#THE TITLE TRACKS ARE ALWAYS GOOD WE ALWAYS CAN TRUST IN THE TITLE TRACKS

[leviscolwill]

sanctuary

pairing: jude bellingham x f1 driver!reader

summary: after an eventful singapore gp, the only thing you can think of is your comfy bed but your body has another plan and your boyfriend isn't happy about that. [wc: 1,6k]

req: Ferrari driver reader x jude where she feels a bit dizzy after a race and kind of faints when they get at the hotel, like just fluff with him taking care of her + CAN YOU WRITE JUDE ANGST THEN FLUFF IDC ABT THE SCENARIO JS JUDE ANGST IN JUDE X DRIVER READER 🙏🙏

contents: established relationship, charles is reader's teammate, ferrari being good au (impossible ik), reader faints, jude is a worried bf, barely has angst ngl 🏃‍♀️, nothing else i think

note: i have no idea how to write about fainting and it probably shows. ALSO, i wrote most of this at 1am so i hope it makes sense (probably doesn't but we move😪)

now playing: sanctuary by joji (nectar)

usually you would say you absolutely loved singapore. the track was one of your favourites on the calendar and you practically counted down the days to this race. but this week was probably the most difficult of your entire career in motorsports. of course, marina bay had never been an easy race, and the weather conditions in singapore were only making it harder to handle. but this year, no number of ice bath and cold shower could appease the dizzying headache that plagued your weekend.

and to add to that, everyone at the team has been stressing you out about the championship. obviously, you were grateful that you could finally fight for one, ferrari had built the perfect car this season. but this came with a price, fighting against charles for the title. you were great friends with your teammate but you had to admit your relationship took a toll with the constant tension between the two of you throughout the season. anyone wearing a bright red kit kept reminding you that you needed to be careful on track, that if you crashed with anyone, but especially with charles, you'd be in great trouble.

thankfully your boyfriend joined you after qualifying, and made your weekend instantly better. he noticed something was wrong right away. of course, you told jude about your struggles but he didn't expect to find you in this state.

"maybe you shouldn't race tomorrow..?"

you took a glance at jude, laid down on the hotel room bed, to check if he actually meant what he just uttered only to find a very serious look on his face.

"yeah, i'll just call fred to tell him i'm feeling sick and don't care about the championship anymore, that's definitely the best choice i have." sarcasm dripped out of your words as jude rolled his eyes.

"just because you had a bad day, doesn't mean you have to give me an attitude." it was your turn to roll your eyes. you quietly got under the sheets and muttered a barely audible 'goodnight', clearly not having the energy to argue with him tonight.

as you closed your eyes you felt jude turn around to wrap you in his arms around you.

"i'm just worried for my girl, that's all." he said, softly kissing your hair. you turned around to face him, having to trace his face before finding his lips because of the darkness of the room, and pressed a quick kiss on his lips.

"i appreciate your concern, i really do. but this race is so much more important than a silly headache. i'll be okay." you kissed him again for good measure. "you're gonna have to trust me with this one."

"i always trust you." the two of you talked some more before falling asleep in each other's arms.

—

the only thing you could think of when you stepped out of your car was your bed. as expected the race had been particularly draining and truth be told, you didn't know if you would be able to stand on the podium in your state. you managed to score a satisfying p2, well it would have been more satisfying if charles wasn't standing on the highest step of the podium, with a 4-point difference before catching on you in the driver's standing.

when the whole team congratulated you on your results, it felt like you were in a fever dream, barely making out what was real and what wasn't. you didn't even notice jude talking to you before he snapped his fingers in front of you.

"are you okay ? should i take you to the medics ?" he asked in a worried tone.

"i'm alright... just need to get through the podium." which did not happen. you ran off stage as soon as the italian anthem stopped ringing in your ears. it was all too much, the heat, the noise, the exhaustion, the pressure. all too much to handle for you.

when you joined jude, he was already talking with your pr manager, telling her you wouldn't be able to do any media work right now. it was the truth, not a petty lie to get away with it. you genuinely felt even more lightheaded (if that was possible) at the sole thought of having to go through a dozen interviews.

seeing you barely standing straight must have conceived her, so soon enough you were on your way back to the hotel in a cab jude called.

you quietly laid your head on jude's shoulder. he barely said a word to you since the podium incident, only asking how you felt, if you drank enough water, and how many hours of sleep you had. you watched him as he typed things on his phone in total silence. you wondered if he was mad at you for putting yourself in such a situation or only worried. regardless, you felt a pang of sadness in your heart thinking about it before drifting off.

—

as soon as jude opened your hotel room's door, you felt your legs giving up on you, your hands found the wall to steady yourself. you could hear jude's voice but couldn't make out what he was saying, like you were underwater.

you tried making it to the bed, but you fell down on your knees and just propped your back against it, waiting a minute before getting up, to get your head to stop spinning uncontrollably.

"y/n. are you okay ?" you felt your boyfriend kneeling down next to you and could finally understand his words, but it felt like they were resonating in your brain, only worsening your headache.

"i'm fine, i'm fine... i just need a moment." you didn't want to worry jude more than he already was, although the weak tone of your voice alarmed him more than anything. you felt him shift around you, and caught a glimpse of him coming back from the bathroom before your eyes shut.

when you woke up, you were laid on the bed with a wet cloth on your forehead. and the first thing you saw was a wide-eyed jude handing you a glass of water.

"i thought about making you drink when you were... asleep? but i didn't want to drown you. so i waited for you to wake up." he was talking fast, too fast for you to fully understand his nonsense.

"hello to you too." your voice was still weak but you felt much better than at the race track. you quickly took a few sips of water before jude tried drowning you for good.

"what's that ?" you asked pointing at the cloth still laying on your face.

"some website said that's what you're supposed to do when your irresponsible girlfriend faints." you hid your face in your pillow at his accusatory words.

"no, but seriously y/n. do you have any idea of how worried i was ? imagine if something wrong happened. god, i knew i shouldn't have let you race..." his words had an angry tone to them and you were confused as to why jude was mad at you over hypothetical scenarios.

"but nothing wrong happened, i even got points. are you not proud of me ?"

"are you being serious right now ? you know i'm always proud of you, points or no points. but you think i'm gonna clap for you after putting yourself in danger like that ?" jude's tone got somewhat angrier but he kept going.

"fuck, when you fainted i already saw myself explaining everything to your mum. you can't take those risks, especially when you drive a fast car for a living. you can understand that right ?"

you felt tears well up in your eyes at his words, thinking about how worried he must have been this whole time.

"i'm sorry, it's just... i've been thinking about the championship a lot. i guess that clouded my judgment." you wiped away your tears quickly, before jude could notice them but it was too late.

"hey, hey, hey... you shouldn't be saying sorry to me, you probably spent a worse weekend than i did anyway. i'm not mad at you but at the situation, alright ?" his fingers stroke the wet spots under your eyes, wiping what was left of your tears away. "i'm proud of you, and happy for your points. but you're not winning a championship by making your dangerous job even more dangerous." his voice and his eyes were soft and you felt your chest get significantly warmer.

"you're right..." the room got silent for a couple seconds at your words.

"what was that ? i couldn't hear you babe" jude had a shit-eating grin on his face and you knew exactly what he wanted, and it almost made you physically sick to give him this satisfaction.

"i said... you'reright." you tried getting those terrible words out as fast as you could, but he wasn't happy with that.

"mmh mmh, that won't do... say it nice and loud for me love." you felt your face heat up, both in fluster and embarrassment at his words.

"you're right." your words had a defeated tone to them, but jude decided that would be enough by the way he didn't taunt you anymore.

he moved and got under the covers with you, even though you were gonna have to get up again as you were both still dressed. he just wanted to share this little moment of peace with you.

"you know, it's crazy how you drive the fastest car in the world but can't survive singapore's heat for a weekend." you playfully elbowed jude's ribs at his teasing.

you were grateful to have someone like jude to support you and your intense lifestyle, but also someone to talk about silly little things, legs tangled under the sheets.

#i can write a pt2 with another req #in which reader wins the wdc #and something cute happens #anyone wanna see it ? #jude bellingham one shot #jude bellingham imagine #jude bellingham blurb #jude bellingham x reader #jude bellingham #jude bellingham fluff #jude bellingham fanfic #football one shot #football fanfic #football fluff #footballer imagine #football imagine #football x reader #football x you #football x y/n #jude bellingham x y/n #jude bellingham x you

[shaarlslec]

me and the devil

words: 2769

part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5

warnings/notes: charles leclerc x reader, none for now; i've been gone but now i am back and i am trying to get back into writing, this is only an introduction to help me get back on track;

inspired by: Soap&Skin - Me And The Devil, The Neighborhood - Afraid, The Academic - Why Can’t We Be Friends?, lovelytheband - i like the way, The Wombats - Turn , Wallows - Pleaser

masterlist

You have been friends before being teammates, each developing what seemed to be crushes on the other during that time. Then, you helped him achieving what he had always craved the most by playing the good cop of the game – and now you were turning on him. 

Two championships in the bag since the 2024 season, Charles Leclerc was now fighting for the third one. Flued by the mistakes and wrongdoings of his team and his alone, Charles changed the game, and he was not planning to stop anytime soon. He had to win, he had to be the best that there ever was – and winning two championships represented the beginning of his legacy. 

Charles had realized three seasons ago that the good old ways of listening and submitting to his team’s orders was not working anymore for him and his goals. Trusting them with his whole heart that they have a plan for him somewhere soon in the future neither. 

First season since the attitude adjustment brought him the second place in the Championship miles away from third place, and the other two the winning title bringing the Italian team back on top, instituting dominance back on the grid. How that managed to happen, everybody wondered when the answer was rather smile – Charles Leclerc was done being nice, obedient, and sweet.

The Monegasque flicked a switch, decided not to follow Xavi’s words all the time over the radio and stopped the hope tap, instead Charles began staying up late every single evening after a race with the engineers and strategists to plan the best way to fetch the next win, not letting them move a finger without him knowing. The entirety of Charles’ life outside and inside the track was Formula 1, not even bothering to afford leisure time anymore, hours and hours of training, testing, and manhandling. 

Starving for the win every time when he passed Max or Lewis, never switching positions with his teammate if asked too and sarcastically apologizing for any accident he had provoked due to his now very risky driving – no matter the drivers who were involved. That is what Charles had to do to put his team back on top, and to stop the laughs coming from his haters. Failures can make a man turn bad, and it has turned Charles Leclerc for good. 

Ferrari minded at first, but after seeing how a good guy turned bad can win them races, can win them points, can cash for them, and put them back at top, the comments towards him from the team had stopped. No matter how harsh Charles replied to interviewers and no matter how much fuss he was making over the radio – they let him rule. 

You were bothered by that to an extend that those sleepless nights that Leclerc had in the garage were your own too – figuring a way to beat him at his own game as his teammate. Yes, the truth was that Charles Leclerc could have not done it without you, without his sweet lieutenant: the one who agreed on being Ferrari’s second driver and forever little helper for Charles Leclerc to shine. 

You took Ferrari’s seat two years ago, and the timing could have not been more unfortunate for you to take your shot at one of the bigger teams after rookie years of switching seats in between midfield ones. You were proud to be one of their drivers as everyone dreaming of racing could have been, and it was meaningless to say that part of the excitement of sharing spots with Charles was highly impacted by your undying little crush on him since you were just a junior. 

Those feelings of admiration, marvel and curiosity swiftly turned into resentment throughout the two years. Oh, what complications your feelings for Charles were. In the same fashion, what complications you joining the team was for Charles. He knew you, and no in the way the others knew you – but in the way of him being your mentor throughout the years. He had always been talented, and you caught his drift from earlier on watching him climb the ladder as you followed in his steps.

You followed him around when you could, being five years younger than him and not attending the same tracks and leagues as him made it complicated to do so – and yet, you managed. Charles saw something in you too, although you two were not exactly from the same generation – he took his time before F1 races to watch you drive in your F2 ones and watch closely if you were taking his advice. He liked to think about you as somewhat an investment, but what do you do when you start to find your investment as something so much more?

The little protégé turned into the protector, having Charles’ back anytime he needed, changing positions with him every single time when asked, putting him ahead of you all the time for the sake of the team for two whole years. Your mentor-mentee relationship changed since you two were now teammates, and when you were not faking it for the sake of PR and Ferrari’s imagine – you were playing catching mouse most of the time. You obeyed for the first two years, and yet you were the first one to be feed up about Charles Leclerc’s villainous attitude that got him winning championships in the first place. Therefore, you were becoming a threat now although people in the time were already talking about your shift – Charles Leclerc was the first one to feel it. 

“I am pretty sure I am faster than him.” You spoke quite calmly to your race engineer hitting the DTS zone while being 0.782 seconds behind P1 that Leclerc hardly managed to keep due to his tire degradation, “I am not waiting for your approval, I am passing him.” You declared, fingers almost crushing on the steering wheel. 

“No, no, Y/N. Do not pass him, I repeat – do not pass Charles.”

If you could have rolled your eyes at the engineer, you would have done it in the most annoyed ways he had ever seen a woman disgusted by his words ever in his life. Instead, you keep your calm and speeded. Leclerc was not the only driver that was not listening to his team, you were not either – he thought you that through his actions, right? Well, Charles taught you most things you know about how to race for Ferrari.

It was never easy to pass Leclerc, especially this season since Ferrari managed their best to produce a car according to his driving style (jokes were on him in that matter, since you have been mimicking his driving style since you were fourteen). And yet, through the ten races this season had so far you quite enjoyed every single battle on track with your teammate. Full concentration on, you battled Charles for almost one full lap teasing him enough for his tires to almost fail completely and for your entire body to ache at every single taking of a risky turn wheel to wheel with him. 

Fans were in awe; Fred and the whole team were at the edge of their seats with hands clasped praying you two will not crash like you did during the season’s last race (causing your car to be retracted), and as you passed Charles and maintained the ten last laps ahead of your teammate with a teensy half of a second gap or even less you knew that everyone was going to talk about how you stole P1 from Leclerc for the third time this season. Also, you knew how Leclerc’s reaction was going to look like in front of the others. Calm, restricted and with a congratulatory smile all over his pretty damn face. Fuck, it would have been easier for everyone (especially for you) if Charles were not to have such a pretty damn face. 

“You needed to be stubborn, weren’t you?” Charles spoke as soon as your helmets were off and you were waiting your turn to hop on the podium after Max claimed the third spot, making sure that you two were the only ones hearing his words. 

“You need to stop acting like a prick, don’t you?” You returned the comment making him room to pass you, “Go on now Leclerc, claim your second.” You dared to mock even further, blood boiling inside Charles’ insides as his dreadful glare pierced you with the additional shake of head and a corny smirk sprung on his face. 

That was usually how many of your conversations with Charles went lately, sarcastic comments and calling each other on your surnames, faking the coldness of what was a made-up reality in between the two of you. In that type of a reality – you two hated each other when, in fact – you were drowning until the pits of hell together not in heathered but in a form of lustful longing and yearning Dante wrote about.  

It was useless to say that your relationship was a twisted complicated one. You have been friends before being teammates, each developing what seemed to be crushes on the other during that time. Then, you helped him achieving what he had always craved the most by playing the good cop of the game – and now you were turning on him. Oh, more than acquaintances, less than friends and under many circumstances craving to be lovers. 

The evening after the race called for a huge party thrown into your honor and the 1-2 finish for the team, and the timing could not have been more perfect as that was the last race before the summer break. You needed this, you deserved the win – and you were going to celebrate with everyone who wanted to do so. All the drivers were invited, Charles Leclerc included. Most of you knew that he will not came. Charles had missed most of the parties in the past two years, even though most of them were thrown for him.  

“He is going too far with his World Champion vibe.” Norris spoke as the group you were with at the bar were talking about the bet that has been placed at the beginning of every party in the last year or so: will the champ come? 

You slightly sighed, your bid for tonight was “no” no matter how much you would have wanted him to truly celebrate with you your win. You took one of the shots that were placed across the bar and drowned it whole. That’s it Y/N, you have to abandon the idea that he still finds you likeable. 

Shaking your head due to the high percentage of alcohol you found burning your mouth, you turned to Norris and gave him frowned look, “You always choose the most grotesque shots to start the night with.” You added, napkin now glued to your lips. 

Norris’ eyebrows cockily twitched up, “Wait until you see the other that I have plan—” Norris begun to speak but shut his mouth tersely as his eyes went behind your shoulders fixing them on whatever he saw that made him grunt, “Oh fuck – losing all my money again just because of him.” Norris muttered, eyes rolling as well. 

Your heart sunk the moment Norris’ finished, Charles was right behind you. You could have caught that judging by what Norris just said, and yet what gave it away was the scent of that one Prada perfume you knew too well. Looking over your shoulder, your glare fixed Leclerc who was already looking right back at you. Besides sarcastic and bitter comments, excruciating long enduring stares was one of your things too. Perhaps they meant something more than just seeing who is winning at the game of asserting dominance, something in between the lines of “I want to touch you, and yet I am afraid I might get burned.” 

“Don’t give her too many shots – she gets drunk easy.” He commented, and of course the very first thing your teammate said in a mass of people was about you. 

“I don’t.” You childishly replied without breaking the eye-contact, knowing very well yourself that your alcohol tolerance was not something you could show off like you do with your driving skills. 

Leclerc let a short amused chuckled escape from between his lips, “Let’s agree to disagree.” He then added, taking a shot as well after quitting in fixing your glare with his – you won this time too.  

“That is all you two have been doing since the beginning of the season, aren’t you bored yet?” Russell interviewed with a swift move inside the party, patting your shoulder and gently taking you into a warm embrace, “Congrats darling, awesome drive today!” He then added, joining Leclerc for shots but not before he metaphorically turned the knife inside his friend, “I wish I could say the same about you too, Charles.” 

You mimicked an embarrassed smile watching Leclerc giving George a side-eye, “Thank you, George.” You added, not missing on the chance of mocking Charles together with him, “You did your best, don’t mind George.” You bittersweetly spoke, Leclerc placing the empty shot glass back on the bar and giving you one of his signatures shake of disapproval accompanied by a short silence before a scornful comment. 

“Since when does George Russell call you darling?” Leclerc then asked, watching George and Norris make their duty in finding homes for the remining shots made of the other drivers’ hands. 

Your shoulders shrugged, “I guess it is a British thing.” You shortly laughed, “And since when do you care how other drivers call me?” You wondered, catching yourself too comfortable to really laugh in presence of Leclerc without the laughs being results of sarcastic comments exchanged in between the two of you. 

Leclerc’s eyes widened for a short while as he found himself a contented position next to you, who were sitting on a high-bar chair making yourself stood a little taller to Charles’s side, with his elbow pressing the bar’s surface and his chin sustained in his palm, forearm fully into your sight now as well as his peering eyes on yours again. To add to this whole thing, Charles’ other hand wrapped its fingers on the edges of the chair you stood in.

Inches away from each other while the others were taking their seats at the woodened table at your left next to the bar waiting for the food, you two felt like you were alone in the whole entire restaurant – just as you feel when your cars are creeps away on the track.   

“I don’t.” Charles replied, fingers gripping on the chair even tighter – sign that Leclerc actually did care on whatever appellatives others used for you when you two only permitted surnames in between the two of you, “We need to talk about today.” He then voiced and you could feel your heart sinking right into your stomach. 

“We don’t.” You added, getting down from your seat with a hasty move that meant being trapped in between the chair and Leclerc for a brief second before he took two steps back, almost as if he was careful of your bodies not to accidentally collide, “I have nothing to say to you – I was faster and I passed.” You smiled right back at him, “Sucks to be the second driver at Ferrari for the day, right?” You spoke looking over your shoulder as you made your way to the table next to the others. 

You left Charles hanging in there with no chance to reply. He breathed slowly, and after selfishly taking another shot from the bar, your teammate followed your steps towards the table but made sure to sit across from you. 

Hours passed, food was served and finished, drinks were aligned and tasted. You enjoyed celebrating your win, and you would have wished for the one standing across the table from you peering with those beautiful damn eyes catching yours from time to time analyzing them back, to celebrate it with you too. Yet, that was unheard off – Charles Leclerc was not celebrating other drivers’ wins anymore. 

You liked sweet Charles better than villain Leclerc, and you caught yourself thinking about this while Charles was exchanging shots with Pierre at the bar that evening laughing about unknown whispers coming from the French driver right at Charles’ ears.

In all loudness, Charles’ laughs echoed the most in your head and you would have been able to give up all your wins for him only if that guaranteed you that Charles that you knew back into your mentorship years could come back – that is how complicated being teammates with Charles Leclerc was for the moment, and how much more complicated it will become now that you were turning into the devil you were so afraid of walking with. 

#he is so boyfriend coded is not fair #charles leclerc #charles leclerc imagine #charles leclerc fanfic #charles leclerc x reader #charles leclerc one shot #charles leclerc fic #charles leclerc x y/n #charles leclerc x you #charles leclerc x female reader #f1 fandom #f1 fiction #f1 fic #f1 fanfic #f1 imagine #f1 x y/n #f1 x you #f1 x reader

[frostbitebakery]

If you are still doing the wip titles game thing I would be interested in seeing what "The Commander Is Alright" is (The Commander isn't alright, is he?)

Something is going on with Obi-Wan’s Commander. He’s competent, incredibly so. He’s the rock many of the clones lean on. He’s dependable, caring. Brave. Always calculating the odds, and his laugh warms Obi-Wan’s soul.

He’s kind. He’s expecting the best and inspires the best. And he’s lonely.

When they met, Commander Cody’s light in the Force was almost blinding, so Obi-Wan had closed his eyes and soaked up the warmth.

Still, he tends to keep away from others. He’s never taken off his helmet in Obi-Wan’s presence. Even when they’re alone and griping over after-action reports and requisition forms.

Perhaps Obi-Wan hasn’t earned his trust yet. Which, going into the second year of the war, is no small hurt. But Obi-Wan respects the decisions and boundaries of others. And yet, the light his Commander emits is almost too bright. Bright enough to not see what’s behind it.

So, what happened, unofficially, was a training accident that landed Cody in a coma just before Geonosis. The mad scrambling to cover it up, to start a clone generations-spanning conspiracy within the medical branch to keep him hidden and alive.

Commander Cody, officially, finished his CC training with the highest marks, fulfilling the expectations placed on him. He was tracked to join General Windu in the war but Alpha 17’s injuries changed that course.

“You need to be careful,” 17 had advised him while holding his slack hand in broad palms. “He’s observant and clever. They all are. You need to be your best and he will look away whenever you need him to. He’s a good man, and, in this, you need to take advantage of that.”

The hollow armor in the corner straightened up, saluted sharply. “Understood, sir.”

It had been a miracle, or maybe Cody is just Force-sensitive enough to pull miracles like this out of his ass. Instead of enjoying the vacation a coma provided, he possessed his own armor and faked having a body while his batch, his siblings, his friends in the medic branch got in on the hoax.

“We keep your body alive and figure out how to wake you up. You win the war.”

That had been the deal Alpha 17 had laid out for him.

Cody thinks, sometimes, he’s got the easier end. He’s a strategist. He’s a hardass. He gives everything to keep as many of them alive as possible.

He just hasn’t expected General Kenobi to crawl under his metaphorical skin. Maybe he actually can share this secret with him.

The culmination of all that is a happy end with the chips being discovered, Palps having an unfortunate yet hilarious interaction with a bullet, and:

Armor pieces clatter to the ground, one by one. They don’t distract from Cody’s brilliant, transparent smile, from the cheeky, perfect salute. “It’s been an honor fighting this war by your side, sir.”

Obi-Wan grins back. They survived, they won. Many a difficult task lie ahead of all of them. But they’re here to do them. He bows, deep and respectful as Cody deserves. “The honor is all mine, Commander.” The last piece, one of the vambraces, hits the ground, leaving the blue hue of Cody’s appearance behind. “Time to bring you home, Cody,” Obi-Wan promises.

#codywan #commander cody #the commander is alright #my wips

[batsplat]

February 2014 (text from Mat Oxley's The Valentino Rossi Files: Everything I've ever written about VR: From 2008 to now):

During the winter the nine-time champ spent more time than usual thrashing round his dirt track ranch, keeping himself mentally and physically sharp and getting used to a motorcycle moving around beneath him. He knows that Marc Marquez’s ability to ride on the ragged edge with a more muscular, more sideways style is changing MotoGP, so he needs to change with it. Rossi may never look as spectacular as Marquez on a dirt bike or a MotoGP bike, but both his former and current crew chiefs believe he can do better than he did last year, when Marquez made him look rather second rate.

Rossi on inviting Marquez to the ranch:

"Yeah, for sure, a lot of time. But I think that Emilio [Alzamora, Marquez's manager] is not very happy that Marc come because he said that after we make a race and maybe it's dangerous." (x)

A Sideways Glance at Misano 2014, including pre-event karting on Wednesday night where Marquez reportedly struggled:

Misano 2014 (text from Mat Oxley's Valentino Rossi: All His Races):

^ Márquez won the first ten races of 2014 and this was the first time all year he was beaten in a straight duel. He couldn't handle Rossi's pace at Misano, so he ended up losing the front and falling.

Valentino was fast throughout practice and secured his first front-row start of 2014. [Rossi was asked after qualifying about the threat posed by Marquez and Lorenzo, identifying Lorenzo as the favourite before adding, "But you never know with Marc. He's a bastard."] In the race he rode better than in years, hanging his upper body inside the motorcycle more than ever before to increase turning. He snatched the lead from Lorenzo and then fended off Márquez, who struggled to find enough grip to match Vale. At one-third distance the world champion pushed it too far and slid off, so Vale cruised home 1.6 second ahead of Lorenzo. His crew had done a great job of creating maximum grip via adjustment to chassis balance and electronics set-up. His 107th GP victory showed he was once again as fast as anyone, because when he won at Assen 2013 he didn't have to beat Márquez, Lorenzo or Pedrosa, who were all injured. "It's fantastic to come back to victory again," he beamed after his first win with [new crew chief Silvano] Galbusera. "I knew we could fight and I pushed from the start. I always work hard and never give up and trust that days like this can happen."

^ The breakthrough win at Misano. For the first time since his return to Yamaha he had gone head-to-head with Jorge Lorenzo and Marc Márquez and beaten them both. From this moment another world title was a possibility.

(x for more details)

Aragon 2014 press conference:

Rossi: Revenge at the ranch! No, first of all, we enjoy a lot, because have a lot of riders and also from superbike and a lot of bike on the track and was a good day, yeah. Marc was very fast, already fast like me at the first time, as always, and I think he did the best lap time but I won the race so is 1-1, so is... come si dice, pareggio pareggio [tied]. Marquez: Yeah, yeah, was really nice, you know, I was really [impressed] to see his circuit, his home, because in the future I would like to have, because was impressive and riding there was all the riders was really nice and... like Valentino says, we were there fighting together like in Misano race more or less, but yeah... the important thing is that we enjoy it and was really nice to ride there with him and also with the other riders.

Valentino Rossi, Marc Marquez and the Ranch

#rosquez #// #4693 #2014 ranch #cleaning my drafts at last... i was initially just gonna include the stuff i've not seen shared but uh might as well throw in everything #'i also invited valentino' 'don't worry he's not going to invite me' 'you saw a very raw kid looking up to a hero' *chews pillow* #'i think he did the best lap time but i won the race' does tickle me. as if he doesn't remember exactly #one thing i do find interesting about the ranch visit is that vale's not really spoken about it again #my scientific analysis is that the presser vibes for the rest of 2014 were good but make a sharp-ish downturn Pretty Early in 2015 #very valentino for the ranch to represent both respect and cooperation between riders as well as his relentless desire to win #went to double check that tweet was legit and. uh. heartbreaking: man named chad reed has awful political opinions

[eriexplosion]

Bad Batch Season 3 Episode Title Predictions

Okay, so I've poked at the trailer enough that I think I can do a series of predictions that is likely to topple like a house of cards immediately but hey what else is this month of waiting for? Here is my very rough outline of what I'd love to see in season 3 based on nothing but the trailer and Vibes.

Episodes 1-3, "Confined" "Paths Unknown" & "Shadows of Tantiss"

These three seem pretty obvious, we'll likely catch up with Omega and Crosshair first in Confined, which is likely where we'll see these clips from the trailer:

As well as probably the (SAD AS HELL) discussion between Omega and Crosshair shown in the Celebrations trailer. Mix their scenes in with catching up on Hunter, Wrecker, & Echo - I'm actually really attached to the idea that Echo is searching for Tech, having not given up on him. This also parallels to Omega talking to Crosshair, about not giving up - I think that's going to be a theme this season. Can't run away, can't give up. But if Echo is searching for Tech then it might just be Hunter and Wrecker right now, likely giving us a few of their action shots together.

I do think that Omega and Crosshair's escape attempt is going to be relatively early in the season - either at the end of Paths Unknown or the very beginning of Shadows of Tantiss. I went into it more in this post and paired up a few shots of Tantiss' defense systems as well as the crashed ship with Omega and Crosshair. From the look of it, they likely don't make it off planet due to the damage and crash land and have to try to escape and, in the process, are split up and lose each other. Possibly they are able to contact the batch, who are on the way to try and get them when things go wrong.

My guess is that by the end of this three parter we'll have Crosshair reunited with the batch, or about to be, Omega on her own trying to evade Hemlock and his men, and somewhere along the line our reveal that Tech is alive because at this point I can't see them not aiming at a comeback with how hard they're trying to keep his 'death' on all our minds.

Episode 4 - "A Different Approach"

If Crosshair didn't meet up with the batch by the end of the previous three, then probably he does it here, I just get the sense that he's been gone for so long that we need to get him zipped up with the others early in the season, especially since we'll have several reunions to get to by the end of the series.

With Omega still separated but hopefully out of Tantiss at this point, they have to adjust how they plan to find her. She's now a moving target, because she's on the run still and likely unable to contact them. Echo will meet back up with them here, I think, maybe with info on wherever Tech is (my prediction: still on Eriadu in some fashion, either held with the good old pirates & smugglers or possibly by Tarkin himself, but I'm hoping the pirates & smugglers) and Rex will likely come too. I do think that they have their exchange about losing brothers here but rather than being about Tech, as the trailer implied, it's about Nemec or Fireball (or both) who possibly died getting the information. I just feel like those two are not long for this world, unfortunately.

We'll also follow Omega here, now completely alone for the first time. Previously she always had the batch, then she at the very least had Crosshair. Now she has neither and she has to try and figure out what to do. The title does dual work here, both the batch and Omega have to find a different approach in order to try and reunite.

Episode 5 - "The Return"

I feel like this is going to be a mostly Omega centered episode. Where is she returning to is the question, I still think that this refers to a place rather than a person returning. Pet theory - Cid put out several bounties on her to try and get her tracked down and rescued and she gets a blast from the past when she's grabbed by Bane a second time and taken to Ord Mantell. She of course is Not trusting Grandma Crimes anymore, but Cid is trying to redeem herself and fix what she broke.

While this is going on, the parallel return is the batch getting to Eriadu in order to set up the two parter.

Episode 6 & 7 - "Infiltration" & "Extraction

With the batch set up, they're ready to go get Tech from wherever he's been stuck! These two are likely more action oriented, with a little bit of Difficulty between Crosshair and the others after so long apart, but they find their footing well enough and begin to work together in order to get Tech out. They're 5/6ths of the way to a full family, they just have one more to get a hold of!

Episode 8 - "Bad Territory"

Getting fully into Pet Theories here but I think that this shot from the trailer

is Batuu - going mostly from the distinctive looking spires here. Another possible Omega focused episode, Cid is taking her to Batuu to cash in a favor. Not one owed to her - one owed to Omega, by Roland Durand. (LISTEN HERE'S HOW INFESTED BEING RELEVANT CAN STILL WIN-)

Anyway the focus here is on Roland trying to link her up with the batch. This might be a good place for Fennec to make her reappearance too, working from the Batch's end.

Episode 9 - "The Harbinger"

I'll be real I have no idea, my ideas started getting thin right about here, but I will say the title sounds like a great place for Ventress and the Teth monastery to make their appearance (I'm assuming they'll be together) but how they would actually play into the plot if they appeared here is unclear. I do think that we'll finally get everyone together though or at least be on our way to it, in order to bring us to our next two parter.

Episode 10 & 11 - "Identity Crisis" & "Point of No Return

The team is back together and all is not well, because everyone is still suffering a severe case of the Issues. No one can agree on what to do, where to go, with the identity crisis being the batch unsure of how to move forward together. Omega of course gets immediately stressed out by it all because it seems like she finally got her family back together only for it to immediately start falling apart. Wrecker is probably right there with her. Tech & Phee have their moment together, Echo still thinks they need to fight and I think that Crosshair is going to tend towards that too. Hunter at least absolutely wants to retire to Pabu right now immediately, but as the show has been trying to demonstrate, avoiding things won't be an option because-

Point of No Return is the dreaded invasion of Pabu. The Empire followed them here in order to retrieve Omega, and they barely escape, evacuating as many of Pabu's residents as possible. Shep doesn't make it out and is imprisoned.

Episode 12 - "Juggernaut"

This is where like a full quarter of the trailer comes from because they can show us several exterior tank shots without showing who's in the damn tank. I think the point of this one will be to get Shep back, since it does look like him that Wrecker is carrying. We know that Crosshair, Hunter, and Wrecker at a minimum will go in, but I think likely Omega and Echo are there (likely together thus being why we don't see much of Echo in the trailer) and Tech might be with Phee.

Episodes 13-15 - "Into the Breach" "Flash Strike" "The Calvary Has Arrived"

Grouping these three together because I have no idea what happens here except that we're likely going to be mounting an attack to take down Hemlock and, hopefully, free all of the clones that he's been experimenting on. The time for hiding is over, they have to take a stand against the Empire. Not because they're soldiers, but because they're a family, and the other clones are still their brothers.

For the first time, we don't leave our own behind can get followed and they're going in.

The Calvary Has Arrived is not a title I can see going dark to be quite honest, it's more of a full circle moment, it's the Batch becoming who they're meant to be, a family that fights for each other and for the other clones, I will cling to the idea of a happy ending (hopefully one that sets up a continuation that might focus more on Rex and his clone rebellion) until it's ripped from my cold dead hands thank you very much. I think that after the family has spent two seasons absolutely torn apart, becoming increasingly fractured, the best ending is one that has them finally united, all six of them, for the first time.

Like Omega said. They're more than soldiers. They're a family.

#the bad batch #the bad batch speculation #VERY SPECULATIVE

[dailyniallnews]

Interview with Niall Horan, ex frontman of One Direction

If the global success with One Direction is now far behind, the fortune that Niall Horan is enjoying as a solo artists is very current. His third album was just released. Emblematic title: The Show, and the show could not get better than this. Article by Leonardo Clausi

Precisely because this is the new age of anxiety (from the title of the poem by W. H. Auden The Age of Anxiety, 1947, and from Symphony n. 2 by Leonard Bernstein inspired by it, 1949), Public Health around the world should prescribe listening to Niall Horan. As anti-anxiety medicine, tonic for the psyche, emotionally restorative medicine. Really, who else in the modern soft rock world is as capable of tuning in for ten tracks on an equally balmy wavelength, without ever straying into drama or comedy, as Horan does on The Show, third album since he went solo after the dissolution of One Direction, the (boy)band who competed with the Beatles in music sales? Not even the much more wanted colleague Harry Styles, with his unapologetic Bowie-ism that annoyed Tony Visconti so much.

30-year-old Horan doesn't have the same ambitions. We could easily ask him to go and pick out our daughter from school because he is so.. fragrant? Since 2016 - without stopping except from when forced by the pandemic - he's been writing music and bringing it on tour. A constant motion of three albums, the feverish craftsmanship of a diligent entertainer devoted to the career that he was raised in thanks to the shortcut, sometimes a brutal one, with which talent shows have short-circuited the discography and industry of A&R (Artists and Repertoire). We intercept him as he drives, always busy as a bee. "I just came back from America yesterday. Today I am in Liverpool. It's constant travelling, I spend most of my time jetlagged". He is understandably satisfied with his latest discographic effort, which will become the center of the homonymous The Show Live on Tour, with the Italian stop on 21st March 2024 at the Mediolanum Forum in Milan: "I spent a lot of time writing and producing it during the pandemic and the year after. I’m happy, the response has been very, very interesting around the world". Not surprising, considering the melodic quality of the tracks, touched by the Californian light of the Laurel Canyon, with vocal harmonies reminiscent of the Beach Boys, and references to the Eagles and Fleetwood Mac. "I trusted that I could write a song. I knew I had the ability to do it. I just needed to trust that I could get a guitar, or sit at a piano, and something good would come out of it. It's out, but you never know. I need to keep my head down, work hard and see".

The 70s were his first introduction to music through records (or vinyls, as hipsters say), which were floating around the house; the real love however started "when I realised how lucky I was to have grown up with music that stayed with me to this day. My parents had a large album collection. I still listen to a lot of them now. When I’m in the studio I often use analogue mixing desks, it’s an important part of the sound I’m looking for". Speaking of the search for the 'organic' sound that digital audio is not able to embody all the way, what does he think of artificial intelligence, now that creators in the entertainment industry are taking the streets as well to protest against forcibly becoming obsolete? "Artificial intelligence can really do a lot, but it can’t give you that feeling that I call the human touch. It couldn’t write 'Hey Jude' or any other masterpiece. Humans will always have the upper hand".

Horan's Irishness is a prominent element of his personality, that proud affability that made his country a cultural superpower despite its size. And that was worth the warm reception of none other than the POTUS, who is also a descendent of the Celtic diaspora. "For how small the nation is, the relevance we have worldwide is amazing. Only five million inhabitants, and yet our culture of drinking, night life, musical or literary traditions are known everywhere. It's something I always keep in mind and want to show off as much as possible. And yes, I was invited at Washington to meet Joe Biden". Understandably, the fact excites him: "It was crazy that someone from a small town like mine (Mullingar, northwest of Ireland, ed.) ended up playing for the President of the United States at the White House. I still can't believe it". Not to mention the fact that, from a particularly bigot and conservative society that it once was, Ireland is now one of the most advanced and liberal ones of the West. "I'm not sure how it happened, but I am very proud of it. It was great to see it become one of the first countries to have gay marriage, for example. And I’m proud that it’s acting as a catalyst for change in other countries".

And does he know U2, this compatriot up and coming group? Would he collaborate with them? "Some of my all time favourite songs are by U2, their shows are some of the best I’ve ever been to. It would be great to do something with them if they ever ask". Coming from one of the best selling bands meant that there was a challenging precedent to compete with. But Niall Horan is doing great. It's impossible to refrain from asking about a 1D reunion. "It’s a busy time for everyone, so no, not that I know of. We keep in touch but everyone’s doing their own thing. Louis is touring in America, Liam is working on his music, Harry’s busy on the biggest world tour... In fact, if you hear about a reunion, please let me know".

#niall horan #article #icon magazine #19sep23

[liveforjeongin]

Hiii!! I loved the doc that you wrote! Can I request number 12 and 41 with Lee!Chan and Ler!Felix please and ty

p.s your amazing

How To Cheer Your Chan Up (1/8)

Awww, thank you anon, you're so sweet<3

And thanks for request<3

-tickle fic, if you don't like that you can keep scrolling

requested by: anon

warnings: cheer up tickles, kinda short imo😭 (I'm sorry)

Prompt 12, list #1: “Come on, let me see that smile!”

Prompt 41, list #1: “I’m gonna tickle the sadness out of you!”

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Skz were preparing for their upcoming comeback. It wasn't a secret for anyone that's such a stressful and hard task, but the members always succeed in that and were getting used to it, so they were fine

Excepting for one of them, Chan

As the leader and producer of the group, he had his head in so many things, too much this time. He really wanted this comeback to be perfect, at least in terms of the music

He was trying to deal with all the stress and the pressure he was having all by himself, and honestly, he was doing pretty good so far, until one day

3racha were all on the studio, finishing the last details for their title track "Lalalala"

It was Chan's turn to record, it was all going well til one part. Chan was having some problems to find a tone for that specific line, and that was getting him so frustrated

"Hyung, do it how you think if sounds good. No pressure" Changbin, who was directing the recording, tried to comfort him

"I'm... Trying" Chan said, with a sigh of frustration with himself

"We know, hyung, but it's okay. No pressures, we have the whole day if that's necessary" Hannie said

About 20 minutes later, Chan got to find a tone that sounded... Decent for him, so he decided to keep it, he'll fix it later

3racha went back to their dorm, where they found Felix, watching a dorama with Hyunjin in the couch of the living room

"Oh, hi hyungs~ Hi Hannie~" Lix waved at the three members of 3racha, and snuggled up more on Hyunjin

"Hi Lix~" Changbin waved him back, ruffling his hair a bit and then walking towards his room

"Hey baby~" Jisung did the same as Changbin

Chan, otherwise, waved the younger in a sad mood, still thinking on what happened in the studio minutes before

Lix obviously noticed that his aussie brother wasn't feeling all good, so him, in his sunshine nature, was decided to help Chan feel better

He just had to know how

Chan walked to his room, locking it without talking much more to any of the kids

"Hyunjinnie, do you mind if I go for a second? I need to talk with Chan hyung" the freckled guy asked

"Sure Lixie, I'll pause the drama and wait for you"

"Thank youuu" Lix hugged Hyunjin a bit, walked towards Chan's room (wemissthem) and knocked on the door "Hyung?"

After a couple seconds of silence, Felix heard his hyung's voice "Come in"

Lix opened the door of Chan's room and saw Chan layed on his bed and wrapped up in his blanket, looking like he just stopped crying

"Hyung... What's wrong?" Felix asked, kneeling down next to the bed

"Nothing... It's nothing, Lix, don't worry about me" Chan smiled a bit, a fake smile of course, and Lix knew it

"Chan... Don't lie to me. There's something bothering you, tell me what it is"

Chan sighed and some tears started to run down his face as he talked "I'm... Frustrated with myself. I didn't do good enough today at the recording..."

"Awww, hyung..." The younger hugged his hyung, trying to reassure him a bit "I'm pretty sure you did your best, you always do, that's what matters"

Chan just cried in his dongsaeng's hug, knowing he could trust him

After some minutes, Chan started to calm down, and the tears stopped to fall

Lix pulled away from the hug and smiled down comfortingly at his hyung "You better?"

Chan sighed "Yeah... I think a bit... Thanks, Lix" smiled faintly at the younger

Lix patted Chan's head "That's good... Now, no more crying, alright?. Come on, let me see that smile!" Lix poked his hyung's side, causing him to shudder and let out a small giggle

"Fehelix! Don't"

"Awww, but you look so cute giggling~" started to poke Chan's sides repeatedly

Chan blushed a bit at the younger's teasing, giggling at the pokes, but not moving. He would hate to admit it, but this was exactly what he needed, and was really thankful with Felix for doing this

"I'm gonna tickle the sadness out of you, hyungie!" Lix started to wiggle his fingers on Chan's abs, knowing that was his death spot

"N-NOHOHOHOHO FEEHEHEHHEHELIX DON'T! NOHOHOHOHOT THEHEHEHERE" Chan burst into laughter and started to squirm wildly, which just got worse when Felix started to use his other hand to change between squeezing his sides and his thighs

"But you look so happy now, hyung!" Even though Felix was teasing him, and he knew he was driving Chan crazy, the younger really looked so innocent

Until he started to wreck Chan's sides

"OKAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAY FELIX FELIX YOU CAN STOP NOHOHOHOOHHOW!" Chan squealed out

"Mmmmm... I don't think I'm doing~"

Felix just kept wrecking Chan's sides and abs, making the older go crazy

"FEHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHELIX! FELIX I BEHEHEHEHEHHEHEG YOUHUHUHU! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA PLEHEHEHEHHEHEASE NO MOHOHOHORE! I'LL SMILE I'LL SMIHIHIHIHIHILE! I WON'T BE SAHAHAHAHHAHAHAD I PROHOHOHOHOHOHOHOMISE!" Chan stated before his laugh went silent

Felix kept on tickling him for a couple seconds more before stopping, he didn't want to kill his hyung after all

He rubbed the older's sides, in order to ease the ghost tickles he was feeling, and hugged him again "You okay? You're not sad anymore?" The freckled boy looked up at his hyung, hoping he's feeling better

Chan was breathing hard and letting a few more giggles out, overwhelmed by the sensation yet, but it's not like he didn't like it... "I'm fine, Lix, and not sad anymore, thank you for... That" Chan replied with a big smile on his face, ruffling his dongsaeng's hair a bit

Felix smiled at his hyung and, after a couple seconds, he left his room, going back to the living room with Hyunjin, they absolutely needed to end at least that episode of the drama

Meanwhile Chan... Fell asleep pretty soon, with a happy smile and feeling warm inside. Felix really knew how to cheer him up

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HELLO WORLD, I'M NOT DEAD😻

I'm so sorry I haven't post in a lot, I'm grounded so the only way I get to write is at late night when my parents are sleeping😭😭😭

Plus, motivation left me for a while, but here we are😻

Anon that requested this I'm so sorry for making you wait a lot💔

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed the fic :3

#skz tickle #kpop tickle #stray kids tickle #tickle #tickle content #ahhie's blog

[wlntrsldler]

poisoned mercury is so good! it’s truly one of my fav aus i’ve read in a minute and the way you write the characters is absolutely phenomenal ! i saw that you wanted some song recs for future chapters/inspo so here i am

“waste the night”/“vapor” by 5sos

>wtn is STUPID cute for luke and yn. “smoke in your lungs” is so them kissing on her their bench

> vapor i can see chris and luke writing for clar and yn respectively. like luke and chris just giggling and writing a song for their girlfriends is so cute

“perfume”/“cigarettes and wine” by del water gap

>perfume i can see luke writing as his first song out of writers block, after yn beats him in another game of pool in her cabin and he’s so enamored with her and she’s cocky about beating him and its cute and still ‘will they won’t they’

>cigs&wine i see as them having a full blown camp rock moment and they sing a duet last day of camp (although yn isn’t musically inclined, i picture her still being able to carry a tune)

”girlfriends” by the academic

> ITS SO THEM I CANT EXPLAIN IT

“lover” by the hunna

> luke writes it for their 1yr and it’s cute

hope these help with some inspiration and what not! keep up the great work!! can’t wait to see where it goes :)

OH ANON MY HEART IS SO ?!!?!!!!

waste the night/ vapor by 5sos

i love how we all collectively agree that poisoned mercury is 5sos in an alternate universe (especially 5sos in their self titled and sgfg era lol)

im definitely thinking of doing small blurbs of luke x five star interactions in between the longer chapters now because waste the night is SO perfect for them 😭

thinking of luke realizing that he needs to let five star call the shots in their “relationship” because he has a track record of failing at relationships and the last thing he wants to do is mess things up with five star before it even begins.

and five star is waiting begging for him to make a move because she realizes no matter how hard she tries, she was falling for luke castellan. but bc of her past, she’s afraid of making the first move.

the lyrics fit both of them in very very different ways, but they’re both just love-struck and pining and ugh!

for vapor, i can see luke and chris (both equally whipped for their girls) thinking about what will happen to their respective relationships when they leave chb. long distance isn’t easy. being the gf of a guy in a band came with it’s own problems. they both know that five star and clarisse trust them that they won’t cheat or do anything to jeopardize their relationships but they still cant help but worry about it :(((( (my angst sleep paralysis demon is clawing at my brain)

perfume/ cigarettes and wine by del water gap

perfume is set after r u mine? in my head!!!! i won’t say too much about this one because this will probably be one of the extras i write in the future hehe

cigarettes and wine is post chb!!!!!!! when poisoned mercury is back on tour and luke is missing five star extra. they definitely wrote it together because even tho five star isn’t musically inclined, i like to think that she can write (or at least says things to luke in a poetic way that inspires a song)

girlfriends by the academic

luke writes this about five star!!!!!! this is their song!!!!!! this is literally them ur so right

lover by the hunna

ONE YEAR OF LUKE AND FIVE STAR WHO ELSE CHEERED??????

“they’re not used to our ways” is def the public causing a commotion that luke castellan is in a COMMITTED relationship like the whole world is shook

“that makes me a better me” YEAAAAAAA THIS GOES FOR BOTH OF THEM!!!!!! they’re always better when they’re with each other. soulmates if you must.

anon, you are god-sent. these songs will go into the poisoned mercury playlist i’m creating. thank u for these song recs!

#frances replies #i love luke castellan #luke castellan #poisoned mercury chats

[leqclerc]

that is precisely why vasseur is just another binotto to me. i have yet to see the guy actually let charles fight for what he wants. and to think it will be even more difficult next year with them wanting to give lewis another title... sighs.

Imo it's still better than it was under Binotto, especially in that post-Monaco and particularly post-Silverstone stretch in 2022 where they were forced to do the whole performative "we met for lunch in Monaco so it's all good now" PR thing to paint over the increasingly apparent cracks. Binotto blatantly favoured Carlos, both on and off the track, even going as far as publicly throwing Charles under the bus by shifting the blame for a poorly executed strategy to the car having no pace when Charles explicitly called out the whack tyre strat, for example in Hungary. I don't think we've had a situation like that happen with Fred, that I can recall.

Charles has generally said positive things about Fred and reiterated that he has trust in him, that he's seen positive developments under his leadership. The SF24 is definitely an improvement over last year's car. There have been several employee changes, which people generally see as a good thing. So, all in all I think it is an improvement but it could be better, especially with stuff like team orders.

Here's how Fred addressed the situation post-race:

Stuff like that is frustrating when you remember how many times Charles has been used as a roadblock or made to create an artificial gap (their entire Singapore strategy hinged on Charles's cooperation.) Sure, this wasn't for the win, and Charles himself said qualy is bigger issue, but it's the principle of the thing. Charles drove an incredible race with that insane one stop strategy and was ahead on position (if that's what they want to use as the determining factor.) Even if he shoulders the blame for his qualy results on the weekends where he's outqualified by Carlos and accepts that CS will be the one given the preferential strategy/treatment based on that, there's been plenty of instances where Charles qualified higher but then Carlos made up the difference in the race and was hailed as a genius.

Idk it feels like part of it might be them not exactly trusting Carlos will cooperate? He's shown many times before that he's primarily in it for himself and even when he was explicitly told to do something he didn't if he felt it wasn't beneficial for him—and that was when he still had a contract with Ferrari, now that he knows he's on the way out and has the sympathy narrative on his side he has nothing to lose. But it shouldn't be solely on Charles to be the cooperative one, to put the team result first. I know he wants to feel that he's earned the podium (which, like, he has in this race) and he won't be satisfied until he's in front in qualy and the race, but yeah, frustrating to see the pattern continue into this year.

To counter the negativity somewhat, I will say I know it's still early days, there's still plenty of races to go, and if they manage to solve the qualy tyre warm-up issue (which Charles already vowed to work on on his side, and we know he always comes through) and the upgrade packages that are in the pipeline (hopefully) help close the gap to Red Bull in race pace, then we could still be in for an interesting and potentially competitive back half of the season. I just hope that situations like this don't come back to bite them when Charles is potentially in a position to fight for P2 with Checo, or maybe even P1 if Max encounters more issues down the line, but it's those points that make the difference in the end.

#replies #anonymous #discussions and predictions #long post

[mazes-and-the-madness]

IN BETWEEN: A Camren Analysis

I. Introduction

Nearly two years after she released her debut EP PRELUDE in 2021, Lauren Jauregui brings us a second one: In Between. She explores a variety of themes, some of which were also on PRELUDE (i.e. relationships, personal growth, her emotions). Without further ado, here’s my Camren analysis of In Between. As always, there’s the disclaimer that I’m not saying certain songs are definitely 100 percent about Camila: just that if they are, here’s a plausible explanation as to why. Oh, and Lauren, if you happen to come across this, just keep scrolling - absolutely nothing to see here.

II. Track-by-Track Analysis

1. In Between

Much like she did with Colors on PRELUDE, Lauren opens with a piece that’s part song, part spoken word. The title track In Between is about self-reflection, growing as a person, and ascending to one’s higher self. Lauren says, “love me in the in between… for me and the future we,” which could refer to becoming a better person for not only herself, but also a future romantic partner. “A dream that comes to tell me of the path that lies ahead // the things that I must leave behind instead of me for dead” could refer to leaving behind her immature past self, or a toxic partner, for her to reach her full potential. Lauren also mentions being “hung up on all the potential instead of the truth.” Even if the relationship was good at one point, this is no longer the case. It’s too far gone, and I hate to say it, but this could be about Camren. A key message of In Between is that no matter how much healing you’ve done, there’s always more self-discovery to do. When Lauren says, “I wade in the waters of the in between // until I’m born again, anew and renewed,” this is yet another parallel to PRELUDE, specifically the cover art where her face is ever so slightly lifted from the water. You know how the one thing everyone remembers from science class is, “The mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell?” The English literature (and songwriting) equivalent is “water = rebirth.”

Other Thoughts:

Can we take a second to appreciate how “a dream that comes to tell me of the path that lies ahead // the things that I must leave behind instead of me for dead” is written in perfect iambic heptameter? If you have no idea what that means, don’t worry about it - just my inner English professor nerding out about Shakespearean poetic structures.

I know we’re all mad at Taylor Swift right now (and if you’re not, you should be), but “meet me in the in between” is giving “meet me at midnight.”

2. Em(oceans)

This song summarized in one sentence: Lauren feels too much, and wishes that she didn’t because her heightened sense of empathy enables people to take advantage of her. Her plea of “do you even notice? (are you even noticing all this emotion?)” could be directed at a partner, specifically Camila. The lyric “I never know what to say // so I try to push it away” is interesting because it alludes to communication issues from Lauren’s side. Communication has historically been a major obstacle for Camren, but the problems usually seem to stem from Camila’s side, as we know from Lauren songs like Expectations, Let Me Know, NADA, and the unreleased XO (I Don’t Miss You). Em(oceans) directly parallels other songs on the EP, specifically In Between and Trust Issues which also allude to other people using Lauren for their own ulterior motives.

3. All in My Feelings

This song reads very much like it takes place after Camila left Fifth Harmony (and by extension, Lauren). Camila now has more self-respect, and will no longer drop everything just because Lauren wants her to. Lauren expresses frustration that Camila is ignoring her, saying, “I just wanted to have sex // I’m too used to getting my way now.” By doing so, Lauren confirms what Camila writes about her in My Oh My (“they say he likes a good time,” “insatiable habits,” “he’s only here for one thing”). While Camila was previously quick to give in to Lauren’s demands, now she’s moved on and this is no longer the case. 

One interesting lyric is “this might be some past life shit, thе way you got me waitin' 'round for ya // to answer me whenever you do you ya, the upper hand was always mine.” The term “past life” has a clever double meaning: Lauren could be saying that she and Camila’s connection means they were together in a past life, OR that she’s now paying for how poorly she treated Camila all those years ago. Plus, we know from both of their songs that Lauren had the upper hand over Camila (She Loves Control, This Love, Señorita, Back to Me, Sorry). Lauren knows her past behavior is no longer going to fly, as she worries, “I'm afraid (oh, I'm afraid) of what it could mean when I've lost the control and I don't want it to mean anythin.' ” This is a good time to remember that Camila literally has a song called She Loves Control about how much of a control freak Lauren is. 

Lauren also says, “I like my wall up to keep from fallin', keep from fallin' // keep my walls up to keep from fallin', can't be fallin.' ” As I’ve stated in previous analyses, Lauren has written multiple songs about her struggles to open up to others (On Guard, Trust Issues), and Camila has written about desperately wanting her partner to do exactly that (Inside Out, In the Dark, Shameless, Boys Don't Cry). Lauren ends All in My Feelings with, “now he answers my texts as I'm writing a song about him // man, fuck that dude.” I don’t know about you all, but I laughed out loud when I first heard this. While she seems to be talking about a man, I wouldn’t be surprised if this song is actually about Camila, who has used he/him pronouns to describe Lauren in multiple songs (most notably, Havana and My Oh My.)

Other Thoughts: 

This song also parallels Em(oceans), specifically the idea of feeling too much and wanting to push these thoughts aside. This is most apparent with the lyrics “uh, trust me, I'd like to turn off my feelings // why the fuck am I feelin' any type of feeling?” and “anyway, anyway // usually I run away, run away.”

4. The One

Along with All in My Feelings and Always Love, The One is one of the most Camila-coded songs on the EP. The first verse is about an on-off relationship, apparent by the lyric “been here a few times, don't know what I'm fightin' for anymore.” Camren is THE on-off relationship, as we know from songs like This Love, Señorita, Back to Me, Sorry, and the unreleased Don’t Need This (I’ll stop there before listing out their entire discographies). In The One, Lauren questions her partner’s commitment to her, doubting that their actions match their words. She says, “you say that I’m the one, yeah yeah // so show me that you love me, yeah yeah.” Camila has written multiple songs about how Lauren is the only one for her (Anyone, Taxi, Easy, and arguably, First Man). Lauren is unimpressed by her partner’s wealth, saying, “don’t need your money, nah nah // that ain’t the way you keep me, my love.” No shade, just facts: as the most commercially successful member of Fifth Harmony, Camila is wealthier than Lauren, boasting a net worth of nearly $20 million vs. $4 million. Plus, Camila totally seems like the type to spoil her girlfriends with all her money. Lauren also questions, “why you gotta be insecure? ... I can’t really do this no more if every time I speak, you take it that I’m starting war.” Camila has bared her insecurities in several songs, including Easy, psychofreak, No Doubt, and Hasta Los Dientes. Until Camila can prove her commitment to Lauren, Lauren scoffs, “you can keep your money, yeah yeah // I’m doin’ just fine on my own.”

5. Trust Issues

At the request of @/missmebaby2017, I first analyzed this song when Lauren officially released it in March of this year. As I said back then, Trust Issues fits right in with other songs we've gotten from both girls about Lauren’s struggle to open up and the volatile, on-off nature of their relationship. As a result, it makes sense that Lauren would have “trust issues” before trying again with Camila, or starting a new relationship with anyone else. Now that we have the context of the full EP, we also see that Trust Issues fits thematically with songs like In Between, Em(oceans), and All in My Feelings.

6. Always Love

Lauren first performed this song in July 2019, shortly after Camila tweeted “for me, it was always going to be about love.” Always Love is about a relationship that’s long gone, but you still have love for the other person. Like All in My Feelings, this song could take place after Camila first left Fifth Harmony to pursue a solo career. The lyric “nobody talks about walking away when there’s still love // feeling so far after being so close is a mindfuck” would fit with this theory, since the Havana music video hints that this breakup was amicable. The on-off themes surface once again as Lauren reflects, “even though we didn’t work, it’s always love, always love // and even though we hurt each other more than once, it was love, always love.” As for “for all those times that we locked eyes // when I was yours and you were mine,” there are tons of compilations of “Camren staring at each other” on YouTube and TikTok. If “intense eye contact” was an Olympic sport, they’d take home more gold medals than Michael Phelps. But my favorite lyric in the whole song is, “you helped me grow into me, so I couldn’t help but change.” Camila was there for Lauren during a highly formative period in her life, her mid-to-late adolescent years in the band. Because of Camila, Lauren could no longer deny her sexuality and finally accepted who she really was, giving so many of her fans the courage to do the same (myself included). Overall, Always Love is very much giving “sapphic first love” vibes, and I will never not cry when listening to this song.

7. Wolves (ft. Ty Dolla $ign and RUSS)

This song details all three artists’ struggles in the music industry. Because there’s so much to unpack here, I’ll do more of a close reading, line-by-line analysis with this one.

“I've been runnin' with the wolves and I made it alright

Searchin' for my purpose and I'm learnin'

That we don't really get a lot of time

So I've got to go and get mine while I'm alive

Yeah, I'll be runnin' with the wolves all through the night”

Lauren started in the music industry at age 16. She’s now stayed in it for over ten years and done a lot of learning, growing up, and self-discovery in the process. The word choice of “wolves” is rather pointed; I mean, she doesn’t say “runnin’ with the butterflies.” The wolves are the cutthroat music industry executives who don’t care about the artists and will exploit, abuse, and overwork them to rake in as much money as possible. Remember Lauren’s advice for young people aspiring to a music career? “Read your contracts.” All artists have an expiration date, especially women and those from manufactured bands. As a member of both groups, Lauren has to work extra hard to make the most of her time in the spotlight for as long as the wolves allow her to do so.

Now we get to Ty Dolla $ign’s part:

“I lost so many to the system // only two ways out, dead or in prison” … “I know there’s gotta be a better way // out here runnin’ with the wolves tryna get away”

The music industry often exploits newly signed artists, especially those from working-class backgrounds. As I said in my analysis of Familia, this was the case for nearly all the Fifth Harmony girls. Simon Cowell was able to get them to sign those unjust, restrictive, inhumane recording contracts because he knew it was practically their only chance at a better life.

“clock tickin', plot and stop bitchin' (uh, oh yeah) // lot of fake stars, but I ain't 'bout to stop wishin' … every time my gut talks, I try to just listen ”

This lyric goes back to artists having a shelf life, and also includes some clever wordplay. We all know the idea of wishing on a star to make your dreams come true, but here Ty means that a lot of artists aren’t “real” with their fans because they’re heavily manufactured by the industry for (what else?) financial gain. Still, he refuses to let this stop him from making the most of this opportunity and striving to be an artist on his own terms.

“a millionaire on hamster wheels, I'm hopin' that this can't be real”

Even for those lucky artists that become super wealthy doing what they love, they may be trapped because of these brutal contracts. The word choice of “hamster wheels” is especially telling: artists are hustling all the time, but ultimately remain stuck in the same place.

That brings us to RUSS’ part:

“I'm scraped up, got some scratches, got some war wounds

I'm tryna reach the people as if I ain't 'bout to tour soon

I might need a therapist, maybe a support group

Yeah, I went from dorm rooms to courtrooms to board rooms, ah”

The industry hurts artists both mentally and physically. “Reach the people” could mean multiple things, such as artists helping others through their music or making them aware of the harsh behind-the-scenes reality. The mention of touring could refer to artists’ grueling schedules often determined by industry executives. Members of Fifth Harmony and One Direction have spoken about how the nonstop album-tour-album-tour cycles were harmful to their physical and mental health. For example, Niall Horan wasn’t even allowed to get much-needed knee surgery while he was on tour, and Ally Brooke writes in her 2020 memoir Finding Your Harmony that she only took one or two sick days during her entire time in the band (2012-2016). Today, artists are more comfortable speaking about mental health issues, like Demi Lovato and Miley Cyrus declaring that they’re no longer going to be touring as part of their careers. Finally, why is Lauren also singing the “dorm room” part when she’s never even been to college? I’m sure it’s not that deep; I just find it funny.

Now we’re back to Lauren with the outro.

“runnin', runnin', we keep runnin', runnin', runnin' ”

Although this line of work is by no means easy, all three artists stick with it and continue breaking their backs to keep the wolves happy. That is, until the wolves discard the artists for fresh meat, thus perpetuating the cycle of abuse and exploitation in the music industry.

III. Conclusion

Lauren, you’ve done it again. In Between is thoughtful, reflective, and self-aware, and you’ve proven your growth as an artist from not only your Fifth Harmony days, but also throughout your solo career. Though I loved both of your EPs, I have to ask: when are we getting your debut album? I know there’s probably all sorts of behind-the-scenes stuff we’ll never know; it just feels like we’ve been waiting forever. Either way, as long as I keep vibing with your music, I will continue to support you as an artist whatever you decide.

If anyone has questions or comments on anything I’ve said, my asks are always open (I trust you all to keep things civil). And if you haven’t already read my analyses for PRELUDE and Familia, what are you doing? No seriously, I’d encourage you to do that as well. I’ll be back for the next major music release from either Lauren or Camila, but until then, stream In Between.

Final Rating: 7/10

Final Ranking:

7. Trust Issues

6. Em(oceans)

5. In Between

4. Wolves

3. The One

2. Always Love

1. All in My Feelings

#lauren jauregui #in between #camila cabello #camren #song analysis #lyrical analysis #fifth harmony #the industry

[seasonal-writes]

“how do you talk to star?” - title from the song of the same name by everybody’s worried about owen (since it’s back up, ao3 link is here!) characters: jimmy (mainly)/tango cw: none unless you consider the insane amount of introspective themes throughout this thing. so! little note! guess who wrote something new and finished it. for the first time in months. it is short, i am rusty, and i DEFINITELY wouldn’t say it’s my best work but i like the concept a lot and churned this short and sweet little introspective fic last night in a writing haze! i missed four calls from my family members help.

It is based on this prompt list, specifically number 7. :) hope you all enjoy this super short, ramble-y, jimmy is very much pining one-shot! ~

Jimmy has learned it takes nothing. Barely a glance, he has found, for all of the sediment—that he thought was long stationary—to be kicked up again, to clog every artery and leave him struggling to breathe.  His conundrum lies in the side profile of Tango. The curve of the tip of his forehead, drooping into the bridge of his nose and rolling over two delicate hills of pretty, thin lips. Yes, he with the dancing eyebrows and teeth flashing, pulling against his lip when he grins and eyes that almost sparkle in sync. Tango—devastatingly, heart-achingly, undeniably and beyond beautiful Tango who has yet to notice his staring.  If Jimmy were to be grateful for anything, he’d be grateful for the obliviousness of his quarry.  Tango, in a stunning move, laughs without a care in the world. It’s so loud and clear and Jimmy feels a smirk tugging at the corner of his lip, the cause of such being obvious to anyone who may notice his ogling. Though, making a home in the corner of this crowded living room, he has no intentions of intruding. Of course, maybe he wishes he was the one making Tango laugh like that. Maybe he wishes that intoxicating gaze could be on him, rather than those who engage him. “You know, you can just go talk to him, right?” Grian asks, a gentle nudge of Jimmy’s elbow making him turn. Jimmy snorts.  Maybe that’s the problem, isn’t it? Jimmy probably could just go talk to him. He’d been watching him for so long, for so many occasions—if he were a more attentive man, he’d have studied the patterns by now. He’d understand every little joke, made a note of everything that could make him more appealing, more fun to talk to. Instead, he gets lost in it. When he tries to keep track, he fails. Being analytical was never his strong suit, and it never failed him more than when he was trying to figure out how to talk to the one he is very much in love with. The one who, as far as he knows, is very much not in love with him.  “We talk,” Jimmy says, “We’re just friends, that’s what friends do” “Yeah, Tim, and I’m just an idiot.” “You said it, not me.” Jimmy tries to say it seriously, but he can’t help the grin. “I bet he’d like to chat. You two always get along well,” Grian says, dodging the jab flawlessly and turning his eyes to Tango, the two now watching from the shadows.  “Well- yeah, I guess.”  Another problem. They did get along well. Too well, in fact. He had friends, had people who he could count on and talk to or laugh with. Jimmy even knew what it felt like to be flirted with, to be teased in that way. But it never quite felt the same when it was with Tango. And it just confused him anyway, was Tango flirting with him? Was he flirting back? He knows well that sometimes he just stumbles into things without looking first, that was no doubt. It could very well be that Jimmy was just fooling himself, wandering into something that he didn’t get a good look at before exposing his neck to the danger of misinterpretation.  Maybe, in reality, Tango was just indulging him—even if he is a really, really good guy, the concept was dangerously easy for Jimmy to trust.  “I just think that if you’d get off your perch and just go up to him, or wave or- geez, just stop staring and do something, it’d probably be fine.”  “I appreciate your suggestions, but I am comfortable right here,” Jimmy says, “He’s busy, anyway- see?” He nods up in the general direction of Tango, noting how he is casually conversing with Impulse and Zed, who keep him engaged. Grian groans.  “Not gonna be busy forever, man.” “Well, I can’t go talk to him right now, then. Maybe later.”  He feels Grian clap a hand onto his shoulder, sighing. “Whatever you say, Tim. But those feelings are just going to fester till you say something, you know.” “..I’ll- I’ll take my chances,” Jimmy mutters, swallowing hard.  He only glances at Grian for a second while he moves off into the rest of the party, not bothering to track where he’s heading once he leaves.  When he finds Tango again, there’s not much of a difference. Zed left. Impulse still has him explaining something. He can tell by how his hands move, how his gestures get big and small and create the shapes of whatever figures are drawn out in his mind. Jimmy always admired that. He’d gotten it up close, once, when Tango got into one of his redstone rambles and talked at Jimmy while he just nodded and smiled and listened, despite having zero clue about what he was saying. Jimmy may not be good at redstone, but he’s sure if he was asked what he liked about Tango, he would go into the same sort of ramble. Big hand gestures, small hand gestures—anything to properly convey how smitten he had him.  Tango had no idea.  Jimmy was sure, at this point, he was destined for a forever’s worth of pining. A lifetime of restless stomachs, of rocking heartbeats that sound more like scattered drums than something meant to keep him alive. He will spend the majority of his days avoiding the fire and getting used to the cold of the corners, growing fond of the way his eyes glaze over as if he has stared at the sun for a little too long. … and.. still.  Something inside of him roared, clawed at its cage and said let me out, said tell him. He couldn’t really tell what was holding him back—was it just fear? Anyone would be scared to confess, sure. It could be the rejection, the dreamt up, awkward and letting-you-down-easy smile. The sorry, I’m just not into you that way. Or, maybe, it was the worry that things would go well. After all, they had gotten to know each other closely. Teaming up will do that to you. Talking almost every day will do that to you. Running into each other at parties, taking walks, talking about redstoning and building and bearing your every wound to each other almost shamelessly on the bad days and sharing in the joys on the good days, as if it was always meant to be just like this. Jimmy feels himself suddenly come back into himself like a head slamming into a wall, taking note of an astonishing development.   Tango is looking at him. Impulse now gone from sight, he leans against the same wall, but he is looking. Then offering an adorable wave with a tiny smile, Tango straightens his shoulders when Jimmy waves back, like some attempt to make himself look taller—and with the rush of feelings rolling over Jimmy, he feels adrenaline-fueled laughter forcing its way to the surface; it comes out in a quiet wheeze.  It finds him right away. The familiar sensation of Jimmy’s insides dropping like a sinking building, leaving nothing but dust-caked breaths that feel sticky, catching in his throat with every other inhale. He is a ruined mess of a man. A weak, mumbled puddle of warmth and heavy pulses and heat.  He is fucked. Royally, deeply, this-is-it fucked. And they stay that way for seconds, but it feels like years, and Jimmy can’t get enough of it.  Loving someone does feel quite good, doesn’t it? And maybe, being loved right back could feel even better. If he could just get over himself and try.

#seasonalwrites #fic time fic time #or- oneshot time #also this is severely unedited so if you notice redundancy just. move on. deal with it. #i'm letting this one go out into the wild #as a treat for ao3 being down /silly #trafficshipping #tango tek #jimmy solidarity #team rancher #rancher duo

[imagine-knowing-a-name]

omnia vincit amor

Summary: Natasha and Y/N are best friends, but friendships change when relationships start.

Pairing: Wanda x Nat (romantic), Nat & aroace!Reader & Wanda (platonic)

Word Count: 1677

Warnings: Death, loneliness, swearing, it’s angst

A/N: In case anyone forgot I’m a massive nerd, the title is in latin. In other news I keep reading posts about aroace loneliness and making myself sad and this is just the end product? It’s isolating sometimes thinking about the future. I’ll write some actual happy aroace reader fics one day 😭

—————————————————

You couldn’t blame her. Not really. It had to be the end for one of you, and this was the option with the happy ending. Not for you, but for them, the two people you cared for most in the world. They would get their happy ending, and wasn’t that all anyone strived for?

Because, in the end, love conquers all.

——————flashback——————

You were on the sofa when Natasha approached; she was out of sight, but you knew the sound of her steps well enough to know. Even if you hadn’t, she spoke first, and the voice and teasing tone were all too familiar: “For an aromantic, you can have some excellent romance ideas.”

“Well yeah, being aromantic doesn’t stop me from being a romantic. It’s the contrary: aromantic, a romantic. Get it?” Greetings weren’t necessary, nor was properly getting up to see her. Tilting your head over the back of the sofa and seeing her upside down was more than enough in your opinion.

Natasha rolled her eyes playfully, smiling broadly despite the sigh she produced. “I got it before you even said it. How? Because you’ve made this joke before!”

“I have one joke, okay?! You’ve got to let me have this!”

“I’ll let you have it,” she relented, and you’d already started to celebrate your meaningless victory before she continued. “But only because your dating advice worked.”

That stopped you in your tracks. You sprung up fully, turning your torso to face Natasha completely. “Wanda said yes?”

“She said yes.”

“Holy shit, this is so awesome! Aww, you’re going to be so cute!”

“Y/N, calm down. She agreed to a first date, not marriage.”

“Yeah, but you’ve both wanted this for forever. And trust me, because I had to hear both sides for soooo long. Like, sooo long, so much pining. Let me tell you-”

“I get it,” Natasha interrupted, “we took a while.”

“That you did. But what I’m saying is: it’s gonna work out. I know it.”

You kept grinning, trying not to let the expression drop in front of the spy. She rarely missed changes in your mood, no matter how well you thought you’d hidden them. This time, however, you didn’t have to try so hard; she was too distracted planning her date to notice anyway. 

Natasha was your best friend, and Wanda a close second, so you were incredibly happy for them. You thrived on seeing good come to them, but your insecurities started to get the better of you, and they freed themselves when Natasha paused for your input.

“It sounds perfect,” you forced. “You’ll both do so well together. Only thing I’ll be sad about is losing the role of your favourite person!” A slight chuckle followed your words, a meagre attempt to play it off as a joke rather than genuine fear. 

“As if you could ever lose that role, you’ll always be my platonic favourite.” It fooled Natasha enough for her to join in with the joke, too distracted again to notice the pain behind your comment.

Guilt crept up on you for even feeling insecure. Natasha was trying to reassure you, as she’d always done, and she’d always been good with you. She’d never insinuated that a romantic relationship was beyond a platonic one, never called dating ‘something more’, but her absent reassurance made you wonder. Had she meant everything she’d said before? Or were they just well-chosen words from a time without romance?

—————————————————

Time proved that things wouldn’t be as bad as you’d thought, so the insecurity lessened over time; it never vanished completely, but it became easier to ignore. As her best friend, you were subject to hearing Natasha gushing about Wanda on a near daily basis, and from that, you got to hear how their relationship grew. According to her ‘morning after’ recap, their first date was perfect; it led to more dates, which led to actually dating, which led to Wanda moving into Natasha’s compound room.

Still, they both made time for you, almost as much as before, not wanting you to feel left out even with the new relationship. Along with just talking and hanging out in the compound, Natasha began to invite you on ‘friend dates’, days to do the things you both wanted to do. Sometimes it would just be the two of you, and sometimes you’d invite Wanda too, though since the whole point was to make sure you didn’t feel like you were third wheeling, your two friends would keep their PDA to a minimum. 

Sometimes they’d try to sneak kisses and flirting past you; on the days when you were excitable and often ran ahead or were distracted by the activity. Oftentimes when you looked over at them and they were making out, you simply carried on your way and left them to it, not actually minding. But you had a reputation to keep up, so towards the end, or if things were looking to get a little too heated, you’d snap your fingers, playfully indicating for them to return to the day’s activity.

Taking them to a rom-com was a mistake you wouldn’t make again though. Nothing stopped the couple’s flirting after that.

Being with them was fun; it took away your fears and feelings of loneliness; you got to do things you enjoy with your favourite people. It should have been enough, but the isolating thoughts came crashing back as soon as you were home. While Wanda and Natasha would return to their own room for time as a couple, you would be alone, yearning for a closeness that only seemed to come with dating.

—————————————————

When it came to Avengers work, the mission groupings resulted from two factors: how much everyone’s skills applied to the mission; and how close teammates were; personal friendships tended to affect team performance positively.

The pairings evolved and eventually led to you, Natasha, and Wanda being the most frequent grouping. It had been pairings at first: you and Wanda, Nat and Wanda, you and Nat; whoever fit best to the mission. But then Natasha and Wanda had started dating, and the suggestive comments through the comms began to get to the HQ team. And so, the team stopped sending them alone, adding you to the mix; you worked well with them both, and the team could count on you to curb the couple’s distractions with each other.

Missions went on like that for months, the three of you always being sent together. You were a dream team. Sure, there’d been a few cuts, scrapes, and bruises, but mostly, they’d gone by without a hitch. 

It only took one mission for that to change. 

It should have been simple; subdue a few guards, retrieve the data inside the building, and leave. The assignment team had even decided just you and Natasha would be enough; only at your and Nat’s insistence had Wanda been added. 

The hostiles knew the three of you had been coming; the tip-off was something you would have to sort once you got off from the mission. They’d found a way to stop Wanda’s powers, and there were far more guards than you had expected, leaving you woefully outnumbered.

From there, it went downhill quickly. Unless something changed, you wouldn’t be winning this fight. There was still one way to complete the mission, and it was the scenario the three of you attempted. You and Wanda kept fighting atop the scaffold while Natasha snuck a few floors down to grab the intel. As soon as she’d acquired it, your group would back off, giving the impression of abandoning your assault.

Only, it never got to that stage. 

A shockwave blasted on the rooftop; there was nothing you could do as it hit, sending you toppling over the edge. From a glance at Wanda, you saw she suffered the same fate; she was too far away for you to grab her, too far to have any attempt at saving both of you. With her powers, the fall wouldn’t have been an issue. But they were still blocked, and she was scared.

Natasha ran to the edge of her floor when she heard the screams; the windows weren’t in, so she had the full range of view to look up, seeing you and Wanda hurtling in her direction.

Grief set on Natasha's face the instant the situation became clear. Wanda’s powers weren’t working; you didn’t even have powers. Nothing and no one would stop your falls; no one but Natasha.

Her eyes flit from Wanda’s to yours – she couldn’t save you both. You knew that, but she had just realised it. Your friend had a decision to make, and she had a split second to make it.

She chose Wanda.

Natasha lunged just in time, grabbing her girlfriend and pulling her back onto solid ground. The two stumbled, then locked in a hug. Wanda sobbed at her sudden safety while Natasha embraced her, but the assassin’s gaze was over Wanda’s shoulder. You were out of reach now, in the final few seconds of your life.

Pain and apologies greeted you when you looked up. But you couldn’t blame her. Not really. The value of romance over friendship was a fact you’d carried with you for your whole life, something that left a pain in your heart with every reminder, but it meant you knew how it would end. You’d always known. 

Despite it all, you realised that hadn’t prepared you for the confirmation. So, for the final time, your heart clenched at the sight of Wanda and Nat embracing. They would have a happy ending: a marriage, family, the whole lot, everything they had ever wanted, and everything you’d known you wouldn’t get.

In your last moment, you hid the hurt that must have shone through on your face, replacing it with acceptance. Natasha was still watching; you had to let her see that she had made the right choice in saving her love.

After all, it was a well-known phrase: omnia vincit amor.

Love conquers all.

—————————————————

part 2 

#wandanat #aroace reader #natasha romanoff x reader #natasha romanoff #wanda maximoff #wanda maximoff x reader #natasha romanoff & reader #wanda maximoff & reader #wanda maximoff x natasha romanoff #wanda maximoff x natasha romanoff x reader #wandanat & reader

[beautifulpersonpeach]

https://twitter.com/RequestBTSRadio/status/1714121533864513936

so they sent his WHOLE ALBUM to radio but can't even sent atleast title tracks of other members? WOAHHHH. or their western collabs ? Not JM's no.1 song ? Not OTS or CLOSER which had even more potential than these western reject songs ? How can you all be completely think this is ok ? You all suddenly throw yours ethics out of window because its your fav member ? Everytime excuse it away when JK is the biggest industry plant rn.. I just wanna say no matter how desperately they want him to be an established pop star it's not gonna happen. He's always gonna be a kpop member who release generic song in English for western validation.

***

It's fine if you want to complain. Anyone who thinks other members' songs should be sent to radio is free to say so, tag HYBE, email BigHit, etc. You disagree with how BigHit/HYBE America is promoting the first full English album from a BTS member relative to the other solo debuts. Sure, that's valid.

All that talk about ethics and whatnot sounds insane to me though. There's no use saying it at this point but Anon, you've become completely sucked in, you've picked up the Frankenstein language of the overinvested stan transferring their aggression to Jungkook.

Getting songs sent to radio doesn't make one an 'industry plant', talk less the biggest one, and much less for a guy who could sell out stadiums if he announced a tour today. It would be great to hear Closer or Hectic by RM on radio, same with Amygdala or Polar Night; Future, Alone, and For Us would be great additions too. Heck, Coldplay literally wrote The Astronaut and it sounds like a radio hit so it should've gotten a good push as well. But they didn't and of course it's okay to feel upset and communicate that to the company. But I also love that Jungkook is getting this push, and with a full English album, the first run by HYBE America (by all appearances), I think songs sent to radio is what to expect. Nobody from BTS will likely ever get full Western validation, and Jungkook's back-to-back hits of mid songs certainly aren't helping all that much, but it's true Jungkook is doing well, making more fans and leaving his mark. Just as the other members have done and will continue to do with even stronger impact. None of them are stupid and they are aware of their situations. I trust them to handle their business.

What ticks you off is that you feel you'll have to stream more, buy more, put more effort in than JJKs to get the same results. You're pissed off more for yourself than you are about Jimin. Which is fine. But Jimin is fine too lol. The way y'all talk about that man makes me wonder if you actually know him, or if when we talk about Jimin, we're talking about the same person.

What Jimin wants, he ultimately gets. When he really wants something he makes sure he gets it, in the way that works best for him. I've seen him win, get his way, make his way in moments, weeks, months, and years. His documentary is literally around the corner that will confirm yet again, that this is the sort of person he is. I'm not trying to be clever or make excuses, in my mind this is really what I think. It's fine if you disagree but don't send me asks like this chuck full of your frustration. I really don't relate.

#small psa #jungkook #jeon jungkook #jimin #jikook #jungkook golden #bts chapter 2 #bts solo stans #bts fandom #bts solo careers

[whewchilly]

elle beloved do u have any fernando kimi lore. like. what am i missing

do u know what a loaded question this is oh boy buckle up

2014,,,two thousand and fourteen….

Fernando Alonso, Felipe Massa and Scuderia Ferrari has just come out of a pretty hellish season-end, totally dominated by an unhinged blond german speaking red bull golden boy (am I ringing any bells?) their fourth successive failed title challenge despite the spaniard finishing 2nd, by less than 5 points, on 2 of those occasions.

So. 2014. Ferrari retain Fernando and drop Felipe, bringing their most recent WDC Kimi Raikkonen back into the famiglia. I do believe the re-signing of Kimi was a statement by the team and one which upset Fernando greatly, considering he was clear number one driver to Felipe at the time. like the pressure was turning up on nando

Now. on top of that, 2014 was the beginning of a huge sea change in f1, the mercedes domination turbo hybrid era, which introduced the V6 hybrid power units and lower-downforce aerodynamic regs.

so lights out and away we etc etc.

Kimi has an absolute stinker. Like its bad bestie. Across the 2014 season, Fernando outscored Kimi 161 points to 55. and YES, those numbers are tickling my brain too.

This led many upset kimi truthers to do what all good sleuths do. follow the money! and their nose for investigation sniffed them all the way to Santander’s door. the SPANISH (helloooo???!!!???) sponsor of the scuderia. case open and shut. SABOTAGE! clear as day.

((we pay no mind here to the fact that Kimi was adapting to a new team and new regulations, had previously been outscored at Ferrari by Felipe Massa in 2008, that his previous teammate and reference was grosjean, that the 2015 car was far superior to the F14-T, the bank was still a ferrari sponsor or that Kimi went on to be out scored by his next teammate, ze german, 278 points to Kimi’s 150, the following year also and all other consecutive years until 2019)) no matter. we’re wise to them now and if they EVER try that shit again-ANYWAY.

Despite all the background drama, the two drivers maintained a healthy respect for each other but with Fernando fed up of Ferrari and already planing his next move (and pining for Felipe 💔) and Kimi retrospectively… highly likely in the know re: the ink drying on zebastian fettel’s ferrari contract (that damn chatterbox). probably didn’t invest a lot of time into their teammate dynamic but will live forever in my brain as girlbestfriends who slayed those cavallino embalm blazers and, in Kimi’s own words had an “odd” chemistry. <3

“I think one thing you can notice is that you can race with him very closely, as it always was with him. You kind of know what’s going to happen or what was not going to happen so, in that way, yes, it’s different. You get what you expect and, with some other people, you are not so sure. With Alonso you can trust him” – Kimi Raikkonen said, about his on-track battles with the Spanish driver.

#asks #this is heavily under-researched my source is google headlines to corroborate my dad and i having dodgy memories #who else remembers this era. pitch in

[haileyywrites]

-> The queen of Khaenri'ah - though to fall with it's civilization, makes herself known to the traveler with a proposition

-> Spoilers for "We Will Be Reunited"! This story is not meant to be exactly lore accurate! Reader is fem aligned with the title Queen! Reader is the leader of the Abyss! Aether is traveler and Lumine is with the Abyss!

You sat upon a dark throne within the dark heart of the Abyss that seemed to stretch into eternity, stars glimmered all around you providing some light to your surroundings. It was cold and dark inside the Abyss, but you could barely feel it anymore.

Abyss Lector's and Herald's stood in row on each side of you, much resembling your counsil back in Khaenri'ah... Such memories almost seemed like dreams after the hundreds of years.

Yet, one of the Herald's was missing, you noticed - of course you did. Each and every one of them was important to you. They were what little remained of your people... This particular Herald had been tracking the Traveler and Dainsleaf after their surprising union.

Lumine stood by your side looking rather restless, an unusual sight to see as she had always remained stoic. Though it was for good reason - Dainsleaf was with her brother after all... It was unclear who she was more worried about, but it didn't matter.

This meeting needed to come to an end before someone got actually hurt. You stood from your throne to the opened portal before you, all of your subjects turned to watch your next move without voicing their worries or protests. Lumine was quick to tail you, but you dismissed her with a simple wave of your hand. You would handle this on your own.

The Herald was unable to escape due to your old knight - your Twilight Sword. He who used to be so loyal to you and your people. Yet now he worked against you in defense of the humanity of which he was not even a part of. All while denouncing the gods. How conflicted he must feel all the time, seemingly unable to choose a side.

You walked through the portal just in time to save your subject from certain death at the hands of the fallen knight. The look on Dainsleaf's face as you stopped his attack was simply priceless... As if he had seen a ghost. He had not aged a single day within the past decades, just like you. Yet you could barely recognize him as the man you once knew so well.

“Y- your Highness!” The Herald exclaimed. He would likely have fallen onto his knees before you, had he not already been groveling on the floor.

“Dainsleaf. I see you still cannot let us be in peace, even after we have let you live after your betrayal.” Your gaze was sharp, but you remained void of any emotion.

You raised your arm to harness the power of the Abyss to bind Dain in place. You were not here for him and you did not need him to intervene with the coming exchange. Your actions and his struggle caused the poor traveler to become nervous, conflicted on what to do next.

“Traveler - I've come to know you by a different name. Your sister calls you Aether, I would rather call you that if you do not mind.” Just the mere mention of his sister caused his eyes to widen and sparkle with hope.

“I can take you to your sister, if you only take my hand. The Abyss are not the monsters you think us to be - not the monsters Dainsleaf makes us out to be.” You sent Dain a glare from the corner of your eye.

“We are a people betrayed by the gods and Celestia, cursed by their vile deeds. Countless of my people lost their lives during the destruction of Khaenri'ah or later - their minds to the curse.” You still have nightmares of it everytime you close your eyes. All the lives lost, the horid curse that plagues them...

Your words caused the traveler to become conflicted and it was evident over his features. Could he truly trust you? Especially when he just meet you and the first thing you did was bind his friend... His eyes moved over to Dainsleaf who was still struggling against his bindings. His eyes were clear in saying "don't" - but how could he refuse this chance?

“Come. You will be free to leave at any moment and so is your sister. I will have answers to all the questions you might have - to questions some are not willing to answer.” You extended your hand towards the blonde, a soft and friendly smile resting on your lips.

A hesitant step was taken towards you, yet his hand still squeezed the hilt of his sword tightly...

Can't believe there are over 90 of you following me! Thank you all so much <3

#genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact fanfics #genshin impact fic #genshin impact fandom #genshin impact x you #genshin impact x y/n #genshin impact aether #aether #aether x y/n #aether x you #aether x reader #genshin impact traveler #traveler #dainsleif #genshin impact dainsleif #genshin impact abyss #abyss #the abyss order #khaenri'ah #abyss lumine #traveler aether #genshin impact abyss order #genshin impact aether x reader #genshin impact aether x you #genshin impact aether x y/n #genshin impact lumine #lumine #<3

[strqyr]

I seriously have to ask. Why on earth are you so determined to push the idea that somehow the ENTIRE HUNTER SYSTEM is toxic and painful and it needs to be thrown in the bin. When not only is Ruby's circumstances far more unique than those your typical hunter would typically face. But we have the vast majority of the main cast affirm that yes, they ARE Hunters, in an epic scene of awesome character development?

I get that Ruby is not in an okay place at the moment. She has trauma from Beacon and Altas that is not fully addressed. And her teammates have not reached out to support her in Volume 9 until her outburst (partly due to bad timing. Because holy shit did her backing away from Crescent Rose send alarms ringing in everyone's heads). But blaming the entire Hunter system as toxic and needing to be removed feels very, 'throwing out the baby with the bathwater', you know?

the system currently in place is a post-war concept. it is, at most, 80 years old. we know the world managed to do just fine without it, as before the war kingdoms were expanding and finding new grounds to settle. as a systemic group huntsmen and huntresses aren't needed: the main reason for the academies to exist is to defend the relics hidden in vaults within them, putting a huge target on them that the students meant to defend them don't even know about. same students who usually start training to kill monsters (and potentially other people as well, since that can be part of the job) at the age of 13. that's a child.

we're talking about a system that is basically churning out child soldiers. there's no reason why they need to graduate at the age of 21 instead of starting to train at that age.

we're talking about a system that has no way to actually keep track of all of huntsmen and huntresses to ensure that they aren't abusing their power. these are people who have trained in combat, who have unlocked their aura for extra protection, who can have special powers in form of semblances. these are people who have the power to arrest others. the power imbalance between a regular citizen and a huntsman is absurd. they are super-powered mercenaries who are also cops and if the one you've trusted your life with decides being a decent person doesn't pay enough or doesn't bring them enough joy anymore or whatever, there's not much a regular citizen can do against them alone.

and we have seen them abuse their power already. this is not a what if? this is a holy shit this is already happening. raven has been the bandit queen of anima for almost 20 years, people are terrified of her, and qrow only cared to amass a group to go deal with the tribe when he found out the spring maiden is there. how is this not a problem?

my point is nothing in the show is actually selling me the idea that the huntsmen system is necessary. just because there are few good eggs doesn't mean the rest isn't rotten, that there aren't issues that need to be fixed.

there will always be heroes, people willing to defend those who need help. but they don't need to have a title of a huntsman or a huntress to do so—clearly, since humanity was doing just fine before the war without the academies. and a town or a family should not be required to have enough money to pay for someone to protect them or else trust a goodwill of a stranger to care about them enough to help without a payment (especially when there's a lot of 'looking the other way, this doesn't concern me' going on).

the system isn't bad just because someone came out of it mental health problems—tho obviously that's bad too and should be reason enough to investigate what went wrong and how it can be prevented in the future—it's bad because from the viewpoint of a Regular Joe who needs a huntsman now, you either have enough money to hire a huntsman—and then hope the one you get not only arrives in time but is also actually a decent person—or you're fucked.

#rwby #rwby9 #rwby spoilers #stormmodblog #ask.strqyr #i mean i could go on and on #but that's the gist of it