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mostlysignssomeportents · 5 months

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“If buying isn’t owning, piracy isn’t stealing”

20 years ago, I got in a (friendly) public spat with Chris Anderson, who was then the editor in chief of Wired. I'd publicly noted my disappointment with glowing Wired reviews of DRM-encumbered digital devices, prompting Anderson to call me unrealistic for expecting the magazine to condemn gadgets for their DRM:

https://longtail.typepad.com/the_long_tail/2004/12/is_drm_evil.html

I replied in public, telling him that he'd misunderstood. This wasn't an issue of ideological purity – it was about good reviewing practice. Wired was telling readers to buy a product because it had features x, y and z, but at any time in the future, without warning, without recourse, the vendor could switch off any of those features:

https://memex.craphound.com/2004/12/29/cory-responds-to-wired-editor-on-drm/

I proposed that all Wired endorsements for DRM-encumbered products should come with this disclaimer:

WARNING: THIS DEVICE’S FEATURES ARE SUBJECT TO REVOCATION WITHOUT NOTICE, ACCORDING TO TERMS SET OUT IN SECRET NEGOTIATIONS. YOUR INVESTMENT IS CONTINGENT ON THE GOODWILL OF THE WORLD’S MOST PARANOID, TECHNOPHOBIC ENTERTAINMENT EXECS. THIS DEVICE AND DEVICES LIKE IT ARE TYPICALLY USED TO CHARGE YOU FOR THINGS YOU USED TO GET FOR FREE — BE SURE TO FACTOR IN THE PRICE OF BUYING ALL YOUR MEDIA OVER AND OVER AGAIN. AT NO TIME IN HISTORY HAS ANY ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY GOTTEN A SWEET DEAL LIKE THIS FROM THE ELECTRONICS PEOPLE, BUT THIS TIME THEY’RE GETTING A TOTAL WALK. HERE, PUT THIS IN YOUR MOUTH, IT’LL MUFFLE YOUR WHIMPERS.

Wired didn't take me up on this suggestion.

But I was right. The ability to change features, prices, and availability of things you've already paid for is a powerful temptation to corporations. Inkjet printers were always a sleazy business, but once these printers got directly connected to the internet, companies like HP started pushing out "security updates" that modified your printer to make it reject the third-party ink you'd paid for:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/11/ink-stained-wretches-battle-soul-digital-freedom-taking-place-inside-your-printer

Now, this scam wouldn't work if you could just put things back the way they were before the "update," which is where the DRM comes in. A thicket of IP laws make reverse-engineering DRM-encumbered products into a felony. Combine always-on network access with indiscriminate criminalization of user modification, and the enshittification will follow, as surely as night follows day.

This is the root of all the right to repair shenanigans. Sure, companies withhold access to diagnostic codes and parts, but codes can be extracted and parts can be cloned. The real teeth in blocking repair comes from the law, not the tech. The company that makes McDonald's wildly unreliable McFlurry machines makes a fortune charging franchisees to fix these eternally broken appliances. When a third party threatened this racket by reverse-engineering the DRM that blocked independent repair, they got buried in legal threats:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/04/20/euthanize-rentier-enablers/#cold-war

Everybody loves this racket. In Poland, a team of security researchers at the OhMyHack conference just presented their teardown of the anti-repair features in NEWAG Impuls locomotives. NEWAG boobytrapped their trains to try and detect if they've been independently serviced, and to respond to any unauthorized repairs by bricking themselves:

https://mamot.fr/@[email protected]/111528162905209453

Poland is part of the EU, meaning that they are required to uphold the provisions of the 2001 EU Copyright Directive, including Article 6, which bans this kind of reverse-engineering. The researchers are planning to present their work again at the Chaos Communications Congress in Hamburg this month – Germany is also a party to the EUCD. The threat to researchers from presenting this work is real – but so is the threat to conferences that host them:

https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/researchers-face-legal-threats-over-sdmi-hack/

20 years ago, Chris Anderson told me that it was unrealistic to expect tech companies to refuse demands for DRM from the entertainment companies whose media they hoped to play. My argument – then and now – was that any tech company that sells you a gadget that can have its features revoked is defrauding you. You're paying for x, y and z – and if they are contractually required to remove x and y on demand, they are selling you something that you can't rely on, without making that clear to you.

But it's worse than that. When a tech company designs a device for remote, irreversible, nonconsensual downgrades, they invite both external and internal parties to demand those downgrades. Like Pavel Chekov says, a phaser on the bridge in Act I is going to go off by Act III. Selling a product that can be remotely, irreversibly, nonconsensually downgraded inevitably results in the worst person at the product-planning meeting proposing to do so. The fact that there are no penalties for doing so makes it impossible for the better people in that meeting to win the ensuing argument, leading to the moral injury of seeing a product you care about reduced to a pile of shit:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/25/moral-injury/#enshittification

But even if everyone at that table is a swell egg who wouldn't dream of enshittifying the product, the existence of a remote, irreversible, nonconsensual downgrade feature makes the product vulnerable to external actors who will demand that it be used. Back in 2022, Adobe informed its customers that it had lost its deal to include Pantone colors in Photoshop, Illustrator and other "software as a service" packages. As a result, users would now have to start paying a monthly fee to see their own, completed images. Fail to pay the fee and all the Pantone-coded pixels in your artwork would just show up as black:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/10/28/fade-to-black/#trust-the-process

Adobe blamed this on Pantone, and there was lots of speculation about what had happened. Had Pantone jacked up its price to Adobe, so Adobe passed the price on to its users in the hopes of embarrassing Pantone? Who knows? Who can know? That's the point: you invested in Photoshop, you spent money and time creating images with it, but you have no way to know whether or how you'll be able to access those images in the future. Those terms can change at any time, and if you don't like it, you can go fuck yourself.

These companies are all run by CEOs who got their MBAs at Darth Vader University, where the first lesson is "I have altered the deal, pray I don't alter it further." Adobe chose to design its software so it would be vulnerable to this kind of demand, and then its customers paid for that choice. Sure, Pantone are dicks, but this is Adobe's fault. They stuck a KICK ME sign to your back, and Pantone obliged.

This keeps happening and it's gonna keep happening. Last week, Playstation owners who'd bought (or "bought") Warner TV shows got messages telling them that Warner had walked away from its deal to sell videos through the Playstation store, and so all the videos they'd paid for were going to be deleted forever. They wouldn't even get refunds (to be clear, refunds would also be bullshit – when I was a bookseller, I didn't get to break into your house and steal the books I'd sold you, not even if I left some cash on your kitchen table).

Sure, Warner is an unbelievably shitty company run by the single most guillotineable executive in all of Southern California, the loathsome David Zaslav, who oversaw the merger of Warner with Discovery. Zaslav is the creep who figured out that he could make more money cancelling completed movies and TV shows and taking a tax writeoff than he stood to make by releasing them:

https://aftermath.site/there-is-no-piracy-without-ownership

Imagine putting years of your life into making a program – showing up on set at 5AM and leaving your kids to get their own breakfast, performing stunts that could maim or kill you, working 16-hour days during the acute phase of the covid pandemic and driving home in the night, only to have this absolute turd of a man delete the program before anyone could see it, forever, to get a minor tax advantage. Talk about moral injury!

But without Sony's complicity in designing a remote, irreversible, nonconsensual downgrade feature into the Playstation, Zaslav's war on art and creative workers would be limited to material that hadn't been released yet. Thanks to Sony's awful choices, David Zaslav can break into your house, steal your movies – and he doesn't even have to leave a twenty on your kitchen table.

The point here – the point I made 20 years ago to Chris Anderson – is that this is the foreseeable, inevitable result of designing devices for remote, irreversible, nonconsensual downgrades. Anyone who was paying attention should have figured that out in the GW Bush administration. Anyone who does this today? Absolute flaming garbage.

Sure, Zaslav deserves to be staked out over an anthill and slathered in high-fructose corn syrup. But save the next anthill for the Sony exec who shipped a product that would let Zaslav come into your home and rob you. That piece of shit knew what they were doing and they did it anyway. Fuck them. Sideways. With a brick.

Meanwhile, the studios keep making the case for stealing movies rather than paying for them. As Tyler James Hill wrote: "If buying isn't owning, piracy isn't stealing":

https://bsky.app/profile/tylerjameshill.bsky.social/post/3kflw2lvam42n

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/12/08/playstationed/#tyler-james-hill

Image: Alan Levine (modified) https://pxhere.com/en/photo/218986

CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

#pluralistic #playstation #sony #copyright #copyfight #drm #monopoly #enshittification #batgirl #road runner #financiazation #the end of ownership #ip

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harrysfolklore · 9 months

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love and tour - collab post

the amazing @watchmegetobsessed teamed up once again and we came up with this story for you ! READ THIS BLURB FIRST TO UNDERSTAND THIS STORY

we hope you like this <33

MASTERLIST | MY PATREON

2010

liked by username1, username2 and 77 others

yourinstagram good luck harry on your x factor audition ! i know you don’t have instagram but i want to say that i’m proud of you and i believe in you <33

view all 18 comments

username1 good luck harry !!

username2 holmes chapel comp believes in harry <3

username3 goooo harry!! :p

liked by username1, username2 and 209 others

xfactorupdates A new boy group was formed tonight with boys that didn’t make it to the next round. Their names are: Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson and Liam Payne

view all 25 comments

username1 cuties ! i’m ready to support them

username2 that harry boy is so adorableee

yourinstagram i’m so proud of you harry !! good luck and congratulations boys <3

2013

liked by niallhoran, liampayne and 819,876 others

harrystyles Picture of Oberhausen! Thank you for having us Germany. Tschüss!

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onedirectionfan1 MY SHOOOW

onedirectionfan2 my favorite boys ever

niallhoran Yoooo!

onedirectionfan3 ❤️

liked by harrystyles, annetwist and 4,826 others

yourinstagram Soon 👑

view all 278 comments

yourbestie CONGRATULATIONS ❤️

onedirectionupdates Harry liked this post !

1dfan1 OMGG WHY DID HARRY LIKE THIS

annetwist Congratulations darling 👏🏻

yourinstagram Where are this likes coming from 😳

onedirectionupdates From what we gathered, she’s an old friend of Harry’s and they probably went to high school together

2014

2019

liked by spaceykacey, alexachung and 1,692,065 others

harrystyles LIVE IN LONDON. DEC 19.

Link in Bio for details on ticket access.

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harryfan1 OMFGGGG

alessandro_michele ❤️

harryfan2 I’LL BE THERE

harris_reed london boy

harryfan3 THIS IS SO EXCITING

liked by gemmastyles, yourbestie and 398 others

yourinstagram got a show today 🕺

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username1 gorgeous ! 💗

gemmastyles Can’t wait to see you ! It’s going to be just like old times ❤️

username2 cutieeee we need to catch up

yourbestie Tell me all the details once it’s done !!

liked by harryfan1, harryfan2 and 8,937 others

harryupdates “I have really special people with me tonight. My family is here, friends I haven’t seen in so long are here. I’m happy to have them around tonight.” - Harry in London tonight !

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harryfan1 AWEEEE

harryfan2 lovey boy

harryfan3 he was so happy his family and friends were there 🥺🥺

harryfan4 MY BABYYYY

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harryupdates Harry leaving the ONO afterparty tonight !

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harryfan1 HELLO???

harryfan2 WHOOO IS THAT

harryfan3 i have so many questions rn

harryfan4 EXPLAIN

liked by gemmachan, yourinstagram and 2,682,138 others

harrystyles FINE LINE LIVE IN LONDON.

DEC 19 2019.

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harryfan1 MY BABYYY

lizzobeeating 💗

harryfan2 best show ever i cried the entire time

yourinstagram ❤️

harryfan3 COME BACK

2020

liked by sza, yourinstagram and 6,722,835 others

harrystyles DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME. Practice social distancing. Watermelon Sugar Video Out Now.

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harryfan1 BEST VIDEO EVER !!!

yourinstagram SUMMER ANTHEM !! 🧡

jefezoff 🙌🏻🙌🏻

harryfan2 this deserves to be a #1 hit

liked by harrystyles, gemmastyles and 6,804 others

yourinstagram quarantine diaries 🤍

view all 956 comments

yourbestie i miss youuuuu so much

harryfan1 IS THAT HARRY??

annetwist ❤

harryfan2 yall are clowning that's not harry

↳ harryfan3 i know my man when i see him

↳ harryfan4 well he even liked this

2021

liked by columbiarecords, hshq and 5,416,825 others

harrystyles Love On Tour. Las Vegas, NV.

view all 105,016 comments

gucci ❤️

harryfan1 HES FINALLY BACK

yourinstagram 🤩

harrystyles liked this comment

↳ harryfan4 huh harry liked this comment

harryfan2 MY BABYYYY

liked by annetwist, harrystyles and 8,936 others

yourinstagram and so the adventure begins 🕺 💗on tour

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yourbestie YAY 🤩

annetwist Have fun !!

harryfan1 is this a crew member ?

pillowpersonpp ❤️❤️

harryfan2 so harry knows how to use instagram

harryfan3 my question about who this girl is remain unanswered

TWITTER

2023

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yourinstagram 💗 ON TOUR, FOREVER.

when this tour started, harry and i were still brand new, this was a new world for me and one thing i was sure about is that i want to be by his side for every minute of it.

now that it’s coming to an end, i can’t help but feel incredible proud of the man that i get to call my fiancé and the one i’m going to spend the rest of my life with.

i love you, harry. i’m in constant awe of you and everything you do, thank you for letting me share every milestone with you.

view all 5,926 comments

harryfan1 OMFGGGG😭😭😭

jefezoff My babies.

harryfan2 I LOVE THEM SO BAD

harrystyles Some things are just meant to be. I love you x

↳ harryfan3 THIS IS FIANCÉ HARRY SPEAKING I CANT FR

↳ harryfan4 awe the definition of friends to lovers this is so cute

liked by sza, yourinstagram and 4,927,268 others

harrystyles Love On Tour. Reggio Emilia. July, 2023.

view all 76,826 comments

harryfan1 STOOOP😭

alessandro_michele Cheries 💗

harryfan2 THEYRE GETTING MARRIED

harryfan3 of course harry would post her and leave

yourinstagram ily soon to be hubby

↳ harryfan4 DOUBLE HOMICIDE

taglist: @lightsoutstyles @willowpains @straightontilmornin @sleutherclaw @gimsaysay @hazzassmirk @platinumbarbie143 @musicforcinemas @celesteblack08 @scntfrhs @eleanordaisy @lomlolivia @iceebabies @iloveshawn @be-with-me-so-happily @watermelonsugacry @rayisthehoe

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dreaminginthedeepsouth · 2 months

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Russia’s Alexei Navalny, a fierce anticorruption campaigner who galvanized the country’s political opposition, has died in prison, Russian news agencies reported Friday. The cause of his death was still being established, said prison authorities, cited by Russian news agency TASS. Navalny had been serving sentences in a penal colony amounting to more than 30 years on various charges. He was 47 years old.

A statement from the prison authorities said that he had felt unwell following a walk outside and lost consciousness. The statement said a medical team was called on site but was unable to save him. Navalny had been behind bars since January 2021, when he returned to Russia from Germany, where he was recovering after falling ill during a flight inside Russia. German doctors concluded that he had been poisoned with the Soviet-era nerve agent, Novichok. Navalny blamed his poisoning on the Kremlin, which denied involvement in any attempt to harm him.

[WSJ]

Alexi Navalny has been murdered by Vladimir Putin. Democracy is fragile. Not a drill. Rest in power.

“Listen, I've got something very obvious to tell you. You’re not allowed to give up. If they decide to kill me, it means that we are incredibly strong.”

- Alexei Navalny

"Everything will be all right. And, even if it won't be, we'll have the consolation of having lived honest lives."

Alexei Navalny (1976-2024)

#Alexi Navalny #R.I.P.#Putin the Butcher #quotes #heroes #resist #honest lives #walk in light

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wosowrites · 9 months

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In the End (Jessie Fleming x Reader)

warnings: mental breakdown

prompt: in which canada wins the world cup causing the reader to break down and jessie, her ex girlfriend, to comfort her.

a/n: had to get this one out before canadas game for my girl @woso-scotland

No one believed in Canada other than the canadian fans. English fans wanted england to win but knew Germany, Sweden and USA had a good chance as well. Canada was never on the list of possible victors in the mind of football fans. And yet, they shocked the world.

Germany versus Canada. World Cup final. August 20th. You were shitting yourself. Lena sat beside you, whispering words of encouragement. It was your second World Cup, but France 2019 hadn’t met your expectations. You wanted glory, and now it was in your reach. To be honest, you were scared about the football aspect, but you were terrified of the opponent. After a 0-0 draw to Nigeria, Canada had become positively deadly. But Jessie Fleming was the actual issue. You played for Arsenal, she for Chelsea, and after a game in 2021 you had started talking and eventually dating. But you couldn’t say no to a transfer offer to your childhood club, Wolfsburg when it came. You didn’t handle the situation well, basically ghosting your girlfriend and then telling her in a short text that you couldn’t be with her. It was unfair, but emotions were never your thing and they weren’t hers either so your younger self thought it would be fine.

It wasn’t. And you knew that when you got to Germany and realized how in love you were with her. Too late though. You thought it had been too late. But the second you walked out of the tunnel to roaring germans and canadians, you knew it wasn’t. Your eyes locked with your ex-girlfriends and you could basically see her pupils widen. She still loved you too. Your heart swelled with joy and you smiled at her slightly. She smiled back gently, her freckles brighter than ever due to the tan she had gained from the australian sun.

"Don’t look at the opponent like that, y/n," Popp scowled at you, grabbing your jersey and dragging you far far away from the Canadian side.

The game started off slower than a World Cup should have. Canada had most of the possession, passing confidently and trying to send balls through. But every time Ashley Lawrence, Kadeisha Buchanan or anyone else from the red side tried to send a ball up, your midfield would block it but not well enough so the ball would be sent back to Canada who would resume their passing.

Lena had the first shot of the game but it was an easy save for Kailen Sheridan. From then on, it was all Canada in the attack. The german box was crowded and any shot could happen any time. However, Jessie went down just outside the 18, holding her head after a collision with Lina Magull. You want to help her up as she was close to you but you felt Alexandra’s eyes burn into your skull so you looked away and placed yourself in the wall for the free kick.

It deflected off your head, pretty painfully you might add, but then out of nowhere, a whistle was blown and the referee signaled a VAR check.

Now a lot of people say Canada only win games through penalties, but during team talks, Martina had brought up that she thought that to be untrue. You can’t get penalties without attacking the opponents box. And Canada did that skillfully, and when they couldn’t finish, they drew fouls. It was a strategy and their strength. You thought you were going to throw up. Had it been you? Had you maybe cost your team the first goal.

It hadn’t been you. It had been Klara. She had pushed Jayde Rivière in the back to move her away from your keeper before the ball was kicked. And then the referee was pointing at the spot. Your ex girlfriend was standing in front of the ball, and she scored without a fail. Bottom left, no chance for Ann Katrin.

Canadian voices filled the stadium in the 44' minute. You couldn’t have been more angry and more happy for half time to come.

Martina was positive. Demanding, harsh, but positive. And her positivity was what drove you to score in the 56th.

A corner kick resulted in your continuous movement around the box. You went back and forth, in and out, anything to be a bother to the Canadian defenders. And that you were. In a rare Kadeisha Buchanan slip up, she had lost you as her mark. The corner went short to Lena who fired it into the box but Buchanan cleared it… right to you. One touch was all it took. You leaned over the ball and hammered it as hard as you could. The ball glides over the grass and slammed into the back of the net. You screamed so loudly your head went light. Running with your arms wide, you yelled, and cheered, and punched the air. Lena picked you up in her arms and held you high in front of the German fans. Alexandra kissed your head, your teammates screamed words of love at you.

But the Canadians weren’t done.

From then on, there was no break. Through substitutions came new legs but almost no shots were taken. It was as though a big game of keep away was hapenning between the two boxes. And then something so unexpected happened that you almost looked at the ref to see if it was aloud. Quinn scored. They got the ball from a clumsy pass from the German defence and shot the ball so hard you were almost scared for Ann Katrins safety.

The stadium erupted, Quinn looked almost scared of themselves.

But then you scored again, securing the golden boot. You didn’t care about that though. You wanted the big money. The big WC. A free kick taken by Lena Oberdorf in the 94th minute hit the cross bar and then went off your head and into the net, seeming almost accidental.

Extra time. You were exhausted.

But Canada ended it with a strike from Jordyn Huitema within the 18.

When the final whistle blew… well you wanted to die. You fell to your knees and let your head hit the turf. You stayed like that in child’s pose, plugging your ears to try and block out the Canadian celebrations for almost the minutes. Staff tapped your back, Martina tried to comfort you and tell you how proud she was of your goals but you just wanted to sob and never stop sobbing. So that’s what you did.

You sat up and sobbed to yourself. Head in your hands, heart in the most horrible pain it had ever been in, and mind full of doubts about what this meant for your future. Your body shaked so hard, harder than anyone else on the pitch. You sobbed louder, shook harder and felt worse than anyone else on that field. Maybe it was because you had felt the taste of glory and it had been taken away so suddenly, or maybe it was the fact that despite your goals you couldn’t secure the cup for your team, but whatever it was, it led you back to Jessie.

As soon as Jessie had congratulated and been congratulated by everyone, she looked to find you. The bright number 7 on your back was facing the Canadian side and she could see how hard you were crying. She basically ran to you, quickly kneeling beside you and cupping your face in her hands. This meant a lot. Jessie Fleming was not one for PDA.

Having her freckles so close to you once again almost made you feel okay, but then there was the fact that you couldn’t breathe. "Hey, it’s okay, it’s okay. You played so well, you were so good," she whispered to you, trying her best to help you close out the sound of the crowd. "I- I can’t breathe," you said, taking huge gulps of air. Jessie sat beside you and let your head rest on her shoulder. She brushed her fingers through your baby hairs, kissed your head and whispered words to you. Ten minutes later, however the ache still there, the shaking wasn’t. "I need to get back to my team," she whispered, looking over her shoulders at the screaming and crying Canadians. "Yeah, me too," you said.

She gave you a small nod and then said "we should talk. Later, tomorrow or in a week if you want. Whenever your ready," she said. You nodded absent mindedly and walked away.

Receiving the golden boot was an award you knew you would appreciate later on, but you accepted it like a zombie in a trance. Everything felt blurry and you faked a small smile for the camera before hurrying off stage. Kailen got the golden glove, Sophia Smith the young player of the tournament and you all took a picture together. Then, the trophy lift.

You sat down on the turf, under the players bench with your head in Lena’s arms. She cried and you cried as you watched the red, white and gold confetti litter the field. "In four years, Lena. I promise you," you cried to her.

A week later

You hadn’t realized how freeing it was not to be in World Cup mode anymore. You could breathe, sleep, and eat without asking yourself how it would impact your game. In your last day in Australia before going back home to your family in Germany, you set up a meeting with Jessie at this small café.

Jessie arrived a couple minutes after you. She looked perfect, but she looked as though it was her first day in a while of being sober. "First day sober for a week, huh?" you asked her when she sat down. "That obvious?" she smiled. "Yeah. But you still look perfect," you let slip.

Jessie blushed and looked down at her lap. "You deserved that cup. Convert to Canadianisme," she teased. "And how does that work. Do I just marry a Canadian or…" you smiled. "Your flirty today," she smiled. "Yeah I’ve been drunk for different reasons," you laughed.

"Drinking your pain isn’t good y/n," she grounded you. "And drinking your joy is?"

"Fair point I guess," she said. "You must feel on top of the world. Cause you are," you said to her after a beat.

"I actually dont. I feel stupid for not fighting for you," she whispered. "Don’t. Please don’t feel like that. I left without any warning. It was so unfair of me," you said to her, leaning closer to her. "World Cup, Olympic Gold, FA cups, League Titles, they’re all nice but they would be nicer if I could win them while calling you my girlfriend," Jessie said, looking at you with the kind of eyes only a psychopath would say no too. "Are you saying you forgive me for packing my bags and leaving you in the dust…?" you asked, not comprehensive of her words. "Because if this is some runner up pity party I don’t want it," you said. "It’s not a pity party. Listen you’ve lost a lot this year and I realized that the one thing I can change is for you not to have lost me," the freckled girl said.

You didn’t care who was watching, you stood up and kneeled next to her. You were a fair bit taller than her so being kneeled next to her didn’t make the biggest difference in height when she was sitting. You grabbed her face gently and lowered it and kissed her. Right in the middle of the café, right in front of everyone, right in the face of all the people who thought you were trash.

Because trash doesn’t bag Jessie Fleming.

#woso fic #woso imagine #woso x reader #woso #jessie fleming #canwnt #lena oberdorf

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brf-rumortrackinganon · 17 days

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I still share plants opinion regarding IG. I think they’re phasing harry out, in part because he contributes very little compared to what they spend on him. And secondly the UK military no longer want him as the poster child post spare release. And the only reason why it hasn’t happened yet is because of Charles. But I personally don’t think that Charles influence will continue that much longer. IG wants to get rid of them, and if he doesn’t show up to the event in may it’s rather easy for the UK to not award the next games location. Would harry put up a stink?? Absolutely, but that’s when they’ll pivot on in on her and ARO.

I agree. I wouldn’t be surprised if Invictus Games has been trying to cut Harry lose since Megxit when they lost their Royal prestige. Because without Harry’s Royal status connecting them to the UK Ministry of Defense, what exactly is he needed for?

I think it was Plant who said this (but it could’ve been another blog) but Harry and Meghan have managed to make *every* *single* Invictus Games about them:

2017 Toronto IG: they debuted their relationship and it was all anyone talked about

2018 Sydney IG: they announced Meghan’s pregnancy and it was all anyone talked about. Not only, there’s pretty consistent gossip that the Sussexes only showed up for the ceremonies and barely attended the actual events/games.

2020 Dutch IG: postponed to 2021 because of Covid

2021 Dutch IG: postponed to 2022 because of the Olympics and no one wanting to risk their spots on national teams (though the official story is that it was postponed for Covid).

2022 Dutch IG: they turned it into Meghan’s Fashion Show (and stiffed IG with all the bills) and a BetterUp sponcon. But all anyone talked about was their pre-IG visit to Windsor to see The Queen for the first time since Megxit (a visit that Meghan had to leak directly because there were no photographs).

2023 Düsseldorf Games: another Meghan merchfest and BetterUp sponcon, but all anyone talked about was Harry’s papwalk visiting his grandmother’s grave on the anniversary of her passing and his comments about it.

It’s not good for any charity’s bottom line if their patron or sponsor is dominating the news to the point that their spotlight excludes the charity itself. There are definitely people at Invictus who understand this and who are probably fighting hard to let Harry go.

After all, Germany is able to do its own national Games independent of the charity and without Harry. Reading between the lines: Germany Invictus has some kind of corporate backing from the “main” charity to do this spin-off version. Especially if it was made clear that they didn’t want the Sussexes involved (as the press did when the announcement was made).

I know I said this before but I think it bears repeating: if Germany Invictus does really well without “main” IG and without Harry “promoting” it, I think they’ll go ahead and cut Harry loose altogether because it will have proven what’s been known since 2018 - that the Sussexes are a huge liability for the people they claim to support and advocate for.

#ask #sussexes #theories #invictus games

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hooked-on-elvis · 1 month

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Official publicity photos during the army. Friday, October 3, 1958, Elvis at Ray Barracks in Friedberg, Germany. Elvis had arrived in Germany on the morning of October 1st.

The newspapers had been reporting that Presley was initially assigned to join the crew of a medium Patton tank. However, before Elvis arrived in Germany, he said his last assignment had been driving a truck for four weeks in Fort Hood. The army announced the new assignment was made after reviewing Presley’s military tests and records, and an interview with his company commander. This is the reason why on October 3 Elvis first posed with the Company D sign for publicity photos, but just a few days later was photographed with the Headquarters sign.

“The assignment of scout jeep driver is given to soldiers of above normal capability,” an army official explained. “The soldier must be able to work on his own, map-read and draw sketches, know tactics and recognize the enemy and enemy weapons.” A rumor started circulating that Elvis was transferred due to a perforated eardrum which meant he had to avoid loud noises of artillery fire. “That rumor didn’t make much sense to me,” Lt. Taylor commented. “It’s implausible that the army medical exam system had failed to detect such an ear problem long before Elvis was assigned to a tank company.” During the day, Elvis was driving jeep “HQ31” for the Master Sergeant of a scout platoon, Ira Jones from Arkansas, who had served in World War II and the Korean War and was a Purple Heart recipient. However, Presley was not just a jeep driver. According to Jones, each scout “was trained to operate in enemy territory with or without vehicles.” The scout platoons were the first ones who would see the enemy in combat. As a result, Jones was quite impressed that Elvis did not try to get out of his assigned position to serve in the field with his Reconnaissance Platoon. “As time passed, Elvis became our friend and we hoped that he would stay with us,” recalled Sgt. Jones. “We could count on him to be a member of the team… By the time Elvis had been with us six or seven weeks, we were confident that he was going to succeed in the U.S. Army.”

Excerpt from "Elvis: The Army Years Uncovered · Behind The Scenes Of The Two Years That Changed The King Of Rock 'n' Roll's Life" by Trina Young (2021)

Official publicity photos during the army. Friday, October 3, 1958, Elvis at Ray Barracks in Friedberg, Germany.

#elvis presley #germany #1958 #elvis #50s elvis #elvis history #army history #elvis the king #army elvis #elvis fans #elvis fandom

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blorbocedes · 6 months

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In his own words: Christian Horner on world champion Max Verstappen

Verstappen won another world title on Saturday.

written by: Christian Horner, originally published on The Independent, 08, October 2023 [x]

I remember raising it to Helmut Marko – Red Bull’s motorsport consultant – that this kid looks the real deal. Helmut watched him at the Norisring in Germany and he was convinced.

There was interest from Niki Lauda and Mercedes, but Red Bull could take him to Formula One immediately. So, he came to us a very young age. He was 16. And I remember in his very first outing for us – a demonstration run in Rotterdam – he took the front wing off the car! But you could tell in the seat fitting the confidence he had for a young guy was exceptional.

All of the drivers that came through the junior categories learned their trade out of the spotlight, but Max became the youngest driver in Formula One ever. He was only 17. Every move and every mistake he made was scrutinised.

Jean Todt, who was the FIA president at the time, changed the regulations to ensure someone as young and inexperienced as Max could not enter F1. There will never be a driver that moves so rapidly from karting to F1 again. But the way he dealt with it mentally made him a standout character.

It was obvious in his first full F1 season when he drove for Red Bull’s sister team Toro Rosso, that he was an emerging talent, and at the beginning of 2016 he was performing beyond the capability of the car.

Daniil Kvyat was struggling, and there was a lot of interest in Max. We made the decision to move him to Red Bull at the Spanish Grand Prix.

Mercedes did their thing when Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg crashed into each other on the first lap and Max, who started fourth which was already stunning, made the one-stop strategy work to win in his first Grand Prix with the team. He became the sport’s youngest ever winner, aged 18. It was a fairytale. Max had arrived.

He won races in 2017 and 2018, and in 2019 he became the team leader following Daniel Ricciardo’s departure to Renault. He grew up, and it was a transformative year for him.

In 2021 we had a car and an engine that could take the fight to Mercedes, and that season will go down as one of the most competitive sporting duels the sport has ever had.

From the first race in Bahrain through to Abu Dhabi, Max and Lewis were like two heavyweights going up against each other. Max was a dog with a bone. He wouldn’t let it go. And you couldn’t script that they would head to the final race tied on points.

Max was very cool. He put the car on pole, and we took our opportunity under the final safety car. Max had one lap to get the job done. I don’t think Lewis expected Max to attack in the corner that he did, and people overlook that he still had to beat Lewis. He still had to win the race. It wasn’t about two unlapped backmarkers. It was about Max reacting to the circumstances and getting the job done. And under the most intense pressure he did just that. He sent it down the inside and the whole place went bananas.

To see him and his father, Jos, celebrate was a very special moment because it was the culmination of all the effort that his father had put into him at a very young age. Max achieved his goal, and anything after that was the icing on the cake, because for him, it was all about becoming a world champion.

Max has still got all the tenacity he had when he got in the car as a 17-year-old, but he now marries that with experience. Outside of the car, he is a normal guy, too. He has his feet on the ground and he hasn’t had his head turned by fame and fortune. He still loves racing, and he has got good, grounded principals.

He is competitive and wears his heart on his sleeve. He is very honest. He will give you everything, but he expects everything in return.

He can go on to achieve so much more. We are riding a wave at the moment, and we want to continue riding that wave for as long as we can.

Will Max be in Formula One for a long, long time? I don’t think so. He has ambitions beyond F1 and beyond racing. And at 26, 36 seems a long way away.

We have a long-term agreement with him until 2028, and he has always said he will be happy to start and end his career here, but motivation will be a crucial factor.

#it was a fairytale. max had arrived.#hadn't seen it posted here to #christian horner #max verstappen

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the-offside-rule · 1 year

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Mick Schumacher (Mercedes) - Euros

Requested: nope

Prompt: Mick drunk while watching the Euros in 2021

Warnings: dunk Mick

Mick was sat alongside his mechanics and engineers as he watched on painfully. England versus Germany. He had this lovely barbecue planned out, drinks and everything paid for and then the final whistle had gone, leaving Germany to lose. The team celebrated and sang countless football chants about how England is gonna bring it home and what not while Mick just watched on. It had been an hour or so since the match had finished and Mick just wanted to go back to his hotel room but the mechanics weren't exactly having nay of it. "How about you just drink mate?" One of his mechanics asked. "Oh no, I'm fine." Mick reassured him. "Why? Is something wrong?" Mick shook his head. "No, my girlfriend is going out with her friends from Alfa Romeo tomorrow so I don't want to keep her up too late worrying about me." Mick explained. His engineer understood but was persistant to have some fun with Mick, so was everyone else. "Okay, how about this? We'll stay until seven or eight and then you can go home. Sound like a good idea?" Mick thought for a while and agreed. "Okay, okay that's fine. Let me just text her first and we'll get to drinking."

It had just gone 1 in the morning whne the door to your hotel room was knocked. Your eyes flew open as your sleep was disrupted but you knew it must have been Mick. You got up and sluggishly walked towards the door before opening it, surprised to see his mehcnaics Ryan and Dylan there instead. "Thank God you answered. He's had a bit too much to drink." Dylan said. You looked over to see Mick half asleep and looking down. "Mick?" Hee loookeed up and smiled lazily upon sering you. "Heya Liebling. I missed you sooooo much." he slurred. You chuckled a bit and turned back to the mechanics. "How drunk is he?" you asked as he collapsed into your arms. "Very. He's had loads of Heineken, Budweiser, we aren't even gonna talk about the Jagermeister." Ryan said as he helped you bring Mick into the room and plopping him down onto the couch. "Well he's definitely gonna have a hangover." You sighed. "Yeah, probably. Look, we have to go but goodnight Y/n." Ryan said. "Goodnight, I'll talk to you later."

You closed the door and spotted your boyfriend on the couch, doing nothing but breathing. "You doing okay over theeree Mick? How about some water?" He lifted his hand and gave a thumbs up. He must have been shattered. "Right, here you go. Don't drink it too quickly though, just little sips." Mick took the glass and shakily brought it to his lips, sipping little by little as he was instructed to. "How are you feeling now?" you asked him. His head dropped onto your shoulder and his eyes closed a bit. "I'm sleepy." Mick whispered. "I know. Do you want to go to bed?" you asked. Mick shook his head but then, came a little spurt of vomit coming from his mouth and onto your hoodie. "Jesus christ." you muttered, a little annoyed. "I'm sorry." he mumbled. "It's okay, it's okay. This happens to everyone. Let's just get you somewhere to sit and throw up whatever you need to."

The toilet. That's where Mick sat for a good thirty minutes just vomiting and getting sick while you sat on or in the bath, it really depended. "This is horrible." Mick groaned before spitting into the toilet. "I know. That's why I don't get drunk as much anymore Mick." You replied. "Are you disappointed with me?" he asked. You were taken off guard by that question. "No, why would I?" you asked, moving his hair to the side a little. "Because you are supposed to be up and going to meet up with your friends really early tomorrow and you're here taking care of me like I'm a baby or a child." You smiled a bit and rubbed the side of his face. "That's my job." You chuckled. "Your job is to put a car together." Mick mumbled tiredly. "Wiring but okay." you replied. He smiled a bit. "No but seriously, your job is to love me." he said. "So caring for you falls into that category." Hee opened his eyes to look at your caring face. "But now you can't go out tomorrow morning because of me."

"I don't mind. I can always wait until Thursday. You've got media anyway." He nodded and began to doze off so he probably had thrown up everything there was. "Okay,ets go to bed Schumi." You said climbing out of the bath to help him up. "Can we have a sleepover?" he asked excitedly. "Of course we can." You replied. Youu opened the bedroom door and turned on the light, Mick barely standing and relying solely on your shoulder for balance. "Okay, into bed. Come on." Mick slumped onto the bed and curled in under the blankets to get warm. You just hope din beside him and turned the lights off since you could both only sleep in the dark. You were about to fall asleep when you heard a little German voice beside you.

"Hey Y/n?" Mick asked, his eyes closed as he prepared to go to sleep. "Yes?" you replied. "Do you have a boyfriend?" You made a face at the question, slightly confused but it made sense that his head wasn't in the right mindset at the time. "Mick, you're my boyfriend." You said. Mick scoffed. "That sucks." You were taken back by that remark. "Excuse me?" you asked, a little hurt by his last reaction. "Why aren't you my wife yet?" It took a few seconds for it to settle into your brain but it warmed your heart and set the butterflies swarming around your stomach when it eventually did. "Wait Mick, do you mean that?" you asked, turning around but by the time you had, he was already softly snoring, fast asleep.

#mick schumacher #mick schumacher x you #mick schumacher x reader #mick schumacher one shot #mick schumacher fanfiction #f1 oneshots #f1 oneshot #f1 blurb #f1 imagine

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skitskatdacat63 · 5 months

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Vettonso x Similar Helmets

SV Germany 2012 x FA Monaco 2013: Gold & Dark Red

I think a lot about Vettonso and their mutual relationship witn gold. They're both golden boys, they're both seen lit gold by the sunshine on many podiums throughout the years, both have worn golden boots, and as you can see here: both have worn golden helmets. The parallels in these particular helmets makes me feel insane. Both are: gold with dark red accents, both have their birthplace's coat of arms(Bergstraße and Asturias), both have team animal motifs, and both have symbols to represent their two championships(You by now know the signifigance of the ones on Fernando's helmet, but I think the ones on Seb's are actually a callback to his Formula BMW days when he used to put the smiley stickers on his car for every win.)

And did you know both of these helmets were designed by the same helmet design company? Yep, both of these are JMD helmets. I know JMD helmets are/were pretty popular, but still, there's something to me about Fernando commissioning the same designer that Seb has been using since he was a literal child. Parallels, am I right?

SV Japan 2010 x FA Japan 2023: White with Black & Red

Haha I remember @protocolseben and I discussing this a bit back in September when Fernando's helmet dropped. I honestly think Seb is such an innovator and trailblazer in terms of helmet design, and you can see his influence in helmet design as recently as this past season. I'm not sure if he was the first ever driver to don a matte white helmet with red accents as a representation of the Japanese flag, but it certainly envoked him in my mind when I saw Fernando's!!

I think Fernando's is pretty similar to all of Seb's 2010-2012 Japan helmets but I like this one the most so! I think if Seb wasn't restrained by the Red Bull logo, he def wouldv'e put the red circle where Nando put his so I think Fernando did a really good job, even if unintentionally, at emulating Seb's sense of design.

SV Singapore 2012 x FA Singapore 2012: Sparkly!

Like I said in the one above, it's crazy how much Seb influenced helmet design. He was pretty much the pioneer of sparkly helmets for Singapore, right? It drives me absolutely insane that there's actually pictures of them together in such similar designed helmets. It's kinda funny actually that even though they're pretty deep in the championship fight at this point, and Seb just got one up on Fernando; Fernando is wearing a helmet that is a direct influence from Seb!!! Is that not insane???

Also, Fernando trying to be camp with trying the now in vogue sparkly Singapore helmet, and Seb accidentally completely blew him out of the water with his outrageous light up LED constellation helmet. But god yeah....to have pics of them in matching helmets from this era particuarly makes me emotional ;;;

SV Hungary 2021 x FA 2022: Pink with Dark Blue

I really could've picked any of Seb's 2021 helmets, but I thought this one matched the best with Fernando's main 2021 helmet(with the color pallet.) Also one thing, it's crazy how much control BWT has as a sponsor, I don't think I've ever seen another sponsor go so hard at having a chokehold on individuality. I like that we got pink liveries and pink helmets, but I don't think they should have that much control.

I'm almost kinda sad there wasn't any Miami GP in 2021, because I think that was the only unique helmet Fernando had in 2022. But these match pretty well! Pretty in pink!! It's crazy that their parallels in the 2020s are ongoing even before Fernando actually takes over Seb's seat. Thanks BWT I guess?

SV Abu Dhabi 2022 x FA Abu Dhabi 2022: Fernando's Seb Tribute Helmet

AND HERE WE HAVE THE PIÈCE DE RÉSISTANCE!!! The ultimate conclusion, it literally couldn't get better than this!! This is still unbelievable, like how is this an actual thing that happened!? Fernando intentionally branding his helmet, the only symbol of individuality in F1, with his rival's flag colors, HIS FLAG!!!!! Not to mention the literal "Vettono Best Moments" collage he posted alongside it....and the hand-holding....and everything that happened with them at Abu Dhabi 2022....

But god, after years of incidentally making parallel helmet designs, Fernando decided to officially tie the knot of the red string of fate, and make a helmet directly referencing Seb's. I think it's funny because as I said with two of the previously mentioned ones, those Fernando designs are pretty much inspired by Seb's, and here he is openly making one directly inspired by Seb. I don't really have words for how this actually makes me feel because it's just. Yeah. The most open and clear declaration of love and respect and admiration one could ever make. TO ME.

#all of my posts subheading should be: 'its probably not that deep BUT-'#i can't believe ive made two deeply researched and beloved posts in a row one day after the other #posts sponsored by: 12 am red bull consumption. my all-consuming devotion and love for vettonso. and my unwillingness to do schoolwork #i mean i felt a lot of emotions and had fun making it but like. hey. could you put this effort into school?#anyways feeling deeply emotionally affected about helmets and their symbolism #i think in the entirety of f1 seb and fernando are two of the most dedicated and passionate about helmet designs and symbolism?#so this post is very special to me :] helmet fuckers unite <3 #again: they say they aren't friends and don't share any hobbies and im just staring at them like YOU IDIOTS!!!#its just that spongebob meme of him pointing out the trashcans. like guys. be fr rn. you totally share hobbies #both like helmet design. paddel and pingpong. sustainability. cars. racing. european football. THE LIST GOES ON AND ON #well im glad they swapped helmets at some point(i think nando gave seb two pretty old ones as well. now thats dedication!)#if they werent cowards i bet they couldve also had a 5+ hour long discussion about helmet design ;;;;;;#thinking also about how fernando has one of seb's in his museum >:) but if only it were one of the ones on this list. sigh.#normal posts that catie normally makes in a normal fashion #well lmk if theres any other vettonso helmets you think are similar!!! im pretty blind to seb helmets that arent rbr era tbh #sebastian vettel #fernando alonso #f1 #formula 1 #vettonso #we do a little bit of f1

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vettos · 2 years

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So, in english, there is only "you" for adressing someone, in german, there are different version, depending on the the situation/person.

So when Dream and Hob meet, Hob adresses him with the very formal "Ihr" (not to be confused with "ihr" for a group of people). This is an old version of "you" and not used anymore, except when adressing royalty and sometimes a judge (Lucienne still calls him "Ihr").

Less formal is "Sie". It is used for people we do not know very well like our boss, our teachers, etc. but it does not hold the same amount of respect as "Ihr".

Hob goes from "Ihr" to "Sie" in 1889, implying he sees them as closer as before. And because "Ihr" is out of date at this point (fun fact: Lucienne still calls him "Ihr").

And then there is the informal "du". We use with family, friends and coworkers (if this is allowed).

And guess what? Hob says "DU hast dir Zeit gelassen" when Dream finally shows up at the new inn, showing openly he sees Dream as a close friend.

This is cool, because there have been many shows were close friends still use the formal "Sie" and someone at the translation team really put some thoughts in the development of their relationship and the time period.

Edit: what does dream call him?

From 1389 to 1789 he calls him "Ihr" BUT he also calls him Hob. Which is a more familair than calling someone "Ihr" plus surname. He also switches to "Sie" in 1889. In 2021/22 we dont know because he does not adress him. But I am sure he will call him "du" it would make no sense otherwise.

Edit #2:

I would also like to point out how Lucienne/Matthew adress Dream and what that means. As I said, Lucienne calls ihm "Ihr" which implies her high respect. Matthew used "Sie". I guess he does not use "Ihr" because he did not know who Dream was when he met him. BUT the interessting thing is that Dream calls all of them "du". So while they use formal he uses informal and in german this is a situation were the hierarchy is shown. A king, boss, teacher might call a young student, trainee "du" while they have to adress him/her as "Sie". This implies that one person stand above another and demends respect.

The funny thing is, that Dream never does this with Hob. This implies that Dream sees him not as a subortinate but as a equal.

AND this is not because of Hob being a normal human. He also calls Constantine "du" while she adresses him as "Sie". So there is a power imbalance between them.

I would also like to point out one thing: A king might be using "du" without asking but if you ever come to germany and you meet a unknown person it is considered very rude to call someone "du" without permission (except if this person is a child or a student or family).

It is also considered a huge no go to start calling someone "du" when you were adressing someone as "Sie" the whole time. Normally the older/person who is higher in hierarchy as to OFFER it to you.

So starting to call Dream "du" is actually very rude by Hob but in this case they wanted to show how sure he is that Dream is his friend.

Like "No, he starts to call him "du" because he is not taking a "no" anymore! I decide this....I....the translator!

#netflix #sandman #the sandman #hob gadling #dreamling

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beatrack92 · 1 year

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German 4x400m team 🇩🇪

Anna Hense and Lena Leege

2021 European Championships U20 (Tallinn)

#anna hense #lena leege #team germany #relays #female athletes #hug #butt #athletics #track and field #leichtathletik #tallinn 2021

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herohimbowhore · 5 months

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Daniel Ricciardo: Castles Crumbling

Revisionism and recency bias are perhaps two of the most common things that you'll see in Formula 1 and discussions of how we view drivers. It all goes back to the saying "You're only as good as your last race." This, while true in some sense, is only part of the picture when it comes to a driver and the legacy they'll leave in the sport. One race does not define a driver, just as a small portion of a driver's career does not define the driver.

But in commentary and fan discussions, we continue to see that revisionism and recency bias continue to define driver's careers on everchanging standards.

This season, the argument would be that that Carlos Sainz is a better driver than Charles Leclerc due to any of the following reasons:

He's won a race this year

Ahead in the points

Consistently finishing races in the points

But looking at their careers as a whole, the argument falls apart.

Another case of this is Lewis Hamilton in 2022. He finished behind his teammate in the points, didn't win a race, etc. And that year alone had people questioning if Lewis Hamilton was washed or if he should retire. But again, looking at the career as a whole and not zeroing in on one piece of it, makes the argument fall apart.

A driver's legacy isn't based solely on a piece of their career. Alex Albon's career isn't going to be defined just by the Red Bull years, nor is Pierre Gasly's. Sebastian Vettel's career isn't just defined by his time in Ferrari or Red Bull or Aston Martin. Nor is Carlos Sainz's career going to be defined by his time in one team.

However, when it comes to Daniel Ricciardo, the revisionism and hate is strong. Especially in fan spaces like Twitter.

The two years at McLaren are by many considered to be a definer of Daniel's career, completely ignoring or disregarding what he was able to do in Red Bull and Renault.

In one instance he's a PR merchant, in another he can't draw a crowd.

He gets the car to Q3, qualifies 4th, and spends the whole weekend in 10th -> well then people will say it's the car.

Both he and his teammate don't make it out of Q1 with about .006 separating them -> well then obviously the driver and not the car on that specific track

Castles Crumbling is a song that inherently fits the change in the narrative around Daniel. The premise of Castles Crumbling is your legacy falling apart and no longer being loved by people who were once fans. This is a defining feature of Daniel Ricciardo's public perception in recent years as everything he does is defined by the McLaren stint.

Once, I had an empire in a golden age

I was held up so high, I used to be great

They used to cheer when they saw my face

Now, I fear I have fallen from grace

Once, I was the great hope for a dynasty

Crowds would hang on my words, and they trusted me

Their faith was strong, but I pushed it too far

I held that grudge 'til it tore me apart

Despite what people perpetuate now, coming into McLaren, Daniel was highly regarded and considered a great driver. He was THAT guy.

Netflix's Drive to Survive did a lot in helping Daniel transcend from the normal bounds of an F1 driver. He was the first one to be fully on board and give them so much access to him, his thoughts, and his life. A move that wasn't reciprocated by other drivers, so in that first season, it was all about him from start to end basically. He also had the personality to match.

But even before that, Daniel has been the the guy. Just look at any number of grown men that have taken his sweaty race boots and drunk champagne out of them.

Gerard Butler (USA 2016)

Christian Horner (Malaysia 2016)

Max Verstappen (Malaysia 2016)

Nico Rosberg (Malaysia 2016)

Mark Webber (Germany 2016)

Lance Stroll (Baku 2017)

Sir Patrick Stewart (Canada 2017)

Martin Brundle (Austria 2017)

Adrian Newey (Monaco 2018)

Lewis Hamilton (Imola 2020)

Zak Brown (Monza 2021)

Lando Norris (Monza 2021)

Any number of Red Bull staff over the years

People all around the paddock

Some happily, some with pure disgust, others taking the shoes right off Daniel's feet for a shoey.

Daniel at Silverstone in 2017: "DC took my shoes off and then in Austria, Martin was frothing for it."

Daniel wasn't just his personality as so many would like to say. The racing was there.

In 2014, Daniel came into Red Bull and beat his four-time world champion teammate. He was Red Bull's only race winner that year with three wins. During his first year with Red Bull, Daniel finished third in the championship, just behind the two Mercedes.

Once more in 2016, Daniel finished third in the championship, just behind the two Mercedes. His only win of the year was Malaysia 2016 and with it came the iconic podium of Daniel, Max, Nico, and Christian all taking turns to drink out of the same race shoe.

Nico Rosberg in 2023, talked about his time racing against Daniel in 2016 and said:

"He's such an awesome personality, one of the best wheel-to-wheel racers out there. If I saw in my rear-view mirrors, [Ricciardo] was one of the last guys I would like to see there at the time, with Max Verstappen."

2018 for Daniel was filled with reliability issues and engine problems. Out of the 21 races that year, Daniel retired in 8 of them. He had two wins that year - China and Monaco.

Going into Renault, Formula 1 World Champion and Renault Advisor, Alain Prost, called Daniel worth every penny that the Renault would be paying him

"Daniel is more expensive than other drivers. When you need that to help the team we did it. Money is not a problem but it has to be justified. We have two top drivers, maybe one of the best lineups in F1 today."

With Renault, people forget that 2020 was one of his best years. While he didn't win any races, Daniel did have two podiums. He gave Renault their first podium in about nine years. Additionally, Daniel finished 5th in the championship, higher than anyone would have expected out of the unreliable Renault. He was doing wonders with that car.

Going into McLaren, Daniel was a highly valued asset. And while many like to say he went to McLaren for the money, salary estimates show that going to McLaren was actually a significant pay cut.

With an approximately $22 million pay cut in cash earnings, the move to McLaren cannot be defined as a cash grab. Doing something for the money doesn't usually mean lowering your value by millions.

My foes and friends watch my reign end

I don't know how it could've ended this way

Smoke billows from my ships in the harbor

People look at me like I'm a monster

Now they're screaming at the palace front gates, used to chant my name

Now they're screaming that they hate me

Never wanted you to hate me

So how did we get from being a highly valued driver to endless public hate by fans?

Well revisionism and recency bias.

Daniel’s time with McLaren was admittedly very bad.

(sidenote: Dropping Daniel was the best thing that McLaren could have done for all parties involved. No one can deny that, but how McLaren and Zak Brown conducted themselves was wrong. Say what you will about Red Bull's ruthlessness; Red Bull is upfront about it, and they don't drag the driver around making apologies or videos promising to try harder and signing another driver while doing all that.)

The car and driver did not mesh. But what most people tend to ignore is that the car design was inherently difficult to drive. It was unpredictable. One could argue that Lando was performing well in the car., but Lando has only driven a McLaren. Whereas Daniel's driven an HRT, Toro Rosso, Red Bull, and a Renault. Instead of helping Daniel with the learning curve or setting the car up in a manner that aligned with his driving style, Daniel had to change how he drove.

With all the McLaren struggles, people have chosen to focus on just that phase. Completely ignoring that Daniel was doing wonders with the Red Bull when the car wasn't great and he was doing wonders with the Renault.

Daniel's time post-Red Bull was not all bad and certainly not deserving of the vitriol and hate he receives when there are other drivers who have much less to show for on the grid.

He got two podiums with Renault in 2020 -- the first podiums that Renault had gotten in years. He was 5th in the standings.

And let's not forget that Daniel got McLaren its only win since 2012. Maybe you can say that the only reason Daniel won is due to the Max and Lewis crash or that Lando was told to stay behind. However, Daniel overtook Max at the start while Lando lost a position to Lewis. Daniel had been the one to take his shot when it mattered. As for the team orders to hold position, well Daniel could have gone faster if he wanted to as we can see with him pulling out the fastest lap on the final lap.

(A random thought that came to me during the research for this: do we think Christian Horner wants a Daniel-related tattoo as well and hates that Cyril and Zak have Daniel-related tattoos? Because if I was in Christian's position, I would want that tattoo. Like you put all this time and investment into a driver and then two other team principals that either took him away from you or couldn't get the most out of him have tattoos chosen by Daniel.)

#formula 1 #f1 through music #daniel ricciardo #red bull racing #renault #mclaren #f1

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kiuda · 1 year

Text

DREAMBLR CENSUS 2023

Hi, hello and welcome everyone to the 2023 Dreamblr census results!

Let me start by thanking all of you for taking part - I love looking at statistics like that and making this has been a real joy. I hope at least some of you will find the results interesting as well <3

So, first things first - some numbers. 353 people have taken part in the census. There are over 350 people that say ‘yes I am a part of Dreamblr’. That’s amazing! I am so happy to see this community thrive :D

Now let’s get to the questions.

What continent are you from?

One of the more straightforward questions on this census.

The results are not surprising in the slightest - over 85% of the people that have taken the survey are from North America or Europe. 5.9% come from South America, 4.8% from Asia, 1.7% from Australia and Oceania. 4 people decided not to answer and thus became citizens of Antarctica and one person comes from Africa.

What country are you from (optional)?

Before we get to the statistics, it’s important to mention a couple of things. First of all - this question was optional. The survey site let you pass without putting anything in and the question itself had the word ‘optional’ in it. Despite that 2 of the 4 people that chose Antarctica also wrote in the countries they lived in. All in all 270 out of the 353 people decided to answer this question.

Second of all.

Americans.

For the love of everything holy.

Please. PLEASE. Decide on one way to call your country.

As I was using google forms, the survey was sensitive to lower- and upper-case letters, which meant that in the end there were 25 versions of the your country’s name, including (but not limited) to: America, Murica (including ‘eagle noise’ once), the U.S, The U.S., u.s, U.S.A., U.S.A, United States, united states, United States of America, United states of america, US, Us, us, USA, USA! and u s of a.

Special shoutout to the person who just wrote in ‘Arizona’ as well.

In the end the top 10 (eh kind of) most popular countries on the survey were……

Drumroll please!!

USA - 133

Canada - 26

Germany - 17

Poland & UK - 8

Brazil - 7

England - 6

Russia - 5

Chile, France, Sweden and the Netherlands - each with 4

As you can see, I have decided to treat ‘England’ and ‘UK’ as two different answers, since that’s how the survey responders decided to specify their countries.

What age are you?

Another straightforward question. Over 70% of us are between 18 and 25 years old. 13 are 31-45 years old and 8 people decided not to specify their age. 1 person has declared to be over 45 years old. You can see all the answers on this awesome pie chart as well!

I think it’s pretty cool how while a lot of us are young adults or even still teenagers, there are also older fandom enjoyers among us :D I hope you are all enjoying your time!!

When did you join the fandom?

First of the more fandom-specific questions. And probably the first question, where the answers genuinely surprised me!

A lot of us are OGs! Either having joined in 2019 or early/late 2020! Those people remember it all - the beginning of Dream SMP, the first vlog, Antfrost’s coming out and even the beginning of manhunts in some cases!

Out of the rest, early 2021 was another popular entry point to the fandom. Which shouldn’t surprise anyone either - it was still during the pandemic, probably the peak of Dream’s (and Dream Team’s/Dream SMP’s popularity).

9 people did not remember when they joined the fandom.

Similarly, 9 people are newbies! They’ve joined us in late 2022, while 23 joined in early 2022.

No one has joined in 2023 yet. (or haven’t seen the census. also possible.)

Who is your main?

This is a question that I could have made better in hindsight. I think a better answer than ‘I can’t decide’ would be ‘I like them all equally’, since I was assuming that all participants of the census did like the Dream Team members either way. It’s not a big mistake, just a small note I wanted to add.

To most likely no one’s surprise - the most popular person among Dreamblr’s population is Dream (224), followed by George (63) and Sapnap (15). 51 participants couldn’t decide on one of them.

Who do you watch besides the DTeam the most (out of other mcyts)? Please list 3 people max.

This question caused more problems than I'd imagined. Guys. I was asking about other MCYT (aka Minecraft Youtubers and Streamers) besides the DTeam. That means that I had to unfortunately eliminate some answers, the most popular out of which was Hasan, who I don’t think has ever played Minecraft before.

To answer some of you, who had some doubts about who counts as a MCYT….

Yes, Wilbur Soot does count.

Yes, Charlie Slimecicle also counts.

Yes, Hermits also count.

I am also counting Ludwig, since he did make Minecraft content.

PeteZahHutt also counts.

Corpse Husband counts as well, since he is technically a DSMP member.

RTGame counts as well - again, Minecraft content on his channel.

Again - Hasan does not count.

So now, without further ado… The top 10 most popular answers!

I have also not counted answers that went over 3 people (as in, I have only counted the first 3 names).

If any of you were wondering - 8 people really wish Hasan did play Minecraft.

Which Dream content is the best content?

Another easy question with an easy answer, where most people either prefer Dream’s Youtube content or just love it all.

Quick shout out to the two people who love Dream’s music the most and two who prefer other content than specified in the survey.

What got you into the fandom?

The toughest question to count. I did not expect so many different answers, so in the end I’ve decided to sort all the answers into a few categories (and I am sorry about that I know it’s not the best way to go about it, but here you guys can see all the answers to the question in an google spreadsheet if you want to).

dnf (answers included: ao3, heatwaves, dnf compilations on youtube or tiktok…)

manhunts (answers included: youtube recommendation of manhunts, binge watching manhunts…)

art (answers included: sad-ist animations, art in general, cosplays…)

lore (answers included: Dream SMP, lore vods…)

Other MCYT creators (answers included: SMP live, wilbur soot’s videos…)

Friend/family member recommendation

Among us streams

Twitter (answers included: seeing drama, twitter trending page…)

Other Dream Team content (answers included: other Dteam videos, tiktoks by them…)

Fandom (answers included: a tumblr mutual started posting about them, tiktok compilations, youtube compilations…)

Hot (answers included: found George/Sapnap hot)

I don’t remember

And finally. The last question of the census. The one we all have been wondering about.

Have you been here since before the face reveal?

As it turns out…

Only 2 people joined us since the face reveal!

The rest of us has known about this community and about Dream earlier and was waiting the day of the face reveal impatiently.

And that’s it! Thank you once again for taking part, hopefully my rambling won’t make this post too boring to read!

Have a great day/night! <3

#dreamblr #save #fav #dreamblr 2023 census

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