ambiguities and refine the list. You felt more at ease about the prospect of going into negotiations with other teams at the very least.

As you pack up your stuff, you feel his eyes on you again.

“I liked the pink better,” he says out of nowhere. 

“Excuse me?”

“The pink suit,” he said, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

You felt heat rise to your cheeks. You look down at your gray ensemble. Sure it was boring, but it got the job done and you didn’t think it was that terrible. You pouted your bottom lip, “I don’t see how my outfit has to do with anything.” You pivoted, uncomfortable with the focus on your appearance. “But if you must bring attention to it, this is sensible and low key - which is exactly how we should be acting out there.”

He scoffed. “I’m not sure if you’ve met me, but low key and sensible are not really my thing. And from what I can tell, it doesn’t seem to be your thing either -”

You ignored the latter part of his comment, cutting him off. “I’m serious Daniel, it’s in your best interest to keep a low profile right now. The media is going to have a lot of questions until you find a team for next year.  You risk violating one of the plethora of NDAs you’ve signed any time you open your mouth.”

Satisfied with your deflection, you attempted to leave again. “We’ll be in touch about next week, we should get a meeting on the books with McLaren –“

“You’re not staying for the rest of the weekend?” Those darn puppy dog eyes made your heart skip a beat.

“I wasn’t planning on it, I have a lot of work to do.”

“Just work from the paddock. And I can get you tickets for qualifying and the race on Sunday.”

You thought about it, he had a point. The beauty of your work was that you could work from anywhere as long as there was wifi and a power outlet. Plus it meant more facetime with the client and you were sure the firm would support that. And yet, you actually did have a lot of work to do and couldn’t afford the distraction.

“I appreciate the offer, but I really need to catch up on the rest of my work and I need to debrief Joe.” You didn’t miss the slight disappointment on his face. “I know it’s shocking, but I do have other clients you know.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, excuses,” he played off.

You gave him small smile.  “Good luck this weekend, I know you’ll do great.”

As you walked out, you didn’t notice passing the other papaya driver. Lando did a double take as you walked by and saw Daniel smiling stupidly to himself.

“Who was that?”

“My lawyer.”  Lando raised an eyebrow.

“Um, usually people aren’t this happy when they need a lawyer” elbowing his teammate. Sure it was a little awkward between them at first when all this unfolded, but Lando was more sympathetic than anything else. He knew he would miss his friend next year and wanted to make the most of the time they had left.

Daniel rolled his eyes. “It’s not like that, she’s been nothing but professional.”

“Sure man, whatever you say.”

-

You worked out of the hotel with the race coverage on in the background throughout the weekend. Daniel handled himself well enough during the interviews, though he was clearly downtrodden after his performance on Sunday. You took a sip of coffee as you watched his post-race interview. It dawned on you – perhaps a more experienced lawyer would have picked up on it immediately, but dr3 was your first celebrity client. You had been approaching and planning your strategy as though F1 operated in a vacuum, when it clearly does not. Especially with the uptick of viewership due to DTS, public opinion held its own value and was something you could leverage. You refueled with another cup of coffee, opened a new document and began furiously taking notes with a new sense of confidence.

-

At 6am you received the first draft of the severance agreement from McLaren in the form of a passive aggressive email from Zak Brown’s lawyer. Happy fucking Monday. Within minutes your phone pinged, a text from an unknown number.  

Hey, did you see the email?

It’s dr btw.

You groaned, it was too early for this shit. Why wasn’t he reaching out to the partner? Surely he went out partying the night before, you cursed that he wasn’t sleeping off his hangover. You rubbed the sleep out of your eyes and begrudgingly got yourself up.

Good morning. Joe and I will review today and get back to you to go over our suggested redlines.

You showered and got ready for the day. You checked your phone again, seeing another text from Daniel.

I was thinking we could go over it together?

Seriously, what was wrong with this boy.

Pretty sure you pay us the big bucks so you don’t have to thoroughly read a 150 pages in a day.

It was a little sassy and risky to send to a client you just met last week, but you hadn’t had your coffee yet. You tried to balance it with a follow up professional text.

We’ll be in touch by EOD.

You packed your bag and went to the local café. You put your headphones in and hunkered down, going through the contract. You couldn’t help rolling your eyes at half the language McLaren tried to sneak in. You were deep in thought, trying to find a professional way to say “fuck you” when you felt a tap on your shoulder. You paused Megan Thee Stallion to find your client sitting across from you.

“Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world.” He grinned.

“No one should be this happy before 10am on a Monday, Daniel. Especially when you know your lawyer is going through your severance agreement with your shitty employer.” He raised his eyebrows, surprised at the crack in your professional demeanor.

You sighed. “I’m sorry, this contract is really just grinding my gears… no pun intended. What are you doing here?”

“I’m not allowed to get coffee?”

“No, not when I’m trying to focus.”

“So you think I’m distracting?” He looked pleased with himself.

You looked up, annoyed. “You know what I mean. Seriously, for your sake I need to get this done.”

“And I’m serious too. I want to actually understand this stuff, not just give a final signoff on whatever you send over. Please let me help.”

“It’s going to take twice as long that way.”

“Good thing I can afford the extra billables.”  You stared each other down through a pregnant pause. You folded.

“Fine, get out your laptop.”

He scratched the back of his head, looking sheepish. “Funny you should say that…”

You look under the table. Of course he didn’t bring anything with him. No bag, just his phone, keys, wallet, and the audacity.

You ran your hands over your face. “Fine, scooch over. Here’s a pen and paper, I expect you to be taking notes.”

Having won you over, he eagerly moved his chair next to yours. He leaned forward to get a better look at the document and you suddenly became very aware of you close proximity. The smell of his cologne infiltrated your nose, involuntarily causing you to take a deep breath. You wanted to keep your eyes on the screen and yet you couldn’t help trying to get a close up look at his side profile through your periphery. You cleared your throat and tried to refocus.

“Ok, so your original employment contract had a termination provision that was broken into three buckets: not for cause, for cause, and immediate. Based on the language here, it seems they’re trying to terminate you “for cause” based on your performance so far this season. The for cause provision allows them to (a) give you less notice, (b) provide you with less compensation in the event of early termination. But here’s the thing, your original contract was air-tight and never had a performance condition because Joe knows his shit and is a kickass lawyer. They’re really trying to stretch the interpretation of this language here and –“

You look over mid-sentence to see if his eyes had glazed over yet. Legal jargon was far from sexy. You were about to give him an out thinking he was immediately regretting his decision, but instead you found him staring at you intently. You stopped talking and you felt your heartbeat quicken.

“I told you to take notes,” was all you could come up with, coming out as barely a whisper.

He shook his head. “Right. Sorry.”

You two continued your review for hours. You were sure he would crack first, but ultimately you were the one that called for a break. “I don’t know about you but my eyes are crossing.”

“I wasn’t going to say anything but yeah, I could move my legs,” he chuckled. “So this is a day in the life of y/n f/l?”

“It’s not much, but it’s honest work.”

You chatted as you got up to leave and you began walking in the direction of the hotel. He stopped walking.

“Where are you going?”

“I was going to finish the rest of the redlines at the hotel then pack up for the redeye tomorrow. Where are you going?” You quirked an eyebrow.

“But we’re only halfway through the contract… Plus I was thinking we could grab lunch somewhere.”

You paused. Your initial thought was an immediate no, but you would never say no to food.

“Well… where were you thinking for lunch?”

“I know a place.”

-

You were pleasantly surprised by his choice. He drove you two thirty minutes away from the hustle and bustle of the circuit to a quaint town with cobblestone streets and picturesque buildings that looked like gingerbread houses. The conversation flowed, and he laughed as you ordered your third hot chocolate. You had lost track of the number of bonbons you consumed.   

“So after all of this do you think I would make a good lawyer?” he joked.

“You’re a F1 driver, of course not. The thought of you at a desk job in any capacity is inconceivable.” You both laughed. “Plus, I would tell you the same thing I tell everyone else who thinks law school is a good idea – don’t do it.”

“Why’s that?” It was a loaded question with a long answer. You really didn’t have the time to get into it, but at this point you didn’t care. You would get your redlines to Joe when you did, you’re sure he wouldn’t mind you getting extra facetime with the client.

“It’s just a lot of work. It’s an environment where they break you down just to build you back up, and as hard as the education is, it’s actually the easiest part of the profession. A lot of people are like ‘oh, like arguing so I should be a lawyer’ and it’s really not enough. You read hundreds of pages a day, your professors cold call you, classmates can be assholes, and if you don’t have a good reason for why you’re doing it, you’re set up for failure.”

“Jeez, what a glowing review… so like, do you actually enjoy your job?”

You chuckled. “I love my job. It’s not the same adrenaline that you’re used to, but going toe to toe with opposing counsel can be such a rush. It’s not always that, and a lot of time it’s just paper pushing but the highs make up for it. Plus I made some of my closest friends in law school, I wouldn’t give that up for the world. I’m a firm believer that everything happens for a reason.”

“What are your friends like?” Daniel was genuinely curious. You seemed so constantly consumed with work, it was hard to imagine you with a life outside your professional capacity. Like a little kid seeing his teacher outside of school for the first time.

A slow grin crept its way to your face. “They’re the craziest bunch of high functioning alcoholics I know, and I love them. There’s a special bond you build with people when you’re all at your worst going through hell together.”  

His laughter settled into a soft smile, reflecting on the second part of your statement. You hadn’t known each other long, but you met him when he was going through a career low. He was questioning his love of the sport he had dedicated his life to, and you forced vulnerability out of him as he was trying to hide it from the rest of the world.

“Yeah, I get that,” he finally said. He checked his watch and grimaced. “On that note, I think it’s time to head back…sorry this was a longer detour than I thought.”

Your eyes widened in panic as you realized the time, but you didn’t want to let on or make him feel bad. “It’s fine, let’s call it client-relationship development.” He went to grab his card, but you stopped him. “I think the firm can handle this one,” you smiled as you took out your company card.

“Fine, but I’m getting the next one.”

“Bold of you to assume there will be a next one,” you quipped.

“Bold of you to assume there won’t be.” You sat there smiling at one another for a moment before you diverted your gaze. It was a comfortable silence, both content with the banter you had exchanged over the day.

You continued with light conversation on the drive back. Despite the anxiety knowing you had to finish the review of the agreement, it was offset by the comfort of your travel companion. You decided to put the stress away until you got back to the hotel and enjoyed Daniel’s company in the meantime, relishing in the escape from you work for the first time.

[alitherandom]

Bad Batch is almost over so I'm going to ramble. If anyone can relate, please reply or reblog. Share what this show has meant to you, share your thoughts, share theories, tag people. Let's give it a send off.

Star Wars has been a massive part of my life for years.

I loved everything about the Clone Wars, the world building, the character development for the jedi, but most of all the clones. As someone who finds it hard to read faces, it was fun getting to know each of the clones as individuals with their own personalities and I actually never had any issues telling them apart. It hits hard, I think that's what makes their stories even more tragic.

Echo and Fives are my favourite Star Wars characters so I was really happy when Echo came back in Clone Wars season 7. That was why I decided to watch the Bad Batch- it then became my favourite series.

I'm not entirely sure what I'm going to do when this show ends. I think the hardest part is not knowing what the galaxy has in store for the batch and where it could go from here. Whatever happens I’ll always be grateful for the experiences I've had as part of this community over the last few years.

I think that's what's great about being part of a fandom. Seeing all the different ideas and projects that get put out there every day as well as knowing everyone else is in just as much suspense as I am. I haven't interacted on here that much until the last few months, but I check the tags a lot and all the fanart has been immaculate. The writers and artists are crazy talented and work so hard, I admire the level of dedication and aspire to be like that. 😂

I'm also really grateful for the three seasons we got with Clone Force 99.

Seeing Echo go from a shiny in the Clone Wars to becoming who he is now. (I could talk about that for ages, but I'll save that for another post.)

Seeing Crosshair regain his trust in the batch and get to change.

Seeing Hunter step up for his brothers and Omega.

Seeing more sides to Wrecker's strength.

Seeing Omega go from that kid who'd never seen dirt before to learning from her brothers and proving how brave she is.

And lastly, seeing Tech make the choice he did back in season 2. It wasn't easy to watch, because he deserved more time and there was definitely a massive hole in season 3 without him.

I'm not ready to say goodbye to any of them.

My favourite episodes in season 1 were the last few, when Kamino fell. It was the end of an era as well as a new beginning.

My favourite episode in season 2 was episode 8. I was really proud of Echo, plus he got a hug from Omega which I have admittedly rewatched far too many times.

My favourite episodes in season 3 were episodes 13 and 14. The stakes have been so high and it's been great seeing Echo's ARC skills in action again. (Plus the dialogue with Rampart was top tier. Hate that guy, but it was hilarious.)

I'm well aware of all the theories for the finale. I'm choosing to ignore most of them, but I’d like to present my own.

I hope Echo gets to finish what Fives started and the clones can finally be free, including Tech if he's CX2. I hope the batch gets to burn Tantiss to the ground and fly off into the sunset with Omega and the kids from the vault, and then I hope they continue a lifetime of bullying Rampart. I also hope Emerie gets to whack Hemlock with a steel chair, and then the Zillo beast can eat him.

…After all, Star Wars is based on hope, right?

If anyone actually ended up reading this to the end you're a real one- have a great final Bad Batch eve, and may the force be with you.

[quotergirl19]

I’m a firm believer that sometimes when you’re in a relationship you don’t see it for what it is, and that applies to any type of relationship, familial, romantic or platonic.

Sometimes friendship grows toxic or one-sided, your family treats you like a child even when you’re a matured adult, or a casual acquaintance evolves into something deeper and turns romantic. But something has to happen to make one or both parties step back, reassess it and come back with new perspectives.

This absolutely applies to Colin and Penelope They’ve been in each other’s lives for so long that in many ways they still see each other exactly the way they did when they first met as kids.

Their relationship began for Colin with Penelope being his sister’s friend who became such a fixture in the Bridgerton household that he began to see her like another sibling or cousin, she has been in his life forever as an honorary Bridgerton.

For Penelope, Colin has always been confident, outgoing and kind. He’s the only boy she has felt comfortable around because she’s shy and her interactions with men have been extremely limited. We never see her speak directly to her own father, just as she warms to her cousin Jack but she discovers he’s untrustworthy and gentlemen at parties don’t even acknowledge her.

The only male who has consistently been in her life and proven to be kind to her or paid her any positive attention is Colin. Of course she has always adored him, he’s practically the only man in the world who has ever acknowledged or been good to her.

But hearing what Colin said and realizing that he isn’t perfect, forces Pen to take him off the pedestal she’s always had him on and consider what will become of her if she continues to exist in her fantasy that Colin will miraculously love and choose her as his wife. She knows she has to meet more men and she’s going to focus on stepping out of her comfort zone (in the shadows) and into the light.

We know Colin & Pen have grown closer since writing to each other because that’s how their friendship actually developed. Prior to that Eloise had claimed Penelope and she and Colin were far less familiar, it’s clear in how once Polin are more friendly, Eloise keeps interrupting their conversations and claiming Penelope to herself.

It’s important to note that Penelope basically bestowed upon Colin all the positive attributes of the men of fantasy, possibly from romantic novels and books she’s read and maybe that’s why Portia told her to stop reading because it would confuse her thoughts. Because Colin was still very much just a young boy in season 1 and hadn’t actually cultivated in himself what Penelope sees in him. She saw his potential and not who he truly was but we come to find out that her image of him is what he aspires to be.

That’s why Colin mentioned how Penelope’s letters encouraged him, that’s why he’s different with her in season 2. Penelope’s letters were likely full of positivity, she built up his confidence so he could be the man she sees when she looks at him.

Keep in mind Colin is young and desperately wants to be a man with purpose, the sort of man his father was (but his father died when Colin was like 11 so he doesn’t know how to become the man he wishes he was. So Colin has been doing his best to get by on flirting and charm but he wants to be taken seriously now.

So while on his travels, away from his family and his mother, relying on himself and free to act as an adult for the first time, he chose adventures and trying new things and spends time thinking about who he is. Cue Penelope’s letters and positive image of him as a brave, heroic, capable gentleman.

We know that when he left town he was broken hearted and his confidence had taken a major hit. Penelope’s letters were vital in getting him through something difficult that was also humiliating. It’s begun to dawn on him that she isn’t just his sisters friend, she is someone who genuinely cares about him, understands, respects and appreciates him for all the things that other people might mock, overlook or take for granted. That is why she’s special to him. It’s the same reason he’s been special to her, she thinks he sees her, and to an extent he does. But the way he sees her has not changed enough by season 2 which is why he has her in the friend zone box.

Penelope taking herself out of his life by ignoring his letters and/or distancing herself from Colin to focus on her own future is the closest thing that she as a young woman, can get to Colin’s travels because it’s her way of getting to know herself so she can become the woman she aspires to be.

This is Penelope’s time for self reflection and figuring out what she really wants and needs which is going to change everything because she has been surrounded by a lot of negativity. Sisters who pick on her for having bad skin or being chubby, a mother who’s constantly silencing her and hasn’t put any effort into helping her attract suitors.

Taking action that will change her life for the better is an extremely important step for Pen. But old habits are hard to break and she’s made herself small and quiet for so long she is bound to struggle with confidence. So where she helped Colin through letters because her writing is the way she expresses herself best (and the only way most people actually seem listen to her), Colin will help her in person once he’s had enough time and distance to realize how much he wants and needs her in his life.

Once Penelope finally embraces the confident woman she has become deep down (the one who comes out in her writing), more and more people will take notice of how remarkable she is. Because at her best Pen is kind, funny, loyal, and she protects the people she cares about.

Colin is going to be smitten once the more matured, confident man he has become over the last several months finally meets the mature, confident, emboldened woman Penelope has become. And these two newer versions of Penelope and Colin are perfect for each other.