#she has a formula. and she sticks to it. respect

[2129888]

higuchi sensei when it's time to cook up the guy that'll be falling in love with the main character in one of her little stories

[emo-batboy]

Somewhere out there in the DC multiverse, there’s a world where Battinson’s parents didn’t die, and he became the Lance Stroll of Formula One racing. Wayne Enterprises has an F1 team, Thomas brought Bruce to races when he was young, they indulged his love of cars until he was winning kart races at 8. He BEGGED to help design the race cars, ended up making a great car, and now Wayne has turned from a midfield team to nearly top three.

You’d think everyone hates Bruce because he’s a nepo baby, but he’s just so nice and smiley (like Lance lol) that everyone loves him anyway. His dad is the team’s chairman and pretty hands-on just like Lawrence Stroll. Fans call Bruce the F1 Princess as a joke since he’s already the Prince of Gotham, but then it sticks, and now everyone makes edits of him with tiaras on every time he makes it to the podium. He doesn’t get it, but he’s not going to complain either. His fans are just silly. (He blushes so much when anyone calls him princess to his face, though. Fight me.)

Bruce still insists on everything being black because it’s his favorite color. It was already mostly black before he joined, but now it’s even blacker. His suit is all black. The car is all black. The helmet is all black. He loves it. He looks just like the dark, regal old money rich boy you’d imagine until he’s smiling and talking about racing. (Imagine a meme with two cars next to each other, one being WE’s. It says: “Bruce’s Car v. Bruce’s Personality.” The other one is covered in glitter obv.) One time, a little girl gives him a tiara that she painted black herself and asks him to wear it if he wins. (He does win. He puts it on at the podium. He’s embarrassed the entire time. The champagne rubs some of the black away. It’s a treasured memory and sits right on top in his trophy case.)

His fellow drivers call him Brucie to tease him. He’s a bit awkward during interviews, but that just makes him endearing. He’s also tall for an F1 driver (nepo baby core) so there’s always jokes about him towering over everyone. One time, he came second to Lewis Hamilton, but you could still see he was visibly standing taller on the podium, and people would not stop making jokes about it. (It was mostly his hair, but you know how Twitter is.) Speaking of hair, it will NOT stay flat. He looks insane every time he takes his helmet off. He could be sweating for hours in there but when he takes the thing off, he looks like he’s through in a tornado. (Again, memes.) He knows so much about car mechanics, even for a driver, and will regularly start talking to other drivers or the press about the tiniest of parts in the engine or break system, unaware that everyone is completely lost. (Also memes about that.)

When he’s 23, he suffers a pretty bad crash. It knocks him out for about twenty seconds, and his mom and dad are ready to pull him completely from the sport, but he refuses to stop, and despite missing a few races to recover—his dad’s still a doctor—he ends up winning the next race and gets to stay.

During his F1 career, it’s pretty much guaranteed that he’ll get fastest laps, but he only gets podium like 40–50% of the time. There’s always drama that apparently Wayne Enterprises is trying to become top three, but they insist that they’re not as competitive. They will always have respect for every team, and it shows. They never join in on protests. They always wish the other teams luck, and they genuinely congratulate the winners. Bruce is always the first to hug the winner :)

Before Bruce joined, the Wayne team was always a midfield team, and they were perfectly comfortable with it. WE had good-looking cars, they designed good-looking cars, and they sold good-looking cars, and F1 was just a way of promoting that. Thomas loved watching the races, and he was happy to see them get podium a few times per season, and that was it.

Until Bruce became their lead driver, and he wanted to really earn his seat, and he wanted to get podium, and he wanted to design a faster car, and he wanted to win, and Thomas Wayne couldn’t say no to his son, and suddenly Wayne Enterprises was inching closer and closer to the front of the grid. Now, they’re still not The Best, but they’re a team that future drivers look up to.

During a season of DTS, Bruce is 27. Netflix films the Wayne episode when there’s a fatal crash in F2, and Bruce was nearby when it happened. He ends up crying on camera for ten minutes. They had to cut almost all of it, but we get the most gut-wrenching confessional about how after he heard the news, in that moment, he didn’t want to be an F1 driver. He admits that if he hadn’t become a driver, he was going to become a doctor like his father, and he wonders if he could have saved the driver’s life if he did that instead. “What am I really doing if I can’t help others? I could have been anything…Maybe being a driver was selfish. Maybe I don’t belong on the track anymore.”

He’s visibly distraught during the moment of silence on the day of the race, but Bruce decided to continue because he wants to make the fans and spectators happy. (That’s his job, anyway. That’s what he does.) Despite getting pole position the previous day, he doesn’t get fastest lap or make it to the podium, but he still gets fourth. He has a long talk with his father away from cameras and calls his mom. The future’s uncertain for a few days until Bruce comes back to training. To finish the episode, he says he’s going to continue driving, even if he might need a bit of time to get his confidence back, and he pledges to one day make the safest F1 car ever seen. Even if it’s part of the risk of being a driver, he doesn’t want to see any more drivers losing their lives to the sport they love.

When he’s around 35 or 40, he retires from Formula One so he can inherit Wayne Enterprises, and he takes his father’s place as chairman of the team. Since he has the time now, he holds up on his promise to make an even safer car—the designs inspiring safer car designs for other teams as well—and they pick out two incredible drivers who end up finally (FINALLY) moving Wayne Enterprises into one of the top three teams. They win the world championship twice in a row before falling back a bit and only winning it every couple of years, but they’re nonetheless fierce competitors. Bruce still has a ton of kids, some of which like F1 just like he does, but he is the only Wayne to become a Formula One driver.

I just think Battinson would love driving for F1 :)

[bkdk-prophet]

Ochaco Uraraka and Katsuki Bakugou: Who saves heroes when they’re the ones in trouble?

Do ya’ll every think abt how Katsuki took over the “who supports/saves heroes when they’re the ones in trouble” plotline in the current arc, which Ochaco originally had? Yes, that question came to her first when she saved Izuku from the Blackwhip rampage with the help of Shinsou, and once more reflected on that said question with her speech to let Izuku in UA.

But the thing is, her attention has shifted from saving heroes (Izuku) to villains (Toga); even during her speech to save Izuku, she thinks of Toga’s smile and ever since then couldn’t stop pondering it—so much so that she had to voice out this dilemma to Izuku which, after talking to a bit, had her arrive at the same conclusion to save their respective villains.

Where does Katsuki come in this? Well, as seen from his development in the JT arc, a lot of it is centred around being willing to “be saved” and “save” as a hero towards other heroes. He acknowledged the save aspect of “win to save, save to win” and had therefore improved on his ability to lead a team and find compatibility in working with them (Also notice the placement of the texts lmao).

This is a huge sign of improvement, as he used to despise the idea of being saved/helped cause he believed it to be a sign of weakness and vulnerability. Also, the “saving” aspect of heroism wasn’t something that came naturally to him, so instead he put most his energy into winning in order to compensate for it. It was huge character flaw that held him back in a number of ways. However, that flaw had began to unravel bit by bit as early as the final exam arc when he and Izuku had to work together, then the Kamino arc (where he took Kirishima’s hand), the provisional license exam arc (where he trusted Kirishima and Kaminari to win and save him) and had since been accelerated after Deku vs Kacchan pt. 2.

Further down the line, we have seen him grow into the belief that heroes save everyone, even other heroes. But as he’s been opening up to this idea, Izuku’s been closing himself off from this idea in relation to himself. His self-sacrificial tendencies, something Katsuki’s already aware of, were now worsened due to the duty and weight of carrying OFA. As he allowed himself to worry, it became clear to him that Izuku will not share his burdens unless someone insists their presence. Because of that, he’s made it his personal job to follow Izuku to war, catch up to his pace and match him, and make sure he doesn’t endanger himself (this is true before, during, and after Katsuki Bakugou rising).

Going back to Ochaco, it’s clear that both she and Katsuki’s focal point in the “saving other heroes as heroes” plot line is Izuku. The idea of them also being heroes who save heroes had been introduced in the same arc, which was during the JT arc. The difference is that Ochaco had mostly diverged from this plot line, while Katsuki has made it his main priority alongside winning (save to win), cause saving people is what paves the path to absolute victory. He even singles himself out as being the person who steps in when Izuku can’t handle it all on his own. Furthermore, he worked together with Izuku in saving All Might (both their childhood hero) to win against AFO.

So what gives? Why was Ochaco the person to introduce the question of who saves heroes, when Katsuki’s the one to pedal it in the final arc? Why didn’t Horikoshi stick with this motivation for Ochaco when it could’ve been used as an opportunity to make leeway for more romantic tropes concerning the main couple? Where the presumed heroine wants to save the hero, is closest to the hero, and becomes targeted by the villains. The answer is simple.

Horokoshi isn’t following a formula, and loves subverting our expectations.

Ochaco’s crush towards Izuku and former motivation of being the one to support/save heroes acted as a red herring to Toga. Her crush introduced the conflict of how to love others and yourself authentically, a conflict that’s central to Toga and Ochako’s fights all the way up to their final confrontation. Then the “who saves heroes” plot line is what put a crack in her imagine of hero society, a society who views heroes as infallible and abuses their selflessness, making people such as Deku—someone she had idolised for his heart and self-sacrificial traits—buckle under the weight of unrealistic expectations. Although this was important to the development of Izuku and Ochaco’s relationship itself, considering her speech which emphasised that she was one of the first people to truly support Izuku, it also made leeway for her to reflect on how hero society views villains, too. Then there she discovers that she wants to see Toga smile again, and find her among the crowd of happy faces in front of her.

Katsuki, on the other hand, takes on the roles that were expected to be given to Ochaco on account of her ‘love interest’ status. He’s the person whose consistently been saving/supporting Izuku from the first to the last war, the person targeted by ShigAFO cause of his closeness to Izuku, the person that has known about OFA longer than his peers, and the person at the center of Izuku’s “control your heart” plot line. The choice for Katsuki to take on these roles weren’t made willy nilly, as the narrative makes sure time and time again to emphasise that his relationship with Izuku is unique, complementary, deeply personal, and intimate; they are two people who complete each other’s brand of heroism by having what the other doesn’t.

Anywho, that doesn’t mean his individuality as a character is diminished cause these roles are typically associated with lazer-focused-on-the-mc heroines. Remember, his biggest character flaw had to do with being too independent and hyper focused on winning. He was a hero who formerly had trouble with the concept of being saved and saving others, especially towards the person he had refused the hand of and despised all these years, so it’s impactful and telling of his character development to now be the one who outstretches his own hand to other heroes, notably to his classmates and All Might, and most importantly Izuku.

His journey is of reaching an understanding with the person he wronged and couldn’t understand due to the views hero society ingrained in him, and to save that person from themselves. It’s understanding that heroes such as him, Izuku, and All Might, no matter how much power they hold, won’t always win if they refuse saving and support; so far, his arc focuses on the humanisation of heroes. It’s not unlike Ochaco’s, Izuku’s, and Shoto’s, who want/wanted to reach an understanding and save the people they had despised and couldn’t understand due to the views hero society ingrained in them; their arc focuses on the humanisation of villains.

That’s why I’m hopeful about DvK3 happening, where it’s Katsuki’s turn to see and respond to Izuku’s inner turmoil, and save him by his words.

Anyways, I’m sure by now we’ve all reflected on the romantic implications the roles Katsuki takes on, so I think bkdk being implied canon isn’t far off. However, I’m still not sure on what kind of deconstruction/subversion Hori is aiming for—does he want to say that the tropes usually applied to love interests can be platonic? As to say that romantic relationships aren’t always the closest? Or is the rival the actual love interest, and the perceived love interest is not. We’re not sure yet.

[youkissedareaderinthedark]

Nothing is Easy

Synopsis: Y/n gets into a crash in Mexico, and it keeps her from finishing the 2023 season. It’s a long road of recovery, but it pays off in the end

female driver reader x F1 2023 grid

(reader is 24 in this one, and she drives for aston martin)

“And here she is now! Y/n L/n, we were just talking about you, how are you feeling about Mexico?” Martin Brundle approaches you while you’re walking through the paddock.

“Oh, hi Martin!” You greet the commentator with a smile.

“I’m feeling good, it’s nice out, there’s a lot of fans here, and the team is looking good today” You shrug.

“So, we can expect big things from Aston Martin?”

“Yeah, me and Lance and the team are all confident in the car and we’re hoping for a good finish in the points” You speak for your teammate, Lance Stroll, and the rest of the Aston Martin garage.

“Alright Y/n, thank you for talking with me and good luck on the race” He nods and places a hand on your shoulder before walking off to his next interview-ee.

All of what you said was true; you were just coming off a P6 finish at the Austin Grand Prix, it was a calm, sunny day in Mexico City, the stands were packed with eager fans, and everyone in Aston Martin had confidence in their driver lineup.

You and Lance first became teammates in 2021 when Racing Point became Aston Martin and as a part of their rebranding, they named you, the 2020 F2 World Champion, as a part of their 2021 Driver Lineup.

It took a bit for you to get used to the car, frequenting P10 and P9, but was fairly successful in 2022, getting used to taking P7 and P6. You and Lance worked together quite well, being the same age and having the same goals in Formula 1.

You felt less nerves and more anticipation as you completed your usual race day routine. It was the 20th/23rd race of the year and you’ve completed the same routine for three years, so your body is on auto pilot all morning.

A tap on your shoulder from your race engineer, Ben Michael, brings you out of your daze. “30-minute warning, Y/n. We have the get the cars out and onto the grid” The older man says to you.

You nod and pull off your headphones before replacing them with your helmet and balaclava. When you turn, you’re surprised to see your teammate mirroring you. “Good luck, we’re going to do great, yeah?” Lance sticks out his hand in a fist bump and you raise your arm to meet it.

“Yeah, of course. Good luck” You both move to get into your respective cars and wait for the signal to exit the garage.

“Alright ladies and gentlemen, we’re about thirty seconds away from light’s out now. All twenty cars are out and completing the formation lap, here’s what our top 10 of the starting grid looks like;

“Lance Stroll, P10. Y/n L/n, P9. Oscar Piastri, P8. Lando Norris, P7. George Russell, P6. Sergio Perez, P5. Lewis Hamilton, P4. Charles Leclerc, P3. Carlos Sainz, P2, and starting at pole position is Max Verstappen” David Croft commentates for the viewers.

“71 Laps ahead of us, let’s see what unfolds, it’s light’s out and away we go! Verstappen and the Ferrari’s get away with no problems. Hamilton is off, trying to get away from Perez behind him”

“Russell is scrambling away in attempt to bring a gap between him and the two McLarens. Both Aston Martin’s start flawlessly, DRS isn’t available until Sector 2, but it looks like L/n is already trying to get a bit closer to Piastri in front of her”

“Okay Y/n, once DRS is available, push to catch up to Piastri and try to overtake him. We’re looking to advance early so Lance can get some overtakes done as well” Ben becomes audible through your radio.

“Understood” You reply before refocusing on the orange car in front of you.

“Lap 4, no changes in the lineup so far, but I wouldn’t speak too soon. Y/n L/n is gaining on Oscar Pisatri in front of her. Just leaving Turn 7, she’s going down the inside, wheel to wheel as they go into Turn 8, leaving Turn 9 does she have a lead?

Yes, she does! Y/n L/n has a McLaren beat, and I don’t think she’s going to hesitate in moving onto Lando Norris”

“Lap 12, now. Verstappen is, predictably, still leading, both Ferrari’s persistent behind him. Lewis Hamilton in P4 with his teammate behind him, trying to get away from the Aston Martin’s of L/n and Stroll, both just overtook the two McLarens of Norris and Piastri”

“Lap 20 and tension is starting to rise here. Most of the race today has been between Y/n L/n and whoever is in front of her. Right now, George Russell has his foot against the gas, taking every opportunity to try to extend the gap between him and the Aston Martin”

You’re trailing Russell as you approach Turn 2. Turn 3 is the last corner before the long straight and if you want to get up into P5, you have to catch up with him before the next bend.

“Y/n, you have more pace. You are faster than Russell, push and you’ll beat him” Ben speaks. “Understood, I’m trying” You reply shortly.

“Here we go, DRS is enabled. She’s gaining on him, trying to at least go wheel-to-wheel before the long straight. L/n’s moving aside from behind Russell and going around the outside”

The front of your car is aligned with the middle of his and you move to the right to avoid contact.

“They’re almost wheel-to-wheel! L/n’s front left tire is right behind Russell’s front right tire, George is not backing away from this”

You try to move closer to finish the move and before you can shift to the right again, your front left makes contact with George’s front right tire.

“There’s some contact in the tires and Y/n is spinning! She makes contact with George Russell and spins across the track!”

You see a blur of dark green and a mess of orange pass you, probably cars swerving around your collision.

“George Russell continues fine, moving ahead. Martin, I don’t even think he’s realized what happened” Croft speaks to the man next to him while staring at the track in front of him with worry.

You’ve managed to stop your car, but you’re in the middle of the track, so just as you’re about to turn your head around to look for the perfect opportunity to set yourself right, you feel a world of pain on the left side of you.

“Esteban Ocon did not see Y/n L/n’s car in front of him! He’s hit into the side of her Aston Martin! I think he tried to swerve to avoid her, but he was going too fast!” Crofty shouts.

“Ladies and gentlemen, Esteban Ocon’s Alpine has T-boned Y/n L/n’s Aston Martin and it’s a red flag”

Your eyes are closed both in fear and pain, causing you to miss all the other cars weave around the collision in the middle of the straight. The other 18 cars were guided into the pits by the safety car, so when Esteban climbs out of his car and runs towards yours, he doesn’t have to worry about other cars on track.

Your five senses are scrambled. All you feel is the pain in your hip, the only scent you smell is fuel, and while usually the scent will remind you of your karting days, it now just clouds your brain’s attempts to figure out what the hell happened.

A metallic taste fills your mouth, and you assume you’ve bit your lip so hard in pain, it started bleeding. Your eyes are closed and all you can hear is the combination of a voice in your ears, someone shouting near you, and the buzz of the crowd around you.

You force your eyes to meet the harsh Mexican sun and the distressed frame of Esteban Ocon hovering above you. You realize the voice in your ear is Ben through your radio, and it takes you a worrying amount of time to refocus your attention on the steering wheel your hands still clutch and answer the question your race engineer has been asking non-stop.

“Yeah, I’m okay. For the most part. I think” You radio back to the Aston Martin garage. You realize that that buzzing in your ear is only half because of the crowd, and it takes a moment for the humming to calm down so that the Alpine driver is audible.

“Y/n! Can you hear me? Are you okay?” He shouts and you quickly lift your hand to meet his resting on the side of your car in hopes he will stop yelling. “I’m okay, Esteban” You shift uncomfortably.

“Actually, I think I hurt my hip. I can’t move my left leg at all”

The Frenchman looks slightly relieved. “Do you need help getting out? I can-” You interrupt quickly.

“No! Please don’t do anything, I’ll just wait for the marshals” You weren’t very good friends with Esteban, but you appreciated his care for a fellow driver.

The marshals you spoke of arrived a few minutes later in another safety car and an ambulance. You told Ben that you couldn’t move, and the medics arrived prepared to lift you out of your crash car and onto a gurney. Once the marshals assured Esteban you would be okay, he was escorted into the safety car and back into the paddock.

The radio messages in team garages were confidential, so viewers and drivers only knew your status because of David Croft’s commentary.

“After a few minutes of uncertainty, it’s clear that Y/n L/n is okay and out of her car. According to the Aston Martin race engineer, Ben Micheal, she is off to the medical center and in good hands” Crofty says with clear traces of relief in his voice.

You ride in the elevator clutching tightly onto your race suit. Now that the shock of the crash is gone, the only thing you can feel is pain in the left side of your hip. It’s a searing pain that has spread across your body, but it burns the most above your thigh.

The medics inside the ambulance do the work of pulling your race suit down your body to make your hip visible and you try your best not to wince every time a hand touches the left side of your body, but you do it so much it becomes subconscious.

You get wheeled through the medical center and into a room where two doctors immediately start working around you. You hear one talking about x-rays and having a proper ambulance being called to take you to the closest hospital once they examined your hip.

Your eyes are shut in pain, but you look up when you hear the voice of your PR officer and best friend in the paddock, Addison, asking the doctors for an update on you. “We can’t be 100% sure but from the looks of it, it might be a fractured hip” The female doctor says. Addison sighs and frows before going to your side to replace your clinched race suit with her hand.

“Are you okay?” The British woman asks. “No” You grimace “Am I going to the hospital?”

“Yeah, the ambulance is on its way, should be here in a few minutes”

You’ve never been in an ambulance before, and the underwhelming expirience does nothing to cheer you up. You enter the hospital through the ER entryway, but it doesn’t stop everyone in the waiting room from staring at a woman they find familiar.

You get x-rays done first and then a different doctor comes into your room to update you on the results about an hour later. Apparently, you have a femoral neck fracture in the left side of your hip, meaning you broke the top of your femur bone.

In order to prevent further injuries, you needed surgery as soon as possible. You’re 24, so you’re beyond eligible to deal with your own medical incidents, but that didn’t mean it was easy. Addison helped you figure it all out and within three hours, you were being wheeled into the operating room.

You were put to sleep while surgeons placed three steel screws through the top of your femur and into your pelvis. It took three hours, but it was successful; you were still in a daze once they took you for another round of x-rays.

It freaked you out a bit, seeing and knowing steel was screwed into your body but your hip didn’t hurt nearly as bad as it did before, so you count it as a plus.

While you’re sitting in your hospital bed after your surgery, your doctor and surgeon knock on your door. “Hey Y/n, how’re you feeling?” The surgeon says.

“Eh, I’m okay. The anesthesia has mostly worn off but I’m still kinda tired. My hip doesn’t hurt as bad, though”

“That’s good. So, we’ve printed out all the necessary information for taking care of your fracture in here” The surgeon holds up a packet of papers. “But I’ll give you the gist of it now” He continues.

“You’ll have to stay in the hospital until Tuesday night and because you still need to get home, but because you can’t travel normally with your fracture, you’ll need to leave in a scheduled airliner. That means that you’ll fly on a stretcher installed in the plane with a medical flight attendant looking after you”

“When you get home, you’ll have to book a follow-up appointment to follow bone healing. All the wound care and pain medication information are in here” He pauses to hold up the packet as the man next to him continues

“You’ll be able to walk and sit and lay down just fine, you’re just going to experience some pain when you do. Physical therapy is recommended, and it will take about 3 months of training to regain total range of motion and strength”

“Now, I know you are a Formula 1 driver, but for the sake of your hip, I instruct you don’t drive for six weeks at least”

In all the information he gave you, that was the one sentence that stuck out to you. Six weeks means you won’t be able to race for the rest of the season.

Shit

Addison squeezed your hand and sent you a sympathetic look. You think the two doctors said a few more things but the only thing you noticed was when they left. “I-I can’t drive?” You said in disbelief.

“Y/n, there’s only three races left, you won’t be missing much-” Your PR officer said but you interrupted.

“It’s still three races! I was doing great; I was scoring points for us and now I’m just out?”

“Y/n, maybe this is a good thing” She shrugged and picked up the packet on your night stand.

“It says that after these types of car crashes, your reaction time will be slow, and we don’t want you out there when you’re not ready”

You were about to continue your argument, but instead you just sighed and threw your head back into the pillow, grumbling, “Fine”

Your two days in the hospital were filled with answering messages and daily checkups. A lot of people had contacted you with worry, and you had a few discussions with the engineers at Aston Martin.

Expectedly, they were as frustrated as you once they heard of your condition and set up a time with your PR team to announce it. You talked to your family and friends first, ensuring you were okay and would be heading home soon.

Most drivers on the grid heard that you were going into surgery and texted to make sure you were alright, and once you replied to them, you went on social media to see what everyone was saying.

On Tuesday night, you packed up all your things and changed into the clothes Addison brought you in preparation to leave for the airport. All the excitement from the Grand Prix was gone from Mexico City, so you had no trouble navigating through the airport.

The flight was a bit strange; having to lay down the entire time and have an attendant checking up on you every hour, but you managed.

It was relieving to finally get home after an exhausting week away, and you realized you should get used to being at home. Like the doctor advised, you made a follow up appointment and scheduled physical therapy appointments to fill two months.

The doctors you met at the follow up appointment removed the staples used to close up your wound and a few days later, you were going to your first therapy appointment.

The worst part about being bed ridden was the fact you could not watch the races in person. Along with not driving, you weren’t supposed to travel for 6 weeks.

From your couch you watched Felipe Drugovich race your car in Brazil, Las Vegas, and Abu Dhabi. You watched Max win the 2023 Championship and Lance finish 9th in the driver’s standings.

As soon as you could, you were on a flight to the Aston Martin Headquarters in Silverstone and included in many meetings regarding your injury and how to advance. You spend a few days in England on the simulator and being analyzed by race engineers.

You do the same once you arrive home, and your off-season schedule becomes fairly structured. You wake up, do the most amount physical training you can with your fitness trainer, go to physical therapy, race on your simulator, and go to sleep to do it all again tomorrow.

You travel to the Aston Martin headquarters a few more times but you don’t see anybody outside of your team until the pre-season testing session in February. You’re walking, without any pain, to the Aston Martin garage with Addison by your side when you feel two hands on your shoulder.

“Y/n!” A French voice exclaims. “Hey Esteban!” You turn to find the Alpine driver grinning. Since your crash, Esteban has checked in regularly asking about health updates and it became the beginning of a friendship between you two.

“It is so nice to see you in the paddock again. You are feeling better, yes?” He brings you into a hug as you walk together.

“Yeah, I’m feeling a lot better. I finished physical therapy last month and I was cleared to drive a few weeks ago”

“That’s great, I’m so happy you’re okay. I will see you later, Y/n” Your friend bids you goodbye and turns to walk to his own garage.

“You say hello to Esteban and not me?”

A voice comes from behind you, and you wheel around to see your teammate. “Hi Lance” You bring your teammate into a hug with a smile.

You’ve seen Lance a few times at Aston Martin HQ and it’s common for you two to train on your simulators at home together.

“How’s your hip, metal man?” He teases as you laugh. “It’s steel, actually, and it’s okay. Doesn’t really hurt anymore” You nod.

“Good. Be careful today, I want my actual teammate with me this year” Felipe adjusted well to your car and sudden promotion, but your contract was solid, and the Brazilian remains as your reserve driver.

“Don’t worry, I will be. See you later, Lance” You waved as he said goodbye and you both entered your garage then to your drivers' rooms.

The testing session proved to be successful, as both Aston Martin’s traded taking fastest laps. Both of the new cars had several upgrades done on them over the winter break and you’re glad to see they’ve paid off.

Pre-season testing is fairly low-key, so after finishing your run, there was no media for you to complete and you were free to go back to your hotel to prepare for tomorrow.

Both green cars performed strongly on Friday and Saturday, and you left Sakhir Track confident.

“Welcome ladies and gentlemen, to the first race of 2024. After a few months of winter break and three days of pre-season testing, we have all twenty drivers in their new cars, 30 seconds away from lights out.”

“And, for the first time since Mexico 2023, Y/n L/n rejoins the grid after a hip fracture. She’s healed splendidly after her surgery in the beginning of November and with the Aston Martin’s looking fast, she’s expected to do well here in Bahrain” Martin Brundle introduces today’s race.

“Here’s our top 10 on the grid today; Max Verstappen, P1. Charles Leclerc, P2. Sergio Perez, P3. Y/n L/n, P4. Carlos Sainz, P5, Lewis Hamilton, P6. Lance Stroll, P7. George Russel, P8. Lando Norris, P9. Pierre Gasly, P10. It’s going to be an interesting race, the light’s come on, and its light’s out and away we go!”

You’ve waited five months to get back in your car and you’re not about to waste the opportunity. Instead, you win.

“1st race of the year, her first race in five months, her first race win, Y/n L/n goes P1! She went through a Ferrari and two Red Bull’s, and now she goes through the checkered flag first!”

And you win again.

“For the second time, Y/n L/n wins the Grand Prix! She started P5 and worked her way up to P1! What a battle between her and Verstappen! Ladies and gentlemen, we’re only in Saudi Arabia, but it’s safe to safe I would follow those two cars wherever Formula 1 takes them if we get more races like that!”

And again.

“She does it in Miami! As her fourth race win, Y/n L/n beats Max Verstappen to the checkered flag with her teammate behind her in P3!”

And again.

“Martin, I can’t believe it. Y/n L/n wins her fifth Grand Prix in Monaco! It’s only the 8th race of 2024 but we are looking into a very exciting racing season ahead of us”

“So, Y/n” A reporter asks you during a press conference in June. “Max has won six races” She gestures to the Red Bull driver next to you. “And you’ve won five, looking to make it six this weekend in Austria. Is it safe to say that it’s going to be between you two for the 2024 Driver’s Championship?”

“Well, I mean it’s never good to speak too early, but we’ve both been looking promising this year and according to our stats, that’s where we’re headed”

“It’s Max Verstappen’s home race here in the Netherlands, but it’s not going to be easy to win. Y/n L/n has been right on his tail all race, her teammate Lance Stroll behind her in his own fight with the other Red Bull. My, if you asked me if this year’s rivalry would be between Aston Martin and Red Bull, I would not have believed you”

“And it’s the first 1-2 for Aston Martin! Lance Stroll goes P1 with his teammate right behind him! Great day in Singapore for the Canadian, outstanding day for everyone wearing green!”

“We are back in Mexico today, the very race she crashed at last year, but if she’s nervous she doesn’t show it. It’s Y/n L/n for her 9th win in Formula 1 and in the 2023 season! Verstappen in P2, Stroll takes P3, Perez, P4, and Sainz, P5”

“In the November air, Daniel Ricciardo goes P1 in Las Vegas after Max Verstappen and Y/n L/n collided and retired! An amazing day for the Australian, a frustrating one for the Red Bull and Aston Martin drivers”

“After Verstappen took his ninth win in Quatar, he and L/n are now tied with wins and very close in points for the Driver’s Championship. Max starts P1 today in Abu Dhabi, and if Y/n can get in front of him, Formula 1 will have its first female World Champion”

You’ve come way too far to lose like this. It’s been probably the most stressful season you’ve driven in ever, there’s no way you’re going to lose after it all.

“Y/n, relax” Your teammate places his hands on your shoulders.

“You’re going to do great. You’re going P1, trust me. You don’t need it but good luck, we’re all rooting for you” Lance sends you a smile and you’re struck with gratitude for your teammate.

“Thanks Lance, you’re going to do great too”You hug your friend before pulling your balaclava and helmet on.

“It’s an anxious day in Abu Dhabi, this race could go either way, it’s lights out and away we go!”

You remember Daniel comparing the 2021 Abu Dhabi race to a flip of a coin, and you think history has repeated itself. All 58 laps, you and Max take turns overtaking each other.

This time, it’s not just Sergio playing a team’s game; Lance helps in whatever way he can, whether it’s taking your spot when you’re in the pitlane or defending against Max so you can pass him.

“Ladies and gentlemen, after the most exciting season yet, Y/n L/n overtakes Max Verstappen and becomes the world champion! It took a long road of recovery, but the reward is sweet! L/n takes the checkered flag first and the arena is booming with noise! The coin has landed on her side today, and she accepts it happily”

The Aston Martin Garage is just as happy as you are, bringing you into hugs and jumping up and down, grins never leaving their faces. Lance joins you on the podium in P3 and you two soak each other in champagne. You shake Max’s hand politely but continue to beam as you wrap your home country’s flag around your shoulders and wave at the crowd.

With steel screwed into your hip, you stand on the podium with your trophy held above your head, looking down at everyone who has waited for this moment as long as you have.

[collidescopeeyes]

Hey all, know I've been quiet but I'm in the home stretch!! Just gotta survive three more days and then exams are over, pray for me 🙏

Anyway in honor of me spending my weekend fighting for my life trying to memorize formulas that look like alphabet soup:

Heartsteel helping you study headcanons

Kayn

- Let's be real he ain't helping. Like he understands this is important and you need to focus but he also really, really wants your attention, are you sure it's not time for you to take a break? No? :(

- Like you'll be taking notes and you'll just see him in the background slowly vibrating out of his skin restraining himself from bothering you. But also, he ain't gonna leave unless you ask him to, he'd still rather hang out with you ignoring him than not spend time with you.

- Let him quiz you or something, please he'll do such a good job just pleeeease pay attention to him. Or just talk him about whatever it is you're working on, he'll do his best to follow along but really it doesn't matter if he doesn't understand, if having someone to bounce ideas off of helps you then he's absolutely there for that.

- Largely mollified if you work while sitting on his lap. He'll do his best not to be distracting, he promises. That being said, if you try to work one minute past when you said you were gonna stop your laptop is getting ejected and he will be pouncing on you, he's been so patient goddamnit.

Aphelios

- Will actually help you study. He's pretty well read so there's a few subjects he can help you with, otherwise he just sits next to you and keeps you on track. There will be no getting distracted by your phone on his watch, and you will be taking regular breaks. Mostly he's doing his own thing so he doesn't bother you, like mixing tracks with his headphones on, but trust me he Will notice if you start slacking off.

- Honestly he's the kind of guy who appreciates just spending time in the same space as you

- Recruits Alune to retrieve snacks. She's also very willing to help if it's a subject she's familiar with, but she's also very talkative with people she likes so Phel will shoo her away if she's distracting you.

- If he can, will help organize your notes or put together flash cards. Great at quizzing you, though he also tends to ask insane niche question that really tests your understanding.

Sett

- The only reason he had decent grades in high school was because he didn't want to upset his mom, so he knuckled down and worked his ass off. He sucks at studying otherwise, he never had the patience for it, so he really respects your determination

- If you tell him you're gonna work and then end up on your phone he Will notice. He knows all the tricks in the book, he used them himself, you are not gonna start after just one more video, you're gonna start now. He's pretty hard to argue with when he's got his Boss voice on.

- That being said, he ain't gonna be much help with academics–even the stuff he's great at, like songwriting, he doesn't really consciously think about; he just has an intuitive sense of what does and doesn't work, and goes purely off of what feels right.

- Any other support he can offer though, he's There. You want snacks? A quiet spot to study? Coffee on the hour every hour? He's got you, ask and you shall receive.

- He's drawing the line if you start going overboard though, working tired is worse than not working at all so you're gonna call it for the night and come back when you're back on your game.

Yone

- Another man who's likely to actually know the subject you're studying. He'll sit down with you and help you make a study plan, and then he'll make sure you actually stick to it. A firm yet gentle hand–he’s used to dealing with that lot, keeping you on track is easy mode comparatively. Also, he'll find a way to minimize potential distractions so sneakily you won't even notice, like you get the urge to go on your socials but your phone's somehow all the way over on the couch so it's too much effort.

- Offers to let you study at his place. It's a very quiet and relaxing space, and also he point blank bans any of the other band members from bothering either of you while you're working.

- You thought that thing about herbal tea helping with concentration was an old wives tale but whatever is in this little clay cup is legitimately a god send. He also makes his own wagashi, and it's so pretty you'd almost feel bad about eating it if it didn't taste so good.

- Helps you with flashcards and quizzes and anything else that will help you feel prepared. Will go out of his way to read up on the subject so he can help you better.

Ezreal

- This guy 100% has undiagnosed ADHD, I don't make the rules. Unlike Kayn who has some pretty obvious hyperactivity symptoms, Ez is one of those people whose like ‘nahhh I can't have that, I get on just fine when it's something I'm interested in :)) in fact I'm so good at studying things I'm interested in that I'll do it for hours at a time without taking breaks! :)) that's normal!’. So while he really wants to be helpful, he has horrible studying habits and honestly he's impressed you're starting before midnight the night before your test. If you need someone to keep an eye on your bad study habits, he is not the guy. If you need a quick confidence boost or moral support though, he's absolutely there for you.

- Extremely knowledgeable on a very specific and eclectic range of subjects. If you happen to by studying ancient history he will explode with excitement, babygirl he knows facts you couldn't even begin to be assessed on.

- He'll bring you your favorite snacks and drinks! Occasionally he'll start talking to you only to remember you're busy and cut himself off mid word–he doesn't mean to, it's just whenever he finds something interesting he immediately wants to share it with you.

- Second you say you're done he'll insist on doing something to celebrate, whatever gets your batteries recharged, whether that's going out and doing something fun or snuggling down and watching a movie, he thinks you deserve a reward.

K’Sante

- Actually very studious, he knows how to knuckle down and get something done. If you have trouble keeping on track he can help with that. Like he gets this gaggle of dumbasses to meet deadlines, he's pretty good at figuring out what motivates people

- His knowledge base is mostly music theory and visual design, but he'll help out if he can.

- He'll invite you to his place and make you lunch as a treat, which is very motivating because he is a fantastic cook. Plying you with food is also his way of maneuvering you into taking breaks when you need them.

- He can tell when you start slowing down and need to call it for the day, and gently extracts you from your work by suggesting you take a walk and stretch your legs or something.

Bonus

- Whole band is throwing you a party as soon as your exams are over, whether it's a celebration of your hard work or a ‘thank fuck it's over’ bash. There will be another party when you get your results back, they'll take any excuse for a party if it means you'll be there.

[n2nataliegoodman]

Shiori during the Black Rose arc has always greatly intrigued me because while all the others follow a fairly similar formula, she is the only one that completely diverges.

Kanae, Kozue, Mitsuru, Wakaba, and Keiko are all fairly similar in their motives; they love their respective members of the student council, but their love cannot be reciprocated (Akio’s distorted love being focused only on Anthy, Miki being her brother, Nanami seeing Mitsuru as a child, Saionji being a gay who is misogynistic and only really cares about Touga, and Touga being a misogynist who is probably gay and has Nanami chasing most girls away from her brother). All of their relationships are doomed to an unhappy ending.

Likewise, this is why Tatsuya (the onion prince) is turned away by Mikage. His and Wakaba’s story can have a happy ending if they’re honest with each other. Their story doesn’t have to be a tragedy.

Now, Shiori is different. For all of the brides, they have romantic feelings for their student council member (Kozue is a little bit of a slippery slope with this because she probably wants a normal sibling relationship but doesn’t realise it?) and want love from them that the member is incapable of giving.

For Shiori and Juri, if we take Shiori’s words as fact, their story is the opposite. Juri is the one with the doomed love that Shiori is incapable of reciprocating. Now, we as the audience know this is definitely not the case. Shiori very clearly has feelings for Juri, but she’s so caught up in her inferiority complex and the heteronormativity of the world they live in that she is unable to admit that to herself.

But again, this sets Shiori and Juri’s story apart. They both feel the same. Their story is not doomed be a tragedy from the start like all the others. Don’t get me wrong, they would have to do a lot of work to make their relationship work, but it’s not impossible.

I think this is why their ending during the finale is also so different. For all of the other Black Rose brides (save for Kanae because, you know, she’s presumed dead) they’ve gained space from the people they were so obsessed with. Mitsuru is hanging around Miki rather than sticking to and following the orders of Nanami; Kozue is letting someone else get close to her brother; we don’t see much of Keiko at the end, but presumably she’s no longer chasing after Touga or living under Nanami’s shadow as we see her with Aiko and Yuuko; and Wakaba has moved on to her onion prince.

But because Shiori and Juri’s relationship isn’t doomed to be a tragedy from the start, they seem to have actually gotten closer. While all the others grew apart to have a more healthy relationship, Juri and Shiori have grown closer to have a more healthy relationship.

I’d like to think that means that they’ll have a happy ending together once they work through their issues.

[storiesbyjes2g]

3.89 Lose control

During our conversation about pre-wedding activities, Sophia and I found the idea of having a party appealing, but we had reservations about the traditional bachelor and bachelorette party. I'd never been to one, but I'd heard stories about them. Getting wasted and dancing with other women didn't appeal to me at all. My party didn't have to follow that formula; we could spend the night however I wanted. But the real reason we were anxious was because we both we both had a small circle of friends. We loved kicking it with our respective squads, but a party with just one or two sims wouldn't be lit.

"What if we did a joint co-ed party?" she offered.

That was the most brilliant idea, and it relieved us both. I mean, the whole point of a bachelor/bachelorette party was just to hang out with friends and have a good time, right? Who's to say we couldn't do that together? Our friends and their plus ones were enough sims for a fun, intimate party.

We tried to take Mama's advice and not show up early this time and walked in with the first wave. Heh, if Sophia had agreed to my offer earlier, we could have been super late, but let's not dwell on that. While getting a drink, I saw Alessia. I was low-key pissed, to be honest. Not enough to make a scene or even snub her all night, but we were definitely not okay.

Dub snuck up on me, and I almost dropped my drink.

"This is a nice place," he said. "The food selection is...interesting."

"Yeah. I guess I should have been more specific when I requested light refreshments."

"It's all good. Nothing like a little natural sugar to get you pumped up!"

"That's right. I expect to see everyone dancing, Dubstep."

"Dubstep??"

"Yeah! I think it's about time I gave you a nickname."

"But Dubstep though? I can't stand that music! It's everywhere at home!"

"Sorry, dude. I'm not often this clever. It's sticking!"

"Ugh! You better be glad your name can only be shortened, or I'd come up with something annoying for you too!"

"HA! Thank you, granddad I never met, for a boring name."

"Oh, hi Dub," Sophia said. "Thanks for coming!"

"Of course I'd come. I gotta make sure my boy Luc stays out of trouble!"

Sophia laughed.

"That's kind of you, but totally unnecessary."

I loved she said that. We had several conversations about my female friends, and she always expressed her acceptance of them. I believed her, but part of me wondered if she was actually cool with it or just trying to avoid conflict. Those conversations triggered her sometimes, and I knew she was still dealing with scars her ex-trash man inflicted. I never gave her a reason to doubt me, and I intended to keep it that way. Even so, her display of trust touched me deeply.

Less and Justin were chilling in the corner, probably relieved that I was busy. Did they keep in touch? Probably not. Regardless, I was happy they maintained a small connection, even though I still believed he was much too old for her. Once Rashidah and her husband showed up, Sophia hit the dance floor and got the party going. I sat down and watched her, mesmerized by the thought that tomorrow she would be my wife.

Chi Chi latched onto Maia as soon as she arrived and did not let her go. When Dub noticed, he not-so-casually got closer and watched their every move. I don't know why I thought it was funny, but I laughed anyway. Seeing him transition through this relationship, going from uncertainty about pursuing it to worrying about someone encroaching on them, was fun to watch. I knew Chi Chi was harmless, but he didn't, so I didn't laugh too hard. Still, what was Maia thinking? She was so gracious to endure all that talking for two nights straight. I knew all too well how draining it could be, trying to keep up with all the words that flew out of her mouth.

I eventually finished my drink and got out there to shake it with everyone. Poor Dub didn't even take one step and spent the whole night watching Maia and Chi Chi. I made a mental note to talk to him about it before we left, so it didn't become a big deal later on.

The fruity drinks were lame, so I invited everyone to the bar downstairs and bought us a round. The thumping bass from the DJ downstairs reverberated through the walls, injecting a surge of energy into our group. Moving the party downstairs was a genius move. The room was buzzing with excitement. Lively conversations and laughter filled the air. In the midst of all the excitement, I spotted Less trying to slip away, but I quickly caught her eye and called her out.

"Where were you last night?"

"What?"

"The engagement dinner? You didn't show."

She shrugged.

"I didn't want to go."

I needed a moment before replying, because her response struck a nerve. Her indifference was no stranger to me; I'd been dealing with it my whole life. It annoyed me then, and triple annoyed me now. I usually coped with it by ignoring her, but this was something I could not shrug off.

"You couldn't at least call and tell me you weren't coming?"

"I guess. Why are you so upset? You had the dinner and now this party. They're pretty much the same thing, so why do I have to come to both?"

I was teetering on the edge of losing my cool, and it caught me off guard. Despite all the challenges I faced in my life, I could never truly feel angry. I could've been mad at Dad taking us away from Mama, but I was just a little kid and more scared than anything. I couldn't bring myself to be angry with Mama for breaking up our family because my love for her was too strong. Less always got on my nerves, and I could've been mad at her countless times, but I felt pressured to always be in control as the oldest, especially since she always copied me. I just wanted to experience losing control for once, but was that the moment to waste my chance? In the grand scheme of things, it wasn't that serious. Less was just being Less, and as much as it pained me to overlook it again, I just took a few deep breaths and re-centered myself before responding.

"You're my sim of honor, Less. Does that even mean anything to you? We were doing toasts, and you weren't there. Dub did a toast for me, and we just met. Maybe I should have asked him or Maira to be my sim of honor."

"I'm sorry, Luca! I thought it was just a casual dinner or something. I didn't think you'd be mad."

I sighed and shook my head at her.

"You never do, Less."

Speaking of Dub, I saw him stewing on the sidelines, so I let Less go and went to de-escalate him.

"Am I crazy?" he asked as I sat down. "Is she really that bold that she would try to take my girl in front of my face?"

I was glad to have something comical to take my mind off my annoying sister.

"She's harmless, man. A bit of a flirt, yes, and she talks a lot, but she would never do that to you. She's sweet."

"Brooo! The talking! I thought maybe she liked me too because she had me hemmed up all night last night. I barely escaped in time to make a toast!"

I laughed.

"Believe me...I am aware. I feel like she has a word quota she has to reach every day or she'll explode or something."

"Yeah, and she's spending it all on us!"

"Seriously... But for real...I really appreciate you doing that last night. My sister should have been the one making that toast, but she wasn't there, and that really hurt my feelings."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I got you, bro. Whatever you need."

"I appreciate that, Dubstep."

"HEY!"

Dub and Maia by @mysimsloveaffair

[deeism]

it fascinates me how fundamentally similar dennis' relationship with mac is to his relationship with dee. not necessarily how mac and dee respectively view him, but the ways that he views both of them are so incredibly similar to each other it's kind of insane. it all comes down to dennis needing to be needed and being afraid to relinquish his grip on two people that, at one point or another, have come to terms with the fact that they might be better without him (or at least without him as a centerpoint in their life). there are a lot of examples of this but the one that sticks out to me the most is the direct parallels between FVR & the gang broke dee. for example:

in the gang broke dee, dennis can't stand to see his sister succeeding without him, so he tries to pair her up with a man to settle down with. in his words, this is in order to "take [her] off of our hands forever." his clearer-than-day reason for doing this is less about actually removing dee from his life (however much he pretends to idealise this) and more about keeping her under his control. he's forcing her into a decision that he approves of rather than doing what she wants—thus taking back an independence that dennis tries his best to hold over her head. he insults her attempts at pursuing her dream career—not because he can't stand to see her succeed, but because he can't bear the idea of her succeeding without him. and this is a common theme throughout the show—dee's success is reliant on her joint success with dennis (which is something i have a lot to say about by itself, but that's for another day). her independence inevitably results in ridicule and failure, often because of dennis' manipulation. he tries his best to keep her reliant on him and convinces her she doesn't have anything without him, because he doesn't know what he would do if she realized he's only her brother. this is pretty obvious throughout the show if not explicitly stated—and, formulaically, dennis usually wins whatever mind game they're playing with one another.

but in TGBD, he loses. in his attempts to make her stay he only pushes her away from him further and inevitably ends up groveling at her feet. we don't see this specific sort of desperation from dennis a lot, but when dee is getting on the plane, he genuinely admits that he was wrong and that he loves her. he knows he's about to lose her and he has to compensate for it. it's a rare moment of vulnerability for him.

all that said, when it comes to dennis, it's impossible to extricate the genuine from the manipulative. he's such an untrustworthy person that he's almost manipulating dee without trying to despite the truth in his words. when he tells her "you can succeed, you will be a star" he isn't lying, necessarily, but the rest of his confession says it all: "you have to take me." the unspoken goes: you can succeed, as long as i'm there. you can follow your dreams, but you can't catch them without me. and because he can't just admit to needing her, this is what he resorts to instead. the truth is that dennis needs dee in his life so badly that he would practically have nothing without her, but the most obvious way that this manifests is that he needs to be needed by her. to be relied on, in dennis' understanding, is to be loved.

that was very long and convoluted but unfortunately i'm not done. i feel like dennis' relationship to mac in frank vs. russia is less explicitly spelled out for us than in TGBD, but there are a shit ton of similarities between the two. to begin with, it's pretty well established by like s15-16 that mac's crush on dennis has died down, and in FVR he's actively moved on and is dating other people. dennis should, supposedly, be fine with this, based on how he's previously reacted to mac's romantic advances. he was uncomfortable with mac even touching him for a while, and mac continued to violate that boundary—it would make sense for dennis to be pleased that he's moved on. except that he obviously isn't. when it's finally revealed that dennis is johnny, he says he's only doing it to get mac out of the apartment, but this is an almost embarrassingly seethrough lie because. dude. there are other ways to get your roommate to leave the house than sexually manipulating him via remote controlled anal beads.

johnny is a mask dennis wears in order to keep mac directly in his orbit—to prevent him from moving on and finding love with someone else. dennis may not be ready to address the fact that he has any kind of feelings for mac that aren't anger and hatred—at least, not as himself—but that doesn't stop him from manipulating mac into staying in love with him. not only this, but johnny allows dennis to be vulnerable through text in ways he can't possibly be on the regular; he's afraid to be. we've never seen johnny and mac's texts but there was obviously a level of intimacy there that mac and dennis have never properly shared. through johnny, dennis is able to confront how he feels about mac without actually having to address it as the truth. once again, his manipulation and genuineness are inextricable from each other. it's impossible to tell where the love begins. sound familiar?

that's what it all comes down to. dennis treats the people he loves the most in all of the same ways: he tries to control them. when he has them, he pushes them away, towards other people, but when they actually relent he panics and tries to reel them back in. he idealises a life without them but in reality he'd probably crumble. so he attempts to prevent them from finding other relationships or any viable options apart from staying with him. it's textbook abuse and manipulation, obviously; something being "out of love" doesn't mean that it's good or even justifiable in any way. but it does come from a genuine fear of being rejected by dee and mac—the two people he is actually afraid of losing. dennis is too afraid to treat them with kindness because that would mean opening up his heart and running the risk of getting hurt, but he's afraid to let them go because without them, what does he have? the only option in his mind is cruelty. it's a strange kind of symbiotic relationship, this weird mix of mutualism and parasitism, where clinging on is the only option.

[riordanverse-madness]

I have a bone to pick here

I read an article about the new Percy Jackson series and it was just.... infurating to say the least

The article picked to the bone Walker's, Leah's and Aryan's acting wich, I will say, isn't the best, but they are children that barely had any big roles and I feel like picking on them for that is just so under the belt.

It said that the storyline was rushed but that is to be expected with a book that has 20-something chapter being turned into a show. Anyone who was expecting the show to respect the pacing and the exact plot of the books to a T has unrealistic expectations.

What this article and it's author don't understand is that this show was made for fans by fans and, unlike what the author has written, the show can stand on it's own. It's perfectly enjoyable even when you aren't a fan of the books, because it actually explains stuff as you go along.

Also, "draw in parents that are stuck watching"? Ma'am, the kids that are watching this are definitely old enough to watch shit on their own. The creator made it for the kids that are watching who, by the way, are mostly in middle school.

Just to prove how stupid this whole article is:

The author admitted that it gets better, and putting all the words that she just wrote into the trash.

And the other stuff that she complained about? The casting famous actors in the series that add nothing to it (1) ? The series not having as much flair as a Hollywood production (2) ? The fact that the show is sticking to the book is risking the quality of it (3) ?

1. It's not the first or the last show to do this, tens of shows have done this exact formula

2.Once again, this is to be expected. If you're making a series with several 30 minutes episodes you're going to have a thighter buget that if you were making one 1 hour movie

3. As the author said, she isn't a reader, so I feel like she shouldn't be the judge of this. To readers, sticking to the og plot as much as posible is crucial when adapting a series. Making it familiar to fans of the books assures that you already have a set audience. The "risking the quality for audenticity" part? Bs really, doesn't make sense

So, the conclusion to this is that this author had no clue what she was writing

Thank you for coming to my TED talk

[mouthpoisons]

Whateber man lore dump about my spingebob sona

He’s called Siege Fire and he’s an au of my aeromorph sona I couldn’t think of a more spongebobby name to call him so I’m going with siege fire being his funny gay evil transgender villain name and his birth name is something different (legal surname definitely flippers but first name is secret and if he told you hed have to kill you)

He advertises himself as a freelance henchman/mook/lackey and he’s a subversion of the big dumb muscle trope because he’s genuinely extremely strong capable and intelligent but he’s just scatterbrained and lazy and mentally checked out and it’s hard for him to ever actually lock in (massively audhd without the h coded). He has cartoon british henchman voice and he’s from Kelp (like there’s new kelp city so he’s from somewhere british coded that’s just called kelp). He would have a lot of jokes that are similar to when season 1 Patrick randomly says/does something really smart and he also gets jokes where people underestimate him or piss him off so he gets dramatically lit painted freeze frames where he stares daggers into people, or ties them in knots/cartoon uppercuts them off the screen and goes back to sleeping or whatever. He also wanders around a lot and enters stories when people just encounter him in random ways also similarly to vintage Patrick. He’s SUPPOSED to be enemies with Patrick but they’re very fond of eachother and they like to loiter and smoke seaweed and be stupid

He is planktons 1 singular hype man in the entire world and they’re tiny insane freak with massive brick shithouse lackey dynamic like darla and her butler from cats don’t dance. He puts that thing in his pocket or lets him ride on his shoulder so he can feel tall. If siege was capable of focusing for 5 minutes then that freaking formula would be stolen immediately. they piss eachother off so bad but they’re also the only bitches under the sea that understand eachother but they won’t admit it so it’s very much plankton being like “this seal is so fucking incompetent and stupid but he does everything I say and can lift heavy boxes and cleans the lab every week for me without being asked so he’s allowed to stick around I GUESS” <- tsundere. Siege also always acts like a polite little gentleman aroudn Karen he opens doors for her and calls her maam and they like to queen out. Siege also loves eating chum and he knows exactly what it’s made of :)

Siege is like deeply terrified of Sandy LOL she’s the only canon cast member that can kick his ass easily so he sees her and shakes in his boots

He absolutely fucking hates squidward fsr. He thinks he is Whimsiless and his clarinet playing is like a sleeper agent berserk mode button. SpongeBob annoys squidward because he wants to be his friend but siege annoys squidward specifically to be a bastard and they are not the same

He’s indifferent towards everyone else. He thinks SpongeBob is cute and funny and he entertains him sometimes but they also don’t have a single thing in common apart from maybe being people pleasers and I have a plot idea for them that would be similar to prehibernation week where they TRY to hang out because they’re both besties with Patrick but they secretly hate the hangout activities the other guy chooses and in the end they decide to stop forcing it and just be dudes who know eachother bcs I think that’s a satisfying conclusion to force two people pleasers to come to

Siege doesn’t even hate mr krabs his view of him is more like “I don’t like you as the main obstacle to my boss’s goals and I would bite your head off if he told me to but I Do respect you sir”. Mr krabs definitely hates his ass though but they could potentially hang out or team up in the right circumstances

Siege lives in either an extremely forboding sunken war plane or submarine (haven’t decided) in the middle of nowhere with an air pocket in it and he loves weapons and violence and evil and beating people up and hanging out at the salty spitoon/thug tug/whatever other crusty gay biker/sailer bars are in spongebob lmfao. If he was in the room during the “felicitations malefactors!!!” Bit in planktons army he would’ve been like that sounds sick I’m game

That’s all I got for now. Design still probably isn’t final because parts of it feel off/too busy/whatever but I hope you enjoy my beast

[theoutgriber]

Barbara Howard and Christianity Observations

As a chaplain and fan of Barbara Howard, I have a special interest in Barbara Howard’s relationship to Christianity and her church in Abbott Elementary, so here are a few thoughts. 

Her church is large enough that not everybody knows each other, that it can put on programs that sell out, and it has a finance board and cliques--Delisha Sloss is comfortable, at least with a small segment of her ‘coworkers in Christ,’ with scolding Barbara for ‘shaking people down again.’ That makes me the church ladies in the Fundraiser episode know that Mrs. Sloss has been stealing and either don’t care or actively benefit. I would also guess that the church organization itself is at least moderately wealthy. Mrs. Sloss is probably not the only member who is well-known or influential in the broader community. Canonically, Barbara may not be wealthy, but she hasn’t been in a personal position of having to ‘hustle,’ and she cares about her image. That makes me think that most of the church members are in the middle or upper classes and value respectability. 

It’s also notable that Barbara didn’t report the stealing to an authority within the church (it’s possible that she tried once using official channels and was shut down or just decided that reporting would stir up trouble and that ignoring it was better). Keeping a good surface relationship with one’s ‘colleagues in Christ’ is more important than almost anything else. It doesn’t sound like a church with a culture of trust and transparency. There’s no mention of pastors or priests, so it may or may not be a church in which the clergy or exceptionally powerful and charismatic. 

As other fans have pointed out and explored through fic, Mrs. Sloss is able to shame Barbara in the Fundraiser episode, like to both of them, the hypocrisy in scolding her is neither here nor there. Theologically, it’s possible that the leaders in the church tend to assert that all sins are equal, an idea that can allow leaders to gloss over major abuses to keep their communities on an even keel. This belief could contribute to Barbara’s struggles with making ‘immoral’ choices in the School Board and Fundraiser episodes. I suspect that the church as a whole promotes a certain moral rigidity or formula of morality (see also, cutting out controversial parts of popular Halloween movies) that makes it especially hard for Barbara to grasp the slur reclamation in “Forever Bitch Apparel.” 

At the same time, while my impression is that Barbara’s church is unhealthy and possibly even abusive, it probably also serves positive and resilience-building functions in her life as well, like opportunities to sing and dance and connect with friends outside the school. Barbara doesn’t seem to have an ‘angsty’ relationship with God (granted, Abbott Elementary is a comedy XD), and she seems to have a certain confident and casual way of speaking to God (”Throw us a bone, please. Amen”). God and Christian moral structure seem to be sources of comfort and confidence that help Barbara to persevere as a beloved teacher in a situation that burns most teachers out. She has a personal code that she sticks to as a teacher, evident from the first episode. She’s able to be creative, loving, lively, and welcoming to Jacob and Zach (which one wouldn’t necessarily expect). She also shows that she can navigate and maintain boundaries in the school setting and take time for herself. She doesn’t have a problem speaking her mind to Ava or her colleagues, so she’s not the stereotype of a resentfully over-giving Christian woman, at least in her work environment (that might’ve been a different story when Taylor was growing up, tbh). Granted, no human is completely consistent in their beliefs and actions, but maybe Barbara has honed very fine compartmentalization skills over the years (see also: Sea Barbara). Relationships with other adults, I suspect she is finding, defy the habit of  compartmentalization. 

I would like to see Christian faith be a source of strength and resilience for Barbara in fic and canon. I also want her to be given the tools and support she needs to let her experiences with people at Abbott shift her thinking. Based on what we’ve already seen, I think God is a loving and protective force for Barbara (not someone she worries about bothering), and her convictions fortify her to show up for her kids every day. You do *everything* you can for your kids, even, as she’s learning more deeply, when that means you have to prioritize and let your values shift. That conviction isn’t a historical contradiction to Christian behavior. In light of what she’s experiencing this season at Abbott, I hope that she will be empowered to see the problems in her church environment and make a change. That could mean taking on a different position in the church or maybe even leaving her church, no doubt a scary and disorienting experience. 

I don’t know what else to say about that at the moment, but I’m curious about others’ thoughts about this topic and am greatly enjoying the ‘conversations’ that fic writers are having with the canon currently! 

[idleglowingpixels]

Character Design #1: Franklin "Frankie" Stein

Beginning my Monster High AU (which unfortunately doesn't have a unique name at the moment lol), the first of five ghouls I'm sharing with you all is my version of Frankie!

Side Note: This AU is heavily G1-inspired, with a few aspects of G3 I liked as additions to the respective characters.

Name: Franklin "Frankie" Stein Aliases: Frank/Fine Stein Age: 15 Pronouns: She/They Monster Type: Frankenmonster Descendant Of: Dr. Victor Stein Freaky Flaw: "My bolts spark when I'm excited or nervous. The stronger the feeling, the higher my voltage is!" Grade Level: 1st year/Freshman Favorite Subject: Mad Science Character Description: Created by the persistent and scrupulous human, Dr. Victor Stein, Frankie has spent most of their life sheltered from the other humans outside of their home. After finding Monster High just over the "River Styxx," a bridge connecting the human and monster sides of Salem, Frankie gets accepted to the school, and her family moves to the other monstrous side of town. Their lack of socialization in their 15 years of life won't stop them from researching the perfect formula to making best fiends!

Additional Info: -Frankie is nonbinary. They are often referred to by other characters as a girl initially, due to their more feminine presentation. While they don't mind being referred to as a girl, hence their use of she/her pronouns, they do correct others and are happy to inform on the topic should someone be confused. -She's a bit of a klutz, but has to be careful as risking serious injury could result in her needing to replace more of her limbs. --They are also partially disabled, due to a developing infection in her now-amputated leg that wasn't able to heal. --She is prone to dropping her books -- that is, if her arms slip off. Her silver-threaded stitches allow her to remove her limbs should she need to without risking injury or infection. It can cause trouble at times, however. - Their favorite pastime is stitchwork. Unlike Clawdeen, who designs clothing, Frankie follows premade patterns. They've made all of their clothes for many years, as well as clothing for their father. -- Her precision with a needle and thread has helped her stitches stay more intact than her father's work in her early years. This also allowed her to create her pet mutt Wattzit with her father, who is her only creation. -Their legal name is Franklin, but after a friend asks if she can call them Frankie, the nickname sticks. -The ear and eyebrow piercings she has in the drawing above aren't something she has at the start of the AU's timeline. She gets them based on a pair of encounters with her ghoulfriends!

[dragon-in-the-woods]

Considering how Starscream cloned himself and now Orbit has a ton more older brothers (and an older sister).

Skywarp was told to babysit but he's worried that Orbit might be too sticky and ruin his finish- kids are usually like that, right? Orbit wants to play with his airplane and truck toys but Skywarp is concerned that he'll hurt himself. Orbit wants to get energon ice cream but there's always a possibility, however small, of an Autobot attempted to poison them both. Skywarp manages to make him lunch and his afternoon snack but he nearly panics when the baby food is poisoned purple!- oh wait, that's just the color of the energon. Orbit wants to nap together but what if Skywarp rolls over and hurts him?? Skywarp means well and loves his baby brother but he needs someone else there to manage his anxiety.

Thundercracker thinks he's too good for babysitting- until he sees those green doe eyes then yeah, he totally meant he'd babysit right away! He's better at babysitting than anyone else! He gets huffy when Orbit beats him in a simple "baby" game but is remedied when he gets a bit too into playing with his toys. Soon Orbit is coloring on his coloring book while Thundercracker is still playing with the toys- well, he claims he's using it for battle planning! Yeah, that works. He's also the best cook out of everyone, yeah!! It doesn't take much effort to put energon formula into a bottle or stir the mixture into baby food, but Thundercracker takes the ease as a sign of his superiority. Orbit likes it too and purrs while napping on his chest later. (Thundercracker is many things but he'll admit that Orbit is the best at being his cute baby brother.)

Sunstorm is absolutely fawning over the chance to babysit the adorable Orbit. He's cooing at and praising Orbit for any slight move. He cuddles Orbit for the absolutely amazing pictures he drew him. He is astounded by Orbit's excellent taste in cartoons. (That Spongebob guy seems familiar...) He admires how Orbit can easily figure out little puzzles Megatron left for him to stimulate his growing yet intelligent processor. He is amazed that Orbit manages to eat his entire lunch without getting too messy. He purrs and chitters excitedly when Orbit climbs onto his lap for a nap. Soon the pair are purring loudly while napping until the great and powerful Megatron gets home.

Dirge and Thrust get to babysit together- wondrous. They quickly start squabbling while Orbit takes the opportunity of not being supervised and gets up to mischief. Dirge starts hoarding toys while Thrust gets upset that Dirge grabbed the exact horse toy he wanted!! Orbit shows them how to dress Barbies and now the clones are practically duking it out over who made the best outfit on their respective Barbie- Thrust complains because Dirge took all the "cool" options. The kitchen is a mess because someone threw a formula bottle at the other while Orbit got into the fridge and ate an entire pack of yogurt. Megatron sets them straight and makes them clean the house while he gives Orbit a bath. Two stars because at least Orbit is alive and didn't get injured.

Slipstream is hesitant to babysit, but she soon settles in. Orbit is a calm kid and cute. She mostly lets the kid do his thing while she watches. But soon Orbit wants attention and she relents, coloring with him and playing with him. She tries to get him to play a more structured game- but he's just a baby, after all, and is soon sticking the chess pieces in his mouth. Slipstream relents and cuddles him on her lap while giving him his afternoon bottle. She's not at all a motherly type but she's decent, at least. She's distant but warming up to the adorable sparkling.

...Ramjet gets in trouble for telling Orbit that he's adopted.

[zedpercyfan]

Do you think that compared to the likes of Misty, Dawn, and Serena May gets less recognition. And do you think the 1998 to 2016 movies are canon to Ash Ketchum's story timeline.

Not gonna lie, the grammar problem in the first question is throwing me off. I assume this question is about May?

So, um, right away I'll point out that this is my observation and is biased toward the sides of the Pokemon community I inhabit. As Pokeshippers I think she's generally popular, a lot of non-Pokeshippers also like her and Contestshipping. So I reckon May will always have her fans but, again, I'm no authority on how widespread these opinions are.

In short, yes. I originally wanted to post these long paragraphs explaining my thoughts and observations in the community but I think I'll just summarize them as best I can.

I think while game May with her iconic design and status as the first girl option in the main two games will forever win hearts - anime May, however, has a legacy issue. Her and Advance Generation kinda suffer from being a transitional season, the old production team even with a now promoted new head writer (I think...?) struggled to figure out a new formula for the series and kept falling for the same old traps. May in particular had this annoying habit of being naive at the worse possible times.

Compared to her predecessor and successor, she falls short a lot. Misty was in the show for five consecutive seasons and enjoyed numerous re-appearances through flashbacks and real time meetups with Ash coupled with an iconic personality; Dawn's Pokemon journey and character arc both feel more fleshed out and purposefully written than May's was. With a lot of it being setup very early on with a dynamic with Ash that felt like a course correction from May's; and May's dynamic with Ash, while not bad, pales compared to Serena's romantic sublot and arc that involved proving herself to not just rivals but to her own Mom.

To add to this, May also has had less chances to remind the audience of what she brought to the table. Her Japanese voice actor KAORI in 2012 was diagnosed with a throat illness and hasn't been active since - hence why May never reappeared and has only been granted silent appearances watching a TV screen.

May isn't a bad character to watch in real time but her usually more mellow personality and skewed development clogs one's memories of her. Once May's out of the picture you end up remembering what her predecessor and successor brought more than her - she sticks out less in the mind. Not that the development wasn't there - going from lowly student to gaining Ash's respect isn't easy. I just don't think it had a chance to catch on compared to Ash and Dawn's friendship, Misty's one-sided crush and mentorship, and Serena's loyalty. Not bad, just easily overshadowed in the broad strokes.

***

I want to say those movies are canon but then I remember that the main anime, by virtue of following the path of the games, acted like Ash met Dialga and Palkia just then as opposed to what we saw in the movies. So I think broadly that they're not fitting into each other cleanly. Perhaps just have the main anime more briefly aware of certain events as opposed to outright ignoring them. Or perhaps it’s more that the events take place at a different time but what Pokemon they have are reverted.

[myfandomrambles]

Not to be an asshole but like just because David Tennant/Tenth Doctor had the best viewing numbers of NuWho doesn't actually mean he's sooo uber special better than the others.

Like every doctor before and after he actually matters. Some of those doctors are beloved by like a lot of people.

It somehow just feels icky to me to pick up with David Tennant and Davies and like what? Fuck 11, war, 12 and 13?

Chibnall was bad enough about kind of feeling like he was snubbing 11 & 12's eras.

Like obviously you had misogyny and racism problems under Moffat. And we must, must speak up about that and make sure the show does better. And no he didn't stick the landing every time, The Wedding of River Song sucks. But like there were a shit ton of people involved in those years who like fucking put their heart and soul into that.

Matt Smith & Peter Capaldi along with all the companion actors (plus Gomez) deserve some goddamn respect. I do have just some big emotional attachment to 11 & 12 yes. I also however do not think every story under them was bad. They had extremely good stories! Like season 10 might not be popular but fuck does it kick me in the feels.

But like it's not like all the Tennant hype only affects Moffat's writing if you happen to hate him. This does feel insulting to Ecelston as well. I know he hates the BBC so like I get he wouldn't come back to the main show (his audios rock btw).

This whole thing also feels sketch because you're sticking him in between your first female doctor and your first main doctor to be played by a person of colour. Like do you just not trust that Ncuti Gatwa will be good enough to make people watch? Do you not trust your own writers (even your own writing) to be compelling unless you bring David Tennant back and give him a whole other marketing number (and the numbers, while sort of ridiculous at this if you look through canon, do have meaning to the fans)? Not to mention a new costume (No I don't mean he has to wear the exact same clothes if they don't fit but you can sew a copy of the same design again) and a whole big announcement about him getting a new Sonic. The costumes and sonics are HUGE signs for fans. Like people collect the fucking sonics you have the old ones referenced in the show, it's a whole part of 12's identity crises with the shades and the new sonic after re-accepting the doctor after losing Clara. The TARDIS can make these for The Doctor or The Doctor makes their own. It's a whole thing!

Also, do they have to also fuck with Donna's ending? Really? I get some people do the whole "Donna deserved better" shtick but her ending is heartbreaking, well-written, well-acted and done just so well. Sad can be okay! I'm with Ashildir on this one, It was sad and beautiful. (Yes she's not referring to Donna but the principle stands)

Also like, The Doctor fucks people's lives up. Donna wasn't the first up Companions to have shit destroyed by The Doctor!

In the words of Martha Jones:

You need to be careful, because you know the Doctor's wonderful and he's brilliant, but he's like fire. Stand too close and people get burned (TV: Sonatarn Strategem)

Like Journeys End aired in 2008! Could we just let the story stand on it's merits?

I realise the culture of like the media in the 2010s & 2020s is just fuck with shit that should have been left alone. I mean I guess if we're doing a distribution w/ Disney we might as well follow their storytelling formula.

I mean remember the whole Time Lord victouris project? Like I'm obsessed w/ Doctor Who and have been into the EU for a long time I didn't even try and keep up with it. It was like the high republic franchise in Star Wars so hard to keep up w/ the story when you have to get so many disparate pieces of media. And again it's all Ten focused.

Honestly, I have always loved Ten. minus all this fuckery he is fantastic. And i will go to the bat i don't think he's a fuck boy. but I also like am perpetually gonna be annoyed at him.

Being a money maker does not actually define the quality of the story in every case.

[yooniesim]

Ok not to be hateful but okruee & coe “fans” only know how to “communicate” via sub posting / vague posting. They’re pretty much known for it so it doesn’t surprise me. What surprises me is her deleting all the vagues just to say she doesn’t want anyone to get hate. Well why not make a post asking people to stop? Because they won’t. Anyone who disagrees with her gets the shit end of the stick with tons of messages (as we have seen with you) and that’s a problem within itself. We need to discuss why people put this big creators/blogs onto such pedestals where they can’t be touched? And why these creators are okay with it, because let’s admit they probably love it.

pretty much. I didn't see any of the vagueing but I had lots of anons coming saying it was happening, and I expected that. They know well what happens when they do that, we've all been on simblr for years. The minute I reblogged from okruee, an anon came to my inbox saying to watch out bc my inbox was going to be flooded. And within an hour I had about thirty or so messages, if not more.

People vague post because they don't have the guts or the respect to talk to someone directly or mention them by name. They also don't want anyone seeing the full conversation beyond their narrative. They want to be asked "omg what happened who said that to you???" so they can victimize themselves while also making little quirky quips. They know people will go looking without having the full picture and then show their ass saying whatever in someone's inbox.

They vague more and more and get people riled up, and they let them lay it on as much as they want. Why? They want people to get overwhelmed and upset and either apologize or deactivate. Sorry, but that's not me. Anons don't bother me one bit and people with big follower counts don't intimidate me either. But either way, they keep going until finally they feel satisfied or bored and then they post "don't send anyone hate".

If okruee didn't want "anyone" getting hate (because it wasn't anyone, it was just me), she could've said directly, "hey please don't send yooniesim anymore messages, we'll figure this out on our own". But she didn't. That has to be vague too because the purpose isn't actually to get it to stop, it's so they themselves don't look like a bad guy.

It's the classic simblr formula, nonny, and you're completely right. No one should be on a pedestal for running a sims blog. We're all just people here.