#it lines up perfectly with my current worldbuilding | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

accidentally-in-fictional-love · 1 month

Text

Susceptible - Jack Delroy/Reader

Warnings: Fully clothed grinding, very slight dirty talk, very light exhibitionism in a sense, no use of Y/N, female-hinted reader because of skirt/makeup mentions but other than that there's no real gender mention.

Wordcount: 4950

Summary: You spent a small fortune getting a ticket to Carmichael Haig's show on the promise of his new act showing his audience something the world has never seen before, as well as the possible attendance of one Jack Delroy, but will two hours of bullshit be worth the risk?

Notes: There is SO MUCH BUILDUP I'm so sorry I'm so weak for worldbuilding and plot I swear the other one I have planned will be shorter OTL I have never written a reader before but I am a huge fan of them, especially the DDverse ones I've been binging oop, so I hope this is a good first attempt! It's been a few years since I've written anything like this and probably a good decade or so since I last posted anything, so here's hoping I post more in the upcoming future~ This is also completely unbetaed so if you see any mistakes please let me know <3 The Manhattan Center is also real but didn't fit my needs entirely so I mashed it together with the theatre I went to as a kid lol

~~~~~~~~~~

Carmichael Haig was back in town and you had no idea why you were here.

He had left for what felt like both forever and not nearly long enough for a few months to do his tour, seeing his smug face everywhere you looked between both digital and paper news and making your distaste grow a little more each time. You had been fond of his trickery for a time, but his move from magic man to skeptic had sucked all the fun out of the act, his determination to not only find the real but humiliate the fakes way past annoying to straight up sickening to you by this point. Tonight’s show proved to be another big presentation of the latter you’d decided when it’d been announced officially, promoted by your favourite talk show host - and current celebrity crush - Jack Delroy; his smile was wide for the cameras but it didn’t reach his eyes, you could always tell between them by now and he did not seem to be as pleased as the two talked about it that night.

‘I’m going to show the world something they’ve never seen before,’ Carmichael had said, his usual smug look in place as he hammed it up for the cameras like he could really pull that off, Jack running with it like the patron saint of patience he had to be.

‘Big talk, you sure I can’t convince you to give our wonderful audience a taste tonight?’ he asked, the crowd cheering at the mere thought of getting to experience his new act an entire month early, but if there was even an iota of temptation within him to share he hid it perfectly. He waved the offer away to everyone’s disappointment, Jack pouting on everyone’s behalf and putting those big eyes on display as his own plea; the ratings, you imagined, would be wonderful for a segment like this when his show was already starting to slip down the line, but even that was no use.

‘You’ll all get a chance to see it on the 13th,’ he promised them as he turned to face the audience, the place and date scrolling across the bottom of the screen yet again, they’d been flashing it every single time it was mentioned to the point where you were sure you’d see it in your sleep tonight, rolling across the bottom half of your dream. ‘Or, those of you who’ve been able to get your tickets will, we’re selling out fast,’ he smirked with a tip of his glass, yet another thing that’d been brought up and hammered home; you’d gone to the Manhattan Center to check a couple days ago, just out of curiosity, the ticket price absolutely ridiculous to the point that you were convinced they’d never sell out, but now you guessed your distaste of him wasn’t as widespread as you’d secretly hoped.

Jack slapped his leg in mock disappointment, Carmichael looking back to him at the sound. ‘Guess you’ll have to tell me all about it the next time you’re back in town, I had asked Gus to pick one up for me but it seems he missed that call,’ he joked, Gus’ surprise at the blame of his absence being placed on him getting a big laugh as his face fell and he tried to explain himself.

Carmichael placed an understanding hand on Jack’s shoulder and leaned in closer, the other man leaning in in return as if to receive some kind of secret. ‘Well then, it’s a good thing my date canceled on me,’ he retorted, and when he pulled his hand back he revealed a ticket, Jack’s eyes going wide as he accepted the gift with a big smile, pointing to it before shaking Carmichael’s hand with a thanks.

Ah, so that was why you were here again.

You knew you’d never be able to get a seat on Night Owls because the thought of Jack seeing you in the crowd made you blush all the way to your shoulders, even on your bravest of nights you hadn’t been able to even call and see if there were any tickets left, but to maybe share an audience with him? To sit in the same room as him where you could steal glances if you were able to find him, with no risk whatsoever of him catching the way your eyes lit up when you looked at that handsome face, that dangerously attractive body? That was doable.

It had cost an arm and a leg to convince that scalper to hand over one of the tickets he was parading around outside the Center, but it was worth it as you stepped inside, your heart racing because, unless he wanted to risk the aftermath of Carmichael calling him out for not going, he was here; somewhere in this building was the man you’d been dreaming about since his debut a few years ago, the one you watched nearly every night without fail just for that hour where he looked at you, talked to you, noticed you even if it was through a camera, and that was all you’d needed until tonight.

You’d gotten a pretty shitty seat despite the price but you didn’t mind, it actually worked out for you considering you weren’t actually there to see the show but to look for someone in the seats in front of you, and you hoped that you’d be able to spot him from where you were in the far back corner. As long as he wasn’t, say, the exact opposite of you then you probably stood a chance of at least a glance, since his ticket came from Carmichael himself you guessed that it was probably close to the front if not front row center just to mess with him and prove that he’d come, and you felt all the hair rise on your arms and neck when Carmichael walked on stage early to very loudly greet someone who’d just walked in.

There he was, leaving his seat to meet the other man in the middle, and he was so much further than you expected but it was still him, big smile in place, hair perfectly combed, his crisp suit being wrinkled by Carmichael’s hands as he gave him a showy hug, and he was beautiful. You froze in the middle of the row, unable to finish the walk as your eyes stayed on him, the people trying to get by you not as starstruck as they attempted to squeeze past when you ignored their presence.

‘Sorry,’ you murmured as you sat as fast as you could, eyes still trained on him as he waved to the crowd to prove that yes, he did honour the gift and was there to see this big new act he’d been promised. You let out an embarrassingly needy whine when he sat back down and you became unable to see him again, the mass of bodies behind him obscuring all but a sliver of the back of his head from this angle, and you’d be damned if you had to spend the next 2 hours stuck like this at a Carmichael Haig show of all things. The person at the end of the row finally arrived and you made your move, hurrying down and taking one last glance before getting ready to make this whole thing a little more bearable. ‘Excuse me,’ you nearly stuttered as the person, a man older than yourself who definitely gave off the air of being a Carmichael fan, looked up at you, ‘would you want to trade seats with me? I was really looking forward to the show but I was too late to grab an aisle seat.’

It’s a blatant lie but the quick glance from before proved that you could see him better from there, and the chance of getting to look at him for the next two hours was worth the look the man gave you at the request.

‘Which one are you?’ he asked, looking down to the few empty spaces still waiting for their owners, and you pulled out your ticket to double check, seeing that it was R51; wow, you didn’t realize how far away R was from A until you saw it firsthand. He looked back down to your seat and considered it, looking you over midthought when he thought you weren’t looking, and he almost got away with it if not for the fact that you felt his eyes on you. ‘$100,’ he decided, the offer knocking the wind right out of you.

‘What? The seat was already $350,’ you choke, giving away the fact that you were really, really late to the party.

‘Take it or leave it, I had the sense to order on time,’ is all he says to that, and you looked back at your possible view before sighing heavily and reaching for your wallet; goddamnit, Jack, if only he knew how worth it he was. You hand over the money and step aside, the man pocketing his fee and leaving the seat for you as promised, and the view is just barely better but there he is again, perfectly in view due to what can only be a miracle, the hole in your wallet feeling a little less big as you watched him turn his head to talk to someone, giving you a perfect side view.

He really was handsome, captivating even from this distance, and you swoon a little as the audience finished filling out, the lights dimming and obscuring your view a little more save the grace of the stage lights that illuminate him from the front as Carmichael walked back out on stage and started the show. You’d never been one for spacing out but you couldn’t take your eyes off him, the $450 price tag of this shitty aisle seat all for him and not feeling so bad even as Carmichael charms everyone around you. He didn’t look to the side that often, you guessed he didn’t actually know his neighbour since the seat was a gift, but the times that he did, where he laughed or sighed at the theatrics or even put his face in his hand because he wasn’t having too much fun, were all cataloged away in your head forever, the perfect souvenirs to last you a lifetime of home viewing after this.

At about an hour in according to your old watch, Jack looked about ready to get up and find any reason to leave, which you couldn’t blame him for, the acts themselves were pretty damn good you realized in the times you actually paid attention, but it was getting so tiring to see Carmichael explain away all of their tricks, to see the joy leave their faces at being called a fraud or having all their mysteries revealed, and it was clear Jack felt the same down in row A. After a particularly rough walk-off from a woman who was trying very desperately to convince Carmichael that she could really read his mind and ending up with the humiliating reality that everything he answered to was false to get her to out herself, you noticed that when you looked back to his seat that Jack isn’t there, and you were in the middle of wondering where he went when the person coming up the aisle came into view so suddenly that it took your breath away.

It was Jack, his brow twitching slightly to keep a neutral face, his footsteps heavy as he tried not to stomp and draw attention to the fact that that last one really pissed him off, his hands already reaching into his suit pocket for something. You tried not to stare the closer he got but it was hard, years of being able to look all you want training your brain to look look look as he approached, and you forced yourself to stare straight ahead at the stage as he reached you. Your hands were clenched tight in your lap as he went to pass row R, and you were in the middle of thinking you were going to make it when he fumbled the small box in his pocket and dropped it with a low curse, the cigarettes he apparently smoked bouncing to the side and coming to a stop between your recently shined shoes.

Your head snapped down so fast you felt it in your neck as he came to a stop beside you, the two of you locating the box at the same time, and you stiffened as he reached for it before realizing how rude that would be despite his own sour mood. ‘I’m sorry, could I bother you for a second,’ he asked, his smile back in place despite being a bit tense, and you stuttered out a confirmation as you leaned down to pick them up.

‘I didn’t know you smoked,’ you blurted out before you could stop yourself, Jack’s hand frozen in midair as he reached for the box, his smile relaxing a little as he looked from your hand to your face.

‘Did I find myself a Night Owl in this sea of skeptics?’ he wondered aloud, your cheeks brightening in a way that really made you pray it was dark enough not to notice.

‘I wanted to see what all the fuss was about,’ you lie, and he crouched down so he could hear your whispers as the crowd reacted to the next act.

‘I take it you’re also not very impressed,’ he figured, hitting the nail on the head based on your expression alone. He chuckled at your silent confirmation and looked back down to the cigarettes, his fingertips just barely touching yours as you both held it, you didn’t even know when he’d grabbed it and you let go before it got awkward, but he didn’t seem to notice. ‘Well, if you don’t tell my producer that I’m smoking again, then I won’t tell Haig that you didn’t like his show, deal?’

You sucked in a breath as he moved the box to his left hand, offering up his right for a handshake this time to seal the deal, your heart pounding as you shook on it, his smile more genuine than you’d seen all night, you could always tell. He stood back up as the act finished and Carmichael went back to his disproving, his mood dropping again as his need to escape rearose. You both offered a look of disdain at the stage before he stood back up to move again, something stopping him midstep before he turned on his heel and leaned back down to you, a shiver running down your spine at how close he was so he could be heard.

‘Have you ever been to one of my shows?’ he asked, genuine curiosity in his voice, his warm breath accidentally hitting your neck and rendering you unable to do anything but glance at him and shake your head no. ‘You’d have a much better time, I’ve got some great stuff coming up,’ he pitched, either completely unaware of your predicament or just used to people acting like this around him, either way he didn’t react when your eyes couldn’t help but flicker down to watch him lick his lips so fast you almost missed it. ‘The next one’s already booked up but if you go down to the studio and give them this card, you should be able to get a spot for a night you’re free, I'd like to see you there.’

He pulled out his wallet and grabbed a business card, flipping it around to the blank side on the back before resting it on the arm of the chair. A pen was found next, and he scribbled a quick note to the ticket seller on it on your behalf, signing it and handing it over with that big showman smile of his. You took it and placed it in your own wallet, the previous hole instantly filled with its presence, his mood clearly raised by the interaction as he wished you a quick goodbye and resumed his journey outside, oblivious to the fact that you were about to disrupt the entire theater if you didn’t find a place to scream and fast.

You gave him a few minutes to reach the doors before jumping to your feet and making for the bathroom, your heels clickclacking on the tile the entire way until you found the correct door. The place was empty, which was great because once you caught sight of yourself you knew that it was bad enough he saw you this way, no one else should get the pleasure; your face was redder than you’d ever seen it, your pupils blown from the exchange and you could’ve sworn you could actually see yourself shaking you were buzzing so hard, your grin so wide anyone else would’ve assumed that Santa had just given you the toy you’d always wanted for Christmas early.

You tried to calm yourself as you ripped off some paper towels and dampened them, patting them against your cheeks and neck to bring your body temperature back down to a normal person’s, carefully avoiding your makeup that you were thankful you spent the time putting on just on the ultra rare off chance you’d run into him. When you were ready to go back - and after a quick internal debate on whether you should try and meet him outside for another, less hushed conversation already - you made sure to calm your breathing before heading back out there, taking a quick moment to look for him before making the trek back to your seat.

When you got back you noticed that no new act was on, Carmichael already talking to the audience and projecting himself up on the screens for all to see, you rolling your eyes as you collapsed into the rich red velvet and preparing for more of his bullshit until Jack returned, if he felt like it that was. Everyone around you was concentrating on his words, staring right ahead as the theater fell silent save for his voice and the sound of a ticking clock; ah, he was trying to hypnotize everyone, that must’ve been his big final act that he’d promised his audience. You weren’t impressed, you’d tried to be hypnotized before at a party in your youth, it hadn’t worked then so it wasn’t going to work now you knew, so you sat back and prepared to at least enjoy whatever he was going to make the audience do.

Your thoughts went back to Jack as Carmichael’s voice slowly got drowned out, the ticking a bit louder in your ears despite the distance, but you didn’t mind because it was nonsense anyway, ‘Now who’s the skeptic,’ you think to yourself as you sink deeper into your chair. You vaguely heard the words, ‘Your greatest desire,’ in your ear before you felt a hand on your shoulder, your eyes leaving the stage to travel up until you saw Jack standing just behind you in the aisle, his smile from before now more like a smirk as he motioned towards the doors like he wanted you to follow him.

You looked back at the stage as Carmichael invited someone from the audience up to stand with him, some poor hypnotized fool who was bound to be humiliated along with everyone else who stood with him tonight, and you decided that you’d rather not see that again before standing and following Jack. There was a small hallway between the theater and the doors on that side of the back wall, the two of you out of view from everyone else but Carmichael’s voice still reaching, and you were about to wonder if he was leading you outside to just leave or talk when he turned and pushed you against the wall with a muffled thud. Your back met cold paint as your chest met with his, your eyes locking as he cornered you where no one could see, a confidence he saved for the cameras now focused solely on you as he looked you over the same way you’d done to him a thousand times over.

‘I couldn’t wait for you to come to my show,’ he whispered, his voice impossibly low as he held you in place, a knee parting yours and making you gasp, ‘you’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.’

‘You’re just telling me what I wanna hear,’ you managed to get out, his eyes closing as he leaned in to grin against your cheek.

‘Is it working?’

You didn’t dare answer but you might as well have because your silence was enough to spur him into action, your head falling back against the wall as he started to kiss your neck, your hands grasping at anything because this was crazy. The man you’d wanted for years was kissing you not even 30ft away from a room full of people, anyone could come around the corner at any second and catch you, and you bit your lip at the thrill of it all. You’d had dreams like this before, ones that left you panting into your pillow when you awoke, but the real thing was so much better as he sucked a mark into your soft skin, your hand leaving his arm to cover your mouth lest you alert anyone within hearing distance to your current predicament.

You let him do as he pleased, let him ran his hands over your sides and down to the edge of where your lifted skirt was resting against his thigh, your legs shaking as your body tried not to grind against him; it was only due to him holding you that kept you standing as a matter of fact and he seemed fully aware of it as his nails scratched softly against your bare leg. He seemed to love all your reactions to what he did, he was in the entertainment business after all, every noise of approval that slipped through your fingers must’ve been like music to his ears but you had to hold back no matter how much you wanted to indulge him. Being denied what he wanted only made him work harder for it, the assault on your neck moving to your shoulder and collarbone instead of your covered lips, your mouth watering for just a taste as he started to move against you, one hand pulling your waist away from the wall by your lower back as the other moved up and under your skirt.

The first grind of his body against yours was decadent, you swore you could feel it in your soul the way he wanted you just as much as you’d wanted him, like he’d been watching you back through the screen for years and also craved this very moment, and now that he was getting it he wasn’t going to stop, you didn’t want him to stop. You’d never seen him act anything like this before in all his years on TV, a greedy flash of excitement running through you at getting to see such a new side of him quickly overcome by pleasure as he cupped your ass and pulled you even closer. You knew you couldn’t get undressed here, if you’d made it to the bathroom then maybe he’d be doing more but he hadn’t lasted even that long, but even with that desire being restrained you still wanted him here and now. Never in your life had you been this desperate for release but he was bringing out a demon inside of you that desired and needed and wanted so much that you were willing to throw your modesty out the fucking window for just a second of his hot skin pressed against your own, but this would have to do while the show still went on.

‘Jack…’ you moaned as your hand, moist from your panting, gripped his arm once again, Carmichael’s voice getting louder in the distance as you grew closer to your release.

‘Come home with me,’ he begged into your ear, his movements getting rougher as he also grew close, you knew you’d both have to leave before everyone saw you but it was worth it, god it was so worth it. ‘I want to have you all to myself, I need to taste you-’

You bit your lip and led his face away from your neck so you could look into his eyes, his mouth parted as he tried to control his own panting, he was coming apart at the seams for you right here in the hallway, the ticking in your ears either your heartbeat or a clock far away. You moaned his name again as you felt the heat build in your stomach, your back arching and pushing your body into him even more as the door to your right opened.

‘Dreamer, here, awake!’

All at once your knees gave out and you collapsed to the floor before that final wave could push you over the edge, your head heavy and your vision swimming as the body against yours vanished into nothing. ‘Are you okay? What happened?’ Jack’s voice from above asked as his worried expression came into view, the smell of rain and cigarette smoke invading your senses; the sound of the audience in a similar state of confusion drifted around the corner as Jack crouched down next to you, just back inside from his break from the show, the realization that you weren’t as immune to hypnosis as you’d thought hitting you like a bucket of cold water. You just panted in shock, surprise, and waning lust as Jack looked you over in concern, your hands moving to pull the bottom of your skirt down to cover your exposed legs in embarrassment, the scratches you were so certain he’d left behind not there, because he hadn’t been there.

‘I’m fine,’ you force yourself to say after you’d caught your breath, Jack believing you but still helping you to your feet like a gentleman, of course he would never act that way, that was only how you’d wanted him to act, you’d had dreams like that for god’s sake, the real Jack would never-

‘Is the show over?’ he asked as the roar of people applauding overtook the chatter, Carmichael now silent, and you avoided his eye as you started to edge towards the way out.

‘I think so.’

‘What was the big mind-blowing act?’

You put a little distance between yourself and him but he didn’t notice, Jack heading for the corner so he could look at the stage as he waited for your reply. ‘He hypnotized everyone,’ you answered curtly, his reaction big and full of surprise as he looked over the size of the crowd in an awe that wasn’t present for the first hour and a half.

‘Everyone? You should’ve come found me, I would’ve loved to see that.’ He was still looking at the room beyond, your eyes on him as he watched everyone else.

‘I got a little overwhelmed,’ you mumble, and he finally looked at you with that same concerned expression again, and it’s too much after what you’d just thought you’d seen, your eyes finding the floor.

‘What did he make you see?’ he asked, his curiosity quiet but still there under the concern, but you couldn’t answer him. ‘Do you need a ride home, or are you okay to drive?’

He’s too kind, he would never act that way, he would never say that to you.

‘I took a cab, I’ll be fine,’ you tried to say, but still you quickly found yourself being led to the front door as the audience swarmed around you, his hand on your back to make sure you stayed standing, a true gentleman. It had started raining while you were inside which explained the scent pairing with the smoke that covered up his cologne, and you just stood under the marquee as he hailed a cab for you as the sea of skeptics washed around you like rushing water. You hopped inside but he didn’t shut the door right away, leaning down in the rain once you were seated, and for a moment you wondered if he was going to get in when he spoke.

‘I do hope you come to my show, preferably Friday’s, it’s gunna be a good one, I promise,’ he said with that big genuine smile again, your heart pounding as your cheeks glowed red for a reason other than embarrassment as you gave him a small nod.

‘I’ll be there,’ you promised back, and he tapped the roof of the cab before shutting the door and letting you go. You looked out the back window as you drove away, the both of you waving as he ducked back inside and out of the rain, and as soon as you turned back around to face forward you found yourself reaching for your wallet. His card was in your hands as you looked it over, all in all it was an uninspiring, plain business card, and you flipped it over to read what he wrote for the ticketmaster on the back.

Wait for me by the back entrance at 11:00 Phil will let you in JD

Your cheeks turned red again as you put the card away, the cab driver giving you a look in the rearview mirror as you held your nearly empty wallet, now with one business card, to your thumping chest. Oh yeah, it definitely was all worth it after all.

#Ray's Readers #david dastmalchian #jack delroy #jack delroy x reader #would you believe I wrote this over a few hours listening to a dramatic cover of Dear God cause I loved the vibes lmao #completely wrong vibes but it's SUCH a good cover guys #it's pretty tame for this one but yeah full disclosure there's probably gunna be lots of hands focus in my writings #his are Beautiful and Perfect and Very Attractive and I am W E A K okay

50 notes · View notes

joshriku · 5 days

Note

What are your favorite fics you've read in the past year?

hi thank you for asking i love to talk about fics i read. im so sorry you didn't specify a fandom so i'm going to talk about everything i favorited this year so far lol. i am currently reading this cherik fic called exit wounds by lemonadegarden and i cannot stress enough how good it is. the worldbuilding, the politics, the characters, the storytelling, the emotions, just so so good. please read it if you are a cherik liker. i love it. i haven't finished it yet but omg. not in any particular order

the patch of sand where we buried the dog by shroomyystar: this fic is about luna and erik running into each other and getting ice cream. it should be normal but it's magneto family you know it's fucking insane. you don't even understand the luna and erik brainrot i gained from reading this i was like oh my god his granddaughter.. magnificent character work. to me the magneto family in comics have such a special specific dynamic and it's so well nailed here. it's crazy

make the fire rise by frozencinders: alright i don't go to baldur's gate 3 but i know enough about wyll and astarion and i really like this author so i might as well read their wyllstarion do you feel me. it's about yearning and romance novels and vampires and everything u could ever ask for. i loved it sm. one of my favorite things about this is the narration, like the way the thoughts flow so easily while keeping in beat with the character voice and making u feel so earnest..... gorgeous.......

what's the point in playin' a game you're gonna lose by shroomyystar: raven/irene in regard to the x-men blue origins revelation. raven being so fucking mad at irene but also so deeply in love with her to the point it's the same thing. when i say toxic yuri this is exactly what i mean it's exactly raven trying to kill her and thinking it's like having sex. that's EXACTLY what i mean.

gravity felled the apple (but the spiders stuck around) by maroonmusings: insomniac spider-man 2, peter gets to keep the teaching job and everyone thinks he has a favorite student (miles) which creates some drama until they figure it out a little too well. it's so fucking good. when i read peter parker, i want him to sound exactly like this. the character voices.. the non-canon characters perfectly fitting in this... the entire spider-man cast playing very well in this fic.. THE DIALOGUE! writing peter is such an art but this person GETS it.

taste the way that you bleed by maroonmusings: peter parker/astarion based on that one time they made a joke about it. again i don't go to bg3 but fantastic character work, it's literally so in character it totally sold me on this pairing - not that i need much convincing for crackships. that's just who i am brother.i fucking loved this so much.

Some Catching Up to Do by magicasen: jean/wanda! jean/wanda set in x-men first class. it's so fucking good and funny, it feels incredibly in character to the xmfc versions of them. it's such a feel-good fic about them in that period of time too, and pietro's cameos were too fucking funny. i love girls being girls and being in love :(

lech lecha by ferriswheelsdayoff: hosea matthews character analysis it will blow your tits off. i'm still floored by the amount of work into each line and how it's connected to real world teachings and how it manages to weave all of hosea's important relationships while analyzing him too. saur good

take what you give me by magentateam_bplot: storm/magneto. THIS is the sub erik type of shit i enjoy. magnificent characterization of both of them i could easily read 9k of it 1k was too little!!!

Girls' Nights by EmilyArmadillo: gabby bonding with vault laura!!!!!!! I THOUGHT THIS WAS SUCH A GOOD IDEA like i wish we actually had gabby's reaction to talon? i mean ofc that's asking too much from duggan, or for duggan to care, but this person delivered so well. everything was so well implemented, even the bit where the other laura kinney sees her and leaves the room. ahhh so good

Graveside by NotesFromSarah: the aftermath of erik burying anya after the fire, and then him and the twins coming together to visit her burial place. i thought this was amazing and heartbreaking and also a very groundbreaking magneto fam style for me..... not a lot of fics focused on them during the 80s, which is a good place for them to be somewhat normal around each other, and this fic does such a good job of using tragedy to join them without disregarding their past. gorgeoussss

Last Chance by Lefaym: my notes on this says 'old man sex heart hands' and it's exactly that. doomed timeline cherik from dofp have such a special heart to me even if i don't go much to moviesparts as i did before and oh my god... it's about that longing that regret that they're running out of time and also your hip being sore so you can't really hold a sex position. i love it.

Speed of Silence, Sound of Silence by neverminetohold: x-men evolution pietro & erik. something goes wrong and pietro thinks he's going to be scolded, but erik doesn't scold him. 'His quickening stride screams of his wish to escape this moment that is as far removed from a lecture as it can get.

That defines their relationship in a nutshell. Will they never be able to move beyond this?' you don't even get it im insane. im insane. im insane

chatoyant by unsungillumination: this fic is the best use of the fake dating trope that's ever existed, probably because the main protagonists of this are light and L death note. L and Light get in a relationship for strategic reasons until light gives up the death note, forgetting it is strategic, and believes it's actually real. it's so fucking good. also devastating

Drive. by MissAmyShay: the bear fic. insane. carmy and richie reconciliation, nat and richie flashback to when mikey was first declared dead, nat richie bonding, nat giving birth, donna mentions. what else could i even ask for. it's amazing. i don't even need to read any other fics

telltale by unsungillumination: L haunts light after his death. it's literally ruining light's life. this is my favorite thing in the world i love a good fic about grief and about fucked up soulmates who are not soulmates in a traditional way. i recently finished death note after leaving it on standby for a decade and i'm thriving

This Is How I Disappear by TzviaAriella: kira gets found out. he gets sentenced to death row. he asks the task force to shoot him. it's literally the most haunting fic in the world and i'm so so so so obsessed with it i kinda wanna reread it but it's like devastating and most of all GOOD

they both die at the end by unsungillumination: when i say i love fics that make me feel at odds with my own mortality and how i am spending my life and also grief for the future and grief for things past and grief, in the actual sense of death, ohhh. oh my god. what kills me is that this fic is just so grounded as well. you know the ending is coming. you just hang onto the little moments hoping MAYBE it won't happen, but you know. i loved it so bad. also this is a death note fic again

Connect the Dots by GrayJay: SCOTT SUMMERS ASKS MATT MURDOCK OF DAREDEVIL FAME TO BE A TEACHER AT THE SCHOOL AND THEY BOND OVER HOW SIMILAR THEIR DISABILITIES ARE it's ltierally so godo it's insane i love my favorite characters talking so much :(

the thirty-second hour by unsungillumination: this fic is about light yagami not being able to lie for 4 hours in each day, but it happens at random times, as a consequence of regaining his memories of the death note. it's inspired by i found you in the fire by yosgay which is ALSO one of my favorite fics even if it's not from my current 2024 reads but it IS TO ME. anyway. point is a character like light being forced to tell the truth is amazing. the layers of performance and what truth even means being analyzed through light's own eyes... mmmwah..

Tough Love by UmbrellaMartialGod: haikyuu fic. suga/tsukki. i was like no one in this world understands my fucked up haikyuu dynamic ship in which tsukki has a life-ruining unrequited crush on suga that no one else knows about except yamaguchi EXCEPT THIS PERSON!!!!!!!! THIS PERSON WROTE IT!!!!!!! IMAGINE THAT. HAVING A FIC ABOUT A RAREPAIR THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT YOU NEEDED. THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED TO ME BEFORE. I GENUINELY DONT KNOW HOW TO ACT

anyway, thank you for asking. i love fanfic and i love talking about it. hope you enjoy either of these

#asks #i should have a tag for fic recs atp i think..#anyway. thank u sm for this ask i had a long day and talking abt shit i like made me feel better #long post

15 notes · View notes

aswegoalong72 · 4 months

Text

Hi! I’d like to keep you all updated on book progress, so I’m going to try to do weekly updates alongside miscellaneous information about the main location in the novel itself.

To start, I’m going to give a rundown of all the books, and where I sit with those:

Dawn - ~6% complete (696 words) Yuniv & Semat - 1% complete Deep Freeze - 1% complete To Touch Tenav - 1% complete Piercing The Veil - ~42% complete (118,307 words) “Book Two” - ~2% complete (483 words) “Book Three” - 1% complete Universal Ideal - 1% complete

As you can see, I’m still in the very early stages with all this! The only book that has a very appreciable amount of development is Piercing The Veil (PTV), which was originally going to be the first and only book before I decided to expand things more.

The only other books with any actual written material are Book Two and Dawn, which both are very minimally worked on apart from the beginnings of a chapter or two.

The rest are all unwritten; despite this, I’ve done a reasonable amount of worldbuilding for them, and am ready to get to them once I can get to them, hence the 1% progress.

As for progress, in this past week, I’ve made very little on PTV. I’ve done a little editing of the current chapter I’m working on, but that’s it.

Dawn has seen the most work this week, with two short stories being started and heavily workshopped! Dawn is pretty much ready for me to go once I get the time and energy, so maybe in a few weeks we’ll start seeing noticeable progress in it.

I’m only going to do roughly 10k words for each short story, which there’ll be about 8 of. It’ll cover the period from ~290,000 BC to 1112 AD in the Gregorian calendar for their history, featuring a few major events in their societal evolution.

The one I'm very excited about, and has seen the most development of the two I've started working on. As such, it'll probably be the first to be finished of them all! That about wraps it up for progress. I've been struggling a bit health wise this past week, and haven't really had the time or energy to do much work. I spent most of my energy already early in the month, it seems! To finish this entry off, I'd like to leave you with the song that gave me the title for this project.

youtube

"As We Go Along" by The Monkees (1968) - (direct link since yt sucks)

This song is very important to me, as I feel it perfectly encapsulates the entirety of my story's setting and feeling. Life isn't a competition, take things slowly, and love one another. I also really appreciate the "for I’m not gonna try/to hurt you/or heal you/or steal your star" line, as it really fits into the theme in the later books. That's all I'll say on the matter :) Until next week! <3

#my posts #writing update #1 17 2024 #going to start time tagging these

5 notes · View notes

littlemisspascal · 2 years

Text

Formula 101 - Prologue Part 3: November

Summary: The first weekend of November begins with Eggsy cooking in your apartment’s kitchen.

Pairing: eventual Javi/Fem!Reader "Oddball" (OFC)

Word Count: 10,000+ (I think??? this is my longest single chapter ever??? 😮)

Rating: T

Warnings: Social Media Fic, Formula One AU ft. multiple Pedro Pascal Cinematic Universe characters, Switching POVs, Worldbuilding, Headlines inspired by true events but edited for this plot, Usernames were created for fun and if they do exist irl there's no affiliation, Slowest of Slow Burn, Language, Alcohol

Author Note: Massive thank you to everybody who gave this fic a chance! The support is beyond appreciated 💗💗💗

A03 Link | Series Masterlist

The first weekend of November begins with Eggsy cooking in your apartment’s kitchen.

You blink at him, slowly shutting the front door behind you. This happens sometimes, the boys showing up at your place and letting themselves in with the spare keys Past-You was stupid enough to give them. Truthfully, you don’t mind their presence, it’s just normally you get some kind of semi-polite head’s up text instead of making the spontaneous discovery when you return home from your afternoon gym session drenched in sweat.

“Nice of you to drop in, Eggsy,” you say. Then you sniff the air, eyes widening with alarm even as your mouth waters. “Oh my God, you made chicken tacos.”

“And avocado salad,” he replies, without looking up from the cutting board where he’s diligently chopping perfectly marinated chicken thighs into smaller pieces.

You start toeing off your sneakers, brow creasing. “When did you get here?”

“About an hour or so ago. Caught a red-eye flight then took a cab.”

Oh shit, you think, wrestling your backpack off your shoulders. A red-eye flight and a cooking session? This is more serious than you thought.

Everybody’s got their own eccentric trait or two. Little quirks that set them apart from the rest of the world. The thing with Eggsy is he becomes a Michelin star chef when he’s stressed out about something. And that ‘something’ could be small like he can’t remember if he told his beloved pug JB he loved him before leaving for a race, or it could be major like he was papped joining in a drunken pub fight and possibly jeopardized his whole career. It’s all or nothing with Eggsy, and since he’s known to get snappish when confronted with questions, there’s not much you can do until he decides to reveal his current crisis besides eat his delicious food and try not to let the increasing speed of your heartbeat induce a panic attack.

“So,” you begin in-between bites of chicken-and-avocado goodness, forcing yourself to actually chew and savor the tacos instead of scarfing them down like an animal. “I’m pretty sure Diana tried to kill me today.”

Across the small circular kitchen table you found at a local thrift store, Eggsy snorts with amusement. “You say that like you haven’t accused her of murder a dozen times before.”

“She threw a dumbbell at my head.”

“You probably deserved it.”

You’re tempted to throw an avocado chunk at him, but it’s too good to sacrifice and instead you settle for silently glaring at him.

His answering smile is a mere shade of his usual mischievous grin, and he looks back down at his plate, poking at the contents with a fork.

Leaning forward, you fix your expression into one of casual nonchalance, not letting any of your bubbling concern leak through in the lines around your eyes or mouth. “You sticking around for the whole weekend with me or—?”

He looks at you then, the first noticeable flicker of nervousness on his face. “Shit, I forgot to ask if you were free, didn’t I?”

“Well, yeah, but,” you’re quick to hold up a calming hand before he does anything stupid like run out the door, “it’s cool, Eggsy. We can hang out tomorrow after training. Or you could totally come along—I’m sure Diana would love another victim to bully around.”

“Thanks,” he says, scratching at his jawline and going back to avoiding direct eye contact. “I’ve got a few calls to make tomorrow though, so…” A small shrug of his shoulders. “Plus, I think Charlie might feel a little betrayed if I went to another trainer. He’s the jealous type.”

You chuckle as you reach for your water bottle, imagining the older Brit stomping his foot like a toddler who’s been forced to share his favorite toy.

“Statesman asked me to join their team next season.”

You promptly spit out your drink, eliciting a disgusted complaint from across the table, and manage to ask in-between pained wheezes, “What?”

“Van Chance also asked if I’d be their reserve driver.”

“Eggsy,” you gape at him, brain struggling to catch up with the back-to-back bombshells.

He buries his face into his hands. “I know.”

“What the fuck.”

“I know,” he’s on the verge of whining now, peeking at you through the gaps of his fingers.

You start to smile, only for it to falter when you realize how positively unexcited he looks at the amazing news. Like he’s two seconds away from crawling under the table and curling into the fetal position.

“Is this…” You tilt your head, hesitantly asking, “Is this not good news?”

Eggsy lowers his hands, leveling you with an incredulous look. “This is the greatest fucking news of my whole life.”

“Then why the hell are you stress cooking in my kitchen?”

“It’s not stress cooking.” Eggsy shakes his head, scoffing just a little too loudly. “I just cobbled this together with stuff from your fridge, it’s no big deal—”

“Eggsy,” you interrupt, voice calm but firm. “I know for a fact the contents of my fridge did not contain six chicken thighs or corn tortillas or avocados when I left for the gym this morning. Face it, buddy, you stress shopped and then you stress cooked.”

There’s a second where it looks like his stubbornness is going to prevail, but it’s extinguished in the next beat, shoulders slumping with defeat. “Aw fuck.”

Aw fuck indeed.

Considering drivers aren’t supposed to talk to each other about these kind of deals—something something confidentiality is key blah blah legal jargon—it says a lot about Eggsy’s nervousness that he's come all this way to speak with you. It says a lot about your friendship, too.

Propping your chin on your hand, you softly ask, “Wanna tell me what’s going on?”

Eggsy lets out an explosive sigh, leaning back in his seat like a puppet whose strings have been cut. “I just don’t think I’m Formula One material,” he admits finally.

“What? Of course you are!” you exclaim.

“I’m not like all those guys,” he argues. “I haven’t won a Formula championship.”

“Neither have I.”

“Yeah, but you’re—” he waves a hand, vaguely gesturing.

It takes a second for understanding to sink in, and when it does you immediately bristle, temper flaring. “A woman? Are you seriously suggesting I only got into F1 because of my–”

“What? No! No,” Eggsy denies vehemently, eyes widening, reaching out a hand to grip onto your wrist, a reassuring touch. “That’s not what I was saying at all, I swear. I meant that you’re you, Oddball. It doesn’t matter if you’ve won a championship or not ‘cause you’re twice as much of a badass as any of them.”

You take hold of his hand, squeezing it tightly. “Damn right I am,” you agree, trying to get him to laugh or at least crack a smile. “And you need to give yourself more credit. You deserve a seat in F1 just as much as the others do. It wasn’t some random fluke two teams reached out with contracts.”

His mouth twists, unconvinced. “But what if it was though? What if the only reason they reached out is because of the 1% chance I’ll beat Ben in the final round and when I don’t do that they dump me on the fucking curb?”

“Then they’re absolute dicks.”

Eggsy’s frown deepens. “I’m being serious, Odds.”

“So am I,” you say. “If they can’t see your talent then fuck ‘em. It’s as simple as that.”

He stares at you for a moment, the little pinch between his eyebrows indicating he’s thinking about your words, turning them round in his head.

“Also if you’re not there, then it’s just going to be me and Ben and you know we’ll drive each other mad.”

At last Eggsy smiles, rolling his eyes. “There it is. The real reason you want me to join. It was never about my talent as a driver, it was about my talent as a babysitter.”

You pinch your index finger and thumb together. “Only just a little bit.”

He playfully cuffs your jaw with the bumps of his knuckles. “Thanks, Odds,” he murmurs.

“Of course. That’s what friends are for, right?”

The Brit nods, only for his nose to suddenly scrunch up like he’s smelled something rotten.

“What?”

“No offense,” he begins, slowly leaning away, “but a shower would really benefit you right now.”

This time you don’t hesitate throwing an avocado chunk directly at his dumb face.

_________________________________________________

HoloNet

November 2022 Latest News

Statesman confirms Eggsy for 2023 WWS - 45 minutes ago

Statesman has announced British driver Gary 'Eggsy' Unwin will drive for the team alongside Jack 'Whiskey' Daniels in 2023...

All F1 seats filled: Eggsy Unwin signs for Statesman Formula1Daily - 3 hours ago

Statesman team principal Jefferson Champagne said: "Eggsy has had a mighty impressive F2 season. We look forward to him joining us."

Future Statesman driver Eggsy Unwin's focus is on the F2 championship BBB - 5 hours ago

Eggsy says the recent announcement of his future F1 career is not going to distract him from the goal of beating Ben Miller at the upcoming final round of F2...

_________________________________________________

PODCAST EPISODE

Javi Gutierrez Interview 2022

Off Track & Up Close with Sean Knox

Episode Description: This week I sat down and talked with Javi Gutierrez! Only 25 years old, Javi has learned several valuable lessons about life and racing throughout his career in F1. We started our chat reflecting on his rookie debut in 2018 with Crane (4:50), what he wishes he’d known before entering F1 (7:00), his strict training regimen (10:06), how he deals with the stress and pressure of the sport (16:34), and what insight he gained during his second season of F1 after he joined Black Gold (24:12).

In the second half, Javi discusses his transfer from Black Gold to Triple Frontier (28:44), finding out Dave York was given his previously promised seat with Black Gold (32:58), the opportunity to join Vulpecula (35:19) and teaming up with rookie Oddball next season (38:30), his goals he hopes to accomplish as an F1 driver (40:40), and his advice for any young drivers out there who want to start racing (49:11).

Sean Knox: You’ve signed with Vulpecula for next season. Congratulations! Always great news worth celebrating when a driver secures a seat. I gotta ask though, since it’s going to be your fourth team in your career, is it a good thing or a bad thing to flip flop around like that?

Javi Gutierrez: It wasn’t something I expected to happen by any means. Most drivers will agree when I say you need at least two seasons to get fully used to a team—their strategies, their technology, the design of their cars. With Crane I only got one year, and essentially that’s what I’ve also had with Triple Frontier since it felt almost like I had to hit the ground running when I joined them during last year’s midseason. I had my personal best results the two and a half seasons I was with Black Gold because I had the time to become familiar with their dynamics. So, no, I don’t think it’s a particularly good thing, flip flopping around as you said, but I’m also extremely grateful for the opportunity to keep racing and improve my skills.

Knox: It must be such a relief then, having signed a two-year deal with Vulpecula from the start.

Gutierrez: Immense relief, yes. I’m looking forward to it.

Knox: Maybe even snag your first podium with them?

Gutierrez: Fingers crossed.

Knox: For the first time in your career in F1, you’re going to be the #1 driver on a team. How does it feel, having that extra bit of responsibility being the leader? Do you feel ready for the role?

Gutierrez: I thought I would feel nervous, but strangely enough I actually feel pretty confident about it all. I’ve learned a lot over the years, especially how important it is to trust yourself, your instincts. I know what Vulpecula expects from me, and I believe I can get them the good results they want.

Knox: Love the confidence, man. Love the positivity energy.

Gutierrez: It can be hard to cling to that. Frankie says I’m–what’s the word? Broody sometimes after a bad race. I can neither confirm or deny that. But when everything feels like it’s falling apart, it’s true even the smallest bit of positivity helps.

Knox: You have a good history of getting along with your teammates which can be a rarity in Formula One for some. First you were paired with Garin, then Indelicato, and now Morales. What about your future teammate Oddball? How well do you know her?

Gutierrez: We haven’t actually met yet. With how different and busy our current schedules are, there just hasn’t been a moment yet where our paths crossed beyond seeing glimpses of each other during the race weekends.

Knox: A couple weeks ago a video came out on social media of you waving at her after she hilariously called out Ben Miller in the middle of the paddock. That was–I’m assuming from what you just said–one of your first interactions with her?

Gutierrez: Yeah, it was. Frankie and Ben were getting to know each other, so when I saw her it just seemed like the right thing to do in the moment.

Knox: You think your streak of amicable partnerships will continue with her or…?

Gutierrez: We’ll be spending a lot of time together these next few months preparing for next season, so I hope we’ll get along. I heard she’s a fan of Nicolas Cage which means we’ve already got one thing in common besides racing.

Knox: It’s like I always say, the best friendships in life are forged over a bowl of popcorn while watching Nick Cage do his thing. In fact, I’m calling it now: this time next year when we chat again, you two are gonna be joined at the hip.

_________________________________________________

Trending

#NYGP22

Sunspear Racing

#MorenoWins

Marcus Moreno

_________________________________________________

There’s something magical about New York City during a race weekend. A buzz in the air you feel even beneath multiple layers of clothing warding off the frigid air. You like the skyscrapers and the bright lights, the eclectic masses of people everywhere you look, that there’s always something to do no matter the hour. Even if that ‘something’ this time around happens to be a party in the penthouse of some mega social media influencer you couldn’t pick out of a lineup to save your life.

“Krystal Kris,” Benny reminds you for the umpteenth time during the elevator ride. He uses the mirror on the cabin wall to check his appearance, running a hand through his hair to muss it up in a way you’ve heard him describe as ‘ruggedly debauched’. He notices your unsubtle eye roll. “All the teams have been invited to celebrate. Eggsy and Ricky texted they’re already there. I know you can’t drink yet, Miss Underaged Minor, but just try to have fun, alright?”

It shouldn’t be appealing to your inner introvert, living it up in some random girl’s home surrounded by a bunch of people you don’t know all that well, but it actually sounds kind of fun. Maybe it’s that NYC magic.

“I’ll give it a shot,” you say, a grin curling at the corner of your mouth.

“Awesome,” Ben says, looking as satisfied as a fat house cat.

The elevator opens directly into Krystal’s entry area and her penthouse is every bit as glamorous and extravagant as you imagined, decorated with an abundance of string lights and balloons. Somewhere a karaoke machine must be set up because you can hear the caterwauling notes of somebody attempting to sing a Queen song over the miscellaneous sounds of laughter and chatter from the seventy or so guests scattered about. Just about everybody seems to have a drink in their hand, some already halfway to three sheets to the wind.

You wade into the crowd, snippets of conversation and the smell of alcohol passing you by, overwhelming your senses. The happy, carefree atmosphere starts to sink into your bones, fills you up with excitement, makes everything seem twice as thrilling. You find yourself smiling for no real reason, and it grows when you see Eggsy lounging on the living room couch with Ricky, the latter talking animatedly with his hands even though he’s holding a drink, just one wild gesture away from sloshing its contents all over the floor.

Making a beeline for them, Ricky’s face lights up when he catches sight of you.

“You’re here!” Ricky crows with delight, cheeks a little flushed. He immediately scooches over against the arm of the couch, making just enough room for you to settle in-between him and Eggsy.

“We’re so glad,” Eggsy grumbles, twisting his body to find another comfortable position.

“Ben dragged me,” you reply, nodding towards where your friend is mixing some drinks together at the open bar. “Probably for the best. Somebody’s got to get his drunk ass back to the hotel later.”

Ricky takes a sip from his cup. “Krystal’s the perfect host. Stocked the bar with every kind of drink you could ask for.”

You perk up. “Even—”

“Yes, even non-alcoholic, good old-fashioned lemonade,” he interrupts with a knowing smirk.

Your night just improved tenfold.

“Speaking of Krystal, where is she?” you ask, gaze drifting around the room, as if a spotlight will single her out. Most girls in the nearby vicinity are unfamiliar to you, probably models or other influencers hoping for a fun time and a chance to flirt with the drivers. Sure, there’s something inherently attractive about men in fast cars, but you also know firsthand just how profoundly stupid a lot of them can be when they’re not driving.

“Around,” Eggsy answers unhelpfully, proving your point exactly. You give him a flat look and he shrugs. “She’s literally bouncing all over the joint, documenting everything on her phone to impress her followers.”

“So be careful about pineapple faces then, got it.”

Pineapple face is, essentially, a resting bitch face except it’s 99% of the time made intentionally when you think somebody is annoying, stupid, or a combination of both. It also coincidentally happens to look like the same face you make when eating sour foods like pineapples, hence the moniker.

Ben appears in front of the couch then, carefully carrying two drinks at once. “Who’s doing a pineapple face?”

“Your mom,” you say reflexively, reaching out to take the bottle of lemonade from his grip. Seriously, these boys know you so well you might as well live in each other’s pockets. He lets you take it with minimum fuss, only a mere disapproving tsk of his tongue for the lame comeback.

You down almost half your drink in one sip, the burst of sourness pleasurably electrifying your tastebuds. You’ll never get tired of the lemony taste, bringing memories of childhood summertime afternoons to the forefront of your mind. Back to those calmer, simpler days without any responsibilities except your chores.

For the most part, you four spend the evening hanging out around the living room couch joking and sharing stories with each other. Ricky ropes Omar Assarian into the conversation at one point, who then in turn calls over Gio Bravo, but he only sticks around long enough to playfully knock Ricky’s hat off his head before disappearing back into the crowd. You remain seated comfortably on the middle cushion, manipulating Eggsy and Ben with your best puppy dog eyes to keep the lemonade supply flowing.

“Let’s play a game,” Ricky decides abruptly just as you check your phone screen, stunned to find you’ve been here almost two hours and the party’s still going strong.

“What do you have in mind?” Omar asks, looking half-tempted to play, half-tempted to make up an excuse to leave.

“Two truths and a lie,” is the decisive response, no room for counter suggestions. “If we guess the lie right, the person drinks. If we get it wrong, we drink.”

“Ah, what the hell, I’ll go first,” Ben says with a long-suffering sigh like it’s so hard being the center of attention. His brow scrunches up, thinking of what to say. “If I wasn’t racing cars, I’d want to be a professional boxer,” he starts with, and you know it’s true because he drunkenly confessed it the night of his birthday a few months ago and then proceeded to punch a hole in the wall of his brother’s house as if to prove himself. Good times, good times. “My favorite movie is Fast & Furious,” also true, “and I had all A’s before I dropped out of school.”

And that’s total—

“Bullshit,” Omar declares without hesitation, reading your mind.

“Mate,” Eggsy says through guffaws, “you texted me last week asking if psychology was a real word. No way in hell did you get high marks in school.”

Ben grumbles something that goes unheard, probably cursing the group’s existence, and takes a drink of his beer.

“I’ll go,” Ricky raises his hand eagerly. He starts listing off on his fingers, “I love donuts. I’ve never had a speeding ticket. And I write poems.”

“Everybody gets a speeding ticket,” Ben says. “Even Oddball, and she’s a goody two shoes.”

You stick your tongue out at him. You’d been rushing home to watch the finale of your favorite show, but did the police officer who pulled you over care about that? Nope. He gave you the longest thirty-minute lecture of your life on the dangers of speeding while he wrote you a ticket for going 40 on a 30 dusty back road. By the time you finally got home you’d missed the entire episode. Lesson learned the hard way.

“You tweet about poetry all the time,” Eggsy says. “And donuts are impossible to hate, so I’m going with the speeding ticket is the lie, too.”

Ricky smiles, that cherubic little grin of his where his eyes seem to sparkle, but something about it seems off. You rack your brain, trying to think of a memory of Ricky eating anything for breakfast other than yogurt, eggs, or oatmeal. He’s always been the strictest about his diet within your little group, rarely allowing himself even the smallest pieces of candy for a treat after a win. This night out is most likely the only one he’s allowed himself to indulge in this whole race season.

“You’re a donut hater,” you announce, pointing at him shamelessly.

Ricky throws his hands in the air, drink thankfully sitting safely on the table or else you’d have been showered in alcohol. “How? How did you guess that right?”

Ben gapes at him, as if he’s suddenly become a total stranger to him. “You’ve never got a ticket? For real, man?”

“Are you sure you’re a F1 driver?” Omar asks, just as equally incredulous.

Ricky attempts to weakly defend his spotless record against the rowdier boys, but their taunting persists, drowning him out. You decide to intervene when it looks like Ricky’s on the verge of sulking so hard he becomes one with the couch. Definitely a sight not worth the risk of Krystal filming, even if the other drivers find it hysterical.

“I had a pet womp rat as a kid,” you say, raising your voice to be heard over them fooling around. A couple of extra people in the room swivel their heads to look at you along with your friends and you feel the back of your neck prickle with heat. “I, um, my favorite show as a kid was Puzo the Tardigrade. And The Princess Bride is my favorite book.”

And it should be impossible, with all the lights and people and especially the karaoke shrieking, but you hear a voice from behind you utter an amused, “Inconceivable,” that has you immediately twisting around to see. You can’t help the reaction, anytime you hear someone quoting your favorite story, it’s like the words are a taser against your skin, lighting up every nerve ending all at once.

Javi Gutierrez is standing behind the couch, carrying four beers fresh from the bar with large hands your eyes can’t help but notice, his fingers wrapped around the bottles’ necks. His eyes widen when he realizes you’ve heard him, shoulders twitching like he’s suddenly got a spotlight beaming down on him.

Your mouth opens, to say what you’re not entirely sure. Hi would probably be the best place to start, or offering another Princess Bride quote might put him at ease enough to officially join the game. Or maybe—

“What the fuck is a tardigrade?”

Or maybe Ben fucking Miller has to ruin the moment.

“A water bear,” Ricky, the nerd, says just as you face forwards again.

“...A water bear?” Omar echoes, eyebrows arched so high they nearly disappear into his buzzed haircut.

“Yeah, you know,” Ricky flaps an unhelpful hand, “a moss piglet.”

Eggsy chokes on his drink, spraying Long Island iced tea all over your jeans, prompting you to screech and slap at his arm while he laughs himself to tears. Meanwhile Ben and Omar remain totally in the dark about tardigrades, staring at Ricky for a second time like he’s from another planet.

You’ll look behind the couch again later when the truth’s come out—no pet womp rats for you, just loth cats and the occasional frog—but Javi’s long gone.

_________________________________________________

“You actually look like you’re having fun in this one,” Gabriela teases, holding her phone in front of Javi’s face, showing off a photo of him, Frankie and some other drivers at Krystal Kris’ party. He’s pointing at something out of view, eyes screwed shut as he laughs hysterically, and his memories of the night are a little fuzzy around the edges but he thinks the photo was taken when Dieter Bravo drunkenly collided face-first with a wall.

He hums noncommittally. “Looks can be deceiving.”

Gabriela rolls her eyes at his stubborn reluctance to admit okay, maybe the party wasn’t as horrible as he thought it was going to be. The drinks were good, the company decent. He doesn’t think he’ll ever be able to hear Queen again without cringing at the memory of Nico Loro’s horrid efforts to impersonate Freddie Mercury though.

His PR agent is quiet for a bit, scrolling through Instagram’s slew of tagged photos and videos from last night. Then her movements abruptly pause, eyebrows twitching with the barest hint of surprise, so subtle Javi would have missed it entirely if he wasn’t looking at her face. He moves closer, tilting his head for a better look at what’s caught her attention.

It’s a short clip of him and Oddball—specifically, their little Princess Bride moment where she’d turned around on the couch and they’d engaged in a brief staring contest with each other. He remembers how she’d looked at him, with surprise and then recognition. He remembers she seemed like she wanted to say something, but couldn’t make up her mind. He remembers she was drinking lemonade.

The video is barely ten seconds long, not much to linger on in his opinion, but then he notices the view count has almost surpassed 500k and his eyes threaten to fall out of his head.

Gabriela is still staring, expression inscrutable, and just when Javi thinks she’s going to watch it a million more times, all she says is, “You didn’t tell me Oddball was there.”

He leans back on his heels to better study her face, unsure from her tone what she’s feeling. “Yeah, I only saw her that little bit,” he answers. “She was hanging out with her friends, playing some kind of game.”

Gabriela finally continues scrolling, manicured finger tapping at the screen. Something about her silence makes his chest tighten, hair on the back of his neck prickling with unease. Surely she isn’t mad at him, right? No, he tries to assure himself. He’s seen her furious before, and when she’s angry the whole country knows about it, hearing her long-winded ranting from miles away.

Something else is wrong here.

“Javi,” Gabriela starts, biting her lip, noticeably strange in the way she struggles to make eye contact. “You know I don’t like interfering in your personal life and it’s, uh, not exactly against the rules if you two were to—actually, I’m not sure if there even are rules since it’s not common yet, having a woman on a team. The FIA are always a step behind the current times,” she makes a face at that, “but it’s probably better for you, and Oddball, too, I imagine, since it’s her rookie season, that you and her don’t, um…”

She trails off, just looking at him, waiting expectantly, and Javi merely blinks back.

“That we don’t…what?”

Gabriela exhales a heavy sigh, glances away, seems to gather her wits, and when she looks back she’s back to her usual cool and collected PR manager self. “Don’t do anything stupid, alright, Javi? I like my job to be uncomplicated.”

_________________________________________________

Speed Beasts Magazine

United States' Top Motorsport Weekly November 14 2022 Issue

In This Issue:

4. Badillo and Ballard join Formula E 6. Dornish Grand Prix speculations 9. A chat with Outer Rim Sports' Axe Woves 10. A chat with Statesman CEO Jefferson Champagne 14. Fan opinions on next season's circuits 15. Eggsy joins F1 22. Ahsoka Tano's advice for 2023's rookies 25. Formula 2 in 2023: who will be the next champion? 30. Be kind rewind: 1999 highlights and controversies 34. Why Van Chance is in desperate need of a win next season 40. Kingsgrave's new motorsport museum 45. What to watch this week 52. How well do you know F1 driver trivia? Test yourself!

_________________________________________________

The alarm clock on your nightstand displays 11:50pm and no matter how much you toss and turn, your mind won’t shut off.

Let it be noted, when you reach for your phone, giving up on sleep, you don’t intend to search for your future teammate on Instagram. It just kind of, sort of happens. One second you’re looking at your home feed, specifically of a picture of Ben hanging out at Triple Frontier headquarters, and the next your fingers are typing Javi’s name in the search bar. There he is at the top of the list with an official blue checkmark: javigutierrez53.

He has a larger follower count than you, which, of course he does, because he’s been an official F1 driver for almost five years now, professional and—your eyes linger on his profile picture, dressed in his racing suit, curls sweaty and disheveled with one single strand dangling rebelliously over his forehead. Good lord, he really is like a piece of art come to life. How the hell is he real? It’s unfair, that’s what it is. Completely and totally unfair, because you’re going be photographed next to that man and while everybody’s oohing and awing over him (rightfully so), you’ll be standing there beside him looking like—like a—

Whatever is on the spectrum between a potato and a naked mole rat. That’s what you’ll be. Oh yeah, and make sure to add breasts to that mental image because lord knows that's the main thing people are gonna be looking at. Female driver, the press keeps calling you, like they’re gonna get in trouble for leaving the descriptive out. It’s accurate, sure, but is it really necessary to single you out from the rest of the grid just because you’re a woman? Once you’re in the car, you’re a driver, it should be as simple and indifferent as that. But alas, that’s not how the world works.

Who cares about your skills and accomplishments when there’s far more interesting details to gossip about like the clothes you wear and your dating history.

Jokes on them ‘cause you’ve never even had a single boyfriend for them to analyze. Ha ha ha. Really, it’s so fucking hysterical being alone all the time.

You shove those disparaging thoughts aside for another sleepless night, looking at some more of Javi’s photos with his family, with his PR manager, of him enjoying time off at home in Mallorca. Javi driving a speedboat. Javi cliffjumping. Javi showing off his collection of movie memorabilia (which, on second glance, appear to all be Nicolas Cage memorabilia and hell if your future teammate didn’t just gain another gold star in the how is he real column).

Everybody keeps saying next season will be interesting—Vivian, the press, your friends, even your parents. And only now is it starting to sink in that Javi isn’t some famous person to read about and gawk at anymore. He’s your teammate. Your. Teammate. Somebody you’re going to be spending 99% of your time with these upcoming months, on and off the track, practically all day every day. Which means you’ve got to pull yourself together. Less ogling. More looking respectfully.

And, according to your sleep-deprived brain, step one of your new resolution is to quit stalking his profile and press the follow button. Because there’s nothing weird at all about following someone at—you look at the clock, immediately cringe—1 in the morning.

That’s just…great.

You throw your phone back on the bedside table with a groan. If your brain was awake before, it’s a live wire now, thoughts somersaulting and ricocheting. You wind up burying your face into your pillow, wondering how long it will take to smother your jittery mind into unconsciousness.

Within thirty minutes you’re a drooling and snoring mess of limbs starfishing on the mattress.

In the morning, you wake up to your blaring alarm and a notification from Instagram. You blink at it groggily, slow to understand what the small font is telling you, only to then sit up so fast you’re dizzy and seeing black spots when it finally registers.

Javi followed you back.

And he liked your most recent post of Diana holding you in a headlock after you dared show up to the gym two minutes late, captioned: Anyone know where I can find a new trainer? This one has no chill. Even adding his own comment: if you like running for miles and being sprayed with a water gun, I’ll gladly give you @/carlos_scipio’s #. Just find me in the paddock and lmk 😉

A stupidly big grin spreads across your face and something inside of you, deep in the pit of your stomach, uncoils just a little bit. Next season is going to be interesting and challenging and scary, no doubt, but you’re starting to think it’s going to be pretty great too.

_________________________________________________

Outer Rim Sports

F1 2023 entry list: Rookie numbers revealed By: Axe Woves / November 15 2022

The official 2023 F1 entry list was published last night by the FIA confirming the race numbers for the three rookies making their debut next season.

Vulpecula’s Oddball will be keeping her F2 number #13, Triple Frontier’s Ben Miller will race with #94, and Statesman’s Eggsy Unwin has chosen #98.

All three numbers have been previously used by other drivers in F1 history over the decades. #13 last belonged to Gregor New, while David Portillo raced with #94, and Hal Packard used #98.

Here is the complete entry list:

Sunspear: 76 Marcus Moreno, 52 Nico Loro

Aurelac: 28 Ezra Green, 7 Ricky Hauk

Nevarro: 66 Din Djarin, 99 Cobb Vanth

Statesman: 34 Jack ‘Whisky’ Daniels, 98 Gary ‘Eggsy’ Unwin

Crane: 45 Pero Tovar, 19 William Garin

Vulpecula: 53 Javi Gutierrez, 13 Oddball

De Excelente Auto: 2 Javier Peña, 83 Steve Murphy

Black Gold: 40 Dave York, 35 Omar Assarian

Triple Frontier: 12 Frankie Morales, 94 Ben Miller

Van Chance: 42 Dieter Bravo, 41 Gio Bravo

_________________________________________________

Formula One: Ricky Hauk, Oddball, Ben Miller, and more rising stars to watch

By Steve Trevor, WWS Wednesday November 16 2022

(Picture Gallery 1 of 6: The 2022 Formula One season is coming to an end. Once again, Marcus Moreno takes the lead over the rest of the grid. But in 2023, a collection of young drivers has the potential to shake things up…)

(WWS) — Next season will see the return of several well-established drivers on the grid, but 2023 also has the potential to be especially memorable due to the abundance of fledgling up-and-comers eager to make household names for themselves.

Including a young woman set to make history as the third female driver in F1 history, F2’s predicted 2022 champion, and Aurelac’s youngest driver in over a decade, here’s a closer look at some drivers I believe will have a tremendous impact on the sport.

Ben Miller - “My whole life changed with one text message”

Age: 21 Team: Triple Frontier

(Photo : Ben Miller in mid-conversation with a Triple Frontier mechanic in the paddock garage, gesturing towards future teammate Frankie Morales’ car. Caption: Miller is the current lead for the F2 championship.)

“It hasn’t really sunk in yet that next season I’ll be on the grid with some of the fastest drivers on earth,” Ben Miller said after the announcement was made he’d been drafted for Triple Frontier next season.

Miller, one of three rookies joining in 2023, has quite an impressive record despite only being 21-years-old. Like most F1 drivers, he began his career by racing go-karts before going on to win the F4 championship in 2017.

In the literal days following his victory, he drew interest from several team leaders in the motorsport community, but Santiago Garcia stood out from the rest by sending a text message asking for a meeting which would ultimately alter the course of Miller’s career.

“My whole life changed with one text message,” Miller told Speed Beasts Magazine. “It just seemed like a no-brainer to accept Santi’s deal.”

Miller, only 16 at the time, was offered a spot in Triple Frontier’s young driver program. With their training, he went on to place second in the F3 championship as a mere rookie and has so far come out on top over his competition in Formula 2 as well.

“Triple Frontier has really helped my skills develop over the years. Being an official F1 driver for them is exactly what I want to be,” Miller told BBB following Triple Frontier’s announcement in October.

Ricky Hauk - “Whatever happens, happens”

Age: 21 Team: Aurelac

(Photo : Ricky Hauk smiles during the Romanian GP press conference. Caption: Hauk had an impressive debut season this year and currently ranks 12th.)

Aurelac, usually preferring experienced drivers on their team, has promoted 21-year-old Ricky Hauk to join Ezra Green in 2023. “One of the best days of my life,” Hauk said in a Twitter post.

The decision for Hauk to replace Pero Tovar is remarkable due to the fact he is the youngest driver to join the team since Fahr Sater in 2007. Aurelac CEO Damon McCall has stated Hauk’s impressive rookie season with DEA led to the surprising choice being made. Hauk finished fifth in the Chinese GP which was only his third race and has since earned 33 total points.

Hauk’s journey to F1 hasn’t been without personal struggles. He has spoken openly about being a victim of childhood abuse from his late father, as well as his experiences with verbal bullying from classmates during his high school years.

When asked about the pressure of joining Aurelac, the young driver didn’t seem overly concerned.

“There’s always going to be pressure in this sport,” he said in an interview with Formula1Daily. “I’ll just keep giving it my best shot behind the wheel and God will take care of the rest. Whatever happens, happens.”

Oddball - “I hope to be an inspiration for young girls everywhere”

Age: 20 Team: Vulpecula

(Picture : Oddball on podium holding a second place trophy at the British Formula 2 round. Caption: Oddball will be the youngest driver on the grid next season.)

READ: The young woman set to make Formula 1 history

Oddball will be making the jump from reserve driver into an official F1 seat for Vulpecula next March at the Australian Grand Prix. She will also be the only female competing on the grid and the third woman overall in the sport’s long history.

Vivian Etten, Vulpecula’s chief executive, has high hopes the young driver will help the team become a force to be reckoned with on the grid again. Expectations are high for Oddball to succeed alongside her future teammate Javi Gutierrez.

Oddball has competed in seven different junior motorsport categories and won first place championship in four. “I hope to be an inspiration for young girls everywhere,” she told reporters. “And to prove just as much as Ahsoka and Anita did that women have a place here in F1.”

(Picture Gallery 1 of 35: Marcus Moreno celebrates his tenth win of the season as the victor of the Florida GP over Din Djarin and Pero Tovar.)

Gary “Eggsy” Unwin - “I never back down from a challenge”

Age: 22 Team: Statesman

Eggsy Unwin is another rookie driver expected to have a big impact in 2023. “He’s finer than frog fur,” Jefferson Champagne has said of his new Statesman driver. “We believe he’s championship-material, bet on it.”

The 22-year-old will be Jack ‘Whiskey’ Daniels’ partner, an accomplished veteran of the sport who Champagne has said he still “expects big results” from next season.

READ: Unwin’s “mind blown” to be drafted by Statesman

Unwin caught Champagne’s attention when he made headlines for usurping Oddball in the F2 ranking last month and claiming second place which is the highest a Kingsman driver has ever been in standings. He initially considered a deal being Van Chance’s reserve driver before Statesman approached him with an official contract to join their team.

“I’ve dreamed of driving in Formula 1 since I was little,” Unwin told BBB. “I’m absolutely over the f–ing moon to join Statesman in 2023.”

As one of the oldest teams in F1, Statesman has a prestigious reputation for producing top-notch drivers time and time again. Unwin is looking forward to the training sessions and, if all goes right on track, podium finishes.

“I never back down from a challenge,” he said. “And with how competitive this sport is, I’m going to look forward to a new challenge every race.”

Omar Assarian – “I’m only going to get better from here”

Age: 23 Team: Black Gold

Crowd-favorite Omar Assarian has been driving in F1 for two seasons now, making his debut with Vulpecula last year before joining Black Gold where he felt his “skills will be better appreciated.” And given his strong results this year (currently fifth in driver standings), fans and critics agree Black Gold looks to be a better fit for the young driver.

The 23-year-old will partner with returning F1 legend Dave York next season. York’s decision to come out of retirement resulted in a ripple effect heavily impacting the grid. Willem Ballard, Black Gold’s current number two driver, will be pushed out of the sport entirely after failing to secure a new seat, while Javi Gutierrez, who was initially promised Ballard’s seat by Black Gold’s CEO Maxwell Lord in the aftermath of his temporary transfer to Triple Frontier, has signed a new contract with Vulpecula for 2023.

“They know exactly what I need when I need it. When to offer advice and when to challenge me,” Assarian said to reporters after joining Black Gold.

Assarian’s debut season with Vulpecula was a rocky one due to multiple incidents of car trouble throughout the year. Although he did manage a third place podium finish at the 2020 Scottish GP, he ultimately came in eleventh in the driver standings.

“I’m only going to get better from here,” he told WWS at the recent Texas GP in October. “Next year, the other teams better watch out.”

_________________________________________________

FIA Thursday Press Conference November 17, 2022

Transcript of audio recording, ft. Pietro ALVAREZ (Vulpecula), Marcus MORENO (Sunspear), Oddball (2023 Vulpecula Driver), Ben MILLER (2023 Triple Frontier Driver)

Q: (Ginger Ale - Formula1Daily)

Pietro, how does it feel going into this weekend knowing it’s your final Grand Prix?

Pietro ALVAREZ: Right now I’m treating it as any other race. I’m looking forward to being out on the track, hopefully finishing high. Dorne is always a special time. If you ask me again on Sunday, the mood will definitely be different. It’s just not something I’m allowing myself to think too hard about at the moment.

Q: (Ginger Ale - Formula1Daily)

Are there any special memories during your years in F1 which stand out in particular?

PA: I’m fortunate to have the number of victories that I do, but more than those I’m going to look back on the people I’ve met and worked beside and shared my life with. I’ve been a part of this sport for almost twenty years, that’s a lot of time spent with some of the most talented and knowledgeable people on earth. I think they are what I’ll remember and miss the most.

Q: (Axe Woves - Outer Rim Sports)

Oddball, you’ve been busy preparing for your debut with Vulpecula next season and part of that preparation process has been working closely with Pietro. Will you be sad to see him leave? What has he taught you about the sport?

Oddball: Pietro has become a good friend and mentor so it will be sad no longer seeing him around the garage and HQ anymore. He’s taught me a lot about F1 and life as well. If I listed everything we’d be here for hours, but something in particular he told me that I wholeheartedly agree with is to make sure I’m enjoying myself. Yes, this sport is a tough job, and yes, it requires a heck of a lot of hard work, but at the end of the day it’s still possible to have fun. When the joy is gone, that’s when you know it’s time to move on.

Q: (Carolina Álvarez - El Tiempo)

Thank you, Oddball. Ben, of course it’s exciting news you’ll be racing for Triple Frontier next season, but first comes the Formula 2 championship. You’re in the lead by a large margin, but are you feeling any nerves at all?

Ben MILLER: Feeling any nerves? Definitely. Doesn’t matter how good the results are, I’ll always feel them. I’d be worried if I didn’t have them, to be honest. Anything can happen during a race. I’d love to win the title, but we’ll just have to wait and see how it goes.

Q: (Steve Trevor - Wonder World Sports)

Marcus, on the subject of Pietro’s last Grand Prix, will you miss competing against him?

Marcus MORENO: Of course. The whole sport will miss seeing him out there. He’s an absolute legend.

Q: (Steve Trevor - Wonder World Sports)

I’ll ask you both, Marcus and Pietro, since you’ve raced against him in the past, what are your thoughts on Dave York’s return to the sport?

MM: I think it’s great news, honestly. He’s extremely talented, and it’ll be exciting to see him on the track again. It’s a wonderful opportunity for him, not many drivers have the strength to get back into the pressure and grind of it all after leaving, so I hope it works out for the best.

Q: Pietro?

PA: Like Marcus said, York is an extremely talented driver. If his car’s performance is good and his skills are sharp, he’ll be an exciting one to watch next season.

Q: (Carolina Álvarez - El Tiempo)

Pietro, what would you say are the chances of you returning out of retirement in a few years? Do you think it’s likely you’ll follow York’s footsteps?

PA: I haven’t even had one day of actual retirement yet, so it’s difficult to say one way or the other. I love Formula 1, always will. If I get bored in a few years or my family gets sick of me being around all the time…maybe I’ll make an attempt to come back. That’s all I can say. Maybe.

Q: (Carol Cobb - Speed Beasts Magazine)

Oddball, redirecting to your future with Vulpecula, could you talk about your plans for next season? Do you think it will be a smoother one than this year’s?

Oddball: Optimistically, I’m hoping so. Realistically though, it’s tough to say until I’ve actually driven the car. Everyone at Vulpecula is working hard to improve next season’s results, but progress is a marathon not a sprint. It might take a few races, maybe even a year or two, but my plan, and the team’s as well, is to just keep making positive steps and earning points until we’re back on top once more.

_________________________________________________

Pietro catches up with you in the Vulpecula hospitality in-between media sessions, his third cup of coffee in his hand. “That was your first F1 press conference, wasn’t it, Oddball?” he wonders, taking a seat across from you. He smiles a little, just a faint crinkling of his eyes. “You did good.”

“Really?” You nearly drop your phone, text message to your mother temporarily forgotten. Pietro’s one of the most successful racers in the last decade. He’s not as grumpy as Tovar, but after this long in the sport few things surprise him anymore. Even fewer things earn his praise. “Thank you.”

He chuckles slightly like you’ve said something amusing, raising his drink to take a sip. The cup is engraved with his initials, a present given to him by Cobb Vanth last year during the F1 Secret Santa gift exchange. Almost every time you’ve been around the man, that cup hasn’t been far from his reach.

“I’ve never lied to you, Oddball.”

“I didn’t think you had,” you say slowly, frowning.

Another sip. Pietro crosses his legs at the ankles, leaning back in his seat without seemingly a care in the world. Meanwhile your shoulder blades are sharp, tense points beneath your shirt, waiting for him to continue.

“Everything you’ve asked me about cars and my career, how to find a balance between life and work, I haven’t sugar-coated my answers because I remember being a rookie,” Pietro explains, words smooth as velvet on his accented tongue. “However, for as much as I have to tell you, for as many tips as I can offer…we both know our paths will always be unique from each other.”

You bite the inside of your cheek. There are a dozen different meanings which can be applied to his words, but one stands out above the rest, floating in the air of the room, pressing uncomfortably against your skin. He’s a driver and you’re a female driver.

“People won’t ever let you forget you’re different, Oddball. They didn’t let Anita or Ahsoka forget either, even after all their triumphs. Talk, talk, talk is all these critics do all day long. And you know what I say to that?”

A deliberate pause follows.

“Encourage them.”

“Is…” Your brow furrows, a bitter taste on the back of your tongue. “Is that supposed to inspire me or something?”

He looks at you, dark eyes piercing. “Give them something to talk about, Oddball. Enjoy the process of making a name for yourself in this sport. Of making ripples in the pond. I came into F1 too late to race Anita, but I shared the grid with Ahsoka. I saw the spark in her eyes. Her determination. I thought she was one of a kind. That nobody else had even a smidge of her talent. And then I met you.” He points a finger at you, certainty brimming in his gaze. “Call it driver’s intuition, or perhaps the ramblings of an old man who’s hit a barrier one time too many, but I think you’re just the driver F1 needs to shake things up for the better. Those critics and other drivers won’t know what hit them next season.”

There’s an embarrassing stinging sensation behind your eyes, a sudden lump lodged in your throat making it hard to swallow. You attempt a smile, wobbly at the corners. “Thanks. That–that means a lot, especially coming from you.”

“It needed to be said,” Pietro replies, standing up and giving your shoulder a pat before heading for the stairs. And it’s the simple, blunt way he says it that makes you understand why he’s so well-respected in the racing community. Why the hole left behind in the wake of his retirement will be impossible to fill.

_________________________________________________

Busy Bee Blog (BBB) - Vlog Post #63 Friday November 18 2022

Summary: Join me, Frankie Morales and Javi Gutierrez at the Dornish GP as we play a game of Mr & Mr.

The camera pans over the interior of the Triple Frontier hospitality before settling on a smiling Bee Castle. Behind her, Frankie and Javi sit back-to-back in chairs, heads turned to listen to her introduction. “Hello! Your Queen Bee is back again for another vlog and this time I convinced the Triple Frontier drivers, Frankie and Javi, to join me for a little game of Mr & Mr.” She turns to look at them. “Are you ready for some fun, boys?”

“With you? Always,” Frankie answers with a wink.

Javi rolls his eyes, muttering something that sounds suspiciously like ‘Get a room’ but the microphone on his shirt fails to catch it.

Bee’s cheeks redden, but she remains composed and professional. “This is the final race of the season. It’s also your final race as teammates before Javi leaves for Vulpecula. So I’m going to ask you some questions about each other and we’re going to find out how well you’ve gotten to know one another during your time together. Remember, we’re looking for matching answers.”

The camera zooms in on the paddles in Frankie and Javi’s hands. Pictures of their faces have been glued to either side for the game. Javi holds his paddle up, mimicking the expression of his photo by sticking his tongue out.

“Let’s do it,” Frankie says, twirling his paddle between his fingers. “I’m looking forward to the win.”

“Yeah, because you know so much about my life,” Javi scoffs.

“Shots fired,” Bee smirks at the camera. “And on that note, let’s begin. We’ll start with an easy one. Who has the most laps?”

They both seem to think about it, but end up agreeing it’s Frankie.

“Correct. Great start so far.” Bee nods. “Everybody knows about your mutual love for snow cones. Who has the best taste when choosing a flavor?”

Javi and Frankie immediately hold up their paddles with their own faces displayed. Bee makes a buzzing sound at the mismatched response, prompting Frankie to twist his head to look at his teammate’s paddle, eyes widening with surprise.

“Are you serious? You pick the absolute worst flavors.”

“And you always pick lavender bubblegum,” Javi counters, reaching backwards to swat at the other man’s arm. “How is that having better taste?”

“Because it’s always good!”

“Agree to disagree.”

“Guess we’ll have to take our favorite reporter with us next time so she can see for herself if I’m right.” Frankie shoots Bee a flirtatious grin, prompting another blush to appear while her camerawoman laughs quietly as she films the two.

Bee looks down at her cue cards, asking, “Who is a better driver off the track?”

Javi chuckles, holding up his picture without hesitation. “No doubt about it.”

“He picked himself, didn’t he?” Frankie asks, aiming for disgruntled but missing by a mile, barely fighting back a smile.

“Because it’s true!” Javi crows, waving his paddle in the air enthusiastically.

“Who would win in a fight?” Bee wonders, hiding her grin behind her cards.

They take a second to think about it, flipping their paddles back and forth indecisively.

“Here’s the thing,” Javi begins, humor creeping into his voice. “I can throw a punch as well as the next guy, but I also know Frankie used to get into a lot of fights when he was younger in McDonald’s parking lots, so…”

“First of all,” Frankie manages to say through his chuckling, pointing a finger, “it was Wendy’s not McDonald’s. And second, man, you couldn’t even kill a fly the other day, what the hell makes you think you could ever take me in a fight?”

Javi slowly turns his paddle around, displaying Frankie’s image. “He makes a good point.”

The camera manages to catch Frankie’s quiet snort before he hides his face behind his paddle.

Bee’s stare lingers on him a second longer than necessary, expression soft, before she reads aloud the next question. “Who’s more likely to fall asleep in a team meeting?”

“Oh, Javi, for sure. 100%,” Frankie answers, paddle lifted before Bee’s even finished speaking.

She laughs. “Does Vulpecula know about this problem?”

“No, because it’s not a problem. It only happened one time,” Javi complains. He aims an irritated look directly at the camera. “ Once , and he’ll never let me forget it!”

“Alright, final question,” Bee says, schooling her smiling expression into one of exaggerated seriousness. The two men mimic her, eyebrows drawn low and lips pursed. “Who…is a bigger fan of BBB?”

Frankie’s out of his seat in the next blink, wrapping Bee in his arms and swinging her around in a hug with her feet off the floor. “Me!” he exclaims over the sound of her giggling.

In the background, Javi tosses his paddle in the air, pretending to be upset at the loss.

_________________________________________________

Ben holds the Dornish Grand Prix trophy up over his head, tears streaming down cheeks, smile stretched so wide across his face there’s no other word for his expression other than absolutely ecstatic. After all his hard work and training and sacrifices, he's officially the 2022 Formula 2 Champion.

You stand at his side on the second-place podium, wearing a matching grin and proudly holding up your own trophy. It doesn’t matter you didn’t win the champion title. This—this feeling of breathless jubilation, of shaky knees and the thunderous applause of the crowd—it’s more than enough. (Although, you gotta admit, reclaiming your second place in the standings does make this occasion all the more sweeter.)

Somewhere down there amongst the sea of spectators and the familiar faces of your fellow F2 drivers and members of your team, you know Eggsy’s cheering his head off for you and Ben. He didn’t podium, crossing the finish line fourth, but the amount of points puts him third in the standings and you can’t imagine the season ending any other way than with you and your boys on top.

God, it’s crazy the year’s almost over. Even crazier how much has happened these last few months.

2022 will end with the three of you conquering F2. 2023 will begin with the three of you ready to do it all over again on the grid of F1. New tracks, new challenges, new responsibilities. Facing off against the best of the best, each one chasing after the same ultimate dream.

Ben slings his arm around your shoulders, crushing you against his side so tight it’s like he’s trying to make you one entity. You lean into him, the top of your head beneath his jaw, and a single thought drifts through your mind right before you’re blinded by a ripple of camera flashes: I can’t wait.

#javi gutierrez x reader #javi g fanfiction #javi g x reader #javi gutierrez #javi g x you #javi gutierrez x you #my fic #my writing #pedrostories #javi gutierrez fanfiction

70 notes · View notes

reneesbooks · 10 months

Text

writeblr positivity tag

my wonderful morbo @serenanymph tagged me <3 gently tagging @lyssa-ink @lena-rambles @zmwrites @winterandwords and under a cut because it's long. blank questions at the bottom <3

1. What motivates you to write?

the thought of holding the finished book in my hands and being able to reread it and share it. also spite

2. A line/short snippet of your writing that you are most proud/happy of. If not maybe share a line of someone else's work you love (just please credit them)

y'all wanna see maura be a little bit fucked up and evil

“My father said something to me often,” Maura interrupts, her eyes narrowing. “The law is the law. None are exempt.” She tosses a disdainful look at the duchess. “Those who have no respect for the law will always have excuses for breaking it.” She bends down and tips the duchess's chin up with a finger. Keelan's fingers tighten around his sword. Maura tilts her head to the side. “Your Grace,” she says. “You asked for mercy. You shall have it.”

The duchess sobs. “Thank you, Your Majesty—”

“Do not thank me, wretch.” Maura's lip curls. “Your mercy is the mercy allotted by law. Tell me. Which foot do you value more?”

The duchess's lip trembles. “I beg you, Your Majesty, mercy—”

“You shall have it.” Maura's eyes are unforgiving. “Which foot?”

The duchess's eyes dart around the throne room, wide and terrified. “I—I don't know.”

“Hm.” Maura releases her and stands. “She can have more time to decide. Until she does, get her out of my sight.”

3. Which OC makes you smile every time you think/talk about them and what are they like?

i love all my children equally this is a mean question. currently my favorite chew toy is Jack, who is a minor character in my current wip. Jack is a pathetic disaster bisexual who was left to die as an infant but still managed to survive to adulthood and is using that luck to cause problems on purpose. he steals for a living and flirts for fun and profit. he is in love with his best friend/accomplice Arthur, but can't handle real emotions and is being really thickheaded about it. Arthur is too busy pining for him to notice. Jack is just a little guy. gay boy disaster man. also he killed like 20 people.

4. What process of writing do you enjoy the most?

working out plot/worldbuilding issues. i love sitting down and going "ok how am i going to make this make any gddamn sense" and then bouncing ideas around until i hit one that fits perfectly. yeah sex is great but have you ever found the perfect answer to your plot hole that ties together all the recurring themes and arcs in the story AND has an opportunity to use your overcomplicated worldbuilding?

5. What part of writing do you think you are the best at? (Yes stroke your own ego it's okay)

mainly dialogue. i love imagining conversations and i've been working on dialogue for a long time. my dialogue used to be so cringey so glad i learned from it

6. What is something in the writeblr community is most enjoyable?

we're all a little unhinged about our own writing so nobody minds when you get a little unhinged about their writing. safe space to be unhinged about people's writing

7. A writing tool/device you use that helps you with writing? (It could be speech to text, a writing program etc)

i use campfire write and i love it for keeping worldbuilding organized. it has a lot of visual tools which is great for me personally and it's very customizable. highly recommend it, there is a free desktop version that still gets you quite a bit of usage and the mobile app is free

8. A piece of worldbuilding that you like in your own story? (It could be the magic system, a particular place in the story, a law etc)

i've really enjoyed fleshing out the countries outside of Raedora and how their political systems and cultures are different. for example Guildi also is monarchical, but they have an emperor and their law is absolute, followed exactly as written based on the judgment of the emperor. Fierodia, by contrast, is the homeland of the dragons, so they have two governments--one for the humans, and one for the dragons--and both are a little more democratic in nature, with a Council of the Wise (elders) ruling the dragons while the most powerful magical human families sit on another council that takes petitions from representatives sent by villages and cities.

9. What piece of advice would you say to encourage others to write if they are having a rough patch?

open a blank document. i do this in a simple text editor (.txt) because it forces me to look at the words more (idk how else to explain it). write the dumbest thing you can think of. literally. if you get stuck, hit enter a few times and start writing something else. yes even if you get stuck in the middle of a sentence. do NOT let yourself sit there staring at a blank document, just write. even if it's bad and stupid and doesn't make sense. ESPECIALLY if it's bad and stupid and doesn't make sense. write the stupid little plot bunnies that you came up with in line at starbucks. bullet point a short story you'll never write. purposefully write the most gd-awful purple prose. have some silly little fun with it. rewrite snl episodes that you think would be funnier if you were in charge. anytime you are stuck for more than like 30 seconds hit enter three times and try something else. rinse and repeat until the gears start turning for the thing you actually want to work on.

save these files (i have a little dedicated spot on my drive) so that you don't lose your funky little experimental stuff. you never know what you'll find there later.

10. Tag some people whose works you love/have been your biggest supporters

i adore @serenanymph's wip beast and all the blorbos found within and how much she supports lacuna. @lyssa-ink's wips my beloved. @zmwrites has some incredible wips and an amazing writing style. i love the worldbuilding from @akindofmagictoo's dragonsong and @oh-no-another-idea is one of the biggest sweethearts on this website.

blank questions:

1. What motivates you to write?

2. A line/short snippet of your writing that you are most proud/happy of. If not maybe share a line of someone else's work you love (just please credit them)

3. Which OC makes you smile every time you think/talk about them and what are they like?

4. What process of writing do you enjoy the most?

5. What part of writing do you think you are the best at? (Yes stroke your own ego it's okay)

6. What is something in the writeblr community is most enjoyable?

7. A writing tool/device you use that helps you with writing? (It could be speech to text, a writing program etc)

8. A piece of worldbuilding that you like in your own story? (It could be the magic system, a particular place in the story, a law etc)

9. What piece of advice would you say to encourage others to write if they are having a rough patch?

10. Tag some people whose works you love/have been your biggest supporters

#writeblr community #writeblr #writeblr positivity #tag game #it’s my morbo 🥺🥰#lacuna #anyway this got even longer than i expected but i had fun #oh jack...he technically has a higher body count than keelan #there is a longer version of the maura snippet where she goes a bit feral and keelan thinks 'oh boy hope this doesn't awaken anything in me #rb original #original fiction #maura #keelan #jack

10 notes · View notes

blue-is-a-sapphic-color · 8 months

Note

For the ask game, maybe 14, 17, 25?

Hi!! Thanks for the ask, and thank you for creating such an awesome ask game <3

14. What’s your favourite c!Dream line of dialogue?

Suddenly I don't remember a single c!Dream line of dialogue- uHH probably when he's taunting c!Tommy right after the prison escape. ICONIC. people who hadn't stream hopped were completely caught off guard by a fully decked out c!Dream popping up out of nowhere. Also props to cc!Dream for his insane positioning and timing like DAMN.

Also whenever he's begging, whining, or pleading...! especially when it involves c!Sam. The scene after he hides beneath the prison floor and c!Sam loses his mind and he manages to convince c!Sam to not tell c!Quackity is Insane.

17. What are some of your favourite c!Dream fics?

The fics on this list aren't going to be... recent/current? I haven't read dream smp stuff (that isn't @sunshine-in-a-bottle's writing) in a Good While. So for example @simplepotatofarmer's rabbit run isn't on it because I just haven't read it yet! (Even though I've only heard good things and it's been on my to read list for forever...)

Now for the fics:

for queen and country by @cgogs

It's technically not canon!Dream, it's an AU, but it is based on dream smp lore so it counts for me.

OKAY BUT SERIOUSLY I SPENT LIKE THREE PLUS MONTHS THINKING ABOUT THIS FIC AFTER I READ IT AND I STILL THINK ABOUT IT SOMETIMES. the fic was discontinued, but I genuinely think chapter six works perfectly well as an open ending!

Medieval fantasy Royalty AU, angsty c!DNF with hopeful and/or bittersweet vibes, amazing and creative writing, and the literal first time Briar appeared in a fic? SURELY A MUST READ.

Oxeye Daisy by @cgogs

It needs no introduction, it's a c!DNF classic. But if you haven't heard about this fic...! Well now you have! Go read it!

We have since lost Angela to c!awesamdream-isms (<< literally has c!awesamdream demons myself) but I still remember the c!DNF era <3

martyr wrapped in butcher paper by @aetherknit

god!Dream/king!George spanning the dethronement era. And it has fanart..... (if you've never checked this one out you really should, it's a short one-shot!)

encore by Anonymous (the author has since either changed their name, privated or deleted their account)

A near-future c!Drunz one-shot with worldbuilding with some great vibes. Featuring accidental alien!kid!Purpled acquisition, hurt but healing c!Dream, and not perfect but still caring and domestic c!Drunz.

a second change from beyond the grave by Lieyantosh

The egg kills the server and everyone in it, but everyone gets reincarnated into the modern world with their memories. Except Dream doesn't remember.

Does this fic suffer greatly from being written before the staged finale was revealed? Yes. Is c!Tommy the main pov? Yes. But is chapter five a masterpiece, written from c!Dream's pov, and made me stay up until 3am? Also yes !!!

25. If c!Dream had to join an existing/former DSMP country or faction, which one would you choose for him?

Either the Syndicate or the Eggpire. Opposite vibes, I know, but both have tons of potential for him individually, and for great interactions with the members.

Syndicate AUs are pretty popular and always a banger, but c!Drunz together during the height of the Eggpire? They would've been unstoppable (and full of trauma <333).

#dreblr #ask #hi people i tagged #hopefully that's okay but also hit me up if you want your name Out of here #ask game

4 notes · View notes

girlfriendsofthegalaxy · 2 years

Text

tuesday again 8/16/22

currently unemployed so i am real goddamn fuckin chatty in this one

listening CTRL^^^ by MONOWHALES bc jack read me for filth with this rec several weeks ago and it's been in heavy rotation since then, so into the tuesday playlist it goes.

youtube

reading Falling Sky by Rajan Khanna (published 2014, author says the concept began in 2008).

premise: this is an interesting little bridge between the steampunk and zombie trends. the comps on the back of the book (thriller/noir/hemingway/miyazaki) are not very accurate. it's set in california, a generation after fast and smart zombies that reproduce have made the ground is too dangerous, so most people roam about in airships and zeppelins (good on the author for distinguishing them, knowing his terminology, also giving some of them vertical takeoff and landing capability). posits a world where the airship was ubiquitous before the apocalypse, which is fascinating, bc the airship our hero owns is one stolen by his grandfather as shit went down. our hero is a jaded bodyguard is trying to keep a pack of scientists researching an infection detection method safe in a secret ground-based lab. wait up go back hold up a minute where do they get the hydrogen and helium? don't worry about the hydrogen, mr khanna says, let's talk about helium, which is marketed through a floating city with a secret ground-based mining facility (???). airships meet at covert docking points on tall buildings, there's a chicago outpost of sky vikings that's taken over the local floating sky city, you know, the usual. i can only imagine the airships look something like the aeroscraft??

worldbuilding stuff: props for the mention of salted pigeon meat, an established gunpowder manufacturing chain, general thoughtfulness about what salvage components are most valuable, what kinds of food keep and how to safely preserve them, boiled water (i don't think i've ever seen boiled water as a matter of everyday course in a postapoc novel), several different types of biofuels. i never found myself asking "well how DO they get [BASIC RESOURCE]"? this is mostly well-handled without a lot of infodumping, with little throwaways like "hey i tested your new biofuel blend, it was good in x ways and bad in y ways, do you have any more of z blend?"

character stuff: congrats to the protag for being sad about a dead dad instead of being sad about a dead wife. there is a sex scene that's pretty tasteful, mostly vague concepts, and did not make me cringe. the protagonist has a terrible crush on the female lead but is pretty respectful about it, is on good terms with his ex, and the other female merc they team up with is an extremely capable person even if she is mostly used as a battering ram. this was a welcome surprise! the most interesting character work that happens to our hero is a synagogue in the floating city, where our hero ends up after a particularly bad day and sort of makes a stab at reconnecting with his faith. i don't know that i've ever seen an atheist jewish protagonist in a postapoc novel before, or much discussion of religion aside from cults?

stylistic stuff: there is a very fine line between hemingway-style terseness and choppiness, and this tends to veer choppy (as i often do with my own writing). i didn't quite jive with the style, nor do i particularly care about our hero. he's fine. he's just kind of bland? the book is mostly about the protagonist telling you what he's doing, bc it's first person present tense. this doesn't bother me a ton, bc that seems to be the current trend in english fic in the handful of fandoms i pay attention to.

the backstory and infrastructure of the world is there but not necessarily the people that live there. good bones, not enough meat, the style and focus on and-this-is-what-happened-next was somewhat irritating. h owever this was a perfectly adequate first novel, and my hope is that the second and third novels improve. they are remarkably hard to track down, i found this one on a whim in a little free library. from reading a preview of the second book it already seems more noir-ish so i am cautiously optimistic.

watching i was adding stuff to letterboxd (really fucking hate that letterboxd has got me watching more movies. what the fuck are they doing with all my data. what are they using my movie watching habits to sell) anyway i was adding stuff to letterboxd and was reminded of the film Pitch Black (2000, dir. Twohy), which is an extremely competent little scifi/horror thing i enjoy a lot.

this zoom in to escaped convict riddick watching people frantically look for him after a spaceship crash is, as one letterboxd reviewer put it "like some sort of deranged bugs bunny", is the funniest zoom in the trilogy. this film works very well with its budgetary limitations and is mostly filmed in the desert under the blazing sunlight or in near-pitch darkness, freeing up a lot of money for creatures that have aged in an endearingly (imo) early 2000s way. like the mad max movies, it asks the question "what if an extremely unpleasant man is unchained and treated like a person? what happens to his personality and decisions after that?" this one's quite solid and i don't have much to say to it other than give it a little "pretty good movie!" trophy. it also sticks its ending, a thing i cannot say for the other two riddick movies. which i also rewatched.

beautiful fuckin aurorae look at that shit. The Chronicles of Riddick (2004, dir. Twohy) is not very good but we must give it points for sheer visual style. they truly do not make em like this any more, and they made the plot too big and galaxy-encompassing. this movie was at its was most successful when riddick is trying to find a specific person. it was also at its most successful when it's a movie about how riddick and also a planet are trying to kill you. i do not like the attempted sexual assault in this one. the ending made me go "ohhhhh" in sudden understanding but it did not pay off the "guy loses everything he cares about but gets enormous power/riches/etc he's been striving for" bc the movie establishes that what he wants is to be left alone with the two people he sort of cares about safe. the ending would have hurt more if the movie had spent like three more beats really hammering in that he just wants to be left alone.

i like the first half of Riddick (2013, dir. Twohy), when it's just a guy and his weird dog figuring out how to survive the planet. the last half is an early stab at what the john wick movies would become, combined with the last half of pitch black. there are some very fun, very tense shots in the last half, even if it completely forgets some stuff it set up in the first half of the movie.

i don't care about this one as much bc riddick experiences no interesting character changes. the most overarching thematic element, if we can very loosely call it that, is at the beginning, when he says "time to get back in touch with my animal side" and then...doesn't do that. he talks to his dog. he teaches it tricks. he shows himself to have a better understanding of the human psyche and how to really freak people the fuck out better than any of the posturing mercs after him.

i mostly dislike this one a great deal bc i do not like how the out lesbian in this one, with big guns and a sniper rifle longer than she is tall, is there for the men to constantly make passes at. there is an attempted sexual assault in this one too, and she..sleeps with riddick at the end??? i don't fully understand what was happening there. this riddick does not feel like the same riddick as the one from the previous movies. like the daniel craig bond movies, he is at his best when he reluctantly cares about someone and is reluctantly going "uggggHHHHHH FINE I GUESS I'LL BE A GOOD GUY BUT I'M GOING TO BE MAD THE WHOLE TIME AND EXTRA SCARY >:( " like yes yes big muscle man do flip and be very smart and punch hard and look nice. what does the big muscle man FEEL. that's when these movies get interesting, when they remind you riddick is a real actual guy and these aren't just stunt movies, and this last movie had too much bleh for me to enjoy the back half. so we progress in this trilogy from "really fucking fun and interesting, extremely tight and self-contained thesis" to "bizarre but going for something, thesis unknown" to "this is two different movies and not very much fun. cool dog tho". we must hand it to these movies as a whole for going "man vs nature on other planets lets us get REAL insane with it".

playing honestly probably a hiatus from Gaming (TM) for a while

making roundup of several small things.

a list of the westerns i would let other people watch, made for my siblings who will be visiting for christmas. they get to pick which ones but i do get to inflict three westerns upon them.

a rashomon-trope fallout fic for yeehawgust, where everyone has a different story about What Actually Happened: "There was a rumored pre-War banquet hall full of uranium glass place settings, ripe for selling to the Courier for her wedding. Now there’s a giant crater and four different stories about whose fault it is."

finally rigged up plant lights two and a half months after moving in. had to heavily prune and discard some plants, which makes me feel bad, and discovered i am still battling scale, which also makes me feel bad. however, now i know it's there and i can start dealing with it again. still need to rig up something better for my poor pencil plant, which also needs to be pruned and repotted bc it got Very leggy. do not worry about the snake plants they live in my office they didn't actually go anywhere

stopped at a yard sale, met a baby, pet a very friendly and well behaved chihuahua, got a 2-foot 10 through 60 parts to the inch architect’s scale and a pair of Wiss shears for a dollar. the shears are very dull, need a new nut, significant enamel wear on the handles which is annoying, but cannot beat the price for new kitchen shears. u kids know the drill into the vinegar bath it goes. will have to have a think about how to stop the handles from rusting again. maybe a dip in the can of white enamel paint i used for the kitchen table, maybe a funky new kind of spray paint is in my future.

#tuesday again #tuesday again no problem #Youtube

31 notes · View notes

ihasafandom · 1 year

Text

One Line, any Fic

@bakagaka tagged me

Rules: pick any 10 of your WIP fics (or finished; go nuts), scroll somewhere to the mid point, pick a line, and share it! Then tag 10 people.

Same with Bakagaka, I'm totally up for any questions/thoughts/discussions about any of these or anything else I've written.

Couldn't decide on just 10 and dunno if I have 10 friends on here let alone ones that are currently writing so I'll split the difference.

Tagging @that-which-they-defend @arbitrarity @fabledbrush @pulchrasilva @cupidsbower @glassesblu @inklesspen @bluemoonhoundsart @argentdandelion

Mostly Movie!Venom, a bit of Homestuck and some original worldbuilding, in order of how recently I've worked on them.

Horizontal Gene Transfer (Mitochondria is the Powerhouse of the Cell): <<[WITH] (host-other-self[EDDIE]) YES. ALSO (pasthost-dog[Gemini]), (pasthost-human-ally-friend[ANNE]), (pasthost-human[Maria]), MORE.>>

Roll for Investigation: "Eh, he’s some kinda brainweird, some kinda mutant or enhanced or whatever, and probably some kinda queer. What kind? I dunno, nunna my business."

We Like Being Like This: "WHAT DOES ANNE’S WARPAINT HAVE TO DO WITH FOOD?"

Aro/Ace 5+1 Sex: “Ah. I don’t know, Vee. I’m not sure I’m really up to much in the way of touch right now.”

Untitled: It traced their connection, flowing up and through the writhing puddle of symbiotic mass overlaying and abutting their mammalian body on a plane just above, every host cell a doorway to the bridge between the planes which Eddie inhabited and the pocket where the majority of their klyntar body lay.

Cancer: And little by little she did, a few tears at first but soon sobbing desperately into his shoulder and clutching at the clump of silky flesh that was sprouting from his back to hold her hand. They held her up as she crashed, cradled her as she crumbled, and kept up a steady stream of comforting babble while she wrung herself out.

Quadrants: Concupiscent Pity - Red Romance - Is a complacent quadrant. You have no desire to fix or change your potential partner; if they improve too much they no longer need your pity and if they get much worse they're no longer worth throwing your genes with.

Spawn a Baby: Eddie raised an eyebrow and looked pointedly at the evidence of live prey all over their apartment.

“FOR THE LAST TIME WE ARE NOT EATING SONNY AND CHER."

Depression Eddie: While it would normally be perfectly happy with them wearing whatever was lying around, and it knew that most humans’ senses of smell were not nearly as acute as its own chemo-sensory array (or even Eddie’s since they had augmented his scent receptors), it still felt instinctively risky to advertise an ongoing weakness more than necessary.

5+1 Separation: Of course, this only makes the separation worse; a mental quilt with half its fabric suddenly and violently ripped out; the chessboard now a patchwork of holes with bare threads holding any of it together.

ABOquest: (human) “Female” & ”male” secondary traits correlated to immune system. Healthy groups have a variety and betas are a bit more attracted to groups with both variety and F/M traits not highly represented in their own group to help diversify the immune stuff.

You Think You're Helping: "You are so very, very lucky that we convinced them to condense and shore up their redundancies rather than eliminate them for efficiency, or you'd be holding nothing more than dead bodies right now and their lawyer would be drawing you up and quartering you right now."

Headworld: It is extremely dangerous, the magic levels enough to quickly warp anything exposed for more than a few minutes. Dwarves wear hazmat suits and pass through many levels of decontamination when they have to go aboveground.

#meme #writing meme #my stuff #text #my writing #writing #venom #homestuck

11 notes · View notes

starlitsemantics · 11 months

Text

Sorry more Silm thoughts

Sometimes the reason a hc doesn't work is just the vibes of the work, not bc of it's worldbuilding

See for instance, what my brain once Freudian errored when writing down theories about the High King of the Noldor: Gil-Galad Fingolfinion

Obviously this requires some weirdness but it's perfectly doable within the world!

Elves can have children with a second partner, Fingolfin is proof of that. I think it's not impossible to argue he would have considered himself very permanently divorced from Anairë, I can easily imagine something to the effect of being dead to him will have been said in the context of him leaving.

Him being overwhelmed and grieving and looking for support and love from someone local? Who understood him and his current situation and didn't expect Valinorean perfection from him? On character level I think that's not unreasonable, especially if we time it right after Turgon and Aredhel and Idril vanish into nowhere.

It also makes sense why Gil-Galad's parentage would be a mystery and he would have been raised with Orodreth in Minas Tirith and later fostered with Cirdan: this would have been a source of shame for him and something that presumably would have invigorated the Feanorian factions, allowing them to question his loyalty and strength of character. Bad optics.

And after Fingolfin's death Fingon could name him his heir just to be safe, but he wouldn't reveal why? Because on some level I imagine he would be uneasy with his father having had a child with another woman, but little Ereinion is also not vanished into a hidden city for hundreds of years, he's being raised by a nice Sinda lord (good for diplomacy!) and Orodreth liked him well enough and Fingon hopes he has enough sway over Maedhros to make the sons of Feanor follow his declared heir if anything happens.

It all lines up!! But the vibes are so very off and so my brain has yet to settle on any viable Gil-Galad headcanon outside of friendly neighborhood conman

#gil galad #ereinion gil galad #fingon #fingolfin #orodreth

3 notes · View notes

x-authorship-x · 1 year

Note

7, 17, 21, 49, if that's okay? If too many pick one please please

Hey anon ☺️

7. Any worldbuilding you’re particularly proud of?

Oooooh so I'm a bit... Obsessed with worldbuilding but definitely The Red Istari because I got to basically reimagine a whole new interpretation of the people living in the Harad Desert and it was so much fun coming up with language, lifestyle, lore and how the Istari fit into local legend! I'm still really enamored 😅

17. What highly specific AU do you want to read or write even though you might be the only person to appreciate it?

Oh god so I have this vision of a Dragon Rider AU where Shisui's dragon is called Koto and she is deathly silent and blends in perfectly with her surroundings 🥺 Shisui's famous for being That Lunatic who jumps off his dragon's back and fights mid-free-fall.... Also a mental imagine of Mikoto swathed in silk and drinking tea with her huge dragon coiled around her like a serpent, exhaling curling crimson smoke...

21. If you wrote a “missing scene” in [insert fic], what would it be?

It would be in No Tomorrow, when Shisui tells Kakashi about Danzo's involvement with Sakumo's death... I wanna actually write Kakashi smashing in his kitchen cabinets

49. What are you currently working on? Share a few lines if you’re up for it!

I'm working through my submission prompts! Super rough drafts tho, so no quotes I'm afraid

Thanks for playing ✨

#Torship #torship talks #ask game #anon

1 note · View note

tromb0ning · 2 years

Note

How do you come up with combats? Do you enjoy combat?

What's your favorite part of DMing?

What's your favorite thing your players do?

I do really enjoy combats, but it took a long time for me to get the hang of actually making them fun for me and players, instead of a frustrating 30 minutes of dice rolling for something that does nothing to actually meaningfully threaten the party or move the story along. I deliberately create intense, unbalanced encounters because anything approaching "balance" a party will steamroll in my experience. I use monsters or enemy compositions that have or that I give the ability to do heavy amounts of damage in a short time, that way removing even a single enemy minion from combat feels meaningful (whether its done by knocking out through damage or doing something that removes their ability to attack). In my 3 total combats of the current campaign I've knocked a player out in each one. I vary my monster choices based on the environment and keep them pretty lore compliant (players in my games would never find mindflayers in the forest for example). I come up with combats based on the quest I have the party doing, and just go through my 7 different official and 3rd party bestiaries to find monsters & enemies I think really suit the quest and the environment. I never do random encounters, but do I allow players to find ways to avoid combat.

My absolute favorite part of dming is pulling off a big reveal on my players. When I have been subtly seeding hints of something in a game for weeks, months, or even over a year and they know something's up but can't quite figure out exactly what until the reveal. It's an excruciatingly fine line to walk to provide enough hints that the answer seems obvious once revealed but the players don't manage to figure it out until the plot reveals it. But the emotional high i get from planning and then executing the perfect reveal is second to none. Close second part of dming is looking up battle maps online and collecting them for my roll20 game. So many of them are such gorgeous artwork. Shout out to czepeku and twominutetabletop, my favorite creators.

When they do something brilliant I hadn't thought of, but also doesn't force me to alter my narrative drastically. Recently my party was ambushed by pirates and things were looking very stacked against them. The bard used his highest spell slot to cast Command and used the command word "Mutiny". Absolute genius. Also my favorite thing is when they read my worldbuilding campaign intro document and make characters that perfectly fit something I need for the narrative I have planned.

#tromb0ning answers #Thank you for asking!!!!!!!!!!!!!!#I could talk about each of these things even more I love the group I dm for #best players a guy could ask for #which is why I do my best to create an emotionally charged narrative #with immersive worldbuilding and nearly murdering them constantly #dm things

2 notes · View notes

silly-goofy-mood · 2 years

Note

7, 26, 49 (fic asks thing)

Thanks for the ask!

Any worldbuilding you’re particularly proud of?

Uhhh well I don't think I've done any worldbuilding in my fics…

Would you rather write a fic that had no dialogue or one that was only dialogue?

No dialogue for sure, I'm pretty sure a few of my fics have little to no dialogue - I haven't done a character study fic yet but I'd be interested to try!

What are you currently working on? Share a few lines if you’re up for it!

I have a WIP inspired by something Reed (Penny in arc 8) talked about in tvc for arc 8, about how elves live for a very long time and will therefore outlive a lot of the people they might've wronged - they compared it to a pendulum, which is the title of the fic. I'm not really sure how to explain it, but I think it'll be interesting.

(The excerpt)

The year is long before any time system we know now. Hyranor is still developing. The northernmost region of the kingdom seems to be stuck in a permanent winter, but the people there make do: their homes have thicker walls, they invent new ways to grow crops so they can survive the cold, they craft cold weather gear. It's not pleasant, but it's perfectly liveable.

1 note · View note

tillidontneedfantasy · 3 years

Text

A Track-by-Track Breakdown of Taylor Swift’s 9th Studio Album: ‘evermore’

“My collaborators and I are proud to announce that my 9th studio album and folklore’s sister record is here. It’s called evermore,” is how Taylor Swift introduces us to this album in its foreword. One might assume a “sister record” would entail b-sides, or tracks that didn’t quite make the cut for folklore, despite Taylor’s explanation that “we just couldn’t stop writing songs.” evermore’s release came at a strange time, upon the heels of the Folklore: Long Pond Studio Sessions film on Disney+, as well as 5 Grammy nominations for folklore. The world still captivated by folklore, it’s understandable why one might not consume evermore as critically. Even as a die-hard fan, I felt some whiplash by this announcement; I am still processing folklore! Hell, I’m still processing reputation!

If this was the Taylor from two years ago, this may have been a big enough fear of hers to hold off on releasing evermore. But as she explained upon folklore’s surprise release, life is too unpredictable now, and there are zero givens or guarantees. So she followed the same path this time (although making sure it fell in line with her birthday weekend). But it’s not just the strategic timing of the release that she’s thrown out the window for now, but also her mindset whilst making records. As she explains in the evermore album foreword,

“I’ve never done this before. In the past I’ve always treated albums as one-off eras and moved onto planning the next one as soon as an album was released. There was something different with folklore. In making it, I felt less like I was departing and more like I was returning. I loved the escapism I found in these imaginary/not imaginary tales. I loved the ways you welcomed the dreamscapes and tragedies and epic tales of love lost and found. So I just kept writing them.”

This is a revelation for Swift, to let the music lead her into artistic freedom, which is what makes evermore such a triumphant return. Truly folklore’s sister record, Taylor wrote evermore with the same creative team: Aaron Dessner of The National (Swift’s favorite band), long-time pal and collaborator Jack Antonoff, Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, and William Bowery aka Swift’s boyfriend, Joe Alwyn (as officially revealed in the Long Pond Studio Sessions). Additionally, former 1989 tour openers and close friends of Taylor, the HAIM sisters, join the crew, along with Marcus Mumford for some dreamy backup vocals.

The production is just as wistful and mesmerizing as it was on folklore, yet the storytelling on evermore is kicked up a notch, expanding on the topics and worldbuilding established in its sister record, with even sharper lyrics and an effective and elaborate use of alliteration. The best thing about Taylor is that no matter what she does, her masterful lyricism is always at the heart of her art, and somehow, she keeps getting better. Once again, I wanted to explore the rich stories she’s crafted in this woodsy universe. This is how I’ve interpreted the album, but I hope you find your own meaning in the songs as well.

1. willow It is fitting that the opening track to folklore’s sister album, where we wade further into the forest that is Taylor Swift’s imagination and storytelling, would center on the type of tree that is a symbol of hope, belonging, safety, stability, and healing. “willow,” one of the few more obviously autobiographical tracks on the album, is a hymn of gratitude for her man (as she wants you to know, yes, thirteen times), Joe Alwyn, and how the invisible string tethering them together pulled her to him in a time when everyone else was counting her out. Though not as present on many of the other songs later to come on this record, you can feel the lightness in her heart on this song as she embraces the way in which the willow has bent, wrecking her plans, throwing her into the water and leaving her happily lost and afloat in his current. The downward key modulation throughout the last two repetitions of the chorus is beautiful and very fitting for Swift vocally, but also sounds like the feeling of finding your comfort and settling into it, basking it in while you wait for the next place the wind pulls you. Best lyric: “Now this is an open/shut case / I guess I should’ve known from the look on your face / Every bait and switch was a work of art.”

2. champagne problems On the second track of the album, Taylor dives back into the fictional worldbuilding she began to explore on folklore. While on folklore high school relationships and dramatics took center-stage, evermore graduates from adolescence to young adulthood, not that it is any easier emotionally on the listener’s heart. “champagne problems” chronicles a rejected marriage proposal between two college sweethearts at their old dorm building. Taylor sings as the narrator, a reflective, self-deprecating young woman who jokes about belonging in a madhouse and dismisses all her turmoil as champagne problems. The term ‘champagne problems’ itself could have various meanings here: their trivial concerns, the fact that their “sister splashed out on the bottle” of champagne that they will not be using to celebrate as they had hoped, or perhaps it could even hint that excessive drinking is a piece of all the ways the narrator is “fucked in the head,” as they said. Although the person she is singing to is the one who got hurt in the story, the hurt in the narrator’s heart is just as palpable and relatable, because you only have yourself to blame when you self-destruct. Best lyric: “’She would’ve made such a lovely bride, / what a shame she’s fucked in the head,’ they said / but you’ll find the real thing instead / she’ll patch up your tapestry that I shred.”

3. gold rush On her YouTube live chat prior to the album’s release, Taylor explained that this song “takes place inside a single daydream where you get lost in thought for a minute and then snap out of it.” The daydream consists of a love story so pure that the town had never seen such a thing; it could only happen in a fantasy for the narrator. How could she possibly have the gall to call them out on their contrarian shit, or end up with her Eagles t-shirt hanging from their door, when they are so coveted by all, and when she cannot withstand the thought of even competing? She sings, “My mind turns your life into folklore / I can’t dare to dream about you anymore,” a sweet little connecting piece to this album’s older sister, effectively convincing herself out of the idea of jumping into the chaos of the gold rush because even inside her own imagination it’s too dangerous. Best lyric: “I don’t like that falling feels like flying ‘till the bone crush.”

4. ‘tis the damn season According to Aaron Dessner, Taylor had written the lyrics for “’tis the damn season” in the middle of the night amidst their Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions recording after a long night of chatting and drinking with their co-conspirator, Jack Antonoff. The lyrics perfectly encapsulate the guttural ache the track evokes. It is a tale of two people who always find their way back to one another in their hometown, which acts as the ever-returning fork in the road. The path taken, back to L.A. in pursuit of her dreams, is the one she chose and continues to choose, but whenever she returns home, she takes a ride down the road not taken, just to get a taste of what could have been, even if just for the weekend. What starts off as an icy homecoming always transforms into the warmest intimacy. The success of this track is aligned with the success of Taylor’s entire career; even with such specific details, it feels so deeply personal to the listener. You know the street you’d drive along late at night laughing, the spot you’d park the car, the person who stars in every what-if. You will never really know if the road not taken is as good as it seems, but that might be ok; sometimes, the fantasy is better than the reality, anyway. Best lyric: “It’s the kind of cold / fogs up windshield glass, but I felt it when I passed you / There’s an ache in you / put there by the ache in me.”

5. tolerate it Inspired by the novel Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, “tolerate it” is an agonizing track from the perspective of a devoted wife who polishes plates and paints portraits and waits by the door for her husband with a battle hero’s welcome, who at best tolerates all her adoration. There are few things as painful as idolization being met with indifference, when you have all this love to give to someone who just leaves it there untouched. “tolerate it” captures that desperation for the approval you know will never arrive, but you sit and watch, waiting for it just in case you’re wrong, but you know you’re not. Best lyric: “I made you my temple, my mural, my sky / now I’m begging for footnotes in the story of your life / drawing hearts in the byline”

6. no body, no crime feat. HAIM “no body, no crime,” the one evermore song solo-written by Taylor, has the clearest plot from beginning to end. In the same vein as the female powerhouse country classic “Goodbye Earl” by The Chicks, Taylor is out for blood to avenge her friend, Este (named for one of the HAIM sisters). The story goes as such: Este’s husband kills her for calling him out on his infidelity, and then Taylor kills the husband and frames his mistress. The HAIM girls, who are long-time friends of Taylor’s and former touring mates, lend their vocals to reinforce the accusation on the husband and to provide Taylor’s alibi. “no body, no crime” is so far the closest we’ve gotten to a return to “country Taylor,” proving that she is still the master of a killer country tune (yes, pun intended, it had to be done I’m sorry). Best lyric: “Good thing Este’s sister’s gonna swear she was with me / (she was with me, dude) / Good thing his mistress took out a big life insurance policy”

7. happiness Written a week before the album’s release, “happiness” is one of Swift’s strongest and most reflective breakup songs. Although she writes it as though it is recent, there’s a lot of power in knowing that she’s been happily in love for four years, and that she is even better now at doing the thing that has always been best at. She is finally “above the trees,” as she sings, and is able to see it all for what it is, but her character is still in the heat of it all, trying to navigate the stages of grief when a relationship ends. We see the narrator grapple with many of those stages throughout the song. Most striking is the anger displayed in the second verse when she sings: “I hope she’ll be a beautiful fool who takes my spot next to you / No, I didn’t mean that, / sorry, I can’t see facts through all of my fury.” That section is jarring and feels like one of the most honest moments in a Taylor song, the insanely difficult emotional balancing act when we are grieving a relationship. The devastation of loss can distort our perception, and a part of that is the difficulty of understanding how multiple seemingly opposing things can co-exist in our hearts, such as happiness because of someone and happiness after them. But when you leave it all behind and finally find your place above the trees, you can find happiness after someone and also look back and appreciate the happiness they once provided. Both of these things can be true. Best lyric: “Showed you all of my hiding spots / I was dancing when the music stopped.”

8. dorothea Taylor Swift has the uncanny ability to create such developed and well-rounded characters with such little information, which is what makes her storytelling so compelling. In “dorothea,” we learn much about the title character through the narrator’s eyes, and the relationship they once had. The lyric “skipping the prom just to piss off your mom and her pageant schemes” alone tells an entire story in itself. “dorothea” is also the companion song to “’tis the damn season,” just from the other person’s perspective, which helps shine even more light on the story. The narrator of “dorothea” reveres her but wonders if she’s still the same soul in L.A. as she was back in their never-changing town. Whatever the answer, they’re still willing to support her no matter where she is, but she’s always welcome back in Tupelo by her hometown love’s side if she ever just wants to be herself rather than someone known for who they know. Besides, they’re the only soul who can tell which smiles she’s faking. And you can always return to the road not taken. Best lyric: “They all wanna be ya / but are you still the same soul I met under the bleachers? / Well, I guess I’ll never know / and you’ll go on with the show.”

9. coney island feat. The National What really started the folklore / evermore journey was Taylor’s love for The National. Taylor has cited them as one of her favorite bands for many years, and as we know, this led to her beautiful new collaborative relationship with Aaron Dessner. So it would make sense for the track written with the intention of this duet to be so well executed; you can feel the love and care Taylor put into writing this song. In her press for these sister albums, she has spoken about trying to channel frontman Matt Berninger’s writing style. But what actually happened was she just produced her own signature lyricism at its sharpest. “We were like the mall before the internet, it was the one place to be / the mischief, the gift-wrapped suburban dreams / sorry for not winning you an arcade ring over and over,” is a hall of famer Swift-ian lyric. “coney island” explores the confusion, hurt, and self-reflection when a passionate affair burns out fast because you did not prioritize that person. And to top it off, Swift and Berninger’s harmonies are achingly beautiful, transporting you right there in the story, on the bench, wondering, over and over. Best lyric: “Do you miss the rogue who coaxed you into paradise and left you there? / Will you forgive my soul when you’re too wise to trust me and too old to care?”

10. ivy Leave it to Taylor Swift to make a song about an affair sound so romantic, and so sympathetic to the narrator, that you’re rooting for adultery. “ivy” tells the tale of a woman in a lifeless marriage, likening her home with him to the tombstone that the widow in town visits each day. I like to think this is the same wife whose husband was out there building other worlds without her in “tolerate it,” because then that means she found someone who celebrates her love, who holds her pain for her, who blooms all over her; they started it, but she’s fighting for it all the way to the end, nonetheless. “ivy” showcases Swift’s gorgeous vocals and her sharp lyrics, with a melody so infectious it is bound to permanently plant its roots in your dreamland. Best lyric: “Oh, I can’t stop you putting roots in my dreamland / my house of stone, your ivy grows, and now I’m covered in you.”

11. cowboy like me With the beautifully blended backing vocals of Marcus Mumford, “cowboy like me” is an entrancing love story of two con artists who lost at their own game and got conned into forever with each other. She’d gone from swindling old men for their money and fancy cars to falling victim to the danger of dancing with someone who only has eyes full of stars, and she knows she’ll pay for it. “cowboy like me” is one of the most romantic tracks on the record, proving that life never plays out quite as we plan. Best lyric: “Now you hang from my lips like the gardens of Babylon / with your boots beneath my bed / Forever is the sweetest con.”

12. long story short One of the more pop-sounding tracks on evermore, “long story short” is pretty much a summary of the long story behind reputation (2017). The song is filled with various metaphors for her reputation crumbling around her, and then finally putting her defenses down to be with her lover, someone as “rare as the glimmer of a comet in the sky.” It is a sweet ode to her boyfriend, and a gentle comfort to her past self that it will all work out. But it is also an oddly relatable example of how we shrug off our struggles and minimize them to just a “bad time,” when the time she is singing about was obviously something that deeply affected her (as will be further explored in the title track); but sometimes it actually feels good to just shrug it off as just a blip in your life, because at the end of the day, you survived, and that’s what counts- even if you’re not keeping score anymore. Best lyric: “Pushed from the precipice / clung to the nearest lips / long story short, it was the wrong guy. / Now I’m all about you.”

13. marjorie Whereas track 13 on folklore was a tribute to Swift’s paternal grandfather, evermore’s track 13 is a tribute to her maternal grandmother, Marjorie Finlay, who was an opera singer in the 50s, and passed away in 2003 when Taylor was 13 years old. “marjorie” is quite possibly the most touching track Taylor has ever written thus far in her career. Grief is one of the most difficult topics to tackle in a song; the genius of “marjorie” is that it is simple, yet not understated. Swift reflects on the profound lessons she learned from her grandmother, about the difficult balances of kindness and cleverness, and politeness and power. She curses herself for not cherishing the moments she had with her, for complaining rather than understanding in the moment how admirable her spirit was, for all the amber skies she’d love but will never see. The chorus, blunt and hard-hitting, reminds us that someone does not have to be living to be alive, to be all around, to be with us. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were singing to me now,” Taylor sings towards the end of the song, right before you hear a sample of Finlay’s opera singing in the background, a truly eye-swelling moment. It is clear that Finlay played a pivotal role in Swift’s own ambitions, as she sings, “all your closets of backlogged dreams, and how you left them all to me.” Marjorie knew she was leaving them in good hands. If you haven’t yet, check out the moving lyric video for the song, where you can see photos and video clips of Marjorie, both throughout her career and in her time with Taylor. Best lyric: “Never be so polite you forget your power, / never wield such power you forget to be polite.”

14. closure On the most experimental track musically on the record, Taylor writes off her need for closure from a relationship of some sort, whether it be romantic or platonic or business, all of which can cause hurt of equal intensity. The subject of the song is trying to make nice with Taylor, and she is just not having it, as it is not coming from a genuine place, but rather to ensure that their life remains picture perfect, or to clear their guilty conscience, or to preserve their own ego. This is a deeply relatable sentiment; as valuable as forgiveness can be, sometimes the person who hurt you just doesn’t deserve it, and all you can do is forgive yourself for blocking their number or shredding their letters. Best lyric: “I know I’m just a wrinkle in your new life / staying friends would iron it out so nice.”

15. evermore feat. Bon Iver To close out the standard edition of the album, Taylor joins forces once again with Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, with whom she collaborated on the Grammy-nominated duet, “exile” for folklore. However, Swift leads most of the track this time, lamenting the difficult time she went through in 2016. The piano and Swift’s vocals are haunting, particularly when she describes this time in her life as “catching my death,” consumed by a pain that she feels will never end. If you’ve ever been depressed, you know what that feels like, and the dark places it leads you. Although she is singing about a time four years prior, it sounds so present, and it is heartbreaking to hear her in such a state. When Bon Iver comes in, the tempo of the song picks up, the piano riff becomes more erratic, like a winter storm hitting you in the face, and he voices all the anxieties of the cost of such a downfall. But through those anxieties, Taylor finds not a cure, but an anchor in love, and then the tempo slows back down. By the end of the song, Taylor has the foresight to understand that although it may not feel like it now, the pain she is experiencing is not permanent (a sentiment my therapist has been trying to instill in me for years). In her Apple Music interview with Zane Lowe, Taylor explained how the lyrics parallel the times we are in currently, and so it feels really special to have the album end with someone who knows how it feels to be imprisoned by your pain gently comfort us with the wisdom that “this pain wouldn’t be for evermore.” I hope one day soon, as we leave 2020 far behind, we can all truly believe her. Best lyric: “I was catching my breath / barefoot in the wildest winter catching my death.”

16. right where you left me (bonus track) The first bonus track on evermore, “right where you left me,” captures a moment so earth-crushing, a piece of you is trapped in it forever. In this song specifically, the narrator finds herself stuck in the same corner of a restaurant where she was told by someone she loved that they had met someone else. “Glass shattered on the white cloth, everybody moved on,” she sings in mourning. We have all experienced those moments that we could teleport back to if we just closed our eyes; the scenery, what you wore, the smell and taste of the season, the very point in your body where it felt like your insides were collapsing. Or that one particular person, who is long-gone from your life but seeing them is like time-travelling back to that person you once were, ready to pick up where you left off. But as much as you want to stay in that moment forever, just in case it changes in your favor, the cold reality is that the world stops for no one. Best lyric: “If our love died young, I can’t bear witness / And it’s been so long, but if you ever think you got it wrong / I’m right where you left me.”

17. it’s time to go (bonus track) “right where you left me” was Taylor’s cry for help to get out of restaurant, and “it’s time to go” is the answer to the call, as she sings in the first line, “when the dinner gets cold, and the chatter gets old / you ask for the tab.” This song is about gathering the strength to leave situations and relationships behind that no longer serve you. She grieves the betrayal of someone she thought to be a twin from her dreams (almost definitely referring to former friend, Karlie Kloss), acknowledges that keeping a marriage together for the sake of the kids often actually has the opposite intended effect (possibly- but not certainly- something she and her brother experienced), and recounts attempting to bargain with someone consumed by greed, only able to leave with herself (absolutely referring to the end of her fifteen-year long business relationship with Scott Borchetta, her former record-label owner). But as painful as leaving all of those situations was, Taylor has gained the wisdom to understand that walking away sometimes takes as much strength as persevering. You can’t stay at the restaurant, or at the mercy of someone else forever; you have to forge your own path, even if it’s in the opposite direction of what you envisioned for so long. And even with all her past success behind her, as folklore and evermore have proved, there is so much more ahead of her. Best lyric: “That old familiar body ache, the snaps from the same little breaks in your soul / You know when it’s time to go.”

In a time where we are all trapped in our homes and in our heads, the folklore/evermore experience has been the sweetest escape. If anything, the creation of these wonderful sister records has taught me that our most powerful tool in times of distress is our own imagination. Even just the ability to close my eyes while listening to one of these tracks and feel the character’s story is a gift. The way I’ve always been able to pick up Harry Potter and escape to Hogwarts when I’ve felt alone and friendless, I can listen to folklore and evermore when I feel scared or hopeless and escape into this enchanted forest Taylor has built, where I can climb above the trees and see it all for what it is. I feel so lucky to watch Taylor’s imaginative world unravel around me. I can’t wait to see what she creates next.

DISCLAIMER – REVIEWER’S BIAS: I would literally die for this bitch.

610 notes · View notes