#subplot spotlight

[asongofgoldenfireandblackblood]

𝓢𝓾𝓫𝓹𝓵𝓸𝓽 𝓢𝓹𝓸𝓽𝓵𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽

𝓗𝓪𝓿𝓸𝓬 𝓲𝓷 𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓗𝓲𝓰𝓱 𝓣𝓸𝔀𝓮𝓻

Lords and ladies, scholars and schemers! Gather close, for within the halls of Oldtown, where the light of knowledge burns brightest, shadows of ambition stretch ever longer. House Hightower—proud, powerful, and perilously poised—stands at a crossroads. Theirs is an ancient legacy, entwined with the Faith, the Citadel, and the Crown itself, yet the question remains: will they be the architects of the realm’s future, or relics of a past no longer in their grasp?

At the heart of it all is Lord Lyonel Hightower, a man whose every step must balance duty and desire. His marriage to Lady Sam, bold and unconventional, has stirred more than whispers, it has divided his own family. Some see in their union a necessary shift, an embrace of strength outside the rigid confines of tradition. Others see a threat to propriety, a risk to the very foundation of their House’s influence. Lyonel’s siblings, his steadfast brother, his sharp-witted sisters, watch closely, some with approval, others with unease. What does love mean when weighed against legacy? What is loyalty worth when it stands in opposition to ambition?

Power, after all, is the Hightower’s true inheritance. As Lords of Oldtown, they do not simply hold influence; they are influence. They walk a tightrope between the Faith, the Citadel, and the noble houses of Westeros, wielding their station like a sword even as they remain ever at risk of being cut by it. Where can they push, and where must they yield? Can they truly shape the institutions they have long been bound to, or will they find themselves outmaneuvered by forces older and more insidious than even their ambitions?

And then, there is the question of the future.

Some whisper that the Hightowers have fallen out of favor with the Crown, but what is favor when you can build power beyond it? If the Iron Throne does not serve their ends, then where else must they turn? What alliances must be forged, what gambits played, and what risks taken? They have seen the failures of Otto and of Ormund, failures that proved that proximity to power is no guarantee of keeping it. So what comes next? And how do they ensure they remain at the center of it all, while still paying, at least in appearance, the necessary respects to House Tyrell and the Crown?

Come, noble players, and take your place in House Hightower’s ever-turning game.

Play Lyonel Hightower, the lord who must balance love, legacy, and the weight of Oldtown’s future upon his shoulders.

Play Joy Hightower, Lyonel and Sam’s daughter, born of an unconventional match—what will she make of her parents’ choices, and how will she navigate the expectations set upon her?

Play Martyn Hightower, Lyonel’s brother, loyal and calculating—does he stand by Lyonel’s vision, or does he seek a different path for their House?

Play Rosey Mullendore, née Hightower, Lyonel’s sister, a woman married into another noble house, yet forever tied to the fate of her own.

Play Aladore Merryweather, husband to Bethany Hightower—what does he make of the shifting tides of power in Oldtown?

Play Garth Mullendore, Rosey’s husband, a player in his own right—does he further the Hightowers' ambitions, or seek to twist them to his own ends?

Create new characters—a clever maester with secrets of his own, a Faithful zealot who sees House Hightower as either salvation or corruption, a merchant prince whose gold could tip the scales, or a rival lord seeking to outmaneuver them all.

Oldtown does not bow easily. But power must be claimed, not merely inherited. Step forth, and shape the future of the Hightowers.

[the-spaced-out-ace]

lautski teen beach movie au when (this is not the first time i have fantasized about this and it won't be the last)

[odileeclipse]

You’ve Been Edited Out. Shadow Milk Cookie x Reader | GN Reader | Angst |

You used to know exactly how the lights would hit your face when the curtain rose. Now they don’t touch you at all.

You sit in the front row, no longer part of the act. Not the stagehand. Not the muse. Not the star. Just a witness.

You know what’s coming before the spotlight shifts. You know the way he moves, how he takes the stage like it’s his second skin, how the air bends a little around him when he’s ready to begin.

You used to stand there.

 Now someone else does.

They’re good.

It makes it worse.

They know their cues. Their posture. They mirror the angle of his smirk like they’ve practiced it in the mirror. And he looks at them the way he used to look at you, with that glint of mirth that made you forget he was ever capable of cruelty.

He calls them “Dove.”

You were “Starlight.”

Backstage, you pretend you’re just visiting. That you’re not here to bleed.

He finds you anyway.

Of course he does.

“Well,” he says, tilting his head, “if it isn’t my favorite ghost.”

You force a smile. “Didn’t know I’d become one.”

“Oh, but you did,” he hums. “That’s why you disappeared without fanfare. No final bow. Just... exit, stage left.”

You glance toward the stage.

“They’re good,” you say.

“Mm,” he hums. “But are they you?”

That pause between you hurts. Long. Waiting.

You don’t answer.

Neither does he.

“So,” you ask, voice low. “Did I get replaced?”

He scoffs. “Replaced? No, no, no, don't be dramatic. You faded.”

“I was tired.”

“You grew quiet.”

“I was grieving.”

He leans in, smile sharp as ever. “And I was still performing. The world doesn’t wait for the soft-hearted, you know.”

You hold your ground, but barely.

“Did I matter?” you ask.

His eyes flicker. Just once.

Then he laughs like it’s part of the show.

“You made a good first act.”

That’s when you finally understand: You weren’t part of the story. You were a subplot.

You take a step back, words raw in your throat.

He watches you like you’re still an audience to please.

 Like this is all still part of the script.

“Well?” he asks, mock bowing. “Aren’t you going to wish me luck?”

You blink once. “I hope the stage collapses.”

He grins wide. “Now that’s the spirit.”

Later, during the next act, you hear your laugh on someone else’s lips. See your old costume, refitted. Watch him twirl someone else under the spotlight, using lines he wrote for you.

You stay through the whole performance. You don’t clap.

You just stand.

And for a moment just a moment he looks your way.

His smile falters.

Then the spotlight shifts, and he bows.

And you disappear without a bow, again.

A/N Chat, we are in a brooding mood tonight, let's make the most of it <3 I'm trying to practice as much as possible for my writing portfolio so that they deem me "literate" enough I suppose I'm not really sure what the point of making a writing portfolio is for?....

Anyways....

Remember to follow and reblog for more bangers 😎😎😎🔥🔥🔥🔥

[screamofdespair]

Heiji Hattori as a Symbol of Creative Paralysis in the Detective Conan Franchise

For over two decades, fans of Detective Conan have watched Heiji Hattori grow from a charismatic rival to one of the series most beloved characters. And yet, even after more than 1000 episodes/chapters and 28 movies, Heiji remains treated as a side character, a "special guest" brought in occasionally to keep things going, but never fully integrated into the narrative core. This long-standing neglect is not just a missed narrative opportunity, it is a symptom of a deeper issue : the systematic creative paralysis caused by corporate control and capitalistic logic within the anime industry.

Heiji's Narrative & Wasted Potential

Heiji Hattori was introduced as a bold and brilliant counterpart to Shinichi Kudo, the perfect rival, partner, and narrative foil. He had all the potential to become a co-protagonist : two detectives in different regions solving cases in parallel, crossing paths, exchanging ideas, and deepening the world-building of the series. His charisma, his dynamic with Conan, his investigative style, everything was in place. Fans expected growth. Instead, Heiji became a glorified guest star. One or two episodes/chapters per year. No central role, no major investigations, no real evolution, nothing 'meaningful' since the end of his actual guest star phase, and all of it framed under the banner of a character written mainly to serve a forced romantic purpose. It’s gotten to the point where even the voice actors were tired. Despite the potential, he's used like a collectible taken off the shelf for an event, then put back into storage. They had a second ace detective in their hands and chose to keep him in the background, often by undermining his defining traits, reframing him as comic relief rather than allowing him to grow as a central figure. Takahiro Okura, the scriptwriter for some of the Detective Conan movies, stated that Heiji and Kazuha should be integrated into the main cast. Their absence, he implied, weakens the possibilities for deeper world-building. And ironically, now that the romantic subplot between Heiji and Kazuha has finally been resolved, their presence in the story risks shrinking even further if you ask me. Gosho and the writers might face a "what do we do with them now?" dilemma, instead of expanding their role meaningfully. From now on, Heiji could, alone, really take the spotlight, with Kazuha kept in the background or left out, out of fear that the story might move too fast and exhaust their new narrative potential too soon. And honestly? Why not. But that’s exactly the issue, it���s narrative cowardice. Having Heiji show up in more cases from now on, on his own, only proves they could’ve done it way earlier, and more naturally.

Corporate Logic Over Character Development

Heiji’s sidelining isn’t a creative accident. It’s a structural decision. The anime production committee composed of Yomiuri TV, TMS Entertainment, TOHO, Shogakukan etc, operates under a system where storytelling is subservient to profit optimization. Every narrative change is weighed not for artistic merit, but for its impact on merchandising, ratings, and continuity. Allowing Heiji to evolve into a regular would mean more writing, more arcs, and the risk of narrative progression. But that goes against the system’s core priority : endless repetition. This gives the anime/movies (especially the movies), and by extension the committee, a real influence over the manga’s pace, tone, and long-term direction. Aoyama may hold the pen, but the committee holds the cage. Lately, even some of Aoyama’s editors, under possible pressure, have either changed their stance or started aligning with the corporate mindset behind the series. This is not creativity, this is content management. And when your movies are making over ¥15 billion annually, why bother investing in a character like Heiji? Why develop new narrative structures, when you can keep him shelved as a “special guest” card. If you resolve arcs or elevate side characters, you bring the story closer to its natural ending and shortening a profitable franchise’s lifespan is commercially unacceptable. Even worse : while it would be entirely possible to use Heiji in non-canon filler episodes, giving the spotlight to his character without touching the core narrative, the producers still refuse to do it. Not because it would be difficult, but because it contradicts their conservative, product-oriented philosophy. They could plan episodes in advance, hire talented guest directors, build something fresh around Heiji but they won't. Because in this philosophy, innovation is not a priority. Stability is. What’s even more funny is that this could actually make people want to get back into the anime, and it would probably work really well. You’d get a bit of everything : a break from the usual artistic routine, different scriptwriters/directors/animators than usual, like i said earlier. A good example of that is the mini-series of Eri’s Courtroom. By limiting Heiji’s appearances through quotas, they’ve turned him from a character into a controlled asset, something to be managed, not developed.

The Endless Loop : Why the Story Can’t Move Forward & Its Creative Limitations

Detective Conan isn’t built to evolve. It’s built to circulate. The anime and movies generate billions of yen annually. Shogakukan, a major player in the Japanese publishing industry, has a clear economic interest in maintaining Conan as a permanent fixture, not as an evolving story, but as a cultural product. This isn’t just a franchise. It’s a dependency. The series fuels manga sales, spin-offs, licensing deals, and annual blockbuster films. The spin-offs, ironically, show how low the creative bar has fallen : despite fresh angles (Zero's Tea Time, Hannin no Hanzawa), they are underfunded and underanimated. The production circle is tightly controlled, with a limited pool of animators and almost no injection of new artistic energy. There’s no new blood injected in, just veterans like Yasuichiro Yamamoto (the series director), who have been carrying the weight of Detective Conan’s production since the very beginning. Animation Producers like Keiichi Ishiyama admitted in interviews that the system is so rigid that missing a single delivery deadline can jeopardize the entire production and push the studio to the brink of collapse. Another issue is the lack of creative freedom for the movie directors : even when someone tries to bring something fresh, like the director of Movie 27, Chika Nagaoka, who wanted to portray Heiji in a more mature way in the movie, the idea was swiftly overridden by Gosho Aoyama himself. Not necessarily because he disagreed, but because the philosophy demands consistency over innovation. That said, some animation producers, distinct from the executive producers or committee stakeholders, of course, do try to bring in talented animators, scout the competitive freelance market, and elevate the quality of key sequences. Without them, Detective Conan would be visually dead. These individuals still fight to inject life into a tightly controlled environment. But they operate under a passive restriction : the 'best' animators rarely want to work on a project so artistically suffocating (the shift to digital in Gosho’s drawings, or the gradual redesign of the anime’s character models = creative limitation, which became increasingly bound by consistency over experimentation). There’s almost no space for personal style. Even when talented directors are hired, like the director of Movie 22, Yuzuru Tachikawa (formerly of Mob Psycho 100) or Movie 25, Mitsunaka Susumu (from Haikyuu!!), their unique directorial style is barely visible. The films are cleanly produced, but the soul of the director is absent. Anyone can direct a Detective Conan movie. The role has become factory work, everything is controlled from start to finish, and the director no longer has access to any real source of creative input. The brand overrides the artist. Popularity of the manga > More money to be made > More content to be produced > Tighter deadlines and overworked studios (Gosho inclued) > Drop in quality but the money keeps coming in > A system of ultra-comfort settles in, no risk, no urgency to evolve > A never-ending cycle.

Capitalism Embedded in the Narrative

This is what i mean when i say capitalism over storytelling. Characters like Heiji are not written, they are managed. Narrative arcs are not planned, they are rationed. The goal is not to tell a story but to preserve a revenue stream. Even the script decisions are shaped by what’s safest for the committee. In contrast, look at Toei’s handling of One Piece. Despite being a massive commercial franchise, it invests in high-caliber animators, embraces experimental visuals and respects the momentum of the source material. It doesn’t just protect the brand, it elevates it. Conan does the opposite : it freezes its own world out of fear.

A Point of No Return?

Is it too late for Conan to change? Realistically, yes. The franchise has become a full-loop economy. The story can’t end, but it can’t move forward drastically either. Heiji Hattori, a character who should have been a second protagonist, remains trapped in guest status, even as his storylines are technically resolved. The worst part? That resolution doesn’t open up new narrative space. It shuts it down. The couple is canon now. It's great, but It’s hard to expect anything surprising going forward. I keep a sliver of hope, but honestly, it feels unlikely.

So yeah, Heiji Hattori is more than a sidelined character. He’s the symbol of everything the franchise could have become, and refused to. In trying to protect the illusion of a never-ending world, Detective Conan has built a prison for itself. Not out of lack of love. But out of fear of loss. The fear of losing control over a profitable system, fear of disrupting a carefully maintained commercial balance, fear of ending the formula that guarantees returns.

[ataleofcrowns]

Chapter 12 Progress [08/APR]

Hey gang, I've started posting updates on my Patreon now that I'm actually making some damn progress on this chapter, so I figured to cross-post the latest update here as well. These are usually for members only but it's been sooo long, the ones I'm posting in April are all going to be for free 🙏🏼

This progress report focuses on a specific section of what I'm working on regarding CH12 and, more specifically, Kham.

About Kham

This one is turning out to be a bigger branching route than I expected. For those not in the know, I described in my dev sneak peek from last month how the opening scene of CH12 will involve the Crown dealing (or not dealing?) with Kham. It will be a bit of a culmination of all the choices you've made regarding Kham so far: did you inform her of the assassins in CH5, did you decide to trust her/were you honest with her in CH6, and did you choose to ask her to mediate for you in CH10?

Particularly that last decision will lead to the biggest difference in scenery: if you asked for Kham's help, you will get a scene at the palace involving her and the peri trader. If you decided not to ask her, however, the story will instead see you investigating the peri trader personally.

Initially, these were both two very clear branching paths with two very clear-cut consequences, but I decided it made more sense to offer additional variation. Choosing not to ask for her help with the peri trader will NOT lock you out of being able to ally with her... but the circumstances of it will be quite different compared to a player who has trusted Kham from the start and asked for her help.

You can, of course, decide not to ally with her on either branch as well, if you don't think she can be trusted. In which case, you should be prepared to make an enemy out of her: there's no fence-sitting on this one, and there won't be any chances to make an ally of her later on in the story. Similarly, if she turns out to be untrustworthy, and you make an ally out of her now, there won't be any takebacksies later... so you might end up stabbed in the back.

This is your one and only shot, so choose wisely.

About D and X

I'm currently working on the branch of the Crown dealing with the peri trader without Kham's involvement, and it's a pretty fun variation. There are some undercover detective vibes going on, and it's nice to write a scene set in the city as opposed to the palace for some variety. Though I've also dabbled in the route with Kham's help, and the Crown really flexes their royal authority in that one. Can go no wrong with either option in terms of entertainment, imo!

What's also been fun to explore further is how the main LI's subplot is starting to affect things in the story. I do have to note that for the branching sequence with the Kham choice, there's a bit of a spotlight on D and X since those two were gone for a whole chapter, so they get to spend some special time with the Crown in the first half of CH12. But R and A will be back for the rest of it!

I'll give you some D and X route crumbs this week since I've been chipping away at that one first, and hopefully I'll also have some on R and A next time:

For people who aren't on D's route, they'll get to find out something special about D that D romancers became privy to in CH11. It doesn't change much for the Crown on those routes, just some D lore you may enjoy and an opportunity to grow your friendship further.

As for D romancers, you all may or may not get a potentially devastating sequence depending on how your Crown handled their little court scene in CH11. If you managed to protect D, then all the better, but if you couldn't stamp out the court's protests... well, let's just say your Crown is going to have to be the one to inform D of any bad news.

Plus there's that damned letter to worry about. I'm sure that won't become any kind of problem at all.

For people who aren't on X's route, things are peachy! Honestly, all of the drama that happens for X romancers is not a big deal for everyone else, since X's romance with the Crown is the thing that causes them to act out. X friendship players are coasting in that regard, you just enjoy seeing X get to be their usual menace self.

For people who are romancing X, people on their low route might start noticing something different about them. Their actions in the high and low romances will be the exact same, but the vibes on the low route will be off, to say the least. You can still recover to a high route! But it will require having to pierce through that mask X is so fond of wearing...

High romancers: kick back, relax, and enjoy your upcoming romance content guilt-free LMAO

That was it for this week!! I wish I could give you an estimated release window, but I've been wrestling with this chapter, and I'm frankly deeply afraid I won't be able to finish it before summer rolls in 💀

Please keep your local struggling writer in your thoughts and prayers, and as always thank you for your patience and support 🙏🏼

[queen-of-hawkins-why-ler]

Finn saying that he’s excited to shoot scenes with the “original four” tells us everything we need to know tbh. It says to me that his character’s focus this season will be on the OG party rather than on El, who will be interacting with other characters in an entirely different subplot. Like, I don’t doubt that Mike and El will have several heartfelt and crucial scenes together (as they should), but overall they will be key players in entirely different subplots from one another. It makes sense to me that El’s focus will be on Max (and by extension, Lucas) and on her family (specifically Joyce and Hopper), while Mike’s focus will be on Will and the OG core four. What excites me is that it seems like Lucas could be the character who links Mike and El’s stories together this season. It would be GREAT if Lucas got the spotlight this season similar to how Will is going to get the spotlight, and it’d be so refreshing for Mike and El to both be focused on his needs and helping him. Also, as usual, it means that Byler is endgame lol.

[tommytomatoe]

i saw on tiktok people saying they thought babe’s character was boring, and they’re not wrong.

hear me out.

compared to the other listeners, babe has no personality. let’s focus in on the shaw-pack listeners exclusively. angel’s a hyper-active, childish character, sweetheart’s a hard working detective, darlin‘s got a whole past that took 3 videos to cover. compared to the rest, we know almost nothing about babe. there was an earlier video when asher talked about their work struggles but that was it. that’s all we know about them; they’re a semi workaholic.

and while it does suck because there’s not a lot of development for us to follow with them, i don’t fully hate it. it gives us as creatives a lot of leeway on how we want babe, or other listeners to be. whenever characters have too much personality, it can be hard to relate to them. i love the work and dedication we get from erik, and there’s a TON of characters and listeners he writes for so we’re bound to get a semi-boring one every now and then. so far, that’s how a lot of us view babe. they’re just someone to ride along with asher in his journey, never someone to take the wheel.

i hope in the future they can have a moment, like give babe the spotlight for a second. even if, for writings sake, it’s a babe and angel moment. there’s so much you can do with two humans navigating the supernatural world. use it!

TL;DR: babe has wasted potential and deserves a subplot of SOME kind.

[quibbs126]

So I did some more Transformers drawings, and I figured page was full enough

I mean, it isn’t really, I could have fit more in the corner if I wanted, but I can’t think of anything else to draw there, so might as well post it now

So I suppose, let’s talk through all this

First off we have an Optimus I never finished, because I couldn’t get that bending shoulder to look right. It just looks off, and I can’t finish it until it looks right. So I never did

I think he’s supposed to be sad and yearning after the breakup with Megatron, and talking about it with someone

Anyways, then we move on to the Dinobot section, which I made because I started Beast Wars and like Dinobot, and had been attempting to draw him at work the previous day

I think I draw him too skinny, which is why I made that middle one, to be more accurate. But I also kind of like drawing him skinnier? I know it isn’t accurate, but I like making him so. Like he’s got muscles, but has a lean body type. I don’t know

Then today, I wanted to draw a happy, smiling D-16, who’s doing so at something Orion did for him (this isn’t supposed to be a recreation of the race scene)

I was going to do it more like the Dinobot style, but then I ended up going back to 3D boxes anyways

Honestly I think it’s one of the ones I’m most proud of, look at him and his sweet little face

Still can’t get the sticker right though

But anyways, on to the last thing, the Bee and Elita

Honestly I think the two of them need some ships in this universe too. Megatron and Optimus got their whole situation, but what about them? Elita doesn’t really have any options presented right now outside of maybe Arcee and I guess Airachnid (but personally I’m not here for the toxic yuri right now), and I don’t really know about Bee

The sequels should give them new characters to have subplots and shipping with. It can’t all be Megatron and Optimus hogging the spotlight (even if I do like them)

As for the drawings of the two themselves, I mean it’s alright. I think Elita came out better though. But it’s also my first time drawing them, and it takes some practice for me to get them right

I’m realizing as I type this that I have a sketchbook, and I got good at drawing Dinobot after drawing him on sauce paper a few times. So like, I could just do that to try and practice the characters without needing to be at work, and having a handy place to keep those references. Hm, well that’s a solution for later

It also does not help that I don’t have good references for them, especially in their cogged forms. These are about the best I got, and they aren’t the best quality either, I do not know how to draw their heads (well mostly Bee’s)

I also don’t think I’m drawing the Transformers One cast right. Like their bodies and general proportions I mean

Like, I noticed from this random screenshot I saw today that D-16’s noticeably wider than Orion

And I also know that the quartet have their own distinct face shapes from one another

I just don’t know how to convey those things in my drawing of them, it doesn’t want to work

Also I don’t think I have the basic structure of how their bodies work down either. I noticed today that almost all of them have more cylindrical shoulders than the rectangles I sketch, and also they have those middle circle joints

This is an observation I’ve had before, but the Transformers One designs to me really feel like action figures/toys with the way they’re built and designed. I don’t really know how to explain what I mean, but it’s how I see these designs in particular, which I can’t say with Animated or I think Beast Wars either. If this makes sense

But yeah, that’s the drawings. I don’t really know how to end this

[crispy-kiss]

Today's yap: Commedia dell'arte & Gay subtext; Why is Közi dressed as the Pierrot in Verte Aile?

I've talked about this on Twitter a few months ago but since it is now banned to me i'll post my thoughts here as well. Hear me out.

First of all, let's just summarize the plot: Gackt and Judith are a happy couple who live with the nobleman Kami, Judith's brother Yu~ki and Mana, a maid/prostitute. Everything was fine until Gackt dreamed that a misfortune would befall them. Worried, he and Judith go to visit a fortune teller who, after a blood pact, warns them that they are cursed and Judith will die. Gackt gets depressed and spends his days at the bar lamenting the inevitable. When Judith finally dies, Gackt is left with the regret of not having enjoyed the time he still had with her.

There is also a subplot involving the hooded man and the book that leads to Gekka no Yasoukyoku PV, but that's not the focus right now.

You see, the Pierrot is originally a Commedia dell'arte character. It was an improvised form of theater, the shows took place on improvised stages and carts, the actors using whatever they could find around. The plot of the plays usually revolved around stories of lovers who could not stay together or master-servant relationships. the actors wore masks to play their characters, which were usually the same regardless of the story. Here are the three most relevant ones: Arlecchino, Colombina and Pierrot.

The most popular script involving them is simple: Pierrot is in love with Colombina and writes letters to her in secret, as he doesn't have the courage to confess his feelings. Then he gets his heart broken when Colombina gets with Allerchinno, who is more charismatic and flirtatious. Basically a love triangle.

Now, what does this have to do with Verte Aile?The thing is that there is also a love triangle, although more subtle. Gackt, Judith and Kami, I wouldn't say Kami is in love with Judith though, but with Gackt.

Notice that while Kami's character is in the spotlight, he's always looking at the couple, especially at Gackt. His expression is not one of joy though, he looks upset. And just like Pierrot, he does nothing but watch.

back to Közi, in his pantomime play is interesting to note how the soundtrack gives us clues about the characters' feelings. The scene begins with Közi performing a cheerful song, we have a close-up on each of the characters watching the performance and then... when the camera stops on Kami, he is gazing at Gackt and the music becomes melancholic.

Közi then simulates crying in his performance and cut his wrist, which Kami also did soon after that.

Also, Közi was wearing a mask that he took off just before he cut himself. Kami is the only character to appear wearing masks after this (Bel Air PV.) The mask may symbolize the feelings he was hiding the whole time.

I believe Közi's Pierrot symbolizes Kami's feelings for Gackt. seems very plausible to me, since it's not the first time Malice Mizer includes queer elements and Gackt participated in the script writing. If you know him you know he includes BL in his works quite often.

If you don't like this theory, you can also just say that Kami was in love with Judith. But I honestly don't see him paying any special attention to her during the movie. So it's up to you! Maybe I'll write more another day. ^3^

[physalian]

Juggling Multiple POVS (Writing Like A Movie)

At one point in a WIP, I had one character being held captive, two characters on a quest to bust them out, two characters racing to join the jailbreakers, four with no idea any of this is going on because they think they’re all dead, and then of those four, two split off on a side quest, and the remaining two also split off on various other tasks.

If you’re keeping track, that meant I had a book rotating between 6 different subplots and about 9 POVS at the absolute worst, and then about 4 subplots once characters finally reunited with each other.

It was… a lot.

Now this was never published so I don’t know how well it would have been received but it was a sequel and its predecessors received good feedback so I think I know what I’m doing.

—

When you’re committing to a book with Multiple POV, you’ve generally got two roads you can go down: predetermined narrators or ~cinematic~.

You can select a set number of characters to narrate regardless of how many exist in your ensemble cast, and no matter how many split off on their own subplots, those predetermined narrators will be keeping up with the story. These types of books tend to have shorter chapters and single narrators for chunks of chapters at a time with no cutting in between and fairly long breaks in between a character’s chunks of POV. Or, they have entire sections of book dedicated to them with clear markers between POVS.

The easy example here is Heroes of Olympus that I believe had up to 4 narrators per book despite a main cast of about 8 characters depending on the book. The first two were 3-POV, for each of the 3 questers, and then once the whole party was together the POVS were determined by who split off into which groups. Rather infamously, in my opinion, the last book of the series did not give a POV to the two legacy characters and the former protagonist of the first series, which was… a choice. I think the point was that Riordan gave them their spotlight in book 4 and was passing the torch to the new batch for book 5, but for many of us, who had no idea we’d never get a POV of these two again, it was mighty disappointing.

These books also had no chapter titles and instead had banner-style chapters where you had NICO or PIPER in massive banners over the start of each chapter, which was also a choice as going without chapter titles (or even numbers, they’re in roman numerals) makes it a lot harder to search things up in books 500+ pages long.

Who narrates when is less determined by who the most important character of the chapter is, for the most part. It might be Hazel’s moment, but she’s not a narrator of this book, so it’s in Piper POV (or Nico’s forced coming out moment in Jason POV which I will never forgive Riordan for). It’s just a dice roll of whoever it lands on which can lead to some moments, like the Nico incident, that really should have been in Nico POV, but the structure of the story demanded otherwise.

I don’t really love this style of multiple POV. Personally, I think it’s rather inflexible and doesn’t take full advantage of what MPOV can do. But that’s personal opinion so here’s some strengths:

It doesn’t jump around as much and with a minimal set of narrators, it’s more streamlined. You know what to expect going in with no surprises

It forces the author to get creative within the bounds of the POV they’re stuck in

The extra time with a single narrator can be a solid guide rail through a complicated plot piece

—

Or, you can write a more ~cinematic~ MPOV. I don’t know the proper term for this, if it exists, but this style of MPOV is when you basically free-for-all. Anyone can narrate whenever the scene demands and this either grants you a book with short chapters, but one narrator per short chapter, or multiple narrators within a single chapter, as you’d film a movie or an episode of TV with multiple perspectives per set piece.

This isn’t a random grab-bag of narrators. It demands a lot of restraint. This kind of MPOV is entirely based on who is the most important character of the scene, or who’s POV would be the most interesting to view the scene through.

ENNS is written in cinematic MPOV, with a far smaller rotating cast than the WIP I mentioned at the top of this post. It starts out slow with the protagonist for the first two chapters as the only narrator, then mid-chapter 3, I give a cue that he’s going to be unable to narrate the next bit, and I switch to my deuteragonist. I don’t give banner headings. I don’t give my characters entire chapters because the POV structure demands it. I just start whichever POV with the narrator’s name within the first 1-3 sentences. If that means one character has an entire chapter to themselves, then at this point in the story, their arc is the most important thing to be focusing on.

In the WIP at the top of the post, it was book 3 of a series which gave me some freedom. Namely that most of those 9 POVs were established characters you’d already be familiar with. I wasn’t throwing my audience into the deep end with 9 strangers and demanding they try to keep up with 6 subplots of equally confusing and unknown characters.

Cinematic MPOV should rely less on “who hasn’t narrated in a while let’s give it to them” and more “who would be the most interesting narrator for this moment”. You could have a villain POV, a one-off that might never narrate again, or a tertiary character who isn’t doing the most action in the scene, but has the richest commentary on what’s going on.

It does demand restraint. If anyone can pick up the narrator hat, then you could find yourself splitting off into unnecessary subplots. Not every piece of the story must be told and letting readers imagine what’s going on behind closed doors is sometimes better than detailing it all out. I could give a captive or missing character some POVS, or I could let the audience anxiously stew with the rest of the cast wondering if they’re even still alive.

In some books I’ve read, the deliberate choice to not let readers see into the mind of a character as they make important decisions, left on the outs with their friend or lover or relative, is maddeningly entertaining. They won’t explain themselves to the people who care about them, and they won’t explain themselves to the audience, either.

Or, you can let a side character have the spotlight for a scene or two as we see our favorites through their eyes, possibly in a way they’ve never been depicted before. A’s lover B might describe them as strong and brash. A’s old rival C might describe those same actions completely differently.

—

In terms of who narrates when, like the 9-POV monster I had going, I had key moments of every POV that had to hit the book's physical layout at specific times. Like episodes of TV, I needed certain scenes and moments and reveals to fit within specific chapters, not dangling off on either end.

I had to remember the time scale that all of this was happening on so every scene that was meant to happen simultaneously actually read like it was all going on at once. I had some chapters with the “A” group of narrators, then skipped them for a chapter for the “B” group of narrators for their scenes. Keeping the pacing as frenetic as it needed to be wasn’t easy, but if you can pull it off, I think it can be quite entertaining.

Some things to keep in mind with MPOV:

Don’t retread the same scenes or conversations. I read a fanfic a very long time ago that had I think 10 different takes on one character’s death with the dialogue copy-pasted over and over again and it was exhausting. If you want to have a character reflect on a previous scene, pull the specific lines as they remember them.

Unless messing up the timeline is the point of the story or you make it very clear that a scene happens before the present, don’t let POVs muck up the continuity. If plot happens on a Wednesday and the next scene is more important plot that happens that previous Tuesday, you might confuse your readers on when everything is meant to be happening.

Sometimes not knowing is better. Prequels tend to fail because whatever fans imagined happening is way better than what the writers explicitly show happening. Practice restraint.

Unless your story is paced very slowly, try not to have POVS butt up right against each other every time. In an action set piece, everything happens in sequence with zero black space between them. But a whole book with zero room to breathe can get tiring to read. Books with a single narrator have scene breaks and mini time skips, not every single part of your characters’ day has to be detailed.

If you don’t have banners, make it clear as quickly as possible who the new narrator is. Eventually, if your narration is distinct enough for each character, you can go a paragraph or two and your audience will know who it is anyway just based on how they think.

If these are all unknown characters, try to hop around minimally at first until you establish a clear protagonist, otherwise your readers might get lost on who the focus of the story is meant to be and lose which character is doing or thinking what.

*ETA: I forgot: typically with multiple narrators for a single “group”, like two characters stuck on a side quest together, I try to flip-flop their POVS. For example, if I have D and E with a whole chapter to themselves, the POV structure would go D E D E. To my eyes, it looks better, as they have equal share of the action. I try very hard to not let any one narrator have back-to-back POVS unless the narrative demands otherwise. But that’s just me.

—

This is personal opinion on what I think works. If you’re struggling on maintaining pacing or clarity with your ensemble cast, consider the above points. Hope this helps!

[asongofgoldenfireandblackblood]

𝓢𝓾𝓫𝓹𝓵𝓸𝓽 𝓢𝓹𝓸𝓽𝓵𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽

𝓣𝔀𝓲𝓬𝓮 𝓪𝓼 ���𝓻𝓪𝓷𝓭, 𝓗𝓪𝓵𝓯 𝓪𝓼 𝓝𝓲𝓬𝓮

Lords and ladies, Courtiers and Confidants! Lend us your ears, for a tale of ambition, intrigue, and the unshakable bonds of sisterhood unfolds within the Red Keep! What began as a young princess’s dream has blossomed into the most formidable assembly of women in the realm; a Court of Love, Beauty, and Power, where loyalty is forged through wit, influence, and an unyielding devotion to their Queen.

Since her youth, Rhaenyra Targaryen has surrounded herself with a dazzling array of ladies-in-waiting, close companions, and trusted advisors, crafting a circle so grand it rivals even the fabled court of Good Queen Alysanne. Twice as large and half as nice, the Queen’s Ladies have become an institution unto themselves, a sisterhood bound not only by duty but by a lifetime of shared triumphs, secrets, and schemes.

But it was as Hand of the King that Rhaenyra’s ambitions truly took flight. Ever in pursuit of worthy allies, she gathered to her side Lady Cissy Grafton, Lady Elinda Massey, Lady Willow Fossoway, and Lady Daisy Connington. These four women became the foundation of her reign—Cissy, a scholar of unmatched intellect; Elinda, a master of jewels, gossip, and courtly charm; Willow, a musician whose talent and charisma could bend even the coldest hearts; and Daisy, a woman of unshakable strength, whose keen intuition and negotiation skills have earned her whispers of being Jason Lannister’s true equal.

Now, as Queen, Rhaenyra’s reach extends further still. In the past year, she has drawn three of the kingdom’s most renowned ladies into her inner circle—Lady Rowena Melcolm, the sharp-tongued, sharper-witted Lady of Customs in the Vale, finally granted her long-deserved place at court; Lady Meliana Dustin, the breathtaking beauty of Barrowton, who shatters all preconceptions of Northern women while proving her fortitude rivals even her fiercest kin; and Lady Argella Selmy, a dancer and patron of the arts who has turned the Red Keep into the most resplendent court Westeros has seen in a generation.

At five-and-ten, Rhaenyra once vowed she would build a court to rival her Queen-Stepmother’s and eclipse even the memory of Good Queen Alysanne’s. Now, love her or hate her, friend or foe, all of Westeros agrees: she has succeeded beyond her wildest dreams.

Come, noble players, and claim your place among the Queen’s Ladies!

Play Lady Roslin Vance (neé Strong), a lifelong companion to the Queen, as bound to Rhaenyra as a sister.

Play Lady Margot Lannister-Reyne, the court’s architect of elegance, whose charm and influence make her indispensable.

Play Lady Maia Celtigar-Sunglass, the brilliant mind behind the Queen’s policies, a force to be reckoned with in administration.

Play Lady Willow Fossoway, a musician of rare talent, whose songs weave their own kind of magic in courtly affairs.

Play Lady Jena Connington, a woman of steel and wit, famed for her resilience and unmatched negotiation skills.

Play Lady Rowena Melcolm, the Vale’s sharp-tongued Lady of Customs, finally rewarded a seat at court after years of effort.

Play Lady Meliana Dustin, a northern rose who proves that beauty and strength can walk hand in hand.

Play Lady Argella Selmy, the dazzling performer and patron of the arts who has set the Red Keep alight with revelry.

The Queen awaits her ladies—will you answer the call?

[matt0044]

What we can learn from “The Jaune Arc Discourse” (TM).

Well, to start with, people are really resistant to being corrected on lies at worst or overstatements at best.

Like if nothing else, the Does RWBY Like Women poll was illuminating in how it showed me that a veeeeeery weird myth about Jaune Arc has persisted beyond its true relevancy.

Volume 1 of RWBY features Jaune Arc in the spotlight for… what? Four episodes? The minutes of each adding up to roughly twenty minutes, the length of an average TV episode?

While he was featured in the previous storyline where we are given an eight episode arc introducing us to our eight main protagonists, he was a lot more… ancillary as comic relief. A discount Lavernius Tucker with Felix’s voice if you will.

He's Vomit Boy in episode one. Episode two has him introduced more formally as somebody who helps up Ruby after a bad first impression on Weiss. He later appears more prominently pining over Weiss and catching Pyrrha's attention before falling to bracing himself in being catapulted into the Emerald Forest.

He's bailed out by Pyrrha and it's set up that he's in over his head by not knowing what Aura is or at least wanting to know how it works. An exposition sponge as I heard on fan call it. I could go on but the point is that all signs pointed to a Butt Monkey Ron Stoppable sort who was likely there for cheap laughs.

Amusing enough but I worried if that's all he'd be personally. Lord knows that some movies give the Comic Relief character too much comic relief and, well, not enough character. But after Ruby and Weiss have their leader/lance headbutting, the four episodes that followed reassured me that there'd be more to Jaune than meets the eyes.

But to circle back to the main thesis, it's actually fascinating that the myth of Jaune hijacking the narrative for himself is this pervasive when the offending story in question... is very much a self-contained character piece. It's way less about the wider story involving Ozpin, Roman Torchwick (at the time) and the White Fang.

It has relevance in how Pyrrha starts mentoring Jaune after he deals with Cardin and gets over himself (for now) which trickles down into future stories. Even then, the next story arc right back with Team RWBY with nary a sign of the everyman in question. A story arc that does deal with elements of the main plot, leading directly into Volume 2.

And in Volume 2, Jaune trying to woo Weiss and being ignorant to Pyyrha's advancements was just a subplot scattered in the first half of the story. It very much piggybacks off of Team RWBY's whole deal.

Volume 3 has what I consider to be a reversal of what's been known as Trinity Syndrome.

Namely the sort where a male character goes off the square off with the main villain mano-e-mano after shoving the female character/his love interest away so she won't get hurt. An egrigious example being when the love interest CAN FIGHT and back him up.

However, Pyyrha instead shoves Jaune out of the way after kissing him and goes off to face Cinder in a very fatal battle. It was honestly a brilliant (as much as the term may be disliked these days) subversion of the cliche.

And it’s Ruby who sees her death and gets the trauma induced power up. Jaune only has a scene of angst before that and was the one to call Ruby to have her try and back up the one he just realized he loved.

Jaune from that point on is an Everyman Protagonist who is forced to remember that he’s not THE protagonist. Yet the myth persistently proclaims that he hijacks the narrative from the titular Team RWBY despite only four episodes being wholly dedicated to him and his head space.

How did we get here?

Well… there’s the fact that not everyone finished Volume 1 and that not everybody, well, watched RWBY. And that would be fine on its own. You gave it a shot and it wasn’t your cuppa joe. You saw the trailer but clicked on something else.

I get it. That’s fine. Contrary to popular belief, nobody in the FNDM will really fault you for it. Less fine is when you spread faulty readings of RWBY and from those heavily biased against it no less.

It cannot be emphasized enough that tearing into RWBY is a cottage industry on YouTube. Hbomberguy might have the biggest platform but you’ll find multiple channels with lengthy series on “RWBY bad, here why.” And they are actually amongst the FNDM. They know how the YT Algorithm game is played, how it rewards engagement above all else. And sadly, negativity and rage pay more bills.

It’s why there are few positive videos or at least few that are pushed into the recommendations. Many often borrow the same points from each other born from the V1 days, namely that Jaune is allegedly given favoritism by the writers while we somehow “don’t know who the main girls are.”

From four episodes.

I also think it’s also to do with how it’s not that he actually did steal screentime… so much as many anticipated he would. A lot of shows and movies I grew up with would have strong female characters but any potential they had was hindered by the male lead and his hero’s journey. See the above Trinity Syndrome I referenced.

But Jaune didn’t do that. Even when he was central to an event like his semblance being awakened, it’s a healing/power boost that he gives to others. Weiss getting skewered might’ve brought it out but it lead to her getting back into the fray while he was largely to the sides.

Seems more like he shares screentime if anything.

People cling to these myths despite legit fans actually pointing out, “Hey, that’s not true actually and here’s why,” because that hate being told they are wrong more than being wrong. And because there are many around these who reinforce this “truth,” they feel content with it. No need to challenge it when it “feels” right.

So Jaune Arc stole screentime. Because that’s what “everyone else” is saying. By you need to question popular opinions. You need to realize that sometimes… a fan community is based on lies.

”Trust me, bro” is not the gotcha you think it is.

[thowawayuntilfurthernotice]

For months, Viv told everyone who wanted more focus on the female characters to wait for Hazbin Hotel because that was the quote "Female lead show."

Except it isn't.

Charlie becomes a side character after the first episode, while Viv's favs (Who are all male) hog up the spotlight.

The titular hotel feels like an afterthought as the show seems more interested in ship teasing and pandering to hardcore fans who spent the last five years reading up on a character who had five seconds of screen time in the pilot on the fan wiki.

It feels like fan fiction, where random characters end up interacting with one another and everything feels thrown together at the last minute.

If you were someone who didn't know who Viv was and this was your first introduction to her work, you'd be confused as to what this show is even about.

The series starts where the pilot left off, so if you didn't watch the pilot, then tough shit! Viv isn't going to bother with recapping the events of the pilot, you're just dropped into the narrative and you're expected to know who these characters are.

No, I don't think it's fair to compare Hazbin Hotel to kids shows, as even the worst kids shows have decent enough writing that anybody can get the jest of what a particular show is about after a single episode viewing.

Hazbin's narrative is a mess, the overarching threat is introduced in the first episode before being completely forgotten about in favor of self contained subplots and ship teasing.

Now normally this wouldn't be so bad, but the first season is only eight episodes long. We've only got four more episodes left and it doesn't look like the main extermination plot will come back into focus until the season finale.

Outside of Viv's hardcore fans, this show doesn't really appeal to anybody.

[the-other-art-blog]

This news about Jeremy Renner and how Marvel wanted to pay him HALF his s1 salary has reignited my anger towards the show.

If you loved the show, good for you. To me, it was a huge waste of potential even if I loved some scenes. Jeremy Renner said he was excited to make a six-hour movie, but that's not what happened. His screentime was reduced, and his backstory was completely ignored. I still remember that bts photo that showed a fortune wheel and getting excited cause they were gonna show the circus...fuck them. There was no mention of his childhood, family, training, involvement with SHIELD, relationship with Laura, fatherhood, NOTHING.

The deleted scenes showed Clint's mother as a morally questionable character, which could have been refreshing in the MCU, where almost all mothers are saints. She was young and lived in her car with Clint. Did she flee her abusive husband? Did she leave Barney behind? WE DON'T KNOW! She and Clint had dreams of a house. Hey, what a great idea to explain why Clint and Laura live on a farm just like the one her mother talked about? If only Marvel had deemed it worth exploring. I guess the background of an OG Avenger is not important.

She taught Clint to steal and took advantage of his perfect aim to rob people. But Clint didn't want to hurt people cause he was only a child and knew it was wrong, so he shot elsewhere, causing her arrest. She wasn't a sweet woman telling her child everything was going to be ok, she resented him! Imagine the guilt Clint had. Did his mother manipulate him more? How long did it take her to forgive him? Did she ever forgive him? I have only my headcanons to know what happened next, cause the show didn't care to explore this part of Clint's life!

(BTW, my headcanon is that Clint's mother continued to blame him and caused him much distress. Have you seen the show Dead to Me? Remember Judy and her mother? Like that.)

Don't you think this would have paralleled beautifully with Kate and her mom?

And then what happened to him? His mother went to jail, did he go with child services? Did he go to an orphanage? Or to the circus? They took Jack from his story to give it to Kate, so did the circus storyline ever happen? Plus, they turned Jack into a joke, so they didn't even used him well.

Now, Laura. Oh boy, I'm so mad about this. Laura and Linda Cardellini deserved so much better. The actress is always so gracious, but the truth is she was treated like shit. They created an entire subplot surrounding her identity and didn't care to explore it deeply. When did she quit SHIELD? How did she adjust to life on the farm after years of working as an agent? What the hell happened between her and Kingpin? You would think the main character's wife would have a decent role, right? A poster?

I guess the story of an OG Avenger is not worth telling. I mean, after all, why would you give screentime to a man who went through abusive parents and homelessness? A man who overcame his difficult childhood to become a loyal husband, able to maintain one of the healthiest relationships in the MCU. Why would you care about a male character who broke the cycle of violence? That story is irrelevant, right?

They didn't even explore his time as Ronin! 😭

This show killed my interest in the MCU because he was my fav character, and they did him so dirty. I never expected a movie about him, I know his limits (although wtf did Ant-Man got a 3rd movie is beyond me). This show was his only chance to have the spotlight.

My delulu mind hoped he and Laura would be in Daredevil because of Laura's watch, or in a season 2 of Hawkeye. Maybe MAYBE then we would have seen more of his backstory and Laura's. Now I know that won't happen and it's disappointing, but realistically, they were just going to sideline him AGAIN. I mean, the salary reduction would only make sense if his role was small and not as Renner implies is due to his accident. A company would never do that *sarcasm*.

I'll forever mourn Clint's potential. That Winter Soldier scene was already too painful to lose, but to have his own show deleting his scenes?!

Ok, rant over.

[flawseer]

Can you tell me your thoughts on Sky? (Peril’s brother)

I’m probably the wrong person to answer that question. Not that I dislike Sky or anything, I just don’t know a lot about him since I haven’t read Dragonslayer.

Completely unrelated tangent ahead, move forward to last paragraph to skip

See, I don’t want to be outright dismissive, I’m sure there are a lot of fans who like it, and that is valid. I just haven’t been able to muster up any interest in getting that book, then sitting down and reading it myself. From what I know about my own tastes and preferences, I am reasonably sure I wouldn’t enjoy the experience.

I am, as people might have surmised already, a rather big admirer of dragons; I think they are majestic, intriguing, fascinating, and beautiful creatures. The reason why I originally fell in love with this series in particular is because it lets dragons be the main characters of their own stories. There is so much dragon-centric media out there where the dragons have to play second fiddle to human characters—as if dragons are somehow incapable of holding the same emotional depth—and it bores me every time I see it.

That is not to say that I require a dragon lead to enjoy something. Besides this I am also a big fan of Avatar: The Last Airbender, Hunter x Hunter, Stardew Valley, and Psychonauts, for example. But it is so comparatively rare to have a series dedicated to Dragons and their stories specifically— especially in roles where they aren’t just mindless evil beasts to be slaughtered—that letting them have the spotlight for those specific cases is important to me.

So when a series like Wings of Fire looks at me, smiles, and says: “Now let’s explore the human perspective in all of this,” it makes my eyes glaze over. I just can’t really get myself invested in this ongoing subplot about dragons gradually discovering and entering the mysterious world of humans, because I’m worried they are going to take over the plot and push the dragon characters into the background yet again. Let's keep calling them Scavengers and proceed to not understand a single thing about them.

The thing is, even though I just said all of that, I actually like Flower. I think her dynamic with Smolder is adorable. If Sutherland wanted to write a winglet about Smolder and Vermilion discovering more about Scavenger stuff through Flower, I’d probably be receptive to that, since I already know Smolder and that could be cute. I also think that it is very possible I might be able to enjoy Wren and Sky. I just don't really have the energy to read a book where I'm only interested in 1/3 of the content.

Tangent over

Sorry, this is turning into a very poor reply to your actual question. I wish I could say more about Sky, other than “Well, I don’t know him, but I imagine he is probably cold-blooded and I hope Wren owns the Pyrrhian equivalent of a heat lamp so he doesn’t freeze. They should do a chapter where Wren wants to do stuff but Sky is like ‘Nooo, I have to lie on this warm rock for another three hours.’ I think that would be the peak of storytelling.”

[37sommz]

❁ : seek & destroy . . .

✼. masterlist — taglist — request. ✼. genre: light angst. ✼. wc: 3.7k.

monza has always been one of michaela's favorite races. on her first time returning to monza so far away from the cherry red suits, she has something to prove to herself.

✼. warnings: language, mattia binotto jumpscare, zak brown jumpscare.

✼. notes: a lil something about michaela's second win! 2021 season is almost over, there's maybe two more chapters to write. expect another story about the myla subplot within the next few days <3

000.⠀⠀SEPTEMBER 11, 2021    ›    Monza, Italy.

Michaela sat in the cramped cockpit of her McLaren car, the faint scent of rubber and gasoline clinging to her fireproof suit. Her heart hammered in her chest as the engine roared to life, the vibrations resonating through her bones. The 2021 Formula 1 season was heating up, and the tension in the air was palpable as the teams prepared for the Italian Grand Prix at the historic Monza circuit. The sun was high in the sky, casting sharp shadows across the track, as the pit lane buzzed with activity.

The past few days had been a whirlwind of media interviews and speculation about her future in the sport, with the looming shadow of Ferrari's decision to pass her over for Carlos Sainz weighing heavily on her shoulders. Jenson had tried to shield her from the storm, reminding her of their private oasis away from the glaring spotlight. But now, as she waited for the qualifying session to begin, she couldn't help but feel the weight of the world watching her every move.

The green light flashed, signaling the start of qualifying. She took a deep breath, her gloved hands gripping the steering wheel tightly. The tires screeched as she launched off the line, the power of the car pushing her back into the seat. Each turn, each gear shift, was executed with precision, her focus unwavering. The crowd roared as she set a blistering lap time in the final session, beating out even her own expectations. She could feel the excitement building within the McLaren garage as she climbed out of the car, sweat beading on her forehead despite the cool breeze that danced through the open air.

Her trainer, Luisa, gave her a thumbs up from the garage wall, her smile wide and proud at the pole position. But before she could bask in the moment, her eyes locked with Mattia Binotto's, the Ferrari team principal, who watched her from the Ferrari pit wall. His expression was a mix of surprise and something that looked uncomfortably close to irritation. The reminder of the seat that could've been hers was a stark reminder of the pressure she faced.

Their eyes met, and she could feel the unspoken challenge. Binotto was a man of few words, but the silence between them was louder than any engine on the grid. "You know you're better than this," he said, his Italian words cutting through the noise as he passed her on his way back to his garage. "Ferrari made a mistake, but that doesn't mean you should settle for second best."

Michaela's cheeks flushed, but she held her ground. "I'm not here to prove anything to you," she shot back in her near-perfect Italian. Her time at Prema and then at Alfa Romeo had done more than just lit a fire under her to be the best. It had given her the gift of a second fluency, one that came in handy when she found herself caught up in tense battles with the Prancing Horses.

The tense conversation was cut short by the need for the drivers to report back to their respective garages. The tension between her and Binotto was palpable as she marched back to McLaren. Inside the garage, she found Lando Norris waiting for her, his expression a mirror of Binotto's. Their relationship had been strained since her arrival, the young Briton feeling overshadowed by her relentless drive and unyielding ambition.

"What did he say to you?" Lando asked, his voice a mix of curiosity and resentment.

Michaela shrugged off the question, her eyes focused on the data screens in front of her. "Nothing that concerns you," she replied, her tone cold.

"It's all everyone's talking about," Lando pressed, his voice rising. "How you should've been in red instead of slumming it here with me."

Michaela whipped around, the fire in her eyes surprising even herself. "I'm not slumming it anywhere, Lando. I'm fighting for every inch of track, for every point, for every win, just like you."

The garage fell silent as their teammates and engineers looked on, sensing the animosity. Zak Brown stepped in, his voice firm. "That's enough. We're here to race as a team, not tear each other apart."

Michaela's eyes flashed with anger before she spun on her heel and stormed out, her heart racing. She needed air, space, anything to get away from the suffocation of the garage. She found herself by the team motorhome, her thoughts racing. The pressure to outperform, to prove she was the better choice, was crushing her.

000.⠀⠀SEPTEMBER 12, 2021    ›    Monza, Italy.

The day of the race dawned with a clear blue sky, the anticipation thick in the air. The sound of engines roared through the historic circuit as the drivers took to the track for their final preparations. As she stood on the track, waiting for the Italian national anthem to be sung, she couldn't help but think of the conversation with Lando the day before. Despite their differences, they were a team, and she knew she needed to find a way to work with him.

Michaela took a moment to find her focus, blocking out the noise around her. The grid was a sea of color and movement, with the Ferrari fans dressed in red, creating a stark contrast to the papaya orange of McLaren. Her eyes found Carlos Sainz, standing confidently beside his new Ferrari teammate. He looked over at her and gave a smug smile, whispering something to his teammate, Charles Leclerc, who chuckled in response. As the Il Canto degli Italiani began to play through the circuit's loudspeakers, a rush of longing washed over the Australian. Michaela felt the weight of the moment, the pressure to perform at her peak, and the bitterness of being so close to her dream and yet so far. She took her position on the grid, the eyes of the Tifosi upon her.

The lights went out, and the race was on.

Michaela's McLaren shot forward, her tires chirping as she defended her pole position into the first chicane. The first few laps were a blur of speed and strategy, each turn and overtake a delicate dance of the power and precision of the 20 drivers. The Italian crowd raved as the cars weaved through the historic circuit enjoying the roar of engines that echoed through the grandstands.

Her eyes remained fixed ahead, but she could feel the presence of the Ferrari's behind her, particularly Carlos'. Every time she caught a glimpse of his car in her mirrors, it was like a dagger twisting in her gut. The race was a battle not just for victory but for validation. She pushed herself harder, her every move calculated, her driving a silent declaration of her worthiness.

The tension grew with each lap, the cars jostling for position, the strategies unfolding. The heat from the asphalt was intense, and beads of sweat began to form on her brow, stinging her eyes as she leaned into the tight corners. The race was a physical and mental marathon, and she was in the lead, refusing to let anyone pass. Her mind was a whirlwind of thoughts—Ferrari's decision, Lando's words, Jenson's comforting whispers—but she pushed them aside, focusing solely on the task at hand.

Michaela's heart rate spiked as she approached the halfway point. A rare mistake from a rival brought out the safety car, and the engineer in her ear urged caution. But she knew this was her chance to extend her lead, to show Ferrari what they were missing. As the safety car peeled away, she floored the accelerator, the engine screaming as she shot ahead of the pack. The crowd roared as she streaked across the line, the Ferraris struggling to keep up in 6th and 7th.

She pushed her McLaren to the limit, and her every move was a silent challenge to the home team. The team radio crackled with tension as her engineer reminded her of the strategy, but she was in the zone—fueled by the desire to prove herself to everyone who had doubted her.

The race was a sprint to the finish, with every driver giving it their all. The walls of the Monza track seemed to close in on her as she approached the final few laps, her heart hammering in her chest. The roar of Lando's McLaren engine grew louder in her mirrors, but she held her line, her instincts sharp.

A daring overtake attempt by Lando saw her forced to the edge of the track, the gravel whispering against the side of her car. The crowd held its collective breath as she kept her cool, not letting the Englishman pass. The move was a statement—she was not just fighting for the podium, she was fighting for her reputation.

The final lap approached, and the tension was unbearable. The roar of the engines grew louder, the smell of burning rubber more intense. Her knuckles were white on the steering wheel, and every muscle in her body was taut with the effort of keeping the car on the racing line. She could see the checkered flag in the distance, a beacon of victory and vindication.

Michaela's mind raced faster than the car she piloted. She thought of the sleepless nights spent studying every inch of this track, the countless hours in the simulator, the sacrifices she had made for this moment. She could almost feel the eyes of the Ferrari fans on her, willing her to fail. But she was not here to make them happy. This was her race, her chance to show the world that she was more than a rejected prospect.

The final corner, Parabolica, loomed ahead. The longest and fastest on the track, it was a corner that could make or break a race. She took a deep breath and committed to her line, feeling the G-forces push her into the seat as she roared around it. The crowd's cheers grew to a crescendo as she crossed the finish line, taking the checkered flag before anyone else.

Michaela's heart was racing as she pulled into the pit lane, the weight of the victory heavy in her chest. She climbed out of the cockpit, her legs wobbly from the intense physical exertion. The adrenaline rush washed over her as she was embraced by her team, the feeling of victory sweet on her lips. The podium was a blur of flashing lights and champagne spray, the gold trophy gleaming in the sun.

As she stepped down from the podium, she was bombarded by reporters eager for a piece of the story. Questions about Ferrari's decision to pass her over were thrown at her left and right. She took a deep breath, her eyes scanning the sea of faces. "Today was about driving for McLaren and for myself," she said, her voice steady. "I'm not here to discuss what could've been. I'm here to celebrate what is." Her answers were short, her smile tight.

The press conference was even more intense. One journalist in particular took pleasure in poking at the open wound, asking if she felt she had proven a point to Ferrari today. She met his gaze, her eyes like fire. "Every time I get in the car, I race to win," she said, her voice cool and measured. "Today was no different."

After the press conference, as she made her way through the crowded paddock, she felt the weight of the day's events finally catching up with her. The victory that had seemed so sweet on the podium now tasted bittersweet. Her eyes searched the sea of faces for Jenson, finding him in the distance, talking with some of the other drivers.

The moment their eyes met, she felt a rush of relief. He broke away from the group and walked over to her, his eyes filled with understanding. "You okay?" he asked gently, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Michaela took a deep breath, trying to compose herself. "I don't know," she replied honestly. "It's just...this win feels empty. Like I'm not allowed to truly enjoy it." Though her fingers twitched with the need to feel the warmth of his embrace, she was keenly aware of the eyes surrounding them in the paddock. Media, staff, and drivers alike wandered between tents with no sense of privacy for the unknown couple.

"You can't let them win," Jenson said, his voice low and soothing. "You've worked too hard, come too far."

Michaela nodded, her eyes brimming with unshed tears. "I know, but it's hard not to feel guilty about everything. The secret, the pressure..."

Jenson pulled her aside, his voice a whisper. "Guilt doesn't serve you on the track, Mick. Let it go." His eyes searched hers, and she saw the love and support she so desperately needed.

Michaela took a deep, shaky breath, nodding. He was right. She had to focus on the here and now. But as they walked back to the McLaren garage, the reality of their secret relationship weighed on her. They couldn't celebrate openly, couldn't share in this moment of triumph as they truly wanted to.

Inside the garage, the atmosphere was a mix of elation and relief. Her teammates and mechanics congratulated her, their faces beaming with pride. But amidst the celebration, she caught a glimpse of Lando's downturned expression. He had pushed her hard today, and she knew she had hurt him with her earlier words yesterday. 

She made her way over, extending a hand. "Good race, Lando," she said, her voice sincere.

He looked up, the anger in his eyes fading to something softer. "Yeah," he said, taking her hand and pulling her into a friendly hug. "Congrats on the win, Mick."

Michaela felt a flicker of regret for their earlier argument. "Thanks," she murmured, returning the embrace. "I'm sorry for what I said yesterday."

Lando pulled back, a hint of a smile playing on his lips. "You know what, I get it. We're all fighting our own battles. Just remember, we're on the same side."

Michaela nodded, feeling a weight lifted. She knew that she had to address the tension between them if she wanted to move forward as a team. "Let's get some rest tonight, and talk about it tomorrow?" she offered.

Lando nodded, and she knew that was the best she could hope for at the moment. The night was still young, and the celebrations were in full swing. The roar of the party grew louder as they approached the McLaren hospitality area, but the sound of laughter and music didn't fill her with the same joy it usually did. She found a quiet corner, her thoughts swirling with the day's events.

The victory had been significant, but it was overshadowed by the constant reminder of what could've been. Her eyes searched the crowd again for Jenson, feeling a pang of longing. The secret of their relationship was a burden she hadn't anticipated. It was one thing to keep it from the media, but quite another to hide from her own team.

As the night progressed, the celebrations grew wilder. The champagne flowed, and the laughter grew louder, but Michaela felt a million miles away. She found a quiet spot outside the garage, the cool night air a welcome relief from the stifling heat inside. The sound of engines winding down and the clank of tools being packed away provided a rhythmic backdrop to her tumultuous thoughts.

Her eyes searched the bustling paddock once more, and she spotted Jenson signing autographs, surrounded by adoring fans. He looked up, catching her gaze, and the connection between them was palpable. With a sigh, she turned away, feeling the sting of their secret more sharply than ever.

Michaela pulled her phone out of her pocket, scrolling through the messages of congratulations from friends and family. Her thumb hovered over her mother's name, knowing she would be proud but also concerned about the stress she'd been under. Her mother's words echoed in her mind: "You don't have to win every race, just remember why you started." It was a gentle reminder to find joy in the journey, not just the destination.

With a heavy heart, she slipped away from the festivities, needing a moment to herself. She walked down the pit lane, the garages of other teams now empty as they packed up for the night. The Ferrari garage was still a hive of activity, and she couldn't help but feel a pang of envy. It was there, in the quiet, that she allowed the tears to fall.

The sudden sound of footsteps had her quickly wiping her face, expecting a well-meaning team member or a persistent journalist. But it was neither. It was Carlos Sainz, looking as surprised to see her as she was to see him. 

"Michaela?" he called out, his voice filled with genuine concern.

Michaela took a deep breath and turned around, trying to compose herself. "I'm fine," she said, her voice steady despite the tremble in her chest.

Carlos walked closer, his eyes scanning her face. "You don't look fine," he said softly. "What's going on?"

Michaela hesitated for a moment, unsure of how much to share with her rival. But the sincerity in his voice made her feel a sudden kinship. "It's just... I wanted to prove something today," she said, her voice cracking. "To Ferrari, to everyone who said I didn't deserve a shot."

Carlos nodded, understanding in his eyes. "I know that feeling," he said, his voice low. "But you can't let them upset you. You're a great driver, and you showed that today."

Michaela looked at him, surprised by his kindness. "Thank you," she murmured. "It's just hard, you know?"

Carlos nodded. "More than anyone," he said, his voice filled with empathy. "But remember, you're racing for yourself now. Prove to Ferrari that they made a mistake, sure. But do it for you."

Michaela took a moment to let his words sink in, a small smile playing on her lips. "Thank you, Carlos."

He returned the smile, the tension between them momentarily forgotten. "Good luck for the rest of the season," he said before turning back to the Ferrari garage.

Michaela watched him go, feeling a newfound respect for the man who had taken the seat she had once coveted. With a sigh, she headed back to the McLaren area, her steps lighter than before. As she approached the back entrance of the hospitality suite, she spotted Guido waiting for her, his eyes filled with concern.

"You okay?" he asked, reaching out to wipe a tear from her cheek.

Michaela nodded, taking a deep breath. "Yeah, just... a lot to process."

Guido wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a warm embrace. She leaned into him, feeling his heartbeat against her chest, steady and reassuring. "You don't have to do this alone," he whispered.

Michaela pulled back, looking up into his eyes. "But I do," she said softly. "The results, the pressure... it's all on me." 

Guido’s expression was filled with a mix of frustration and empathy, worry lines etched themselves into his forehead, standing out against his fair skin.

"I know you don’t want to hear me say it yet," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "But I can’t let you do this to yourself, cara. Especially not if you can't even enjoy a quality win like this."

Michaela knew he was right, but the fear of the unknown was paralyzing. "I know," she said, her voice a mere murmur. "It’s just..." Her arms crossed over each other, teeth gritted uncomfortably.

Guido nodded as her words failed her. "I know the risks," he said, his voice firm. "But if you’re going to keep doing this, we need to start considering our other options. I need you to be honest with me, I don’t think you’re happy here."

Michaela took a deep breath. She leaned into his presence again, feeling the comfort that exuded from him. "Let's talk after the weekend’s over," she said, her voice filled with hope. "When the pressure's off, and we can figure this out."

Guido nodded, a sad smile playing on his lips. "Deal," he murmured, brushing back the loose strands of his dark hair. "But remember, you're not in this alone. Win or lose, I'm here for you. We’re all here for you."

The night air was cooler now, the Italian summer giving way to a gentle evening breeze. They stood together in silence for a moment, the sound of the distant celebrations a stark contrast to their private conversation.

Michaela took a moment to absorb his words, feeling a renewed sense of determination. They had a plan, and it was something to hold onto. With a nod, she stepped back, the moment of vulnerability passing.

"I should get back in there with the team," she sniffed, her voice still thick with emotion. She wiped the stray tears that still managed to cloud her vision before pushing her shoulders back. The McLaren logo stood proud over her chest, a reminder of the team that had given her a lifeline to achieve so much more than she thought was in the cards for her this season. 

"Gotta celebrate kicking the Scuderia's ass."

Guido chuckled, a hint of pride in his voice. "You definitely did that," he said, giving her one last squeeze before letting her go. "You're a bloody legend, no matter what anyone says."

Michaela took a deep breath and nodded. "Thank you, Gui Gui," she said with a level of amusement in her voice from the use of the nickname he hated so much. The weight of his words settled in her chest. "I'll try to keep that in mind." With a forced smile, she turned and headed back towards the McLaren garage, the noise of the party growing louder with each step.

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