#European Bike Week

[argentinagp]

he got in a bike accident in moncaco back in 2021?? can you elaborate more on that? poor guy keeps having bike accidents lmao

hdjsjdjs i will transcript the article below

Something tremendous that happened to me last year, I started training with the bike and in Monaco I ran with Formula Renault, but in the end I couldn't compete because I was disqualified because of a team error. I stayed with my teammate at his house for a week. I liked to keep fit and train. On May 26, one day before my birthday, I had gone out for a bike ride in Monaco. In front of me was an Audi that braked hard because a person set foot on the street and here they respect that a lot and he braked suddenly. I hit the car in full, I hit it with my face on the aileron that is above the window and I broke my nose, I opened everything below my eye and they made me eleven stitches. I was all bleeding, the police who spoke to me in French arrived and I had no idea what they were telling me. I was 17 years old and it was a disaster. They came to pick me up in an ambulance because I was fucked up. I called my teammate on the phone to pick me up. In the hospital they sewed me up because I kept bleeding, but obviously they didn't do anything to my nose. The next day I had a race at Paul Ricard and I went with a broken nose and I could hardly breathe. With a swollen eye that I could hardly see. The people on the team wanted to kill me. When the race ended I went to Mallorca because I have an acquaintance who is a doctor and put my nose in its place. The initial idea was to operate, but they were going to have to put on anesthesia and I was going to be "silly" for a few days and on the weekend I had race again. So they had to do it manually, they put a stick in my nose. I had never broken anything, but the pain I had was the worst thing that happened to me in my life. I ran the race broken, with one eye less because I couldn't see and almost unable to breathe. It was crazy (I was 12th in the two races of the European Regional Formula). It's what it is and luckily I don't get bored.

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this story from Rolling Stone:

EARLIER THIS WEEK, the Copernicus Climate Change Service, a European Union-funded research group, announced that last Sunday, July 21, 2024, the daily global average temperature hit 62.76 degrees. It was the hottest day scientists have measured since 1940 — which officially makes it the hottest day ever recorded on Earth by humans. Twenty four hours later, however, Copernicus had to update its report: On Monday, the temperature climbed up to 62.87 degrees. As of now, July 22, 2024 is now the hottest day ever recorded. 

But hey, it’s only Friday. Who knows what the weekend holds? Or the rest of the summer, for that matter.

Are you shocked by news of this record-breaking heat? Does the fact that you lived through two of the hottest days on Earth that scientists have ever recorded make you think differently about the risks and consequences of living on a rapidly-warming planet? Did you pause for a moment and think about the millions of people who sweat through this without air conditioning? Did you mourn the 396 deaths from heat that are under investigation this summer in Phoenix? Did you sell your car and buy an electric bike? Were you inspired to sign up to knock on doors to help Kamala Harris defeat the climate-hoax-pushing-criminal Donald Trump? Are you getting calls from your MAGA-loving uncle in Idaho apologizing for the long lecture he gave you at Thanksgiving last year about how Earth’s temperature moves in natural cycles, or about how higher levels of CO2 in the atmosphere is good because more CO2 makes crops and trees grow better?

Probably not.

The problem is not you. The problem is that a broken heat record is just another statistic. The story of the climate crisis is written in broken records that measure levels of CO2 pollution, glacial ice melt, rising sea levels, crop failure, megafires, the spread of diseases, heat deaths, wildfire and insurance costs, and economic losses. But if shocking data and broken records could galvanize people to take action on climate, we’d all be powering our iPhones with solar power from microgrids, and millions of cows and chickens would be liberated from factory farms. We’d have cities crowded with bike lanes and a high speed rail service between Dallas and Houston. We’d laugh at climate-hoaxing politicians and debate whether it is fair and just to charge Big Oil companies with criminally negligent homicide.

[ray935sworld]

Please I'm so sorry for Alex like he got Marc in his team and now Gresini is Marc's team he'never be able to escape Marc's shadow😭

Don't mind me. So... On gresinis insta you can see that Marc's folder has 48 pictures and started at the end of November while Alex ones starts in August 2023 and contains currently 38 pictures.

Now to the Gresini poster which seems to have started at the end of 2023, so I don't know if they got a new admin but anyway

First off we have the one from 27.11.2023 which was the first time Marc Marquez was on a ducati, during winter the Valencia official testing:

He is the goat and they are using that. Of course they do. But still, Alex is their only currently present rider so their winter season picture is him

Then christmas came around and they focus on Nadia and them as a team, so both are shown as their bike presentations came up. Both are shown in the same pose

Now next thing was Marc's birthday. They portrait him as the joker, the badass antagonist that's known for his smile (respect at the PR dude for realizing the similarities btw)

Then a few months later... This was Alex birthday post... A teaser that he's not single anymore... Like... FOR REAL?! His brother gets compared to one of the well known, most badass villains in comic history and for him you spoil that he's not single anymore... I'll let you have your own thoughts for that one.

So Marc gets the badass villain and Alex isn't single... Okay. Great.

Then the poster for each race started.

The first one definitely decided how much they'd milk Marc for their pr.

Marc. The goat. Again. The new hope. And I don't think I have to remind you that they literally brought A REAL GOAT. A REAL ANIMAL. TO SHOW THAT THEY HAVE THE GOAT NOW.

So here are all poster that only include Marc:

(but the 93 times was in honor of his 93th pole so that migh not count)

Those are the Alex solo posters where one is his contract annoucement and the other one was ahead of the european elections...

So while Marc got 5 cool poster based on epic movies, he got 2 that made to be are funny and aren't even race week related.

And those are the ones were both are included

And the one were none of them was the focus

Furthermore I'd like to point those sgnificant PR-moments out. In Gresini's 1000th GP, Marc was the one holding the flag on the podium. And the team made him a P4 trophy which was honestly adorable, but I don't think Alex ever got one.

Another thing are his dances. Gresini even pulled a competition who could do it best to win GP tickets

And while I haven't counted the posts, I'd say one look on Insta is enough to see that Marc is their current PR face. Most posts are about him.

And that's okay.

Marc is an 8 times world champion. He is the one everyone is watching and talking about. He is the cente rof attention and as team, Gresini is selling him as excactly that. So they post about him and pull the focus on him.

Sure he is also the one bringing in the results. He is the on the podium and getting the points, while my favorite 2 times world champion has so far only 1. And as much as I love Alex, he just isn't as sellable as Marc

Which leads to a very intresting question...

How will Ducati corsa, which is currently only using Pecco, their golden world champion boy, deal with him? On one side you have an at least 3 times champion, maybe even 4 times and potentially the current one. But you also have Marc Marquez who has one of the largest fanbases with an "where you go, I go" mentality. And after all, the PR people, CEOs and however they are called, they only want to sell their bikes and merch and make money.

So... who will be the focus?

And what if Marc wins the 2025 title? What about Pecco in 2026 or afterwards? How long can a team based on them actually keep going?

[likeadeuce]

WIP Wednesday: you're on your own kid

(Challengers, Tashi + Art)

Art  got permission to take his exams early, packed up his stuff, and hung around long enough for a raucous and teary farewell party attended by most of the campus’s many athletes, who knew Art Donaldson as a friendly, reliable guy.  Tomorrow, he was going to fly to Spain, meet his parents and his training team, and catch the tail end of European grass court season. 

Tashi was going to finish her exams at the normal time in the normal way, ride back to New York with her parents, and then call her coach to confirm that she was quitting.  Not that it would come as a shock.  The school had given her a medical redshirt year to try everything with surgery and rehab, but that chance had passed, and there was no point in them holding the scholarship from someone who could use it.  If she wanted to stay in school here, her family could make the money work -- there had been insurance and savings, her business-minded parents never ones to put all their fragile dreams in one basket.  But Stanford without tennis was worse than nothing.  Her mom had gone to Wellesley and her dad to Howard; they took turns dropping hints about what awaited her down those paths: law school or consulting or maybe the Hill.  

(Tashi, who had hoarded her few, fragile dreams after all, tried not to feel betrayed when her loving parents could pivot so gracefully).

Maybe she wouldn’t call the coach.  Maybe texting was okay.  Email even better.  She never had to log back in to that account if she didn't want to.

But tonight, she and Art picked up some organic sodas and a Big Sur special from Pizza My Heart, threw everything in his stupid ragtop Jeep, and drove up into the foothills to watch the sun set over the valley.  

They spread the pizza box over the tailgate.  Tashi took out a big slice and folded it, savoring the grease and crunch for once.  Art followed her lead, which made her glad; he’d have nutritionists to measure his carbs for him soon enough.  He made (probably) innocent lustful noises over the food, then raised his soda in a toast.

“So what do you think you’ll do this summer?”

She was glad Art hadn’t asked what her plans were, a subtle difference that  would have felt judgmental since she didn’t have any.  This, she could answer honestly.   “Sulk,” she admitted.  “Find something to do for exercise that doesn’t kill my knee.  Swimming?  Tai chi? Maybe I’ll get a bike.  And, I don’t know, after that, maybe Dad has a point about the Howard thing.  D.C. is about as different as it gets from here.”

“A change might be good.”  He stretched and looked up into the cloudless sky,  almost nine o’clock and still brilliant blue overhead as bright colors touched the horizon.  The solstice was coming soon.  Tashi had always loved long days that meant more time to practice.  “Is it okay to say I’ll miss it here?” Art asked.

Art was afraid to say it because Tashi had gotten hurt so much here   Because it had been a wrong turn in her path.  Because she had tried to love this place and it hadn’t loved her back.  “You can say you’ll miss it,” Tashi granted him.  “I don’t know if I’m gonna believe it next week when you’re playing Roger Federer in fucking Mallorca, but you can say it.”

[tallochar]

This is possibly just me and, in that case, that's fine, but I think it's very crunchy and meaty to consider the fact that before the late 90s, you did not have interconnected-by-earpieces-and-phones Bats at work.

Most of Tim early run was in a technological period where cellphones, satellites and earpieces were not available. One of the big hallmarks of the story where Tim goes after Bruce, at the risk of losing Robin, is that Tim *could not* contact Bruce in the field.

He had called the police to tell them the information he had so they could try to help, but Bruce had no way of being contacted in the field (and the same goes around the opposite way when Tim was out in Paris / in the streets of Gotham on his own). People had to meet up and talk in person and if they were separated in the field there was no technological fallback to rely on.

Tim's parents abduction tape was a literal vhs tape that was mailed (not e-mailed, I am talking straight up postal mail) from Haiti to Gotham (that it got there in what seemed like a day or two and did not get lost in the general mail really tell me this was comic-logic at work).

Tim having a phone in his room was a clear sign to me that he was in a Well Off People (not necessarily rich rich but upper middle class for sure) private school and them calling him from across the world meant that they were spending to get in touch with him that way.

The reason Tim's parents sent him postcards is because people did do that because that was both a bit traditional and a good way to keep in touch when phones were still not necessarily reliable (you were often calling pay phone to landline or landline to landline and if nobody was there to pick up the call you'd have to try again another time).

(I am coming at this from an European experience, but I remember going to a family camping site for the summer, and I am talking something that would be considered glamping nowadays, where we had a camper / roulotte with a plastic veranda attached to it and we would stay all summer in our assigned lot, with my grandparents & aunt with cousins in the lots around us if they could swing it, and I had to bike half hour to get up to reception and pay to put in a call anywhere, pay extra to call Italy because we were in Istria and so it was an international call, and then be absolutely sure, because it had to have been discussed before hand, that my father would be home to pick up the phone because he did not have a cellphone, none of us did, and it was actually better to send letters or postcards home and get letters back from him or see him when he came for the odd week-end, because he had to work and couldn't spend the summer with us and that was just the state of communications at the time. And we were in the same time-zone!)

As someone whose first cellphone was a brick the literal size of my forearm at the time, which had the newest tech available on it, which was texting (I do not mean MMS or video messages, I literally mean SMS, which cost a certain amount for each one sent and if you ran out of that amount you had to recharge your card to add more texts on it, same went for the minutes) and had no one to use it with because nobody else in my social circles had one that did that, most of them did not have a cellphone at the time, I remember where just being in touch with everyone was Not A Thing.

You went out and agreed to meeting points / check-ins / times to come back at or be home for and that was it.

I remember everyone getting into nokias, the small ones that played snake and if you wanted a specific sound for your ringtone you had to find it on websites on the internet and insert it note by note following the code the phone used, while I sort of disassociated by cellphones in general and was more excited that I could fit more songs in an MP3 player, battery charged, than I could have done before on my CDs or, earlier still, on my homemade mixtape.

We were still using tiny tape recorders at the time. My mom specifically taped and then transcripted her university lessons, because she was in a program for people going to the university while being older and part of the working force and not everyone could be at the lessons in their group, so they all recorded it in turns and transcripted it to share with each other, as a group effort.

(I disassociated from cellphones because I didn't like to be reachable when I was out of the house, as I had no friends and the only people looking for me would be my mom or my grandmother and I resented what felt like being put on the leash of being always accountable for where I was and what I was doing, so I was reliably either forgetting it home or "forgetting it at home" or genuinely forgetting to charge it and it was immensely frustrating for them, who just wanted to be able to call me if something happened / they needed to talk to me.)

And I think that's crunchy, I think that's meaty, I think that creates way more interesting possibilities to chew on than everyone being always reachable at all times.

Especially if you then contrast it with the changing times when everyone did become reachable reliably 99% of the time and compare / contrast it with younger characters (like Damian or similarly aged young heroes) who are growing up in a world where everything is connected and you can just use a comm or put in a call and expect someone will answer.

Imagine the tension, if something is happening and an explosion goes off and nobody knows why it happened yet and who was in there and who wasn't and they have no way to check but to go in and hope to find people, instead of doing a quick round of check-ins on the comms.

Or possibly something something a villain causes a communication-wide black-out in Gotham and frieds most not-faraday-caged systems and no one can rely on tech for a few days, because if they try to use it it gets fried too, so they have to dig out the old hydraulical grapples and cannot check in with each other the whole time they are out in the field and suddenly you don't know how everyone else is doing and you cannot rely on calling for back-up and you cannot check things in with Oracle / Alfred / whoever you have operating comms and they cannot give you directions and you cannot pull up a map. Some people have never been without that support before, some people have but got used to it, some people might even find relief in being able to go around unchecked.

How much dread and tension / sudden sense of freedom could you cram into that? How much conflict in the aftermath too, when some people don't *want* to be back on that thether, while also appreciating all the advantages that come with it, and others instead might be extra clingy through it?

If you do a 'sent back in the past' / 'sent to another dimension' / 'time travel' fic, why not lean into the tech side of things not being what is now and thus hampering your heroes and both how much they can get done and how they get it done?

Just some food for thought.

[mebemilena]

You are my Candy girl and you got me wanting You

A/N:  life is tough sometimes and i got a few issues. There was this stray cat, we called him Sushi. He'd come to visit nearly everyday and i was preparing to adopt him. Sadly, he passed away. Little guy was run over by some irresponsible shithead. He wasn't living at my house yet and i'm not okay about it , i wish i had done something sooner. We took him to the emergency vet but he didn't make it. I feel so small sometimes. 

I didn't want to leave more fanfiction on the wait because i love writting, but i've been feeling sad and tired about everything. Thank you for the kind messages though, I appreciate them. 

A/N 2: we don't celebrate valentine's day in Brazil, we have another saint for romantic relationships and marriage and it's celebrated around June 22nd, i guess. 

-

Summary:  you're working doing errands for a bakery on valentine's day. You're not amused but Maya likes you. 

tittle from Sugar, Sugar by The Archies (one of my favorites)

- 

You took your bike and went to the Firefighter station, your first stop. Wandering around Tamaha, you noticed there were more couples than you'd usually see. The stores seemed more pink and there were love songs playing everywhere.

"A box of donuts for Boonie!", you entered the patio yelling, hitting the small hornet on your bike.

Boonie came almost running to you, she grabbed the box and smiled. She checked it for any name on the outside but there was no card, no name nor anything that could identify who had sent it. She shrugged, opening the box. 

"Why are you grumpy? It's Valentine's day, smile!", she took a large bite of one of her treats.

You looked at Boonie frowning, you hated Valentine's day. Especially because the one person you wanted to be your valentine seemed so out of reach.

"It's a holiday created by Europeans to sell cards and chocolate.", you muttered just as Maya arrived. Maya and her leather jacket, riding that motorbike and looking like the woman of your dreams.

She parked the vehicle and took off her helmet, her eyes landing on you instantly, a smile trying not to appear.

Maya walked towards you and Boonie, greeting the two of you. "Why do you look upset?", she signed to you, accepting one of the donuts Boonie offered. You huffed and replied slowly. "i don't like today. Valentine's day.", you signed.

Boonie smiled at herself, she's been helping you with ASL vocabulary lately. You nearly begged her to teach you so you could impress Maya during class, but she talked you out of it. "It's a pretty great opportunity for you to spend more time together. Ask her for extra classes!", she had said. But she did teach you a few more signs and of course you could practice with her too.

Maya contemplated for a moment, she finished the donut and cleaned her hand on her jeans. "We can study love words today, and i'll teach you how to ask someone on a date.", she started. "I can teach you how to flirt too.", she smiled, confident, not knowing you were already charmed. 

For the first time in a few weeks you understood all of what Maya signed. You couldn't reply how you wanted to, but you did understand and that made you blush.

-

You and Maya planned on practicing your daily vocabulary at a bakery store, eating cake. But first you had to go to Skully's store, him being one of your errands' destinations. 

"Oh, someone remembered me on Valentine's day?", the old man nearly giggled as you handed him a small package, a few decorated cupcakes inside. "Is it from pokni?", Maya asked, making Skully blush and smile. He nodded, not trusting his words as another wave of giggles left his mouth.

You smiled at the old man's antics, a bittersweet feeling spreading on your chest.

-

 Maya noticed you were too quiet. You barely looked around, your eyes on the floor while you pushed your bike around. The two of you bought some soda and pretzels for lunch and sat at a bench to eat and chat.

Maya sighed, she looked around and could finally notice the amount of couples and flowers around Tamaha, her eyes stopping at a couple on the other side of the street. She looked at you and back at them, nudging your shoulder with her own.

"I know you are upset" , she signed. "But it's just a day. You don't need a valentine to celebrate.", she signed to you. "But if you want one, I can be it. Though I like to be with you many other days too.", she smiled, that big smile that showed most of her teeth. 

Your heart danced inside your chest, you could feel the vibrations all over your body. Thump-Thump. Thump-Thump. You kept staring at her, thinking of an answer.

"I understand what you say, but i don't know reply.", you finally signed to her, watching her face turn into a half-surprised expression.

"Someone's finally studying more?", Maya mocked you, nudging your shoulder with her own. Again. 

You noticed she does that as an act of affection.

"I don't need...", you started, trying  to remember the signs. "C-H-O-C-O-L-A-T-E", you spelled , your hands moving slow. "I have something. More. Candy", you continued. "I have you.", you signed, nervous.

Maya laughed but she understood what you meant, leaving the opportunity to correct you for later. She took a caramel candy from her jacket pocket and gave it to you. "Not chocolate.", she told you with a smile, leaning to give you a kiss on the cheek. 

You sighed, your big smile matching Maya's.

"Happy Valentine's day, Maya.", you signed, linking your arms together as you ate the pretzels and watched the couples walk around town from your bench. 

[xxfanfiction-emo-trinityxx]

Tw: bullying underneath the cut

Long story short: if you have any advice on how to deal with bullying by social exclusion, let me know (but I don't have a teacher or boss or some authority figure I could ask to help, in case you were about to suggest that)

Long story long:

I didn't think I'd ever be in such a position again in which I feel so utterly alone. I thought after high school it would be over. Yet here we are, yet once again. I'm in Japan right now, have been since September last year. I'm in a small city, the only student from my homecountry and one of the few Europeans.

I was close to the Europeans and Australians until about December. One French girl stopped talking to me, and I noticed that the group stopped inviting me to stuff (lunches, dinners, trips, pub (well Izakaya) nights, drinking, just hanging out). It really killed my mood then already. But it got worse and worse until I asked her in February if I had done something that had upset or hurt her because she wasn't talking to me anymore. Her response was basically a long version of "I hate you". What really irritated me was the degrading language she used in the messages we exchanged. It was very obvious that she was looking down on me and felt the need to raise herself above me verbally. I know that not everyone likes me, and that's okay with me, but since I treat even people I don't like with respect, it irritated me how degrading she was.

It needed my mum to point it out to me to realise what she had done was effectively bullying by social exclusion. She manipulated the others into stopping to invite me, because she doesn't like me, most likely because she feels threatened by me in some form.

In these months the people I had been closest to (both foreigners and locals) stopped hanging out with me, which was a hard mental blow. In March I was traveling a lot, and since April I have regularly been playing volleyball with a group but I'm not close with either of them (we just don't seem to have chemistry for more than volleyball and dinners after). And I have my dance club, but being the only foreigner there does make things difficult sometimes, even though everyone is incredibly nice. But it's very hard building some kind of relationship with them beyond the training.

Then the new semester started, and I thought I'd have two French classmates to go to lunch with and my club and occasionally the volleyball people.

Except that the girl who started everything seems to try to push into the Volleyball group and the one French guy who I was closest with, also has begun distancing himself recently. And I'm about 99% certain it's by some kind of influence of this girl. The other person who goes to lunch with me is sweet and we get along but it's more like a "she's with us because we are nice to her and she doesn't have anyone else"-relationship. Plus she doesn't really like hanging out so much, especially in groups (which is fine! I still invite her every time I plan something, in case she wants to join, but most often she prefers to have the spare time to herself, which I also understand).

And since last week it has become really obvious that this guy who I almost considered my best (guy) friend (nobody reaches the person who, while reading this will know I'm talking about her) has been drawing back from me too. The thing is, I already told him about the problem a few weeks ago, but maybe that's what started it? I don't know. I know that if he had to "choose" between me and this other girl, he'd choose her, because they're from the same university.

Have I hidden in the bike parking lot during practice because I randomly started crying? Yes. Did I almost start crying on Saturday while we were rehearsing the formation? Yes. Have I cried to my mum about it yesterday so much that my eyes still hurt today? Yes. I've been here before and it hurt all the worse because of that. I have seen this picture before, people who knew I was gonna join them for lunch, sitting down at a table with too few chairs and too little space for me to join as well.

I don't really know what to do. I want to talk to some club people about it, but I don't know if it is wise, since in Japan the culture surrounding sharing problems is different. I run danger of making myself a burden to them (that's what it might be perceived like if you share problems).

I could ask some friends who have lived in Japan, if they think it's okay to share this with some club friends. And I was thinking I could write an Email to my supervisor, even though technically he's only there to answer if I have questions concerning research.

And I was thinking about talking to the one volleyball guy because he's training to become a middle school teacher and he might have learnt about how to handle bullying.

But if anyone else has any ideas on what I could/should do, please let me know. I feel so lonely at the moment, because I don't have anyone I can talk to in person and I don't even have anyone who speaks my native language. I usually try not to think about it and distract myself with rehearsing for the club, but because I've done that for over a week straight now, my body demands a break. I just really don't know what to do. Please send me a message, an ask, anything. I'd appreciate it immensely.

[blamemma]

OMG OMG IM SO EXCITED YOU’RE DOING THE MICRO FIC MEME! Your circus au has a chokehold on me so obviously I need to prompt SEAWEED! But take this in any direction you want.

very very sorry this is not mermaid au themed at all (although i am working on a v small thing for that actually) but this is where my mind went for this one

Martin had texted him, off-handedly, asking if he was free one night this week. Daniel groaned when the text lit up his screen, another Miami night out, or a Vegas pool party, wasn't what his aching bones needed right now, especially the week before Coachella. His diary was blocked off, tanning in the LA heat, sun beaming down on his skin, dirt bikes if he could be bothered to leave the house at all. He replies with a maybe and watches as the bubbles at the bottom of the screen appear, whilst he chucks frozen fruit into his blender.

Sick

Teams in LA for most of the week prepping for Coachella. You should take my new sound engineer on a date.

Daniel scoffs, turns the blender on and grimaces at the loud noise. He hasn't put any greens in, just sweet tangy berries and bananas with a splash of oat milk, refreshing. He pours the liquid into his glass, sticks a glass straw into it, and then texts one handed as he heads outside.

Who do you take me for? Dial-a-date

Send me a photo of him at least!

No. Martin replies.

Wednesday 9pm work for you?

You'll like him. You'll have fun. Promise. If not I'll comp all ur drinks at Coachella this weekend.

Daniel lays back on his lounger, brings the smoothie to his lips and takes a big gulp. It's been a long time since he-- Martin means well, knows what Daniel likes for the most part. It could be fun. Something different.

Okay. He responds

If it's a shit time though you're covering the bill as well. Daniel adds.

It won't be :) Martin texts back instantly.

-🍣😳🍷-

The waitress leads Daniel to the table he'd reserved, a quiet corner near the back, a wide table, space for plenty of food for them to share. It's one of his favourite Japanese restaurants, one he's been dying to come back to since he arrived back in LA. He'd asked Martin for the guys details, so that he could text him the address himself, but he'd refused to hand them over, told Daniel that Max would be there on time, and not to worry, reassured him again they'd have fun.

Daniel wipes his hands down the front of his colourful shirt, an unreleased one from his own Enchanté collection, a conversation piece he can fall back on if the guy is into fashion as well.

"Daniel?" He hears closely behind him, a thicker accent than Martin's, more European. Daniel turns in his chair, simultaneously standing up at the same time.

"That's me." He quips, holding his hand out to be shaken. It feels overly formal to do, considering they're on a date, but it's second nature to Daniel, at corporate events or in the paddock, to hold his hand out and deliver a firm handshake. Max takes his hand, shaking it firmly.

"I am sorry that Martin put you up to this. We have been friends for a while now, but now that I am working for him, he keeps on trying to set me up with his friends. I tell him I am too busy, organising all his crap and making sure it is all smooth, but he knows my schedule this week too well." Daniel's taken aback a little, by how standoffish Max is being. "Oh, I am Max by the way, did Martin tell you that at least?"

Max moves towards his chair as he's talking, pulling it out and sitting down, leaving Daniel there, standing, taking him in. Daniel fumbles, sits back down, gets his own leg caught on the table leg and tries to play it off cool.

"Yeah he did." Daniel replies, picking up his glass of red wine and taking a sip.

Daniel gets why Martin didn't send him a picture of Max. He's attractive. Muscular and shaped, long hair at the top of his head, all ruffled like he'd barely bothered trying to style it. He's got a loose white shirt on, top button undone where Daniel can see pale skin. A freckle atop his lip that Daniel can't seem to look away from. He's not conventionally attractive by any means, but Martin's done well. Martin knew.

"So, how did you end up working for Martin then?" It seems like common ground they can talk about for now, whilst they wait to order.

"Well, I have known him since we were very young, but he went off and started doing his music stuff, and I went to university and I started studying civil engineering but then moved into audio engineering. Whenever Martin was home, or I visited him, the music was fun, it seemed good fun. So I of course change my degree for him but he had someone very experienced on his team, so I worked for some smaller DJs who were not as good and I helped make them sound better. Anyway, Harry has now quit and Martin asked if I was interested still."

"Wow, so you changed your whole life plan for your best friend?"

"No, it was not really like that at all. I do not think I would have found the job I am now doing if it was not for Martin cause he introduced me to that whole world, but I am not just doing it because of him. I have two cats at home, I would not travel this much and be away from them all the time just for Martin, I enjoy the job."

Max emphasises two cats as if he's left a wife and two children at home, fending for themselves whilst he's off basking in the Ibiza sun or jetting off to another remote festival.

"You travel a lot as well Martin was saying?" Daniel smiles gently, finally being asked a proper question. Polite date etiquette.

"Well, I used to. First year of retirement for me. Was an F1 driver. Won a couple of championships, 'ya know. So yeah, not travelling as much now. Went home for a while, back here now for a bit, go see some friends, find out what life is really all about. Home is Australia by the way."

"Yes, I used to watch you. You were a very good driver actually." Daniel notes how Max says that as if he's an expert, as if he's been commentating on Sky Sports for 25 years and can spot a generational talent from miles off. He feels like he should be offended, but he finds it endearing, complimentary. He has this innate feeling that if Max thought he was a crap driver, he'd say.

"Well, thank you very much, I guess." Daniel says, taking another sip from his red wine.

The waitress comes back over towards them and asks for their order. Daniel takes over, ordering for them both. He's tried so much of it before, he knows what's good. Tuna sashimi, California Rolls, Chicken potstickers, Vegetable tempura, Salmon maki. All different types of things they can split and share between them. The waitress smiles softly at Daniel, closing her notepad and bending to get the menus from them.

"Can I please get a Gin & Tonic, and the Beef noodles please?" Max asks.

Daniel shifts in his seat a little, taken aback, but also slightly worried he's been rude. The waitress jots down Max's order and promises to bring his drink over soon.

"Sorry, thought we could share." Daniel remarks.

"I guessed you thought that, but I am not a very big fan of seafood. I guess Martin did not tell you that." Max's eyes glint as he smiles, and Daniel relaxes again.

"Did you know, the seaweed salad you ordered, most places that is in fact just shredded cabbage. It is much cheaper for them to make and of course most people never know the difference." Max tells Daniel.

"Well I hope it's proper seaweed if I'm paying $40!" Daniel says aghast, and Max laughs, clapping his hands together.

--🍜😄🍸--

They order plenty more drinks, and enjoy all the food before them, with Daniel having a few take-out boxes stacked in front of him to carry home, due to his presumptuous over-ordering.

Daniel adores how delighted Max gets, small jokes enticing the biggest laughs out of him, and how direct he's being. When Daniel says something wrong, he corrects him straight away. Daniel's also taken aback by how complementary Max is. He tells Daniel within 15 minutes of their date beginning that he likes his smile, and when Daniel moves on to the easy topic of his clothing line, Max praises the new designs Daniel shows him, and gently offers pointers as to what he thinks would work better.

When the waitress brings the bill over, Daniel almost feels saddened that it's over, unsure when he'll see Max again, maybe during the Coachella weekend, but he'll be busy, he knows Martin has a few warm up shows in Las Vegas and at Brooklyn Mirage before he plays on Sunday, so Max won't be at the festival the whole weekend. But he hasn't felt like this in a long time. Not since Scotty. And he doesn't want to let go just yet.

"I've got a cool vinyl collection back at my place if you're into that? Do you like cheesecake? We could get some on the way back." He tries.

"That would be very lovely." Max replies, a beaming smile lighting up his face that cause the skin around his eyes to crinkle.

"Great!" Daniel retorts.

--🍰😏🎶--

He wakes up to a dead arm in the morning, Max laying atop of it. Daniel pushes some of his hair out of his face, kissing his head gently, and then his lips, right over the freckle, before pulling his arm out slowly. He shakes it above him, trying to get some feeling back into it, before leaning over Max and grasping his phone.

A new text from Martin sits above the rest of his notifications.

Guess I'm not paying the bill then 😉 It reads.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for potentially putting a loved one between me and my client, who is their friend? (Gonna keep stuff vague aside from some details about myself since I'm actually kinda intimidated by this client) This is a wacky one, I'm still reeling from it. I (26m) am a freelance illustrator and approached someone for work after hearing that they were looking for artists to help them with a project. We discussed things and everything was good at the start. I did a couple orders, payments were fine and it all seemed gucci. Now, I fumbled communicating one or two times and that got resolved (or so I thought) and I explained several times that I'm a huge perfectionist when it comes to hired work. I also knew that they were busy and had a couple medical issues so I kinda stopped contacting them because if it were me, I really wouldn't want to deal with 'HI SO ABOUT THOSE ORDERS' when I'm in misery and pain and have appointments with specialists but I guess that's just me because only after they FINALLY got back to me with some work (work that was never on my commission sheet and so , I said no and explained that right now I don't feel comfortable with that level of complexity) things went south and I was told I was basically being fired. For those who want some extra context, the offer I got was a similar type of art I had done ONCE before for the same person but only because I offered and only because they 'desperately' needed someone. The piece took me a week and I voiced that I was glad to be done with it, fun as it was, because I was originally hired for character art, smaller stuff, not big illustrations. (There was also some real life bullshit happening like dealing with shitty social workers, falling off my bike, nearly slipping into a depression as the heat made my european ass VERY uncomfortable and have no AC so I couldn't get much done at all. There's more but you get the idea. I let them know of most of the heavy stuff but I guess it didn't matter in the end)

When I was told that 'we should stop cooperating' it wasn't just a single sentence, it was an entire paragraph basically outlining every single mistake and flaw they could see in me, accusing me of wanting to work on 'equally complex' work instead (in other words accusing me of lying about the work they wanted from me being too complex for me at the moment) and that I hadn't properly communicated *anything* when I very clearly did and could easily go back and pull up those DMs. I defended myself with a paragraph of my own, debunking the assumptions and accusations but was met with a fresh paragraph that was even longer and read like a court document. I'm not kidding, this person used bulletpoints and titles that were bolded to further outline how I was wrong and how I was a shitty person to work with. This is where I cut them off, told them I felt misunderstood as hell, wished them well and removed them from Discord as well as blocked them on most other platforms. This person however, is a friend of someone I'm close with. I'm now paranoid that, although this loved one is agreeing with me on most things, they're now going to be caught in the middle of this and now I'm just analyzing the whole shitstorm, trying to see if I was, at any point, just a huge asshole. So tell me, AITA for waiting instead of contacting my client and 'showing initiative? Was I an asshole for cutting them off like that? Did I potentially screw over someone I care about because they're friends with this client and will no doubt hear about it from another perspective?

What are these acronyms?

[yazzberry]

any excuse to make moodboards...

I just thought I'd share with you my personal visions for this story and the characters I'm going to be writing (honestly, I'll take any excuse to make a mood board), including their birthdays, interests, visual muses, aesthetics, etc. 

If you agree with any of my visions, please let me know in the comments. I'd love to hear all your opinions and head-canons!

—୨୧—

Note: I gave all the characters the same last names as their voice actors (except for Alejandro, since they give us his last name in the show haha).

— ❥ —

Name: Courtney Lucille Barlow Birthday: October 17 (16 years old) (Libra) Interests/Hobbies: speech & debate, volleyball, reading, watching Gilmore Girls and The Vampire Diaries (guilty pleasures), student council, singing (but refuses to join the school choir), playing the piano, watching college vlogs and other youtube videos about college (her dream school is Yale) Visual Muse: (Cindy Kimberly)

— ꕥ —

Name: Bridgette Isobel Fairlie Birthday: June 25 (16 years old) (Cancer) Interests/Hobbies: surfing, swimming, marine biology, cooking vegetarian dishes, baking, crocheting (even though she's really bad at it), roller skating, riding on her bike, watching romcoms (she always cries at the happy endings), making candles, leading environmental club Visual Muse: (Sasha Pieterse)

— ❈ —

Name: Gwendolyn (Gwen) Ingrid Fahlenbock Birthday: February 8 (16 years old) (Aquarius) Interests/Hobbies: drawing in her sketchbook, painting, listening to Deftones, making playlists, binging reality TV shows (secretly loves the petty drama), painting her nails twice a week, helps make sets for school plays and stage manages, loves rainy days, smoking weed, messing with her cello, feeding stray cats Visual Muse: (Krysten Ritter)

— ♔ —

Name: Heather Saeko Wilson Birthday: January 11 (16 years old) (Capricorn) Interests/Hobbies: cheerleading, dancing ballet, keeping a following on social media, photography (she'd never admit it but she likes taking more than just selfies), watching sad romance movies and Gossip Girl, shopping, fashion, likes history (it's all just gossip), being around people (doesn't do too well alone, but would never admit it) Visual Muse: (Sandy Diana Bang)

— ✪ —

Name: Duncan Wilder Nelson Birthday: March 30 (16 years old) (Aries) Interests/Hobbies: skating, soccer, tagging graffiti everywhere (especially abandoned buildings), smoking weed, teaching his dog (Petey) tricks, loves late-night drives, listening to grunge rock, watching old movies, playing the drums, secretly likes going to vintage bookstores and record stores, loves a good Oreo McFlurry, secretly really good at math Visual Muse: (Zario Bolanos)

— ༄ —

Name: Geoff Bartol Petronijevic Birthday: December 3 (16 years old) (Sagittarius) Interests/Hobbies: surfing, swimming, wakeboarding, water polo, lacrosse (and is actually really good at it), partying, comedy movies, listening to house music and international music (especially eastern European), cooking for friends, is determined to throw a Project X-level party someday, actually really likes pottery and clay-making Visual Muse: (Brad Pitt)

— ✼ —

Name: Trent Theodore McCord Birthday: April 26 (16 years old) (Taurus) Interests/Hobbies: playing the guitar, listening to all genres of music, watching and reviewing great films (loves Letterbox'd), reading, writing songs and poems, surfing the internet, taking care of his little sisters when his mom isn't home, driving to scenic spots for song inspiration and some peace of mind, working a shift at the local daycare center Visual Muse: (Logan Lerman)

—    ҉    —

Name: Alejandro Matías Burromuerto Birthday: August 13 (16 years old) (Leo) Interests/Hobbies: soccer, beach volleyball, singing, student council, theater and drama, posting on social media, flirting with random girls (but never seeing it through), partying, watching black & white films, always seeks to outshine his brother (often doesn't succeed), tutoring others (is really strong in all subjects) Visual Muse: (Xavier Serrano)

friendly reminder that this is all for my story now posted on wattpad and fanfiction.net, ENDGAME.

[maryjanewagner]

My Time in New Haven / Yale

I want to make it clear that I did not officially study at Yale and my time there wasn't due to my academic achievements. Instead, I was fortunate to spend three months in New Haven because my best friend is a fellow at Yale.

Back in September of last year, I was juggling numerous responsibilities in New Haven. I was pet-sitting, occasionally babysitting, and sometimes house-sitting. I was also interning at a local refugee resettlement NGO called IRIS, which does fantastic work. Additionally, I attended lectures whenever I could. I simply asked the professors if I could join their classes; some declined, but others were happy to have me. I never missed a class with Frank Griffel on Islamic Law and thoroughly enjoyed participating in Elisabeth Wood's seminar on Contesting Injustice.

September in New Haven was hot, but I was fortunate enough to witness the leaves change colors throughout the month. I quickly found my favorite hangouts: G-Café, Atticus, but especially Book Trader. I even managed to get myself a bicycle for commuting between Wooster Square and East Rock, thanks to a post on Reddit. However, one month was far too short to fully enjoy everything. I knew I had to return soon, especially to see my closest friend again.

In the law lounge / The delicious baked goods at Book Trader / Woolsey Hall in Schwarzman Center

My winter was lonely, with little progress at university and nothing really keeping me at home. So, I decided to head back to the U.S. again. Flights were incredibly cheap—I paid just 150 Euros for a direct flight from Berlin to JFK. Since I was subletting my dorm room and didn't have to pay rent in New Haven, staying with my friend this time instead of a host family, I would actually save money by being in the U.S. rather than staying here.

a lovely New English house / The view from Common Grounds / The path next to the Grove Street Cementary

In February, New Haven greeted me with a blizzard, the likes of which I hadn’t seen in years. Determined to make this stay productive, I approached it as a form of self-care and a luxury retreat, even though my accommodation was far from luxurious. I stayed in my friend's law school dorm, sleeping on his carpet after the air mattress his suite mate kindly provided turned out to be broken. Adaptable as ever, I had no trouble making do with the floor.

I depended on my friend to access buildings since I needed his ID or had to sneak in. Still, I aimed to be as independent and busy as possible. I managed to get a bicycle again, this time a racing bike loaned to me by a generous neurology researcher. With newfound mobility, I quickly started exploring the city and surrounding areas. I rode 20 miles on the New Haven Northampton Canal Greenway until the snowy path made further progress impossible.

Attending lectures became a significant part of my routine. I registered for several classes, but the ones I frequently attended were "Politics Without Politicians" with Helene Landemore and "Capitalism as Religion" with Paul North. I also made a point to attend every intriguing talk I could. The most memorable was a European Studies Council talk hosted by Seyla Benhabib, featuring Hans Kundnani and Dmitry Kochenov. Before leaving for Germany, I bought Kochenov's "Citizenship" from Barnes & Noble and spontaneously emailed him to request a signature, which he kindly agreed to. We even exchanged some friendly emails after I returned home. That was such a wonderful experience!

During this stay, I managed to develop a daily routine. I would ride my bicycle, visit dining halls for lunch or dinner, attend lectures, or spend time at Book Trader. Through dating apps, I met some new people, one of whom invited me to Mory's, the legendary club and restaurant. Soon after, I met a guy who is now my boyfriend. Our first date was during my second week, and as the weeks passed, we met more frequently. Together, we explored new bars and pubs, and now I can confidently say I know all the good ones in town. My favorite is The Owl on College Street, a cigar lounge with live jazz music every evening. The band that performs on Wednesday nights is my absolute favorite. I feel very nostalgic thinking about those cold nights, sipping wine in that smoky bar—the smoke having a pleasant, almost vanilla-like aroma.

In a study lounge of a college / watching my favourite jazz band / the smokey lounge

During my stay, I grew attached to New Haven. Though at times I felt out of place—having no official residence, no key to a personal door, and no courses I was officially enrolled in—it was still the only foreign city where I had spent a significant amount of time. New Haven is far from perfect. The city grapples with high levels of crime and homelessness, starkly evident despite being home to a prestigious private university, or perhaps partly because of it. Sirens were a constant background noise, and one night I stumbled upon a crime scene where a shooting had just occurred. On another occasion, I called the police about boys breaking into a car in Wooster Square, only to find they didn’t seem to care.

It would be wrong to idealize New Haven; its imperfections and dangers remind me a lot of my hometown in Germany. Locals often say not to venture past the Popeyes on State Street, as the area becomes increasingly unsafe. Despite this, I spent a week dog-sitting in Beaver Hills and crossed that street several times a day. The change in the neighborhood's atmosphere is indeed stark, but it's possible to fit in if you don’t act overly conspicuous.

However, I miss New Haven deeply. I feel a profound melancholy for the various parts of the city. Wooster Square, where I sampled all the famous American pizzas; East Rock, where I interned, enjoyed walks, and eventually visited my boyfriend; Baker Hall, with its distinct clean, homey, and warm scent, and classrooms where I spent nights reading, writing, or having dinner with my friend; and Beaver Hills, with its grand houses and the adorable greyhound Mango that I cared for.

I am endlessly happy knowing I will return to New Haven sooner or later, especially since my boyfriend's mother lives there. Additionally, my friend recently found a room in a shared flat in Cambridge, Boston, so I hope to explore that area soon as well. To wrap this up, here are some pictures from my stay:

Bathroom Selfie / Mango, the bike and me in front of law school / Me in my friend's office in law school, assisting him from time to time

Me in the law library

[angel-inrealtime]

November F1c Prompts Day 26

Day 26 - Taste (Salty)

A/N: Yeah so I got stuck like 2 parts after this and it lowkey broke my brain. Whoops.

“I can say no to any other food,” you start, around a mouthful of fries, “But there is something about fried potato.”

Daniel laughs, automatically swiping next to your mouth with his thumb. “You had sauce.”

You kiss the digit when it lingers, and it puts the silly little grin on his face that you love the most.

You’ve biked away half of the sunny morning already, making the most of the lingering European summer sun. You bump his foot with yours. “You look more relaxed.” You start, keeping your voice light.

Daniel chuckles, mostly to himself, but his face is honest when he looks at you and shrugs. “That’s the next stage, or whatever, right? Acceptance.”

You give him the little laugh you know he’s looking for in response. “I’m...” You start, still looking at him carefully. It’s hard to know, sometimes, how he’s going to take things, or if he’s putting on the Daniel Ricciardo school of fake it till you make it smile. “I’m really proud of you, you know? For doing what you need to for you, even though it must feel so...the opposite of what you’ve always done.”

You’re not sure if it’s blush on his cheeks or they’re tinged pink from the sun (you won’t point it out either way). He nudges your foot back with his own. “I can think of way worse ways to spend a year, that aren’t travelling and hanging out with you, bub. I’m...” He shakes his head again, like he’s trying not to let the shitty thoughts win, determined to only keep the good ones. “I’m...weirdly looking forward to it, actually.” He gives you a little smile.

You grin back at him. “I am too. It’ll be fun.”

It’s like he relaxes, shoulders settling a little lower. “You won’t get sick of me?” He looks at you through the curls falling over his forehead and tries to make it seem like he’s joking. “I’ll probably get super annoying after like...a week.”

The nudge to his shin is erring closer towards a kick, this time. “You aren’t annoying, babe. Or like...” You grin at him. “if you are, we’re the same kind of annoying. Cancels out.”

He starts laughing. “Well that’s just mathematically correct, then.”

“Not just a pretty face, me.” You say over your shoulder as you stand up and move towards the bikes.

Daniel slings his arms over your shoulders, kisses the back of your head and lingers there a moment. “Nah, you’re...” His breath stirs the hair in front of his mouth. “You’re pretty fuckin’ fantastic, y’know?”

You squeeze his forearms over your chest. “Can I get that in writing?”

“It’ll cost ya.”

“Oh yeah?” You turn in his hold and poke him in the chest. “Name your price, Ricciardo.”

(The uncomplicated, huge smile on his face makes you want to melt)

“Hmm.” He makes a big show of thinking. “A kiss, I think.”

“Jeez, you drive a hard bargain.” You sigh, faux put upon. But you put your hands on either side of his face and kiss him soundly. “What a hardship.”

He giggles, a little wild.

[capella-is-my-diary]

Why do I feel like I'm going to obsess about Dutch politics for the next two weeks or so? I mean, I get it, it's because of the Instagram Resse edits, but omg

Also, why is the Rechtsruck (I'm desperately missing a word for political shift to the right in English right now) also affecting the Netherlands? In my mind, they always seemed like this European utopia - I completely blame it on the bikes...

[winarasidi]

When I Fell in Love with Cycling

I discovered my love for cycling when I met Dargo. At the time, he was just someone I knew, and I never imagined I would end up marrying him. Getting to know Dargo also meant getting to know cycling, a passion he had pursued regularly for several years before we got married. I began watching European cyclists glide beautifully through green mountains and snowy hills. Naturally, I was captivated and wondered if I could ever do something like that.

After we got married, I decided to share a hobby with Dargo and give cycling a try. I chose it for myself, not because my husband pressured me—Dargo has never forced me into anything.

On December 26, 2023, I bought a Twitter Cyclon Pro Disc R7000-22S bike in black and red. After discussing it with my husband, we decided this would be my first bike. The main factor was its affordability at the time, combined with its full carbon frame and Shimano 105 groupset. Despite one drawback—the bike was still a bit too large for me—it was the best option for us.

In early January 2024, I began my journey as an amateur cyclist. I started getting used to my new bike, beginning with my first 50 kilometers, then 70 kilometers, and eventually my first 100 kilometers. I still vividly remember my first 100 kilometers; I took the route from South Tangerang to Bogor, riding back and forth from home. Anjay rada gelo!

Eight months after buying my road bike, I decided to participate in a race in July 2024. I joined the Tour de Ambarukkmo in Yogyakarta in the regular category, covering 128 kilometers. Of course, with various adjustments to make the bike fit my body. It was an exhilarating experience, especially since I typically only cycled once a week on weekends. But I prepared as best as I could, training enough and learning to understand my body. In the end, I completed the Tour de Ambarukkmo. Though it was exhausting, I was filled with pride—a feeling of abundance.

Cycling, like running, is more than just a sport for me. These activities are my way of connecting with my body and the world around me. When I cycle or run, I focus on feeling my body, muscles, breath, and heartbeat. I learn to recognize pain and fatigue. I become fully aware of my body, knowing when to stop and when I can keep going. When cycling, I often clear my mind. I never listen to music while riding; instead, I prefer to hear the rhythm of my breath, the sounds around me, and the wind rushing against my body as I descend hills or climb slopes.

I can’t recall exactly when I fell in love with cycling, but I’ve come to realize that it has become one of my most meaningful routines. When I miss a ride, something feels off and different. Perhaps, at this point, cycling has become an essential part of who I am.

Tangerang, 23 Agustus 2024

[beardedmrbean]

1. Two-kilometre-long dinner table in Antwerp breaks Belgian record

Around 7,000 people came together for a community meal celebrating both Easter and Ramadan in Borgerhout, Antwerp, on Sunday evening. The two-kilometre-long gathering broke the Belgian record for the longest table. Read more.

2. Belgium among countries with best work-life balance worldwide

Belgium is among the countries with the best work-life balance across the world, finishing in tenth place with a score of 7.7 out of 10, according to the OECD's Better Life Index. Read more.

3. Cheeky chocolates, cat trams and prisoner bike carts: Belgium's best April Fools 2024

Various organisations and municipalities across Belgium enjoyed playing pranks on Monday on the occasion of April Fools' Day. Read more.

4. The Flanders integration course: Participation improves as penalties grow

The number of infringement cases for non-EU nationals who fail to comply with mandatory integration requirements in Flanders decreased slightly; those who did fail to meet these requirements received bigger fines. Read more.

5. European degree: Game changer for students and universities?

The European Commission presented last week a package of proposals to advance transnational cooperation between higher education institutions in the EU with the ultimate goal of creating a European degree. Read more.

6. Stabbing on board Brussels train severely injures one person

One person was stabbed on a train in Brussels on Monday afternoon. The victim is severely injured but is expected to survive. Read more.

7. 'I hope the next government has fewer parties,' says De Croo

After 3.5 years at the head of Belgium's Federal Government, Prime Minister Alexander De Croo (Open VLD) would like the next government to count fewer parties than his current ideologically diverse seven-party 'Vivaldi' coalition. Read more.