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ywpd-translations · 2 months

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Ride 763: The third year's start!!

Pag 2

1: Ten seconds until the start

Pag 3 /4

1: Let's run with everything we have!!

The last Inter High of the third year Sakamichi, start!!

Pag 5

1: Yeah!!

2: Let's go!!

3: Let's pour our whole guts into it!!

4: Yes!!

5: Let's go!!

6: Teh!!

Pag 6

1: The first day of the boy's Inter High competition in Fukuoka, starts now!!

It's here!!

Pag 7

1: All the cyclists are beginning to run, with the big bridge connecting Kyushu and Honshu through the Kanmon Straits in the back!!

Goo!

Waa, splendid!!

Do your best!!

Pag 8

1: The entrance of Kyushu, here from Moji city in Kitakyushu, going south, they'll fight for three days

Gooo

It's Sohoku!

Yeah!!

2: Waaaaa

The wind is so strong!

The cyclists are so close!

So fast!

Pag 9

1: Kumadai you can do it!

Fukuokaa!!

Their fight will unfold on the stage of Kyushu's nature!!

2: There are so many cyclists

Which team will win?

3: The one you need to pay attention to in the first place, is the one in the front with yellow jerseys

Pag 10

1: Chiba's representative, the two times in a row champion, Sohoku

The third year they call “Mountain King” took the top goal two years in a row!!

Huh... then it's decided already!!

2: Another one is the one with the blue jersey, Kanagawa's Hakone Academy

They were the team that kept winning before, and they're so strong they say that in that team “everyone is an ace”

Huuh... that's amazing too

Pag 11

1: Then there's Kyoto representative, with the purple jerseys, Kyoto Fushimi, who make the race unpredictable every time!!You can already feel their peculiar tenacity!!

They look scary

2: So those three!?

Well, yeah, but rumor has it that this year the mountain bike champion is participating, too

4: MTB!? The off-road one!?

That's right!!

5: And I guess the local Kyushu team won't keep quiet, and Hiroshima is strong too

There's a strong element of uncertainty in road racing

There are a lot of people, and the distance to cover and the time are long too

6: It's not the stronger one who always win

Huh

It's always been said that....

Pag 12

1: Until the finish line is crossed and the race is over, you never know what can happen during a road race!!

Pag 13

1: Hyoo... there's so many people, teh

2: They're all waving their hands, teh!!

Ahhh.... so many people, the scale is so different from the prefectural qualification, teh

3: What's wrong, newbie!! Hahaha

Ka-Kaburagi-san!!

4: It started

Huh!?

5: Finally, the Inter High!!

Pag 14

1: I'll show everyone here what I can do!! Take a look, newbie!!

2: This is the genius Kaburagi Issa's!! Super Special Strong-

3: Start Dash!!

Listen up, Rokudai

Yessir, teh

The red on the referee car means we can't surpass it

Pag 15

1: As long as that racket-like thing is red, this is a parade run

2: Until it gets turned round and becomes green, the race is in a neutral situation

Horuaaa

It means we have to run slowly and safely

3: There's no point in jumping ahead here

And if someone did that, he's just an idiot

Are you watching me, Aoyagi-san!! Haha

Teh... Aoyagi... san..

I'll surpass the care ahead of us!!

4: Once it becomes green, the speed will increase

Don't fall behind

5: Ye... yessir, teh!!

6: Hahaha I guess I left them behind of quite a lot

Waaa!? They're still right behind me!? Imaizumi-san, you're so fast!!

Choose a senpai to refer to

Ah.. huh... yessir, teh...

Pag 16

3: We've pretty much passed the residential area, teh

The parade will go on for a few more kilometers

4: Once we get on a wider road and can confirm it's safe, then there's the real start

Ohh

Pag 17

1: My first Inter High....

What on earth is it... the Inter High....

2: Ahh... my heart is pounding, teh...

Yeah, enjoy the scenery and the heart pounding while you still can

3: Teh!?

4: Once the race starts you won't have time to look at the scenery or take a breath

6: You- you have enough time to take a breath

Ro- Rokudai-kun

Don't bully the first year, Hotshot

7: Onoda-san!!

Pag 18

1: Only a little

3: Almost... none... the Inter High!!

I see... teh

Onoda-kun... you were even worst than Hotshot now..

Huh!?

The Inter H...igh sounds harsh

4: No, uhm

Uhm, it is

5: It's incredibly hard

It's so hard you could collapse

6: Your whole body falls apart and you can't even take a breath!!

Fall apart...!!

He's really putting the boot in...

Pag 19

1: But we run with all our strength

2: with everyone supporting each other

3: If we connect

Connect...

4: and we run until the end with all our might

7: When everything is over and we look back at it

Pag 20

1: We'll feel like it a really irreplaceable time

2: That difficult moment

Pag 21

1: When we were angry, frustrated, or when we smiled

We'll remember everything

2: Then, we'll think that we're happy we didn't give up

3: “Think”....

“Wish”....

4: That's....

Pag 22

1: That's the Inter High!!

3: If there are people who have “power” in their words

4: For me, it's this person

I've been thinking it since I've met him

5: Are you... in trouble?

Follow me

6: He usually seems unreliable when he talks, and there are times when he's awkward, but

… yes

Pag 23

1: His words always strike my core!!

Yessir!! Teh!!

That's right, Onoda-kun

You're right, Onoda

You can bet on it..!!

Yes!!

Pag 24

1: Thank you so much, teh

For bringing me, who didn't know anything, in such a brilliant and heart shaking world!!

Pag 25

1: Huh!? Everyone else too!! You were listening!?

Ah... uhm.. I was talking to Rokudai-kun...

2: Hahaha, we heard

3: And thanks to it, I'm all fired up!!

Don't get fired up more than this or you'll turn into ashes quickly

4: I-I'll run with everything I have, teh!!

5: So that you can fulfill

6: your dearest wish you told us about when we were coming here on the ship!!

Pag 26

1: “Dearest wish”

5: Yokosuka-Kokura ferry, off the coast of Kochi Prefecture

7: Well, the schedule after we arrive is roughly like this

Remember it yourself

Yes

Pag 27

1: Now if you get too excited you'll only get tired, and now it's okay to relax

Get a good night's sleep today, when you wake up tomorrow we'll go ashore

Yes!

2: Onoda, you want to say anything?

Huh!?

5: Let's... let's do our best

6: Yessir!!

Yes!!

On!!

7: Good night

Good night!!

8: Can I ask one last thing?

Pag 28

1: Earlier, Naruko-san said that our objective for this Inter High is to get our “third consecutive victory”

To be on par with Hakogaku, who is the only team to ever win three times in a row in the history of the Inter High

4: I agree, I also think we have to do it

But I there's one thing I'm curious about, and I don't think it's been asked yet

5: Onoda-san, what's your objective this year?

What are you running in the Inter High for?

#yowamushi pedal #yowamushi pedal translations #yowapeda #yowapeda manga #yowamushi pedal manga #yowamushi pedal spoilers #ride 763 #thia chapter is basically sohoku bullying roku-chan asdfyggjtrdjt #i love them so muuuuuch #onoda and his adorable inspirational cringe speech!#and he thought no one but rokudai was listening to him lmao #as if onoda theyre all down for you #btw!! last page!! we all know hes going to say he wants to race against manami (and kiji but mostly manami)#for a mountain stage and not for the final goal #its what they told each other last year #i really hope they manage to do it this year #so on this first day everyone is going to make sure that they have their chance! and so the mountain stage will be #between the two of them! and itll be a parallel to the makishima vs toudou race on the first day of the first ih #and its gonna be amazing #please watanabe make it happen my boys deserve it

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strawberryfairi · 4 months

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Synopsis✨: The story of how you catch heavy feelings for the hot photography student, Shuji Hanma…even though you already have the perfect (fake) boyfriend.

Pairings: Photography Student! Shuji Hanma X Dance Major! Black Fem 🤎 Reader (ANYONE CAN READ🧚🏾‍♀️) Content: Drama, lots of denial, angst, sneaky link, lots of cheating, mutual pining, unserious Shuji, controlling parents, forced relationships, romance, fighting, porn with a good plot vibes, intense sexual tension, etc (just find out the rest lol)

(A/N🧚🏾‍♀️: First chapter might be a lil boring, but the tea begins in chapter 2)

w.c: 4.4k💠 Released: Jan 5, 2024

Next Chapter Chapters Masterlist

1; HOMECOMING 返校

It's homecoming today. One of the most stressful but most exciting days in the entire school year. It serves as a debut of both the cheerleading and dance teams, and of course the football team. In your case, today will be your first homecoming as dance team captain and choreographer.

Your freshman year was grueling, but you dedicated almost all of your time and energy into forming a proper dance team with high respect and credibility with the help of your good friend from senior year in high school, Emma Sano. Now, in your sophomore year, the grind absolutely did not stop. You have a team full of twenty girls (including yourself and Emma) to lead, and today will prove to be the hardest list of tasks you've ever checked through so far in your life.

"Mornin' baby." Your boyfriend Ken murmurs groggily, leaning over you to gently kiss your warm cheek. You're both snuggled up together in his dorm suite bed, as you had stayed the night in his room per his request. You smile tiredly, turning over to face him. "Morning."

The two of you have been together for quite some time now, a good two years and eight months. Though those years may seem significant or like a milestone, the relationship has always been stagnant. A boring, straight line. You're boyfriend is sweet, kind, mostly all of the above, yet he's just...never really been right for you. Why not break up?

Well, your parents are the ones keeping you both from leaving each other. Your mom, a part of the administration of the university, and Ken's father, the football coach, famous for cultivating champion players that later move on to the NFL in the states by senior year came together with the plan for you two to date.

Why not just do your own thing and date who you want? Your mom had made it clear that if you don't keep up the charade of the perfect college girl with great grades and a boyfriend with a great future, you'd be out of the school in a heartbeat, and out of dance for good. She says you need to be perfect in every way in order to gain success, especially as a dancer, and being already in a relationship will keep you from getting distracted by other guys during your four years.

Same goes with Ken and what his dad told him. In their pursuit of star students they went and 'hooked you two up', completely ruining what could have been a good friendship and maybe even relationship had they not rushed it. But honestly, it's not the utter worst being with Ken, though you wish you had a say in the kind of guy you wanted for yourself. It's hard having to force out a genuine sounding 'I love you' every day, and especially, have sex with someone you don't even feel anything for. Nevertheless, the two of you equally sucked it up and learned to 'love' each other.

"Big day today. You ready?" Ken grins, looking down at you with an excited smile.

"Nooooo." You groan, pulling the blankets over your head and snuggling up close to Ken's chest.

"Nah, don't say that! This is our big moment; been workin' hard for this." He shakes his head, tugging the sheets off of your head.

"I'm so nervous, and it's gonna be so hard trynna get the girls focused. You know all people think about is sex and the afterparties on homecoming." You frown.

"You're a leader, babe, they'll listen to you. It's just as important for them as it is for you. They'll tighten up when it's game time." Ken assures, stroking your bare shoulders comfortingly. You sigh, trying to bask in this moment of peace before the chaos inevitably ensues.

"Did you know I was approach by those school newspaper folks you always rant about yesterday? Allegedly, I'll be interviewed today since this is such a 'pivotal moment for the university, as the first ever dance team will be involved in the homecoming night experience'." You chuckle, doing a faux reporter voice.

"Oohh shit, they got you too, huh?" He lets out a breathy chuckle, flipping over onto his back, taking you along with him to rest on his chest.

"They sure did. At least I know what I'm getting into thanks to you, Mr. Quarterback. Maybe I'll see you at the interview room?"

"Maybe, depending on what time they want us there. We got interviews at ten a.m." He shrugs.

You pout with a light huff. "Awww, ours isn't till one."

"We'll see each other tonight, baby. We'll have the whole night actually." He purrs suggestively, sliding both hands down your back and giving your ass a firm squeeze.

"Hey hey hey! None of that till later!" You giggle, pushing away form him to try and get out of his tight grip.

"Can't wait..." He grins.

💎

Interviewer: "Can you discuss your vision for the team's performance at homecoming? What elements or themes do you plan to incorporate?"

"Considering it's the first year, how do you plan to make the performance memorable and reflective of the team's identity?"

"As a new dance team captain, how will you inspire and motivate your teammates, especially considering the excitement and nerves associated with a debut performance?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"They threw out all kinds of questions I wasn't ready to answer!" You rant into the phone, plopping down onto the chair outside of the interview room.

"I told you. It's intense ain't it?" Ken chuckles on the other side.

"Yeah! I feel like they should've at least done like a pre-interview or a practice run. It was so hard trynna answer those questions right on the spot like that!" You whine, facepalming. You take a deep breath then exhale, calming yourself down so you wouldn't annoy Ken with a bunch of ranting.

"Ugh, sorry, I don't mean to throw you off. I know you're getting ready too. How's everything going?"

"I'm all good, babe. I just wanna get on the field already." He murmurs.

"Facts. That's exactly how I'm feeling. It's gonna feel amazing once it's all over." You nod, fiddling with your top unconsciously. You hear the coach yell out to Ken from in the background, urging him back.

"Hang on, I gotta go. I'll talk to you later, alright? Love you." He says abruptly.

"Oh ok. Love you!" You hang up with a little sigh, getting ready to go over into the next section of the day. Just a few more hours now until the game starts.

4 Hours Later

"GUYS!" One of your freshman girls, Himari hollered, bursting through the doors to the dance team dressing room. You and all the others who heard her paused your conversations, looking at her with the same confused expression.

"What's going on now, Himari?" You huffed with an exasperated sigh. You loved her, you really did, but damn she's always got something going on.

"My body glitter just broke and spilled all over the bathroom floor! I hate my life!" She wailed, slumping against the door behind her, sliding down dramatically.

"Oh shit..." You murmur with a heavy facepalm. The girls all gasp, rambling about how they'd be so pissed if that happened to them. You'd be pissed too not gonna lie, if your expensive ass Fenty Glow broke like that...oof, you'd be seething.

"Just like..lay some paper towels down over it or something until we can find someone to clean it." Emma tells her, putting her focus back on the final touches of her makeup. You didn't have time to solve not another issue, thankfully that was easily solved as one of the girls Reina just let her use some of her body glitter.

You're only half dressed right now and still need to do your makeup and hair with only forty five minutes left. Nude tights with your elastic ankle braces was all you had on, you're not eve sure if that could really count as half dressed. Hurriedly you strip out of your school hoodie, chest completely bare as you grab your costume tagged with your name from the long clothing rack.

The costume this year was ten thousand times better than last years, as this time you were able to utilize design student Takashi Mitsuya from the university across the way from yours. He absolutely slayed the outfits, bringing out exactly what you were imagining. Your school colors are black, white, and silver, so the main color of the costume is a shiny black with accents of silver. It's a bodysuit, long sleeved with the silver as sequins on the cuffs of the arms, neck, and around the legs. A large cut out on the left side of the stomach area is also outlined with the silver sequins. Simple, yet such an effective, sexy design.

When you finished changing you quickly got to work doing your makeup, sprawling your products out on the table next to Emma and plopping down into a seat, whipping out your beauty blender and brushes.

"Easy girl. We still have some time. You know you move fast." She says softly, checking out her makeup in the vanity. "I know, I know. I'll just feel better once I'm ready." You huff, priming your face before pumping some drops of foundation on your beauty blender.

For makeup everyone has a silver lid eyeshadow look with black winged eyeliner and small jewels lined across the liner, topped off with a nude pink lip. Your hair was simple, an afro that you picked out nice and big, your bangs slicked down like a headband so you could see while you dance.

After a bit over half an hour you along with all the girls were finally ready.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Alright y'all, when we get out there, it's complete focus. Lock the fuck in." You warn, tone dead serious. You and your team are huddled in a large circle near the entrance to the wide football field. It was almost time for your performance.

"Freshmen, bring your absolute A-game, y'all hear me?"

"Yes ma'am!" The answer back instantly.

"Now, it's time to stunt on those cheerleaders, okaaaay!" You beam, smiling wide enough to show off your single dimple on your left cheek. The girls cheered, laughing and making their little jokes and jabs at the cheerleaders.

The dance team vs. cheerleader rivalry had been going on ever since you started this program. Of course, the cheerleaders were always the number one attraction during homecoming and all other sports games, but now that you all came along, it's actually some competition for them. It boosts you up every time seeing them get flustered and annoyed when your girls and you steal the show. It's especially bad when the boys get involved.

"Let's line up!" You command, beginning the line while watching all the girls get into position behind you.

The announcer finally acknowledges the dance team, giving the queue for the lights to turn off throughout the stadium. The crowd hoots and hollers as the field goes black, save for the phone lights and moon shining down brightly.

You take a deep breath, steeling yourself and rapid heartbeat, strutting out onto the field already in 'character'. The girls follow behind you, all getting into your practiced formation, waiting for the music and lights to come on.

After the thirty second time frame is up, the music begins, starting with the newest hit by Nicki Minaj: Everybody. Lights come on right when you all strike the first pose, making the crowd go wild.

~Aint' gang if you let shit slide Ain't bad if you gotta dick-ride Big guns and a lotta zip ties Said she look like me, quit lyin'~

You begin dancing, a little solo moment during the intro as the girls hold their pose. When the beat drops the girls join in, all of you going full out. The energy is so high all throughout the stadium, just how you want it. Some folks in the stands along with the football players on your side were dancing along excitedly. So far it's a hit.

3rd Person POV

Shuji's canon camera snapped shot after shot, taking skillful, clear pictures of the dancers in front of him. This was a pretty big opportunity, seeing as only the top students are allowed to photograph for events like homecoming and school newspaper posts, important things like that.

He didn't necessarily consider himself a 'good student', he honestly wasn't, yet the faculty couldn't help but acknowledge his talent as a photographer, so they gave him this chance.

He'd deliver though, and turn up with better pictures than the three other students out here snapping away half-assed, hoping for a couple nice shots out of nearly a hundred. They don't know how to wait, but Shuji does. He has a natural talent for patience when it comes to finding the right moment. It's like he can see it coming, then he freezes time, capturing it in perfect quality and light.

Looking through the viewfinder, he adjusts the lens, preparing for a shot right on the soloist. Waiting a few seconds he watches her dance, capturing the exact moment he was waiting for. She spins then stops in the perfect pose, one hand on her hip while the other arm is extended outward, her hand in an elegant gesture. Her leg is extended a bit with her arm, the ball of her foot on the ground giving her leg a slight bend.

His brows raise slightly as he looks up from the camera.

Her solo continues for just a bit longer before the other girls join, but for some reason, Shuji's eyes are still stuck on that one girl. He takes a moment trying to figure out what exactly about her made him react like that. She's a great dancer for sure, her movements fluid, exact, and graceful; sexy. But that's to be expected of an aspiring professional. Maybe it's her overall look, deep brown skin, big hair, and a gorgeous toned body. She's a sight, something interesting enough to catch his attention.

He goes back and forth, watching then snapping, watching then snapping. Then the girl spins once again, this time bringing her left leg into the air. It felt like slow motion what happened to him. Her anklet, looking as if it practically slid off her small ankle, flies right towards him just a few feet away from her. Instinctively he catches it with one hand, the other steadily holding the camera.

It's a gold anklet, real gold it seems. A chain with little designs carved into it. A light smirk makes it's way onto his lips as he places the piece of jewelry into his pocket.

Reader's POV

The dance routine lasted a grand total of twenty minutes, full halftime, and by the end you all were rushing with adrenaline. There wasn't a single mistake, and the stands were hyped. You couldn't help but smile as you all gracefully walked off the field and onto your designated spot on the bleachers, the section to the left of the cheerleaders.

The main event for the dance team was over, and it felt like a huge weight had come off your shoulders. You inwardly thank God that everything went better than you'd imagined from morning to now. All that's left is your short routines throughout the game, similar to what cheerleaders do, just without all the pep and bows.

Now you could officially pay attention to the game, and your boyfriend as the night went on. Apparently, your school the Jaguars had started out losing to the Kings, at a four point deficit until they started catching up. They'd officially surpassed the Kings just minutes before your performance.

There's a clean cut negativity that wafts over to your side of the bleachers whenever you and the girls do your routine coming right from the cheerleader side.

They have a captain as well, an upperclassman named Cho. She's a junior, and a bitch. You remember spending your first semester trying to become her friend for a while, but for some reason that you no longer care to worry about, she just never liked you. Her attitude whenever you spoke to her was ridiculous, so after a while you just stopped.

It was childish to you, the whole dance team vs. cheerleader rivalry, but it's how it just has to be apparently. There's no option of peace and being friends, so if they want to start shit you and your girls will be the ones to shut it down with poise. You knew why Cho was so mad right now, giving you her best side eye as you danced.

The cheerleaders didn't get as big of a spotlight this year seeing as the halftime show was dedicated to your choreography. Cameras and eyes were all pointed to the dancers, only occasionally turning to snap some pictures of the girls routines.

Did you feel bad? Hell no. You worked way too hard to be pressed about some hatin' ass girls in the back.

The game lasted another hour and about a half until it was finally over, a win for the Jaguars! The crowd was going insane, all the players huddled on top of each other in a pile, smiles everywhere. You felt like you were in a movie. The day was finally over, for both you and Ken. When the huddle broke up you hopped over the bleachers and past folks cheering, Ken unsuspecting as his back was towards you.

"Aaaaahhh!" You squeal excitedly, jumping up and wrapping your arms around him from behind. Ken makes a noise of shock before he realizes it's you, turning around and hoisting you up in his arms. Without a word the two of you kiss, completely blocking out the rest of the world.

Your hands cup his sweaty face as you continue, putting all your energy into it to show how proud you were. It's moments like these where your relationship actually feels real. Sharing a large accomplishment together, kissing publicly as a means of showing each other just how happy you both were.

Ken pulls away, setting you back down on the ground with a wide, beaming smile. "We did it babe!"

One of Kenny's teammates rather obnoxiously breaks your little moment up before you could even speak. "We gotta celebrate, man! Let's get to that party!"

Ohhh yes, the party...

Honestly, you weren't really in the mood for any parties, not after all the work you had to do today. If you could have it your way, you'd be chilling out in either yours or Ken's dorm room, having a special, intimate night with just each other. But he really wasn't that kind of guy. When the people need him, he shows up, and after something a huge as homecoming, he'd for sure be getting wasted tonight.

"Imma go and get changed and stuff now, K? I'll meet you out here unless you're gonna head to the party with the boys?" You tilt your head to the side.

"Nah, I'll wait for you." He shakes his head, giving you a peck on the forehead before you run off into the changing room.

As you make your way down the hall towards the dressing rooms for cheerleaders and dancers, it's nothing but hollering and cheers same as outside. You shake your head with a grin, pushing open the doors to the dressing room.

"WOOOOOOOO!"

A good seven of your girls cheer as you walk inside. You all do a little celebratory dance together, posting on each of your instagram stories as well as the dance teams insta page that you run.

"I just wanted to say on behalf of all of us that we're so proud of you and all the work you've been putting in since last year. We wouldn't have been able to pull off such an amazing performance without you and your creativity." Emma says with a proud smile. Your heartstrings pull and tighten at her sweet, heartfelt words.

"Ugh, stooop!" You whine, pouting your bottom lip out.

"No it's true! We love you so much, and we're so glad to have you as captain. You're so hardworking and always want the best for us; you're the best." Himari chimes in, placing a hand on her chest as she starts to tear up.

"Y'all...I don't even know what to say. That is just so sweet. I love y'all so much. I wouldn't even have my dance team dream come true without y'all joining and supporting me in the first place. So really I should be thankin' y'all." You sniffle, vision blurring from the tears pooling in your eyes.

"Wait! We absolute cannot cry this makeup off!" Emma outbursts, making you all laugh in response. She was right though, not only was our makeup bomb, but it also took forever and a lot of work to do. No crying tonight!

You all break up the sappy moment, going and getting semi changed for the afterparty. It was a frat party, so it was gonna be huge. Not only would the football players be there, but the basketball and soccer boys would pull up too. As you grab your sweatpants, you freeze just before you could step in with your left leg.

Something was wrong, your gold anklet was missing.

You distinctly remember putting it on before the show. This anklet was special to you, it being something that your mom gave you as a fourteenth birthday gift. It's real gold with intricate designs in the chain, simple but elegant, and beautiful. You wear it for every performance, almost like a good luck charm even though jewelry isn't advised.

You gasp, searching all over your little area, the clothing rack, and even Emma's stuff which is sat next to yours.

"Guys!" You call out. Everyone turns to you, confusion on their faces.

"Have you seen a gold anklet around? It's just a simple gold chain." You add, your tone worried as you frantically start searching through everyone's things.

"An anklet? I haven't seen anything." Is all that goes around as the girls help you search in confusion.

"No no no." You repeat to yourself, feeling tears start to prickle in your eyes all over again. It couldn't be gone, it just couldn't.

"Don't worry, just try to backtrack, ok? When did you last see it?" Emma asks, coming over to your side and helping you look.

"I remember puttin' it on before the game. I know for a fact I was wearing it." You shake your head, still rummaging around.

"It might've come off at some point during the game..." She says.

"No, not on that big ass field, it could be anywhere! What if someone stepped on it?!" You ramble, getting all worked up and upset all over again. Emma gives you an apologetic look, unsure herself really of what to say or do to make you feel better about this. You both knew it was highly likely lost in the sauce, trying to find that thing out there is like searching for a needle in a haystack.

"I'm sorry girl." She says softly, placing a hand on your arm comfortingly. You let out a frustrated sigh, going back to putting your sweatpants on. Now you really weren't in the mood for this stupid afterparty.

You finish changing, packing all of your things into your Nike duffel bag lazily. "I'm heading out to the party with Ken, I'll see y'all." You call out to the girls still in the changing room. You all share quick goodbyes as you head out.

Standing in the hallway you take a second, looking out at the opening to the field one more time. You really loved that anklet, and hoped maybe it just came off while you were at the bleachers. If it fell off there, it may be a good chance it's still in the same spot..?

You purse your lips, brows furrowed as you decide to go and search. Deep down you had a feeling it wasn't going to be there, but you were hopeful that maybe that feeling was wrong. You run out passed the people still left chatting on the field and some of the bleachers. It had quieted down faster than you'd thought it would, everyone probably already heading home or to the afterparty. You make it over to the bleachers you'd been sitting at, placing your duffel bag down as you search the entire row along with the ones above and below it.

Nothing. No sign of your anklet at all.

With a defeated sigh you plop down on the bleachers, facepalming as you take in the loss of your special piece of jewelry. Now that you were still, you finally noticed your phone buzzing over and over in your sweatpants pocket.

It was like every app was screaming at you for attention at the same time. Instagram, Imessage, Snapchat, Twitter, the list went on. Opting for Imessage first, you look at all the texts you have.

Best Friend #1👩🏾‍🤝‍👨🏻 GET UR AZZ TO THIS PARTY LIL GIRL😤!! I need somebody to get sturdy wit

Y/N💜 I AIN'T NO LIL GIRL LIL BOY😤 Imma be there soon

Best Friend #1👩🏾‍🤝‍👨🏻 U trynna pick me up some fireballs👀🫦🙏🏼??

Y/N💜 🙄Bye Kei...

You loved Keisuke, he's like an annoying older brother to you, and always finds a way to make you smile, though you two don't talk too often.

Emmy's🩵 Hey so my brothers are actually taking me out to dinner tonight so I won't be at the party🥺. Have fun with Ryugujiiiiii😈

Aw damn, Emma won't even be at the party?! You frown a bit but understand. Her brothers love her like crazy so it made sense they'd wanna take her out to celebrate. You send a quick "Awww that's so sweet! I'll see you later girl" and exit out of the chat with her, finally looking at everything Ken sent.

Big K💖 Wya? Been waitin for a while

Big K💖 U comin?

Big K💖 The guys are pressing me

Big K💖 We're leavin now

Your jaw drops as you reread the last text. He just left without you?! Is he serious?! He was supposed to be your ride! Emma and the other girls had already left, and Emma's not even going to the party anymore. Immediately you open up your chat with Keisuke again.

Y/N💜 Bro... Why Kenny leave me😐

You didn't expect him to respond since he's at the party but you went and sent the texts anyways. Now you'd have to go and put your duffel bag back in your dorm then Uber all the way to the frat part. Ridiculous...

A/N 🧚🏾‍♀️: Y'all don't understand how excited I am about this story! Also, having Keisuke Baji as your best friend is just chef's kiss in my opinion, like, I did my big one with that! But yes anyways, so excited about this, definitely put my whole coochie in this story y'all so like eat it up! Like, comment, reblog for sure. See you in the next chapter💖✨

P.S.: I'll have the next chapter soon (I don't really have a schedule yet for updates but if you guys really like it then I'll prioritize)

#shuji hanma #hanma shuji #shuji hanma x reader #shuji #hanma #draken x reader #draken x black reader #shuji hanma x black fem reader #shuji hanma x black reader #a mile away㊙️#strawberryfairi #black fem reader #shuji hanma x you #its complicated #shuji x reader

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russellsppttemplates · 2 years

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I'm happy if you're happy (Charles Leclerc)

Despite being known faces to the public, Charles and Y/N manage to keep it (almost) low key when they go to a Champions League match

Note: english is not my first language. I thought about something like this as soon as I found out he was there and the request just came to prove that we all think alike and seem to have the same wish in life

Thank you so much to everyone who likes and reblogs, your feedback is appreciated 🤍 and I'm taking requests so if you have any ideas or concepts you want to share, feel free to do so as I'll try to get to them the best I can!

Tw: briefly mentions puberty related body changes

When Charles found out that Juventus and the team you supported were in the same Champions League group, he hoped that you would be able to go and watch a game together as a way of relaxing and enjoying a football match like a normal couple would. Sure, he was grateful for all his fans and knew that without them he wouldn't be where he is, but that didn't mean that he sometimes wished he could go out and not have to worry about running into people who knew who he was. But over the years, since you started dating, he had learnt with how to balance everything out. You had started acting later than your colleagues, only finding how much you enjoyed the mixture between singing and acting that musical theatre provided later on your teenage years, and after many smaller plays, you were now one of the actresses directors first thought about contacting whenever they had a movie or a show that required singing, your voice being quickly spread over the many soundtracks of recent productions. And with it all, you helped Charles learn, like you had been learning too, the balance between being a known person around the world but still managing to live a pretty normal life.

So, when Andrea announced that the Juventus group stage game against your team was during the week Charles knew you were going to be home, he didn't think twice and asked him to get tickets for you as well.

Arriving at the Allianz Stadium, you had managed to get in the box without making too much fuss, the security staff guaranteeing that all of the reporters were not allowed in that area of the stadium and wishing you a good game. You sat next to Charles as Jeremy and Andrea took their seats too, watching the players from yout team entering the pitch for their warm-up, "Tell me, Y/N, how are you going to feel when your team looses? Just so that were prepared to deal with you in a few hours time", Andrea teased you since they were all supporting the italian team, "I know it's going to be a hard game for them, but I still have hope they'll get a good result", you said firmly as you opened your bag, pulling out the scarf you've had since you were a kid, a sweet memory of going to your first game with your grandpa, "Oh, she came prepared!", your boyfriend's personal trainer mused, "and I didn't bring my t-shirt because I haven't bought a new one since I got the one when I was a boobless teenager going through puberty", you playfully teased back. "Well, I like your boobs now, no need to hide them in a tight t-shirt", Charles whispered in your ear, pressing a kiss on your neck, "thank you baby. I like your boobies too", you patted his chest over the t-shirt that left little to the imagination about the muscles under it. Giggling as Jeremy fake gagged, you clapped along when you heard the fans that had travelled to see the game sing one of the team's support chants, "you could go and sing along with them. Although I think your pretty and well located voice would be very different compared to theirs", Charles pointed out, "yeah, I don't think we'd hear Y/N that much", Andrea said as he handed you a bottle of water you has asked him to get since he offered to bring you something, "thank you", you said before taking a sip, "Oh, when I was little I always wanted to go to their stand in the home stadium and chant with them, but my grandpa always said that I would end up swallowed in the middle of them", you reasoned, "and I'm sure my manager wouldn't be very happy to know that I was straining my voice like that". Humming in agreement, Jeremy spoke directly to you, "by the way, I saw your latest movie last week with my family, they all loved it, and my niece seems to think that she can now sing like your character", he said, cringing at the memory, "For the first time only last week? Jeremy, mate. You don't know what you are loosing", Charles replied, "and of course she want to be like Y/N, she has the most beautiful voice ever", he said looking into your eyes as you rested your arm on the armrest to support you so your lips could kiss your boyfriend's, "thank you, mon amour".

The teams had now gone back to the dressing rooms and you were watching Charles and Andrea talk about some new plan he had for him when you heard the Champions League Anthem, whistling as the players found their positions on the pitch, "I didn't know you could whistle like that", Charles said, shocked that in the years you had been dating he had never seen you do it, "Please, she does that everytime you overtake someone in your races", Andrea forwarded, smiling at you.

It only took Juventus a few minutes to score the first goal, the three men erupting in cheer as you crossed your arms over your chest, not even looking at them before deciding to join the clapping with the fans from your team, "How are you feeling Y/N?", Jeremy asked, leaning over in his seat so he could see you, "It was a nice goal, to be fair, bht there's still a lot of game to play", you replied shortly as your eyes followed the ball, feeling Charles place his hand back on your thigh and squeezing it.

Just before half-time your team scored, you jumping up on your seat when the striker dribbled to the goal, letting out a squeal when the ball hit the back of the net before looking back at Jeremy, the smile on your face earning a huff from him, "like you said, there's stil game to play".

"I don't want to jinx it, but it's been really nice just being here with you, no one asking for pictures or autographs, just enjoying a game with you and my friends", Charles said near your ear as he wrapped his arm around your shoulder, the music blasting through the stadium's speakers during the half-time requiring that closeness, not that you minded. You nodded, "yes, I'm quite surprised but I guess people are more worried about the game, as they should too. They're all playing really well", you said as you noticed the players going back in the pitch, doing all sorts of jumps and leg exercises to warm back up.

The second part had been tense, your team scoring ten minutes in as Juventus tried to get past them, you getting up everytime the goalkeeper made a defense, making Charles grab your hips so you could sit on his lap, "they're probably winning because you are supporting them so vividly", Andrea mumbled, "you always say I'm a nice supporter, the best one even", hou tried to reason, the teasing glint in your eyes, "That is when you are supporting me, not all of them", Charles chirped in as he gestured to the men running on the pitch, making you kiss his cheek sweetly before returning to clapping.

Unluckily for Juventus, they were unable to score a goal, leaving the end result 1-2.

"I could be a really bad sport now, and tease all of you, but I'm just going to respectfully say it was a well disputed match", you said while you waited for the fans to exit the stadium before you guys could make your own way out of the stadium once the crowds were gone.

When you got to the hotel room, you were exhausted, going to the bathroom for your night routine before coming back to the bedroom area and grabbing one of Charles' t-shirts to sleep in while he was in the bathroom. You watched as your boyfriend put on his sleep shorts, reminding yourself how lucky you were that he was all yours, opening the sheets on his side of the bed so you could cuddle into his chest, him getting the hint straight away and snuggling into his pillow, looking for his comfortable position before grabbing your waist under his t-shirt and pushing your body to his, "we should do this more often, you know? It's not like we don't try, but I really love just having you with me, no one bothering. We were really lucky today and it might not happen again so soon, but I rely enjoyed it", you whispered as you kissed his naked chest, sleep already catching up with you. Brushing some hairs out of your face, Charles smiled as looked at you, "I know, me too. It's a shame they lost though", he chuckled, earning a small giggle from you, "yeah, but there's always the second leg. Maybe you'll be happier there", you said as he noticed your eyes were definitely closing for good, "Goodnight, mon coeur. I love you so much", he said pressing a kiss to your forehead, your mutter of a "sweet dreams handsome I love you too" bringing a blushy smile to his face.

Since he hadn't been to tired, Charles browsed through Instagram for a bit when he noticed a message from a fan, opening it to see a video of a girl recording her blunt reaction to the second goal your team scored and, in the back, he could see you celebrating while he was looking at you, amused by your reaction and what he thought people often referred to his look of love. The message read Ciao Charles, I don't mean to sound creepy but I was recording my reaction to the goal and I only realised that it was you and Y/N in the back when I got home. I'm not posting it anywhere because I know you value your privacy, but I thought it was too cute of a moment to not share with you. I hope you had a nice time and that the second leg works better in our favour!

Yeah, at the end of the day, he was happy if you were happy.

#charles leclerc imagine #charles leclerc x reader #charles leclerc fic #charles leclerc fluff #f1 imagine #f1 x reader #f1 fanfic

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racing-is-passion · 1 month

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The fact you think someone who's most recent DNFs were crashing in the last lap through driver error is better than Lewis is hilarous. Not to mention Mercedes are experimenting their tractor on Lewis, like they did in 2022 when everyone also thought Russell was better when he wasn't. Literally as soon as the announcement to Ferrari happened, everyone said knew that Lewis would suddenly be 'struggling' when he was best of the rest last year. Because think about it, it's in Mercedes' interest for Lewis to look washed. He dumped them in a humiliating way, they don't care about anymore.

Just say you don't like him? Or don't understand his value? Signing him is similar to the decision Williams made with switching Sargeant for Albon, harsh but a no-brainer. This is for any team in F1, including Red Bull. Because of one thing - hype. No other driver generates as much hype as him, and that's something that can't be replicated with any other driver. This isn't to say he isn't one of the top drivers talent wise, he is. But as we've seen with Bearman and Sainz, put any driver in a good car and they'll perform well. Ferrari's barrier to the championship is the car, not the drivers. If they have a championship winning car next year, they'd win it with both the current drivers and with next year's drivers. The only difference is that the story will be much bigger with Lewis instead of Carlos. And one more thing, this is the last opportunity for Ferrari to have Lewis in their car. I know there's lots of talk that the veterans should retire, but trust me, Fernando and Lewis are still at the top of the game, and when they're gone they will be greatly missed in F1. Instead of questioning why he's been given someone else's seat you should appreciate him while he's here, appreciate that the legendary names of Ferrari and Hamilton have in fact joined together when for so long most people thought it's impossible. Please do more research because you clearly don't understand F1.

One thing first: I never really made a secret about the fact that I'm not a big fan of Lewis Hamilton, I once wrote that in a post already, but I also always said that he is one of the best drivers ever in F1 history and I respect his accomplisments and performances.

I'm also a bit of a fan of Fernando, so it's not that I just don't speak for the drivers that are a bit older, I actually like the idea of Alonso becoming a champion again, 20 years after his last championship, if he should get a top car next year.

Oliver Bearman did a very good job at the Saudi Arabian GP, but he surely wasn't on the level of Charles and probably Carlos, that's for sure. So that wasn't really a good example. But no one was thinking that he would be as good as both of them, because of the circumstances that it was his first ever race and he has never driven the car before.

Lewis is surely still a good driver, but is he still the same that he was in the 2010 years? I really don't think so. And what reason would Mercedes have to let him be worse than he could be? It would only harm Mercedes, because they would get less points and bad publications in the media. Also it wouldn't make Ferrari or Lewis slower next year.

It's true that Ferrari hasn't the car to win the championship, no one except for Red Bull has it right n ow. But I think no one thinks that they'll drive for the championship this year. So it's still about the performances of the two drivers, which are pretty much very close to each other.

It's just my own opinion and how I see it, for me there are these minimal signs that (at least recently) Carlos would be the better decision. Maybe Charles can prove me wrong, then I'd be the last one not t say that I was wrong and Ferrari did the right thing (especially if Lewis will perform great next year.

The hype about Lewis is actually the only big reason for me to sign Lewis to Ferrari, but as Ferrari, a team that is the most famous, even without signing one of the biggest stars on the grid, that demands from itself to drive for the championship, I don't think it should just be the media hype that decides who will drive for them. And no, I'm still not saying Lewis is a bad driver, I'm just saying he isn't at the same level anymore that he had when he was winning one championship after another.

A thing iI want to let you all know, is that I will deactivate the anonymous questions, because i get many reactions that aren't very friendly or objective/impersonal, and I won't answer such stuff, because I want this to be a friendly discussion about the F1 amongst F1 fans who can also respect the opinions of others and don't feel personally attacked if someone does say something that they don't like to hear about a specific driver or team.

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marslovescars · 1 month

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Yeah... Lewis Hamilton. 7 time champion, guy who slapped Alonso and Vettel around for years doesn't care. Are you brain dead? Why would he tank his reputation before heading to Ferrari. Take your shit out of the tag, we don't want to see it.

Why do I always get the idiots who lack reading comprehension skills and do no research?

I'll explain this very thoroughly.

The purpose of the post was to show people who were saying that Lewis Hamilton sucked as much as Daniel Riccardio were wrong.

Lewis Hamilton does not suck, he is just not trying because why would he? He is over Mercedes and there's a few reasons why:

1) because Mercedes has given him a car that's terrible again!

2) Mercedes has not listened to him when he's give suggestions about improving the car.

3) they only gave him a 1 year contract with the possibility to extend which is not what he wanted.

4) When he asked to be an ambassador for Mercedes when he retires, they said no.

Plus the other instances where they have treated him poorly, even though he's done so much for the team.

If you need more proof go watch any of his post race interviews for the past three races of 2024. If that's not a man that's clocked out and I don't know what is.

And if you want to talk about reputation, when has Lewis cared about his reputation? Lewis is truly a petty king.

Here's Lewis putting on every piece of Jewelry he owns after the Jewelry ban that was clearly targeting him

Here's tweets when Lewis leaked Jenson Button's telemetry because he thought he was being treated better by McLaren when he raced there.

Here's Lewis response tweet from when Lewis crashed with Alonso and Alonso insulted him at the 2022 Belgian GP.

Here's when Lewis wore an LGBT rainbow helmet in Saudi Arabia because he hates how anti LGBT they are. Plus the millions of times he's done so since this.

Here's a video of his 2024 Bahrain GP Post Race Interview, where he's clearly winning the idgaf war

Lewis Hamilton doesn't give a fuck about what they think, they'll hate him anyway. But from what I've seen Lewis is giving Mercedes what they give him. Which is nothing.

He's not "ruining his reputation" being an 8 7x world champion gives him a lot of grace.

Lastly, if you don't like what I have to say, here's an easy fix. Block me. Because if you weren't so cowardly, I would have blocked you by now.

Have the day you deserve you weirdo!

#f1 #formula 1 #Lewis Hamilton #don't talk to me about the lore brother #I'm up to date!#Lewis is a petty king who is giving Mercedes the same energy they give him #a big fat goose egg

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useless-catalanfacts · 7 months

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Hi! I was wondering if Alexia Putellas ever played for the Catalan NT, and if it's true that the reason why there's a "law" that says footballers in Spain can't refuse to show up for a Spain NT game if they are called is to prevent Galician, Basque and Catalans from refusing to represent Spain? :o

Yes, Alexia Putellas has played with the Catalan National Team (source). It's difficult to find information on the Catalan NT because it's not recognised by FIFA (because the Spanish Football Federation and the Supreme Sports Council of the Spanish Government blocked the request) and so it plays few games, only with the NTs of other places that aren't recognised by FIFA. And on top of that, women's football was barely ever even mentioned before 4 years ago or so, and now only every so often.

The Spanish Sport Law includes the fact that it's mandatory to play for the Spanish NT if you're called (Catalan political parties are trying to abolish this part of the Law). Yes, no need to add "" to law, because it's an actual law.

However, this hasn't always been followed by male athletes. For example, in 2005 the Catalan footballer Oleguer Presas was called to play in the Spanish NT and he met up with the coach to explain that he refuses because he's an independentist and that the thinks the Spanish NT should instead hire someone who wants to be there. The coach understood that having a player who actively doesn't want to be there won't result in an effective team, so he didn't call him. Presas wasn't punished because he acted to prevent breaking the law: he met up with the coach immediately when he announced he wanted to call him for the NT, before the NT made the official call, so he wasn't technically breaking the law because the players hadn't been officially called. The same thing was done by the Galician player Nacho Fernández in 1995, he spoke to the coach preventively, before being officially called, and convinced him to not issue the official calling.

The most famous recent case was in 2018, Gerard Piqué also refused to play with the Spanish NT. After he had played with them for years and got yelled insults and Catalanophobic hate at the stadiums, he announced he would not play for Spain any more.

But both Presas and Piqué were male football players who won the male Champions League with Barça. Male football players of the top level are already paid a lot and have their own attention and work future outside of the NTs, while female football players don't get the security of keeping this as a job with enough payment nor a stable future, so it's more difficult for them to have the conditions to be able to stand up to the NT and the Federation (which makes them even braver for having stood up against the coach's abuse and later also against Rubiales' forced kiss and sexual harassment and the federation for defending him).

Plus, Presas and Fernández (I'm unsure of what Piqué did) convinced the coach not to officially call them in the first place. The women's NT coach will not be convinced in the current situation, so the female players will officially be called and if they continue to refuse they'll be harshly punished. The Federation can't let them get away, they are standing up for themselves and for the rights of women athletes in front of the world. In the eyes of many directives of the Federation, women are supposed to accept that men can do anything they want to women, in fact, we should be thankful that they let us play football at all! They're going to be punished for rebelling.

Catalan male sportsmen have also been heavily punished for refusing to play for Spain. The most notable case is the hockey team. Hockey is quite popular in Catalonia but not in Spain, there are many hockey teams all around Catalonia and many people play it, with many of these teams having become very good. In 2004, the Catalan NT was allowed to compete in a Men's B World Championship in Macau (btw, Catalonia won the championship), because Catalonia was in process of being reviewed to be allowed or not into the International Federation (FIRS) and had received a provisional licence. After this, FIRS denied Catalonia access to the Federation so they could never play again. But anyway, in this context, the Men's B World Championship and the top level Men's World Championship were being held at the same time. The Catalan players who had been called for the Spanish NT explained they would not play for Spain in the World Championship and instead they would play for Catalonia in the B Championship (which, again, they won). As a result, these players (including Ivan Tibau, Jaume Llavarola and David Cáceres) were expelled from the Spanish Hockey Federation and weren't allowed to play any more.

To go back to the women's football case. After the Sports Law states that it's mandatory to play for a Spanish NT, each sport federation has its own internal rules about how they'll deal with a person who refuses. Here's what the Spanish Football Federation's Code of Discipline says about it (source):

[The football players who refuse to play for the Spanish NT] will be sanctioned with a fine ranging from 3,006 to 30,051€ and with one or many of the following sanctions:

— Being barred from occupying a position in the federation's organization, or having their licence suspended or removed, for a time period of 2 to 5 years.

— Deprivation of licence, in a definitive way; this sanction can only be imposed in an exceptional way for relapse or very grave infractions.

If they remove their license, they can't play anymore. And that's a huge fine (30,000€ = more than 31,700 US $), female football players don't get paid that much.

The Spanish Sports Law has already been used to punish national minorities (Catalans) who were dissidents, and the same threat is used against women for their dissidence. Being treated like that and then being forced to play for them sure will make you do your best for that team, won't it?/s :') But after all, that's no difference from what being forced to be part of Spain is like.

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youssefguedira · 9 months

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have a little more fencing world champion joe. because it's worlds again and olympics soonish. enjoy

The clock on the nightstand changes from 01:36 to 01:37, and Joe sighs, rolling over to stare up at the ceiling. Nicky, beside him, shifts in his sleep but doesn't wake.

Joe, however, has been awake since at least 12:08, and feels far too restless to sleep. It's almost certainly jet lag: they're in Chicago for a little while, visiting Nile and her family, and largely trying to enjoy the last little bit of free time they have left until training begins again in earnest. Of course, Joe's kit bag is lying open at the foot of the bed, and Nicky's beside it: just because they're not formally training doesn't mean they won't need it at all.

Still, Joe can't sleep. He sighs again, and gives up on trying to do so entirely. Maybe he'll be able to find some time to rest tomorrow, though he doubts it. Nile's got a lot of things she wants to show them, and Joe would ordinarily be thrilled, if he wasn't so tired.

It'll pass, Andy told him, though she doesn't seem to have been affected by it at all. He's almost certain they'll meet her in the morning for breakfast and she'll be exactly as normal, as if they haven't just crossed multiple time zones. Even Nicky, who hadn't struggled nearly as much as Joe had, had begun to slow down some time around midday, but Andy had been fine.

He gets out of bed, careful not to wake Nicky, who's rolled onto his side facing the door. With nothing else to do, Joe makes his way to the little balcony attached to their room, picking up his phone from the nightstand on the way. The sliding door squeals a little when he opens it, but when he looks over at Nicky he hasn't even moved.

While it's certainly quieter than it had been before, the city is nowhere near silent. It's beautiful, though, and Joe takes a picture to send to his sister.

She texts him back immediately. Pretty, but isn't it like the middle of the night for you?

1 am, Joe responds. Jet lag.

His phone lights up with a call then, but not from Amira. He reads the contact name and answers, heart in his throat.

Oof, is Amira's response.

He almost drops his phone when he realises what they're calling him for.

By the time they hang up, his hands are shaking: he stays like that, phone still pressed to his ear even after the call has ended, for at least a few minutes.

Finally, at a loss for what else to do, he lowers his phone and goes back inside. Sits down on the edge of the bed.

The movement is just enough to wake Nicky, who blinks a few times before sliding into awareness all at once, the way he always does. He sits up, leaning against the headboard, pushing his hair out of his eyes. "Joe?" he asks, voice still slightly hoarse from sleep. He frowns when Joe doesn't answer straight away. "Is something wrong?"

"No," Joe says. Fidgets with his phone, screen now dark, still in his hands. "Uh. They want me for the Olympic team."

Nicky is silent for all of a split second before his expression breaks into a wide smile. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." Joe can't keep himself from smiling now, either, as Nicky cups the back of Joe's neck with one hand, leans in to press their foreheads together. Joe closes his eyes.

"Of course they do, Joe," Nicky says then. "You're the best in the world right now. You're going to be incredible."

There are times when that doesn't quite feel real, even if it's been a while.

"You'll come with me?" Joe asks.

"Always," Nicky says. Then he pulls back and kisses Joe's cheek, his forehead, the space between his eyes, until Joe laughs.

"I love you," Nicky tells him.

They'd met fencing épée, of all things. Andy had invited the seven of them – they hadn't quite been friends yet, but Joe had known Quynh for a couple years by then, and Andy too, while Nicky had already known Nile – to train with her and Quynh for a while, and Joe couldn't possibly refuse, because Andy was both his friend and one of the best coaches in the world back then. She'd made them all switch to a weapon they didn't usually use, and Joe and Nicky had picked épée: Joe because he figured it would be easier than restricting his target area to the torso only, and Nicky because épée was far closer to foil than sabre. They'd been about evenly matched, and it had been – well, it had been fun.

Joe had left a week later with Nicky's number in his phone and a small, fluttering hope in his chest. And even if they hadn't kept in touch very well those first few months, when the World Championships came around, and Joe had qualified for the second time, Nicky had joined Andy to meet him at the airport, grinning widely when he caught sight of him.

The rest, as they say, is history.

"I love you too," Joe says.

"You want to tell the others?" Nicky asks.

Joe looks at him for a moment. Looks at the clock. "It's 1 am, Nicky. Andy will kill us both."

Nicky snorts. "In the morning, then?"

"In the morning," Joe agrees.

Neither of them end up going back to sleep until 4 am, and they're both exhausted at breakfast the next morning, but. It's worth it.

#neon writes #fencing au #(but like. professional)#the old guard #kaysanova #userlyde #userlinax #do i know what this is? nah. but i was thinking about then #*them #nicky also goes to the olympics btw. he finds out the night after #nile (who is lucky enough to be in the right timezone) also qualifies etc etc. my backstory for her is winning us collegiate and then #she also wins gold for women's individual and silver in team foil in the 2022 worlds. assuming this takes place in the real world #i think nicky has already been to one olympics (his backstory is basically the same as his regular fencing au backstory except he actually #goes to the olympics fairly young as opposed to dropping out for injury.#i think andy coaches for paris. this is also like her regular fencing au backstory #somewhere between cairo (2022) and paris (2024) she gets bored of competition and just coaches full time (for nile i think)#she and quynh ARE married but she doesn't coach quynh because otherwise they argue abt it. famously. work life balance and all that #anyway. that's your Infodump for today. i Do however think about them constantly so #gritting my teeth. maybe épée is ok and valid and has a purpose SOMETIMEZ #*sometimes. didn't mean to spell that with a z but oh well

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cannibalgh0st · 10 months

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I've known for a long time now that one day your art and enthusiasm and great taste in tropes would pull me into some fandom I never thought I'd join, but I'll be honest, I always guessed it was going to be one of those live action Gotham shows. Sports feels so wholly, entirely out of left field that I don't even know how to react. I've been going through the backlog of Jungle Boy's lore and taking furious notes! Like, he lost his father, then his father figure mentor turned on him and became his nemesis with a thousand personal remarks? And then his bestie joined his ex-mentor? And then he had to fight his ex mentor and beat him and then kissed him goodbye on the forehead before (symbolically?) killing him and then burying him like he did his father? And by doing so, his ex-mentor committed one final act of cruelty against him by forcing him to make that choice, to make Jungle Boy an agent of his own loss and deterioration, take part in it. And from that point on, Jungle Boy became more focused on going after what he wants and taking it no matter who is in his way? Did I understand all of that right?

And then he becomes best friends and partners with a guy who is like the perfect foil to him: an unstoppable 2nd gen fighter - young, even younger than himself. They have so much in common, and they like each other so much. But. Hook keeps winning. He hasn't lost his father. He hasn't lost his mentors or his friends. He hasn't sacrificed anything. And he. Still. Keeps. Winning. And it's always right there in Jungle Boy's face. And when JB turns on him, out of the blue, the first thing he does is drop to his knees as if...mourning himself? And then the next time he shows up, he's dressing, talking, and acting just like his (dead? is he dead in-universe or...? idk how that works) ex-mentor--

--ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?! WRESTLING HAS JUST HAD THIS THE WHOLE TIME? I am going to show up every damn week from now on, and I'm going to have no idea what the moves being yelled out by the commentators are, and I am going to wait on the edge of my seat for the dialogue much like impatiently skipping paragraphs of description. And I'm going to make chips for it! WTF what the actual fuck there's enough for 2/3 books of a novelization trilogy here wtf wtf sports??? I am losing my mind

@emma-d-klutz how I enjoy out convos! ✨️

Yes, AEW actually has really good storylines- especially recently with Jungle Boy! That burial match was one of my favorites when he fought Christian Cage - it was so personal, but I appreciated the end results. Effing great, so choice. I'm wondering when they'll have another reunion soon? Now that Jack went heel *bad guy* and said a few nights again when he was in a team, he was a champion... maybe he'll team up with Cage and Luchasaurus again? Or he'll just be his own bad guy???

SO, the drama with him and Hook kinda felt off to me. A lot of people felt Hook was going to betray Jungle Boy, but I never saw that? Hook has always teamed up with people who've been good to him, and surprisingly, Hook is super chill with them, lol. But now the betrayal of Jack kinda makes me think if Hook will ever have another team up :( unless it was Danhausen or the Hardy Boys etc.

JungleHook was a very young and cool team up! I kinda wish they would've gone for tag titles... but alas...

The side drama is ongoing this upcoming Wednesday! I love AEW and how they have a variety of drama going on in between the fights. LOL - even better when the drama is in the ring...!!!

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cheemken · 9 months

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Have some more Unova kids hcs bc why not the brainrot is real

•okay but fr tho "*didn't ask for pickles but is too shy to tell the server*" w Hilbert, Bianca, and N, and "excuse me, but they asked for no pickles" w Hilda, Iris, and Cheren

•they would play every co op game under the sun, I just know it, that's how Iris got her love of fps games cause she gets to play it w her friends

•they def play pkmn unite tho

-tho when they do play unite, the others always separate Iris and Hilbert as the two are like pros, so it's always three on one side and three on the other when they do a pvp tournament w each other

-usual teams are Hilda, Cheren, and Iris, and then N, Hilbert, and Bianca

-surprisingly enough, N is good at that game, and got every pkmn at least the green ribbon bc he wanted every one of his friends to have one

-Zoroark got a gold ribbon tho let's be real, he only ever uses Zoroark in that game it's insane

•as much as the others tease Cheren that he's like a teacher now, they do actually listen to his lectures, and would oftentimes hang out in his gym whenever they're free

-whenever he's not around, the others would always tell his students how cool and strong he is, and the kids would be so amazed bc ofc, the two Heroes and the Champion looking up to their teacher? Their Gym Leader? Ofc they'd eat that up, and they'd listen more to Cheren cause they wanna be strong like him now too

•Iris and N having that solidarity that they never had much friends, or rather didn't really have friends, when they were younger and the Nuvema kids mean so much to them bc it's the first ever friend group they had

-and really the first friend group that doesn't make fun of anything abt them and how odd they are

•Iris is that rich friend let's be real, she's Champion and her grandpa is the mayor of a city, ofc she'd have that money, and she'd just spend most of it buying lil gifts for her friends, usually Dragon themed stuff, or things that she thinks they'll like

-shes the one that goes all out during their birthdays and Christmas, saying how she's only getting the best for her friends

•N is staying w Alder now, as the others didn't just want him to fly around Unova or stay inside Plasma's old castle, and hey they all wanted to let N stay w em, but N decided to just stay w Alder instead and Alder was more than happy

-he also helps Alder in teaching the kids more abt Pokémon, it makes him happy how patient the children are and how understanding they are when it comes to their partner pkmn

-it makes him miss his own Pokémon sometimes, but he knows they're happy wherever they are

•altho Bianca would often say she's the weakest of the bunch, she's actually a really capable trainer that she got to the semi finals in the PWT

-the others did help her train, as they didn't want her getting hurt while running errands or doing research stuff

-yknow what, Bianca's Serperior deserves to have Contrary, so hey her Serperior's ability is now Contrary, as a treat

-bonus tho, Hilbert's Emboar has Reckless as an ability

•Zekrom, Reshiram, and even Kyurem would listen to Cheren, Bianca, and N's commands

-pls ur honour they trust each other so much that even their legendary pkmn would listen to the ones that aren't even their actual trainers

•Hilda and Hilbert could impersonate each other really well when they were younger, ofc now they have different body types they couldn't anymore, but they could still somewhat mimic each others voices that it honest to god still scares Cheren

-Cheren had told N and Iris that the twins always did that back then to mess w them, and "it seems you two didn't grow out of it."

"oh cmon, Cheren, it's fun!"

"you say it's fun because you two can mess with people online with it."

"yeah no shit—"

#lowkey tho i wanna draw them na #i should at one point hahah #pokemon hcs #trainer hilda #trainer hilbert #trainer bianca #gym leader cheren #champion iris #n harmonia #unova kids

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vro0m · 4 months

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vro0m's rewatch - 188/332

2016 Abu Dhabi GP

Alright people it's time for the heartbreak. Lewis is on pole again. It's the 4th time in a row.

Simon says Ricciardo said if he was Lewis he'd try to back Nico up. Brundle claims Lewis has been playing psychological games since that Thursday and then he corrects himself and says basically for the last few races given how dominant he's been (how is that playing games lol). Here's the issue. Lewis doesn't only need to win to get the title, he also needs Nico to not be on the podium. So by that logic he effectively has to play games. Here's the top 10 on the grid then : Lewis, Nico, Ricciardo, Raikkonen, Seb, Verstappen, Hulkenberg, Perez, Alonso and Massa.

Lewis says all he can do is make sure he's prepared to the best of his ability but also anything can happen. She asks him how he felt getting up that morning and he says amazing but he's won on days he's felt bad, and on days he's felt good, and lost on both as well. He feels blessed to have another beautiful day, to be fit and healthy. He feels great.

Nico is not wearing his fireproof shirt under his opened suit. It's a weird sight I wasn't prepared for. He feels good as well.

Of course we're getting a double interview as well. Lewis starts by saying his goal was always to be in Formula 1 and be recognized as one of the best (that's interesting to hear, I feel like he's been a bit more coy about that lately) as Ayrton was.

Nico says he's proud of his season, it was one of his best in F1. Loads of race wins and loads of special moments. He says the turning point was the races around Japan, Singapore. Great moments for him, he says.

We hear again Lewis’ reaction on radio when his engine caught on fire in Malaysia. He says he had already pushed the radio button and he was feeling what he was feeling and so it was his natural reaction. He didn't know the radio was on, he says. He says there were trying times during the year.

Nico says he's sure his family has helped him do even better this year because it's put things into perspective because family is the most important thing in the world and not racing, and he's just arrived at the track happier.

Lewis says every year you're faced with negative things that happen in your life and you can't dwell on it, you need to turn it around (I'm filtering them because they annoy me but he's already said ‘whilst’ like half a dozen times in this interview). He thinks this year the things he's had to turn around have been bigger and greater than in the past.

Okay so I didn't think it was relevant so I didn't write it down but every answer is prompted by some kind of title (like Lewis’ last was “balls of negativity” and Nico's was “perspective”). This one is “Uncle Terry & the moral victor” and it's weird enough that I think I need to mention it. Lewis says he never heard a champion say he was the “moral victor” (he does air quotes) “that's just ridiculous you know?” What is this even about lol. He says he doesn't know if he's ever heard anyone say that, then he says his uncle Terry does “when we play golf and he loses”. He says he knows what he holds in his heart, what he's worked for, what he and his guys have worked for, what they have achieved as a team etc. He knows what they've earned. They'll all hold it in their hearts and know what they've earned and whether they've deserved it or not.

Nico says he's sure he's gonna get Keke’s usual SMS words of wisdom, that usually are “pedal to the metal this weekend”. He's not coming, he prefers to stay in front of his three screens to have an oversight of everything, and his peace and quiet.

Lewis says greatness can't be denied always forever which. What. Are you. Saying. Dude. Greatness ultimately eventually shines. Alright. You sound like a cult pastor my man but it's okay.

They're talking about waking up for the race now. Lewis says 2007 was freaking horrible for him. 2008, pretty horrible. He's learnt to try to focus on the things he can control. What he can control is making sure he's quickest in every session, get the pole position, and get out ahead. Those are the things he can personally influence, so that's all he focuses on. The things that happen around him and the overall result he can't do anything about.

Nico says he wants to win the race and end on a high. It's worked for him all season and brought him in this position, he's not gonna change now, he's gonna stick with what he's doing.

That's it.

Toto says he can feel the tension and the drivers have been told to be sportsmanlike and that backing each other up into the RedBulls might mean successful undercuts for them and it would be a risk especially to Lewis who can't afford not to win. He says what he would least like to see happen is a technical problem on either car because we want the fight to happen on track.

We hear Ricciardo’s car had a bit of an issue through the night but is fixed.

It's time for the race. It's Massa's last start (is it though) and maybe Jenson’s (it is). Formation lap. The top 10 is on ultrasofts, except for the RedBulls who are on supersofts.

Carmen is there which is very cute. It's funny because at the time I'm watching this it was just her birthday and Lewis’ posted that photo of them both in the elevator and she absolutely hasn't aged one second.

And they are racing!

Both Mercs get a decent start, as do the Ferraris. Daniel seems slow off the line, he's almost in a red sandwich. Both he and Seb lock up in the first corner. OH AND VERSTAPPEN SPINS! He manages to get going again but he's dead last. The Force Indias are battling each other. Oh and there's yellow flags in sector 2 and 3…then only in sector 2. What is it? It's cleared. At the end of the first lap we got Lewis, Nico, Raikkonen, Ricciardo, Seb, Perez, Hulkenberg, Alonso, Massa and Valtteri. Verstappen has already gained 3 places and is up in 19th. Magnussen is getting a new nose. I guess he was the cause of these yellow flags. For now, the top 5 are within DRS range of each other, but of course DRS isn't available yet. And now it is. Max is battling Grosjean in a stressful way. Grosjean stays ahead, weirdly. Then he gets overtaken. Valtteri overtook Massa as well. On the replays we see Max spun because of a contact with Hulkenberg. Max overtakes Kvyat for P13. Magnussen has to retire his car. Lewis is still hovering right on the limit of Nico's DRS range. Or vice versa. I never know how to describe it. Valtteri has reported issues with the car and let Massa back ahead. He's told to come into the pits to check and that they won't retire. Lewis sets fastest lap after fastest lap. And he pits. It's so early but well, that's what happens when you're on ultrasofts. He gets the softs. The Ferraris are responding straight away, with Raikkonen pitting as well. It's not a great stop for Lewis, 3.6, he got held up because Raikkonen was coming in. 3.0 for Raikkonen. Alonso and Palmer pit as well. Nasr. Nico is called in. Lewis is out right in front of Max who's chasing relentlessly. Oh and again! Nico is also held up, also because of a Ferrari! Crazy. But that's good for Lewis. 4.8. Hulkenberg pits as well. Massa. Kvyat. Nico is out behind Max! Raikkonen is getting close to him. And Bottas is out of the race after all. Ricciardo pits from the lead. Perez from P3.

It's lap 10 but we're gonna wait a minute to check the order because of all the pit stops. Ricciardo is out right behind Raikkonen and by that I mean basically on his rear wing. Nico is told they're making Verstappen slow on purpose and he needs to get past. Let's see. It's Lewis back in the lead, Max +1.4, Nico +0.7, Raikkonen +0.8, Ricciardo +0.09 lol, Seb +1.5, Jenson +5.0, Hulkenberg +1.7, Grosjean +1.9, and Perez +0.6. Ricciardo attacks Raikkonen but can't make it yet. Nico is attacking Max as well. Max stays ahead as well! He hasn't pitted yet, mind you, so it won't last, but they're trying to get Ricciardo ahead. He's still stuck behind Raikkonen though. Nico is told not to take risks with Verstappen and that he did the right thing. I thought he needed to overtake lol. Take all the risks. (I say like I don't already know the outcome.) Shortly after he's also told to look after his front right tyre. Perez overtakes Jenson for P8. OH and moments later Jenson is in the grass? What happened. Something is wrong with the steering. Is that how his career ends? It's sad. Yeah it's a failure. On the replays you can see something breaking and his front right tyre suddenly takes a weird angle and stops turning. It's over for him. He gets acclaimed by the public though. His mom hugs him with tears in her eyes. I love having dads and moms in the paddock they're always adorable (except for Jos who's a piece of shit obvi). Max is told this is all they need right now and he's doing an excellent job and just to keep it clean. He's still slowing Nico down. Ricciardo is still stuck behind Raikkonen. He answers he's losing the rear tyres a bit. Makes sense because he's on softs and hasn't pitted yet. Oh and that's a slooow Kvyat stopping by the side of the track in sector 2. Yellow flags of course. On another replay we see Jenson’s failure is from riding a kerb. Lewis says there's a lot of sliding on these tyres. The yellow flags are cleared and the DRS is available again. We see Kvyat get on a bike. Not a motor bike. Like. A bike. A mountain bike maybe. Oh lol. Just as he starts going there's a dude getting there on a moped. He stops for Kvyat who just keeps going after waving at him. And the dude makes the international hand gesture for “what.” You know the one. Alonso overtakes Grosjean to get in the points. Lewis is told the sliding comes from cool temperatures front and rear and is told to just be careful, “we're not going to grain them.” Nico is still within less than a second of Max but he's just waiting for him to pit. Ricciardo has made no progress. Oh and just as I write it down, that's Daniel ahead of Raikkonen lol. Oh no it's not. He went wide. Raikkonen got the position back. Meanwhile Seb is now 0.1 off Daniel. That's a bad mistake.

It's lap 20. Lewis, Max +4.3, Nico +0.7, Raikkonen +3.1, Ricciardo +1.1, Seb +0.6, Hulkenberg +8.2, Perez +2.0, Massa +10.7, Alonso +5.8. Nico is told it's critical that they “start passing” Verstappen. Meanwhile Max reports it's getting more difficult but he doesn't think they should box. Nico makes an attempt, but Max doesn't yield and they almost make contact at the exit of the corner. Max stays ahead, but Nico has more grip out of the corner and overtakes him on the next straight. He's told to “catch the back of Lewis”. Max says his tyres are a bit more damaged now, but he's still told to stay out. Then he pits. Nico is told the next three laps are gonna be critical, they think Verstappen is going to the end. He's closing on Lewis bit by bit. And Ricciardo is pitting. Raikkonen pits in response. It works in favour of RBR, both of their drivers are ahead of him. Verstappen attacks and overtakes Perez for P5. Ricciardo overtakes Perez for P6. Oh but Perez comes back at him. He can't do it. Raikkonen is really close behind. Perez pits, so he's free. Lewis is called in. Good stop. Nico is called in. It might be close with Max.

It's lap 30. It was a quick stop. He's out ahead of Max. At the moment it's Seb in the lead then, Lewis +7.6, Nico +2.5, Max +4.0 (not that close then lol), Ricciardo +2.1, Raikkonen +4.2, Massa +10.3, Alonso +2.8, Hulkenberg +4.3, and Perez +3.8. Nico is closing quickly on Lewis now. 1.2. Lmao. That's the weirdest message I've heard from Bono yet : “Question: Just wondering why you’re so slow? Currently unsafe to Vettel.” A bit later he asks how's this pace and he's told they'd be happy with a 45.3. Hulkenberg overtakes Alonso for P7. Perez attacks him for P8. Lewis asks what position he's in and he's told currently P2. Perez overtakes Alonso. Seb says his tyres are really falling off now. There's been contact between two backmarkers and there's a bit of debris on the track. Seb is pitting.

Lap 40. It's not fascinating. Lewis, Nico +1.2, Max +3.0, Daniel +2.5, Raikkonen +8.3, Seb +1.5 is very fast on his new tyres, Hulkenberg +20.0, Perez +2.0, Massa +10.8, Alonso +16.1. Lewis is hitting traffic. Seb overtakes his teammate. Lewis : “You need to give me times of other cars, please.” Nico is about a second away from Lewis now and just as we've seen them race each other and Max who was lapping them, Palmer and Sainz made contact and are both off track now. Joining back. No interruption. Seb is very very fast. Bono told Lewis he's the threat currently. Sainz has issues after his collision. Gearbox. He's stopping I think. He's just going very slow now. Yellow flags. Sainz has stopped. Lewis is less than a second away from Nico. “OK Lewis really need to pick up the pace. Need high 44s. Vettel imminent threat.” What's happening with him? It feels weird that he's not pushing. Maybe he's trying to get Nico under threat but it also puts him under threat so… Idk watching him go, these messages, it feels very unfamiliar. Palmer gets a 5 sec penalty for the collision with Sainz.

10 laps to go. Seb caught up with the RedBulls. He overtakes Ricciardo. Bono is getting serious, now : “OK Lewis this is an instruction. We need 45.1 for the win.” But Lewis knows where he's standing : “I suggest you guys let us race.” We now hear a message from Nico that's happened before that. “This is really slow pace so maybe at some point invert the cars and if by the end of the race Lewis is still second I’ll let him by again. I know that’s a really stupid request but this is really slow at the moment. He’s doing exactly… he’s quick in sector one so it’s difficult for me.” What “he's doing exactly” is being slow in the parts of the track without DRS and speeding up in the part where Nico could overtake. He knows what he's doing. He's playing games. Nico knows. The team knows. Everybody knows. Max is told to try to get Nico's DRS. He's 1.9 away. Seb 1.5 further. 1.7 and 0.9. Seb is ready to attack. Not this lap. Max is told he's within 2 or 3 tenths of DRS. Ted says Lewis is rinsing the Mercedes pit wall’s nerves. Nico apparently has been on radio again saying “consider doing something” but why would they? As it is he's still winning the championship. There's no reason to sacrifice Lewis’ very very tiny chance is there? There's only 5 laps to go. “What can they do?” Ted says. “Hamilton is a mercenary!” He says Anthony Hamilton himself told him that : “He is a mercenary and he'll do anything to win.” Seb overtakes Max, half a second away from Nico. “Lewis this is Paddy.” Oh-ho. “We need you to pick up the pace to win this race. This is an instruction.” I'm laughing so much right now. Lewis doesn't give one single fuck. “Paddy I am actually in the lead right now I’m quite comfortable here,” is his answer. He's ignoring them. They are so exhausted on this pit wall. He's got nothing to lose really, does he? It's not graceful but it is racing. It doesn't matter anyway, Seb is 1.7 away. He's not gonna catch up. 3 laps to go. Nico has been told they can afford P3 if it comes down to it but they can't afford damage to the car. Seb is closing actually lol. This is crazy. 2 laps to go. “Right now I’m losing the world championship so I’m really not bothered if I’m going to win or lose this race,” Lewis says, prompted by another message from the team. Seb attacks Nico but doesn't make it. It's the final lap. “Remember you only need P3.”

It's over.

Lewis wins the race, but Nico is champion of the world. He's doing donuts on the grid like there's no tomorrow (and there isn't). He's not going to Parc fermé. He's out of his car right there. Kissing the car. Lewis is hugging his mom.

Nico and Lewis also shake hands and hug and the team rejoice.

Niki doesn't really wanna comment on Lewis’ “antics” (as Ted says) before talking to Lewis. Ted insists. Niki again avoids answering, saying it worked out but only just. The team is carrying Nico and chanting his name.

Seb congratulates Nico with a genuine smile on his face. Alonso also hugs him. Grosjean is genuinely elated. Massa is there as well. Wehrlein. Crazy. I've never seen so many drivers come congratulate a winner I think.

Oh god. In the cool down room Nico LIFTS UP FUCKING BERNIE ECCLESTONE. Careful that's an antique right there. Herbie reminds him he needs to get weighed. Lewis looks okay. We don't see him much but he's chatting with Seb and Bernie, I think about his “antics”.

Nico's race engineer gets there and he's very emotional and it's cute. “You've done it!” he says with a strangled voice after they hug hard.

I've been wondering this whole race when Nico decided to leave. Did he already know? Or at least was he already thinking about it or not yet? Because iirc he announced his retirement very shortly after right? I'll look it up once we're done here. (I have an answer, I’ll get to it at the end of the review.)

It's a long time in this cool down room. After talking for a while with Lewis, Seb talks to Nico in German. They're taking a photo with Ecclestone. Nico is holding Lewis’ shoulder, Lewis is not holding Nico back. After a few clicks he moves away, just beat earlier than the others. Awkwardly.

Podium. Honestly Lewis is not happy but I've seen him handle himself worse than that with lower stakes, so. Good on him? Nico is emotional now. Lewis raises his trophy to his mom.

He says he feels great, he thanks everybody who came out. Points out the British flags, gets a real roar out of the crowd. He thanks his family for the support and his team for doing a great job. He says he never would have thought when he joined them that he'd have so many wins. He's really smiling. “And a big congratulation to Nico of course,” he adds after a bit. He almost forgot I think. “His first world championship. Good job man.” They shake hands.

Oh my god this is extremely cringe : they shook hands in front of DC who's conducting the interviews so he then gets out of the way and suggests they do it again and it's just no. You ruined it. Anyway they do it again and hug and it's horrible now. It wasn’t great to begin with.

Nico says he really didn't enjoy the last laps. He dedicates his win to his wife and their daughter and his wife immediately starts crying (in French we have a phrase “fondre en larmes” - melting into tears, which would apply well there). He says he'll thank everybody else later but it's unreal. Oh. DC brings up his dad and that's when he loses it. He says he's very proud he's achieved the same feat and he thinks he's gonna be there in about half an hour and his voice breaks. I thought his dad was back home?! Did they surprise him this way? He stutters. He says he's excited to see him. His eyes well up. He can't talk anymore. He's shaking his head while DC moves to Seb.

Seb also starts by congratulating Nico who seems dazed now. He says something when Seb gets back to it and Lewis is smiling.

DC gets back to Lewis, weirdly, and asks him how he feels. He says he did everything he could these last 4 races and that's all he could ask of himself so he's gonna celebrate with everyone that night. “You can't win them all,” he says. He says he had a lot of problems during the year and that's why he's in this position but he's still thankful for all the success and the ups and downs they had as a team.

Nico is barely keeping it together. He says he also wants to congratulate Lewis oh god now I'm getting emotional as well for his great season, great competitor, massively quick always, they're looking in each other's eyes. “So congrats, always tough to beat you.”

Then he turns to the team and tells them to turn the music on because he's coming. He can't wait to see his mom, he says. She's coming with his dad.

And that's it. Ohhhhh they're going back to the cool down room and Angela is there and hugs Lewis tight.

Nico is trying to take a photo with a selfie stick and he also invites Seb to join. Meanwhile Paddy also doesn't wanna comment on Lewis ignoring instructions. He says “We weren't driving the car.” and pretending like it might just have been the pace of the car. It wasn't. Even Lewis didn't pretend like it was. But do go on and defend your guy, it's also part of the job. “It did present some challenges,” he says very euphemistically. He also praises Ferrari’s strategy. It was a dramatic ending. Johnny critiques the calls they made on radio saying they were trying to stop the racing and taking away his chance at the championship like I was saying at the time. Paddy says their main objective is always to win the race and they didn't like the look of that red car coming through. Johnny insists it's dictating the race, whatever the driver can do to try and win the championship he's gonna do, and they were trying to stop that. Paddy says it's what makes F1 exciting in a way : the unavoidable conflict between what a team wants and what the individual drivers want (you always always have to do better than your teammate essay, anyone? Lol). He's still trying to talk but we're watching Nico and his relatives jump in a circle singing so yeah. They're distracted. Hill asks how Paddy thinks Nico compares in the pantheon. He says first of all he's very very happy for Nico. Nico had, at least at that point, the highest number of F1 wins without a championship. Paddy says (and God the little man is saying so many true things that day) that championships are about sustaining the energy and the commitment and nerve throughout a season. (And that's how Lewis breaks his teammates btw as we mentioned in the essay, his ability to maintain.)

Nico has escaped the garage and is walking through the paddock with Vivian. I think he's looking for his dad who's supposed to arrive.

Toto is ready to talk. He says Lewis had two choices. He could disappear in the distance and show that he's the best racing driver or back up. Hill argues that's all Lewis could do, and he created a great race for them. Toto says that's how he feels as a racing driver, as compared to how he felt as a team principal, and that's why he didn't intervene. He says Horner suggested this earlier in the week and so maybe Lewis was following Horner’s instructions. Johnny asks the same thing he asked Paddy : why did they get involved? Toto says if they let them go with no rules they'd be winning fewer races and they'd lose championships. He says their philosophy all year was they wouldn't interfere as long as they had a guaranteed race win. And there was a situation there where they might have lost it. He says the question is whether him ignoring them sets a precedent for the future. But now they're celebrating basically. Oh right. There's new regs for 2017. Toto says they're happy about it. They weren't initially when they were decided but that made them competitive and they've been developing for 2017 for a long time.

We see a moment from the press conf. Lewis insists again Nico didn't have reliability issues like he did. “That's why we sit in this position right now.” Then he gets a grip and says he did a fantastic job and congratulation etc. But well that sounds empty now doesn't it lol. “And I look forward to fighting with him next year.” But you won't though. He later says he never felt like he might lose the race. He's not very clear and they didn't let us hear the question but he says “their” thought process was clear and I think he's talking about the instructions. He kind of refuses to comment.

Anyway. Lewis interview. He says he did everything he could, fought to the end for the fans and the people who turned up to support him. He thanks everyone. He seems relaxed. She asks if he's disappointed the team gave him instructions. High pitched hum that he does when he's thinking of whether to say it as it is or give a diplomatic answer, I think. He chuckles and shakes his head. “It is what it is,” he says with a smile.

She asks if it's his hardest season. He says he's been in a similar position in 2007 and it was much harder, losing it. Having the experience helps a lot, he says.

Certain things happened along the way, he shrugs, and all he could do was his best and he truly believes he did so he can go out and enjoy himself now.

She asks if he lost the title or if Nico won it. He says he doesn't want to take anything from Nico (but you keep doing it my love lol everytime you say you're in this position because of the reliability issues) he says he did a great job. Last question about 2017 and he says he thinks it'd be great to have other teams challenge them. It'd be interesting and good for the fans. He's not convinced the new rules are great ones but he hopes he's proven wrong.

Wait. Nico's mom is there and it's not the same woman I saw earlier. Was it his MIL? Whatever. She just kissed Brundle on the cheek like he's his own lol. She says they don't talk about Formula 1, it's a family rule, and that Keke is hiding.

In his interview Seb says you can't take anything away from Nico sometimes circumstances are for you sometimes not but that's part of it. He also understood why Lewis did what he did. He’s right about both things.

We hear from Lewis again. He sees for the nth fucking time congrats to Nico he drove well and he did everything he could and bla bla bla. He says he had to try because there was no point in leading the race and then coming second in the championship. He says he's excited to see what they're gonna have to say to him I think? They have a sound issue. Oh yeah that's what he said. Brundle asks if they might pull him into the office and say we've told you some things and you didn't listen. And Lewis says he's looking forward to it and laughs. “You got some answers already ready for if?” – “Yyyep.” They agree again he had to try and destabilise Nico’s race and Lewis says he did everything he could with the opportunities he had, he never gave up with the ups and downs in the season. He says Nico is gonna enjoy this, winning a championship is an amazing feeling and he doesn't wanna take anything away from him. He did absolutely everything he had to do this season. He hopes they both have cars that work well so they can fight again next year. He's happy and grateful with the wins he had, 12 poles and 10 wins. Grateful for the guys who've worked so hard to give them such a car. He's looking forward to keep working for them in the future. He's talking about drinking tequila.

In his interview Nico says the race was so so so intense. The team telling him it was critical, “critical” he repeats, to pass Max for the world championship “Jesus ! And then Max, you know, of all people.” He scoffs, “oh you don't uh, no, you n–, no, no.” He says at the end Lewis was backing him into everyone because that was “the chance he was trying to use, and he did it really really well because there was no chance for me to overtake him at the same time because he was pushing in sector 1.” He says the others were coming and Vettel with more grip and it was horrendous. (He's all over the place as he speaks, understandably.) He says he's mostly relieved that it's over. He's happy and can't wait to celebrate. His best friends are here. He thanks people for supporting him. She says they were biting their nails. He rolls his eyes, sighs, facepalms.

The level of tension and stress he was holding and the visible relief and exhaustion are really impressive. “It's not possible to explain the intensity,” he says. He's just repeating again and again how horrible it was. And exclaiming as he recalls how horrible it was. I've never seen a champion so distraught over his own title race I think lmao. He's putting hands on his face. It's like he's recalling a nightmare. He says he couldn't let Seb past because “Crazy Max was after that so can't let anybody past.” Then she says it's intense relief and has he talked to his dad and he says no. “I haven't seen my dad. I hope he's okay.” He's dead serious and looks concerned. Also I've rarely seen a champion smile so little. “I'm a bit worried about him. Cause I think that must have been pretty intense,” he chuckles now. Her last question is whether he'll take the number 1 next year. As soon as he hears he starts moving away and avoids eye contact. “I don't know, let's see.”

They take the photo. Then Lewis leaves. I think Nico did the same thing in 2015 but more discreetly. Nico and Vivian get drowned in champagne and cameras. It always looks so stressful.

Ted's notebook starts in the paddock with Jenson. Ted says he's sorry about the suspension that was weird and see you next year. Jenson stares at him. “Is that as good as the notebook gets?” Ted says it gets much worse and how did he know he was doing the notebook. Jenson says he just said so. “Oh yeah,” Ted says. “So I did, so I did.” Jenson asks the camera man to turn around. “Why does (someone's name I didn't get)‘s wife have a firesuit on, why does Britney have your firesuit on?” – “Because why not?” Jenson says. “We're stealing them.” He points out he's actually still wearing his race suit. Ted sniffs him. He says it's not his race suit it doesn't smell of sweat. Jenson says he only did 12 laps. He says his notebook is “relatively interesting, sometimes.” He grabs his mic. “More importantly this one is king. IT'S JB’S NOTEBOOK! Here we are there's a guy called Ted, over here, mister Kravitz, Lenny’s brother from what I've heard. We're here in the pitlane, great win for–” He turns to Ted. “It was Nico wasn't it, the one?” Ted's like well Nico won the championship yeah. “Great win for Nico, we didn't watch the end of the race but fantastic for him and his family,” Jenson keeps going, “especially mini Nico, it's sad for Lewis, you know for me Lewis did a great job all year. Look at the last few races, you know, he won every race, Nico's been just behind him, so it's a shame for him he's had reliability issues. Malaysia he's lost 28 points to Nico Rosberg so uh. It's hurting him right now, I'm sure, it's like a stake in the heart, but next year he's gonna come back, he's gonna win his fourth world title. So yeah. All is good in Abu Dhabi we're gonna go and have some fun. And Ted's not going with because he's bOOOOring. He's all formula one and stats and stuff like that. But anyway I'll leave you with him. JB signing out.”

Oh. So. Okay. When Brundle interviewed Lewis he referred to Lewis wanting to quit after Spain. And Lewis said it was private stuff and in the past. I didn't mention it because I didn't know what he was talking about. Now Ted explains that the rumour is that in the midst of all the consequences of them colliding in Spain, Lewis said he'd quit. He said he wouldn't drive anymore this season. The team got a bit panicky. He says at the time everybody was a bit weirded out by Wehrlein being called to drive for Mercedes during a test session they did I think for new tyres (I did mention in some review that Merc was interested in Wehrlein). And then they accepted Nico's plea to get a two year contract instead of a one year contract.

Lewis also said during the press conference he didn't do anything unfair, he controlled the pace and that's within the rules. Which. Again as I said : it’s not graceful but it’s racing.

Okay, so that’s it for the broadcast. But now let’s talk about Nico’s retirement. So I asked around and I found sources. Here he says he decided to quit "two metres after the line in Abu Dhabi.” It was officially announced 5 days later. Here he says he was scared to tell Toto to his face so he waited until they were done with the PR thing in Malaysia and told him on the phone. Just think about all the time in this review I mentioned people telling him “next year” and he just dodged or seemed emotional and he already knew. It’s intense.

He said he couldn’t maintain the intensity it took to beat Lewis and he’d accomplished his dream of being World Champion and that was enough for him. He says it was to the point he gave up cycling so he’d lose just a bit of leg muscles and according to him that’s how he got pole in Japan. His helmet was black because he got rid of the 80g of paint it took to make it another colour. He wore socks to his ankles rather than knees so they would weigh 5g less. I mean that’s madness.

Lewis was uhhhh. Kind of a dick about it, unsurprisingly. He said : “This is the first time he’s won in 18 years, hence why it was not a surprise that he decided to stop. He’s also got a family to focus on, and wants more children, and Formula 1 takes so much of your time. Will I miss the rivalry? Of course. It’s going to be very, very strange and it will be sad not to have him in the team next year. The sport will miss him and I wish him all the best. Of course it is a shame that he won’t allow me to take it [the title] back or fight to take it back but that is his choice and I respect his decision: go out on top while you can.”

And I think it’s an important thing to finish on. Because a lot of people have said (I mean I’ve just read it in one of the articles I’ve read for this conclusion) that Nico won the battle but Lewis won the war because Nico basically gave up. I myself have alluded to this in the “Lewis breaks his teammates essay”. Lewis did break Nico. I mean Nico says pretty plainly that he was unable (but maybe more importantly unwilling) to keep putting so much effort into beating Lewis. But Lewis didn’t win the war, Nico did. Because Lewis never got to beat him again. As I said at some other point, Nico will always have won against someone he perceived as better than him, and Lewis will always have lost to someone who he saw as not as good as he is. And Nico robbed him of a chance to set things right in his mind. In the story of their rivalry, the last thing that happened is, and will forever be : Nico won. And that’s Nico’s everlasting victory.

#f1 #lewis hamilton #vro0m's race reviews #2016 #2016 abu dhabi gp

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