sysakiddo

[sysakiddo]

yummy pomegranate

[sysakiddo]

first I'd like to say that I adoreeee the diplomacy au to bitsss (gives me hope for my future<33) I am wodering if you're using like your own experiences for inspo/ basing it off the way it kinda works for whatever country you're from or its mostly imaginary? as a fellow IR survivor and current victim of embassy internships, it's soooo different from what I have seen (ofc this is a work of fiction but like where I've interned it was so rare to speak with the Ambassador 1on1 bcz you're just some random kid, to let alone go on vacation with him) so I'm like curious if it's maybe different where you're from or you're just playing it up for the sake of entertainment? sorry for the long ask lmao <333

heyyy!! thank you SO MUCH for this ask and I feel absolutely giddy about the fact that a fellow IR survivor reads my shit 🧡 (and also scared I'm going to write something incredibly lame) So, I originally started writing from my Parisian experience. But of course, you are totally right about the reality of being an intern - I've rarely ever seen our ambassador and our communication mostly consisted of the cringiest mails one can imagine (from HIS side). However, as I said here, my supervisor was the loveliest woman who really pushed me to do my best and gave me a lot of lessons about being a woman in the diplomatic world. We often had lunch/dinner together + with her husband (who was our economic diplomat and the funniest lad) and kept in touch after I left and she helped me a lot with my thesis. So it wasn't the ambassador directly but a diplomat nonetheless who took me under their wing and guided me through what definitely was the worst year of my life so far. BUT I heard some crazy stories from smaller (like 5 staff members small) embassies where the ambassadors are all buddy buddy with the interns and frequently take them out etc. just because they are so bored in their designated countries lmao. (my country is small and has some small-ass embassies, mainly in Africa) So yes, Anne/Max thingy is all made up and only here for the plot lmao. In this story, it's Daniel's situation (he has no idea if there are any interns at his embassy at the moment) which is the og real one. How is your internship going??? I need the gossip bestie 👀

thank you so much for this ask and I hope I answered coherently enough!! if you have any more questions feel free to ask 🧡🧡

#diplomacy au #answered asks

[sysakiddo]

out of context lines

I was tagged by the amazing @onboardsorasora! thank youuu x

The Rules: If you're tagged, make a new post and share one or two sentences (or lines for artists) from your most recent unposted WIP with zero context.

“I really think that we should marry you off, Charles. You have been really bitter lately. Always writing and playing your sad little songs, it's getting a bit old, isn't it?”  Charles whipped a hand his way, scowling hard. “Now you are just being mean.” He snatched the ham Max was holding, eating it before he could protest. He flashed a grin at the outraged look on his face. “Besides, it's you who should marry, your majesty.” 

I'm really bad at tagging so just go ahead lovelies :)

#my writing #tag game

[sysakiddo]

we are SO BACK baby. is Sebchal alive?? Have I succeeded in the CPR?

ao3(with some notes), 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Before lunch, Max is trying to catch up on the lost sleep in the lounge chair. Daniel is swimming with long, strong strokes that smoothly break the water’s surface and barely make any sound. When he dives up and sees Max, planes of milky skin on show, his mouth waters. Max's nose had already started to turn red, and his sunglasses were doing nothing to hide that. 

Max thinks about joining him for a split second, but last night's dream still lives at the back of his head. He breathes in the smell of chlorine, and another memory flashes, him trying to resurface, legs and arms tied, lungs on fire from the lack of oxygen. 

“Cover your tits, Max!” Charles yells across the terrace, framing his mouth with his hands so he's louder. Max doesn't even stir. 

Anne is sitting on a chair, typing away on her computer. Her phone rings and she starts chattering in quick Dutch, something Daniel doesn't even try to decipher. Max, however, sits up when she hangs up. 

“He gave you an E?” he asks, his voice scratchy. 

Anne blushes and nods once. She picks up the drink Charles has poured for her but doesn't drink it. “I guess he didn't really-” 

“Well, that's bullshit. You told me what you would write about and made some great points.” Max stands up, and the shadow from his figure stretches all the way to Daniel. 

Anne sighs and lets Max sit down on the chair next to her. “It's not that bad, Max. He did have some valid criticism-” 

“Honestly, fuck him.” His shoulders are hunched, and his lips are forming a thin line. Daniel's stomach tightens at seeing him like this. 

“I need to try harder. My classmates-” 

Max scoffs. “It's just that, you know, they are all so-” she continues, her voice wobbly now. “I feel like I need to do three times more just to be able to play with them at the sandpit.” 

It always felt stupid to Max to talk to her about the glass ceiling and feminism when he was a white man from a wealthy family. After all, the only other woman here was Pierre's girlfriend. She still hasn't introduced herself to them. 

“Maybe we should introduce her to Mlinarević.” Charles quips beside them and rolls his eyes when Max immediately scrunches his nose. 

“What about Susie?” Daniel asks from where he is leaning on his forearms in the pool. 

Anne nods. “She's nice, yeah. But she's been trying to persuade me to change my nationality for over a year now.” 

“Yeah, we have to figure out something different.” 

Daniel exits the pool, and the water swooshes in short, quick waves. “Maybe you should just drop out,” 

“Daniel!” Max hushes him and Daniel smirks, shaking his hair just beside him so the droplets fall on Max's heated skin. 

Anne just shoots him a smile and turns back to her computer. Max, however, isn't going to let him get away with it. He stands up and pushes into him just as Daniel leans over to get the towel. He falls into the pool with a loud splash, laughing as he resurfaces. 

“Maybe don't try to persuade my mentee to drop out of school, yeah?” Max says, but this time, he is smiling. 

“She's right, though,” Alex unexpectedly joins the conversation. “Poli sci students are assholes.” 

| 

Daniel and Sebastian are put on the market duty for the day. Daniel doesn't mind, thankful for some alone time with the older man.

They walk around the market in silence for a while, Sebastian looking for asparagus and Daniel for some fruits. It's buzzing with life at this time and the smell of lavender is ever-present. Sebastian is the first to speak right after Daniel manages to buy the green apples that Max likes. Daniel thinks they are too sour. “What did he say about Beijing?” 

Daniel purses his lips. “He was very humble with the word count. More of a horrified-facial expression-situation,” 

Seb smirks. “He's going to talk to Jos about it, but I know he doesn't want to go.” Daniel feels his voice tightening and he coughs a little to clear it. 

“It would be a career suicide not to go,” 

Daniel puts on his sunglasses even though the sun is not directly above them just yet. “It's going to be a career suicide for him to go.” 

Sebastian stops by the stand with the asparagus, smiling winningly. “Max is still so young. He can wait a bit.” 

“I think, listen, just between us,” Daniel says in a hushed voice. “They are trying to get him into politics - again. And for the first time, it seems like he would consider it. He thinks he's doing a great job hiding it from me.” 

Sebastian hands him the asparagus he bought and doesn't grace Daniel's gossip with an answer.

“You know something.” Daniel accuses him after he stays quiet for just a bit too long. 

The blond just shrugs, says some French pleasantries to the merchant and turns to look at him. “Sorry, Daniel, you don't have clearance for that.” 

Daniel rolls his eyes and puckers his lips in an annoyed expression. “Yeah, you can fuck right off,” He looks at Seb's tanned hands, the ring-less fingers and shifts to an offense. “Any development in the tortured lovers saga?” 

“Well, funny you should ask. Yesterday,” Sebastian says with a small smile on his lips. “I told Charles I had feelings for him.” 

Daniel whips around so fast that he gets a whiplash. “What?” he yells out and immediately hears a low grumble in French. 

Sebastian has the nerve to just nod. 

“AND?” Daniel is so loud Sebastian shushes him, rolling his eyes. 

“He said he doesn't care,” he continues only after they move on to another stand, this one with strawberries.

“What?” Daniel mouths soundlessly, shocked. 

By now, Sebastian is blushing a bit. “He said he already knew I had feelings for him-” 

Daniel makes a sound but doesn't speak in fear of spooking Sebastian into silence. 

“But-” Seb sighs, observing the strawberries with the eye of a professional. “He doesn't care because he also knows I don't want to do anything about it. Said he could see I'd not decided to do anything about it and he wasn't interested in mind games. But he told me he would always say yes if I asked.” 

“Oh my god,” Daniel whispers like the gossip he is. “This is the most absurd thing I have ever heard!” he says nonsensically, realising it's not true at all. “How do you feel about that?” 

Sebastian stops in his tracks, thinking mutely for a second. “I'm happy. Really, really happy.” 

He smiles, handing the strawberries to Daniel, who takes them, not even trying to hide his astonishment. He can't wait to have a debrief about this with Max.

#maxiel #diplomacy au #max/daniel #max verstappen #daniel ricciardo #my writing #my ficlets #f1 rpf #f1 fic #sebchal

[sysakiddo]

Hi there!!! 🦀 I saw you're a reader so who's your favorite author of all time? And what's your favourite book? ♥️

hellooo! that’s the most difficult question 😭 I do love me some russian classics (yes, I am that person, sorry) and I think I enjoyed everything by Chekhov (his stories are so much fun I promise) and Tolstoy’s works influenced me greatly as a person. BUT I also love romance and feminist novels and thrillers and historical drama so it’s very hard to choose.

so far, 2024’s top three:

1. bell jar by s. plath

2. her body and other stories by C.M. Machado

3. runaway by A. Munro

honorable mention goes to tuckova’s white water which I’m currently reading and is MAGNIFICENT.

thank you so much for your question 🥰🥰 I could literally talk about books for ages if you let me. hit me up if you have any recommendations, I’m always looking for new books to explore!! 🫶🏼

#answered asks

[sysakiddo]

just letting you know your fic is back dated to february on ao3 so isn't showing up under new in the tag! i don't want anyone to miss the wonderful update :)

oh, fuck. I spent the whole French class figuring it out and it should be okay now! Thank you so much for letting me know and taking your time to text me. love 💗💗

#answered asks

[sysakiddo]

I finally edited chapter 6 of diplomacy au y'all! I struggled a bit with a burnout after getting my degree in january lol but hopefully it won't take so long for another chapter to appear!!

ao3, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

“It's like watching the most awkward first date happen in front of your eyes. And you know, of course, that they are not going to fuck.” Max says after taking a long sip of his third gin and tonic. 

Everybody who hears him laughs, already watching the couple standing by the bar. Charles tugs his ear in what seems to be a nervous tick while Sebastian casually leans on the chair, even though he is everything but casual. He watches every move of the man in front of him, shuffling his feet a bit when Charles licks his lips after a sip of his skinny bitch. 

“Pathetic,” Alex laughs, not unkindly. “It seems to me like there is no salvation for them,” George adds, leaning forward on the couch they all squeezed on to see the show in front of them. 

Anne doesn't feel like this is something she can ask them about. That is not to say that she is not terribly curious and confused about how one could refuse Charles Leclerc giving them heart eyes while biting his lips. Instead, she breaches a topic she thinks is a safe zone. “If you think this is tacky, how did you guys meet?” 

Daniel looks at his hands immediately, a nervous huff escaping from his lips. He hates telling that story. He rarely ever thinks about that time now unless he really needs to. The swirling of the ice in his negroni makes a loud noise. 

Because truthfully, Max met Daniel at his lowest. It was in his LA house, where he spent most of his time, the D.C. office vacant more often than not. They turned up just as the sun was setting, Sebastian and Max. It was the older man who insisted on introducing them.

Daniel straight out refused. He didn't care about Sebastian’s little charity project. It went too far, saving aggressive puppies, Jesus. He did not want to meet anyone named Verstappen when he wasn't paid to do so. 

Daniel was barefoot, his swimming trunks still a bit wet. The LV shirt had an obnoxious pink print and it was slipping from his shoulders. It was late enough that he was glowing from the sun, the diamonds on his necklace shining. He looked at the wunderkind, at Max, the youngest ambassador in the US ever. 

Max wore a three-piece suit despite the day being too hot for it. His Berlutis were gleaming, and he was straight-up glaring at Daniel.

“Howdy,” he grinned at them. Sebastian assessed Daniel's pupils, shaky hands and a sheen of sweat on his forehead with a grim face. He gave him the pep talk about easing off the drugs just a few days ago. Max extended his hand, and Daniel shook it. It was a reflex. Max’s palm was warm and soft. 

Sebastian cleared his throat. “As I told you, Max, this is Daniel-” 

“I, of course, know who he is.” Max didn't let Sebastian finish his sentence, coming off unnecessarily rude. Daniel laughed awkwardly. 

“Sounds like I'm famous, baby.” he winked at Sebastian and from the corner of his eye, he saw Max visibly cringe. 

“We met at work, Anne. Sebastian introduced us when we were all in the USA. He is painfully proud of that, calls himself a matchmaker and everything.” Max huffs out a laugh. He knows Daniel feels uneasy and puts the target on his back to protect him. Like usually.

“Who did the first move then?” Anne asks, just as Charles, who lost Sebastian somewhere on the way between the bar and the table, makes it back to them. 

“Oh, Daniel did. It was very romantic.” Max says matter of factly. When Daniel finally looks up, he is surprised to see his eyes foggy, as if he is experiencing the moment for the first time again. 

Nevertheless, Daniel huffs, mad that Max always uses his version of the story. “Romantic? You slapped me!” 

“Well, it is only right I did,” Max shrugs. “I, of course, thought you were making fun of me.”

Charles giggles, which is honestly progress. He was the one who took the fall, consoling Max after he returned from their dinner, fidgeting with his fingers, two red stains high on his cheeks. His voice sounded like he was eating gravel for dinner when he told him Daniel had kissed him. He was rapidly blinking like he was trying too hard not to cry, and Charles still thought it was the best proof of his professionalism, the fact that he hadn’t laughed to his face right there. But. He locked himself in the bathroom after Max somehow calmed down, turned on the faucet, and laughed hysterically. 

Max originally feared Daniel had figured him out and was just playing mind games. He thought Daniel was ridiculing him, or worse, he tried a new technique to manipulate and eventually blackmail him. What enraged him the most was the fact he wasn't prepared for it. He hasn't read a tutorial named what-to-do-when-your-counterpart-kisses-you in any of the assigned readings in the university. 

The only emotion Daniel felt when Max slapped him across the face immediately after the kiss was pure humiliation. He couldn't believe he read the signs wrong, him, Daniel Ricciardo. It was unheard of. Plus, Max did kiss him back for a few seconds. But then. 

And Daniel felt stupid and walked home alone and got drunk alone and fell asleep alone. 

Now, Daniel looks at Max with deep empathy. He squeezes his thigh, smiling. 

“Well, that shitshow was still a lot better than Baku,” Charles says with a grimace. That wasn't Max stuttering and rubbing his red eyes furiously; that was Max throwing random things across the room, his scream ricocheting through the whole hotel floor. 

Daniel snapped at Charles, “No, we’re not talking about Baku!“ Charles smirked, looking at him with a look that meant trouble. But Daniel has never in his life been scared of Charles. He was such a sweet kid before he fell under Seb’s influence. He takes a second to mourn the version of him he knew before he introduced Seb to him. 

“Always you are mad because you don’t want to admit you were wrong. Christian also said you of course did not act according to the protocol.” Max buts in, chronically unable to get over things. 

Daniel turns to Max with a stormy expression, the empathy all but gone. “Christian would also suck your dick if you asked, I don't see how his opinion is valid in this situation.” he spits out.

Charles hums, taking another sip of his skinny bitch. “He does seem to touch you an awful lot, when you are together, Max.” 

“That’s exactly my point, thank you, Charles.” Daniel is done, scoffing. 

Max, however, is just about to start another rant. “But Daniel, I told you your tactic wouldn't work. You pulled out of the negotiations too soon, it was very amateurish from you, you must admit at least that. Who leaves the negotiating table with no backup plan?” he gets into it, flaring his hands around like an octopus. “It just buggs me, you know, that you still blame me. You of course made a mistake, Daniel, and that happens but it was a stupid rookie mistake and you should have apologized-” 

Daniel stands up abruptly. “Hey, Max?” 

For a frightening second, Anne thinks he is going to deck his husband right there.

Max just hums, looking up. “I love you,” Daniel says surprisingly, bending down and giving Max a loud, smacking kiss. Then he turns around and leaves to the bar to stand next to Sebastian who resurfaced in the meantime. 

When Anne looks at Max, he is red as a tomato, glaring at the straw in his drink. “Well, what was I saying-” he stutters, interrupted by the laughter of the men sitting across from him. 

“I can't believe this shit is still working out for him, oh my god.” Alex wheezes. 

“Manipulative bitch,” George quips, still giggling.

Max is unimpressed. “Don't call him that.” he snaps and glares at him, George shutting up immediately. 

Charles looks at Anne and smiles a little. “I think maybe it is time for us to go home. I'm terribly tired. What do you think?”

Anne nods, pointedly not saying anything about noticing how Sebastian kept yawning at his spot beside Daniel.��

||

Daniel doesn't understand why he wakes up at first. It's pitch black, the blackout curtains doing their job properly. He stares at the ceiling for a bit, then closes his eyes to make himself fall back asleep. 

“Ik zal het oplossen.” Max meowls in Dutch next to him. “I just need more time! Ik zal het halen, dat beloof ik. No, no!” 

It clicks for Daniel, Max's rigged breaths, which he has not noticed before. The night air is suddenly too cold. 

He runs his hand up and down Max's forearm, not saying anything but his name to wake him up. When Max snaps out of his dream, his whole body violently twitches, and he slaps Daniel's hand away. 

“Hey, it's okay now,” Daniel isn't deterred, his hand finding a way to Max's hair, waiting him out. “It was just a dream. You are safe.” 

Max's breaths come out staggering like he just returned from his run. After a few minutes, he finally opens his eyes and looks at Daniel. A macabre grimace is on his face, something that wanted to be a smile. 

“I wasn't prepared again, Daniel,” he whispers. Daniel hums, not answering in any way, even though he subconsciously clenches the fist that's not playing with Max's hair. 

“You are safe with me,” Daniel says, trying to ease Max's shivering and make the haunted flicker in his eyes go away. He never shared any gruesome details about his time in military school. But. It's not like he had to. “Do you maybe want to take a shower?” he asks him and Max hesitantly nods.

They only fall back asleep when the birds are already chirping outside.

#maxiel #diplomacy au #f1 rpf #f1 fic #max verstappen #daniel ricciardo #my ficlets #my writing

[sysakiddo]

max had a daniel clause put in his contract like i won’t drive unless i get the cuntiest car and world’s scariest grandpa in the paddock and i won’t do media if i don’t get to bring the boyfriend i didn’t have at seventeen to immediately make the energy in any interview kind of weird with.

[sysakiddo]

I just saw a girl on tiktok talking about how her Palestinian grandma won’t be able to renew her passport with her place of birth as Palestine. She will have no place of birth.

Tell me why people were trying to compare it to Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia etc.

My whole ass family was born in Czechoslovakia. Guess what. They now have a passport in Czechia/Slovakia, depending on where they lived. They have a country to call their own. They have some of the strongest passports in the world.

Palestinians are intentionally being eradicated. Their land bombed and stolen. Please educate yourselves before you say bullshit on the internet.

[sysakiddo]

the vibe i bring to the function

[sysakiddo]

unstoppable force (fearless bisexual max verstappen) vs immovable object (gay panic stricken daniel ricciardo)

[sysakiddo]

[sysakiddo]

I think about that au everyday and I check your blog time to time to see if you updated I love it so much. your writing is so great. I'm obsessed.as we wait for the new chapter would you tell us maybe a lil fact about this au a lil treat to snack on :-)

aww that's so nice of you!! thank you so much 💛 honestly your support feels absolutely surreal and it always makes me unbelievably happy to hear that someone likes what I create.

well a lil fact about this au is that I started writing it after returning from my own internship in Paris and generally struggled a lot. I felt like I was bothering my friends with always talking about it so I was just like you know what. I'll write about it. my boss there was married to a diplomat I shared an office with and they were THE couple. They met when he was her boss but only started dating when he lost his job to her which is iconic behaviour from her. Anyway, lil snack, a snippet from the chapter 6, the fist maxiel meeting:

Daniel was barefoot, his swimming trunks still a bit wet. The LV shirt had an obnoxious pink print and it was slipping from his shoulders. It was late enough that he was glowing from the sun. He looked at the wunderkind, at Max, the youngest ambassador in the US ever. He was wearing a three-piece suit, his Berlutis gleaming. He was straight-up glaring at Daniel.

“Howdy,” he grinned at them. Sebastian assessed Daniel's pupils, shaky hands and a sheen of sweat on his forehead with a grim face. He gave him the pep talk about easing off the drugs just a few days ago. Max extended his hand and Daniel shook it, a reflex. Max’s palm was warm and soft. 

Sebastian cleared his throat. “As I told you, Max, this is Daniel-” 

“I of course know who he is.” Max didn't let Sebastian finish his sentence, coming off unnecessarily rude. Daniel laughed awkwardly. 

“Sounds like I'm famous, baby.” he winked at Sebastian and from the corner of his eye, he saw Max visibly cringe. 

#f1 rpf #maxiel #asks #my ficlets #diplomacy au

[sysakiddo]

“He's got an excellent image, one that helps him to get away with some absolutely insane things at times.”

Pls elaborate!! Is it some of his more aggressive moves on track or is there some Charles lore I am unaware of? Btw I LOVE LOVE your answers to all of these asks they are giving me so much serotonin !!!

Happy serotonin from my yapping to yours! Thank you for the kind words!

Well, Charles has been successful over the years to make Max seem like the insane one. He has managed to gaslight everyone and their mother into thinking that somehow, it was Max being unreasonable back in their karting days (he even said in Qatar that Max has “calmed down”), like he wasn’t the one that pushed them both into the puddle, getting them disqualified. The only person who’s always been able to see through Charles’ insanity is Max, lol.

But, yeah. Because he’s curated this certain persona, people often forget that his moves on track can be more aggressive than Max’s (not something you’d associate with Charles). He’s pretty and polite, all while essentially ending the (peak) f1 career of one teammate after the other. I think it was my fellow academic @valyrfia who argued that he’s the real teammate ‘killer’, not Max, considering Charles always went up against more experienced and in part more successful teammates and came out on top. It’s happening again with Lewis, everyone assuming that Lewis will automatically come in and become the number 1; all while Charles is plotting and biding his time.

People often see him as weak or pliant, and therefore underestimate him. Sure, some may argue that’s him failing to assert himself in certain ways, but I think he’s built this persona on purpose and to his own benefit.

#so interesting!! #demon charles #teammate slayer

[sysakiddo]

finally got around to post the diplomacy au on ao3! I'm working hard on the new chapter as well yaay :)

#maxiel #my fic #f1 fic #f1 rpf #max verstappen #daniel ricciardo

[sysakiddo]

[sysakiddo]

The Bear + Richie's Growth