#christianity in fiction

[griseldagimpel]

Why Basira Hussain in The Magnus Archives Isn't Textually Muslim

I've noted before that Basira Hussain in The Magnus Archives isn't textually Muslim and is implied not to have strong religious faith. And it is religious faith I want to talk about in this post. Basira may very well come from a Muslim cultural background. But she isn't depicted as a capital B Believer.

Let's start with: a character's background - of any and every sort - is going to have some kind of impact on that character. The specifics of that impact will vary - there is no universal experience of anything - and the extend of the impact will be affected by the specifics of the story they are inhabiting. But a character's background shouldn't just be garnish.

With The Magnus Archives, it's a story that deeply involves religion and religious faith, what with the fear entities being worshiped as gods and all. And that means that characters' non-fear-god religious background comes up more than it might in another narrative. Thus, we get stuff like Eugene opining that the Cult of the Lightless Flame shouldn't just imitate Christianity and Martin & Jon discussing whether the Christian God is a force they can invoke.

As such, the fact that religion never comes up with Basira - when it comes up with so many other characters in the story - leads me to believe that she doesn't have a strong religious background.

Are you following me so far?

Right. So why is this? Why did the creative team make this creative decision?

Well, it's because of season five.

The fourth season ends with the fear apocalypse beginning, and then throughout all of season five, no deity intervenes to stop the fear apocalypse. (Well, unless you want to argue this was the case with Georgie and Melanie's immunity, and there, yeah, I think from an in-story perspective their cult's pretty justified, honestly.)

We spend most of the our time with Jon & Martin, who explicitly come from culturally Christian backgrounds but don't have particularly strong Christian faith themselves and predominantly experience religion in the context of the fear gods. Then there's Basira, Georgie, and Melanie.

The goal of the fifth season is the stop the fear apocalypse, which the characters do, and then the series quickly ends. And the sequel series is over there in a whole different parallel universe.

Because, look, even after being undone, the fear apocalypse was going to fuck with a lot of humanity's religious faith (or lack there of!) something fierce. Gods are real but also they're monsters and also no other god intervened.

That's...a lot.

Basira's doesn't have strong religious faith because if she did, she'd have to process season five through the lens of her religion.

And that's...a lot.

And the creative team wanted Basira's story arc to be about her confronting the harm she and Daisy did as corrupt cops.

Also, look, a British podcast depicting the Christian God as either probably nonexistent or useless? That's like, whatever. England's got a whole Church of England. Christians in England aren't being persecuted for being Christian. The episode "The Architect of Fear" can have Robert Smirke write, "I am certain the Dread Powers cannot take a soul who keeps faith in the Resurrection." and then drop dead before he can even finish his letter. It's fine.

But a British podcast specifically depicting a Muslim character having to confront that their faith is false?

Muslims in England are a religious minority. They don't have a whole institutionalized Mosque of England behind them.

Yeah, that could easily end up coming off as Jerk Move.

Not saying that it couldn't be done or couldn't make a compelling narrative, but it would be a lot to take on. It would risk overpowering the corrupt cop reckoning character arc. And the creative team would have to tread carefully for it not to be a Jerk Move.

Ergo, it's easier on the creative team for them to just...not have Basira be religiously Muslim.

Relatedly, Melanie and Georgie aren't depicted as strongly religious for similar reasons. Because they're outside of the Eye's power! If either of them had a strong religious faith, the characters would likely be interpreting their exemption as being a reflection of their faith! And that would be another plotline where the creative team would likely feel like they had to tread carefully lest their story come off as Jerk Move. Again, not impossible to pull off. But difficult.

[jackiestarsister]

OUAT religion headcanons

The existence and practice of organized religion is pretty ambiguous in Once Upon a Time, and the writers play pretty fast and loose with spiritual themes.

Apparently Christianity is practiced in both the Enchanted Forest, which has bishops and churches, and Storybrooke, which has a convent and a Catholic school. The fact that there is a community of nuns in Storybrooke would necessitate the existence of at least one priest within Storybrooke to minister to them, so there is probably at least one church in the town as well.

I imagine that the Mills, Charming, and Swan-Jones families are not particularly keen on organized religion. They probably have a lot of questions and ambivalence after everything they’ve experienced across the realms. On the one hand, they know the Underworld and the Greek gods are real; on the other hand, so are aspects of Christianity like the Holy Grail.

However, I think Mary Margaret (who wears a cross pendant in the first season) and the nuns have genuine faith, and that the others would learn a little from them, as well as from their own experiences. Plus, Christianity resonates with their strong values of hope, love, grace, forgiveness, and redemption.

So, these are my headcanons:

~ Charming likes the story of David, who not only shares his name, but also was a shepherd who became a prince, faced down a giant, and had to fight a war against the jealous king who first gave him power.

~ Emma recognizes that she is much like baby Moses escaping Pharaoh by being hidden in a basket and baby Jesus escaping Herod's Massacre of the Innocents. She also identifies with Joseph’s abandonment and eventual reunion and reconciliation with his family.

~ Mary Margaret's favorite Bible verse is Hebrews 11:1, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."

~ Mary Margaret's favorite saint is Margaret of Scotland, who, like her, lost her father, was forced to flee her homeland, had a happy marriage in a land she did not expect to live in, and found her "happy ending" was not what she expected it to be.

~ When Hope is born, Mother Superior makes her family aware of the verse in Hebrews 6:19, "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure." As a result, anchors become Hope's favorite nautical symbol.

~ Mary Margaret and the nuns introduce Hope to the more mythical/folkloric stories of the Bible.

~ When Emma, Hook, and Hope visit Boston, they discover the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Voyage in the seaport. They end up visiting long enough to attend a Mass. This is Hook's first real exposure to the core beliefs of Christianity. Given his own past, he can't help being moved by what he hears about repentance, forgiveness, and redemption.

~ Hook relates to the parables about a man finding treasure and deciding to sell everything he has in order to obtain them (Matthew 13:44-46). But his favorite verse is Matthew 6:21, "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

~ Hope discovers VeggieTales while looking for movies about pirates. She loves Jonah and The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything. Hook finds the concept of singing vegetables utterly bizarre, but he likes the story of Jonah and the idea of a "God of Second Chances." Hope sings the songs so much that he sometimes finds himself humming them. Emma teases them by pointing out that they have, in fact, been to Boston in the fall.

[doremimosasol]

𝐑𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 - 𝐓𝐨𝐦 𝐑𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐞 𝐎𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐭 ☆

warnings: suggestive? honestly not really, nothing much tbh

word count: 3,6 k

summary: you being the only good chess player (you thought), could it be that you found a shared interest with Tom Riddle?

@thatdammchickennugget ‘s Hogmarch challenge prompt 3

Tom loved wizarding chess, it was the thing that he was best in. Yet he hasn't found anyone yet who was enough of a challenge for him to compete with. He wasn't just good, he was just absolutely phenomenal at chess. He gave up on finding a match for himself, playing against nothingness, preparing moves for god knows whom.

That was until he saw you, you were practicing in the courtyard. Your feet were pulled under your legs, sitting cross-legged while focused on your game. There was a slight frown on your face, lost in concentration to beat the air. There was a way to enchant an opponent, but for the best, those weren't even good enough to win. It was boring not having a partner to play with, but it was the best you've got right now.

He leaned against a pillar close to you and observed your game. You were good, but were you good enough to beat him? He knew it was sort of an advantage, watching you play for a while before he'd ask you to play against him. But no one said Tom was a fair guy, he'd do anything to win. He'd never recover from a loss in wizarding chess, the game he was supposed to be best at. The game that was supposed to be his talent to always win in.

But you seemed good too. You knew great opening moves, you checkmated the fake opponent in 5 moves sometimes. You knew a lot, things he didn't even know others knew about. Moves he thought only he knew about. Even openings he thought he came up with himself. It seemed as if you knew the game through at through, he had never met anyone like you. You were different, fascinating, yet so different than the rest.

It was extremely enchanting to watch you play, to watch you win every single time. You, you were the person he'd been looking for, for months now, for years even.

Wizarding chess didn't start for him when he started attending Hogwarts. He didn't even know it was a thing before. He found a way to enchant the pieces himself back when he lived in the orphanage, the great wizard he was back then already. He crafted stuff he found around the home into pieces to use during his games.

He endlessly played, going again and again. It was his favorite thing to do, besides cursing other students at the orphanage. It wasn't on purpose, his anger sometimes just got the best of him. Before he knew it some of his classmates fell down the stairs. Was it his fault? No, because he didn't know how to control it. Did he enjoy it though? Probably yes.

He watched you sigh as you won another game once again, seemingly bored by the lack of competition. That's when you started talking, his heart almost dropped. "You know, you can also play with me instead of watching me from a distance. I can see you're studying the way I play, don't you think that's a bit unfair?"

He almost looked shocked. You couldn't have possibly seen him standing there? You didn't even look up once to be able to notice him, yet you did. "To answer your question, you aren't subtle." That's when you looked up at him, and that's when he first saw your face clearly.

You were beautiful to him, the only thing that bothered him was the yellow tie you were wearing. A Hufflepuff? That couldn't be possible, right? To him, there was no possibility of intelligence in any other house than Slytherin. Someone needs to tell this man that his house isn't superior. It caught him slightly off guard before he decided to speak up.

"Play with me." He got straight to the point. He saw you as a challenge and he wanted to test you, see if he could beat you. Of course, he could, he was sure of it. Always so goddamn sure of himself.

You laughed at the way he was so insistent. "Fine." You got up and made the board disappear with a flick of your wand. "Tomorrow evening in the great hall." You smiled softly and walked off into the castle.

He was intrigued. He often saw you walking in the hallway, you had a lot of friends. It seemed like people adored you. He always connected having a lot of friends with being unintelligent but now he was rethinking those prejudices. He even was thinking of giving you the first chance to become friends with him. He'd view it as an honor, getting to be friends with him. God, he was so full of himself. He should feel honored himself to be friends with you. Everyone wanted to be friends with you.

The next day, you sat in the great hall, setting up the pieces as you waited for him. The hall was dimly lit by the floating candles hanging over the tables.

When he came in, he noticed you sitting at the Hufflepuff table. It didn't feel right to him to not sit by the Slytherin table but he put his pride aside and decided not to annoy you by asking to switch places. But he was thinking about it the whole evening, hoping no one would walk in on it. Every other Slytherin could care less, they sat at other tables all the time.

He sat down in front of you and you immediately lifted your head to look him in the eyes, a small smile forming when you noticed him. Why were you always smiling? It was so weird to him, you didn't even have a reason to smile. But you never needed one.

"Are you ready for me to beat your ass?" You raised your brows and he scoffed mockingly.

"I bet you've mistaken me with someone else because I never lose." He had such a competitive glint in his eyes, you've never seen anyone this serious about chess.

You chuckled at his confidence. Oh how disappointed he'll be, poor Tom. "We'll see..."

You were white, which allowed you to make the first move. It wasn't always an advantage but you were always white, it had never been different. Good thing Tom always played black. It was like both of you were made to play against each other.

"Pawn to e4." And the game was on.

It took you probably less than 20 minutes to checkmate him. Easy... He was probably too confident, thinking he could easily win. His confidence played into his disadvantage.

The second game, won after 40 minutes. He was already fuming by now. You saw the determination in his eyes, he couldn't lose again. He must win. At least once.

The fourth time, won again. It was a longer game, it took up to an hour. But you did it once again without any flaws. Oh, but he was so mad by now. His knuckles turned white by the way he was clenching his hands into fists.

"Filthy cheater, we go again!"

Could it be that the Tom Riddle was a sore loser?

"What is it? Can't stand that I'm easily winning? When will you give up Tom?" You were so enjoying getting him all worked up, it was quite the sight.

"I'll play again on one condition. The loser grants the winner a wish this time. What do you say? Are you in?" You extended your hand for him to shake, you loved making deals like this. It's because you always won, and that way always were granted a wish.

"Deal."

"You're going to regret this, y/n." You so wished you could wipe that smirk off of his face. You were going to win.

Oh, but how so wrong you were...

After 50 minutes, of a heavy and hard game, you lost for the first time ever in your entire life. It felt awful, especially since now you had to grant him a wish. You didn’t show it though, too prideful to give him this kind of satisfaction.

"Won. Guess you'll grant me my wish." He raised his eyebrows and leaned back in his chair, he analyzed your reactions and was satisfied to see an annoyed look on your face.

"What is your wish? Want me to announce to the whole school that you won, because I'll do just that." You were expecting that to be his wish so you already stood up to do it.

"Sit back down, it's something different."

Something different? What exactly could he want from you to do?

"Go on a date with me. Tomorrow night in the Room of Requirement." He sounded so confident, so determined to take you on that date.

A date?! Why in the world would he want to take you on a date? It almost sounded ridiculous to your ears. You never spoke before now, he didn't even know you. Why in the hell would he ever want to take you on a date?

"A date? Like… you and me?" He must have seen the confusion on your face, it was as obvious as the red color painting your face. You were blushing, unwillingly, but oh you were blushing hard.

"Well, I mean unless you have another definition for a date. Yes, you and me, tomorrow night. You can't say no, we made a deal."

And so you got yourself a date with Tom Riddle, you've never ever been on a date before. It'd be nerve-wracking enough with someone you knew well, but you didn't know Tom all too well. You felt like dying from the stress.

Was it even like a serious real date? You didn't even know what to wear, you lay out almost your whole closet on your bed but weren't satisfied with anything.

You even had to get your best friend to your room to help you out. Eventually, she chose a short black dress for you, it wasn't too short, classy and elegant even.

While you were almost eating your nails, you didn't know Tom was freaking out himself. Unlike you, Tom didn't have anyone to get advice from. It was all by himself, and not being experienced in these kinds of things, he was nervous. You wouldn't expect the calmth himself to be nervous, but he was quite literally freaking out.

He prepared everything since noon, he wanted it to be perfect. But also he started to think if it was too much? Or was it too little? The evening couldn't come soon enough or he'd have walked around the Room of Requirement twenty times.

You've never been to the Room of Requirement before, you've heard of it though. It'd show up when you most needed it but you didn't even feel like you needed anything at the moment. You just hoped it'd miraculously show up as you were walking through the corridors. That's when you heard a strange sound, it made you look up at the wall next to you. A large door appeared, guess this was it.

When you entered the room you were immediately greeted by the smell of freshly made food and a faint smell of roses. It's a smell you've always loved.

"Y/n, you came." He was wearing an all-black suit. God, he looked hot. Why haven't you noticed that yet about him? You were stunned, nailed to the ground. Your eyes on him that way put a smirk on his face, you were too easy.

It was different than you imagined, the way people described the room. It was often described as a large place with piles of stuff and goods but this place was clean not all too big and almost felt like a place to live. It was an open room with a book nook, a bedroom, a kitchen, a fireplace with a large couch, and a dinner table in the middle of it. It seemed to match his personality quite well.

Large iron snakes decorated the walls and the roof was painted with constellations. The room was mostly green, but not an unpleasant kind of green, a warm cozy green. It was pretty and the more you looked around, the better view you got of his personality. It's as if this room was painted to show what he was like.

It was obvious he loved silver. All the decorations were silver: the small snake details, the cutlery, and even the rings he was wearing. That's when you noticed his hands. Even during chess, you didn't pay them much mind but now you did...

His fingers wore several silver rings, some fingers covered by more than one. It was surprisingly attractive in a way, you almost felt wrong for staring at him that way but you couldn't help it.

He decided not to say anything about it but just let it slide. It'd be something he could tease you about later this evening, he just needed to find the right opportunity.

"You look beautiful." His eyes roamed your body like it was a piece of art, a piece of art he wished only he'd be able to admire. It wasn’t a creepy kind of look, you felt pretty under his gaze. He suddenly felt this weird feeling of possessiveness, something weird.

"Thank you, you look handsome yourself." That smile that painted your face again, was something he'd never get enough of. Something he wanted to get to see every day and together with that red blush on your cheeks. He felt powerful to make you feel so flustered. You weren't flustered quite often, however, he was someone who finally succeeded in doing so.

"Sit down, I'll bring the food."

The table was covered in red roses, thorns still attached. It was beautiful honestly, simple but stunning. The cutlery was engraved with roses too and a snake circling it. It was obvious that he was proud of his family history.

During dinner, you both talked about yourselves, explaining how you acquired the talent in chess. It was something your grandfather had taught you. He took care of you quite often while your parents were at work.

"They were great aurors, but not so great parents. I can't blame them honestly, I know they have a duty. I just sometimes wished they spent a bit more time with me. But it's honestly fine, my grandfather was a great man."

He always wished to have that kind of bond with a family member, it's something that always had been absent in his life. A void he so desperately wished to fill.

You motioned to the roses on the table. "They're pretty, but the school grounds don't grow roses... Where did you get them?"

He gives you that mischievous smile. "It's my secret."

It was a nice evening, the food was good and he was so much nicer than you expected. He was like a totally different person than when he was losing in chess.

A week passed and you hadn't heard from him since. You didn't dare to speak to him, scared he might not want to talk to you. Guess this was it, it was a nice evening but probably only a one-time thing. Maybe this is what he did with all the girls, getting a taste of their personality and going on to the next. You didn't view him like that at all but your view on guys wasn't all too great, so what else were you supposed to think?

It was until one night when you entered your dorm, a rose lay in front of your door. The thorns were removed and a small envelope was attached to it. You entered your room and sat down on your bed to open it.

"Meet me at the front gate just before dawn. - TR ps. check the envelope"

Check the envelope? It didn't feel like there was something else in there but decided to check...

A ring.

A silver ring, one of the rings he was wearing last week. It was the one that stood out the most, a green emerald covering the middle. It was a thick ring but it was so magnificent, you were drawn by the beauty of it. It must've cost such a great fortune. Why would he gift you this?

Just when you were about to put the envelope away, something else fell out: a thin silver chain. Did he want you to wear it as a necklace?

You decided to attach it to the thin chain and put it around your neck before getting ready to leave for the front gate. You didn't see the need to get all dressed up like last time, just something to keep yourself warm in this cold weather.

Approaching the large gate, he was already standing there. He was leaning against it, his eyes searching for something... "Come here." He motioned for you to come closer. There was something else in his eyes today, something mysterious but not scary. Just mysterious.

He traced your jaw and moved his fingers down your neck until he felt the cold touch of jewelry. He took it from underneath your shirt and lay it over your sweater. "Don't hide it, wear it with pride."

Without letting you answer he entered the courtyard, expecting you to follow him. "To answer your question..." You didn't even ask one, however, you'd like to know why he gave it to you.

He entered the school grounds, pausing his words before continuing. "I thought you would've liked it more around your neck than around my fingers. But I bet you didn't really mind staring at them, did you?" He caught you.

He looked at you with a smirk, enjoying seeing you flustered once again. "I wanted to show you something, I just needed to find the right day. Tonight seemed perfect."

He stopped for you to catch up with him and once you did, he took your hand in his. "You seem nervous, princess?" The cold of his rings touching your hand caught you off guard before deciding to answer. "Maybe I am."

"You shouldn't be." It was all he said before he stopped in front of a large rock, casting a spell on it before it revealed a large meadow.

"I know you're surprised, but we have to get in fast before it closes again." Once you both stepped inside, you noticed the meadow was covered by a bed of red roses.

This must be the place where he got all the roses... He moved behind you, his chest pressing against your back before he moved his hand around your neck to the front. He slowly moved it up to your chin, making you look up to the sky. "Look up, y/n."

Above you were the same constellations painted on the roof in his Room of Requirement. It was an exact copy of this place here, he made it exactly alike.

His fingers now moved back to your neck, taking the hair in front with him to give him access to your neck. You sensed him moving his lips closer to your ear, slightly touching the shell with his lips. "Do you like it? You're the first person to know."

Your breath caught in your throat once his lips touched your neck, he slowly moved lower. "Mhmm?" That's when he stuck out his tongue slightly to get a taste of your neck. "Answer me, y/n."

"Yes, I do... I do like it."

"Mhmm, good." He slowly started sucking on your neck, biting it every few seconds before turning you around to make you face him. His hand moved to the piece of hair covering your face, moving it behind your ear.

You couldn't help but take a glance at his lips, he was being extremely tempting right now. A sudden urge pulled you closer to him, you wanted to be closer to him. His gaze averted to your lips too, both of you almost touching now but not quite yet.

"Kiss me."

And that's exactly what you did, there was no shame in your actions, you weren't ashamed of how you were truly feeling. It felt right and natural...

He pushed his fingers through your hair and grabbed it softly, earning a soft moan from you as a result. Exactly what he wanted. He wasted no time to push his tongue inside your mouth, exploring it like it were a map. He needed to have tasted every part, twice to remember it.

The kiss became more intense as you both pressed against each other. Your bodies were pressed up against each other so tightly it was as if you were one entity. Your kisses were filled with heat, each kiss made his heart skip a beat. Your lips were so soft and your kisses were so passionate. It was almost as if your lips were made to please each other.

His hand moved away slightly to take his wand and with a flick, all roses grown in the ground immediately got rid of their thorns. Without a warning he picked you up and lay you down with him, his body on top of yours.

He pulled away to admire the sight of you lying on the bed of roses, your hair was spread all over the ground and he almost couldn't contain himself. He moved closer to whisper in your ear once again. "This is quite the sight but I’d much rather enjoy it without clothes..."

[queerism1969]

[fictionadventurer]

Maybe the problem with Christian fiction is that it's non-denominational. People are just "Christian", with no effort put into showing what practicing that religion looks like for them specifically. No indication that there are other Christians who could have different beliefs. No wrestling with differing ideas and the struggle of how one should live out their Christian faith. And that makes it unrealistic and unrelatable.

[imissthembutitwasntadisaster]

"if all these fictional characters were Christian all their problems and dilemmas would be solved" I think rather. They would have a whole new set of problems.

[whereserpentswalk]

There's an orc attending your college. Your city is pretty diverse, there's a lot of human cultures represented there, and even harpies and dwarves are common. But an orc is still a really rare sight. And she's not assimilated at all, she wears the symbol of the dark lord around her neak, and the strange black cloths from the wastelands she came from, and she always seems to have a gun somewhere on her. It's strange just to see an orc in person, she's not like the green skinned monsters you see in movies, her eyes are pitch black, and her skin is so pale you can see veins, she's muscular and tell but also strangely skinny, and her teeth are sharp and spiked like a sharks, this one doesn't have tusks, just these rows of serrated teeth.

Everyone avoids her at first. There's something creepy about her. She doesn't move like a human. She emotes weirdly, being stoic during conversations, but sometimes smiling or laughing at odd times. In class it becomes clear that she lacks knowledge anyone growing up in your society has, but has extensive knowledge on things most humans will never know. She also very clearly supports the dark lord and the demons who serve him, and gets mad when his narrative of conquest and strict genetic hierarchy is challenged in class.

You end up paired with her for a class project. It's weirdly awkward. But you end up spending more time with her then most. It still takes awhile to get used to her mannerisms, and you have to convince her of evolution in a long debate (but eventually you do convince her). She seems strangely naive to a lot of things. Every time she does something that she considers a failure she goes into self loathing, and she gets really afraid she's going to be punished. You have to explain to her things are going to be ok sometimes.

You try to spend time with her. She supports the dark lord but out of a strange sense of fear more than the type of ideological support humans in nations not under his control have. When she does something that she thinks is heresy agaisnt him she becomes afraid. And while she's angry at people who follow gods other than him (which is basically everyone here) she's more afraid of them than everything. When a holy symbol you own touches her she's surprised it doesn't burn her, you have to tell her it's ok.

She has a lot more freedom here than she did back in the wastelands. You slowly help her realize she doesn't have to worry about being punished for sinning agasint the dark lord. She's able to go on the internet for the first time, you help her get everything set up. You also introduce her to your freinds, only some of whom feel safe around her, but those who do seem to like her.

It's weird just hanging out in her dorm. She can be weirdly laid back and introspective at times, at least when she's not nervous or paranoid. But when she's just relaxing she'll tell you about things, about the beauty of the desert sands, about what it was like to observe the rattlesnakes and condors and wyverns of her homeland. How she likes to observe the city, the way the diffrent people flow through it, she was scared of it at first but now she likes to explore it, and the way it lacks stars at night but the lights from the buildings replace it. She says she wishes she could stay here forever, that she wishes she could be an artist but that she was sent here to learn skills useful to the dark lord's empire.

There's something nice about showing her new things. You get to take her to a musical for the first time. Get to show her neighborhoods you like. Get to explain to her what public transport is (though she got scared feeling trapped in a subway car). You get to show her stuff she never got to experience because orcs are never really children, she loves getting to hold a plush for the first time, or watching cartoons for the first time, it's like she's finally getting to live an experience she never had. Even though she's a well armed adult she really likes plushies once she finds out about them, they weren't something she was allowed to have back home.

Over time she starts meeting people and learning things that go against her worldview. As she makes more friends, understands new things, slowly learns that she shouldn't be punished for mistakes, she slowly comes around to seeing how fucked up the world the was raised in is. She tells you she doesn't want to worship the dark lord anymore, she cries just from saying it. You hug her, and realize she's never been hugged before, she seems to really like that feeling. She bathes in the waters of a healing goddess, and she worships something out of love instead of fear for the first time.

Eventually the spawning warlock who spawned her and her siblings comes to visit her. You told her to be careful but she ended up spilling that she doesn't worship the dark lord, she ends up spilling all the things a warlock like that considers a sin. When he leaves she tells you she can't go home. Not ever. Never again will she see the shifting sands, or flying condor, or flowing serpents of her homelands. She's trapped where she is now.

You know it hurts her a lot. She says she feels like she's in a small pocket of safety. Back home she'd be hurt for being an apostate. In human lands outside of the city she'd be hurt for being an orc. But she's safe here. She stays in her apartment for awhile, while you try to make things work. She's finally changing her major to art, and despite everything she's finally free, free to watch the starless sky, free to not be punished when she makes a mistake...

[deijavouu]

✧˖° ˚｡⋆✧˖°

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

These are equivalent.

Actually, no they're not. We actually know who wrote The Lord of the Rings.

[marietheran]

Average "Christian fiction" book profile

(this is gonna be snarky, sorry)

Book name: To Find a Home of Faith and Grace (Southern Brides Clean Romance #3)

Average rating on Goodreads: 4.5

Actual average it would have if it was in any other genre: 2.5

Representative review:

5 stars⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

💕💕I adored this book and if you like L.M. Montgomery or Louisa May Alcott you will certainly love it too. It's just as good.💕💕

I appreciate that the romance is based on faith because the love interest tells the heroine that he reads the Bible once, so she knows it's God's plan for her to marry him even though they've only known eachother three days and he's new to town so no one can tell her anything about him.

My favourite quote: If you are a good person only good things will happen to you; this is totally in the Gospel.

Only negative review:

1 star ⭐

Why did this book set in the 19th century South mention racism? Christians shouldn't talk about such dark subjects. Also the antagonist gets drunk once.

[libraryofloveletters]

Football Fields & Race Tracks

Christian Pulisic x Fem!Reader 

Warnings: f1 x football cause why not, don’t need f1 knowledge to read, reader drives for redbull (in max’s place sorry max fuckers), flirting, secret relationships, allusions to sex/sexual themes/innuendos, open ended promises, chris is a little old fashioned in some ways, alcohol and the consumption of, podiums and wins, a little PDA, mason and recee are their #1 supporters, hard launch babeyyyyy 

Word Count: 4.6k

Author’s Note: all my patriotism disappears when I see this man. I dug this old idea out of my notes in honour of the concacaf win <3 // also this gif has nothing to do with this fic but he looks so sexy I had too use it. 

-- 

The paddock was packed; fans, crews, drivers, families and celebrities. Amongst the ranks of Monaco, Miami and Austin, Silverstone gets a massive influx of celebrities in the paddock. Considering it was a Saturday, you were shocked to see so many of them. Sundays were usually their day, they come in and take a few pictures then post them like they’ve been fans of the sport for years. 

This was a big weekend for you, it was the last race before the summer break and you were ahead of your teammate, Checo, by 12 points. If you won this race, it would put you ahead going into the break. You had scored pole position, making it a little easier for you tomorrow but your focus was on the race and prepping for it. 

At least it was until someone shouted your name from the Williams’ garage. The American accent was evident but you knew that voice all too well. You looked over to see none other than Christian. 

You smiled, waving to the man as you walked over on your way back from the media pen. 

“Hey,” he smiled, giving you a quick hug. You smiled, “what are you doing here?” You asked, clearly confused. 

He looks over in the direction of Logan, “supporting my fellow American, duh.” He laughs, earning an eye roll from you.

“Wrong blue team, Christian.” 

Christian laughed once again, his hand resting on your back. “Let me walk you back?” 

You nodded, the two of you headed on the long walk back to the RedBull garage. The simple touch of his hand on your back brought you immense comfort during such a stressful weekend, he knew as much as well; hence why he chose to surprise you, letting you focus on getting pole position. 

Christian’s hand cemented its place for the entirety of the walk, the two of you chatting as you made your way down. The sight of you two didn’t turn heads, you both ran in familiar circles and you worked with the same charities so it was normal to see you two together. 

What everyone failed to figure out was that you two were a couple and had been for two, almost three years. 

It was quiet and lowkey, you supported each other from afar in public and made up for the love in private. Most of your off time is spent with family and friends so when you two vanish off socials, no one thinks otherwise. There has been an occasional pap photo of you two being a little too friendly but nonetheless, you were both young athletes who barely had time to date so yet again, no one really gives it much thought.

The two of you stop in front of the RedBull garage, a few of the mechanics seem to have recognized him and were coming over to say hello. You see them coming over and wrap up your conversation with the player.

“I’ll see you around?” You asked. 

He nods and gives you a quick hug. “I’ll see you tonight,” he whispers, his hand wandering down your back and there’s a soft squeeze on your hip before he lets you go. 

You smile at the men rushing over, giving them their time with the Chelsea player before walking off. Your heart skipped a beat like you were a teenage girl when you thought about him, every part of your body aching for the man you called yours. 

-- 

Christian has some sort of a pull over you, a few whispers and a promise to make sure you woke up on time and you were in his bed; clothes scattered across the room, dinner left on the coffee table half eaten and now cold. 

His tattooed arm over your torso, his chest to your back as you traced over the various patterns on his arm with your manicured finger. His lips trailed along your bare shoulder, a kiss with each movement. 

It wasn’t often you two got to do this, no pressure for the time being. 

“Are you nervous?” He asks; and there's the pressure again. 

You huffed, sitting up a bit and pulling the fluffy white comforter over your chest. “Yes and no.” 

He propped his head up on the palm of his hand as he looked to you, waiting for an explanation. 

“Yes, I'm nervous because I need the points to be sure I'm ahead going into the break but also no, because I've raced this circuit a million times, I could do it in my sleep. There’s no actual reason to be worried, unless we get a sudden influx of rain.” You laughed, passing a hand through Christian’s knotted curls. 

“I’m certain you’ll be amazing tomorrow, baby. Knock on wood.” He reached up and tapped his knuckles to the wooden headboard. 

You smiled, leaning down to give him a kiss. 

His support meant the world to you, you knew he watched the sessions when he could and he always sent you a good luck text before every one. You did the same for him, a good luck text before each game and you watched every game you could, even if that meant you were up at odd hours, fighting the urge to sleep just to see your boyfriend kick a ball around for 90 minutes. 

Both of you watched the sessions after if you missed them for whatever reason. 

You didn’t exactly have a normal relationship during your respective seasons, you just hoped you were in a similar time zone so you could actually FaceTime at normal hours and eat a meal together. 

Speaking of food, your boyfriend sat up. “I’m starving, room service?” 

“Yes please, we didn’t exactly finish dinner.” You reached for his shirt and pulled it on. 

Christian had a wicked smile on his face, “I mean, I did eat didn’t I?” 

You rolled your eyes, throwing a pillow at him. “Don’t be gross.” 

“That’s not what you were saying when I was eating y-” you cut him off, a hand over his mouth to shut him up. 

Christian licks the palm of your hand, you pull away with a fake gag before you wipe your hand on his back. He ordered the room service and got up, walking to the wardrobe. “What should I wear tomorrow ?” He asked, searching through his clothes. 

His words passed through one ear and out the other, you lazed on the bed and watched your boyfriend; his muscles flexing in his back as he moved the hangers, the lack of clothes left you with much to fawn over and you mentally cursed him for putting boxers on but you digressed. 

“I can feel you staring,” he tells you as he turns to you with two shirts. 

You smiled, “it’s called admiring actually but okay.” 

Christian nods, pretending like he believed you and held up the shirts again. “Which one?” 

You point towards the navy blue with your foot. “My team colours of course.” 

He hums, hanging it back up. “Of course.” He made his way back over to the bed, sitting on the edge. “You okay?” You asked, looking over at him. 

Christian turned, smiling at you. “I love you, you know that, right?” 

“I do,” you smiled, reaching for his hand. “I love you too.” 

--

The arm over your waist held you in bed, your phone buzzing as you reached for it, eyes still closed for the moment. 

The time read 10:32am and you sat up, thinking that can’t be right. The clock on the nightstand confirmed the time and you jumped out of the bed. You were supposed to be up at least an hour ago because you had a meeting at 11:30. 

Christian opens his eyes, confused with your swearing as you stubbed your toe on the edge of the bed when you picked up your shorts. 

“What’s going on?” He asks, voice laced with sleep and rubbing his eyes. 

“I’m soooo late,” you groan, getting redressed as quickly as possible. Chris glanced at the clock and sat up, “oh my god, I'm so sorry baby. I said I was gonna wake you up.” 

“We slept through the alarms, Chris.” 

He pouts, reaching for you as you look around for your shoes. “Two minutes,” he begged, reaching for you. 

You shook your head, “I have to shower and get going.” You wiggled away from his grasp, spotting your slippers under the couch. 

He moved to the edge of the bed, sitting off of it and he pulled you to him, slotting you between his legs. Your hands rested on his bare shoulders, your boyfriend lifted your shirt, his lips pressed to your ribs and were moving down. “Stop it,” you mumbled, pulling him back by his hair. “I have to go.” 

“We can shower together, save time.” He smiled and you can’t help but laugh.

“You and I both know that won’t end well.” You leaned down to give him a kiss, a hand pressed to his jaw. “I’ll see you there,” a mumbled whisper as you kissed him once more. The man tries to get you to stay with him but you wiggled from his grasp, blowing him a kiss as you walk out the door. 

A sprint down the hallway and stairs to your room, followed by a quick shower and you were out the door again and at the circuit in record time and all 15 minutes before your meeting. 

You spent the next hour listening to your strategist rattle on about race strategies and tyre choices. You were practically falling asleep by the time you got out of there, in desperate need of a RedBull or some sort of caffeine. 

Bless your press officer; Colleen was waiting for you with a Red Bull in hand as she ushered you off to your next thing of the day. “So it’s a charity segment between you and a footballer, you know the one you always do the photoshoots with? I can never remember his name.” 

“Christian?” You looked at her as you approached the spot and speak of the devil. 

“Good morning, y/n.” He smiled at you as if he hadn't seen you 3 hours ago.

“Christian,” you nodded, popping the can open. “Nice to see you in the right shade of blue,” you nodded towards his navy blue shirt as you took a big sip of the acidic tasting drink. 

The reporter started telling you two what she wants from you, Christian would be teaching you how to do keep ups. You already knew but you went along with it, whoever did the least would donate whatever amount the other chose. 

“How much?” Christian looked at you, bouncing the ball a bit. 

“100,000?” You look back at him and he smiles, nodding.

Christian started, the reporter counting as he kicked the ball up. He managed to do 26 before the ball dropped. “You have your work cut out for you,” she joked, watching as Christian handed the ball over to you.

“I suppose, but I’m certain I can beat Christian.” You smiled, setting the ball down.

“Same wager?” He asked, setting the price and you agreed before starting. You did 26 before the ball dropped, leaving Christian a bit shocked. He knew you played with your PT but he didn’t know you could manage at his level.

You looked at him, a smug smile on your face. “You’re good, perhaps you can fill in for me when I'm away.” He jokes. 

“And who would drive my car?”

“Me, of course.” He gestures to himself, earning a laugh from you. 

“You couldn’t do what I do, even if you tried.” You patted his arm, moving your hand away after a moment. 

The reporter breaks up your little moment, announcing that because you both got the same amount in keep ups so you would both be donating $100,000. You thanked her for the game and you both headed out on your way. 

-- 

It was 15 minutes to lights out, and the grid was full. Crews, drivers, mechanics and celebrities doing their walk off the grid. You leaned over the halo of your car, upside down and into the car to the people passing by as you checked your wheel to make sure it was okay. 

Someone calls for you, you just assumed it was Martin who was doing his grid walk but instead found a photographer with none other than your boyfriend. 

“Can I get a photo of you two? Missed my chance this morning,” he laughed, referring to your charity segment. 

You nodded, standing up straight. “How is it that you keep finding me?” You joked, an arm behind Christian’s back. The man wraps an arm around you and even under the thickness of your fireproofs and race suit, you could feel the heat of his skin burning into you; as if he was touching your bare skin. 

“You’re always there,” he says; the words loaded. 

The meaning behind them was meant for more than him just finding you today but something deeper, an emotional level to it all. 

You looked at the man, a smile on his face as the photographer took a few photos of you two. Christian leaned down, pressing a kiss to your cheek. “Good luck, I'll be rooting for you.” He whispered before letting go. 

You stared at him as he walked off, your lead mechanic shouting your name to get your attention, telling you it was time to get in the car.  

The 65 laps flew by, you held P1 for the majority of the race and only lost the lead for a few moments when you went into the pit. At the end, it was you in P1, Lewis in P2 and Carlos in P3. You were in the cooldown room, the 3 of you being ushered towards the podium.

Your heart swells with pride as you step onto the top step, hat in your hand as your national anthem followed by the Austrian anthem played. You smiled, lifting the trophy above your head, the sea of navy blue below roared with pride, equally as loud as yours. 

Despite all the people being there for you, you were looking for one person in particular. 

Your eyes meet his, you smile at him and press a hand to your chest as you take a swing of the fizzy liquid in the dark green bottle. Christian watched you, his heart swelling with love and pride and all these feelings that he didn’t have words to explain. 

He looked a few feet down to see your parents, the two of them had come down for the race and it was nice to see them; they were amongst the very very very limited few that knew about the two of you - the list consisted of your parents and siblings, his parents and siblings, your PT and best friend as well as his teammates. 

Christian smiles when he sees your father hug your mother, the two of them smiling up at their daughter on the top step. 

He knew today was the day he had to ask your father the question that has been on his mind for weeks but first, he had to congratulate his girl. 

You were on your way back to the garage when Christian found you; trophy tucked under one arm, champagne bottle in the other and your race suit hanging off of your hips. You always carried your own stuff, it filled a sense of pride that you had. 

The man snaked an arm around your waist when he finds you, a big smile on his face. “Told you you’d win,” he beamed, making you smile. 

“Lean back.” you instructed, lifting the arm with the champagne bottle. You two were stopped in the middle of the paddock with all the other people around you, flashing cameras and yet it was like it was just the two of you. You poured the last few sips of the champagne into his opened mouth, the giggles leaving you as it dripped down his chin to his neck. Your eyes followed the golden drops of liquid and part of you wanted to reach over and kiss right where it stopped but you resisted the urge. 

The champagne went to the man’s head faster than expected, pulling you flush against him in front of you everyone. “What are you doing?” You whispered, a smile on your face. 

Christian planted a kiss on your cheek, dangerously close to your lips. His eyes met yours as he pulled away. “I’m gonna marry you one day.” He says to you quietly, making you laugh. 

“Shut up,” you tell him, wiggling from his grasp as you jog towards the Red Bull garage. 

You were rushed off to the hospitality building, everyone awaiting you and your trophy for team photos. After another shower of a sticky liquid - don’t be nasty, it was RedBull - you headed back to the garage when you found Christian, yet again, and your father. 

The older man had a smile on his face, patting your boyfriend on the back. “What’s going on here?” You asked, looking at the two of them. 

Your dad shook his head, “nothing sweetheart, Chris was just telling me a funny story from their game with West Ham.” Eyes shifted between your boyfriend and father, not fully believing their story but you were far too tired to dig at them. 

You simply nodded and walked away, leaving them to their conversation.  

--- 

The tunnel was empty at the moment, your phone in your hand as you texted the man. 

To Chris: Outside. 

You waited a moment, taking in the walls of blue and white surrounding you, your finger pulling on the loose thread on the hem of your Chelsea jersey, the big number 10 on your back reflecting off the mirror on the wall. 

“Hey,” he calls, pulling you from your thoughts. You smiled, walking over to him with opened arms. “How are you feeling?” You asked, nails scratching over the back of his head where he had cut his hair low. 

You were officially on break from the racing season, you decided to spend it in England with your boyfriend but seeing that you lived there also, it worked out. They were playing a match against Leeds today and he asked if you wanted to come, you could never say no to him and the way he asked made you think he needed you there. 

Since the race, he’s been a bit off. Something was digging at him and you had asked but he assured you it was nothing and he was fine. 

“I’m okay,” he smiles, burying his face into the crook of your neck. You kissed his temple, “you go out there and kick some ass, yeah?” 

“Don’t jinx it,” he mumbles and you laugh, the two of you shuffling over the wall so you can tap your knuckles against it. “Knock on wood babe.” 

Christian smiles, a hand on your cheek as he looks at you. “I love you,” he smiles and you return the smile. “I love you too, Captain America.” You teased, giving him a kiss. 

“Go on, I'll be waiting for you after.” 

Christian pulls you back for one more kiss before letting you go. 

You watched from the stands, he ran down the pitch with the ball at his feet and he kicked it straight into the net, the goalie jumped to block it but it went above what he expected. There’s a big smile on his face, running over the crowd as he shouted something. You watched him, your heart skipping a beat as he blew a kiss to no one in particular but you knew it was for you. 

His teammates surrounded him, jumping on him as they celebrated his goal for a few moments before returning to the match. 

The end score was 2-1, a second Chelsea goal from Reece in the 87′ minute which gave them the win.  

The stadium starts to clear, the hallways full of people from the opposing team and the Chelsea staff. A few of them knew of you, all they knew was that you and Chris were good friends. You stood where you met him before the game, scrolling through your phone as you waited for your boyfriend to reappear.

“Hey,” he calls, getting you to look up. 

“You were fantastic,” you smiled, giving him a hug. 

Christian smiles, kissing your cheek. He was looking at something or someone behind you, you turned to see what it was and it was his teammate, Mason. Christian seemed a bit unsteady all of a sudden, as if something was bothering him. 

Your hand touched his bicep, giving it a squeeze. “Chris, you okay babe?” 

The man nods, “I have to talk to Mason about something, can you do me a favour?” His hand rested on your lower back. 

You nodded, waiting for him to tell you what the favour was. “Can you go to the kit room for me? I think I forgot my cleats in there, you know it's my lucky pair and I wanna take them home with me.” He points in the opposite direction. 

“Sure, I'll be back.” You tell him, walking off to the kit room. You arrived after a short walk but the door was locked and the lights were off. You knocked, but there was no answer. 

To Chris: Door’s locked, do you know where your kit man is?

From Chris: Not sure baby, check around please? I really wanna take them home. 

To Chris: Okay.

You continue to look for his sake, asking around for the kit man that seems to have vanished into thin air. You had spun around the place at least twice looking for this man or a key to the room before your phone buzzed in your hand.

From Chris: I remembered I left them by the bench on the pitch. Still with Mase, can you grab them? The lights should still be on out there. 

To Chris: Okay.

You headed back down the now empty hallway, humming to yourself as you approached the tunnel. You can see the lights shining down on the pitch but you start to notice the red petals scattered across the tunnel floor leading out onto the perfectly cut grass. 

There’s seven big letters in the middle of the pitch spelling out the words marry me with a bed of rose petals surrounding them and your boyfriend is there waiting for you with a big smile on his face. 

“Christian,” you called to him, stopping before you stepped onto the pitch. “What are you doing?” You laughed, unable to control your emotions. 

All of the emotions hit you at once, all the good and the bad, the hiding, the lies to people around you, the secrecy; everything had led you to this moment. 

“Y/n,” he calls for you, pulling you from your thoughts yet again. “C’mere.” His hand beckons you over and you slowly make your way to him, after what felt like a million years you got to him, the man holds your hand as he lowers himself on to one knee. 

Christian looks up at you, tears welling in his eyes as he grins. “Y/n, the last three years of my life have been some of the most amazing. I don’t have the words nor are there the words to describe the way I feel right now or how I felt when I met you for the first time. I knew from the first moment, I was gonna marry you, one way or the another. You are my everything; my stars, my moon, my sun, any and everything I do revolves around you-” 

You cut him off with a giggle, “that’s so dramatic.” 

He huffed; “Only you would interrupt someone while they’re proposing.” 

“Oh, is that what you're doing? I thought you had a leg cramp and decided to go on a long tangent.” You teased, earning an eye roll from your soon to be fiancé. 

“Can I finish ?” He asked, looking up at you. You nodded, a big smile on your face. 

“As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted; I'm the luckiest man in the world to have known you, to have you be mine and to continue for you to be mine. So what I’m asking is.. will you marry me, y/n?” He opened the little box he had in his hand; an emerald cut diamond sat in the center of a gold band with two smaller diamonds on each side. 

You look at him, pretending like you’re thinking about it before you giggle to yourself and nod. “Yes Christian, I will marry you.” You met him halfway for a kiss, a hand pressed to his cheek as you do. 

Christian slips the ring onto your finger, a smile on your faces that could light up the whole stadium. 

“Perfect fit.” He smiles, pulling you into his side. 

“What did she say?” You hear someone shout, you both look over to see Mason and Reece by the tunnel exit waiting for an answer to the question. You laugh, showing them your hand. 

Reece shouts, running down the pitch to the two of you.“SHE SAID YES!!” 

“FUCK YEAH!!” Mason follows his teammate, the two boys in blue popping confetti cannons that you aren’t sure where they got. You thank them for the enthusiasm and give them both a hug before Chris sends them on their way. 

His arm wrapped around your waist, the two of you finally heading out. “Is this why you’ve been so shady lately ?” You looked at him and he laughed. 

“Yeah, it's hard keeping a secret from you. I had to pull this off quick, cause once your dad knows, he’ll tell your mum and you know, as much as I love her, she can’t keep a secret to save her life.”

You paused, a small smile on your face. “You talked to my dad about this?” 

“I had to ask if it was okay to marry you,” he says as if it’s obvious. “I love you, I had to do things right.” 

You shook your head, laughing as you held his hand. “And they say chivalry is dead.” 

Christian shook his head at your comment, ignoring your theatrics as you headed home for the night. 

The next few weeks were bliss; the two of you under one roof, in one bed, wrapped up in each other’s arms. You started looking into wedding venues and putting together the insanely long guest list. 

When you two went back to your respective seasons, you wore your ring on a chain hidden under your shirt for the time being. Christian didn’t have an engagement ring but he wanted something so he’d always have you close - he opted to get your initials hidden in his sleeve of tattoos. The little letters tucked away right beside the forearm piece of the tiger’s eyes. 

Once you both decide it not longer needed to be a secret, you announced it hard launch style on a weekend you’d both be together; a photo uploaded to both of your instagrams, your manicured nails against his forearm, your ring finger with the massive diamond on it pointed out the initials permanently on his arm. 

Your phones buzzed nonstop for the next 5 days but you both ignored it, soaking up as such premarital bliss as you could. 

-- 

taglist: @themandaloriansdiaries​ @thesnailus @alwaysclassyeagle​ @kylianswag​ + @neverinadream​​ cause this seems like it would be up your alley :) 

add yourself to the taglist!

[griseldagimpel]

Okay, I haven't started The Magnus Protocol yet - I think I'm going to listen to at least the first episode today - but I can't get over how much the fifth season of The Magnus Archives must have changed the world even after the fear-apocalypse was undone.

Because the fear-apocalypse happened! Most of humanity spent an uncountable amount of time being divinely tormented!

Just, every atheist now knows they're wrong. Some gods, at least, do exist. They're evil, but they exist. Do some become anti-theists? Believers in the fear-gods out of fear that the fear-apocalypse could happen again?

Every agnostic now has more of an answer than they believed possible. The divine IS knowable, at least to a degree!

For those that are religious, well, okay, not all religions function the same or have Christianity's focus on an afterlife of reward or punishment. But I'd expect a lot of religious individuals are either going to have their faith shaken or are going to be trying to reconcile their experiences through their faith. After all, for those that follow a religion where they'd expect their faith to protect them, that didn't happen. And that didn't happen on a world-wide scale.

And then there are the Avatars, the special few who didn't get tormented. We know that some people turned on the Avatars in anger afterwards, but I'll note that "watches in peace while other people are tortured in Hell" is literally what some Christians believe Heaven will be like.

If Diego can think his god is Asag and still be an Avatar of the Desolation, how many Christians will identify the Ceaseless Watcher with their god and blame themselves for their torment? How many Christians will now seek Avatarship as a matter of faith?

Yeesh, I mentioned in another post that some Avatars are probably smug about their gods definitely existing, but you know who's going to be absolutely insufferable? TULIP Calvinists! Doubly so for any TULIP Calvinists who also found themselves as Avatars in the fear-apocalypse. Complete vindication for them.

[apollosdaydreams]

Hi

Maybe where yn is the daugter of Christian Horner and she is the girlfriend of Max verstappen and he has invited her to a romantic date night and when she gets ready and her dad asks why are you getting ready and she tells him the reason. And Max has a promise ring for her with a lott of fluff thanks

Promise

Max Verstappen x Horner!Daughter!Reader

Christian Horner x daughter!reader

Warnings: fluff, slight angst, and more fluff. Age gap (4 years) Max is 26 and reader is 22 in this.

Word Count:1,405

Sorry if the Dutch is wrong I used google translate.

Ik hou van je tot de maan en hou van terug. Voor eeuwig en altijd.

I love you to the moon and love back. Forever and ever.

Love

Liefde

<•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••>

You were currently standing in your room, your music blasting throughout your room. Tonight you were getting ready for a date night with Max. He hasn't told you yet where you guys were going but he told you to dress nice. Thanks Max, that sure helps. You thought to yourself. You were going through options on what to wear and you decided on a dark blue dress, with some simple sparkly short gold heels. You quickly changed into your dress and walked into your connecting bathroom. You decided that you didn't want to wear a lot of makeup so you just put on some mascara with some eyeliner and a sparkly eyeshadow. Your music was still basting so you didn't hear your dad knocking on your door.

“Y/N!!!.” He shouted.

You still didn't hear anything, you were just doing touch ups on your makeup.

“Y/N!!” he sighed in frustration. “Y/n please turn down your music.” He said while knocking at the door.

You finally heard some faint talking behind your door. So you quickly grabbed your phone and disconnected it from your speaker. Then you walked over to your door and saw your dad behind the door.

“y/n I- why are you dressed up?”

Shit you thought. You haven't told your dad about your relationship with Max yet scared of his reaction.

“Uhmm..” your face turned as red as the red on the Red Bulls car. “No reason.”

Your father looked unimpressed. His lips turning in to a flatline. “Honey you might think im dumb, but i'm not. Why are you dressed up? Is it a boy? I promise I wont be mad.�� He said.

Your heart started to beat rapidly. “Yes it's a date.” you whispered.

Your dad nodded at you. “Who is it? Do I know him?” He took a deep breath. He had a feeling he knew who it was. “I promise I wont be mad, whoever it is. I promise I wont be mad.”

“It's… it’s.. Max…” you mumbled. You quickly looked up at your dad and then you looked back down at your hands.

“It's who?” he asked.

“Max.. as in Max Verstappen.” you said. You didn't look back up until you felt your dad embrace you into a hug.

“That's amazing, he's a nice guy.” He told you.

“You aren't mad?” you said trying not to cry, you didn't want to ruin your makeup.

“Why would I be mad sweetheart?” he questioned. “Max, is a very nice guy and I trust him.”

You sniffed. Looking up and blinking rapidly, still trying not to cry. “Well I thought you would be mad because he works for you.” you said.

“Please don't cry honey.” he said while wiping your tears away. “Your mother and I actually have talked about you two getting together, we were hoping you would. You two complement each other very well.”

“You do?” you said.

“Yes honey, now let's get you freshened up before Max gets here.” he said while letting go of you so you could head to your bathroom.

You quickly got freshened up, you ended up redoing your makeup as you cried off most of your mascara. You then walked down the stairs to see your father and Max. You smiled at Max as you made your way down the stairs. Once you got ot the bottom of the stairs you walked over to Max. You walked over to his side and gave him a hug, he returned the hug and whispered in your ear.

“You look amazing liefde.”

You blushed at the comment. “We should start heading out, Maxie.” you told him.

He blushed slightly at the nickname. You both started to make your way to the door, before you Max could step out your dad spoke up.

“Max, can I talk to you for a second?” he asked.

“Hmm, yeah of course. I'll meet you in the car liefde.”

Once the door closed behind you, your father, Christian and Max started to talk.

“Max, do you love her?” Christian asked.

“What?” Max asked, Max was caught off guard by this question of course I love her he thought.

“My daughter, do you love y/n?” Christian asked again.

“Yes, I love her, I love her a lot.” Max started.

“Good, I trust you with Max, so please don’t break her heart.” Christian told Max.

Max smiled, “I was actually wanting to ask you a question.”

“Yeah, what's up?” Christian smiled at him.

“I wanted to give your daughter a promise ring…” He said nervously.

Christian didn't say anything for a few seconds, to Max it felt like an eternity before he finally said something. “If you are asking for my permission, you have the yes from me Max.” Christian said while putting his hand on Max’s shoulder.

“Thank you, that means a lot…” Max said while smiling at Christian.

Christian smiled back. “Now go, don’t make her wait any longer.” He said while laughing softly.

Max laughed along with him and quickly ran out the door and to his car. He ran around the car and opened the driver side door and slid in while closing the door behind him.

“Hey liefde, sorry for taking so long.” Max said while softly kissing the side on your head.

You smile back at him. “Don't worry honey it's fine, what were you guys talking about?” You asked while Max started the car.

<•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••>

Once you guys finally reached the restaurant Max quickly put the car into park and turned off the car. He then ran to your side of the car and opened the door. He stuck his hand out for you to reach. You grabbed his hand and stepped outside of the car. Max then closed the door behind you. As you walked into the restaurant Max held your hand the entire time, once you guys finally reached the door he led you in with his hand on the small of your back.

“Reservation for Verstappen.” He started. “Max.” He told the front lady.

“Follow me please.” She said while grabbing out two menus.

You both followed her, she brought you both to a more secluded area of the restaurant. As you both sat down you thanked the lady and she told you that your waiter would be here shortly.

“This place is beautiful, Max.” You told him, while looking around the restaurant with the biggest smile on your face.

Max looked at you with the biggest smile in the world. Like a love-struck puppy. This is the most beautiful girl I have ever seen. He thought to himself. You noticed that he wasn't saying anything, so you looked back at him with confusion.

“What?” You asked.

“Nothing, just looking at you. Am I not allowed to look at my beautiful girlfriend that I love to death?” He questioned.

You turned red, like as red as a firetruck. “Oh shut up.” you whispered at him. Before Max could say anything your waiter came over asking what drinks you would want. You both got water and Max ordered some fancy wine.

“Alright, perfect. I’ll be right back with those.” Brayden, the waiter said.

“Thank you.” You and Max said in sync.

<•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••>

You and Max have now left the restaurant and are walking on a walking trail near the restaurant. The trail was lit up by fairy lights, as it was mainly lit from the city that was nearby. Once you got to this one viewing point, looking over the ocean. You saw that Max has stopped and he looked rather nervous.

“You ok, Maxie?” You asked while putting your hand on his shoulder.

“Yes liefde, I'm alright." He told you with a smile. You saw that he took a deep breath, before he started to talk again. “Liefde, I think you are the one for me. That's why I want to give you this.” He said while pulling out a small box. He opened the box and you gasped slightly. In the box was a ring and a piece of paper that read.

I promise to exchange this promise ring for an engagement ring.

Tears now falling down your face, you couldn't speak. Way too shocked. So you quickly nodded while hugging him. He quickly hugged you back and wiped your tears.

“Ik hou van je tot de maan en terug liefde. Voor eeuwig en altijd.” Max whispered.

This was my first Formula 1 fanfic and I hope you guys enjoyed this!!! It would be greatly appreciated if you would like, comment and repost!! (Not proofread)

© 2023 on tumblr apollosdaydreams do not translate/remake/repost my works in any platform without authorized permission.

[lanadelbale]

Batman incorrect quotes pt.8

Duke: * is seating next to Jason *

Jason: Can you please move away,little bit?

Duke: And why would i do that?

Jason: Cause you're invading my personal space. It makes me uncomfortable.

Duke:

[k-wame]

THREE TICKETS TO CHALLENGERS PLEASE MUNICH: THE EDGE OF WAR (2021) · dir. Christian Schwochow

[fictionadventurer]

I have a germ of a theory that good Christian fiction has stories that are less about shaving down your personality to meet some specific mold of what a good Christian looks like, and more about "how gloriously different are all the saints."

Not that the Christian life doesn't involve fighting against our own sinful nature and conforming ourselves to Christ-like behavior, but I think it makes for better, more realistic, and more universal stories when you also recognize that people have different gifts and flaws and they're going to be called to use their unique personalities to serve the kingdom of God in their own unique way, instead of assuming everyone has to conform themselves to a very specific (often secular-culturally based) image of good behavior. It makes for a much more vibrant story.