#2021 wildcard

[drivestraight]

wildcard!!! I know that you are more focused on writing works centering max, lando and oscar. I wonder if there is any chance you will write about lestappen again in near future. I just love your lestappen works so much and I'm sorry if this question makes you feel uncomfortable 🥺🥺

from here

near future no, but here’s about 5k of my abandoned (little brother of the) prince of monaco charles x driver max wip ❤️ as a gift

The Guardian is first in the round of interviews. A woman named Marie sits across from the sofa, beside cameras, light panels, and mics.

“To start,” Marie says, donning a sympathetic smile. Max struggles to take her at face value. “I want to acknowledge that I’m sure this isn’t how either of you would have liked your relationship to come out. How are you two doing?”

Max tries his hardest to keep a neutral expression. He scowled his way through the hours of media prep yesterday and got scolded each time.

He shifts on the sofa. For a couch made for royalty, it is not very comfortable.

Of course, it comes much easier to Charles, who returns a warm smile. He keeps his eyes on Marie, but places a hand on Max’s thigh, to comfort him. God, everyone’s going to love this, aren’t they?

Horribly, the physicality does help. Max takes a deep breath.

“You’re right,” Charles responds. “It is not at all ideal, but we are thankful for all of the grace that has been extended to us these past few days.”

Max purses his mouth.

Marie glances at him, waiting for agreement. Instead, Max busies himself with studying the details of the room they’re in. The Salle Des Gardes: cobalt walls, beautiful flower bouquets, and centuries-old portraits framed with gold. It’s so beautiful it makes Max uncomfortable.

At his silence, Marie moves on, smiles, and says, “Well, it’s great to have you both here.”

“Yes,” Charles says, “it is. Right Max?” he probes, squeezing Max’s thigh.

Somehow, Max manages not to glare. He clears his throat and manages to hum in concurrence.

“So,” Marie says, “I guess we can start from the beginning. I’m sure everyone would like to know how you two met.”

Max is grateful at how quickly Charles jumps to respond, “I have been a big fan of F1 ever since I was a child,” he replies, “but I did not meet Max personally until the Monaco Grand Prix in 2021.”

“On the podium?”

It was collateral damage, really, Max’s champagne spray getting all over Charles during the celebration. Max hadn’t even known, until Charles told him many months later.

Charles nods. “Yes, on the podium. A little after the race, he was invited to dine with my family, as the winners always are, and we… liked each other. We got on very well that night.”

Yes, Max thinks. We talked, we ate, we drank, we got into a huge fight about Ferrari, we got kicked out of the venue hall, then we hooked up in the toilets upstairs.

Sure, they got on well that night.

“We started seeing each other quite a bit, after,” Charles finishes.

They saved each other’s numbers, and every now and then, between Max’s races and between Charles’ royal obligations, they’d meet up in Monaco.

“Who asked who out?”

Charles turns his head and looks at Max, expectantly.

Max glares, but Charles only lifts a brow, unwavering. “I did, I guess,” Max concedes, trying not to roll his eyes at the way Charles glows, dimples pressed deep into his cheeks.

In a way it’s true. Max had been the one to shove Charles up against a wall and kiss him, drunkenly and furiously.

For the next two years, it was easy, despite who they were, perhaps because of who they were. They were on the same page about what it was they had: purely an arrangement of convenience. Entirely physical, no-strings attached. They’d meet in Max’s flat, maybe have a drink and talk about the most recent race, and get to it. After, Max would let Charles use his shower, then Charles would leave. Not once would Charles ever sleep over.

Still, they were exclusive, in a way. Max found something good, something safe, something easy, with someone who was on the same page as him. They were physically compatible. They wanted the same things from each other. Max didn’t see a need to look elsewhere, and neither did Charles.

Max had no interest in making it any more than it was. Neither did Charles.

For two years, it was simple like that. Max bribed his doorman, and Charles swore his security detail to secrecy. Charles hadn’t told anyone about Max. Max hadn’t told anyone about Charles. No one needed to know. What was there to tell? The F1 world champion and the Prince of Monaco’s little brother were friends with benefits? They were barely friends.

“Yeah?” Marie asks, looking surprised. “What was it about Charles that interested you?”

Charles’ expression is rapt and curious, his focus singularly on Max now.

Well, Max thinks. If they want him to speak from his heart, that’s what he’ll do.

“Of course,” Max says, smiling for the first time since the news broke, “it was not his personality.”

Marie laughs, amused. Charles makes an unbecoming noise, his entire face scrunching up.

“Max!” he squawks, outraged.

“What?” Max asks innocently, tipping his head to the side. He is starting to have a little fun. He finds Charles’ hand on his thigh, lays his over his knuckles, his thumb brushing at his wrist. “I thought we were of course wanting to be honest today. Your personality is not the first thing people notice about you.”

Annoyed, Charles purses his lips. “And what is?”

Max hums in faux contemplation. “Your face, of course.”

Charles’ brows knit together. Max relishes in the fact that Charles is the one on his toes this time. “You only like me for my face?”

Rolling his eyes, Max says, “It is the only good part about you.”

Charles squints, licks his lips, and levels Max with a look. Max knows that look: he is thinking, planning. 

It is pin-drop silent for a short moment. Suddenly, the room feels very small.

Charles leans in closer, marginally, but enough that Max’s breath hitches, and slides his hand higher up, his fingers firm against the inside of Max’s thigh. “Really? None of the other parts you like?” 

Max lets his eyes wander: from the mole on Charles’ cheek to the one on his neck, from the dip of his Cupid’s bow to the stubble on his chin. It is distracting and it is unfair, how beautiful Charles is.

“Really,” Max says, gaze returning to Charles’ eyes. He will hold his ground, even if he doesn’t mean it. “None of it.”

/

Thirty minutes later, Marie and all the cameramen leave. They are given half an hour in private to rest before their next interview. Le Parisien this time. At least then, he thinks, they’ll be more significantly more interested in Charles than they will be for him.

Even though they’re technically free now, the palace made it clear that they are not to leave this room until they’ve finished the last interview.

Once the doors shut and they are alone, Charles turns and glares at him.

Since the news broke yesterday morning, this is the first time they’ve truly been alone.

“Your team will not be happy with that. You saying you like me only for my face.”

Of course that’s what Charles will take from the interview. After Marie asked all her questions about the genesis of their relationship, her questions pivoted to Max, about what it means for him to be the first openly gay Formula 1 driver in decades.

Each time he was asked a question, Charles squeezed his knee, running circles with his thumb. 

Max hadn’t met with his PR team beforehand—Monaco’s royalty took priority, monopolized him and all of yesterday. He had no idea what Red Bull wanted him to say, what the optics were, so he spoke from the heart.

His answers were simple: it means nothing to him. It means nothing to what he has achieved. He never wanted to be an inspiration. An icon. An idol. If he is, then he is, but that was never his intention, that was never his goal.

Nothing changes.

“Obviously, I was joking,” Max mumbles, standing up and pacing around in front of the sofa. There’s a whole table filled with refreshments, and Max is hungry—he’s always hungry—but the season is in full swing, and he needs to keep his weight down. He wishes they had Red Bull or something, but they only have tea and coffee. He settles for shoving his hands into the dress slacks he was forced into, pressing the tip of his Oxford shoe against the border of the carpet. “And I do not think your team will be very happy with you feeling me up on camera.”

Charles huffs. He crosses his arms over his chest, defensively. “I had to make it seem like we like each other, after what you said.”

Max scoffs and sits back down on the couch, toying with the seam of the green plush pillow beside him. “I think everyone is pretty convinced that we like each other,” he mutters, and then, mortifyingly, his stomach growls. Loudly. It’s the afternoon now, and he hasn’t eaten since breakfast.

And Charles stands all of a sudden. Max watches, confused, as Charles makes a beeline to the table of refreshments, shoes clacking against the hardwood until he reaches carpet. There is a way about how Charles moves, magnetic to the eyes. He grabs a small scone, then heads back to Max.

Closer and closer, until he’s settled between Max’s spread thighs, towering over him.

Bossily, he shoves the scone in front of Max’s face. “Eat. We have a long day.”

Max sighs. He’s explained this to Charles before, his diet. “Charles,” he says, hoping that’s enough, not wanting to give the whole spiel again.

“It is a royal order,” Charles says seriously. He presses the scone against Max’s mouth.

Max angles his head away. “I am Dutch, if you didn’t know.”

“You live in Monaco,” Charles insists, “and I am the Prince.”

Max snorts. “You are the little brother of the Prince.”

In lieu of a verbal response, Charles sighs and places his hand on Max’s cheek, leveling Max with a look, that same one from before. His palm is soft, smooth, but his thumb is firm where it presses against the seam of Max’s lips, coaxing his mouth open. The ball drops; the rally ends. At the end of the day, Max is starving. He cuts his losses and bites, gaze fixed on Charles as he chews on the stupid scone. Once he’s swallowed, he expects Charles to let up, but Charles raises a brow, pressing the scone against Max’s lips again. Max groans, understanding, and takes another bite, and another, and just as he’s about to finish the scone, Charles quickly pulls it back, and eats the last bite himself.

Max rolls his eyes. Of course. Charles giggles, and wipes off a crumb from the corner of Max’s lip. Even when Max’s face is clean, Charles keeps his hand on Max’s cheek, smoothing out his frown.

They linger like this for a few moments, and Max feels the anxiety leftover from the interview start to dissipate, his shoulders laxing.

“I know you did not want this,” Charles says quietly. “I did not want it either.” Max swallows, his chest feeling tight. “But it’s like this, and we have to do it together. If it is to work, we have to make it look real.”

“I know,” Max says, starting to feel bad. Charles got fucked over with all of this too. Today, Charles is more calm, more—present, than he was yesterday, a quiet wreck in the briefing. His mental resiliance really is something. He places a hand on Charles’ waist, pulling him in closer. “I was of course there in the briefings.”

Charles pokes harshly at Max’s cheek, like he is trying to sculpt an artificial dimple. “I do not think you were listening.”

Max closes his thighs around Charles’ legs. He is very warm, and they have half an hour before the next interview. Hm. They might as well spend it wisely.

“Can you read my mind now? Is that another one of Prince Charles’ royal powers?”

Before Charles can respond, Max tightens his grip on his waist, before sliding his hand lower, to grab at Charles’ ass. Charles’ eyes widen, his mouth parts in surprise, and he sucks in a gasp.

“Max,” he whispers, blushing a soft pink. His hand drops to Max’s shoulder to steady himself.

“We of course have time,” Max points out, bringing his other hand to Charles’ other cheek, tugging him closer through the fabric of his slacks. “And we have a long day.”

It’s been months since the last time they did this. Not since before winter testing.

Max only now realizes how much he’s missed it.

“Not here,” Charles mumbles shyly, looking around, as if there’s anyone else here. Despite his protests, he doesn’t make any effort to fight Max’s hold.

Maybe, Max thinks, Charles misses it too.

“Why not?” Max asks. “Do you not like being watched by the portraits? They are your ancestors, right? I don’t think they’d mind.”

Charles sighs, but Max catches a small smile on his face. Regardless, Charles shakes his head, stubborn. “It is not the portraits I am worried about. What if someone comes in?”

“It will be their fault for not knocking,” Max snorts. At Charles’ withering glare, he sighs and says, “No one’s going to come in. There are guards outside.”

“Still,” Charles argues, pink all the way up to his ears now. His eyes drop to Max’s lips, then back up to his eyes. “We will be… messy for our interview.”

“But it will seem like we really like each other a lot,” Max jokes, grinning.

Charles doesn’t take the joke well. He pouts and pinches Max’s ear with his fingernails. Max laughs and releases Charles’ ass. “Fine, fine,” he concedes. “At least come here?”

Charles pulls his mouth to the side. “Will you behave?”

Max shows Charles his palms, hands positioned before his chest. “I will behave,” he assures.

Charles shoots him one last look, before sighing and climbing up onto the sofa, knees on either side of Max’s lap, and sitting. Immediately, he buries his face in the side of Max’s neck, his hair tickling Max’s ear, and lets out a contented noise.

Max barely got any sleep last night, all wired up, and from how exhausted Charles looks—feels, melting into him, breathing softly, maybe the first moment of silence he’s had all day—he can tell it must have been the same for him.

For a few minutes, they stay like that. Max closes his eyes, stroking Charles’ back. There are too many layers between them. Max kind of wishes he took his suit jacket off, or at least his tie, before he asked Charles to sit on his lap. Too late now, Max thinks, nosing at the spot below Charles’ ear. He notices, in this time, that Charles must be wearing a new cologne. It is nice; he smells nice. Charles always smells nice.

Max presses a harmless kiss on the side of Charles’ neck. Then another and another, until no space is left unkissed. He moves to the center of Charles’ throat, and Charles lets it happen, lets Max pepper small kisses along the ridges, his mouth closing, softly, over his carotid, Charles’ heart pulsing like a rabbit between Max’s lips. Charles likes that: the little kisses. When Max reaches the cut of his jaw, he starts to be a bit more bold with it—licking and biting gently, Charles’ stubble rough against his tongue, tracing the contours of him.

Charles starts to let out little pants, his hips starting to roll ever-so-slightly. Max slides a hand between their chests, what little space is left between them, and finds Charles’ crotch, gently palming over the bulge. He’s half-hard already. Max hums, pleased.

Finally, he makes the move and makes it stick: firmly, he kisses Charles, right on the lips. It is a tender kiss, but deep and filled with intent. No more pretense.

Breathily, Charles mumbles against his mouth, “This is not behaving.” He sounds annoyed, but he keeps kissing Max back, keeps grinding his ass on top of Max’s crotch.

Max pulls away, laughing when Charles immediately chases his mouth and makes an unhappy, surprised noise, laughing when he opens his eyes and sees Charles’ eyes: dark, pupils wide and wanting.

“Okay,” he says, voice a little raspy, even to his own ears. “We can stop.”

Charles’ jaw drops. Outrage is a cute look on him. “Oh,” he says, brows furrowing, exhaling through his nose, “you are—”

He doesn’t finish. He only shakes his head, grabs Max’s face with both his hands, firmly, and kisses him, furiously.

Charles’ mouth is soft and plush, but his kiss has a fire to them, an intensity; this part has always been the easiest, with him. The physicality. Everything else, that’s the difficulty.

Their noses brush, and Max pivots away, only slightly, to kiss at the corner of Charles’ mouth, light and teasing. “Yeah? What am I?”

Charles finds his lips again, positions Max’s head right back where it was, and plants a kiss square on his mouth. “Horrible,” Charles says, and kisses Max again. “Annoying,” he says, and kisses Max again. “The worst,” he says, and kisses Max again.

“Don’t let anyone hear you say that, of course,” Max says, helping Charles take his suit jacket off. “We have to seem like we like each other.”

Charles doesn’t deign him with a response, merely rolls his eyes and tosses the jacket to the side. He is gorgeous like this: eyes blown and glossy, his mouth parted, wet, begging to be kissed.

So Max kisses him again, his hands rucking Charles’ button-up from his slacks, until he can slip his hands under the fabric, finding his waist. He uses this newfound leverage to flip their positions, to maneuver Charles so that he’s on his back and horizontal on the ugly, uncomfortable sofa. Charles yelps; his chest heaves, and his throat bobs. He is so pretty like this: in the painfully bright light of this room, it is even more vivid, and for the first time since the news broke yesterday, Max thinks, maybe this will be worth it.

Max takes the moment to burn the sight of him into his retinas: his mousy hair messy around his head like a halo, his kiss-swollen lips parted and wanting, his clothes, even, rumpled and wrinkled in a way that Max knows he hates, in a way that he never lets anyone see.

Half an hour. Half of that is probably gone by now, Max reckons. They’ll have to hurry. He can take his time, another time.

He forces himself to focus. He takes off his own jacket before he forgets, shoves Charles’ thighs apart so that one leg is splayed off the couch, then he drives his knee between them. He swoops down once again, and Charles sighs dreamily into his mouth. Max slides his hands down Charles’ chest until he’s found the buttons of Charles’ slacks, undoing them with deft fingers.

“This is—” Charles starts, lifting his hips, helping Max pull his bottoms to his thighs. Multi-tasking, Max kisses down his throat, skips down to his stomach, and kisses at the happy trail leading from below his belly-button. Distracted, Charles moans and writhes beneath him, throwing his forearm over his eyes. Cute.

“What was that?” Max asks, amused. He kisses Charles’ hip bone lightly, and wraps his fingers around the base of Charles’ length, adoring the way Charles’ hips buck at the touch. He traces a vein with his thumb, his precum making the slide easy, then spits into his hand—not like they need it—and starts to jerk him off. Brows knitted together, Charles squirms, so Max keeps his body steady with a hand on his stomach, feeling the flutter of muscle there. 

Charles tries again, propping himself up on his elbows so that he can meet Max’s eyes. His face is pink, and his breaths come squeaky. He scrunches his nose, prissy and aristocratic, and says, “This is a very old couch. And my suit is very expensive.”

Max sighs and rolls his eyes. 

“I’ll keep you clean,” he promises, and takes Charles into his mouth, hollows his cheeks, and sinks as far down as he can go.

/

Against all odds, they have some time to spare. They spend it fixing each other’s clothes and sex hair, making each other look at least somewhat presentable. Unfortunately, while Max had kept his promise and kept Charles clean, Charles hadn’t returned the favor; now there’s a probably irreparable stain on the antique couch. Oops, Max thinks, and he makes Charles sit on it for their next round of interviews.

It isn’t so bad.

Thankfully, F1 was the only one they’d been on video for. Charles, for the rest of the day, is hazy-eyed and loose-limbed. Max capitalizes on his distraction, teases Charles as much as he can and knows how to—Charles lets it all happen.

And he seems, almost, as if to enjoy it.

But maybe Max is projecting.

/

By dinnertime, Max is finally released. Charles is whisked away by his brother before Max even tries to get a word in, so he doesn’t try. He gets driven home, orders Brad-approved takeout, and calls his dad. Lets him know how the day went. After, he calls his mum, then his sister, and then Raymond. At 8 PM, Brad comes over for training. They talk about things that don’t matter. At 10 PM, Max showers, brushes his teeth, turns off the lights, and crawls into bed. He checks his messages. He frowns when he notices that Charles hasn’t texted. Max isn’t sure why he was expecting him to.

He checks his other texts. He sees that Gemma has texted him his media schedule for the weekend. He doesn’t bother reading it, leaves it for tomorrow. He puts his phone down on the table, closes his eyes, and thinks.

In all this time, the world hadn’t stopped spinning. Even now, it doesn’t stop spinning. Media day is in three days. Infinitely worse: it’s Monaco. Charles will be there; for all of it, he will be there. Normally, WAGs and—now, Max guesses—BAHs are off-limit topics, but there’s no guarantee his sexuality will be. They will want to prep him. Make sure he doesn’t say anything stupid. Charles will be there, and they will have to act in love. Max will have to dodge cameras and avoid journalists the entire weekend. He will have to make statements. He will have to respond. Charles will be there.

On Sunday, Charles will be on the podium.

On Sunday, Max wants to win.

Too much to think about. Too much to worry about.

One day at a time, Max thinks. One day at a time.

/

Voici got a hold of the story first. Apparently, evidence had been slowly building up for months—quotes from Max’s building neighbors and a now-fired member of Charles’ security detail.

The most incriminating evidence, however, were the pap photos taken of them kissing in Max’s car.

They’d been so careful—but maybe, over the last few months, they’d grown complacent.

The story broke the day of the cancelled race in Imola, first thing in the morning. Four hours later, Le Parisien got a hold of it, and that’s when shit started to really hit the fan.

Red Bull was blindsided.

So was the Crown.

/

Max had been blissfully unaware until around noon when he woke up. For many hours, quieted by Do Not Disturb, his phone had been blowing up with calls from Raymond, from Christian, from his father. Everyone important in his life. Before he got a chance to call any of them back, he spotted the ESPN notification at the top of his screen:

Max Verstappen: Formula 1’s reigning world champion and first gay driver in decades?

Below that, an Apple News notification:

Monaco’s Sweetheart breaks hearts worldwide? The inside scoop of Prince Charles of Monaco and Max Verstappen’s 2-year long affair.

In a way, nothing in any of the reports had exactly been false.

/

Max was driven to the palace, silently escorted to a meeting room, and he was seated next to Charles, who was quiet and playing with his hands in his lap and looked like he might throw up. In that moment, Charles looked—small. Charles looked—afraid. Max had never seen him like that before. Max wanted to say something, wanted to ask him if he was okay, but the meeting was in full swing; they hadn’t even paused for Max’s entrance. He settled with placing a hand on Charles’ thigh, his heart rabbiting in his chest. Charles laid his hand over Max’s. It was all Max could do. Max was afraid too.

Once he arrived, however, they switched to English, and explained the plan they came up with while he was sleeping: to confirm the status of their relationship, and run a full press tour. Immediately, without coordinating with Red Bull. That the Prince’s little brother was not only dating a man, but dating the F1 world champion, needed an immediate response, and Charles’ image takes priority over Max’s.

They needed to take control of the narrative, spin it in the right way: They’re in love.

Max didn’t understand. He interrupted halfway, “But we’re—” He glanced at Charles, silent beside him. “We’re not actually—”

Finally, Charles spoke up. He lifted his head, turned to Max, and said, “It does not matter.”

“But—”

“Max,” Charles said, with finality. His eyes were shaking. He looked more upset than Max had ever seen him. “It does not matter.”

And that was that.

/

Tuesday morning, Red Bull post official statements on all their social media platforms, and Max’s social media manager posts a statement from him that he didn’t write. He doesn’t see any of it himself. He stays offline.

That afternoon, he’s in a few virtual meetings with marketing, and they confirm with him the schedule Gemma sent, that they’ve canceled the shootings he had with Checo, and that they want him to focus on keeping a low profile.

He has done more than they needed him to, thanks to the insistence of the Crown.

The interview with Marie won’t be released until Thursday, but Red Bull had received an early preview from the Guardian. To his surprise, the team is satisfied with it. They of course aren’t exactly pleased with some of his responses, and they request that he answer differently and less abrasively next time, but Max is guessing that their expectations were so low that he managed to exceed them, somehow.

They hadn’t even wanted him to speak to any press in the first place. Neither had Max, obviously, but Charles—it would have been silly if Charles had done the interviews alone. Charles needed him there. So.

Wednesday, he streams on Twitch with RedLine. It wasn’t exactly news to them or anyone close to him, the gay thing, but the Charles thing, well—it was a surprise to everyone. Even Max. The boys ask him if he wants them to steer clear from making any jokes about it, and Max says he doesn’t care either way. The last thing Max wants is for his friends to walk on eggshells around him; the last thing Max wants is for things to change any more than they already have. So Crane jokes about it, Bennett jokes about it, and Max also jokes about it. They permaban anyone in chat who jokes about it.

 And that’s Wednesday.

/

Thursday isn’t the hell he was expecting it to be.

Red Bull managed to pull strings and get Max out of the press conference and TV pen appearances, and Checo’s been left to handle the fanzone all on his own, so Max stays inside the Red Bull Energy Station, keeps his head down as much as possible, ignoring the roars of reporters outside, only speaking with his engineers and mechanics.

Tomorrow, though, he won’t be able to get around media.

Don’t worry about the press, GP tells him in the paddock, clasping a hand on his shoulder. It’s all noise. Just focus on driving. Nothing changes, at least from our end.

Max tries his hardest to believe it.

[showyoumyfavoriteobsession]

TJ MIKELOGAN'S HALLOWEEN 2023 EVENT Day 31: Wildcard - Favorite Horror Games

Inside (2016, Playdead) Inscryption (2021, Daniel Mullins Games) Resident Evil 4 Remake (2023, Capcom) Half-Life Alyx (2020, Valve) Death Stranding (2019, Kojima Productions) Outer Wilds: Echoes of the Eye (2021, Mobius Digital) ↦ VHS Covers (insp.)

[lectern-fullcauldron]

do you know your hermistory? hermitcraft debuts in order

Short ID: an infographic illustrating each current hermitcraft whitelist member's hermitcraft debut date by season. Each hermit is illustrated next to an abridged tfc quote that reads 'a great big dysfunctional family'

Long ID below cut

Image ID: a long single panelled infographic on a rainbow gradient background. Down the right hand side reads "a great big, dysfunctional family". The infographic has the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8 down the left hand side, each with a corresponding colour on the gradient.

Section one: down the left hand side of this section are the following stats: 'April 2012: Hypno, Xisuma', 'May 2012: Keralis, Joe Hills' 'Jan 2013: Bdubs'. All of the above hermits are illustrated in the section. Keralis, Xisuma, and Hypno stand at the top as founding members of the server. There is an illustration of a leaf block on a two high fence next to Keralis labelled 'booshes' and an arrow points at Hypno reading 'website admin'. Below them, Joe Hills reclines in a Uno wildcard themed bubble reading a book called 'scam'. An arrow points to this bubble that reads 'the original new guy'. Bdubs' appears waving in a small white circle below Joe with the caption '2 eps in S1. Coming soon!'

Section two: a neon green arrow bridges this section to section one. It comes from Joe Hills and reads 'coup!'. Down the left of this section are the following stats: 'June 2013: Cleo, Mumbo', 'Oct 2013: TFC', 'Dec 2013: iJevin', 'June 2014: False', 'July 2014: Tango', and 'Sept 2014: xbcrafted'. Cleo and mumbo sit together with an arrow pointing at them reading 'both too shy to talk to people' - this text also has an arrow pointing at falsesymmetry. Tfc is depicted carrying a pair of binoculars and has an arrow pointing at him that reads 'branch mine advocate' of which the branch is underlined. Ijevin carries a stopwatch and False a diamond sword. Tango holds a minecraft oak door and has two bits of text pointing at him. The first reads 'early iron farm visitor' and the second reads 'redstone genius'. This second text has arrows that also descend down to impulse, doc, and etho in section three. The final hermit in section two is xb, who is lying on his stomach, kicking his legs and looking up at tango.

Section three: the stats down the left hand side of this section read 'Jan 2015: impulse', 'march 2015: etho, doc'. Impulse is depicted falling into a yellow pentagram with the caption 'summoned to help with quad witch hut'. Below this, doc and etho stand side by side (doc a head taller than etho). Doc has a pen and a clipboard and the pair are labelled 'mindcrack refugees'.

Section four: the stats down the left hand side of this section read: 'Feb 2016: Welsknight, Iskall, Scar, Ren, Cub', 'Sept 2016: Beef'. The five hermits for Feb 2016 are depicted in a line with a box grouping cub and scar with a note that reads 'do not separate'. Below them is the caption 'kingdomcraft'. Beef reclines alone below them, with a note beside him that reads 'mesa-ing around' (title of cub's first hermitcraft episode).

Section five: the stats down the left hand side of this section read: 'April 2017: Stress, Bdubs, Zed'. This section is relatively small. Stress is in a GG get gorgeous t-shirt, holding an allium. Bduds is asleep on Zed, wrapped up in his moss cloak. Above him reads 'NHO time!'

Section six: the stats down the left hand side of this section read: 'July 2018: grian'. This section depicts grian t-posing with white wings and orange goose feet. He has two captions, the first reads 'started a war' and has an arrow pointing up to stress as well. The other reads 'horrible goose t-posing to assert dominance'.

Section 8: the stats down the left hand side of this final section read: 'June 2021: Gem, Pearl'. Gem and pearl are depicted hugging with the captions 'moon big' and 'gem is great'. Pearl's face is depicted as a moon and her eyes are craters. She still has blonde hair to match her minecraft skin.

End ID

[robin-the-robo]

Okay so @steriafluff asked me for Red Hood recommendations and I apparently have a lot of those, so...

Do keep in mind that these are very much My Opinions, but this is what I think is worth reading if you're getting into Jason Todd/Red Hood and don't wanna end up reading the... Really Weird Stuff.

So I think everyone should start by reading Batman 1940 from issue #408 to #429, which ends with Death in The Family, to see what Jason was like as a kid and as Robin (an absolute delight).

Then obviously you gotta read Batman: Under the Red Hood, (and deal with a 19 y/o being drawn like he's 40. Yeah.) but I would also recommend Red Hood: Lost Days, which basically covers what happens between the Lazarus Pit and Under the Red Hood.

Then we have... Red Hood and the Outlaws (2011). Look. I'll be honest. The """characterization""" for Starfire in that comic is painfully sexist. It has its moments and we somehow managed to pull a pretty cool friend group (and/or polycule if you wanna interpret it that way) out of it, but I would never blame you for skipping it. Red Hood/Arsenal, which covers the time after the original Outlaws broke up, is pretty decent tho.

Red Hood and the Outlaws: Rebirth (2016), on the other hand, I think is cooler than people give it credit. I like that they're a play on the DC trinity (Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman) but as antiheroes. The plot goes in some weird directions from time to time, but the characters keep their personalities all the way through it and I think it's just really fun. Tbh the worst thing about it is that they ended it.

Now I'm gonna give you a few wildcard picks that you're either gonna love or hate, but I think there's something cool in each of them:

Batman: Urban Legends, from issue #1 to #6. Look, it's got Bruce and Jason struggling to cooperate, they're realistically tense but ultimately on the same side, I wrote a whole fanfic about how delightful Jason's interaction with a kid he saves in this comic is, so yeah.

Batman: Three Jokers. This one is quite dark and potentially triggering I think, so be careful. It also has a little bit of Barbara x Jason which No Thank You, but the art is GREAT and it has some banger moments in there. Read at your own peril.

Robins (2021). It's got ups and downs, not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but if you want to see all five Robins interact it's a pretty interesting read.

Knight Terrors: Robin. Hey do you want Tim and Jason interacting and being brothers and actually talking through some of their personal issues while battling their own nightmares? If yes, then you'll enjoy this. A lil bit on the nose but good nonetheless.

And then finally we have Red Hood: The Hill, the new RH comic currently ongoing. We only have a couple of issues out yet so it's a bit early to judge its quality. Atm i agree with someone here on Tumblr who said that it feels like it's more about the new characters than about Jason himself, but maybe that'll change later on. We'll see.

So yeah these aren't all the comics I've read about him, but they are the ones that get his characterization right, or better than the rest at least. Hope this helps some new (or simply confused, which is very fair) fans out there.

[thgfanfictionlibrary]

In Panem AU Fic Masterlist (2)

Part 1 /

Created: June 6th, 2024

Last Checked:---

Golden-JLaLa (ao3)   Summary: A mandatory law brought them together. Four years later, Peeta Mellark comes to District 12 to the daughter he’s never known and the wife he barely met. An In-Panem AU with the marriage law twist. Heart and Soul-JHsgf82 (ao3) Summary: In Panem AU (No Hunger Games). A Soulmates AU. Two weeks prior to Peeta Mellark’s 18th birthday, his best friend, Delly, notices a bright yellow dandelion adorning his arm and asks about it. He proceeds to tell her about the day it formed on his skin, the day after he tossed a starving Katniss Everdeen some bread. Delly, believing it’s a soul mark, takes Peeta to a mysterious traveler who can explain the concept to him. Turns out, it is a soul mark, and the situation turns dire when Peeta discovers there’s a time limit on making a connection with his soulmate, and he’s fast approaching it. If he doesn’t find a way to talk to Katniss, could it mean the end of his life? Innocence Within-Alliswell (ao3) Summary: Prompt #59 of the Everlark Fic Exchange on Tumblr: Lighthearted Canon-Divergent, Snow's Hijacking backfires, reverting Peeta to a childlike state, where he pulls on Katniss' braids, and draws her pictures to let her know that he Likes-Likes her. By: @elaine-spades. "It hits me immediately, Haymitch and I are the only family Peeta has now, whatever is wrong with him, it'll be up to us to deal with.” Peeta has been rescued from the Capitol, Katniss will do her best to help The Boy with Bread come back to her. Or the one where she stays to help Peeta get better. It's All A Lie-katnissdoesnotfollowback (ao3) Summary: Unrest in District Twelve drives the Everdeen family to make choices they'd once thought would be impossible. Panem AU with no Games. Like The Stars Hold The Moon-VanillaCottonCandy (ao3) Summary: Their eyes full of shock and sympathy and sadness. And maybe a slight hint of relief. And for some reason, it doesn't compute right away. Nothing registers in my mind for a long beat of time. Nothing makes any sense, my thoughts completely frozen, for one long, harrowing moment. Until Effie repeats the name again. The name of the male tribute who will represent District Twelve in the Hunger Games. Who will go against Twelve's female tribute and the career pack and every other wildcard on a nationally televised death brawl. "Peeta Mellark!" / For the Everlark Fic Exchange 2021, Prompt 59, "Katniss' dad is a victor, he won his hunger games and is now a mentor. Peeta is reaped for the games and Katniss begs her dad to help him win the games. [submitted by anonymous]" Missteps-oakfarmer (ao3) Summary: Gale needs to discuss future plans with Katniss. She's been hard to track down this particular Reaping Day. He hasn't even been able to congratulate her yet.

No Reason-katnissdoesnotfollowback (ao3) Summary: It starts when their history teacher talks about ancient holidays and traditions of gift giving. It escalates when Katniss overhears Peeta talking about what would be his idea of a perfect gift for him. But what is she supposed to think when a gift, exactly what she needs, is left on her school desk one day, addressed to her. In Panem AU with no Games but still far too much poverty. Not Just Another Dumb Jock-JHsgf82 (ao3) Summary: Modern AU (high school). Katniss is fed up with Peeta's brother Rye and vents to Peeta. She might be surprised to learn why Rye is playing pranks on her, and what's more, she might get yet another surprise in the process. One Panem-Alliswell (ao3) Summary: Based on the Prompt: “How about this: Peeta, a capiltolite, is made to marry Katniss, a girl from 12’s Seam, as part of the ‘One Panem’ initiative.” By freddyfreak1999. On the Other Side of the Fence-JHsgf82 (ao3) Summary: Peeta has always loved Katniss, even though he feels she's way out of his league. Katniss has always loved Peeta, even though she thinks she's not good enough for him, and that he only sees her as a friend. When Katniss is discovered by a modeling agency and whisked away to the Capitol, Peeta feels his whole world crashing down, especially considering he's just worked up the courage to tell her how he's felt all these years, his mother's opinion be damned. What will happen when she comes back as the 'Darling of the Capitol?' Did she mean what she said in her interview? She had to be talking about him, right?

[42bakery]

Hi do you know what the new regs mean? Or why these changes have been made?

Hi there anon 👋👋👋👋.

Let's start with the second first because it will lead to the second one okay?

So why are those changes made? The regulation was always going to change, but thanks to the COVID, it got delayed, and then aero started (with all their issues) and then the regulations where scrapped and made new ones according to what was going on track. The core of these regularization, that we only got the summary and not all the small details, is the rider's safety and sustainability.

Since 2020/2021 aero has become the main point of innovation and concern on the paddock due to the lack of real regulations surrounding them. Aero is making the racing and overtaking difficult and at the same time it's making the top speed reaching new levels and breaking records every weekend, but also makes crashes worse (way worse as riders carry more speed and gravel can't absorbe it making them reach barriers). Aero prevents the overtaking because it allows bikes to be bigger but also with all the forces that surrounds the ground effect more difficult to maneuver (this is also why riders have more hands/arm injuries and arm pump issues, as well as new type of arm punt issues (Raúl was affected in 9 muscles for example)). Plus the bike is not 600mm wide with all the forces it migh be like 700 or 800 making the tracks single line, so no overtaking or dangerous/aggressive maneuvers needed for the overtake to stick.

The initial plan was to ban (completely or partially) or limit the aerodynamics to the minimum to avoid all of this, however certain teams (ejem Ducati) where highly against it and instead suggested a limit on the engine capacity. Ash ( @motocorsas ) did a break down why it's a bad idea and what meant when it was done in the past, so I recomed you to read it.

I do know some agreement have been reached because there's some aero limitation, with the dimension of the wings.

This is said to help reduce the top speed on the straight, but what it's more important is that it will help a bit with the bikes being so physical and with the close racing. Less material is supposed to make the wings sturdier and not make them break at the minimum contact, which we know it destroys tons of races. Also as I said it will reduce how much space those bike will occupies on track with all the surrounding forces.

The back of the bike will finally be controlled and this is also important because it means teams can't do as much as they want. I think some teams bring like 2 options per weekend of this things and use both.

As I said a compromise was made, and this is personal opinion, but I think Ducati used the new concession system to avoid the banning of aero and push for the engine capacity to be lowered to reduce speed. We all know that the new concession system (as this regs too probably) needed all manufacturers agree with them and to be honest Ducati not being able to do wildcards is bad, so I guess they accepted it to keep aero. Also as I said, we don't know the full extension of the regs, so maybe there are some little details on how this aero can be and where can be placed too. Or maybe not

The hole shot/read height device is banned again for safety reason and I'm so glad that this one is out. So many times it got struck and made riders retire or being unable to ride a bike (someone said it was wrestling an alligator but I can't remember if it was Redding with only one of the front wings, Brad in the same situation or Brad with the high device stuck, or all of them). I also remember that Ducati said they could use as some kind of DRS and I thought they where delusional, so I'm glad is out. Just as more info on this, Honda used to have such an reliable rear height device that Álex Márquez had to learn a manual way to realize it, which pretty informative on how many times it happened. And then, some times even that manual realize didn't work.

The other changes are mostly related to the new engine capacity that will reduce consumption and also allow more mileage. I'm a bit iffy with the fuel, not that it's a bad idea, which I do love, it's just that we are currently at minimum of 40%, and we know teams won't put more than the necessary, to 100% in only 3-ish years. So I just hope that it doesn't cause a lot of issues in general as in F1 lead to engines losing power horse and it'll be difficult to handle. Actually that wouldn't be so bad from a safety point of view as it will decrece the velocity too.

About the GPS thing, what I understood is that teams will be able to obtain the data after the sessions, and I think the idea will be for teams to see where they are strong and where their rivals are weak to kind of make potential overtaking, and help with the racing aspect. But in my opinion will cause chaos and havoc. Like just imagine Marc letting his rival know where does he break and what is his line. He will definitely do something different in the race.

To sump up, those new regs are DORNA's intervention and how to make the racing safer with a bit of aero banning and lowering the top speeds. I think more could have been done, but again, I think Ducati had the upper hand in the negotiations by trading the concessions and keeping the aero.

I also think that MotoGP is trying to remember that even if they are prototype racing, the idea is that some day what they do is going to end on the streets and that top speed is not the main point in here but rather sustainability and safety.

MotoGP/DORNA made this video to explain this changes. I recommend you to check it out

Ups I went into a bit of a rant, but I hope this explains whatever doubt you had and helps create your own idea about them.

[hachikos-archive]

A guide to Atarashii Gakko!

Atarashii Gakko is a Japanese girl group formed in 2015. In 2017, they signed with Victor entertainment for a Japanese debut, with the song Dokubana. They made their worldwide debut in January 2021 with 88rising with their song NAINAINAI. There are four members, Mizyu (24), Rin (21), Suzuka (21) and Kanon (21).

Mizyu is not only the oldest, but she is also the leader. She was born in Tokyo, is 4'11 and is a Capricorn. Her role is kawaii-but-fierce. When she was a child she was a model, she was also in not only a dance group called ABC under DSK, but she was also a Kyary Kid ( backup dancer for Kyary Pamyu Pamyu)!

Next is Rin. She is 5', a Virgo and she was born in Saitama. Her role is funky. She was a 1st generation model at DSK, and she was a junior model at DANSTREET in 2014. Mizyu and Kanon think she will be the first member to get married, and apparently she cooks rice when she is in a bad mood.

Third is Suzuka. She is the tallest member by 14cm, she stands at 5'6. She is a Sagittarius, and was born in Osaka. Her role is wildcard. She has two older sisters. One of them, Sakika, was a founding member and vocalist in GIRLFRIEND (disbanded in 2021). Her other sister Momoka works on the media team for the website TABI LABO. All three sisters have attended Caless Vocal and Dance School Osaka.

Lastly is Kanon. She is the youngest member, she is a Capricorn, like Mizyu. She is 5' and was born in Gunma. Her role is graceful. Her highest score was 100% and her lowest ever score was 60%! She goes to meet with her friends when she is in a bad mood. She can also run 50m in 8 seconds.

They have two albums, Maenarawanai (2018) and Wakage Ga Itaru (2019). They also have 18 singles: Dokubana (2017), Kimiwaina'17 (2017), Koinosyadanki feat H ZETTRIO (2018), Saisyu Jinrui(2018), Ookami No Uta (2018), Mayoeba Toutoshi (2018), Koi Geba (2019), OTONABLUE (2020), Quesera sera (2020), KOIBUMI (2020), NAINAINAI (2021), Freaks (2021), Pineapple Kyrptonite (2021), SNACKTIME (2021), Free your mind (2022), WOO! GO! (2022), HANAKO (2022) and their latest The Edge (2023). My favorite songs right now are Koi Geba, WOO! GO!, OTONABLUE, Fantastico and NAINAINAI!

I hope you have enjoyed this guide!

[cincybengals09]

In Week 9, the Bengals take on the Las Vegas Raiders at home. The last time they took each other on was in the 2021 Wildcard Weekend, where the Bengals won 26-19 to end their 30-year playoff win drought. They then progressed to the Super Bowl.

As of writing this, RB Zack Moss is confirmed to be out for today's game. Safety Geno Stone and WR Charlie Jones are questionable whilst OT Orlando Brown Jr and Tee Higgins are doubtful. Brown Jr's possible absence leaves Joe Burrow more open to the threat of Raider's DE Maxx Crosby.

Hopefully, the Bengals can bounce back after their disappointing performance last week and secure a win before the season fully slips away from them.

Who dey! 🖤🧡

[posttexasstressdisorder]

Trumpland

Listen to Jeffrey Epstein Spill Intel on Donald Trump’s White House

OH LORDY

A new recording captures Epstein dishing on Trump.

Harry Lambert 

Special Correspondent

Updated Nov. 1 2024 3:54AM EDT / Published Oct. 31 2024 6:00PM EDT 

Michael Wolff, the explosive chronicler of Donald Trump’s four years in the White House, has released what he says is a recording of Jeffrey Epstein, who died in 2019, discussing Trump’s then-White House team in detail.

Wolff released the tape on his podcast, Fire and Fury. He says it was made in a restaurant in 2017, most probably in the SoHo branch of Ladurée, a patisserie in Manhattan. Epstein can be heard speaking over the din of diners.

“His people fight each other,” Epstein tells Wolff on the recording, “and then he [Trump] poisons the well outside.”

“He will tell ten people ‘Bannon’s a scumbag’ and ‘Priebus is not doing a good job’ and ‘Kellyanne has a big mouth’—what do you think? Jamie Dimon [CEO of JPMorgan Chase] says that you’re a problem and I shouldn’t keep you. And I spoke to [financier] Carl Icahn. And Carl thinks I need a new spokesperson.”

He continues: “So Kelly[anne]—even though I hired Kellyanne’s husband—Kellyanne is just too much of a wildcard. And then he tells Bannon, you know I really want to keep you but Kellyanne hates you.”

Epstein Showed Pics of Trump with Topless Young Women: WolffOCTOBER SURPRISE?

Hugh Dougherty

Epstein is referring to former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, former White House chief of staff Reince Priebus and former White House senior counselor Kellyanne Conway, whose then-husband, George Conway, was briefly considered for positions in Trump’s Department of Justice.

Wolff—whose journalistic accuracy has previously been challenged by critics—said he had around “100 hours of Epstein talking about the inner workings of the Trump White House and about his long standing, deep relationship with Donald Trump.” Wolff has not provided anything more than this snippet of Epstein speaking in 2017.

Epstein had wanted Wolff to write his biography. (He also wanted the New York Times reporter James B. Stewart, the author of DisneyWar, to do so.)

Karoline Leavitt, the national press secretary for Trump’s 2024 election campaign, responded to Wolff’s claims, and the recording, in a statement to the Daily Beast:

Epstein has not previously been identified by Wolff as a source of his for Fire and Fury, the 2018 book on the Trump presidency, which is estimated to have made him more than $13m.

Wolff followed the book with two more—Siege: Trump under Fire (2019) and Landslide: The Final Days of the Trump Presidency (2021)—which proved less successful. The Daily Mail recently signed him up to cover Trump as a columnist, and he launched his podcast in June.

Trump and Epstein were filmed laughing together in a clip captured at Mar-a-Lago in 1992 by NBC. They were also photographed smiling beside each other at Trump’s Palm Beach estate in 1997 and 2000.

“Here are these two guys both driven by a need to do anything they wanted with women: dominance and submission and entertainment,” Wolff says of the duo on his podcast. “And one of them ends up in the darkest prison in the country and the other in the White House.”

A Trump campaign source claimed to the Beast that is it “widely known” that Trump severed ties with Epstein after allegations of sex trafficking were levied against his once-close friend.

Harry Lambert

Special Correspondent

[thejokerswildcard]

the joker's wildcard at six flags new england

"the joker's wildcard" opened at six flags new england in 2000. it opened as an indoor darkride but was moved outside around 2008, replacing "nightwing".

nightwing taken from coasterpedia at https://coasterpedia.net/wiki/Nightwing_(Six_Flags_New_England;_opened_2000)

as a dark ride the joker's wildcard supposedly had flashing lights and music, however, i am unable to find video of the ride to confirm this.

the joker's wildcard as a dark ride taken from sfne ultimate at https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/452400725068112957/

the entrance to the joker's wildcard as a dark ride taken from parkinfo2go at http://www.parkinfo2go.com/143/707/ridedetails.html

according to sfne online on youtube, the joker's wild card was pitch black in it's early years but later the ride was run with the door somewhat open.

riders would sit facing each other in carts and the ride would spin in a circle while lifting off the ground at an angle. each cart sat four people. playing cards stuck out the sides and the ride had a centrepiece figure shaped like the joker's head. the ride had a no single rider policy.

the joker's wildcard taken from parkz at https://www.parkz.com.au/attraction/jokers-wildcard/info

the entrance to the ride had a large sign reading "the jokers wildcard" and a picture of the joker's face. the sign is stylized without an apostrophe on joker's, however, official materials list this ride as "THE JOKER's Wildcard"

the entrance to the joker's wildcard taken from parkz at https://www.parkz.com.au/attraction/jokers-wildcard/info

the joker head centrepiece is often missing in photos and videos of the ride. in closeups of the joker's wildcard in later years there is also paint chipping evident on the card pieces.

the joker's wildcard missing the joker centrepiece taken from theme park review at https://www.themeparkreview.com/parks/p_185_5382_six_flags_new_england_kryptonite_kollider

in 2017 THE JOKER Free-Fly Coaster was introduced at six flags new england and the joker's wildcard was renamed to kryptonite and gained a new look.

kryptonite taken from the six flags wiki at https://sixflags.fandom.com/wiki/Kryptonite_Kollider

kryptonite entrance taken from theme park review at https://www.themeparkreview.com/parks/p_185_5382_six_flags_new_england_kryptonite_kollider

kryptonite was apparently renamed to the kryptonite kollider in 2018, however, i can not find anything to suggest this year specifically or any photos of a new entrance. it is extremely likely that the ride was indeed renamed to kryptonite kollider as almost every reference to it online uses this name.

the kryptonite kollider was also often seen without it's centrepiece.

the kryptonite kollider without it's centrepiece taken from theme park central at https://www.themepark-central.de/six-flags-new-england-supergirl-2019/

in 2021 kryptonite kollider was replaced with supergirl skyflyer, a ride similar to nightwing. kryptonite kollider was retired and was not moved elsewhere in the park.

supergirl skyflyer taken from themepark central at https://www.themepark-central.de/six-flags-new-england-supergirl-2019/

sources + extras:

https://www.sixflags.com/newengland/attractions/supergirl-sky-flyer

nightwing sign from amusement pics at http://www.amusementpics.com/SFNE2.htm

official promotional video for the joker's wildcard https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HPNEAL_w9E

a video of the kryptonite kollider https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLm2Dh_tY4c

a video of the kryptonite kollider https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IxGg3jiPkw

video discussing the joker's wildcard (very helpful and informative!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1_C4Vk3hpE

many reviews of the ride available here http://www.themeparkcritic.com/Scripts/ViewRide.aspx?RideID=1110

video of the joker's wildcard (also jumpscare warning? this genuinely scared me lol) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOE1GJsMvv8

[boxboxblog]

A General History of F1: 7 or 8?

Hello everyone, This post will discuss the controversy around the 2021 season as well as a brief overview of 2022 and 2023.

Alright jumping right into it, 2021 was really the first year that Lewis Hamilton's legacy was under threat. Yes, the past few years he had Vettel and Verstappen to watch out for, but he had almost always won his championships before the last race. This was different in 2021.

2021 saw Verstappen matching Hamilton almost point for point. Red Bull clearly had finally found their winning car (thanks to Adrian Newey) and Verstappen had matured into a more balanced driver, who matched his aggression with experience.

I won't get into the details of every race, but Hamilton and Verstappen mostly swapped wins throughout the season. While both had some wildcard races where they didn't even get on the podium, their season seemed to mirror each other. This led to the final race in Abu Dhabi being the deciding battle, as both drivers had exactly the same amount of points. This is beyond rare, and spectators expected an intense battle. Whoever placed higher would win.

Verstappen started on pole, and the first controversy struck when Hamilton went off track in order to pass him. Normally this would mean that Hamilton would have to give back the position as a driver cannot overtake off track, but the FIA did not respond to Red Bull's questions and Hamilton kept his place. With a strong lead, Hamilton was now expected to win. But a late safety car threw in some drama.

With seven laps left, a driver named Latifi crashed and the safety car was brought out. Red Bull, smartly, used the opportunity to bring Verstappen in for a new set of soft tires. Mercedes, clearly beliving it was better to keep the lead, did not follow.

When Verstappen returned, 5 lapped cares were between him and Hamilton. The FIA ruled that the cars in between Hamilton and Verstappen were allowed to unlap themselves, controversial and not really allowed. Beyond that, before the unlapping cars rejoined the back of the pack they pulled the safety car in. This meant that instead of finishing under a safety car with Hamilton in the lead, Verstappen was given the chance to fight for it. There was only one lap remaining. But Hamilton didn't stand a chance on his old hard-compound tires, Verstappen passed and won the race. And the championship.

Mercedes protested this ending of the race, and die-hard Hamilton fans insist he won. It was a very controversial day in total, and more than anything the FIA took the brunt of fans dissatisfaction. But Red Bull and Verstappen had won.

The next year Mercedes lost that spark entirely. They dropped down to third place in the championship, and only won one race the entire season. That year was won again by Verstappen, his first non-controversial title. His only real rival was Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, but due to strategic flops, they eventually were not a threat to Red Bull.

2023 however, is perhaps Verstappen's most famous year. it was a year of complete domination. Every race but one was won by a Red Bull driver. Verstappen broke a record, winning an extraordinary 10 races in a row. I have said certain drivers dominated seasons, but 2023 was unlike anything else. The RB19 was a rocketship of a car, and with a talented driver at the helm it was unstoppable.

And now we come to 2024. A year that has subverted many expectations. Most fans expected a repeat of 2023, with dominant Red Bull. But a surprising challenger came out and the top 4 teams are more competitive than ever.

Until next time,

-B

[cordiallyfuturedwight]

favorite k-pop group tag game!! thank you for tagging me @cosmicdreamgrl @jkvjimin & @hvseoks 🤍🤍

who is your favorite k-pop group?

bangtan, ofc

which member sparked your interest first?

jhope! i couldn’t take my eyes off of him when i watched performances! he glows!!!!!!

who was your first bias?

seokjin <3

what makes them your current bias?

is this question worded correctly? lol jin is still my bias (there was a moment after watching some run bts where it was yoongi but i returned to my roots). what makes me a jin bias? WELL [unfurls scroll] no i’m just kidding, i wish i was better at putting it into words let me try!!!!! besides being the most beautiful man in the universe, I love his sense of humor and I love someone who can make the people around them happy and find joy and laughter in all situations and I feel like he does that so well in this group. he’s also so unabashedly himself it’s refreshing, and i love that he’s a bit of a wildcard and honestly keeps a lot to himself, we love a mystery. he’s just the epitome of chaotic GOOD and works so hard and loves and cares for everyone so much…… seokjin is so comforting for me to watch because i see myself in him and i just have a lot of love in my heart for him okay???? 🥲 tldr; when i see him i get the zoomies

who is your bias wrecker?

yoongi and jhope

which members are you currently obsessing over that aren't your bias/bias wrecker?

taehyung (deep sigh)

when did you first discover this group?

dec 2021 is when i started going all in. for no particular reason, i just really enjoyed watching their videos and laughing with them during what was a hard time for me. i had bwl on old playlists at that time but didn’t dig any further back then, silly me lol

have you ever been to one of their concerts?

i was soooooo fortunate to be able to see yoongi twice on his dday tour 🥲 i had SO much fun at it too, i hope i can see the whole group one day 🥲 but my favorite part was getting to experience it with @aprylynn and also meet @kithtaehyung 🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍 i love the connections the most and he gave us that thumbs up!!!!!!! like i just. screaming people with everyone in that room is high up on my favorite moments of life list

what are some of your favorite songs by the group?

omg, what would be my ult faves????? DIMPLE of course, ego, silver spoon, run BTS, mic drop, love maze, home, boyz with fun, life goes on, autumn leaves, spinebreaker (this should open the next tour imo) & cypher 3

i’ll tag: @livelocks @rjshope @ugh-yoongi @senor-hoberto @raplinenthusiasts @starcatching @vrainydays @lesbiansuga @sevencoloredstar @thisfuckingdeadlife @jinstronaut @epiphanytear @btsiu (& those mentioned 😘 & you if you’re reading this!!!!!)

[moralchampion]

Wait Jake Dixon did a Motogp wildcard in 2021??

[chussyracing]

what's up in motorsport lately

There will be superlicence points awarded for F1 Academy drivers (for the top 5 in the standings) as well and there will be wildcard drivers driving for Prema in each country they race in and they will only be able to race in the series for two years

Horner is under independent investigation after misconduct at work place allegations, which Red Bull's senior executive Oliver Mintzlaff is dealing with now (the only official statements are from Red Bull company, not the racing division, informing about the ongoing investigation and from Horner denying any allegations, rumours say that Horner sent multiple nude pics to at least one female worker of Red Bull Racing, they have solid proof of it, the investigation has been going on for weeks, Horner has been told to step down to avoid harming the company's reputation any further and reportedly there will be a comission meeting because of it this Friday to come up with a solution before their car launch, he lost the support of the team and Jonathan Wheatley should take over and Geri Halliwell "has been crying all weekend but insists her husband did nothing wrong")

Carlos partnered with OTK Kart Group to start his own kart CS55

Sauber and Williams showed us their liveries and race suits for 2024 season

F1 comission meeting came up with new sprint weekend format meaning Friday will be FP1 and sprint shootout, Saturday will be Sprint and quali, Sunday will be the race as usual

They increased the possible use of PUs from 3 to 4 for 2024 and 2025

DRS will be available after 1 lap instead of two (both after start and after SC restart) in effort to increase overtaking on track

Lewis and Fernando did Pirelli tyre testing today with George and Lance following (tomorrow I think) in Jezer

Carlos gave an interview to Skysports and mentioned Maranello is his home and he will try to become WDC this year and stays calm about his future

Adrian Newey went on Talking Bulls podcast and mentioned a few interesting things like that he is afraid they made a mistake of making third evolution to choose a conservative approach with their limited sources and they're not sure how this season will go, because others got closer and towards the end of the season, they were sometimes even faster, like Charles in Las Vegas

Helmut Marko denied rumours of Ricciardo to Mercedes (before they even started) stating he has a long term contract (he also spoke out on why Max will never join Mercedes, because of their accusations and name dropped AD 2021 and Silverstone 2021)

Sauber faces legal issues in Switzerland because of Stake sponsorship (screenshot below)

Pierre Keterrer and Edward Floydd left the legal department of FIA are leaving the organization (side note they were both included in the last Concorde Agreement on the side of FIA which could mean nothing but 🙃)

Ferrari and Visa Cash App RB fired up their cars

Riccardo Musconi is rumoured to join Ferrari with Lewis

Aston Martin is looking for a new CEO (note: this us the car maker not the F1 division)

Mercedes signed Climate Pledge to reach Net Zero

Barnard is the last addition to F2 so the grid is now complete

Netflix is working on a documentary about Senna in style of Drive to Survive

Guanyu said he knew about Lewis signing with Ferrari before it was official from his manager

From fan's point of view: Carlos went cycling in Monaco, Lewis posted his naked back, Viaplay made a short docu series about Max

[thermodynamic-comedian]

Howdy! I would love to hear more about the music you listen to if you’re down! It seems like we have really similar taste and I’m always looking for new tunes. What are your fav bands and songs that you think not enough people know about? Do you have any recs? Hope you’re having a good day!

omg thank you!! i love to talk about my music taste teehee

ok so as i said, lately i've been enjoying a lot of car seat headrest, but probably my best find recently has been the taxpayers. i am practically addicted to their stuff. my favourite songs from them are a documetation of most recent events, no lodging for the mad, weapon of god, and invader. seriously more people need to listen to the taxpayers!!!

the mountain goats is pretty stereotypical tumblr music, but specifically their newest album, jenny from thebes, is something i really enjoy. idk if that's an unpopular opinion, i've seen a few people call it too showtune-y, but it really calms me down for some reason.

will wood,, has probably been the most important artist in my life in recent years lmao. he's the only artist that survived my sudden change in music taste back in 2021. i can't even name a specific album as my favourite (though icimi is the one i listen to the most consistantly), all of them are so good. especially the lyrics are probably what got me so invested in his music in the first place.

bit of a wildcard, but leevi and the leavings! very famous old finnish band, though i only recently started listening to them lol. their sound basically defined finnish music back in the day, and listening to music in my own language has a unique feeling to it.

[hockeygossipdaily]

https://www.tumblr.com/hockeygossipdaily/764646591204327424/anon-you-are-such-a-sweetheart-honestly-idk

I hope it’s okay to answer this as well? Even tho this is addressed to white heart anon?

The Devils used to be a team that were always in the playoffs. I believe from 2000 through 2012 they made the playoffs almost every year.

From 2012-2017 were the dark years when they were the bottom of the barrel (think about the Ducks, Sharks, Chicago right now and how they have no playoff aspirations)

They drafted Nico Hischier in summer 2017 and this started the “rebuild” to get back to the team they were before that was always making the playoffs.

Jack Hughes was the other part of that puzzle with his draft in 2019

Every move since then has been to make a team around Hischier and Hughes (and also Jesper Bratt even though he didn’t get his long term contract until recently). So that’s what they did. Every major signing and every major trade has been to form a team around those two players.

The NJD Core is Hischier Hughes Bratt and Dougie Hamilton, Timo Meier, Luke Hughes, and Simon Nemec. Just on the outside of the core but still important is Dawson Mercer and Seamus Casey. These are the players that you’re more than likely to keep and not trade away.

The Devils were meant to be going for the wildcard in the 2021-2022 season but they had goalie issues (similar to last season) and actually played like eight goalies that season so that’s why that season didn’t work out but if you looked at the offense they were primed to be a good team.

I know the hockey world was shocked when they did so well in the 2022-2023 season but a lot of the fans weren’t because we knew the potential of the team and had seen that the only missing piece was goaltending. And we got good goaltending for a season.

Last season was a fluke and I agree with what white heart anon said it had to do with all the injuries and all the bad defense and bad goaltending but also the teams culture and locker room was shaken and had to deal with not only MM20 and him being a criminal but also Cal Foote being a criminal and some other players in the locker room (now gone) who were not elevating the culture or buying in to the team

Plus the team did not have the right coach. Lindy Ruff was good to develop the young players but not good to coach them afterwards.

And now we are here.

As for who is the greatest hockey player ever? I am partial to Sidney Crosby but I’d say actually it’s probably Wayne Gretzky or Bobby Orr or Gordie Howe. I’d even put like Jagr up there or Lemieux (but he’s done HORRIBLE things so I don’t like him)

Who’s the next McDavid? I’d say Bedard is probably the player that has the most potential to reach his level.

🧞‍♂️

^^^