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leclerc-hs · 26 days

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tachycardia pt.2 - cl16

pairing: doctor!charles leclerc x nurse!reader (alpha/omega au) summary: in which you don't always get along with the arrogant alpha doctor warnings: LIGHT a/b/o dynamics, angst??, none really (yet!), badly translated French (didn't really put french in this), NOT PROOFREAD word count: 1.5k author's note: hi!!!!!! did you miss me??? I missed all of you! sorry this is SO short but I wanted to post something in honor of reaching 2,000 FOLLOWERS!!! I love u all sm and I'm sorry this is kinda shit. I've been in a really bad writing funk recently but I'm hoping to get out of it. don’t forget to talk to me and don’t be shy I love to hear from all of you!!!! I will try to get the ball rolling on this series as soon as I can. I just kinda started it without even knowing where I wanted it to go so I'm kinda just winging it as I write with whatever comes to mind. if you have anything you would like to see happen in this series PLEASE don’t be shy and let me know I love to hear your thoughts and ideas!!!! xoxo taglist: @amalialeclerc @barcelonaloverf1life @charizznorizz @magicpancake @zabwlky1999

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

AS YOU SIT across from your younger sister in the cozy confines of the café adjacent to the bustling hospital, you can’t help but marvel at the enigmatic workings of her mind.

“Is it really like that? Sex in the on-call rooms?” The question bursts forth accompanied by a hearty laugh, your body leaning forward in laughter.

“How many times do I have to tell you no?” You retort, meeting her gaze with an air of firmness amidst the playful banter.

“What about in the locker room?” She presses further, a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

“No, and stop indulging in such ludicrous fantasies.” You respond, bringing your cup of coffee to your mouth, you pause before taking a sip. “You know well enough that I don’t engage in relationships with doctors.” A fleeting sense of contentment washes over you with the warmth of the coffee.

She emits a deep sigh, deeply annoyed. “Are any of them at least cute?”

You feel your stomach churn as the image of Doctor Leclerc floods your thoughts. He’s far more than just attractive. You hesitate for a beat, staring at her wide, expectant eyes. “Yes.”

Her eyes light up almost instantly. “Who?”

“I forget. I don’t really know him.” Liar.

“What does he look like?”

“Brown hair. Very green eyes.” Your fingers twiddle with the napkin on the table, feigning disinterest.

She gives you a skeptical look as if she can read your mind and tell you’re lying. But she doesn’t push further. “When do you have to be back?”

You briefly glance at the time on the screen of your phone, “Shit.” Rising abruptly, you shove the chair back with a jolt, shooting your sister an apologetic glance. “I have to go. I’ll see you at mom’s this weekend?”

You’re already pushing the front door of the café open by the time you hear your sister half-shout, “Yes!”

You burst into your patient’s room, breaths coming in ragged gasps, cheeks flushed with exertion. You say a silent prayer to whatever higher power that he wasn’t here yet.

“Well, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?”

Did you mention that this particular patient has a knack for hitting on you?

Your heart skips a beat, and if it weren’t for the already flushed hue of your cheeks, you’re certain the blush creeping up on your neck would be glaringly obvious.

“Mr.,” You pause to glance at the chart to double-check his name, “Mr. Hart, how are you feeling today?”

“Meilleur, now that you’re here.” Better. You curl your lips upward into a soft smile, jokingly rolling your eyes at his antics.

“Surely you’re sick of seeing my face, Mr. Hart.” You quip, reaching for a stool beside his bed while simultaneously checking his IV bags. “Today’s the day I think!”

Mr. Hart has been in the hospital for over a week, recovering from a surgery for a atrial septal defect.

“Jamais.” Never. He insists, his head sinking back against the pillow as his gaze follows your every movement. “I’m so close to being able to ask you out properly.”

In that moment, a new scent permeates the air, distinct and alluring. Without even turning around, you sense his presence—the man who just breezed in behind you. Whether he heard the exchange or not, you weren’t sure, but the subtle shift in the atmosphere is palpable regardless.

“Mr. Hart,” His voice, deep and honeyed, washes over you, almost too sweet to be genuine. “Still stirring up trouble for our lovely nurses?” Despite the playful tone, you can sense an undercurrent of something morecalculated beneath his words. His presence radiates warmth, his tall figure looming beside you, close enough to make your skin prickle with awareness.

“No,” Mr. Hart grins. “Just her.”

Doctor Leclerc’s smile remains fixed, but you catch the subtle clench of his jaw as you turn your head to meet his gaze. “Just stopping by to let you know that we might need to keep you for another night.”

The news catches you off guard; you were under the impression that Mr. Hart would be discharged by the end of the day. As if he could sense the questions brewing in your mind, Doctor Leclerc continues, his voice reassuring. “Just a precautionary measure. I assure you; we’ll have you cleared to leave bright and early tomorrow morning.”

Mr. Hart hums nonchalantly, as if the prospect of another night in the hospital doesn’t bother him in the slightest. His attention remains fixated on you as you inspect the sutures on his chest, his fingertips grazing against your gloved hand with a deliberate touch. “Can’t complain as long as she’s the one checking on me.”

You let out a small laugh, but don’t say anything, as you stand up and remove the gloves to toss them in the waste bin nearby.

“Mr. Hart,” Doctor Leclerc’s voice is unamused now. “You would be wise to refrain your hands from touching her again. Next time I won’t ask so politely.”

Pressed against a wall while in the presence of Doctor Leclerc seems to be a common occurrence nowadays. His tall frame blocking any potential onlookers from seeing who he had cornered.

“Dis-moi,” Tell me. His voice is low, lethal. “Do you flirt with patients often, hm?”

“What is your problem?” You quip, your brows furrowed as you crane your neck back to look him in the eyes.

“My problem?” He scoffs, leaning closer to your face, his lips thinned in annoyance. “My problem is that I have to stand there and watch a patient flirt with you,” He clicks his tongue in frustration, turning his head to look away for a brief moment. Giving you a moment, to take in the sharpness of his jawline, and the unshaven scruff that shadows it. “And you…” His voice trailed off.

“And I, what?” You pulled your lips into a slight frown.

“You smell like that,” His hands wavered around your body, in an exasperated manner.

“Smell like what?”

As he shook his head in disbelief, a mixture of frustration and something deeper etched acoss his features. The disbelief seemed to stem from his inability to fathom that you were completely unaware of something soevident to him. It was that scent, the sweet floral scent that always accompanied you. It drove him mad sometimes. How it was almost the only thing he could focus on sometimes.

With a disapproving click of his tongue, he took a deliberate step back, as if needed physical distance to collect his thoughts.

Ignoring your inquiry, his gaze softened, the intensity in his eyes giving way to a gentler expression as they locked on yours.

Caught off guard by the swift change in his demeanor, you couldn’t help but feel a sense of whiplash from the abrupt shift.

“I wouldn’t say often,” you began, punctuating the order with a slight shrug. “It’s all harmless.”

His response was solemn, his voice carrying a weight of protectiveness that left no room for misinterpretation. “I don’t want them to put their hands on you ever again,” he declared firmly. “If you ever have issues, you can come to me.”

His words resonated with a gravity that made it clear he meant every syllable, his stance unwavering in its determination to shield you from harm.

Your throat tightened as you swallowed, acutely aware of the intensity in his gaze tracing the delicate curve of your neck.

“Moving forward, I will be the one to check on Mr. Hart,” he announced, his voice carrying a note of authority softened by a touch of concern.

With a deliberate motion, he extended his arm, his fingers brushing against your skin as he gently tucked a strand of loose hair behind your ear.

The proximity of his touch sent a rush of warmth to your cheeks, the tenderness in his gesture catching you off guard, yet somehow soothing in its unexpectedness. Dr. Leclerc’s presence seemed to envelop you whenever he was near. As if nothing else in the world existed no matter the premise of the discussion, including the constant bickering you two always seemed to do.

“Will you be at James’ retirement party?” The question slipped from your lips before you could fully weigh its significance. Yet, deep down, you knew the answer matters more to you than you cared to admit. You found yourself wanting him to be there, though the reasons remained elusive, even to yourself.

Yes, he was an ass to you most of the time. But, for some reason you couldn’t really fathom, he was always in the forefront of your mind.

His head tilted slightly, a flicker of surprise crossing his features. Though he would never openly confess, the idea of attending hadn’t crossed his mind until that moment. However, if there was even the slightest chance that you would be there, he couldn’t bring himself to refuse.

“Yes,” he replied simply, the single word carrying more weight than its brevity suggested.

You nodded slowly, as if processing his response required a deeper level of understanding. “See you there?” You ventured, the question hanging in the air, pregnant with unspoken implications.

He nodded, pulling his lips into the faintest smirk.

“See you there, mon lapin.”

#charles leclerc x reader #charles leclerc imagine #charles leclerc #charles leclerc smut #f1 imagines #f1 x reader #charles leclerc angst #charles leclerc fanfic #charles leclerc fic #f1 imagine

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f1byjessie · 2 months

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A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS ━━ LN4.

sometimes the right words are hard to come across, and sometimes everything you need to say can be captured in an image.

( lando norris x photographer!reader )

━━ part ten.

It all happens in a blur.

One moment Lando is hugging you. The firm press of his chest against yours, the grip of his calloused hand on your neck keeping your head tucked into him, and the pounding beat of his heart where your hands are trapped between the two of you. It’s such a familiar feeling— the warmth, safety, and comfort of it all. It’s like coming home.

And then the next moment he's jumping away from you like the touch of your skin against his has left him burned. Like he doesn’t trust himself not to cross the distance again if he stands a step too close—

“Erm,” he rubs at the back of his neck, and avoids your eyes as though the very thought of meeting them is appalling. There's an awkwardness about him that’s never existed before, even back when you were still far from ever calling one another friends. “Sorry. I should've asked first.”

“It's fine,” you answer. It is fine. It's been fine for years now.

You hadn’t been a particularly touchy person when you were younger— a byproduct of growing up in a family that never really cared much about or prioritized physical affection. You used to see other girls at school cling to one another in the halls, or link arms on the way home, or play with each other’s hair at lunch and it hadn’t bothered you that you didn’t have that same level of closeness with any of them, but it had confused you that friends could be so touchy-feely when your own parents seemed reluctant to spare even a pat on the shoulder.

Lando changed that.

Lando’s changed a lot of things, you’re realizing.

He grew up with three siblings and they bicker constantly, but they also have the easy closeness that you’ve always found so vastly different from your own friendships. They could be calling one another every name under the sun and then a few that you’re pretty sure they made up, and at the same time they’ll be clinging to one another like they can’t bear the thought of standing more than a meter away.

The first time Lando slung his arm over your shoulder, you’d nearly had a heart attack.

And then he just kept doing it.

By the time you realized that his hugging and draping and clinging had become a new norm for you, he was practically attached to your hip already and you didn't have the heart to question why he'd decided to bestow his physical affections upon you of all people.

“You don't have to apologize for stuff like that—”

“I know,” he interrupts. “I just—” he shrugs, still avoiding your eyes in favor of staring at a scuff on his shoe, “—didn't know if you still wanted me to.”

The reality is that a single explosive confession of your frustration and a hug doesn’t fix everything. It doesn’t fix anything, in all honesty. You’re still angry and upset and, quite frankly, hurt by what Lando had said and the way he’d treated you, but it feels like a step in the right direction.

“Garrett Ward,” Lando starts hesitantly, sparing you a fleeting glance at the mention of your fake boyfriend’s name, like he’s assessing your reaction, “blackmailed you into your relationship?”

You nod. A month ago, getting to talk about all of this was all you ever wanted and, in the heat of the moment, it had felt good to just blurt it all out and get it off your chest. The relief of someone else knowing— someone like Lando, who knows your ins and outs like he’s charted the map of your very being— isn’t erased now that you’ve had a moment to calm down, but it’s been overshadowed by a fluttery feeling of nervousness.

“He threatened to completely destroy my career,” you tell him again. “He said he’d make up a rumor about misconduct, and there’s enough people that would believe him. He has a very… devoted fanbase, as I’m sure you’re already aware.”

Lando’s drunken words return to you. Nobody in their right mind would soberly agree to be Garrett Ward’s girlfriend, and what does that say about you? Extenuating circumstances or not, if you were smarter like Lando said he thought you were, you probably would’ve been able to find a way out of it by now, or you would’ve been able to completely avoid getting tangled up in it entirely.

You think back to all the moments Jack had offered to unite the other City players who were supposedly more than willing to back up your claims that nothing unprofessional or inappropriate at all had happened while you were working at Etihad Campus and with the team.

At the time, the idea of actually standing up against him had scared you. You were too stubborn and proud to admit it, but Garrett Ward scared you— still scares you. His fans were still on their vitriolic rampage of hate, filling your comments and DMs with insults against your appearance, your career, and every other imaginable aspect of your being. You’d been forced to sort through death threats, wishes of harm, and instructions to kill yourself and the idea of it being in any way worse than it already was— the idea of exposing yourself to the judgement of so many others, others who would potentially side with a footballer they find mildly entertaining over a random girl whose only claim to fame is a few viral photographs for a motorsports team— had been overwhelming.

The night you sobbed in bed thinking about it all was the night you turned the comments off.

But, had you taken Jack up on his deal immediately, then maybe it would’ve been soon enough to also argue against anything else having “happened” in the time you’ve since spent alone with Garrett out and about on your scheduled excursions for the paparazzi.

Garrett Ward is a smart man, though he shows it so rarely in a capacity that’s actually beneficial to anyone or anything that doesn’t pertain to him. The threats he made on that night in early January about misconduct aren’t as fool-proof when you’d have a team of other players corroborating a completely different story to his. But there are other things he could say now that are harder to argue against without it all turning into a muddled he-said-she-said clusterfuck.

Being back around racing cars and their drivers has been a good distraction for a time, but you dread the day when he turns those new threats against you and asks for more than you’ve already agreed to give him for his scheme.

Lando winces, probably also remembering his words, or at the very least whatever recount Daniel gave him if he was too drunk to remember it all clearly.

“Can’t you dispute his claim?” He finally looks at you again. “Does he even have any evidence?”

You frown, “It’d be his word against mine, unless he doctored evidence to use against me. But it’s not as simple as just saying he’s lying. He’s an athlete, you know how much sway someone like Garrett has. Even if he can’t prove anything, the hit to my reputation would be enough to ensure I’m never able to find a photography gig again, let alone another in the sports industry.”

You imagine that no matter what you do now, your at Garrett’s whim and have no choice but to adhere to the schedule he wants to follow.

You tell Lando as much. “I just have to wait it out.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s a PR thing,” you say with a shrug. It’s your turn to look away now, awkwardly tracing the cracks in the pavement beneath your shoes. “He’s only with me to prove he can hold down a steady relationship and fix his reputation. He’ll end it eventually.”

You’re still pretending to be enraptured with an odd spot on the ground, so you hear more than see Lando take a break, like he’s preparing to speak again—

“Session’s resuming in ten, Lando,” comes another voice instead.

Oscar has the decency to look a bit regretful at interrupting the two of you, probably because it’s the first time in weeks that you’ve both tolerated being so physically close and he’s tired of the angst and tension that permeates when you’re both confined to the same general location as one another. Either of you could’ve just as easily taken to standing as far away from each other as you could, and though it would’ve been awkward, it wouldn’t have been very hard to pass the time in total silence. Oscar’s probably just glad you both can at least still hold a civil conversation without wanting to tear each other apart, which makes you wonder whether the earlier shouting had actually managed to go unnoticed beneath the busy sounds of the garage.

Lando nods. He spares you one final glance, that you meet for a fleeting second, before he disappears through the door.

Oscar lingers. He’s watching you with those all-knowing eyes of his.

“What?” You ask.

He shrugs, but his stare is expectant.

“I told him,” you say in place of his continued silence. “About the whole Garrett situation.”

“And?”

You grind the toe of your shoe against the pavement, stalling. Oscar isn’t scheduled to drive until the afternoon session, which means he doesn’t have anywhere to be, but a part of you wonders if you could bore him enough with your own silence that it would make him wander off back to the garage in search of something to do.

Except this is Oscar you’re talking about it, and he could probably exist in total silence with someone for days if he really wanted to—probably wouldn’t even need to try.

You bite the bullet and lower yourself down to the ground, beckoning for him to do the same beside you with a wave of your hand.

“I’m realizing that I don’t actually know how to read him as well as I thought I did,” you admit when he joins you. “He was my best friend— is still my best friend, and I thought I knew everything about him, but now I feel like I never really knew him at all.”

Oscar hums, “I think you do know Lando, better than a lot of other people can say. You’re just realizing that he’s good at hiding things when he wants to. Just think about it, he’s never had a reason to hide anything from you, so of course it would be easy to read him when he’s always letting you. He’s practically an open book for you, Y/N.”

“So I fucked up our friendship by holding him accountable for his actions and now he’s never going to be open with me ever again.” You run a hand through your hair and let your fingers tangle in the wind-strewn strands, letting the sparks of pain keep you from spiralling at the thought of having ruined the most important relationship you’ve ever had.

Oscar snorts, “That’s not at all what I was going to say.”

“Yeah, well—” you elbow him teasingly in the ribs, “—you’re a freak of nature, so forgive me for not understanding how your freakish brain works either.”

“What I was going to say, is that it’s a setback at worst. You keep talking about it like having an argument isn’t completely normal behavior for friends. Me and Logan used to fight a lot, back in our Prema days especially. But you’d never be able to guess it by looking at us now. I mean, my parents keep a picture of him on our family fridge, so…” Oscar stifles a laugh when you lift an questioning eyebrow at him.

“My point is,” he continues, “just keep talking with him. Give it time, and things will get better again. But if you want my honest opinion, I think Lando’s just realized that he overstepped and did something to hurt you, and because he doesn’t want to do it again, he’s trying to make himself smaller, in a way, to minimize the chances. My guess is that he kept his distance as a way of trying not to impede.”

You lean your head back until it thunks against the wall and you’re staring up at the overhang above you and the slivers of blue sky peeking through the slats. “‘Impede,’” you repeat as you do so. “There’s nothing for him to even impede on.”

Oscar makes another sound. “Just because he knows the reality of the situation between you and Ward now doesn’t mean he didn’t spend nearly two months believing otherwise.”

Which— he makes a good point. It’s a really good point, actually, but you don’t like what it does to the butterflies in your stomach. They always used to appear back when you still humored the idea of a blossoming romance being somehow possible between yourself and Lando. Their reemergence isn’t as pleasant as you fantasized about it one day being, so you shove the feeling back down and bury it deep, and Oscar lets you both sit in companionable silence until he’s called back to duty by his race engineer.

The rest of the day goes easily enough.

Lando finishes his allotted time without anymore issues much to the relief of everyone in the garage. When he hops out of the car with a big grin stretched across his face, there’s a collective sigh of relief given by the engineers and mechanics alike.

You note that, despite the cheerful smile, there’s still the underlying exhaustion that seems to be dragging him down. The dark circles are hidden only slightly better when his eyes are squinted with the force of his grin, and the sickly palor of his skin has only been covered temporarily by the red flush of his cheeks brought on by the combined heat of the car and Bahrain’s midday sun. Despite the energy he exudes, bouncing around as he debriefs with his race engineer, his shoulders are sagging beneath the weight of an invisible force that worries you.

You’d be a liar if you said you weren’t still frustrated. Lando knows the gist of the situation. There’s a lot of finer points that he’d need to be filled in on if you wanted to talk about it with him in the same way that you discuss it with Jack, but he at least knows the story. Even still, he hasn’t apologized for his part in any of it— for the pain and distress he caused you when ignoring your calls and texts, for the hurt and shame he made you feel when he tore you apart in his drunken rant.

There is so much you still want to say to him, so many mean things you want to bring up from your worst days hiding in the bathroom at work or your loneliest nights curled up in your flat.

You imagine you’ll have your chance to get it all out there eventually, but as vindicating as it would be to scream and rage and throw the tantrum you believe you are justified to have, you imagine it would feel so much nicer to go back to how things were.

There will be more confrontations and you know that it will have get worse again before it gets better, but in the meantime you can take the win for what it is and celebrate that it’s still something.

And right now, Lando needs you as a friend as much as you need him.

It’s easier said than done, however.

You aren’t avoiding him, exactly, but he’s busy. In the past, you’d make yourself comfortable in whatever space he’s occupying and wait for him to get done, but you’re currently trying to maintain a bit of distance for both of your sake. There isn’t any lingering spite or desire to be away from him— there’s never been a desire to be away from him, if you’re being honest with yourself— but you’ve been able to come to terms with the fact that you really just want to hug him again and keep hugging him, and that might become a problem if you’re not careful. You can’t afford to just rush back into things.

Because the thing this, you might be stubborn and set in your ways, but you know that Lando is such a key part of your life and has been for so long— like a drug that you can’t live without, or rather don’t want to live without— that if given the opportunity to do so, you might unknowingly let everything go and dive head first into your revived friendship too fast just for the small chance of experiencing that normalcy again.

So you keep your distance. You stick on one side of the garage and Lando, after showering and changing out of his fireproofs, is kept on the other with debriefs and technical talk. He glances over a few times and meets your eyes, offers tentatives smiles that seem so much more tame and reluctant than his usual upbeat self, and hovers at the imaginary line separating your side from his, but before he’s ever able to cross over there’s someone else pulling him away to discuss one thing or another.

It’s as you’re making your way to the shuttle from the circuit to the hotel that you finally get your opportunity. Lando’s voice calls your name and stops you in your tracks.

Though Oscar had driven for the remainder of the day, and there wasn’t much else to worry about on or off the track, he looks even more exhausted in the darkness of the night, with the shadows cast by the streetlamps darkening the bags beneath his eyes and further accentuating his paleness.

He catches up to you quickly, a hesitant smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

“Um,” he nervously stutters out, “I know there’s still a lot that we need to talk about and things aren’t completely fine between us yet— and that’s fine,” he hurries to add on, “you deserve to be mad at me. I just—” he cuts himself off and casts his gaze downward to watch his fluttering fingers pick at an already bloodied hangnail. “I’m sorry. You deserve a better apology and I’ll give you one when we’re not stood in a dark carpark, but for now I’m sorry for everything. Most importantly, I’m sorry for making you feel like I didn’t value you as… as a friend.”

He falls quiet, still staring down at the mess he’s made of his cuticle. You gawk at him for a moment in surprise.

“Um,” he starts again when you don’t say anything, shifting restlessly on his feet like he’s contemplating whether to stand his ground or dash off. He glances up at you shyly, and you never thought you’d ever really describe Lando with the word shy, but there’s no other way to refer to the soft look he spares you before quickly diverting his eyes back to his hangnail. “I was wondering, would you wanna come crash at my hotel room and watch stupid TV with me? I can order us cheap wine off the room service menu, or something.”

You recognize the olive branch for what it is.

Lando’s never been the greatest with his words, he’s always excelled at replacing what can be said with what can be done instead, and this is his way of asking to make it up to you— of asking to be let in to at least prove to you that he’s serious.

You take in his downtrodden appearance however, and realize that maybe it’s also his way of asking you not to leave him alone anymore. You remind yourself of your earlier observation: Lando needs a friend as much as you do.

You nudge him with your shoulder after a moment, causing him to lift his gaze once more and meet your eyes again.

“I’d love to,” you answer, offering him a gentle smile back.

━━ tags: @maih23 @urfavnoirette @leclercsluv @f1luvur @formulaal @a-disturbing-self-reflection @starlightpierre @chezmardybum @marshmummy @405rry @sideboobrry11 @d3kstar @mcmuppet @happylittlereader @casperlikej @5starl1ght @bellezaycafe @whentheautumnleavesfall @mess-is-my-aesthetic @ssprayberrythings @landosgirlxoxo @lifelessfan @81ja @wcnorris @a-disturbing-self-reflection (CLOSED).

━━ a/n: this story has reached a frightening word count that i never imagined it reaching (28k), if i'm being honest, but the more the merrier right? my sincerest apologies for taking so long to get this up, though. i've been a bit ill as of late, which has just completely zapped my energy to do anything that isn't rot in bed all day. i'm feeling better, hence finally getting around to finishing the last home stretch of this part, but i feel bad for how long it took me and i'm hoping the next part won't take me as long as this one did.

#formula 1 #formula one #f1 #formula 1 imagine #f1 imagine #formula one imagine #f1 x reader #formula 1 x reader #formula one x reader #f1 fanfic #f1 fic #social media au #lando norris #lando norris x reader #lando norris imagine #ln4 #oscar piastri

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msookyspooky · 1 year

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Fours a Franchise

Part 7

wordcount: 8,567

Your face scrunched up with a groan as a very loud, persistent knocking sounded on the front door. You stretched up, looking around yourself to see daylight pouring into the living room. You rubbed at your eyes as you heard the banging get louder.

"Hey! YN! Randy! Open up!" Gale yelled, banging louder.

You got up, groaning and feeling your limbs stiffen up. "God...OKAY!" You yelled in a raspy voice, sleep heavy in your eyes as you groggily looked through the peephole and then opened the door.

Gale burst in, dressed in an all white feminine suit with dainty gold jewelry, slender high heels, hair flowing in long dark curls and a fresh face of makeup.

She gave you a disgruntled look. "You look like shit. it's 7:30."

You gave her an annoyed look right back, eyes squinting at her. "No shit, it's 7:30!...Why didn't you send a text or just call?"

"Randy didn't answer my call and you didn't answer my text so I decided to just pop in and wake you up instead."

'Yeah. Out of spite.' You thought.

She walked past you. "Sorry but the rest of the world gets up by this time. Not everyone can stay home on Court ordered money."

You rolled your eyes into the back your head. "Considering you've been a bit of a homemaker yourself the last few years; I don't think you get to throw stones." She flipped you off while walking by. "And I travel for book tours, you know! There's a difference between planning on getting up and someone waking you by just barging in!"

"Don't care. Where's Randy?"

You gave her a glare as Randy shuffled out of his room. Rubbing his face and his hair standing almost straight up in a messy heap on his head. "God damn it, Gale. What are you doing in my house this early?..."He looked your way. "YN. Didn't I tell you to not leave the door open too long? The ex journalist might run in under your feet."

Gale gave him a threatening smirk. "Ha. Ha. Ha." Before dropping that smirk and leaning forward. "Should've answered my call, you ingrat. Now get your asses up! I have potential suspects and I'm not running late."

Randy groaned and went to shuffle to the kitchen counter. "Wait, let me get my coffee first-"

"No! I'll buy it for us on the way. Go get freshened up. You'll scare people looking like that." She ordered. Randy went to argue and she snapped. "I can persuade Dewey to issue a ticket for that stop sign and speeding and evading cops. Remember that."

Randy rolled his eyes, arms up before they fell to his sides and he went to the bathroom.

You stretched your neck as you at least grabbed water to drink. "Uh, who says we're even working with you? Last time I checked, me and Randy were trying to get the fuck away from the killer this time; not go towards them."

"Who got you both out of jail?" She gave a cocky look your way.

"Oh sorry! I thought that was just showing your friends a kindness; not blackmail." You leaned against the counter. "We weren't even charged with anything; It's not like we were behind bars. Besides, I thought you were going rogue?"

"Yeaahh, from my husband... Thinking he can cut me off the case. Me!? Even Detective Kincaid wanted my help in Hollywood but my own husband doesn't want it?! OH but that bitch Judy he has no problem-"

You zoned out as she ranted. You hadn't even heard the name in years until the last few days. The mention of his name and the Hollywood case made his image pop up in your mind. It was a fleeting thought but you still wondered if he had lived how much better all this would be? Could have permanently cleared your name, told Randy and Dewey the truth, lived without fear, possibly had a semi normal life with Billy and Stu behind bars...Maybe even have a husband and or a family one day? Who knows! You never got a chance to know and never would. You may not have 'loved' him but you could have. You certainly had feelings for him that were budding before Neil shot that chance down.

"YN." You could still hear his voice in your mind after so many years and still vividly remember the twinkle in his blue eyes whenever he looked at you. He was one of those people that touched your life no matter how short of a time you knew him.

"YN?...YN!"

You snapped out of it. Looking at Gale staring at you intently.

"YN, are you even fucking listening to me?" She gave with a mocking expression as you stammered at first.

"U-Uh...Sorry. I spaced out."

Gale huffed in annoyance but looked at you a moment. Gale was a lot of things but of all those things you couldn't deny her being observant. It was what got her famous and made her a TV sensation in the 90s. She was definitely more observant than Dewey and probably even more than Randy. Her features softened as she must have realized the exact moment you spaced out.

"...You miss him, don't you?"

"Huh?" You blinked repeatedly.

"Kincaid."

You looked down in silence a moment. "...Sometimes. It feels stupid to miss him. We only knew each other for a few days."

Gale exhaled through her nose with a tight frown. "No, it's not.... Without being too sappy, I knew Dewey just a few days during the first Woodsboro Massacre and...Here we are." She showed her ring on her left hand.

You gave a nod and looked up at her as she settled across from you near the table and gave you a slight smile. "Okay...YN, I might need your help."

"...My help?" You mumbled with a raised brow.

"Yes. Just hear me out, okay." Gale tilted her head. "Because if you're with me; we're going back to Woodsboro High."

You stared at her. "...What am I? 17? You woke me up barging in here yelling at me to get up to go back to School?"

Gale gave you a serious look. "Just hear me out. I think your fanboys at the Cinema Club might have answers to all this."

"...Cinema Club?" Randy came out having his hair more tamed and a green shirt on with a jean jacket and khakis. "Did you say, Cinema Club?... At Woodsboro High?"

"You heard of it?" Gale asked.

Randy huffed with a bewildered grin. "Heard of it? I technically helped get it started! Kind of." He stood by you and you could smell the mint toothpaste and spicy cologne as he leaned next to you on the counter across from Gale.

"So, how did you somehow help invent that stupid little club?" She asked.

"Two boys a few years back came into the video store looking for hard to find horror flicks they couldn't get anywhere else. I helped them pick out the best movies to show their classmates and talked them into a movie club after they heard about how film class was for me in college. I didn't realize they actually did it though! Just the name they came up with if they ever did do it."

Gale tilted her chin upward and asked. "Who were the kids?"

"Uh, Charlie Walker and Robbie...What's his face."

Gale sighed. "Yep. Those are the future basement dwellers I talked to."

"Hey, I was that kid once and look at me now."

She gave an amused look. "Once? You're wearing a jean jacket and khakis combo in 2011." Then she looked at you. "What are you doing still standing around? Go get cleaned up and let's go!"

"God, don't they host it in the evening or something as an after-school activity? It's in the middle of the week!" You exclaimed.

"It's Friday. It's a big day for those little weirdos so they're having it a little earlier than usual. Right before lunch period. "

"Oh...Damn, I thought it was Wednesday. Time flies when a murderer is trying to off you." Before giving Randy an exasperated look. "Why do I feel like you're right and we should just barricade ourselves in here with snacks and movies till the killer is caught?"

Gale answered for Randy. "You know damn well you aren't going to sit around and wait for the killer to come to you or kill more innocent kids. And the killer would just barge in and probably kill you both when you least expect it."

"How convenient would that be..." You rolled your eyes at yourself with a groan as you went to get cleaned up.

✦

You got out of Gale's car. Not a bad car at all but not exactly her new Benz she had a decade prior either. The police car assigned to follow you guys parked right behind you. You stepped out with a brown suede jacket, camisole, jeans and boots. Nothing to fancy or out there as you walked behind Randy and Gale. You got a few stares. Frowning and looking down when a few kids openly took pictures of you on their phones.

"If it isn't the media flashing cameras in my face, it's everyday people now."

Gale smiled as she walked ahead, pushing her hair over her shoulder. "It's legal, Thank god. It makes journalism so much easier. Why hunt down the story when kids just upload it for you?"

Randy huffed. "Marrying your cousin is legal in places; doesn't mean I'm gonna do it. I mean, seriously. Did we take out our cameras and take pictures of random people as teens just because we could??" He imitated having a camera in your face and you shoved his hands away.

You sighed. "Yeah but I'm not a random person...It may be rude but they're kids. Can't blame them for taking snapshots of the local celebrity before she's on the chopping block."

"I can." Randy grumbled. "...My kids will be raised to have at least a little bit of decency."

Gale chuckled in a mocking tone. "Yeah, yeah. You keep thinking that. The second they walk out that door all home training will be out the window. Smoking cigarettes and pot, maybe popping some pills, drinking for sure, sex. And most of all, being rude little shits."

Randy huffed. "Maybe YOU were like that considering your wonderful personality now...We all saw the college photos circulating on the net-"

Gale whipped around with a finger in his face and a glare. "Hey! Those were photoshopped." He raised an unconvinced brow as she turned back around and marched towards the doors. "Devils advocate; So what if I DID possibly go to a few college parties while I was still in Highschool? Just because you were a little nerd as a teen doesn't mean your kids will be."

Randy gave her an offended look to the back of her head. "I drank! I partied, okay?! But I also wasn't a rude asshole either."

He looked at you to see if you agreed. "Eh...True but a few teens being dicks is nothing new, Ray. I'm sure we were too; we just don't remember. " You shrugged. Stu being the first 'asshole' teen you remembered along with a good makority of kids at his party e en if you didn't say it outloud.

"Feels like this generation is exceptional with that. They have zero shame or respect for people or...Oh Jesus, I sound like my freaking Dad." He cringed with a whine and hung his head.

You couldn't help the amused smirk on your face. "Congratulations! In a few years you'll be manicuring your lawn, not knowing how to work technology, watching news and politics for fun and then yelling at kids for stepping on your perfectly trimmed grass."

"Do you want me to have some weird quarter life crisis? I'm 33, okay? Stop." He loudly groaned at that and you just laughed it off. Perkin's followed behind you a couple of yards away.

You all walked in the building and it was like a blast from your past. You stared awestruck that not too much had changed and yet just enough had changed to make you feel out of place...How many times you walked these halls flooded your memory. Images of how teens looked when you were a teen replaced with the modern era. All the teens were like little kids to you now versus your peers. The clothes were throwing you off too compared to the 90's...You knew 15 years was a long time but It was still such a stark contrast from your teen years; you couldn't help staring with a sad feeling in your chest at how much your life had gone by in a blink of an eye...And half of it seemed like you had nothing but people trying to kill you.

"Everything alright, Miss YN?" Perkin's asked behind you.

You were silent a moment. "...Yeah, just taking it all in." You faltered before smiling and nodded as you saw Gale and Randy walking ahead and forced yourself to follow them. Going to the back of the school and seeing the 'Cinema Club' in a banner overtop of a small classroom. You went in as Perkin's stood guard outside.

It wasn't long before you walked in and took a seat, all eyes on you as Randy sat beside you, marveling at the posters. He whispered. "Look at this place! Teen Randy would be over the fucking moon! Why didn't this exist in school when we went?!"

You couldn't resist smiling as he had his arms on the desk and a huge grin on his face. Not even looking at you as he looked up at all the posters on the wall. Just seeing youths appreciate cinema the way he did made him look 15 years younger.

You leaned towards him and whispered back. "Because you would have been the only member." He gave you a look and you chuckled. "...Kidding! I don't know but isn't it great that so many kids seem to be here?"

"I know! In the 90's those jocks and preppy kids in the back wouldn't be caught dead here. Maybe not even the burn outs or the grungy kids."

"See? At least this generation is a little more inclusive than ours."

Gale stayed standing and leaned down to mumble. "Well, I think It helps when there's murders going around and the people that survived them are at this club today to possibly give advice."

Randy frowned and puffed air past his lips while putting his chin in his hand. "Thanks for raining on my parade, Gale. You gonna go kick a puppy after this? Maybe shove a kid on the sidewalk on your way home?"

You looked around and saw Kirby as she looked up from her phone and waved at you. You smiled and waved back...However, you felt eyes boring into you. That unnerving feeling you were being watched as you looked slightly behind her to see some boy...Straight up staring you down. You stared back, raising your brows slightly as a silent 'Can I help you??' message as he glared but didn't look away. You turned back around with a grimace as he kept staring.

Gale noticed and so did Randy as they both looked at him and he looked away.

Gale raised a brow. "Told you we might find suspects here."

You released a heavy sigh. "...Great."

Soon two teen boys came in. Both were shorter, especially compared to a few teen boys standing up near the back of the classroom, still talking. Both looked like average kids. Except one had a stupid looking camera headset on. Messing with it as the long haired boy addressed the room while walking around.

"Okay Cinema Club, may I have your attention gentleman and...Ladies-" He inclined his head to Kirby as she gave him a mocking smile back. "We are now in session. Welcome...I'll tell you a little bit about ourselves; we are a sanctioned after-school activity one run below Glee Club but two above Nintendo Wii Fit Club." A few chuckles sounded out as he continued. "However, thanks to the recent events and the Principal's anxiety over said recent events; we are hosting a little earlier than usual...And let me just say...To our guest, YN, it's an honor."

He gave with a slight smile as he stood next to his friend with the headset and everyone clapped. You stood up and forced a smile for the room as the kids clapped and gave you a warm welcome. You noticed the boy behind Kirby didn't clap...Just glared at you.

The boy you guessed was Robbie with the headset chimed in. "Beyond Jamie Lee Curtis and forget Linda Blair. I mean, this is the ultimate." He gave with a hand wave and a huge excited smile.

Charlie then gestured to Randy. "And we can't forget the other Woodsboro survivor, Randy Meeks. Who personally helped Cinema Club become what it is today. He taught me and Robbie everything we know. The OG, everyone." Charlie raised a hand upward towards Randy as everyone clapped too. You nudged Randy to stand up too when you heard his name as he gave a surprised look then a slight smirk as he waved.

Gale gave Charlie a death stare. Clearly miffed she wasn't mentioned but didn't audibly say it. You and Randy sat back down as people stopped clapping. You had to admit being behind a school desk again was strange.

You gave a slight forced chuckle, unsure what to say as Robbie pointed his camera at you. "Thanks. I guess. Um...This-" You gestured to Robbie's headset by pointing at your own head. "You film your entire High School experience and post it on the net or?-"

Robbie nodded. "Everybody will be doing it someday, YN."

"It's kind of the one component the killer is missing." Charlie off handedly commented.

"Wait." Gale interrupted as she went from standing to the side of the class near you and Randy's desk to walking towards both of them a bit as her heels clicked against the floor. "What do you mean?"

Charlie clarified. "Well. If you want to be the 'new' new version; the killer should be filming the murders."

You and Randy gave each other surprised looks before turning back to them.

Robbie added. "I mean, that's like the natural next step slasher psycho innovation." His hands fell in his lap as he shrugged before gesturing to the class. "I mean, you film them all, real time, and then before you get caught; you upload them into cyberspace."

"Like the dark web?" You asked.

Charlie nodded. "Sort of. It will end up there but if you posted it to Twitter or Instagram or Facebook it's bound to circulate around before the site admins can take it down. Getting it out there to average people that save it to their device and reupload it for views before authorities can get it under control...Make your art as immortal as you." He pointed in the direction of Kirby and Trevor.

Both boys answered simultaneously. "Not to implicate him."

You asked slowly. "So...Who do you think is behind the murders?"

Charlie opened his mouth then closed it trying to think of the answer as Robbie got closer to you with his headset. The light blinked as you stared at it.

"Well uh, it's a Stab fanatic. Clearly." Charlie gave. "Working on less of a Screaquel and more Scream-make. Copyrighted terms, by the way."

Randy's eyes lit up before he groaned with a shake of his head. Robbie's camera directed onto him as he ranted. "A remake? No...No, no, no just-" He stood up to address the class. "This is clearly a franchise, people."

Charlie smirked with a slight huff. "Well, with due respect Randy, you've been out of the game for a while."

Randy huffed. "Oh really, new meat? Okay. I can see the confusion of thinking this is a remake IF...YN wasn't here or some awful shit happened to her like she was the opening kill or something like that or she was just a minor cameo character-" He pointed to you and Robbie's camera followed with his sight of vision before going back to Randy. "However...She is here. She is targeted. She's still the main attraction. If the old killer would have killed her but it's still happening to a new set of characters and a new final girl in Woodsboro with the same shtick as the other installments; THEN it's a remake. I'm leaning more towards a franchise here."

Robbie looked back at Randy, giving an almost mocking face. "O-kay but what if the killer is trying to get rid of the main cast to make it a remake with the new characters? Then what?"

Randy gave him a shrug. "Perhaps. A remake keeps the original storyline but revolves around a new cast sometimes with a cameo from an old character or killing that old character off."

"So it's completely new?" Gale mumbled.

"No if it was set in a different town with no previous lore or backstories and different characters; that's a reboot. A remake still has some lore or the same town or a few characters or the killer that is the same. Friday the 13th, My Bloody Valentine 3D, that god awful Nightmare on Elm Street last year-"

Some guy in the back said. "Hey! What's wrong with that movie? It's better than the old one!"

"Of course you think that. It looks like it matches your comprehension skills-" Randy mumbled while looking around and speaking a bit louder. "This is the fourth round. YN and us other Legacy characters are still targets-"

The dark haired boy glaring at you spoke up with a scowl. "Are you? Because I think Jill is the one that almost died 2 nights ago and who the killer called twice. And it was her best friend that died...In fact, none of this happened to her until SHE showed back up."

Robbie whipped his head to him and adjusted his headset. "Trevor trying to pin the blame on YN. Accurate or suspicious?" He seemed to ask his audience.

Chattering sounded throughout the classroom as you looked back at Trevor who gave you a challenging look.

Kirby whipped her head to scoff at Trevor behind her, leaning back her seat. "YN was the one who drove off the killer, Trevor...And how do you know the killer called Jill twice? Last time I checked, she wasn't speaking to you."

He leaned forward with a smug smirk. "Yeah well, looks like Jill is following her heart instead of what her noisy friend thinks. We talked."

Kirby scoffed with a bewildered grin. "When you're stalking her or?-"

Trevor ignored her. "YN here didn't have a single knife wound when she was attacked...How is that? That she didn't get a scratch on her while everyone around her are all being picked off...Angel of Death." He growled out.

Gale waved a dismissive hand. "Let's not divert back to that tired ass storyline, alright? Unlike you kids, us adults are actually working with the police to solve this instead of blaming YN's presence on something some dumbass was gonna do regardless."

Trevor, Robbie and Charlie all looked like they wanted to say something but Randy cut them all off. "Look, kids. There's always a group of people in every movie connected somehow to the main cast because the final girl is running out of friends being slaughtered every installment so movies have to introduce new ones. It's just a fact whether it's right or wrong!...I'm telling you all as someone that lived through this multiple times; we're in a damn Franchise."

He held up a finger to everyone. "Now since we're in a Franchise; There are certain rules for a continuing franchise that we can follow in order to hopefully survive. Because you know why? Because without them, it would just be a shitty run of the mill Sequel to be forgotten with all the others... So without further ado let's discuss the rules to hope to survive this shit. Rule one: everything is bigger than last time." He walked around the room while listing off his fingers. "Bigger budget, bigger cast, bigger body count. Longer chases, shoot outs, beheadings." He excitedly threw his hands out. "You gotta top what came before in order to keep people coming back."

Kirby raised a brow with a bewildered smirk. "...Beheadings?"

Randy gave an almost wildly excited grin down at her. "Beheadings." He walked away and you saw the amused look on Kirby's face as he ranted. If you didn't know Randy, he'd be suspect number one with how excited he was talking about this.

"Rule two: Whatever happened last time; forget it! Expect the opposite. Franchises only survive by subverting expectations." He looked at the class as he stood near Robbie and Charlie. "If the killers last time were grown men out for revenge while competing with each other in some macho alpha male pissing contest; expect the opposite. Because the opposite is always true in a franchise in order to keep the shit going and keep executives' pockets lined."

Robbie and Charlie exchanged looks as Randy circled near to your desk. He put his hand on it to look at you. "Rule Three: ...No one is safe. " He mumbled before standing back up fully to look at Gale who stood at the side of the classroom. "Legacy Characters? Cannon fodder at this point. Once the nostalgia has reached its peak; We're done! Because keeping legacy characters around feels too safe and too safe becomes redundant. Why do you think Stab 3 flopped? Because they preached that it was bigger stakes, then whoops; no one important fucking died. It was a pointless installment except for the killer's backstory."

A girl raised her hand then asked. "Uh...Didn't you die in 3??"

His features sagged into a light scowl. "No, that was in 2."

Gale scrunched her brows. "So a legacy character, huh?"

Charlie answered for Randy. "Oh that's...That's you guys. YN, Randy, You, Dewey. Anyone that was a player in the first movie."

Randy nodded at him like a proud teacher at his students getting it right. "There you go!" He walked back to the front of the class with a shake of his head and slashing his hand through the air. "That's not the worst part! You all have to understand that Franchises are just continuing episodic installments. It means the main characters are completely expendable now. Either they die or the most fucked up shit possible happens to them. Nancy Thompson-"

You interrupted him. "Okay...But you said this shit about her in a trilogy, Randy."

He shook his hand in a teetering motion with a shrug. "Eh, TECHNICALLY Nightmare on Elm Street: Dream Warriors was numerologically a trilogy but was more a franchise starter. What can I say? Now that this is happening for a fourth time, it changes the dynamic of the story here. Dream Warriors was the making of a true franchise. It made Freddy Krueger who he is today! Its tone, the lore, and killing off the one person to truly stop him in the past sealed it as a Franchise for years to come... Nancy Thompson, Ellen Ripley, Clear Rivers, even the killer like John Kramer had to die so the franchise could live on and build upon it! No one is safe. No one."

The room was deathly silent as everyone stared at him. Gale smacked her lips and drew out. "As always, your pep talks are so optimistic."

He walked back over to sit beside you, shrugging at her.

Charlie broke the stiff silence in the room with a slight huff of a chuckle. "Normally, I'd never argue with the real deal...However, it's what it is now. No one wants a continuous Franchise anymore. Nothing but remakes." He held up a hand as he spoke. "All horror movies now are remakes. It's the only horror the studios will green light now...I mean, there's still rules-"

Kirby 'psst' at you as Charlie was distracted talking. You looked as she showed you a video on her phone of Trevor glaring at you from a different angle as Trevor looked at Robbie's camera and you looked back.

Charlie continued. "-But the rules have changed and times have changed...It's not the 90's anymore and remakes are the only way to go."

Robbie continued. "Let's face it; nobody wants to see the same final girl becoming 30 and getting old; fighting an even older killer. That's the beauty of Stab! It's always a new killer but the downside is it's always the same final girl with heavy plot armor."

Charlie shrugged. "...Well, except for YN sueing to get her character removed by 3."

Robbie added with a smirk and eyeroll. "I mean, how long is Gale's character going to be 60 running from Ghostface-" Gale tilted her head as Robbie quickly stuttered out. "I-In the movies!"

"Yeah, and my characters gonna be in it for at least 2 more movies. People love a legend. And I'm fucking 47, you fetus." Gale glared at him as a few kids 'ooh'ed' in the background.

Robbie cleared his throat and added. "N-Not that there's not truth to that but...Ghostface changes but the Final Girl doesn't? No one wants to see that forever. Eventually you need a stronger killer, more gruesome deaths, a new fresh face for a new generation."

Randy leaned forward, looking extremely interested in what they were saying. Charlie continued. "Therefore, a remake. The unexpected is the new cliché."

Robbie walked the room and said. "Yeah, yeah. You gotta have an opening sequence that blows the doors off, done with some flashy music video direction and the kills have got to be way more extreme."

Randy tilted his head with a nod. "Of course. Your gore whore horror hounds expect it."

Charlie corrected him. "Right. But the rules have changed even if the expectation has not. Modern audiences got savvy to the rules of the originals. So, the reversal became the new standard."

Robbie added. "I mean, Horror drastically declined once CGI became the standard. It was cheaper for Studios, the jumpscares desensitized viewers from good old fashioned suspense while being able to replace hard to make storylines with cheap thrills and gore through the internet and video games uping the scare standards of an entire generation. We all saw 1 guy 1 jar...If you didn't, you're lucky. We're fucking desensitized too much to be scared of what you Gen X'ers were scared of."

You and Randy gave each other odd looks not knowing what exactly they were talking about as Charlie finished for him. "Things that terrified older audiences are snooze fest to the majority of the new generation. It made gore and jumpscares the main focal point instead of plot and characterization. Remakes that top the original are the only way now."

Randy rolled his tongue to his cheek as they spoke. Listening intently before mumbling.

"This is a first for me to ask but...What rules do you think is the theme here then? Since you're the new generation and all."

Charlie huffed out with a slight smirk at Randy asking him. "Well, pretty much the only sure fire way to survive a modern horror movie is...Well, you pretty much have to be gay."

Randy's face scrunched up. "...Really?" He monotoned as a few kids chuckled and Kirby, you and Gale all gave the same stare.

Charlie threw his hands up. "Hey, I don't make the rules! Just recite them."

Gale tilted her head, eyeing them up and down. "So, why are you so sure Randy's wrong and the killer is working with the rules to create a remake? "

Charlie leaned back on the desk and went to speak but Robbie spoke for him. "Well, the original Stab structure is pretty apparent. Recreating kills that already happened to replicate the original but with a new twist." Charlie added. "Two kids were gutted in a house while their parents were away..."

Robbie said. "And then the schools hot chick ravaged beyond recognition and shoved in a doggy door." You swallowed at that as Robbie muttered. "We all know where it goes from there..."

"A party." You answered.

Charlie pointed at you. "Exactly. A party. A guaranteed third act main cast bloodbath."

Robbie weaved around Gale as he mumbled, adjusting his headset to look down at her outfit a second. "Fingers crossed for some nudity for a change." She just gave him a stare as he moved back to Charlie and all the boys giggled around you...And you just stared at them.

Gale walked up to them, closer this time. "Okay, so do you know what party is happening tonight?"

Charlie blinked and mumbled. "U-Uh well, there's Stab-a-thon."

"Stab-a-thon?" Randy asked as you stood up. You walked to where Gale was and he stayed near the desk you both sat at.

"Uh, it's a movie marathon. All 7 Stab movies back to back. We host it every year." Charlie replied.

Randy huffed with an offended glare. "And I'm just learning about this because?-" You gave him a look and he shrugged. "I mean, because it's so dumb to host right now! We should've known sooner!" He barely saved as a few kids stifled their laughter.

You on the other hand just stared at Charlie and Robbie. Both of them gave you bad vibes you couldn't shake.

You replied. "It's tonight? There's a killer patterning their murders after the original movie. A movie based on her book-" You gestured to Gale. "And about us." You pointed between you and Randy.

Trevor called out. "So uh, you being with Billy Loomis and Stu Macher behind your friends backs...Was that based on real life or just put in the movie for views?" As boys and a few girls around him giggled like it was the funniest thing as he gave you a serious stare. "If we're going based off of Stab then I think we all need to be worried about you being involved."

Before you could react, Gale asked him with a glare. "...What's your fucking problem?"

His face dragged down as he drew out. "My problem is YN being here is putting everyone in danger. The killer didn't attack until she showed up..." He looked at you." Jill could've died the other night and the fact you're staying across the street from her is putting her in danger."

You looked at him. "...I understand your concern but I can assure you that I'm not purposely putting anyone in danger. Obviously. I'm actively working with Gale Riley and Sheriff Riley to get this killer before anyone else gets hurt."

"Yeah, I bet." He mumbled while glaring your way.

Kirby glanced at him. "Do you realize how suspicious you look pointing fingers right now? Showing up right after the killer attacked Olivia. And the fact you and Jenny were-"

"Just friends, Kirby." He snapped.

Kirby stared before slightly smirking and muttering. "...Yeah. I bet."

The air was thick as Robbie whispered something to his headset along the lines of. "The plot thickens."

You swallowed and turned to Charlie. "...Anyone can be the killer, Charlie."

Charlie looked away and smirked. "I know, it's pretty wild."

"You have to call it off!"

Robbie and Charlie both gave amused scoffs and chuckles as Robbie drew out. "Pft, um...Okay, um. It's Friday. I'm sure we're not the only party in Woodsboro. Why do you think we had Cinema Club early? So we can prepare."

Gale shifted in place. "Okay, where's this circle jerk gonna take place?"

Charlie quickly asked the class. "So who's ready for this Q&A?"

"No-" Gale put her hand out to stop him from leaving as Randy got up and walked closer to you all. Gale continued. "No, I really want to know this location."

Charlie half cringed and smiled. "You know, it's kind of an underground, Email invite only thing. Pretty secret."

You gave him a dumbfounded look. "One of your friends is fucking dead along with 3 other people."

Robbie grimaced. "I mean, chicks so far. Maybe guys are safe?"

Randy tilted his head with a disarming smirk. "Come on, guys. I get it, you don't want them to cramp your style but we really need that location."

Charlie hissed through his teeth. "Yeeahh no can do. Sorry but...It's not your scene. Underground. Young people scene only, you know."

Randy's face fell. "What? Do you know who you're talking to? WE WERE IN STAB-"

"No, you had actors play you guys. Probably not even accurate dialog." Robbie corrected.

Charlie gave him an awkward smile. "...Sorry Randy, we appreciate your help when we were in like Freshman year but you're in the age of VHS and we're pirating online. We don't even need to visit the video store now. Just have Media Player, blank Dvd's and a good firewall. I mean, You're scream queen was like Jennifer Love Hewitt and ours is Katie Cassidy. Even your rules aren't accurate now...You can sit this one out. I mean, you're probably getting out of partying anyways. No hard feelings, right?"

"OR-" Randy raised his voice. "You can fuck off-" You put a hand out and lightly shoved him back.

"You're a business owner on camera yelling at minors; stop it." You hissed out through your teeth low enough for hopefully only him to hear. He jerked away from you and scowled at Charlie and Robbie.

Gale gave them a threatening smile. "What?...You're not gonna tell us? Really? We're working together. Remember?"

Charlie nervously chuckled and asked the class. "Uh, so how about that Q&A?"

"Fuck you." Gale dropped the smile and told him as she placed a hand on your back and led you both out. Clearly not caring what teenagers thought even if she was on camera. "Let's go."

Randy followed and you all made your way down the hall. Perkin's following as he asked. "So, how was film class?"

"Awful." You scoffed out. "Can you believe these assholes? I agree with Randy. Fuck these kids."

"Thank you! I dread Mindy and Chad being their age." He drew out as he caught up with both of you. You guys stopped in the middle of the hallway.

Gale looked at Perkin's. "Can you give us a minute?"

"...Okay, Mizz Weathers." He enunciated her old name as he sighed and went to the end of the hall a few yards.

Gale looked between you both. "Suspects?"

"Of course." Randy looked to the ground while thinking aloud. "Two film obsessed kids who love horror movies the most, hosting a party in a secret location during murders. One is obsessed with tech and likes posting things for views while talking about the killer doing the same thing. They're definitely suspects!...However, if they're suspects then I'm a suspect so let's shove them to the side a moment-"

Gale held up a hand. "Suspects are suspects. Besides we already deducted us from the list based on all of us being present or having alibis."

Everyone was quiet a moment, Perkin's eyeing all of you from afar before Randy added. "...Or Trevor. The way he was mean mugging YN was definitely suspicious. "

Gale tilted her head and folded her arms. "I did some snooping and he's Jill's recent ex boyfriend, apparently something to do with cheating with a blonde. Jenny Randall."

"Explains why Kirby is hostile towards him. Kirby's Jill's best friend." Randy mumbled.

Gale nodded. "It's pretty much girl code the guy that cheated on your best friend is the worst creature to ever exist on the face of the Earth." You whispered low. "...But the fact Jenny was one of the first victims and not to mention he showed up so soon to comfort Jill after we were attacked when by the sounds of it he shouldn't have been there in the first place?...Yeah."

Gale added. "And if what they say is true; that means Jill is a new target."

"It's still a franchise. I'm calling it but..." Randy sighed. "If Jill Robert's is the new final girl of this story for whatever reason then the boyfriend or ex boyfriend is the prime suspect."

You shrugged. "Yeah for Billy and Sidney but after that Derek was a red herring and so was Mark. They were both good guys." You reasoned.

"That may be true for you but we still have to consider every trope, YN. And right now, Trevor is looking pretty suspicious."

You all talked a bit longer before leaving with Perkin's following. Going outside before stopping again. "Wait." You told Randy and Gale as they stopped. "...What are we going to do about the party even when we find it?"

"Easy." Gale smirked. "Record the killer, get evidence, send it to the police."

Randy raised a brow. "And you think it'll be that easy?"

"I may go by Gale Riley now but I am Gale fucking Weathers. If there's a story, I'll find it." She went to walk again and you stopped her.

"Hold on!...You aren't doing this for the reason I think you are, are you?" You eyed her. "It's just for police...Right?"

She huffed with a small nonchalant smile. "I don't know what you mean. I'm just using my skills to catch this killer."

"The book, Gale. Are you trying to report this again to turn it into a book?"

Gale stared a moment at you and Randy before huffing and throwing one of her hands up towards you. "What is the big deal if I do? Somebody is going to report it so why not be the first to write about it from first hand experience and save lives while I do it?"

Randy kind of shifted back with his lips tightly rolled back as he watched your demeanor. You gave her an angry scowl as you drew out. "...You've gotta be fucking kidding me with this."

Gale leaned forward with a determined look. "I'm dead serious."

Your face contorted in anger. "You SWORE to me in my kitchen the day Dewey proposed to you that you would never write about these murders ever again."

"Yeah well, maybe things changed? "

"Like what-" You were cut off by someone rushing you from the side. Gale yelled and Randy went to grab you just a second too late. You blinked in shock as a middle aged had woman clocked you hard enough near your shoulder to lose your balance and land on the ground...Broad daylight on school grounds. You didn't expect it.

"Stay the hell away from our children!! Wherever you go, people die! Stay away from our kids!!" She screamed before Hoss grabbed her within seconds. Already running to intercept the second he saw her coming towards you, forcing her hands behind her back as Perkin's got to you before anyone else could. Shielding you as Randy and Gale stared in shock as well. Perkin's helped you up as Hoss detained the woman...Just for you to see a large group of parents that got wind of you at Woodsboro High. Enraged and glaring at you from the sidewalk. A few had followed the woman to confront you but stopped once Hoss apprehended her.

"Stay away from the kids!", "No one wants you here, YN!", "It's your fault they're dead!" Parents shouted from the sidelines.

Randy went to you next to Perkin's asking if you were alright as you nodded. More shocked than anything as you stared with wide eyes at the parents.

Gale stared at you before rolling her lips and telling you with a determined voice. "...This has to stop. These people need a new narrative. I'm no amateur at this and I know what I'm doing. I know it's the right thing to do. I have the info I need and I'll handle this myself...I'm trying to do the right thing here!"

You sucked in a breath and told her in a heavy voice. "The right thing would be to work together with police to catch the killer and then leave it be...Haven't you done enough storytelling, Gale?...If you wanted this to change, you would've agreed to retract your statements in Court years ago. You would have changed this instead of worrying about fame."

Gale frowned with her brows furrowed before turning on her heels and leaving. Randy threw up his arms. "Where the hell are you going? You're our ride!"

She got to her car. "Ride with Perkin's and Hoss!" She shut her door.

He yelled at her. "With this crazy in the back?!" He gestured to the woman crying and making a scene as Hoss put her in the police cruiser. "You don't even know where this party is!"

"I'll figure it out!" She yelled back while starting her car and finally driving off.

Randy and you stood there with dumbfounded looks as Perkin's demanded the parents all go back to their cars for pick up or they'd be charged.

Randy huffed as you ran and hand over your face. "...Why are we still shocked she's a selfish, insecure, opportunistic human being?"

Perkin's walked up with a shrug. "She's definitely...Something. We all might have to wait here while we get another sqaud car and take YN to a hospital."

You tsked. "I don't need a hospital. I-"

Before you could finish your sentence, someone yelled behind you. "Hey, wait!" Kirby bounded up to you and Randy and Perkin's. "Hey, do you guys still want the address to the party?...Shit...What's the deal there?"

She pointed to your check as you felt it; not even registering the woman's hand made contact with your face when she went to shove you.

"...Nothing."

Randy gave you a look. "Some crazy helicopter mom got arrested and Gale bailed on us so now we gotta wait on another cruiser."

"Oh, you need a ride? I gotta drop Jill off anyways and you're neighbors. Sooo."

Perkin's answered for both of you. "I don't think that's a good idea."

Kirby looked surprised. "Oh...Okay, I was going to suggest you guys-" She pointed to the police car. "Follow us."

You and Randy exchanged lokks before you nodded. "We have limited time. " You mumbled to Randy.

Randy nodded to Perkin's. "I can vouch for the kid. She's safe. She's extremely low on the suspect list."

Perkin's still looked unsure. You patted your leg. "I'm carrying, Perkin's. Responsibly, of course." If not...You would've unloaded on the parents trying to form an angry mob to attack you...

Perkin's ran a hand over his face as Hoss gestured with his hands from the car and the middle aged woman was throwing a fit in the back. A few parents didn't leave, getting angrier and angrier by your presence and one of their own being arrested for something in their eyes that was justified....It could get ugly here. Some parents left with their kids but the few angry ones didn't. In their cars or outside them. Clearly panicking and wanting trouble.

"...Shit. Shit, shit, shit." Perkin's hissed out. "OKAY. But do not let Sheriff Riley get wind of this-"

Randy gave a thumbs up. "You're good! 4 out of 5 stars on protecting."

"5 out of 5." Perkin's drew out.

"Okay, let's not get too unrealistic here." Randy gave with a 'get real' look on his face.

"And Hoss is riding with you."

You were the one to interject. "No. We're fine. Really, you don't need Hoss away from you...." You whispered. "He's new, isn't he?"

Perkin's whispered back. "Rookie. Obvious?"

You nodded with grimace. "Yeah. I just think it's best if you're together in case something does go wrong. I'll be in the back and we'll go straight to the police station and then Kirby can drop us off at Randy's while you guys follow."

Randy nodded furiously and Kirby replied, "Yeah, it's no biggie. I want to talk to Miss. YN and Mr. Meeks anyways about facts and trivia from Stab. So perfect opportunity."

"...Fine. Don't talk their legs off." He looked at Kirby. "And I'm following you, Little Lady. Don't try nothing funny."

"No sir, no funny stuff here!" Kirby gave with a shake of her head and her hands up.

Perkin's eyed her but nodded as he followed you all to her car. The parents glaring but saying nothing with a cop there as you walked by. You all got into Kirby's Toyota and Perkin's eyed you. "Be careful, YN. Straight to the police station and straight home."

You nodded as he shut the door. Randy waited till he was gone before turning to you from the passenger seat with a grin. "Nice save, YN. Now, we get to talk without Dewey's minions on our butts." You smirked slightly before catching a glimpse of your check in the mirror. Red and a slight bruising where that woman made contact with her hand, elbow, shoulder. Hard to say in the heat of it...You were still a bit shaken up she had the audacity to do it in daylight on school grounds...You dreaded the thought of how far they'd go if cops weren't there. You just wanted to get home and as far away from this town as you could.

Randy frowned and asked. "Are you sure you're okay? That was crazy."

You sighed but nodded. "I'm fine, Ray. It takes more than that to get to me...People are scared, panicking and getting stupid because of it."

Randy quirked a brow. "It's Woodsboro. You'd think people would be used to this."

"Were you when it came to your kids when they were still here? Parents panic."

He was quiet at that as Kirby buckled up.

and started her car. All of you cringing at how loud her rock music was as she turned it down. "Sorry! Just jamming after school...Jill texted. She'll be here in a minute."

You leaned forward, asking. "So, you said something about the party?"

"Yeah, I can give you the address...You know that old abandon barn on Fort Dillion Road?"

Randy looked surprised. "Yeah, of course. That's where they're having it?"

She nodded. "Yep. Perfect place. In the middle of nowhere. No witnesses to drinking, sex, or murders." She half joked.

Randy tsked. "Damn, it is perfect. Looks like Robbie and Charlie just got a little higher on my suspect list..."

Jill opened the door beside you. Looking surprised before smiling. "Hey."

"I promised them a ride." Kirby told her.

Jill got in, backpack on the floorboard as she shut the door. "Of course, that's cool actually...You okay? I saw the commotion out front but didn't see what happened."

You gave her a smile. "Yeah, I'm fine...Just...Everyday chaos when you're the final girl of a movie you didn't want to be a part of in the first place."

Kirby put the car in drive a pulled off the curb as you looked at the school...Seeing Robbie and Charlie near the building...Charlie watching intently as the car left. You saw him eyeing Kirby and Randy, most likely unable to see you in the backseat. You watched him a moment as Kirby pulled away and drove.

#I'm alive again 😪#scream #stu macher #billy loomis #my writing #scream fanfiction #yn fanfic #she her yn #my stories #scream 4 #fours a franchise

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anxiously-going · 2 months

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Mirror Image

This is part of draft for the AOS Mirror!verse I started back in January 2019 when I first started writing fanfiction.

Leonard McCoy readjusted the bag hanging from his shoulder for the tenth time before punching in the code to his home for the next four years. The door slid open to reveal a simple living room with a kitchenette to one side with a short hallway that led to one of the two bedrooms and a door opposite that for the other room.

He had never particularly cared for the mild fame his family had back home, but it certainly came with its privileges. Namely, getting more of an apartment than an ordinary dorm room. Even having to share the space wouldn't be so bad since there were separate bedrooms.

Len walked down the hallway to stake his claim on the furthest room. He hadn't been particularly eager to be at the Academy, but his mother had insisted and gone through all the effort to get him in on good standings, so turning up early to make sure he got the room he wanted was a small prize.

His bags hit the ground with a dull thud when the door closed behind him. He fell back against it with a small sigh.

So this was it. A bed sat in the middle of the room. To one side a closet, to the other a bathroom, and just at his elbow a dresser. His new home.

Vaguely he wondered how Jocelyn was enjoying having the house to herself. An ache started in the middle his chest and spread from there at the thought of her. He had tried convincing his mother that a simple life, in the family clinic, with a family of his own could be an honorable thing. Besides, he needed to be there for her. He couldn't leave her alone after his father's death.

But she would hear none of it. Her father and brothers had serviced in the Imperial Fleet, and so would her son.

It was a shame that Jocelyn wasn't interested in long distance relationships. She'd handed him the divorce papers along with his acceptance letter into the Academy.

Len nearly fell backward when the door swished open behind him, but a pair of hands pushed him upright and held him steady.

"Guess I'm not the first one in the dorm."

Len turned to find his apparent roommate giving a lopsided smile and offering a hand "James Kirk, Command."

"Leonard McCoy, Medical." He shook the young man's hand firmly.

"I guess you just got here too?" James asked gesturing to the bags on the ground.

"I did," Leonard confirmed. "But I'm not moving. And you're not in command yet so don't expect me to follow any kinda orders."

James chuckled. "That almost sounded believable. I'm gonna hold you to that 'yet' part though." He hoisted his bag onto his shoulder and turned and walked away.

"Hey, Doc," James called down the hall. "Dinning hall's open, you comin'?"

Leonard wore a look of bafflement as he met his roommate in the common area. "You're James Kirk."

James arched a brow at the man. "Last time I checked, yeah. And you're Leonard McCoy. Only surviving doctor of an outbreak in Georgia last year." Len bristled at the mention of home. "You're not the only one who can run a name search, pal," James finished brusquely. "People are gonna ask about it. You'd better get used to talking about it."

"It's not their business," Len answered sharply.

"They're not gonna care. You're mildly famous for it. People are gonna talk. Especially the other med students. I've got an idea," James waggled a finger at the doctor. "Follow me."

"I know where the dining hall is, Kirk," Len rolled his eyes.

"We're not going to the dining hall. You like cheeseburgers?"

Leonard followed James across the campus and into the library. "What are we doin' here?"

"Emergency exit," James answered.

"Don't those normally set off alarms?"

"Not this one." He popped the door open and ushered Len to the outside. "Welcome to San Francisco."

Leonard arched a brow. "How do you know how to sneak off campus after only one day here?"

"Family secret," James smirked. "C'mon, let's go get dinner."

Len followed uncertainly.

"When the Empire landed on Tarsus there were nine of us that survived the execution order," James started conversationally as they headed down the sidewalk. "When I heard who was on the list, and that it included me, I pulled as many of the kids as I could. It wasn't many. But the order was to be carried out immediately so I didn't really have a lot of time. The youngest was four. I held him so he wouldn't cry when we hide with the bodies when they came through to take a count. Tom and I kept the others hidden. Tom stayed with the kids and I'd go out and scrounge for whatever food I could. It was two weeks before help came. The Empire basically recruited Tom and I right out of the hole they dug us out of. They took our kids away and shipped them out without ever telling us where they went. I still don't know where most of them went. Tom... I don't know what happened to him either. I was told he washed out. Pike tried to help him like he helped me, but he just couldn't reach him. I nearly washed out for that matter, but Pike, well, he wouldn't let me go. He took me under his wing, defended me against everyone trying to get rid of me, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him."

"Why're you tellin' me this?" Len asked wearily.

"People are going to ask what happened in Georgia. It's just gonna happen. And you're going to be expected to talk about it like it was nothing, like it was an accomplishment. Because it was. You saved a lot of lives, McCoy. But you can't sound like it affected you."

Leonard scoffed. "Sure. I only watched half the town hospital die. Who's gonna be affected by something like that?"

"The attitude is a great defense mechanism, but someone's gonna see through it and then you're gonna be in trouble."

Len halted. "What do you care anyway?" he demanded, throwing out his arms.

"Because I get it," James answered calmly.

"Oh you 'get it'?" Len scoffed incredulously.

"Yeah, I do."

"Enlighten me."

"You're angry. Here's this young kid, who doesn't know the first thing about what you went through, telling you to pretend like it was nothing. Not only that, but he has the audacity to congratulate you for surviving something you had no business surviving. And if you were honest with yourself, you probably didn't even want to survive. But here he is pretending to get it, pretending to understand. Pike did the same thing to me. Except, y'know, it was some old guy who didn't really care. And at first I hated him for it. I gave him a bloody nose for it, actually. Look, you can hate me all you want, you can even punch me for it. But I'm warning you now, the way that he warned me. You will not last here, if you let it show how it affected you. I'm not saying, 'don't be affected' that's impossible. I'm saying, 'don't let them see it'. You cannot let it show. Because if you do, they'll either kick you out, or worse. They'll let you stay and let someone else tear you apart and make an example of you." James waited a minute, hoping Leonard was taking in his words, before speaking again. "Look. We don't know each other. That makes it hard to listen to a thing I say, but I'm telling you now because Pike waited with me, and I nearly got sent away. And, yeah, maybe I'd be on a better course, but I would've lost Chris. And I don't know what I'd be without him. You're drifting. The Empire is…far from perfect, but it is an anchor. And you need that right now. Or you're gonna find yourself in worse trouble."

Leonard slumped against the wall of the shop they had stopped in front of with a sigh. "I don't even want to be here."

James arched a brow. "I would never have guessed. How'd you end up here then?"

"My mother wanted me here a long time ago. Was my plan to take over the clinic one day though, so I stayed home. I wanted to stay even more after… She needed someone to take care of her. But she started talking to my uncles who'd served and their friends... I never even filled out an application. Just got an acceptance letter in the mail and was out the door a week later."

Jim nodded slowly and began walking again. "Sounds like a rough year."

"Year to the day," Leonard agreed and fell into step next to him. "One year ago today Michael Thompson walked into the E.R. with what we thought was just an sinus infection. Six months later…" He shook his head. "Nearly every patient I'd worked with that ended up sick was dead. And two of the other doctors there were sick. Three months after that all our patients were dead and me and couple nurses were the only ones not sick. At the end of the fourth month it was all over. Me and two others survived. Everyone else who stepped into that hospital during those ten months was dead."

"Sounds like survivor's guilt."

"I minored in psychology, kid, but thanks for the eval."

"You did do a lot of good though. You know that, right?"

"I know the media only tells half the story," Len answered quietly.

#star trek aos #aos mirror!verse #leonard mccoy #jim kirk #my writing #academy days #starfleet academy

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godbirdart · 1 year

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AHH I hope you don't mind the DM, but do you have any general tips for inspiration and composition? Your works so perfectly capture a lot of the aesthetics my mind is so hfdgshgfdusdfug ooga booga about, dreamlike regality, cold/muted colors are so good --- but I struggle really hard with making works I can enjoy and would love some advice from you!

sorry it took me a couple days to get back to this ask aAA

** let me start this off with all art is subjective. what works for some, won't for others - and that's okay! aesthetic is VERY much so up to the eye of the beholder. yes there are Popular choices when it comes to art, but it's not a guarantee that Everyone is going to follow the same art rules when consuming media **

now then. i'm kind of a stickler for the traditional Rule of Thirds with a bunch of my artwork. I keep things loosely aligned between the grid lines.

for example with the ice guardian here, there's more or less an even balance of light and dark on either side of the image. the dark on one side is mirrored by light on the other. i don’t follow the rule of thirds firmly, so there’s going to be some vague offset from the grid itself which is fine.

the key point i want to mention here is that the majority of the body is contained to the middle box. this is because if the guardian was perfectly centred, then the whole art would look unbalanced.

here's our guardian perfectly centred [with some loose editing to make up for nonexistent space on the right there]

you may notice that the art feels pushed to one side, even though the body of the canine is placed evenly in the canvas’ middle. their head seems too far left and they end up feeling like they're not centred at all. this CAN work for some art yes! but to balance this particular piece, the bulk of the canine's body Had to be in the middle.

I like to apply the most weight of an image to any of the grid’s intersections, the middle square, or centred along the sides of the canvas. if i do put weight in one of the corners, it’s often balanced by mirrored weight in the opposite; like with this piece:

keep in mind that there are numerous composition types. the grid isn't the allmighty end-all composition trick - and these aren't strict rules either; unless you're taking an art class for a grade. YES they can absolutely help give your art that extra edge, but not all art HAS to follow these tricks in order to be good. here are more composition types beyond the grid [below graphic is from here]

now, when it comes to inspiration, i also struggle with this sometimes. if there's a vague fleeting idea that i want to draw, i go to where i'll gain the most inspiration for that piece.

for the above art, i know i wanted to do something Large and Cold - so I went to a favourite choice that fits that description: photos of greenland. these photos are from http://www.unsplash.com.

these had the kind of colours i wanted to work with, and i was VERY fond of the colours in the second and third, so i utilized these as a colour palette and scenery inspo [free iceberg art study! fantastic!]

now, there was no particular "what if there was a little freak in there" moment for me. i chose a photo, dabbed my colour picker tool in there, and just went to town doodling. eventually the art wound up being a companion piece to Return To Shore, a drawing i did back in July, but hey that's okay. i guess my brain really wanted to draw another old Big Dog.

i cannot say i put a lot of planning into my art beyond a few adjectives. i feel it’s better to be vague with your art like this because if you’re hyper-specific about what you want to make you may get frustrated and/or discouraged if it doesn’t turn out like you hoped. this is very much so a personal choice. if you can churn out exactly what you plan in art then that’s totally fine if it works for you. i just prefer to doodle and see where that takes me.

i hope this helps your art journey!! my brain may have wandered off topic by mistake, or neglected to write something in, so if you want more clarification please feel free to ask/specify!

#long post #art

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ladymirdan · 1 year

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As someone who doesn’t know a lot about ultramarines (to lazy to read, don’t wanna deal with memes) if you would be so kind, could you give me a quick summary of their captains, or at least just your favs?

Captain Severus Agemman. Poor guy; he used to be captain of the second company until the entire first company got eaten by Tyranids, and they just moved all of them to the first. Politically this is a problem for him because some in the Senate think he hasn't earned the spot. He is a very by the book Ultramarine. He only does codex-compliant manoeuvres. Has a huge beef with Sicarius which is hilarious. They are like two chihuahuas going at each other every time they meet 😂

You thought I was going to write Sicarius here, didn't you? Well, he isn't a battle captain anymore. He is captain of Guilliman’s honour guard now. The captain for the second company is Sevastus Acheran, and he.. Exists? I think Acheran is a wasted opportunity to do some cool shit. Give Fabian command of the second, or even better, give it to Praxor Manorian. Imagine the story potential! But no, we are stuck with Acheran. I can't really say much about him. All mentions of him are in an out-of-print supplement that I won't buy for scalper prices just to maybe get some info on him.

Fabian! Mikael Fabian is basically “We got Sicarius at home”. They have the same loadout and gear, temperament, and personality. Fabian has a cybernetic eye and red trim. That's the only way to tell them apart. That and that he is a failure 😛 I usually joke and say that Fabian is the Ultramarines’ “damsel in distress”, because every book I've read with him in it is basically that he has failed and needs saving, but I still love the guy.

Uriel Ventris. This one people usually know. I think that if Ventris weren't born on Calth, he wouldn't have been an Ultramarine. He doesn't care for politics or image, and he has no influential friends at all. He doesn't care for the Senate. He should probably have been a Salamander or something (he looks good in green). But something he does have is that Ultramarine luck.

Caito Galenus. Galenus on the other hand doesn't have the classic Ultramarine luck. He is very different from the others I've mentioned, much more laid back. I would almost call him anxious. He is a master of void warfare, though, and is the guy you want to command a fleet. Allegedly has beef with Marneus Calgar because Calgar commanded his company on Galenus’ first mission and got pretty much everyone killed.

These are the five battle captains, the rest are more of reserve companies, but I want to name Numitor as an honourable mention. He is the most Ultramarine out of all of them. He is the captain of the eighth company. It’s very unclear if he still lives. He is gone from the codex, but he is featured in the book “Honour and Iron”, which takes place in Era Indomitus, so I don't know what to trust.

If you are into audiobooks, I would recommend “Blades of Damocles” with him as a protagonist (and bonus baby Sicarius as a Sergeant) I think it's very good and has a good view of how Ultramariens actually operate in the field. (And a lot of examples of what they shouldn't do )

(And We have Decimus Felix, but he is captain of the 11th company, and that is a can of worms I want to open later. Its so funny to me that the Ultramarines are no longer codex compliant)

#ultramarines #warhammer #warhammer 40k #40k #severus agemman #cato sicarius #uriel ventris #mikael fabian #numitor #caito galenus #space marines #wh40k #captains #decimus felix #codex compliant

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lxighmadxson · 2 months

Text

Kissing Booth!!

where Leigh visits Fleet at the Kissing Booth to try to ninja her way into getting ideas on what to get him for the Pot of Gold @fleetsummers

Leigh Madison

After finding out she had gotten Fleet for the Pot of Gold thing, she had been trying to come up with something to give him, but despite their mission to get food for the Ranch, Leigh realized she didn't have much else to go off of for figuring out an idea. So it was time for some intel gathering. Leigh approached the booth with a bag in her hand that contained three seperate paper flower crowns. "I come bearing a gift for the leprechauns," she said as she held it up, "courtesy of Allison."

fleet summers

Fleet sat up excitedly, clapping his hands together lightly. "Leigh!" he exclaimed. "That's so nice of Allison! And you, of course, for agreeing to deliver her presents." It felt like they'd barely seen each other since the Ranch, since those last rushing, terrifying moments when she'd been trying to get out to warn Redwood; everyone had touched base with each other (even the briefest of contact) once they were home, but it was still ... jangly. Getting settled back in. For some people more than others. "She must be very relieved to have you back."

Leigh Madison

Leigh smiled and laughed as she set down the bag for him. "Allison is her only little leprechaun in her own way. I did try to let her know that flower crowns were more for fairies than leprechauns but there was no stopping her." Leigh felt somewhat bad that she had been a little dodgey since getting back to Redwood, especially around people who had been at the ranch but she had been focusing on her daughter. Spending as much time as she could with her and treasuring every second. "Oh, you have no idea. She would be attached to my leg like a little koala bear right now if I hadn't insisted that Jimmy specifically requested her to braid his hair." Leigh laughed a little under her breath at the image in her head now. "So, how has this been going? Been keeping pretty busy?"

fleet summers

With an arch little lift of his eyebrows and shoulder, Fleet intoned, "...baby girl has the right idea, some of us Leprechauns are also fairies," breaking into a laugh that turned into a cooing, 'awwwww!' as he lifted out the crown that he liked best, setting it to his head immediately. "Lucky girl. I'd like a turn at braiding Jimmy's hair myself." Fleet smiled at Leigh's question about how the booth had been going, saying, "It's been fun! During the Leprechaun debriefing meetings I heard that Clint's brother visited and didn't really behave himself, though Val and Beth were both discreet about it, they didn't go into details. I just extrapolated. That's the only blip." Fleet frowned for a moment, but smoothed it away for Leigh's sake. "Are you happy with your assignment? We split up the names so I only know a third of them and of course we don't know who got any of us Leprechauns."

Leigh Madison

The way Fleet lit up when he picked up one of the flower crowns and put it on his head, she felt a wave of joy course through her. It was nice to see so many smiling faces now. "Y'know, the next time Jimmy asks, I'll see about throwing you into the ring. You would have to share with Allison, though." Leigh really was curious about how the booth was going and who had come swinging by. She shifted a little uncomfortably at the mention of Clint's brother. "Mike, right? Yeah, the guy gives me some creeper vibes." And that wasn't just because he was a former Daybreaker or had apparently done the things that planted Clint in the clinic. "Me? Oh yeah, I'm pretty excited. Although I'm trying to come up with what to get them. I feel like they might be happy with anything but I want to do something meaningful." She thought this might be a good way to get into what Fleet would like sneakily but she didn't want to give it away too easily. She needed to be more subtle. "What about you? You know what you're going to get who you got?"

fleet summers

"Put me in the game, coach! I'd happily share a shift of Jimmy Beautification." Fleet amended just in case: "--not that he's not beautiful as it is. The man's breathtaking. But we can all use a little embellishment." He touched his fingertips against the flowers on his brow to emphasize, leaving the topic of Mike to follow Leigh's explanation about her Act of Niceness. "Something meaningful is always the pinnacle to aim for," Fleet said, "but don't stress yourself! I barely know anything about my recipient but I think they're the same, they'd be happy with just about whatever." He was picking up little bits of info about Harry, but nothing earth-shaking. "I'm waiting for inspiration to strike. Calling on the muses for aid."

Leigh Madison

Leigh laughed. "I'll add you to the line up." Fleet was right - everyone deserved to look glorious, even if it was for no specific reason. Leigh stuffed her hand into her jacket pocket, following along as Fleet spread his insight into the Act of Niceness. "Ah, you see, you say that, but I'm the kind of person that always stressed over giving the perfect gift during any holiday. I get joy seeing the happiness on someone's face when they get a gift." But there was Leigh's first hint. "Really? You'd be happy with anything you were given?"

fleet summers

"I really would. And I know that sounds ... ridiculous," Fleet rolled his eyes, turning slightly flushed, "it sounds like I'm straight out of Equestria and I'm gearing up for a very special lesson about how the best gifts, no matter what they are, come from the heart, but that's true!" He propped one elbow on the booth, musing, "I get that for a lot of people, gift-giving is about the rush from when the person likes the present. But I think that's also what causes the stress. Our hope with this wasn't who gets the best and most perfect present, it was just for people to connect by thinking about what would make their friends and neighbours' days a little brighter."

Leigh Madison

While Fleet's answer was helpful, it also almost wasn't. But the fact he knew Equestria, well....that was something she could work with. "Just a little bit, yeah, but that's not a bad thing. I think a lot of people could learn a lot if we were in Equestria." Leigh leaned against the booth carefully. "That's honestly really sweet. The three of you are quite the creative geniuses. Although, I shouldn't be surprised. The three of you could light up a meadow during a new moon."

fleet summers

A meadow during a new moon -- Fleet had never heard that expression, and his immediate reaction of delight was tempered by him dialing it back and tossing his head, fondly sniffing, "...Texans," as he shivered in pleasure at the sentiment. He had his own Texan to think that way about, now. "Everyone's been through so much. I'm glad that this is doing something to make people feel a little lighter, even for a moment or two."

Leigh Madison

Leigh couldn't help but laugh a little bit at his reaction to her coloquism. "Hey, don't say it like that! I thought it was super sweet!" Her laugh died a little bit but her smile remained pretty permanent on her face. "So am I. After the Ranch, I think people needed this....and I realized I never really got to thank you for helping Colin and me back there."

fleet summers

"You don't have to thank me, Leigh. Honestly it just makes me feel weird when people thank me for the things I did there. Not to make you feel bad!" Fleet hastened to say, holding out his hand over the booth counter. "I get it, and I'm thankful too for everyone who was there, but it's just ... a lot. To adjust to, what I did." Fleet looked at her, eyes limpid and brows pulled fretfully together, hoping Leigh understood what he was getting at.

Leigh Madison

Leigh shifted slightly as she did feel a little awkward now. Honestly she wished she could have done more, or at least make it back to Redwood to warn everyone and not get thrown off Stella before she even made it back. But she also knew if she had stayed back at the Ranch she could very well not have made it back. "Yeah, I understand. It was....a lot."

fleet summers

"A lot a lot." Fleet tipped his head, regarding her. "Do you want a kiss? Or a hug or a hand-holding or anything like that?" He balanced his chin on the backs of his fingertips, posing as he said, "That's what us Leprechauns are here for, after all. And I like doing it so don't feel hesitant to ask."

Leigh Madison

"Ah, yes." She hummed a little as she leaned against the table top. "I have heard a kiss from a leprechaun is supposed to bring good luck."

fleet summers

"A whole rainbow full." Fleet leaned across to meet Leigh, planting a warm kiss against her mouth, then reaching up to keep his flower crown from shifting and falling off. "And one for you to pass on to Allison for me, on behalf of all the Leprechauns," he said with a laugh, leaning back in to drop a kiss lightly on the crest of her cheek. Fleet pulled back a bit, not too much, and said with quiet wryness, "...it's not the life any of us saw coming, is it?"

Leigh Madison

Leigh closed her eyes and gave him back a sweet kiss as well. Yep, this was definitely a nice little pick-me-up. The second kiss to her cheek made her breath a smile and a laugh. Ally was gonna enjoy knowing she was getting a kiss from a leprechaun. "She's going to feel truly special." Whether it was just how nice this was or if it was just a breath of fresh air, she did really feel a bit more at ease. The kissing booth maybe was full of leprechaun magic. "No, not in a million years," she huffed with a soft laugh under her breath. "But at least we have one to live."

#leigh && fleet #c: fleet 003

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champagnepodiums · 1 year

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I have some hypothesis about why I think f1 is not capitalizing on charles:

1. I think the language thing could be one. I think the official F1 media team are UK based team judging from the behind the scenes things. It's probably easier to get content out of native English speakers and as good as charles' English is, he doesn't get the British banter that f1 uses in their content that Lando and George and Alex and Daniel etc can easily play into

2. Ferrari might not be playing ball. A few years ago they wouldn't even allow their drivers to part take in those PR challenges from different media outlets, so while they've definitely toned down their stuffiness, maybe they're making things difficult (I don't think this is the problem though, from what we've seen from the last 2 years, Ferrari have basically changed their whole PR team and they even allowed DTS full access even though they didn't come out looking the best) also, I don't know if Ferrari has the brand appeal it once had, so that's another thing to think about

3. Maybe it's a nationality thing: as mentioned before, there seems to be more of a bias towards some drivers more than others. I think the push for Lando and George is pretty obvious and it's probably as a means to get the "next great British driver" image out before Lewis retires (don't know how this will work, but anyway). Then you have drivers from countries with big markets and audiences as mentioned before like guanyu and perez and max and even the 2 Spanish drivers who has a big following from their home countries, so maybe there's more incentive to feature them vs charles who comes from a small country. And then he's obviously very popular in Italy, but i don't think the official F1 media cares much about that, it's not a new market that has to be captured

4. (this is the option I'm leaning most towards) I think that F1 media is just slow to get the general trend of their audiences. I don't mean the official F1 team only, but just all F1 media outlets in general. And by trends, I don't mean the little fleeting trends like "George Russell is the type of guy" or "liked by Pierre gasly", I mean the general shift in mood of fans. It took them a few years to notice that the audience had shifted to a more younger demographic and to try to cater to that, it took them a few years to notice (not that they did anything about it) the increase in female fans. So I wouldn't be surprised if people only pick up on charles growing popularity in a year or 2 (if it's still growing)

(5. Bonus point: I wonder if branding and merch has anything to do with point 4 (ie. Noticing a specific drivers' popularity) you can clearly spot a Max fan with the orange hat and shirt, you can clearly spot a Lando (or Lewis fan) from the neon yellow and the same for other drivers, but Ferrari doesn't allow individual drivers merch, so when the F1 PR guys see a sea of red in Italy for example, they think oh look at all the Ferrari fans and don't realize that a lot of that is charles fans specifically)

(sorry, this got out of hand, guess I'd been thinking about this alot)

NO DONT APOLOGIZE THIS WAS WONDERFUL TO READ

I honestly think that maybe it's not just one of the things you've mentioned but all of it together.

I hadn't thought about what you said about F1 being slow to recognize where the fanbase's interest is but I think there is a lot of truth to that. It'll be interesting to see if they ever figure it out (I reckon they will eventually)

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magnetarbeam · 11 months

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LotF/FotJ: Miscellaneous Reactions/Outprocessing 16

Over the last week or so, I reread only Allston's LotF books, paying particular attention to Jaina's bits - because in terms of what I'm using to form my mental image of these characters for writing fanfic, I trust Allston more than all the other authors in the era combined - and it really hit me how by the end of Fury, Jag and Zekk are basically over their stupid rivalry for Jaina's heart, and getting along pretty well. Just makes me really wish all three of them could have gotten together, and strengthens my desire to write that.

In that process, I've decided I actually find Zekk very entertaining. In Betrayal he's mostly comic relief ("are we on Corellia yet?") but he's good at it.

The thing about Jag's self-destructing blaster pistol is cool and all, but Alema should be embarrassed for being that predictable.

What were the Fallanassi in before FotJ? I'm assuming Black Fleet Crisis, because Abeloth-Akanah mentions the Battle of N'zoth.

I think it's kind of weird how Luke and Ben set out to retrace Jacen's sojourn, and even after they start having far more serious issues, they still end up kind of doing it by accident? Jacen is referenced as having been with the Fallanassi during that time in Vortex, and obviously he's been to Dathomir because knows how to form a blood trail. I don't think the Theran Listeners mention him, though.

#star wars legends #legacy of the force #fate of the jedi #jaina solo #jagged fel #zekk #zekk solo fel #alema rar

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simowis · 11 months

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Monthly nonsense 23.7

element zero and mass relay have make mass effect a unique sci-fi game. However it doesn’t means other sci-fi’s element can’t be used in ME fanfics. Which will add a lot of space to image, perfect

And I'm getting better at reading his microexpressions, and he has a lot of them

Does prothean have a Dyson ball?

prothean is like a weakened version of the triton

what‘s the hight of Javik?

seems tumblr ME fans like the emotional javik?

Was the design of the prothean, which is perceptive and strong and has four sharp teeth in the upper jaw, inspired by snakes? Could the primitive prothean have bitten its prey to inject venom and then dragged it back to its nest to slowly suck blood? I can't stop thinking about it.

The markings on the back of javik's head are just too much like a blue ringed octopus. How poison could prothean be! Do they Interracial Sexualizer REALLLY want to kiss Javik unprotected??? Emm..yes….

Can't stop imagining Javik squeezing venom out of his teeth every day and loading it into special bullet casings …… Saliva sticking to the mouth of the bottle…so horny…too much head canon!

JUST CAN'T STOP! Not objective, not correct, OOC, too erotic!

I'm still in shock Javik's smile was very rare and fleeting. He smiled just a few times in all. When the first conversation in Normandy, he had smiled briefly when he thought there may be survivors in Ilos and when he recounted his original mission. He had smiled sadly when he spoke to the Prothean VI in Thessia; he had smiled when he gave the echo shard to the Shep before the final battle. His fleeting smile always holds a lot of weight. And he actually comment with SMILE AFTER HE SLEPT WITH SHEP! I'm shocked.

What's Daily news like in prothean's society?

Javik being Catalyst was such a bad idea, good thing they changed it

How can he speak so calmly while having so many sad micro-expressions

its not a ME thought, but I wonder what’s Javik comment on Dragonball’s alien characters…

just so happy to see he smile, a pity he don't smile in game often. This makes me want to give him a happy future even more, maybe, in my story, future...

I think the prothean society described by liara might not conflict with what javik said

How difference in appearance between two prothean? In Javik’s memory there was only color and voice and the spot maybe, they even have the same height! There have to be more differences

Shep’s personality is too flat and not growing, only fanfics give him/her some kinds of explanations. I may have a different shep in my story

ME’s AI is too human like, EDI and Gess, just like human talking machine language, not like Galactic Empire Series which Ai has rules and different logic, Sense of heterogeneity, multiple angles. It’s hard I know

----

The main differences between prothean and tritonians are: The prothean do not live in a harsh environment and have scarce resources unlike the triton The prothean do not have a completely transparent mind like the triton, they still need to touch and smell to understand perceptual thinking, which is why I consider them to be a weakened triton Protheans do not inherit knowledge from birth like tritons, they still need to learn, although they may learn quickly through touch and echo shard. protheans can also forget memories.That's why the living span of a triton is thus probably infinite. Whereas Javik apparently mentions that the life span of prothean is finite

----

If prothean is sharing memories while mating ……ahhh

Has prothean ever engaged in class division as well as breeding control? The best people are entitled to leave offspring and all that?

The prothean must have been technologically advanced in biology because they worshipped the theory of the underdog and they were not averse to experimenting on primitive asari

I wish I could get javik to learn how to play chess

Just found Javik's eight pupils can look in four different directions.

What is the ecology of Prothean's home planet? At least given his bipedal form, his planet's gravity shouldn't be too far off from Earth's.They may have once been aquatic, and if they can detect a spectrum of light other than natural light, this could also explain their gill-like throats. They may have had webbing between their toes in the past. Or perhaps they are terrestrial creatures, but the planet's thin atmosphere cannot absorb most of the ultraviolet light.

If they were perhaps ever able to fly, the atmospheric pressure of their planet would have been not insignificant, as wings of this size would have been difficult to drive a body of the Collector's stature and mass on Earth.

Does prothean have a temperature sensing system?

Have the remains of a defeated Sovereign not been studied? Do they really just treat everything as a gess rebellion?

With Javik's eyes, there is usually an expression on one side and none on the other (the eyes are always wide open), except when emotionally aroused when there is an expression on both sides together. I wonder if the half of their brain that controls their emotions only controls half of their eyes?

his face is a bit like Mickle Jackson!

Finally, both geth and EDI have a soul because of the code of HARVEST. And HARVEST, from ORGANIC

What if ME's amino and dextro-amino are thought to be designed? Because in reality humans can eat dextro-amino acids and the prothean appears to be unrestricted

what if Javik was waked by human (even Cerberus)BEFORE the reapers invade? Human will become a giant empire! He will help human a lot, to prevent reapers, to find his people exist possibility.

Ever notice the line 'More of my people survived?' It even looks a bit ridiculous to see the way his lips switch rapidly between smile and displeasure, but that's the struggle of being in despair when he's holding on to hope..

What's the hole in his head under the carapace for?

What's prothean's skull like?

I wonder what javik would think if he smelled what Shepard is thinking: that prothean really is the right bed partner...

Is prothean a democracy? Or a democratic republic? Or a hegemony? Or an imperial system? What is their authority like, AVATARS?

I don't remember javik ever refusing to let shepard ask him a question.

Think about it, if Javik had originally planned for all the races he led in this cycle to fight the reapers and your race refused. Then in his mind, you are the husk that will be manipulated by the Reapers in the future, and then even exterminating you now would be a way to reduce the threat in the future. Don't forget that Javik's mission has always been to fight the Reapers, and he is completely ruthless about it. But he's just saying, let your race face the reapers on its own. Very merciful. Indeed.

#monthly nonsense

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madonnak1 · 8 months

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HEAR ME

You left, and I forgot what light is. You left, and there was a haze. I don't remember your smiles, I don't remember your laughter. In my memories, there was only pain after you, when I stepped with small legs the door you went beyond. Without recognizing you completely, I couldn't understand the meaning of the word mother. What it's like when you get a fairy tale before going to bed every day. What it's like to feel a wet trail on your forehead as a sign, a manifestation of love. I want to tell you so much, but I know that you won't be able to understand my words, you won't be able to hear me. The inner voice asks for the opposite. I guess I'm asking a lot.

Every day, looking at your photo, I try to remember every feature of your face. I always compare my reflection in the mirror with you, and every time I realize that we are completely different...

With age, I began to realize more and more that I don't want to be like you, I don't want to be your copy. Hatred constantly increases with any mention of you, as well as fleeting memories that climb into my head. I want to scream about my pain, but they won't hear me. She'll stay with me forever, just like your image in my head.

My feelings? What do you know about them? How dare you tell me after so many years! Don't you dare apologize, I erased you from your memory when you left holding hands with a man who failed to become my father. Oh no, I haven't forgotten! I still remember every blow to my body...

Straighten your back.

Why aren't you talking?

You're a fucking burden!

Talk!.

I can never forget about you, even if I want...

I met a girl. She's... she's extraordinary. Every time a stupid smile pops up on her face when thinking about her. Aurora. Her name means dawn. It entered my life as unexpectedly as the moon replacing the sun. Her every look in the brief one aroused awe in me. It would seem that she found something like me? A closed guy who is not able to tell about his feelings aloud to confess his love. I'm ready to listen to her chatter for hours, I'll never get tired of her voice.I love it when she compares my eyes to a homeless ocean, insanely banal, but incredibly fascinating. When I inhale the sweetish aroma of her blonde hair, my heart makes a triple flip back. I constantly roll my eyes at it, and she laughs loudly, leaving a quick kiss on my lips.

I like to watch her draw, conducting slow and light brush movements on the canvas.I wanted you to get to know her, forget grievances, and let you in with my life. But I was late...

You left again, but you can't be returned this time. I forgave you, hear me!

#writer things #writer #spotify #psychology #blog #don't speak #something new #text post

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mannhuman · 2 years

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My Thoughts on Super Dimension Fortress: Macross

Vanvan reminded me I like jotting my thoughts on shows/movies down in public, so with the creation of my Tumblr account I can actually do that without a 2,000,000,000 post thread.

Anyways, I found Macross from a remix of Chirei Ito's "Merry Christmas" called Super Riser! by Nanidato, played over a montage of Do You Remember Love? clips, and I thought "Huh, that looks cool" and decided to watch it, not realizing there was a diference between the movie and the 1982 anime.

Super Dimension Fortress Macross is a classic mecha anime about 3 things: Love, War, and the raw brainmelting power of music. Being the first entry it has the element of surprise, tricking you into thinking it's a mecha anime, when in reality the mechs have 0 importance, and are intentionally designed to not be the main focus. It's actually all about war being GAY and we should actually all just MAKE HOT ALIEN SEX LOVE!

While it starts off slow, I got real attached to the characters real quick, even the side characters hold a place in my brain rent free, as it really made me feel like I know them personally, even though at first glance they seem bland. Also this image is the entire relationship of the main characters:

The story is incredibly unconventional as well, as the last 11 episodes of the 37 episode series are a glorified epilogue detailing the realistic consequences of the choices they made, and how they deal with them.

Speaking of realism, it was an interesting choice to make the whole series grounded in realism, which you really wouldn't expect from a mecha anime, especially one from '82. The worldbuilding is solid, and did about as good for suspension of disbelief as you could get for its time. Probably the only 2 parts of the story that broke that suspension was in the earlier episodes where a whole town seamlessly warps into the Macross, and to a lesser extent the first beauty pageant was a little jarring.

I'd like to take a moment to really appreciate real quick how Ichijou Hikaru, the main character, gets a TON of development as a person. Even though his personality doesn't change, it's charming seeing how his thought process changes due to what happens to him and the consequences of his own actions. It's subtle, but it's EXTREMELY appreciated.

The music is SO GODDAMN GOOD. Even though for a while you'll get REAL tired of hearing THE SAME SONG OVER AND OVER AGAIN, Lynn Minmay's music catalogue expands, and I don't think I dislike even one song, considering her VA is an actual musician.

Finally, I'd like to mention how the antagonists, the Zentradi fleet, grow more and more human the more we know about them. From the very first few episodes, it's made clear that they're not just a generic warmonger alien species, though warmongers they are. Hm...... Have you ever wanted to fuck a giant? Have a kid with one? Start a family with her and dedicate your everything to her after beating her in a video game? It's that kind of show.

Anyways, if you can stand some funky 80's animation, SDF Macross is a classic I don't think I'm capable of forgetting. Episode 26 is probably the greatest thing I've ever seen, had me on the verge of tears, and I don't think I'm quite capable of putting my feelings into words. As of writing this I've watched Flashback 2012, Do You Remember Love?, Macross Plus, and I'm like halfway through Macross 7. This is a phase that'll last a while. Fuck me, I guess.

#macross

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caloires · 3 years

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some things i learned while hospitalised

- that dizzy feeling you have when you stand up? that has to do with orthostatics, or your change in heart rate from sitting to standing. a normal change is 10-20 bpm, most people with ed's is in the 80s to 100s, the more malnourished (NOT underweight. those are different things) you are, the worse it is. this is bc your heart is weak and can't keep up with pumping blood through your body, it's not something quirky or fun, you could pass out and seriously injure yourself or have a heart attack.

- as i mentioned above, UNDERWEIGHT AND MALNOURISHED ARE NOT THE SAME THING. you can be 'overweight' and be malnourished, you can be a 'healthy' weight and be malnourished, it's not about weight it's about how you are fuelling your body. not getting enough protein and minerals can make you malnourished. not getting enough carbs and fat and sugar can make you malnourished. it's not about weight.

- laxatives are insanely harmful. i know we all say it. but it's true. your body won't be able to digest food properly, you won't be able to shit without them, the bloating and intestinal damage caused can be permanent. in hospital, they gave us stool softeners once a week if we really needed them because they are less harmful than traditional lax, but still not safe.

- the 'sick enough' mentality is BULLSHIT. i was admitted at an 18 BMI, there were people in there with overweight BMIs, there was only ONE girl who looked like the stereotypical hollywood '13 BMI' ED shit. if you are reading this post from your edblr, you are clearly sick enough to get help. ed's are not, and never have been, about weight. those who suffer worry about weight, sometimes, but the diagnosis and effects on our lives revolve around our relationship with FOOD. and the damage that causes our bodies and minds.

- there's a million different ed's. my official diagnosis is Anorexia (Binge/Purge subtype). i never made myself sick. i purged with severe exercise. what's the difference between that and bulimia? according to my doctor (who i slightly disagree with) it's about restriction, as supposedly bulimics don't restrict, only binge/purge. i didn't know there were different types of anorexia, let alone OSFED, AFRID or PICA. and even those can be broken into subtypes. the point im trying to make is: not everyone binges, not everyone restricts, not everyone is worried about body image, not everyone exercises, not everyone purges. EVERY EATING DISORDER IS DIFFERENT.

- you never fully recover. ever. just like any other mental illness, you can treat symptoms, you can get therapy, you can build a healthy relationship with food and self, but every once in a while, those thoughts will always come back. it gets easier to push them away, to treat them like fleeting thoughts, but they're still there. im not saying this to scare anyone away from recovery, if you're thinking about it, PLEASE RECOVER. most things go back to normal-ish, things do get better, but there seems to be an idea that recovery is black and white. it will be hard, you will have days you want to relapse, you will never fully get rid of the thoughts, but you sure as hell can quiet them. recovery is always worth it, and every single person deserves it.

- men with ed's are more likely than you think. the actual statistic is estimated at about 50/50. what's the difference? men tend not to seek help. trans men are at severely higher risk for eating disorders than cis men or women. those gym bros who work out 24/7 and only eat protein? that's an ed. maybe less obviously, most teenage-early adult men don't eat all day, and then have large amounts of food at dinner. my roommates, for example, don't eat all day, then will have take away from 3 different places, a family box or cereal and two boxes of mac and cheese in what is, effectively, a binge. but they don't count calories, they don't really worry about body image. because ed's aren't about that. it's about your relationship with food.

- you can and will stunt your development if you're a teenager. your body won't produce the needed hormones from puberty (including growth, muscle/bone development, and sex characteristics) when malnourished, meaning you can fuck up your strength, bone density, height, and pretty much all other aspects of puberty with an ed. that never comes back. recovering when you're older than puberty age won't make you suddenly start to develop. you will, essentially, be stuck in a semi-developed body for life. one girl in hospital was on an estrogen supplement because of this, it helped her to get a little stronger/develop a little bit, but no where near what it should have been.

basically: eds are scary shit and im so sorry to anyone who has had to go through it. please don't ever take your disorder lightly, it could kill you. you are always worthy of recovery. you are loved, you are important, you are needed in this world.

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gifted-cardinal · 2 years

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Lost and Found - Yandere Jinx x GN Reader

Show: Arcane (contains spoilers)

Pairing: Yandere Jinx x GN Reader

Series: Lost and Found masterlist

TW: dark themes, implied mind break, cursing, panic attack, past catching up, possesive characters, mentions of death, trauma, murder, reader getting hurt/murdered, mental health issues, Jinx, long story (almost 2k, but Jinx is a bit more complex character to write. It ended up as a make-your-story more of a thing rather than a scenario eh)

word count: 1884

Headcanon for Reader being reunited with Jinx.

You started a new life.

Life you led away from the dirty streets that held only memories of the day it all went up in flames. Of bodies found among burnt down warehouse and bodies that were never found.

But it was in the past now. Your friends died and you had two choices, one of them was to continue grieving and wasting away in the remnants of the past. Second choice was presented to you by an accident. Some overheard conversation, some twists of luck and you were able to quit the darkness of Zaun and enter the Piltover.

Until now the past was dead and burried far in the lowest lows of the lower city.

If you only knew how often the "dead" come back to life.

"I don't need you. You're the one who needs me now...I can kill you whenever I want"

You see her only for a split of a second. A blue smear somewhere in the corner of your vision. You're not even sure if you saw a real person. So you brush it off.

She, on the other hand, hides and panics. She thought you died. She was sure you died. Maybe you are dead and she's scaring herself with false image? But what if you're really there? You look so 'you', so it had to be real, right?

But even if you were real, you just left her like everyone else. Like her own sister did.

The feeling of fear and longing was quickly put aside as she felt familiar anger boiling in her veins. She quickly understood it as hatred. She hated you for leaving her, for starting a new life when she has spent countless nights crying and grieving. The same nights when she hoped that you and the others will find her and play it all off as a stupid prank.

But you never did. You never came to search for her. You left. And it was alright for her to hate you. You don't deserve anything else.

And yet she couldn't bring herself to get rid of you. To teach you a lesson. She couldn't even bring herself to run off to Zaun as she wanted to.

Instead she followed you.

She mumbled under her breath how it was for her to not be surprised when you step back in Zaun and decide to brew some trouble. She knew better than that after Vi's return. You for sure were dangerous and she had to monitor you, yes. That's why she sat outside your window at nights and broke into your house as soon as you left to your boring work.

She'd lie in your bed, sit in your chair and go through your stuff. Obviously it was essential for her to do so, after all she had to know how much you changed and how this would affect your abilities. Oh and she took away your toothbrush because it looked weird and dangerous. She also sneaked out some towels and that dessert that you seemed to buy a lot.

Of course it's all research. You gotta know your enemy if you wanna win. Or you don't want them to backstab you and leave you alone and start a new, cozy life away from you and-

The rambling made Silco's head spin, as he massaged his temples. Jinx would chuckle nervously as she tried to save herself from admitting that she'd feel for you anything but hatred and anger. That she put any more than one fleeting thought towards you.

Silco with each such talk was closer to kidnapping and giving you to Jinx as some sort of messed up gift. It was clear that you became her obsession. At least it was clear for him. Jinx had the same sparkle in her eyes as she did when she worked on her gadgets, giggling and spinning in her chair. It didn't change even after she grew up.

"If you wanted Y/N gone, wouldn't you want to be as far as you can from them?"

Jinx will be furious, saying that she's doing it so that they don't end up with problems later on. Ever since you two were kids, you had to be strong to survive and that never dies in a person. You for sure grew stronger, just like her. Maybe not as much but who the hell knows! She knows you, no, she knew you. But still, you were always there! Even as kids you two had to fight for yourselves in this dark world. You shared your troubles, you saved one another and...

The realization was cracking on Jinx, but she still refused to let that surface. To show it as a weakness. She isn't weak and you for sure aren't-

"Jinx, take care of this. I need you here with clear mind. However you deal with this, just do so."

And that's what will make her shut up and just stare at Silco who continued telling her that she can always drag you here. He doesn't care as long as Jinx is fine again. But he speaks as if she needed you here. And she doesn't need you here. She doesn't want you here. But if Silco wants her to get rid of the trouble, she will.

_____

You thought you were going insane. Things were disapearing from your house and you felt observed. But each gut feeling you got, was blamed on the past that still brought you flashbacks in the deepest nightmares. You knew that you just had to deal with this like you always did. So you ignored it.

You shouldn't ignore that window creak in the middle of the night.

Neither should you ignore the steps that seemed a bit too loud for accidental stumbles. Whatever was coming for you, was taking their sweet time. But then again, your imagination liked to play these dirty tricks on you. So you threw a pillow over your head and tried to fall asleep despite your racing heart.

You again have heard some heavy steps stomp closer to you. The noises appeared to be just behind your bedroom doors as they halted. The horror made you shake in your bed, whispering to yourself words of comfort. But nothing came next. So you lied there long enough for your head to hurt from your subconsciousness screaming at you to get up and check things.

So you did. You got up, grabbed some heavy vase that stood on your nightstand and walked over to the doors, grabbed the knob and stiffened. Silence filled your ears and the vase in your other hand weighted greatly as your breathing was getting quicker. So you slammed the doors open, ready to see nothing.

You saw a pale person with blue hair, whose hand was on the knob as well, judging from the way they lounged inside, at you. You fell back, as the intruder fell on top of you with a grunt. Vase shattered next to your head and you just tried to squirm away.

"Calm the hell down! It's just me!"

The words left Jinx's mouth so casually as if you two were again in the rooms of the Last Drop, playing hide and seek.

When you recognized her, and spoke her name to your disbelief, she only frowned and let go of you as she got up. Her eyebrows furrowed as she started pacing around the room. Any of your questions fell on deaf ears. She started murmuring about you leaving her and now coming back out of the blue just like her.

Your actions could differ now. Depending whether you want to challenge yourself with the past or run off as you did 'till now, this meeting will end up in different ways.

You can get Powder to talk with you, make her understand that you didn't leave her, that you tried to survive in the new reality, just like her. The more you sympathize with her, the more you tell her how you searched until you were going mad, the more she will look at you. She'll scoff less and finally look at you without glaring. At the mention of your old friends, of your old family, she will wince.

"To hell with that! I...got Silco. I don't need any of you. Don't you even call me Powder. You're right at one thing here. She's dead. If you gotta talk to me, it's Jinx"

_____________

If you support her

Best case scenario is watching your mouth. Get her to calm down enough for you to be able to reach out to her, to hug her as she breaks down. Say that it's alright for her to change, she had to do so in order to survive.

If you're supportive, let her talk her heart out, she will be so happy that her obsession will only cement further. She will want you to pack your things and leave with her tonight. To go back to Zaun where she can protect you. Where you can finally be at peace.

If you agree, she will be a ball of joy, jumping around the room, helping you pack. You got no idea how quickly you stepped back into the Zaun, into the loud club of The Last Drop while being dragged by Jinx somewhere away, to a place that she called her home. She wouldn't let you leave her side, and if she had to go somewhere, Silco was the only one she'd trust enough to keep you close by.

The past has been difficult for the both of you, so you decide to lead a new life in the old place. But you don't have to worry about anything anymore. She's here and she's able to protect the both of you. She will do anyting to make her dream a reality.

So that you're always with her.

________________________

If you call her out on the past

However, during your reunion you can keep calling her Powder and asking why would she ever work with Silco. The same man who was the cause of your family's demise. The more guilt you make her feel, the worse Jinx will get. She will soon scream at you to shut your mouth shut.

________________

If you keep talking

When she screams at you to shut up and you don't stop yapping your mouth - she will make you shut up. Whether she uses the sharp pieces of the broken down vase or her own hands...she will do anything to block you out. All this while asking you angrily to shut up. Even if you stopped responding long time ago.

When she is done, she will be in even worse state than she was before. Stumbling into Zaun like a puppet. She's not aware of the commotion and she doesn't even hear Silco screaming at her as he shakes her by her arms, desperate to get any kind of response from her.

How would she ever hear anything again if your voice is so damn loud?

__________________________________

If you shut up when she tells you to do so

Shutting up when Jinx tells you to do so will result in her running away. And you will not see her again, or not notice her presence enough for you to recognize her. You will feel her presence all the time, but you will not be able to reach her.

Some tall lady with mechanical arm will however be able to reach you, as you're brought to Zaun in the middle of the night. Silco is annoyed with your presence from the moment Sevika brings you into his office. You've been a nuisance to him and Jinx long enough. And it seems like your death or separation from Jinx will not fix things. So he decides to fix things by himself. Singed is already waiting behind the doors, so that you won't cause trouble and still Jinx will be happy.

It's not like she needs you to carry out some difficult discussion after all.

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