#borndie

[ol81li]

'this is it.' / antonin

❛   it's  been  a  LONG  season  .  .  .  but  we're  finally  here,   ❜   oliver  replied.  truly  he  was  glad  to  be  at  the  end,  the  season  had  been  a  rollercoaster  -  he'd  led  most  of  it  and  then  fell  FLAT  on  his  face,  and  though  he  still  had  a  chance  mathematically,  he  knew  his  only  real  shot  was  if  someone  royally  messed  up  in  the  final  round.  but  compared  the  week  prior  he  told  himself  he'd  accepted  it,  it  would  sting,  he  could  lock  himself  away  and  get  the  emotions  out,  and  then  move  on,  looking  forward.   ❛   got  any  plans  for  the  break  ??   ❜

[whatsbehindthefacade]

@borndie

Stepping down from the chariot, Drove has to take a moment. It hadn't exactly be the easiest thing to keep steady on, and his bad leg is aching something fierce now from using all his strength to keep himself upright. Bending a little, he massages his calf a bit, wincing at the tightness of the muscles, grimacing at the crinkling of the clothes he'd been forced into. He looks like some sort of stupid cowboy, despite the fact that he's never worked with cattle. His family are shepherds, always have been. But maybe that's not quite as appealing an outfit to the Capitol folks.

When he looks up, Filly has already gone, clearly not bothering to wait for him, and there's no sign of their mentors either. Sighing, he takes the stupid hat off his head, before beginning to limp his way out of the room. By pure accident he ends up bumping shoulders with someone on their way in, and he stumbles, grabbing the wall to steady himself as his leg threatens to buckle. "Sorry," he mumbles, not quite looking around.

[gridlvd]

okay, but i'm driving the car this time. / from antonin

james  sighed  the  moment  he  heard  it,  the  keys  were  already  ready  in  his  hand,  and  it  wouldn't  be  the  first  time  he'd  found  himself  settled  in  the  passenger  seat  no  matter  what  antonin  said,  but  he  tossed  them  over  to  him  anyway,  opening  the  passenger  door  instead  to  get  in.  it  wasn't  that  he  HATED  not  driving,  but  it  was  what  they  did,  it  was  their  job,  so  it  just  felt  abnormal  to  be  sat  there  with  hands  on  his  lap  instead  of  on  a  wheel. ❛   i  feel  like  you're  trying  to  turn  be  into  a  passenger  PRINCESS,  and  i  don't  doubt  the  fans  will  latch  onto  that  like  they  do  with  every  other  little  thing.   ❜   despite  his  words,  james  loved  the  passion  of  the  fans,  even  if  they  did  go  a  little  far  sometimes,  even  if  he  was  now  stuck  with  a  celebration  pose  likely  for  the  rest  of  his  career,  they  MADE  the  sport  what  it  was,  they  bled  for  it  as  much  as  the  drivers  did,  went  through  all  the  motions.

[andpale]

@borndie

not the prettiest sight under the moon, but she nears him anyway. johanna has taken on the persona of a mouse, tip-toeing away to reach the man. she shouldn't be here. it's too late and his daughter is home and they're not even married. art is always too good to her. but this... hopefully, he's learned his lesson. ( oh, but she doesn't want to ever leave him. )

johanna awkwardly tugs on the sleeve of the pajama top she had been lent. it would be an impossible task to gather the courage to look at him now.

❝ are you alright? ❞ ( stupid question, girl! ) of course, he isn't. not only had johanna witnessed him in the midst of a nightmare but she's intruding in his house. obviously, he's embarrassed! why does she go after him now? why does she ask? ... she needs to make sure he's alright. she wants to take care of him like a friend would ( as a wife would ). she wants to be at his side any chance she can get. ❝ art? ❞ a tentative step closer. ❝ do you... need anything? ❞

[hatigave]

@borndie   lock   &   honey   :   ❛   you   look   nervous.   ❜

nervousness   is   a   primal   emotion.   a   tool   for   survival   so   deeply   engrained   in   all   living   things,   it   should   not   feel   like   an   insult.   yet   it   cuts   deeper   than   a   knife        ;        stings   more   than   a   thorn   between   animal   paws.   shifter   does   not   retreat,   instead   puts   their   weight   on   the   injury   to   show   that   they   can   bear   the   weight   of   it   !   ❝   even   fish   know   nervousness   when   the   water   trembles,   ❞   lowers   their   head   but   not   their   gaze,   holds   the   eyes   of   the   boy   who's   been   growing   into   rage   like   a   whelp   into   its   teeth.   ❝   and   you   smell   like   blood.   so   the   water   does   tremble.   ❞

[godbrks]

░ ‧˚ ꒰ ⏾ | | | @borndie, ⁽ 𝕽IFF ₎ ❤︎'𝑑 :

[ ... ] ❛ ❛ yeah, well, this isn't what i expected to be doin' tonight, either. in fact, we ought'a cut & run before things get worse.   ❜ ❜

[ol81li]

❝ take all the time you need i’ll still be right here. ❞ / alex

oliver's  eyes  wandered  to  alex  appreciatively,  his  lip  twitching  into  the  faintest  of  smiles  before  it  slipped  away  to  leave  his  usual  more  passive  look,  a  small  SIGH  falling  from  him.  he  knew  the  step  up  into  formula  1  would  be  difficult,  he  PREPARED  himself  for  the  amount  of  camera's  and  eyes  that  would  be  on  him,  but  it  still  all  made  him  feel  a  little  uncomfortable,  his  interviews  accompanied  by  a  number  of  ‘uhs’  and  ‘uhms’  as  he  tried  to  find  the  right  words. ❛   i  feel  like  i  have  a  babysitter,   ❜   oliver  replied,  he  didn't  mean  it  NEGATIVELY,  it  was  more  just  an  observation.  in  reality  he  appreciated  feeling  like  he  had  someone  there,  it  could  sometimes  become  a  lonely  affair  if  you  didn't  find  your  SUPPORT  systems.   ❛   do  you  want  to  go  get  ice-cream  ??  the  commentators  won't  shut  up  about  it.   ❜

[gridlvd]

‘i’m not like them.’ / from riff (by them, he probably means the other drivers)

❛   i  don't  expect  you  to  be  like  them,  or  want  you  to  be  like  them,   ❜   noah  replied  sitting  back  in  his  seat.  not  being  like  the  rest  of  the  grid  was  an  UNDERSTATEMENT,  but  he  didn't  bother  to  say  that,  he  was  fresh,  new,  savage,  watching  him  on  track  was  like  watching  an  untamed  storm  blitz  it,  and  then  off  track  he  was  like  a  TIGER  ready  to  strike  out  at  anyone  and  everyone.  it  made  the  online  space  toxic,  with  those  who  lived  for  it,  and  those  who  wanted  to  drag  him  down  an  alley  and  beat  him  black  and  blue,  but  noah  had  at  least  been  prepared  for  that.   ❛   you're  raw,  i  knew  what  i  signed  up  for,  and  so  did  you.  so  community  service  it  is,  and  the  FINE  is  taken  care  of.   ❜ noah  was  honestly  thinking  it  might  be  a  miracle  if  riff  made  it  to  the  end  of  the  season  having  been  able  to  partipate  in  every  race,  the  fia  were  on  him  like  a  stack  of  bricks  .  .  .  and  while  YES,  it  was  understandable,  part  of  his  job  also  was  advocating  more  for  his  driver,  that  meant  fighting  his  corner  when  the  interviewers  came  knocking  and  quietening  the  noise  as  best  as  he  could.