#i agree this game is totally worth saving

[funkii4-blog]

I loved this video to pieces, Hirez could learn a thing or five from Westlayne’s words

[matchingbatbites]

Steve proposes to Eddie during DND.

He's played about a dozen times since the Vecna ordeal three years ago, just one-off stories with no real consequences, and while it took him a little bit to get a feel for the game, he's finally reached a point where he doesn't feel totally out of place.

It helps that Eddie absolutely lights up every time Steve agrees to play, that his boyfriend tends to go a little easier on the rest of the table because they all help Steve half-fumble through the mechanics. It's worth it when Eddie beams at him for figuring something out first, for suggesting a dumb play that has the table screaming when it works.

It's the summer after the kids' senior year, and when Eddie offers to run an all-day one shot to celebrate their graduation, Steve instantly starts planning. He talks to Robin, who absolutely gushes over his idea, and along with Dustin they plan it all out.

He learns the premise of the one-shot from Eddie - there's a big bad who's been taking people from the kingdom, and the king is finally forced to do something when his own son, the prince, is also taken - and Dustin helps him make a character, a fighter who is the personal guard of the prince, whose goal is to find and bring him back safely.

Eddie seems pleased with the character when Steve explains it to him, even more so when Steve suggests the idea that they've fallen for each other and have been lovers in secret. "You're such a romantic, sweetheart," Eddie says before kissing him, and Steve knows it’s a tease and a compliment, knows that Eddie loves how soft he can get over things like that.

The game happens about two weeks later, and Eddie wasn’t joking when he called it an all-day affair.

They get started at about ten that morning, Steve and Eddie, their four boys, and Erica all crowded around the little dining table in Steve and Eddie's little apartment, with Robin, El, and Max entertaining themselves in the adjacent living room.

At Eddie’s insistence, they take a break every couple of hours so everyone can get up and stretch and use the toilet, with slightly longer breaks for lunch and dinner (sandwiches and pizza, respectively, both provided by Steve and Eddie).

The big bad is defeated at around nine that night, and everyone is elated as Eddie takes them through the aftermath, letting each player character have a short moment to reunite with their stolen friends and loved ones.

Robin and the girls have moved to sit on the nearby kitchen counter to listen, partly because El always enjoys these soft moments in the story, and partly because Robin knows what’s going to happen soon.

Steve stays quiet, letting the others have their moment as he fights down the sudden anxiety that sparks through him, knowing what he’s about to do. He looks up when Eddie says his name, takes a steadying breath, and asks "Do I see the prince?"

Eddie nods, says "You do."

"I go over to him."

"He sees you approaching and he rushes to you, meeting you halfway. As soon as you're close enough, he throws his arms around you and says 'I knew you would save me, darling.'"

Steve smiles. "I say, 'I always will, my love' and then I kiss him."

The teens hoot and holler a little as Eddie grins. "He kisses you back, and for a moment it's like everything else fades to the background. All that matters is him, back where he belongs, safe in your arms."

Steve nods, and before he loses his nerve asks "Can I do something?"

Eddie quirks a brow, curious. "Of course,” he says, and Steve takes a breath to steady himself.

"I take his hand, and then I drop to one knee."

A couple of the teens give little 'ooh's as Eddie looks at him, clearly a little surprised, and Steve continues before he can say anything.

"Three years ago, I took my place by your side as your personal guard. I swore to care for you, to protect you from anything that would want to hurt you, and somewhere along the way, we fell in love."

Steve swallows, knows he's blurring the line of character and person as he speaks, staring at Eddie across the table.

"The last three years have been everything to me. Any time I'm not with you, you're the only thing I can think about, and every day spent with you is a fucking gift, because I know just how close I came to losing you."

The sudden urge to touch Eddie becomes overwhelming and he stands, watches Eddie's shocked face as he rounds the table and drops to a knee in front of his lover. Eddie's eyes are wide and he gives a soft "Steve?" as Steve takes a slender hand in his own, remembers the words he had practiced over and over with Dustin.

"I don't want to be just a fighter anymore. I want to be a paladin, set on a righteous path, and if you'll let me, I want to make an Oath of Devotion. Not to any god or angel, but to you, the love of my life."

Steve pulls the ring from his pocket and offers it to Eddie. It's very much not traditional, and at first glance seems to be just another chunky ring that blends in with Eddie's current selection. But Steve had to get it, the shield molded onto the band and the new 'beloved' engraved on the inside repeating what Steve always says, I'll protect you, I love you.

Eddie is in tears as Steve stares him down, as he gently asks "Eddie Munson, will you marry me?"

For just a second, Eddie is completely still, save for his shaky breathing. Steve doesn't get scared, he knows that sometimes it takes Eddie a second to register things when he's overwhelmed. He waits it out, and after a few seconds Eddie blinks rapidly before jerking forward, dropping to his knees as he throws his arms around Steve. "Fuck yes! Of course I will!"

Cheers erupt through the room, and a flash goes off when they meet in a kiss. Eddie looks over to see Robin with a camera in her hand and tears streaming down her face. “Don’t mind me,” she says, a bit choked up even as she beams at them, and Eddie’s head whips back to Steve.

“You planned this!” he yells, unable to stop his own tears from falling, and Steve laughs. “Of course I did!” is his reply as he takes Eddie’s hand back so he can slide the ring onto it, and he ignores the second flash from where Robin sits.

“Wanted it to be perfect,” Steve says softly, stroking his thumb over the ring, now at its new home on Eddie’s finger. “Wanted you to know how much you mean to me, and I figured something nerdy would hit all the right buttons.”

“I helped with the nerd stuff!” Dustin calls from his seat, and Eddie laughs wetly as he scrubs at the tear tracks on his cheeks. “I should have known something was up with you, Henderson. You’ve been bouncing off the walls for weeks.”

Steve stands up from the floor before helping Eddie up, and they both grunt as Dustin practically slams into them for a hug, quickly followed by a more reserved El. They hug each of the kids in turn and accept their congratulations, and after a few minutes Eddie is put together enough to actually finish out the one-shot.

Later that night as they're getting ready for bed, Eddie presses up behind Steve, one hand sliding to rest on his stomach and the other opening in front of them, revealing a simple, gold band.

"You beat me to it, you dick," he says with so much tenderness, and Steve laughs as he takes the ring.

"You can still do your proposal, if you want," Steve replies, heart swelling as he looks over the band, sees the little 'sweetheart' engraved on the inside.

"Nah, there's no way I can top what you did for me."

"I dunno, you normally top me pretty well," Steve teases, just to hear Eddie's delighted little cackle.

He turns and hands the ring back to Eddie, asks "Put it on me?" and Eddie smiles. He takes the ring and slides it onto Steve's finger, his thumb brushing over shiny metal, and Steve feels so fucking happy as they meet in the middle for a kiss.

[redbullgirly]

Hellooo 👋, can you write enemies to lovers with fernando alonso maybe with some angst? 🤭

It's totally alright if you don't want to! Thankssss :))

EL DESTINO [FA14 oneshot]

Fernando Alonso x reader

Masterlist

Summary: Y/N works for Alpine, and even though Fernando Alonso isn't part of the team anymore, they can't forget their distaste for each other. The driver seems to think she's just an irresponsible party girl and Y/N doesn't like him because he's, well... annoying and mean and doesn't care about anybody but himself. Though could they be both wrong in their prejudices?

Word Count: 4.5k

Warnings: Not much, maybe they're kind of mean to each other and stupid at the start, but that's the point of enemies to lovers, right? XD

Author's Note: Hello Anon and thank you for the request! I didn't expect it to turn out so long, but hey XD. I hope you and everybody else will like it. Also I tried for a little bit of angst, but I'm not sure if I'm good at it... you can let me know :).

If anyone could read your thoughts at the moment, you’d probably end up locked behind bars and with the key from your cell thrown far away. Whoever's great idea was to allow the group of inexperienced interns to touch the important data and statistics deserved to rot seven feet underground. Chopped into small pieces. And doused in poison that eats their lifeless body until there's nothing left.

Okay, that's maybe a bit too violent, but still not far from the truth.

You rubbed your tired eyes, not caring about smudging the mascara anymore. There was basically no one left in the building, just a few mechanics desperately needing the cars to be in perfect condition tomorrow – or should we say today? And then there was you, who stupidly agreed to fix the disaster caused by too much excitement and not enough cautiousness. You knew the interns didn't do it on purpose, and blaming them wasn't going to help you, but still. It wasn't them who had to sit there long after their working hours ended, staring into a too bright computer screen.

When you finally managed to save all the damaged data, it was almost three in the morning, and before you made it back to the hotel, you weren't sure if it was even worth going to bed. Because of the emergency, you didn't have time to finish your usual duties. And even though it wouldn't be fair to want the analysis from you, that wasn't how the game was played in motorsport.

Legs almost giving out under you, you dragged yourself to the elevator. The poor lady sitting at the receptionist desk looked at you skeptically, but didn't say anything as you stepped in and pressed the button with the number of your floor on it. Generic music started playing, numbing your brain even more.

The metal door was about to close, but then a hand came between it. Before you blinked and processed what's happening, a man slipped into the elevator right next to you, pressing his own number.

You see, everything could have been fine. You could've just survived the thirty seconds of embarrassing silence, then mumble a polite goodbye and go to sleep in peace. But no. Fate apparently had other plans for you.

Because as the man turned to you and the bright light hit his face, you realized it wasn't just some stranger.

Suddenly, the silence shifted from the normal elevator weirdness to tension. You pressed your lips together, silently cursing the higher power that decided to mess with your life just today, when you looked like a zombie. With smudged mascara. Perfect.

For someone, maybe it would be a fulfilled dream to be in an elevator with Fernando Alonso. Two time World Champion, great driver, loved person. And a dickhead that almost ruined your whole career.

“You look like you had a wild night,” he murmured with a thick Spanish accent. You narrowed your brows, trying to control the anger bubbling inside of you. Was he trying to insult you? You wouldn't even be surprised.

“Perhaps I did, thank you very much.” Your voice lacked any signs of friendliness, clearly trying to provoke him. It was quite funny, really, how a minute ago you didn't have energy to think clearly, and now you were ready to argue with this man over anything. Almost like the magic of despising someone.

You noticed his jaw tensing and knew it wouldn't be good. But still, his words hurt: “Maybe if you focused more on doing your job instead of wild nights out, Alpine would do better.”

The sting in your chest was strong, but by some miracle the elevator finally stopped, and the robotic voice announced the twenty-sixth floor. Even life itself took pity on you, it seemed.

Without any other word, you turned away from Alonso and walked into the empty hallway, hearing a quiet scoff and then the door sliding closed again behind you, leaving you all alone in the darkness. How poetic.

Every door you passed looked exactly the same, and you just hoped you remembered your room number correctly.

You didn't even remember taking out the card and entering your temporary home for the weekend. You didn't remember taking your clothes off, removing the remaining makeup with a tissue because you were too tired for your usual skin care routine. You didn't remember responsibly setting up your alarm and then falling into the soft mattress.

All you could remember before the exhaustion took over were his words that cut deeper than he thought, and deeper than you'd like to admit.

-----

You couldn't believe it.

As you walked out of the debrief, you could basically feel everybody's frustration crawling up your spine, mixing with your own. The team, all the mechanics and engineers, pit crew members and marketing, hundreds of people worked so hard the whole week. And for what?

It was already bad when both cars didn't finish the last Grand Prix in Silverstone. But for it to happen again? That was downright embarrassing. Not only did it bring exactly zero points in the Constructors' Championship, but the drivers were angry, disappointed. You could see that in the team, the motivation level decreased quickly. And honestly, you couldn't blame them.

Last year, Alpine was the fourth-best car on the grid. Best of the rest, as they'd call it. But this season, everything was going terribly. You honestly weren't far from crying.

To lighten up the mood, some of your colleagues decided to enjoy a night out in Budapest before you'd have to fly to Belgium tomorrow, to prepare for yet another racing weekend. At first, you declined the offer, insisting you needed to catch up on some work, do analysis for the car and figure out exactly what happened to it. But then, one of the mechanics you were friendlier with saw your drooping shoulders, and pulled you into the club despite all your weak protests.

Soon enough, you let loose and after an hour, you were a few drinks in. Your head was spinning, a big smile planted on your lips and giggles coming out of your mouth uncontrollably. Not that you had low alcohol tolerance, but the last time you got properly drunk was some time ago. Perhaps you just forgot how it felt. The freedom, the sweet mist of oblivion clouding your mind.

Currently, you were sitting at the bar, sipping on a cocktail. You already enjoyed your time on the dance floor, which tired you more than expected. Thank God you went to the club right from the paddock, so instead of high heels that'd kill your feet, you had comfortable sneakers on.

As you waved at the young barman to give you another round of whatever he mixed for you before, you felt someone's eyes on your back. You didn't bother to turn around, thinking it was just another drunken man checking out half of the women in the club.

Then, someone stood behind you. “The drink's on me, hermosa,” the man said, voice smooth like honey. You froze. You knew that deep, thick Spanish accent too well. What the hell was Alonso doing here?

He clearly mistook your silence for an impressed one, or so you thought when he came to sit down next to you, his hand gently brushing your back. That was the moment you turned your head towards him, eyes wide, and his face dropped. So did yours.

You hoped for a split second you could pretend you were total strangers randomly meeting in a bar for just a little longer when he instantly frowned and his demeanor changed from charming gentleman to pain in the ass.

“Y/L/N,” he uttered it in a way that made you wonder if there was something wrong with your last name. “Guess I shouldn't be surprised to see you here.”

And here it was — the instant wave of anger and hurt he managed to bring up by just a few poking words.

“Says the right person.” You rolled your eyes, the flowing feeling the alcohol gave you before now gone. You felt like you were going to be sick. “I bet if it wasn't me you tried to hit on, you'd bring the poor woman to your hotel room tonight.”

“Careful, or you might sound jealous.”

“Oh, you wish, Alonso,” you laughed humorlessly. 

The bartender chose that moment to bring you the requested cocktail you already forgot about. You gave him the cash, though you had no intention of actually drinking it. As always, Alonso left a sour taste in your mouth.

“I see you're drinking the team problems away,” he pressed harder, knowing damn well it was a sensitive topic. You gritted your teeth, reminding yourself to be the better person.

Then you looked into his dark eyes, and your self-control was gone. For some reason, you couldn't stand the look he was giving you. It was full of something that was too similar to disappointment. You hated people being disappointed in you, even if you hated that very person.

Out of nowhere, the alcohol kicked in, and you remembered why you didn't drink in clubs too often — it made you emotional. So stupidly sensitive that you couldn't stop your eyes from tearing up. You shook your head, opened your mouth, wanting to tell him something. Anything that'd make him just as much hurt as you were.

Instead, you bit your trembling lip and abruptly stood up. You almost knocked over the bar stool, though at the moment, you didn't really care.

Was it cowardly to run away from him and his harsh words? Yes, you knew that. But you did it in the elevator, and so you could do it again.

In a rush, you got through other people enjoying their night out, oblivious to the lump forming in your throat.  You needed to get out, breathe in the fresh air and just forget about everything.

It was probably nearing midnight, and even though it was late July, you still shivered when you stepped outside the club. Just then you remembered you left your jacket back in the paddock. And you also realized the mechanic and his group of friends drove you here, and you had no idea where you were or how to get to your hotel room.

“Great. Just fucking perfect,” you mumbled to yourself, a few tears running down your cheeks. You wiped them away, willing yourself to calm down. Budapest couldn't be too different from other European cities, so you'd just walk to the nearest public transport station and then see what you could do from there. Yes, that was exactly what you're going to do, and it's going to be okay.

Having a plan calmed you down, at least a little. You walked in a direction you hoped would get you to the center and took your phone out. The battery was low, and you cursed yourself for not charging it during the day.

“Where are you going?” You winced and nearly dropped the phone when you heard the loud voice calling after you.

When you turned around, you already knew exactly who was standing before the club entrance.

“That's not any of your business,” you tried to sound tough, but it came out tired and weak. So instead, you lifted your head, trying to save the remaining bits of your dignity.

Alonso tilted his head, brown eyes studying you for a moment before he made a step towards you. “Don't tell me you don't have anyone to take you back to your hotel?” The undertone of his voice was strange, and if you didn't know better, you'd think it was worry seeping out.

“Oh, then I won't tell you,” you fired back, satisfied with your own answer as you turned around and left him standing there.

You made it around the block when a strong hand suddenly grasped your hand, and you screamed, prepared to fight whoever attacked you.

“¡Ay dios mío!” Alonso cursed and held his red cheek, where there was a clear hand print now.

You stared at each other in shock. You wanted to kill him for scaring you to death, but at the same time, you were relieved it was just him and not a creepy kidnapper.

“I'd say I'm sorry… but I'm not,” you managed to mumble. A weak attempt, you knew that. But it still seemed to wake him from his trance and make him scoff at you in annoyance.

However, he didn't let go of your hand.

“Let's go,” Alonso urged you back towards the direction you came from.

“I'm not going anywhere with you.”

“Y/N, if you think I would let a drunk girl wander around a city she doesn't know, alone, at night… then you clearly don't know me at all.”

It took a few seconds for his words to hit you, and all there was left for you to do was to look up at him with surprise written all over your face. That seemed to annoy him for some reason, but with alcohol still very much present in your system, you didn't have the capacity to think about it too much.

“Let's go,” he repeated, though this time you didn't protest when he started walking towards what turned out to be his car. You knew it very well, from the years you used to work together, for the same team. Silently, you wondered how the hell did he get it to Hungary, but you soon forgot about that.

Fernando unlocked the car and opened the passenger door for you. Your mom would probably tell you to be more cautious about getting into the car of a man you didn't like and were sure he didn't like you as well. But hey, it's still better than being lost in a foreign city, right?

So you sat down, and before you could reach for the seatbelt, he took it and strapped you himself, mumbling something about safety hazards with drunk people. You were so surprised by that unexpected action you didn't even have time to feel offended.

You closed your eyes, the comfortable seat making you sleepy. You heard him get in the car as well and join the night traffic. For a moment, silence reigned and for the first time in a long time, it didn't feel horrible and tense.

“Isn't it illegal to drive with alcohol?” you whispered, eyes still closed.

“I didn't drink anything in the club. Too busy with you.”

Just then, you realized you actually asked the question out loud.

“Sorry for ruining your celebration night. Probably didn't want to leave it with me,” you laughed quietly. When he approached you in the club, he thought you were a random pretty woman with whom he could share a drink and take her to his bed for a fun night.

“Whatever.” You could hear him shrug his shoulders. “Sorry for ruining your night. Though you don't have much to celebrate.”

That made you open your eyes and gaze at him. He was looking straight ahead, concentrating on the road ahead. The lights of the other cars occasionally landed on his face, and you wondered if he was always so handsome, or it were the cocktails speaking for you.

“Wow, even in an apology there's a hidden insult,” you snickered, though there was a small grin on your lips now. Yes, definitely the alcohol speaking for you, you told yourself.

This time, Fernando actually looked at you before he averted his sight back to the traffic. “I wasn't insulting you, Y/N. I was insulting the team.”

You raised your eyebrows, but didn't comment on it. It was pointless to argue over this, he had his opinion about Alpine and given the fact both your cars didn't finish two races in a row, you didn't have exactly the best arguments to convince him otherwise. After all, he was part of the team last year. And the year before.

For the rest of your ride, there wasn't much more said between the both of you. You were tired — not just because of the night out and drinking, but from the whole week, from the whole season.

Finally, he parked the car before a building you recognized. You didn't ask him how he knew which hotel your team booked, perhaps he remembered it was the same one as the year before. Honestly, you were just glad he helped you get out of the car and walked you inside.

Then, you found yourself in an elevator alone with Fernando, again. Though unlike a month ago, he gently held your hand for support this time.

You told him your room number and somehow, he got you all the way in front of the door. You thanked all the saints in the world when you dug the keys out of your purse. After three unsuccessful tries at unlocking the room, Fernando's patience apparently ran out. He took the keys out of your hand and silently opened the lock.

“Thanks,” you muttered, and let him lead you inside your own hotel room.

When the light switch turned on and illuminated all the papers lying around, he looked at you, flabbergasted.

“What's all this?”

You shrug your shoulders and look at him like he was stupid. Which he was, at least in your humble opinion. “Work. What else?”

“Yes, yes. But why is it… here?” He motions towards the desk, nightstands, and bed.

“Because I don't have time to do it all in the office.”

“You work overtime?”

Now you were starting to get irritated.

“Yes, I work overtime. Maybe if you weren't so insistent in thinking I'm a dumb party girl ever since I made one stupid mistake in your car's analysis a year ago, you'd see I'm actually trying my best.” You hated how hurt you sounded, pathetic in your own ears.

But honestly, who was he to judge you? You never actually stood up to him before, defended yourself against his mean words. You always sucked it up, let him complain about you to your boss, who almost fired you because of the driver's obvious distaste for you. And when he left the team at the end of last year, you never tried to contact him, talk to him. Fix your non-existent relationship.

Today, though, you had enough. Maybe it was the alcohol giving you courage, maybe it was his shocked face when he realized you actually did your job.

“Y/N, I-”

“Get out,” you said in a tone that didn't allow for any objections. Fernando seemed to understand, but the pained expression didn't leave his face when he slowly walked to the door. Like he didn't really want to leave, like he desperately wanted to tell you something.

You didn't care about him. He never cared about you before as well, did he?

And so, with one last, regretful look in his dark eyes, Fernando Alonso left your hotel room. When tears ran down your cheeks, you weren't sure why you were even crying.

-----

You were avoiding him after that. It wasn't the easiest thing to do, but you managed and after surviving the Belgian Grand Prix in Spa, you were excited about the summer break as never before. Almost a whole month without races, which meant you wouldn't have to meet anyone from the other teams, including Fernando.

Usually, the team worked tirelessly through the summer break — it was a great chance to have a proper look into the car's engine and come up with new ideas and improvements. God knew you needed that. Typically, you were amongst those loyal employees, basically living in the Alpine headquarters.

However, this year you really wanted a break. So you used your vacation days and stayed in your flat, finally sleeping like a normal person for once, eating home-cooked meals instead of team catering and enjoying the summer, though the weather could be better in England.

It was the start of August when you started finding flower deliveries on the threshold of your door. First, you thought it's a mistake, though what woman would refuse a beautiful bouquet of her favorite flowers. When it happened a whole week in a row, you thought about having a secret admirer or, in the worse case scenario, a stalker. Though, you still took the flowers inside every morning, cherishing them.

And then, one day, there was an envelope attached to the bouquet, and you had to curse yourself for being so, so stupid. Of course it's him, Fernando. Begging you to talk to him, to let him explain. One dinner, he said. One dinner, and then he'll let you go on about your life.

When he tried to write a poem in the middle of August, you finally gave in. You found his old phone number saved amongst many other contacts and sent him a simple “okay”.

The next morning, there was a time and address of the restaurant in the envelope.

You didn't let yourself get too excited about any of it. It's Fernando Alonso, the man who almost caused you to get fired from your dream job, the one that was so mean to you after making wrong assumptions about you and your way of life. Yes, he was trying now, but was that enough?

When the taxi dropped you off in front of the fancy restaurant, you took a deep breath. You had a simple dress on, light makeup, and a few accessories.

You walked into the empty restaurant. The waitress smiled at you when you told her the name of the reservation and led you to the only set table. You could see the deep brown eyes looking directly at you from afar.

Suddenly, nervousness settled in your stomach. If you didn't know better, you'd think this was a date — it certainly felt like one.

Without a word, he helped you sit down on a chair across from him and the waitress handed you the menu. It was without prices, but you were certain this place was lavish and expensive. Perhaps Fernando didn't want you to worry about it and let you order anything you wanted. And you tried not to be too impressed by that.

“You look very beautiful, hermosa,” he spoke after a minute of tense silence while you pretended to be interested in the menu. You didn't miss the fact he used the same nickname like that night in the club, when he thought you were someone else.

“Compliments won't make it easier for you.” Maybe you lied, because you liked him calling you beautiful.

“I know, but I couldn't help myself.”

The waitress came back with a bottle of wine that Fernando must've ordered before you arrived. You took a sip and it tasted like heaven. It almost made you forget about everything, almost.

“Please, can we talk?” You never heard his voice sound so… unsure.

“Aren't we talking right now?”

“Y/N.” The way he said your name was so soft, so delicate.

“Fernando.” You saw him flinch, and you realized it was probably the first time you called him by his first name. Suddenly, the whole situation felt more intimate.

He gulped, but there was determination written all over his face. Fernando Alonso wasn't the type of man to give up, you knew that. His amazing racing career was proof of that.

“Listen to me, please. I know that you have the right to never speak to me again after how I treated you. But I want to fix it, Y/N.”

Those brown eyes were going to be the death of you, burying themselves into your soul, your heart.

“I want to fix all of it, Y/N,” he repeated with all seriousness. “If you let me,” Fernando added.

And how could you say no to him? Deep down, you always admired him. Liked him, even. Before that fuck up with his car's analysis, you thought he might like you back. You always wanted his approval, and that was one of the reasons why his words and insults hurt so much.

Sometimes, people deserved second chances. Especially when they were looking at you like you hung the stars in the sky.

Slowly, you nodded. “I think I might let you, Fernando.” You smiled, liking how his name felt on your tongue. “But it's not going to be easy, I'm telling you that,” you warned him with a raised finger.

“I wouldn't dream of anything less,” he replied with a thick Spanish accent that was stronger when he felt emotions. Fernando returned your smile and clinked his glass with yours.

-----

Brazil was a good race. Both Alpine cars ended up in points and Fernando, your Fernando, got another podium. You clapped along with others during the podium ceremony, eyes just for him. A proud feeling settled in you, and as he accepted his trophy for well deserved third place, he looked down at the gathered crowd. Mostly people from Aston Martin, McLaren, and Red Bull.

And then there was you — in your Alpine t-shirt, clapping for the driver who scandalously left your team last year, without a care in the world. That was when he knew he loved you, and that he'll always will.

You knew you loved him too when, after all the celebrating around the circuit died down or moved to clubs and private parties, instead of going to his hotel room, he knocked on the door of yours. Checking on you.

“Hermosa, I hope you're not working.” He rolled his eyes as he stepped in, seeing you indeed staring into your notebook at some data he probably shouldn't see as a part of a rival team.

“But Nando, I need to finish these-”

He cut you off the best way he could — hugging you from behind, gently turning your head towards him and placing his lips on yours. You instantly melted into the kiss, giving up the fight before it could even start.

“I think you need to properly celebrate your boyfriend winning,” he smirked, biting your lip teasingly. You felt like a teenage girl when the butterflies took off in your stomach.

Fernando slowly walked you to the bed, never parting your lips, as if his life depended on kissing you. You sat on his lap, your hips grinding against his as you moaned into his mouth.

And he couldn't help himself. He wanted to take you out on a magical date and tell you there, but how could he keep it a secret when you were sitting on him, so beautiful that his heart clenched. Smart and pretty girl. His smart and pretty girl.

“Te amo,” he whispered into your sweet lips, and your breath caught.

You pulled back a little, looking at him, silently asking if you heard him correctly.

“Te amo, Y/N,” he repeated. You knew enough Spanish for your eyes to tear up. “I love you very much.”

There was a heartbeat of silence, probably the longest one in your whole life.

“I love you too. So much,” you whispered back. And then, for him: “Te amo, Fernando.”

Now it was his turn to tear up, hold your face in his hands and press your foreheads together.

Perhaps the fate and its plans for you weren't so horrible after all.

THE END

Author's Note: Wow, if you read it all to the end, thank you very much! I'll be glad for likes, comments, reblogs, follows and every other way of support. Let me know how you liked this story and if you'd maybe like another oneshot from this "universe" because I have to admit, this version of Fernando and Y/N kind of grew on me... Have a great day and see you at the next post! :)

[voidofgrace]

So, I've done a couple play-throughs of Baldur’s Gate 3 now, and I have some thoughts regarding companion romances; namely, Astarion and Gale. Warning, this will contain spoilers.

In my first game, I romanced Astarion (because obviously), and I loved the way they handled his traumas, his growth, and the nuances of his character. I could pen an essay, but I doubt there is anything I could say that hasn't been said already.

My second game, I decided to romance Gale. I won't lie, I mostly did it because thanks to the weird way he was bugged, I got a flag for his act 2 romance cut scene in my other game. Out of curiosity, I went through it, and it was honestly so sweet, and kind of sad. After that, I wanted to see how the rest of his romance played out.

And folks, I hate to say it (no I don't), I loved his romance more than Astarion’s. By the end of Astarion’s story, while wonderful, I didn't want to be with him, but just like, protect him and help him live his life and just learn how to be free. The revelation of his headstone, and his age of death. He was so young when he was murdered and turned, and it's so heartbreaking.

Also, the man literally says he really didn't like you at all at first. I mean, fair, but was that really the time to say "I thought you were a total loser, but ily now ❤." Kinda rude, Astarion.

And then there's Gale. The man who loved his Goddess so much, he tried to return a piece of magic to her he thought she had lost. Now don't get me wrong, he did it as much out of hubris as he did love, but in doing so, he wanted to earn a fraction of the love he felt for her in return.

This is a man who was sentenced to death by the woman he loved, as a means to an end that she and the other gods could achieve.

And what does this man do, when thinking about how he was close to the end?

He creates a sky full of stars, a pocket of something beautiful in a place that's cursed. And he tells you he loves you, laments about how he wishes he could do it properly. He gives you a glimpse of his life in Waterdeep, the place where he is happiest, because he wants to share that with you.

It is so wonderfully sweet, but it's also soured by the fact that he believes he has no choice but to carry out Mystra’s will. He believes he needs to be forgiven for his transgression against her, and that forgiveness will only be granted with his death.

Then we get the the start of act 3, and the circus. When you take Gale through the Dryad's test, the questions felt very shallow, especially when compared to the ones given with Astarion. What kind of food is Gale? Really? At least, until the very last question: what is Gale’s greatest flaw. One of the answers you can choose is "He thinks that he, and the world, might be better off if he were dead."

His response? He agrees... As someone who has struggled with mental health and similar thoughts, that one hit home. But then, in the next sentence, he shows that he has hope. Maybe it's not true. Maybe fate can be defied.

Moving on to later in act 3, there was the revelation of the Crown of Karsus, a relic from Karsus' attempt at achieving Godhood that survived. And Gale sees the possibilities that crown opens up. A chance to do what the other gods refused to do - what Mystra refused to do. He saw the chance to save Faerûn, to save his friends, and to save the person he loves (which again, Mystra refused to do, in his eyes), Ao be damned.

But, he also sees it as a way to finally be worthy. Worthy of the love he had been denied by Mystra, deserving of the love you have given him. After all, in the past, it was only ever because of his power that he was ever deemed worthy for anything, and what greater power is there than that of a god?

And that is HEARTBREAKING. The man only thought he was worth anything because of his power, because that had been the only thing people had really cared for about him. And when you tell this man you love him just for him, not because he's powerful or because he could he a god, but because he's a sweet man who loves books, who sometimes writes poetry, who loves curling up by the fire with his cat, a book and a glass of wine, he turns down that power. Show him care and love for who he is, and the man shines.

How could anyone NOT love Gale?

But yeah, Gale is 10/10. And Mystra sucks.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

[theenbynightingale]

My thoughts on TDI '23 Season 2

I'm just gonna make one big post about it because I wanna get all of this out of my system so I can focus on other things.

Okay, let me get my verdict out of the way. This season was... fine. It wasn't great but it wasn't bad. It's probably the most middle of the road season, IMO. My now former friend told me that he thought this was shaping up to be one of the best seasons when half the episodes were out. I didn't wanna label it yet because I didn't agree but I wanted to see them stick the landing. They didn't. So while I don't agree that the season went downhill, I agree that its ending wasn't very strong.

Okay, good stuff! MK and Julia friendship (and MKulia nation thriving). Loved that. I kept worried that they'd drop the ball but they never really did. They were a lot of fun and it was great seeing these two characters who outright rejected the idea of making friends grow close.

Nichelle getting better at the physical activities while not actually understanding that she had to have a social life on the island and therefore, not actually knowing how to play the game was funny.

Wayne and Raj. They're always great.

Less fart jokes. Though, it seemed like they were just saving it for the memory episode.

Owen and MacArthur cameos!

Bowie's inner conflict. I think that was a nice arc for him, especially after constantly playing dirty last season. It made sense and wasn't out of nowhere.

Zee being Zee. We love Zee. I wish we saw more of his pet raccoon.

A lot of the challenges were creative (Starting off with a Squid Game parody is very Total Drama) and a lot of the jokes were funny.

Okay, so... I can't talk too much about stuff I like without immediately following it up with "and then it kept going and it got old" so... let's get into that.

Usually, in TD, there's the writing hurdle of what to do with characters after they hook up. Usually, one of the characters leave the episode they hook up or the episode after. I admire this season for trying to break away from this formula but I think they just proved why the formula exists. Because if you keep the story going after they get together, you run the risk of it getting old. And it got old. Twice.

Ripaxel was funny... and then it got old. And gross. And then it was funny again. And then it got much worse and then they left. And then you wonder what the point of that was.

But then there's Caleb and Priya. I actually liked the story between them. And then it kept going. The moment in the memory challenge where they made up? That should have been it. The story should have been over and, as much as I love Priya, that's where she should have left. We didn't need to follow it up with another misunderstanding between them. Their story was run into the ground and it just wasn't worth caring about anymore.

There's a problem throughout the season that was evident when the very first episode leaked. After a whole season, it's revealed that Millie still doesn't listen to Priya. This is an example of the season's biggest problem: rehashing the last season.

Millie has to face the consequences of betraying her friends, breaking their trust and not putting forth a lot of effort in a challenge... again.

Zee gets eliminated because the campers somehow believed letting him in on a secret was a good idea... again.

Damien accidentally screws himself over... again.

Emma seemingly has an interesting story set up, only for it to be dropped as soon as it gets somewhere... again.

Priya grows close to someone only to reveal that they had less-than-flattering thoughts about her, only for that someone to realize how much they care about her, only for Priya to find out about the earlier stuff and a rift is formed between them... again.

Once MK is gone, Julia is the main villain... again.

So yeah. Not a bad season because nothing really upset me. I'd take it over All-Stars or PI (maybe even Action but idk). It had a lot of good stuff. But some of the good stuff either deescalated into a rehash of last season or was dragged out to the point where you stopped getting invested.

I liked Julia's hair. Mullets are terrible but she pulled it off. I'm serious. She's rocking it.

tl;dr Owen didn't age because he was never really stressed. He was the happiest of all the campers so that's why he still looks 16.

[givemetherapyimawritingtravesty]

@noots-fic-fests

“Do you want him to get a sugar rush and bounce off the walls?” Remus asked incredulously, staring at the heeping bowl of candy Sirius had put out on the coffee table.

“What? No, he won’t do that. He’s a grown–”

Remus shot Sirius a disbelieving look that shut him right up. “Do you remember your first Halloween with the Lions? Because I remember James convincing you that holiday candy ‘didn’t count’ against your meal plan and the next day at practice you still weren’t feeling well. Went a bit overboard if I do remember correctly.”

“No. Okay maybe, but Regulus–”

“Will do the exact same thing, you and I both know that. Just put out some for the movie, and save some to refill it with later. I don’t want either of you trying to eat too much at once and then feeling like crap from it.”

“Fine,” Sirius agreed, defeated. “I guess we shouldn’t ruin dinner. But after I am totally putting the rest out and whatever happens, happens. He’s smarter than me anyway and probably won’t do it, but if he does… it serves him right. Actually, it’s a right of passage, let him make the mistake. I bet he won’t regret the stomach ache anyway.”

Remus settled down into the corner of the couch, reaching for the remote to start finding the first movie on their Halloween Town marathon list. “Did you?”

“Not in the slightest. Worth every agonizing minute,” SIrius smirks, lowering himself down next to Remus to cuddle as they waited for Regulus to get home from lunch with Leo. “But I don’t know how he’ll react to bouncing off the walls. I mean I had James to match my energy and we just played some video games a bit too enthusiastically, Reg…”

“I bet,” Remus said slowly, still formulating his thought, “He won’t know what to do with all that energy. He’ll sit there all restless and go catatonic for a bit before he can’t stand it anymore.”

“That… is probably more accurate than you realize,” Regulus said as he made his way in to the living room, having come in quietly through the garage. He watched Sirius jump slightly, and Remus chuckle as he turned to look at him. “What’s the context though?”

“Candy,” Remus offered.

“Oh, like a sugar rush? Yeah. I didn’t realize that was a thing and it freaked me out once. But I’d do it again, caramel is so worth it.”

[verytallfox]

THE SOUNDS OF NIGHTMARES EPISODE 4 OBSERVATIONS

CONTENT WARNING: Discussion of suffering and death of children, mention of suicide (none in super graphic detail, but you have been warned)

So tragically the Ferryman does not appear in the latest release directly. However, we do get more of Otto’s further violations of ethics. He’s getting less restrained with concealing his pursuit of the Nowhere and the Ferryman.

We also get a look at what will likely be the fairground in the upcoming third game! That was a pleasant surprise. I’ve seen a few theories that the entity described there, the man in the purple suit and his dummy, are going to be enemies in the game. I could easily see that happening!

I wonder if we’ll meet any of those children while we’re there or if they’re long gone (dead, corrupted, or escaped). It seems like they might have had an idea for how to escape the Nowhere, and I’m wondering if escape will be on the table for Low and Alone. I sure hope so. The kids torn between these two planes of existence could really use a win.

Also, it’s worth noting just how good Noone is at putting the pieces together once Otto comes clean. She states it pretty succinctly: even if he wants to help her, he’s still using her suffering to figure out how to break into this nightmarish world to save someone else. She’s a means to an end. I don’t think she has long until the Ferryman or whatever higher power he serves (more on that in a bit) comes to collect her. Her panic attack and despair were also both really painful to listen to. Poor kid.

Moving on from the episode:

I’ve seen more and more stuff on the mirrors and the theory that Otto is the Mirror Man. Lemme offer a slight alternative that might be connected or the same: what if he’s the hanging figure in the Maw? This is more of a what-if than anything. I’m going on the assumption that Otto will eventually succeed in reaching the Nowhere (which has been shown to have normal-ish looking adults here and there), get trapped, and take his own life rather than be corrupted.

This same argument can be applied to why he might be the Mirror Man: Upon reaching the Nowhere, either through the same means as the children or another supernatural means of entry he’ll find himself trapped. Maybe it will be whatever he uses to enter the Nowhere that corrupts him or maybe it will be getting stuck there for a prolonged period of time. Either way, the darkness wins in the ends.

Both are totally conjecture on my part! If he does appear, it would probably make more sense that he be linked to mirrors than the hanging guy.

Finally, onto the Ferryman! I think he does operate as a fully sapient being and I do think he’s either received or taken (perhaps by force) the power he has. He can move about the Nowhere’s interconnected planes freely. Also going off of another Tumblr poster @queen0fm0nsterz (hellooo, sorry to @ you your idea is so goddamn good), I agree that he wasn’t human to begin with.

I also agree that Otto is probably wrong to assume the Ferryman can’t reach him in his own world. At the very least, if anyone from the Nowhere could cross over it would be him.

I feel that the Ferryman does not control the Nowhere either (perhaps nothing truly does), he simply has access that most other residents do not. So is he as free as the monsters that live there can be, or is he subservient to something else? I don’t think his purpose is limited to the Maw. Honestly, I think it’s a side gig. He might not have ulterior motives but if anything it feels to me like it’s just to pay the bills figuratively speakinf.

I don’t think the Maw or the Signal Tower rule the Nowhere. They both have similar functions, just on different scales and in different environments. But they both exist to feed and feed on those with insatiable desires (presumably), and it feels like there are probably older things than them that exist there.

So in short, I believe the Ferryman has his own agenda and that he may serve something else. I simply just don’t know what that might be.

Anyway, thank you again for your post @queen0fm0nsterz !!! It was really thought provoking and I hope you share more ideas as the series goes on.

Very good episode overall! I look forward to the remainder of the series!

[rpbtgirl]

Gotta say, the adrenaline sort of got to me, sitting there in my undies with the 5 guys all looking at me and knowing where the bets were going to go based on the evening. I agreed to keep playing. Away we go, right off the hop I have a decent hand, so I’m feeling pretty good, the betting is kept low. I change a couple of cards and OMG, I have an amazing hand, so I bet accordingly. By the time we get to the second to last round of betting, everyone has folded except me and the one guy that asked me to stay. I’m all in, he calls and raises. So I don’t have anything to bet with, he says I can put up my bra…I called. We get to the last round of betting, it’s up to me and I only have 1 thing left to bet, my panties but he asks me what are they worth, he’s cleaned out almost everyone there so he’s got a lot of chips. I said his stack, he shook his head. He says that he’ll put up his stack if I put up my panties and a blowjob. I snapped back at him no problem, my hand is so good that I’d give one to anyone that wanted one if I lost. One of the other guys that had folded asked if I was serious and I told I was but anyone that wanted one needed to put up their remaining chips and my clothes. Then the discussion went around about that not being allowed and all that, and surprise surprise they decided they would make an exception and all of them threw in their remaining chips. At this point I know I wasn’t thinking straight because I was very excited that I was going to beat all these boys at their game. So the bet is my remaining clothes and blowjobs for any that wanted, once that was repeated to me I got scared, what if I lost……then that turned to excitement, I was already pretty damn horny sitting there in my undies and that hit me like a tone of bricks, and in the best way possible. That didn’t matter, I had 4 of a kind, I was going to win!!! They asked a few times to make sure I was sure, Oh I was sure!! Did you see what I had, 4 of a kind. Time to flip cards, I tell him to go first, he does and they all go nuts….. but I’m sitting there all smug, counting my winnings in my head. I turn my cards over and they go even crazier, thank you boys for the fun and the money, at least that’s what I’m thinking. Turns out, and they had to prove it to me by showing me that he had 1 of 2 hands that can beat 4 of a kind, a straight flush…..pretty sure that’s what it was called. WTF!!!! So now reality hits, I have to be actually naked, not practically naked and there are 5 guys with blowjobs on the mind. My first thought was about reneging, just say fuck it and walk out, they can keep my clothes and shoes or that I thought they we were all just playing around and kidding. Then it hits me, I’m all about expanding my horizons these days and what am I saving it for anyhow. Stood there, took my bra off, dropped my panties which were soaked by this time and ask, So how are we doing this. Before I know it, they’re a guy sitting on the couch yelling, Me first, his pants already off. I looked at everyone, they all smiled, looked at my neighbour who smiled, shrugged and said that a bet is a bet. So off I went, it was just me and the first guy in the living room but it was an open area so they could see from the dining room where we were playing. I knealed down in front of him, grabbed his cock while looking at him, kid in a candy store look on his face, and took his cock in my mouth. He wasn’t totally hard when I started but got decently hard as I went to work. Didn’t take long for comments and hooting and cheering to start. Felt like I just got started and he cumming in my mouth, no warning at all. Must have been fast because they were giving him a hard time about being a quick draw lmao. They all got even more excited when they realized I swallowed, didn’t really mean to, he pretty much just pushed his hips up and it hit the back of of my throat.

[embersofhope-if]

My sister and I have had many discussions on the way the hunger games operate, and its love story is to make it more palatable to the audience. Sort of a way to gloss over the child murder because "Oh, look over there! They're holding hands!" Is better than "Oh, well, district 3 used poison to off someone from district 5 womp womp."

So if in this IF, the romance is not the main point do you forsee the same voyeuristic qualities in the capital if MC were to be in a romance with their partner or someone very openly outside of the games.

Or how sensationalized will the players in the games be viewed by the capital/districts?

You have me in the palm of your hands with this IF. 🙌 I can and will totally wait for anything and everything you throw our way!

I think if Mc was in an open relationship with someone outside of the games the Capitol wouldn't think of it as an actual relationship. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes makes it obvious how the capitol views those from the Districts. To them, if your District you're an animal who is worth less than dirt, and Mc being in any type of relationship back home wouldn't change that point of view too much.

In this story, the romance with Aurel isn't anything like the one that Katniss and Peeta have. If Aurel and Mc did play the love story like Katniss and Peeta did I'm sure they'd have a very similar response, but Aurel would never agree to that. They have their own goal for these games and playing Lover is not part of it.

This is going a bit off-topic but Creon has a very clear role that they want Mc to play and to make the Capitol believe. The way they plan on presenting Mc to the public is kind of similar to the way Coriolanus portrayed Lucy Gray in her games. Mc is attractive, charming, and they have a softness about them that the public is very drawn to. And people of the Capitol already know Mcs face because they were interviewed in Asher's games. Its all very nicely set up for Creon they've just got to use and manipulate it properly if they want to save Mcs life

[definitelyunhingedagentphoenix]

Question, was talking with friends who also like ieytd so I thought I should also try and get your opinion, who do you think the phantom is? Like do think they are a whole new character, an already seen character, because I have my theory that the phantom could be V. Vitti, the top field agent whom we see in Ieytd 1 and 3, from portrait.

So I agree with you 100% and because I just put out a really long post on a different person's post I'm just going to copy and paste what I wrote there here under the cut so people who have already read it don't need to read it again. I totally forgot their name though when I wrote it so it is supposed to be V. Vitti

So my running theory at the moment is that dr. Zor is that person from the photographs in the office after you finish a mission in I expect you to die three. You know how there are five portraits on the wall and a missing space for the sixth one but then you find the sixth one in the plant on the other side of the room? Obviously that has to mean something right? And I can't remember their exact title but basically it's the top agent in the EOD.

In the third game during project KBOOM when Zor is addressing the agent they say something along the lines of "there's nothing in the agency worth saving. I would know." Which seems to allude to the fact that they have a more in-depth knowledge of the agency then someone who has always been opposing them. So what if they saw something during one of their missions as an EOD agent or were asked/told to do something that was truly despicable by the agency itself. After that they turned their back on the agency and left with a pretty sour taste in their mouth. Probably a deep hatred of the agency and all of the high ranking members that they had probably considered friends at some point.

I would even argue that they probably faked their own death to remain anonymous because at no point in time does Handler even speak about them let alone talk about them in a negative light. If the pain of the death was still hurting him he probably wouldn't bring it up. That would also kind of explain why that person's photo was still in the office and not in the trash can, but was not hung up either. Whoever was taking it down was probably doing so because that person was no longer with the agency but they were distraught about it. Then whatever happened to that particular headquarters, happened, and they just dropped the photo. Based on the moldy sandwich still sitting on the plate when we first arrived there before the opening song, it seems like everyone left in quite the hurry.

I could even paint a sadder picture here because imagine if the reason for all of that was that Dr. Zor showed up and killed all of the agents that were there. Maybe Dr. Zor, seeing themself still memorialized on that wall sent them into a rage and they threw the painting.

So then picture, a new agent arrives that at first seems like any typical agent that the EOD has. But then they do something remarkable. They kill commander Solaris and destroy the death engine. Performing extreme feats of both self-preservation and lack of self-preservation. No person in the right mind no matter the training would send themselves up in a commandeered space shuttle from their enemy in order to destroy something that they knew would get them killed. And at first it's just another agent gone and a failed mission for Zor.

But then Juniper later tells Zor that the agent has resurfaced. Ever one for the arts, he's already named them Agent Phoenix seeing as they have risen from the ashes. They are alive and once again performing amazing feats that no other agent (well... Other than Zor themself) have ever performed. That's when Zor begins to take a personal interest. They begin to follow the agent and see what makes them tick. That's why Zor wanted John Juniper to film the agent once they actually had them captured. It's not because they actually believed that the phoenix would die, even John Juniper didn't believe that Agent Phoenix was going to die there so why would Zor?

To put it simply, it's because they want Agent Phoenix to live. They want to see how they escape. They want to see how their mind works. Zor sees a potential in Agent Phoenix that people in the EOD used to see in them. A true ambition and drive to do what they believe is right. And not only that but the willingness to put themself on the line for that very goal, not caring what the consequences of their actions are as long as the greater good still benefits.

Zor knows that Agent Phoenix survives after the whole incident with John Juniper. It wasn't just the EOD that was looking for a body there. And Zor had a pretty solid gut feeling that Agent Phoenix would have survived regardless. When no body is discovered they know that Agent Phoenix will be back and where is the most likely place they'll go? A EOD safe house that's not too far from the Zoraxis building. The very same one where they threw away their own picture.

They get there and of course scope out the place to make sure that Agent Phoenix isn't currently in the building. Remarkably, they've healed from their injuries quite quickly and are already back on another case. A perfect time to set up a little scavenger hunt of sorts. A medal. One in every place that they know Agent Phoenix is about to be in. They give one to Roxana and tell her to hide it but not well enough that Agent Phoenix won't find it. Of course they don't actually tell her the reasoning behind it but they know Agent Phoenix will find it. They hide one in many places with little hints and clues on how to find them. Even in their underwater lab they make a little stencil that agent Phoenix could put on the chalkboard to find out the code that will BRING THEM THE MEDAL. Zor was even there very recently if their personal message to Agent Phoenix is anything to go by. Ollie has been down there long enough to run out of food, be starving, and not know that Zor was outed as a supervillain but there just so happens to be a tape labeled "Phoenix" that was recorded by Zor themself, referencing the Juniper incident? Ollie didn't bring all that down there. Zor was down there setting this all up.

In that same mission, we learn of the secret code symbols that Zor is using. When you collect all the phantom medals, what do you find? A set of gloves which are suspiciously gold (a colour that's associated with both the EOD and Zoraxis) and the letter addressed to the Phoenix once again that has the same encrypted symbols that once deciphered read "I expect you to live."

ZOR expects them to live.

Zor WANTS them to live.

Agent Phoenix isn't just an adversary that Zor finds amusing. They see potential. That's why the entire note reads:

It seems you're as good as they say, Phoenix. They used to say I was good, too. But I made a choice. And before they get you killed, I hope you realize you have the same choice: to die or to live.

I expect you to live.

Zor has lived through this before. THEY were the EOD's best agent and they made the choice to leave for one reason or another. They've seen something in the EOD that caused them to do what they've done. That's why there's "nothing in the agency worth saving" because they DO KNOW. They've seen the agency's true colours. And now that they've seen Agent Phoenix... They were kind of right. There's only ONE thing in the agency worth saving and that's Agent Phoenix.

My prediction is that we are going to meet Zor in the next game but they're going to be introduced to us as this other agent. Maybe Handler has caught word that this person is still alive and he sends us to get them back; not unlike what he expected us to do with Roxana in the first mission of 3. But the twist is that this person is Zor and they are trying to convince Phoenix that they should join them. That they belong in Zoraxis. Maybe they even belong as Zor's partner.

Side note. I bet those gloves that this mysterious phantom leaves for the Phoenix is the pair that the EOD gave them when they were promoted to their role as one of the top 6. That's why they left them there for Phoenix. And also explains their association with Gold. Not to mention that the EOD symbol is very present throughout Zoraxis. There are loads of EOD logo's hidden around. It's even on the flooring if you die on a mission in 3 which could just be there for show but considering every other item in the room is branded with the Zoraxis logo... It feels too suspicious.

[sapphire-weapon]

Do you think there could’ve been a way for Aeon to be executed well in the current canon? Like, I think the ship can be compelling as it exists now as long as you fill in some holes and give Leon’s relationship with her more layers and a deeper meaning (LMFAO’d at this myself. Trust me, I know how it sounds to have to do the brainwork that Capcom chose not to). Not to say it’s healthy, but quite the opposite, actually. And that’s when I think it could be really interesting to see how Leon’s guilt and trauma surrounding Raccoon City is the driving force of his “feelings” for her and their interactions.

Any thoughts? You can totally ignore this if you want as from my understanding Aeon isn’t your favorite pairing—but I’m still interested in your thoughts, regardless.

I mean, theoretically, anything can be executed well if the work is put in. I've said this before, but all that storytelling is is just a continuous series of set up -> pay off. But there's no way for RE4make Leon and Ada to go straight into RE6 and make it make sense. There's no setup for that payoff.

If I was the one at the writer's desk, and Capcom dumped RE2make and RE4make exactly as they are on my desk and said "Make a romance between Leon and Ada work from this point forward" the first question I would have to ask/address is "How can we bring honesty into the relationship?"

With how deeply personally Leon's taken Ada's betrayal this time around, this is no longer a case of "a little bit goes a long way." This version of Leon would probably need a full explanation, in great detail, going all the way back to the moment that Ada first agreed to work for/with Wesker.

But you can't just have Ada or anyone else just... exposition dump on Leon and call it a day. Not only does that make for really fucking boring scenes, it creates the same problem that their relationship has in OG of telling, not showing. And Leon would have no reason to believe her in the first place, nor any reason to just magically be okay with the explanation that he's given.

They've had two games of deception, betrayal, distrust, and hostility between them. I would probably say that they need three games of slowly building that trust back up before you could adequately have the romance pay off.

And just having Ada chase after Leon and try to get back into his good graces is not the way to do it, either. He needs to come into this realization/these feelings on his own. He needs to be able to see things that she may not necessarily want to show him -- or even know that she is showing him.

In order for a Remake Aeon romance to work, Capcom needs to allow Ada to be emotionally vulnerable and expressive. She doesn't need to be Redfield-tier expressive, but her guilty side-glances on the boat in RE4make aren't enough -- there needs to be something more obvious, something that Leon can actually pick up on and feel some type of way about.

Leon has sacrificed a lot as a result of knowing Ada. She has to do the same -- she has to sacrifice something, she has to lose something, she needs to be put in a position where she's overpowered, overwhelmed, and outmatched. Not by Leon, necessarily. But by something. Wesker is a good vehicle for this, actually.

Unless the story can put Leon and Ada on equal footing in terms of vulnerability, loss, and change, no attempt at building trust will be believable enough for the romance to work. It's not enough to just have her save his ass over and over again like OG tried to do. There needs to be something genuine waiting at the heart of this.

And at this point, honestly, I'm not sure that it's worth it. Redemption arcs take a lot of work. Romances contained within non-romantic stories take a lot of work. Doing both at the same time feels like such a monumental effort for very little reward.

But it's not impossible.

[nateofgreat]

I think that form of atheist storytelling is based on an overlying ideal that freedom is better then anything

Many atheists feel that the existence of a gid or destiny makes free will ultimately irrelevant or non existence, or they view the gods as powerful tyrants lording over humanity, all this of course in the fantasy scenario where god’s actually exist

Thus they try to “free” people from the tyranny of gods in their storie’s

Personally I understand the sentiment but like you said if it’s causing mass deaths then it shouldn’t be worth it, it’s your story you didn’t need to include that lol

If you want your atheist character to fight to free themselves from god? Totally understandable, have your atheist hero kill god in a Denny’s parking lot, have them lead a revolution against the gods,

Or in a more realistic world, show them that there’s a better way that doesn’t require gods at all

Full disclosure; I'm a Christian, so obviously I disagree with your thoughts on God and religion in general.

That said, I don't have any more of an issue with atheist promoting their worldview in fiction than I do with Christians or other religious people promoting theirs. It's their right to do so, and the big secret of fiction is everyone from every worldview can be super preachy; it's just that you tend to not notice if it's promoting ideas you agree with.

Atheists fantasize about "saving people" from religion just as much as religious people fantasize about saving people's souls.

So if an atheist wants to write a story about atheism, they can do that to their hearts content. My issue is the way some of them portray religious people as essentially subhuman.

Going back to Fullmetal Alchemist, the genocide of a religious nation was depicted as bad, sure, but the "villain" who started murdering the people responsible was viewed as a lunatic... For praying. Like the mere act of being religious is nearly as disturbing as the genocide itself.

Chris Avellone games are a masterclass on this. Pillars of Eternity specifically. The thing about fantasy settings is that you can do whatever you want with in-universe religion. So he could've just written them as jerks and left it there, and it'd have been fine. But for him to go on to make the games such an on-the-nose critique of religion despite no IRL religion believing anything close to what he's depicting is... Pretty lame.

If you write fantasy just stick to your fantasy. A good example would be the God of War Norse Saga (the Greek games being more of what I was talking about by the third game) that stayed perfectly self-contained and is thus enjoyable to me despite having a bit of an anti-religious worldview.

[mysteriesofmilo]

#7: First Impressions

Longtime followers of this blog will remember that this one was voted the best episode of the entire show. I think we can agree to disagree on this one, since I totally understand.

While I'm not normally too big a fan of backstory episodes, this one really turned the cuteness up to 11. Plus it was vintage Milo Murphy's Law, with the focus on Milo and Melissa with and minimal Doof Interference, which is always a win.

I liked how this episode sort of paralleled Going the Extra Milo (in that it was about Milo taking another kid to school in his own unique way), but made it about Melissa instead of Zack. I guess that's also kind of a two-edged sword though, because it showed that to be best friends with Milo, you have to go through a life threatening experience with him always protecting you. And I have to feel for Bradley too. He got totally shafted, so it's understandable why he would hold a grudge against Milo. (Although he did end up stealing the spotlight back with PnF's revival and MML's... well...)

Anyway. I'm getting off topic. The younger versions of Cavendish and Dakota were fun too. I gotta wonder though, how did Dakota know that the burrito he was about to eat was so good, it only exists at that particular time and place? Unless, of course, he was just saying that to sweet talk Rita into making it happen. And knowingly risking his own life for an amazing burrito? AND admitting that it was risky, but pointing out how it was worth it? That just fits Dakota's character too well.

And I can't forget the best screenshot of the entire episode:

A few things here:

Zack is pushing Melissa off the platform while Milo is just hiding out, employing the "wait for everybody else to take each other out before joining the fight" strategy. I don't know why, but that's hilarious to me.

M.Square is Agent P. Makes sense to me, since Milo was the only one of the trio to work directly with him during the episode.

MC.Master is a pistachion. This is actually a reference to an idea from writer Joshua Pruett, where Melissa would have remained a pistachion after The PnF Effect. He said this would "show that not all 'chions are evil" and "advance her relationship with Zack in a sweet way." Eventually this was changed to just her arm, and eventually THAT was changed to just Bradley's arm. (I'm also pretty sure this is why that one giant pistachion went rogue and started a soup kitchen.)

And Zack is the most interesting IMO. He's a llama (or an alpaca, I'm not sure). I mean, he wasn't at The Llama Incident, but he was at the Llama Relief Fund charity race and the Forget the Llamas, Save the Alpacas benefit concert. But Melissa and Milo were both at both of those events too, so... not sure why that would be Zack's avatar.

But his username. Obviously this is after he goes through his character growth. It's exactly the same as when Candace and Stacy were playing that Ducky Momo game. Zack is extremely comfortable with this and I love it.

[cozyqueerchaos]

I think the reason why the SA2 ending traumatized Sonic more is bcs

Shadow most likely had a catharsis or a realization, he finally was at peace. Even if he realized he wanted to live seconds before dying it was a liberating thing for him

But Sonic failed to save Shadow, and as far as he is aware he failed him in every way possible. He wasn’t the one that made him realize what the truth was, he let him slip away. Even when he tried his hardest, shadow waved him away

And idk, something about Sonic knowing that even though Shadow survived, knowing that was probably the best outcome considering he would have died too if he followed him yet still regretting it…

It’s 3am here

true true, plus shadow doesn't rly remember it :P but yeah afaik shadow is the first person (in game canon, at least) that sonic legitimately could not save. and if the twitter takeover is to be believed: sonic would have died with him. which is kinda fucked up!! so yeah totally agreed, and that probably gave him loads of survivor's guilt lol <3

i do think it's also worth noting how shadow was willing to die in that scene? so even tho shadow may not have received any additional trauma, all his preexisting trauma had him convinced that a.) his one purpose in life was actually sonic's, aka being the ultimate lifeform, and b.) without that purpose, the best way he could help was to die. which is uh... equally fucked up haha tl;dr: something something the inherent soulmate bond of trying to commit suicide for each other

[snifflesthemouse]

The Flying Pasta Game...

Before I begin, I just want to say I appreciate every single one of you. You know what makes me the happiest when I come on here? When I see people say things like this, "I don't agree with you. But, I still like to read what you have to say." When I read that, it makes me love you all more. It makes it all worth it. So, thank you ALL!! Now, on to the post.

The Flying Pasta game is a concept of manipulation. That term was created by me, but the action is as old as time. A con throws out a bunch of overwhelming ideas and concepts just to see what reaction the mark gives. Let me give you a real-life example.

If you know this blog, you know this already; I apologize for the repetitiveness. My ex was, and is, a master manipulator, con artist, door-to-door salesman, and a murderer. But, the murdering didn't happen until after I had moved on and he got out of prison, and I lost one of the most special people in my life because of this psychopath. That is a story I don't think I can tell here right now. But I digress...

Whenever he would be in a house trying to sell something, and his usual tricks failed right off, he'd use this trick. What you do is overwhelm whoever you are talking to about whatever.

REAL LIFE EXAMPLE WITH NAMES CHANGED: When the common ways of using logic or reasoning doesn't work, get creative and make it confusing. Confusion gets people easier than anything. Overwhelm the mark with a bunch of information about anything and watch for a reaction. Say you see they have a charm bracelet with seashells... notice it in conversation and use it to tangent on a rant.

So, you see the bracelet while trying to convince these people they need a $2000 Kirby vacuum. They're flat no. No budge. No movement at all. The mark is stuck on no. You see the bracelet, and you say "WHOA! I love that bracelet! I love sea shells! Did you know the [insert some most-likely made up random ocean fact]? Yeah, totally. When I was a kid, [insert sob story about someone to see if they relate]. It was hard. [Insert story about overcoming the hardship]. ..." And this goes on and on.

NONE OF THE STUFF SAID HAS TO BE, OR WILL BE TRUE. IT IS ALL NONSENSE TO TRIGGER ANY KIND OF RESPONSE FROM PEOPLE.

See what this author means? Storytelling is weaponized by con artists. Cons use whatever they can, to be honest. They will make up anything and everything to see what you react to, just to use it against you.

Now we all see why HMTQEII chose the path she did. She knew no response was the only response that could save you. If you do not respond, they have nothing to go on to manipulate. The only real way to absolutely ensure you cannot be conned, is to remove the conartist.

I am not trying to sound hateful, but this is the truth. If you entertain people on the dark triad, you will always lose. Trust this mouse on this one. This mouse has the stab marks and scars to prove it.

Think about it. Every time Jeremy Clarkson tried to apologize, what happened? His words were turned against him. Cons will use your reaction regardless of its type. If you show empathy to a sob story, you're getting got. If you show disdain and disgust, you will get got, too.

THE ONLY SURE WAY TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM CONS ARE TO REMOVE THEM FROM YOUR PRESENCE.

Final note: Con artists feed off of other people's emotional energy like the protomolecule from the Expanse feeds on radiation. Cons enjoy the chaos. Cons get a high from it.

I will be back (hopefully) with another post for the day discussing the historical patterns of Royal Divorces (3/4 of HMTEQII kids are divorced; what can we learn from those divorces?)

I cannot say it enough, especially with what's going on personally... 99.9% of you are wonderful people. The 0.1% of you are in my category, so I assume we'll at minimum have fun? LOL JKJK

Sometimes my sarcasm is lost in my writing style and lately I've not had the time to dedicate as much editing as before. Just about every post I do is written on the fly these days and posted before I can go back and edit. I always promise to go back and edit it, but I never get time. YOU ALL DESERVE BETTER FROM ME, but right now I can't give that as much as before. Once the real world stuff calms, it will be more polished. Gotta go, love you all!

[ultfreakme]

junpei most wronged character in jujutsu kaisen. geto and megumi having their bodies invaded is something terrible for me especially if megumi died he was a character with so much potential. sukuna what an annoying villain. nanami deserved more. itadori poor thing just gets beaten nobara deserved more attention. noritoshi kamo, yuki hajime were wasted. ps; yuki I liked that she was nerfed I don't like her. wow, the worst plotwist is megumi's sister, my god, she was totally wasted, there was no construction with megumi, poor thing. inumaki deserved more attention, he has insane power and was a corner. Now gojo, in my opinion, his death was very shallow and forced he doesn't even look like the gojo that was sealed, a totally different gojo If he had fought and caused damage to the sukuna then it would be different but he dies like no one like any sorcerer. Now I don't understand one thing why he wanted a pat on the back from geto if his students were there supporting him. Now my hope is Megumi, I really want him to come back, poor guy, he just suffered, he lost everything and everyone, what a cruel fate for our boy. Sorry for something cruel I said, I would really like your opinion.

No need to apologize nothing was cruel, you're super considerate anon!! I agree with pretty much everything ;_; Junpei deserved better, the entire cast deserves better but I think Gege wants this to go this way. It's tragic, and that's unfortunately the point. The Gojo v Sukuna fight.....idk what to think tbh because I don't enjoy the way he died, but I also really liked the way his last scenes in the afterlife played out. I think Gojo was meant to die young, in a fight. JJK has this theme of the younger generation surpassing the older generation, of the older generation passing on their will to the next. Nanami did this for Ino and Yuuji, Yaga kinda did it for the Gojo generation of students. Gojo actually kinda does it for Ijichi and his direct students like Yuuji and the second years.

The old has to die for the new generation to grow stronger and be better. So Gojo was going to die, at one point or another and the only person who's capable is Sukuna. Gojo was never going to win against Sukuna, not because he's not the strongest, but because he isn't Yuuji. Yuuji is the person who will kill Sukuna, for like, narrative reasons.

I do wish the rest of the cast was explored more properly. It's a huge list of characters, Gege could have taken his time for more chill arcs where we get to see the characters more happy and interacting under less threatening situations. Right now, there's zero cool down time and it's fight after fight. The Culling Games forces this but we did have about a month's worth of time in-story where the characters were training, I wish Gege actually wrote that time period instead of showing it through flashbacks because frankly I'm exhausted from all the fights (side note: I'm a Yuki stan hehe I was super upset, and still am about her death ;_;).

I think Megumi will live for sure. His role in the story and his own desire is to be saved. Yuuji wants to save him and that's his biggest motive. Trust Megumi's coming back.

EDIT: i'm so sorry I forgot to answer why Gojo wanted Geto with him to pat him on the back. I think it's because Gojo still very much considers Geto his best friend, his special person. He's the one person Gojo considers his equal in a way no one else is. He explains it himself; in terms of understanding him, his students just don't. The difference in level of understanding is that Gojo thinks his students are like plants in a garden he really loves. You can love a plant all you want but it's never going to understand you. Geto understands Gojo. Gojo dies wanting to be understood and the only people who understood the loneliness that comes with strength are Geto and Sukuna. Hence, despite loving his students, he wanted Geto there.