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formula-nyoom · 7 months ago

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Don't Get Squeezed | CL 16

Charles Leclerc x Sister!Driver!Reader

Summary: The unexpectedness of the Chinese Grand Prix brings the younger Leclerc sister placing higher than she's ever placed for the upcoming race. But with worries of a high placement and no experience racing this track, a crash seems like an inevitability.

A/N: Pardon my French(literally, I don’t know that much French and had to use google translate). While some would expect me to place this in Suzuka, I decided to go with China because I honestly had no expectations for that race and was stressed something bad was gonna happen the whole time.

~~~

The Chinese Grand Prix seemed to have an air of tense unexpectedness. Having not raced the track since 2019, none of the teams knew what to expect from this race weekend. With new car regulation, updated track maintenance, and the fact that 5 drivers have never raced this track before, it was well known that anything could happen.

Out of all the things, you never expected to qualify P10 at a track you’ve never raced before. It sounded like a miracle that you were able to fly your Haas into starting in the top 10. But while the team was proud of your efforts, you were very nervous.

“I’ve never started in the Top 10, Char! I only know how to start from the back, and honestly I think I’d prefer it there since it’s easier to avoid first lap crashes from the back.” You said to your brother as you paced your hotel room.

“That’s not true. You started from the top 10 and even the front plenty of times in F2. How is this any different?” Charles asked. You scoffed.

“En quoi est-ce différent? It’s different because in F2 I had a good car and was constantly lapping the others. I still don’t know how I managed to get my Haas in front of Sir Lewis Hamilton today!” You exclaimed.

“I don’t see what’s so surprising about you qualifying P10. That’s the same spot you ended the sprint race in.”

“That’s because, in the sprint I was able to climb my way from the back.” You told him. Charles let out an exasperated sigh at your own self doubt. He could partially see why you were nervous. Starting in a much higher position than where you usually qualify puts more expectations on your shoulder to do better. They’re even higher expectations then the one you already have with being a Leclerc. But Charles knew that you could do well, not just because he was your older brother but because he’s seen you drive. You may start from the back often, but your racing skills are phenomenal to where you constantly end in the points. Even if you were to drop from P10 at the start of the race, Charles knew that you’d be able to work your way back up and higher.

KNOCK! KNOCK!

Charles’ thought process was interrupted by a knock at the door. He walked over and opened it, being met by Arthur with bags of food in his hands.

“Arthur, can you please help me reassure our sister that she will do amazingly starting in P10?” Charles asked as he let his younger brother into the room.

“Arthur, can you remind Charles that the only reason I did good in F2 was because I outperformed everyone with a good car?” You asked, taking the bag that was offered to you from Arthur.

“I’m confused. What’s going on?” Arthur asked as he set the other bags down. You sighed.

“I don’t think it’s a good thing I’m starting in 10th place for tomorrow’s race, considering how I’m much more accustomed to starting in the back.” You explained.

“I think she’ll be fine.” Charles said.

“What’s the main thing you’re worried about with being in the top 10 at the beginning?” Arthur asked.

“Getting squeezed. Everyone at the front is always bunched up trying to overtake at the start. I’m worried that I’m gonna get stuck in the middle since I can’t pull back or move forward starting in 10th place.” It was a common worry, one you had during every race. But it seemed to be much bigger now with your current grid placement.

“So don’t get squeezed. Keep your elbows out but be mindful of your surroundings.” Arthur said nonchalantly. You let out an exasperated sigh at your brother’s response. Charles saw that Arthur’s response didn’t help you and placed a reassuring hand on your shoulder.

“Trust me (Y/N), as someone who has started in the top 10 multiple times, awareness of your surroundings is key. It may be tempting to overtake right from the start, but if you're that worried about possibly getting hit by someone, just remember to leave a gap.” He told you.

“You’re one to talk about leaving gaps, Mr Inchedent.” You said, your own teasing managing to get you to smile. Charles sighed.

“Peut-être que je te pousserai hors de la piste demain.(Maybe I’ll push you off the track tomorrow)” He mumbled. You laughed and threw a pillow at him.

“Tu n'oserais pas!(You wouldn’t dare!)” You said, dodging the pillow that Charles threw back in your direction.

~~~

The weather seemed to know how nervous you were and decided to make it worse by making it rain. It was only a drizzle, not hard enough to cancel the race. But every driver knew how unexpected wet conditions can be when racing. Even a drizzle can turn a driver’s race upside down. You’d just hoped you wouldn’t be one of them.

Before having to get into your cars, you and Charles managed to get away from your teams’ garages and give each other a hug for reassurance. It was your guys' tradition before each race. A promise that you would make it to the end. Arthur was able to join you two this time and you were glad that both of them were here.

“Don’t get squeezed.” Arthur said, giving you a shoulder pat before following Charles back to the Ferrari garage. If Arthur wasn’t Ferrari’s development driver, he would be in the Haas garage supporting you. But he had to settle for supporting both his siblings from only one team garage today.

For the first time since joining F1, you slotted your car into the P10 spot after the formation lap while everyone waited for the lights to go out. You spotted your brother who was ahead of you in P2. You made eye contact with him through his car’s mirrors and gave him a thumbs up. Charles gave you a nod in return before you both directed your attention to the lights that were set to blink on at any moment.

Blink…Blink…Blink…Blink…Blink

The lights went out and everything roared to life. You slammed your foot on the throttle and your car cruised forward, steadily gaining speed. You immediately went to move to the outer edge of the approaching turn to hopefully avoid any front placement congestion.

“Don’t get squeezed.” You thought to yourself.

A lot can happen on the first lap. Hell a lot can happen in the first turn.

You didn’t get squeezed going into turn one. Or turn two and 3. There was a bit of sliding on the track because of the wet conditions but you managed to get your car under control. It was the last turn, the turn that a lot of the drivers struggled with throughout the week, where everything went wrong.

You weren’t able to see who it was that was trying to overtake you. You felt the hit to the side of your car and could tell that it was too hard based on how fast you and the other car were going. But by then it was too late to break as your car started to spin out.

It’s when the ground switches from asphalt to gravel that the car starts to flip….

And flip…

Your vision becomes a quick mixture of sky and ground as the car continues to roll. It’s too fast for you to properly brace for the impact with the barrier and all too quickly the only thing you see is darkness.

“Red Flag! Red Flag!” The voice of Charle’s race engineer quickly comes over the radio as he brakes going into turn one.

“What happened?” Charle’s asked, trying to split his attention between driving and whatever his engineer is going to say next.

“Return to the pits. We are trying to get more details and will update you once you’re in the pits.”

“Did someone crash? Tell me what happened.” Worry started to build up in his chest as multiple scenarios flashed through his mind, his sister a part of many of them.

“There was a collision between an…Alpine…and a Haas.”

Charles almost lost control of the car going into turn seven upon hearing what cars were involved but quickly recovered.

“Tell me it’s not (Y/N).” Charles demanded. “Please, tell me it’s not my sister that was involved.”

The silence from his race engineer seemed deafening. He probably knew that anything but the confirmation that his sister was safe could send Charles into a literal spiral on the track.

“Come back to the pits Charles. Please.” It sounded like his race engineer was almost pleading with him and Charles reluctantly followed the orders and headed into the pit lane.

As soon as Charles’s car stopped in the Ferrari pitlane, he immediately got out of the car, not even taking the time to disengage his steering wheel. The pit crew tried to stop them but Charles pushed them away as he ran over to Haas garage. Charles’s hope rose when he saw the familiar white of a Haas car pull in, but it was quickly dashed when he saw that it wasn’t his sister pulling in, but her teammate.

Charles didn’t want to take that as confirmation that his sister was involved with the crash. He immediately ran over to the pit wall. His sister’s race engineer would tell him she was ok, right?

“(Y/N), are you ok?” Was the first thing Charles heard out of the engineer’s mouth.

“Tell me my sister’s ok. She’s answering, right?” The race engineer barely glanced at the Ferrari driver, focusing more on getting a response from their own driver.

“Are you ok? (Y/N) please respond.” The engineer said again. Charles wanted to take the engineer’s headset off, and ask that question himself. Hear his sister’s voice. Get confirmation that she was ok. But Charles’s eyes finally landed on one of the screens that was showing the replay of the crash.

You were approaching the last turn. For some reason Ocon decided to attempt an overtake when it was far too late and he got too close. His front wheel hit the side of your car, hard, causing you to violently spin. Charles' heart dropped into his stomach as he watched your car flip over and over on the gravel and it might as well have shattered when he watched your car harshly collide with the safety barrier.

“I’m getting no response.” Charles heard your engineer say to the team principal. Charles’ vision started to tunnel and all the noise around him became muffled. He didn’t even register that Arthur was now standing in front of him, trying to speak to him, but Charles didn’t hear anything.

His sister wasn’t responding

There was no movement from the car.

Is she breathing? She had to be? She had to be ok?

She’s alive right?

She was so worried about her placement and crashing. She wasn’t supposed to crash!

Charles’ brain betrays him as it thinks back to the one person he didn’t want to think about at this moment. This crash reminds him too much of Jules. It hits too close to home because the person in the car is his little sister. The little girl who was so enthusiastic about watching his karting races when he was younger. Who wanted to be just like her older brother and managed to race her way up the motorsports ladder. His little sister who made it into Formula 1 and who he gets to race alongside almost every weekend.

Both of you knew from an early age the dangers of being a race car driver. But despite every crash, you’ve always managed to walk away from it. But all Charles saw was your car. Upside down and wedged in a barrier. There was no sign of movement from what little he could see of the driver’s seat, and you weren’t responding to your engineer.

He couldn’t lose anyone else to this sport. Not after Jules…you had promised him that you would make it to the end-

“Charles!”

Charles snapped out of his panic state as Arthur yelled his name. He could tell now that he had begun to hyperventilate, and tried to calm his breathing.

“They want you to try and talk to her.” Arthur said. “Maybe you can get a response.”

Charles numbly nodded and took the headset that was being offered to him.

“(Y/N), it’s Charlie…can you hear me? Are you ok?”

The silence was so loud.

“....(y/n)....(Y/N)!”

Consciousness slowly came back to you as you started to gain a sense of your surroundings. Your head was swimming and you couldn’t tell what was up or down. How did you get here? One second you were racing…and the next?

You had gotten squeezed.

“(Y/N)...can you hear me?” A voice came over your radio. Your arm trembled as you strained to press the radio button on your steering wheel. God, did everything hurt and you felt tears start to well up from the pain you felt.

“Charles…” Your brother’s voice was the first thing you recognized. The one thing you could recognize in the darkness and confusion of your current predicament.

“(Y/N)! Are you ok!” Charles asked over the radio. He sounded so worried and you mentally kicked yourself a bit knowing you were the cause of the worry.

“Charlie…everything hurts…I can’t move.” You told him. It was true. You felt trapped under your seatbelt and felt that one little movement would send pain throughout your whole body.

“Breathe sœur, breathe. Your car is upside down and wedged in the barrier. The safety marshals are trying to flip the car over to get you out right now.” Charles explained. That offered some comfort. You listened to Charles' advice as you tried to take deep breaths. You moved your head a bit to try and get awareness of your surroundings, but even moving it an inch sent a wave of nausea through your body. You felt the car shake and braced your body as the car was flipped over and your vision was filled with daylight. You had to take in more deep breaths before you could lift your head and make eye contact with the safety marshal who was checking to see if you were ok. You managed to give them a thumbs up, a sign that you were conscious, and they immediately went to help you out of the car. Fans cheered as they saw you climb out of the car with assistance. Signs of relief seemed to echo throughout the pitlane and Charles and Arthur practically collapsed to their knees with relief at the sight of you alive and moving. Charles looked to the sky and placed a hand over his heart.

“Merci Jules…” He quietly whispered before hugging Arthur tight.

Despite the immense pain and the swimming feeling in your head, you managed to wave your hand to the closest grandstand, sending the fans a message that you were ok.

Charles and Arthur watched as you were helped to the ambulance and placed on the stretcher. You would need to be taken to a hospital to assess any injuries and possibility of a concussion. Arthur told Charles that he would meet you at the hospital and call Lorenzo and Mama. Because despite everything that just happened…the race still needed to be finished. Charles would rather be in the ambulance with you than get back in his Ferrari and race on the same track that you had just crashed at. He wished the race didn’t need to be finished at all. But it had to. And if Charles had to race, then he was going to win. He was going to win for his little sister.

~~~

Next to all the flowers and get well cards, on your hospital bedside table was a beautiful first place trophy. Charles barely stayed on the podium after receiving it, immediately heading to the hospital you were taken to once the celebrations were done. When he arrived, he was grateful to hear that you only had a sprained wrist, bruising and a concussion. He wished you weren’t injured at all, but compared to how crashes go, you got off on the better side. Charle’s sent another silent thank you to Jules, as doctor told him that the halo was one of the main things that prevented further injuries.

“I think I’ll purposely try to start from the back for the rest of the season.” You said while sitting up in your hospital bed playing Uno with Arthur. The doctors decided that you should stay overnight to monitor your concussion.

“I think that may be a good idea.” Charles said as he sat next to you, watching the current card game take place.

“Or, you start on pole every race. You don’t have to worry about being surrounded by the other cars if you’re already in the front.” Arthur said, placing a card down.

“Yea but then the only view Charles would get the whole race would be my rear wing and I don’t know if that’s a view he can enjoy every race.” You said. Charles rolled his eyes.

“Maybe I should get the doctor to check your head again with all the nonsense you just spoke.” Charles said. “As I recall you’ve been chasing my rear wing throughout the seasons.”

“Uno!” You declared, placing your second to last card down. “Please Charles, it’s only a matter of time before I beat you at a race. Like how I’m about to beat Arthur at this game.”

“There’s no way you’re going to win. I know for a fact you don’t have any blues.” Arthur said, placing down a blue five. He gave you a sly smirk that quickly fell when you gave him one back. Without saying a word, you placed down a +4.

#f1 x reader #formula 1 x reader #charles leclerc x reader #platonic grid x reader #f1 x y/n #f1 x driver!reader #charles leclerc x sister!reader

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bad268 · 9 days ago

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heyy, i was wondering if u could do a kimi fic even tho u r getting unnecessary backlash for it ( sorry babes ) maybe with an italian reader that reacts badly to kimi getting into a f2 crash bc a family memeber passed from a car accident and after hes i nthe hospital the ready gets clingy with him?

I'm Not Going Anywhere (Andrea Kimi Antonelli X Hubert! Reader)

Fandom: RPF/F2/F3

Requested: Clearly (I changed it to French, hope you don't mind <3)

Warnings: Imola crash, heavy mentions of Belgium 2019 (Hubert reader i mean-)

POV: Second Person (You/your)

W.C. 1887

Summary: Kimi's crash brings the reader back to the darkest time of their life

As always, my requests are OPEN

MASTERLIST // HITLIST

~~(^@/kimi.4ever on Insta from 7/25/2024)

You had finally let Kimi convince you to come to one of his races. It was one of his home races, Imola specifically, and you had never gone to a race with him. You had some deeply buried trauma with races, so you were more comfortable supporting from afar. Well, when Kimi came up to you and practically begged you to join him, you couldn’t say no. The weekend was fine. You and Kimi were doing track walks, you got to sit in his car, you got to meet some of the grid, and it all helped to ease your nerves. George and Carmen were amazing, it was fun catching up with Ollie on track, and all was well.

Qualifying went well, with Kimi ending up in the top 10, and the race was going to be a piece of cake, he said. Why was it a piece of cake? Because it was projected to rain. Why would this make it a piece of cake? Oh, because Kimi was more comfortable with driving on the wet track. You knew this as he always took you on late-night drives whenever it rained. It was just more calming to him, so you took his word as you stood beside Toto in the Mercedes garage.

Then, it was like everything was in slow motion. One second, you were listening to Toto praising Kimi’s skills, but the next, everything was silent. You had looked over at Mick as he tapped your shoulder, and out of the corner of your eye, you saw a silver car lose control. Your ears were ringing, and you couldn't focus on anything. Suddenly, you felt like you were back in Belgium 2019. The worst day of your life, the day you tried your hardest to forget, the day you lost your older brother, Anthoine. The flashbacks you tried so hard to bury were coming back in full force.

You didn’t register your legs giving out, but you felt someone’s arms wrap around you. Was it Fred? Mick? Carmen? Toto? Susie? You don’t know. The view of Kimi’s Mercedes hitting the wall replayed over and over and over again in your head. You couldn’t feel anything, and it was just like back then. Your brain was glitching, mixing up the two accidents. With that, your anxiety ran wild.

Your breathing became unsteady, you felt your heart beating at your fingertips, and your hands and forehead became clammy. You felt like you were going to throw up or pass out as you brought a shaking hand up to your chest. There was nothing you could do. There was nothing you could do to save Kimi and nothing you could say to help the situation. You were helpless.

You vaguely remembered someone lifting you to stand and help you into Kimi’s driver’s room, but you couldn’t recall who. You felt like you had no control over your body. It was almost like you were watching everything from the outside. It was the same as Belgium 2019, and there was nothing you could do.

You briefly registered a blob of someone kneeling before you. They grabbed your hands and ran their hands across your knuckles. Then, up your forearms to your shoulders. They drew shape around your legs and shoulders, coaxing you back into your body. You blinked rapidly as they did so, and after a few moments, you felt like the bricks on your chest lessened. You saw Mick kneeling in front of you. You let out a huge breath as you collapsed into his chest.

Everything was still a little hazy, but you were able to semi-follow along with what Mick was explaining. Something something breaks failed. Something hospital. Something something get in there. Mick helped you into the back of an ambulance, helping you sit next to Kimi before he said something to the medics.

No one looked at you twice as you reached out to grab Kimi’s hand, but you stopped in the air just before you could. If this was it, you knew you wouldn’t be able to hold it together if you held his hand. Your mind still replayed the ambulance ride with Anthoine, and you couldn’t shake the feeling of deja vu as you looked at Kimi.

He was unconscious, but he looked peaceful. Then again, so did Anthoine. You dropped your head for the entire ride, not wanting to face what you believed to be inevitable.

When you arrived at the hospital, a nurse directed you to a waiting room while they attended to Kimi, giving you the chance to come back to the present on your own. You clenched your fists a few times and walked around the room. You just couldn’t sit still. It felt like hours, and maybe it was until a nurse came in to update you on Kimi’s condition. Part of you had convinced yourself that he was gone, but that changed when the nurse walked in with a comforting smile.

“He’s alright,” She said as she led you through the halls to his room, “He’s a little out of it, but he should be just fine. He hit the wall pretty hard, so he has a concussion and broke his wrist. He should be back in the car in a few weeks, depending on his progress.”

“He’s alive?” You asked hopefully as your voice cracked. “Will he be okay?”

“We’re projecting a full recovery,” She comforted as you threw your arms around her and cried. The biggest weight was lifted off your shoulders after hearing this situation was different from before. Different from Anthoine. You still had Kimi, and that’s what you needed to focus on. You finally regained your senses before pulling back and wrapping your arms around yourself with a sheepish smile. “I can take you back to see him now.”

With a nod, you followed behind her silently through the halls. There was nothing you could think to say at that moment, and you didn’t want to disturb anyone you walked passed. Eventually, you both got into the lift, and she pressed the button for the fourth floor.

“Just so you know, he was asking for you,” She added just before stepping off the lift and walking towards a room to the right. It was the first door, but before she could open the door, you gently grabbed her wrist.

“What do you mean? I thought he was unconscious since the crash?” You questioned, dropping her wrist when she turned to you.

“He woke up momentarily when we were transporting him to get a CT scan,” She replied quietly. “He just whispered your name a couple of times and asked us to tell you he was alright, but he went back under almost immediately. It was very helpful actually because it showed us that he still had some memory, so we didn’t need to worry too much about amnesia. Here, head in, and I’ll send someone by to get you dinner.”

You nodded in response as she continued walking down the corridor, but you took a deep breath before walking into the room. It was just as bland as you remembered- no. You were not thinking like that. He’s fine! The nurse said so herself!

There was no color, no sounds other than the heartbeat monitor, and no movement. You would change that whenever he woke up, or you would text someone to bring flowers or something. You pulled the chair closer to his bed. He didn’t look bad for someone who just got in a life-threatening crash. He had some bruises around his temple, his left arm was wrapped, and you could see some bandages around his chest. Honestly, you were scared to touch him.

You finally got the courage to link your pinky with his. It was minimal contact, but it made you feel so much better. It also accidentally opened the floodgates. You barely registered the tears that fell from your eyes as your eyes zoned in on his hand. You analyzed the amount of wires that came out of it, the slight bruises on his wrist and fingers, and you noticed how bare his wrist was. He always had a watch or fan bracelets on, and seeing neither didn’t help the onset of tears.

You pulled one of your charm bracelets off and gently slid it on over the wires. It was one he made for you, saying “Tesoro” with a (color) heart. You made him an identical one with a red heart, but it was with the rest of his things back at the track. Just seeing one semblance of normalcy helped calm your nerves as you fiddled with the bracelet. Eventually, the day caught up to you, and you laid your head next to Kimi’s hand. You briefly looked up at him before exhaustion hit you full force.

It felt like you were asleep for hours, and maybe you were. You felt something gently running through your hair, across your cheekbones, down your arm, and eventually stopping at your hand. You registered that it was someone’s hand, and when you finally connected the dots, your eyes snapped open to see Kimi’s half-lidded eyes looking back at you.

“I’m sorry, did I scare you, Tesoro (sweetheart)?” His groggy voice asked quietly as his hand moved back up to cup your cheek. He gently wiped away the stray tears that had collected on your lashline as you struggled to form words. “You don’t have to say anything. We can talk later. All you need to know is I’m okay, I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere.”

“Can I lay with you?” It came out before you registered it. Was it against hospital policy? Could be, but it didn’t stop Kimi from shifting over in the bed to make space for you. It also didn’t stop you from immediately climbing on next to him, being careful of the wires and injuries he had. You gently laid your head on his chest and wrapped an arm loosely around his stomach before looking up at him, “Is this okay?”

“If you’re comfortable, it’s perfect,” He replied in a soft tone with a smile as he placed a kiss on the top of your head. He adjusted his arm around you so the wires hung off the side of the bed, and he could still hold you. “Anything to make you feel better.”

“You just got in the accident, not me,” You chuckled halfheartedly. “I should be working around what you’re comfortable with.”

“You are,” He pointed out, “I’m comfortable when you’re comfortable. And it’s not like you're pulling on my IV or anything. We’re both comfy now, so why don’t you try to get some more sleep?”

“What about you?” You asked sleepily. The now-comfortable position made it a lot harder to stay awake, especially now that you were able to talk to Kimi and give yourself peace of mind.

“They should be in here shortly to check in,” Kimi answered before kissing the tip of your nose. “Get some sleep. I feel like it was a hard day for you. I’ll be here when you wake up, don’t worry, Tesoro.”

“Ti amo, Tesoro (I love you, sweetheart),” You whispered against Kimi’s lips as you placed one last kiss before falling asleep.

~~~~~

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vestaignis · 4 months ago

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Одна из альтернативных достопримечательностей Берлина - Шпреепарк, заброшенный парк аттракционов с трагической судьбой.

Парк открыли в 1969 году на берлинском полуострове Плэнтервальд, и до 1989 года он оставался единственным парком развлечений в ГДР. Для учредителей было важно, что место несет не только увеселительный, но и образовательный характер.Так появилось название “Культурный парк” — Kulturpark Plänterwald. Кроме катания на аттракционах и американских горках в Kulturpark можно было сходить на концерт или танцевальный вечер.После объединения Германии стало понятно: старому парку не место в новом Берлине. Берлинский сенат организовал тендер среди подрядчиков, чтобы превратить уже не модный Культурный парк в настоящую мекку развлечений по лучшим западным образцам: в берлинский Диснейленд.

Новыми владельцами парка стала семья Витте. Они переименовали место в Spreepark («Парк у реки Шпрее»), закупили огромное количество новых аттракционов, ввели плату за вход в парк и устроили реорганизацию. Многие аттракционы они привезли из разорившегося французского парка Мираполис, в том числе знаменитую железную дорогу и карусель с чашками, на которых был изображен старый талисман компании Nesquik — кролик Groquik. Из Франции в Германию также переехали трех- и четырехметровые динозавры и два мамонта: огромные фигуры сразу стали в Шпреепарке любимцами публики. Стегозавр, тираннозавр, апатозавр, стиракозавр с товарищами встречали гостей у входа в парк, возвышались над деревьями и приводили в восторг посетителей.

До 2000 года дела у Шпреепарка шли неплохо. Но цена билетов постоянно росла, при этом мест для парковки не хватало, а сами аттракционы стремительно старели. Число посетителей упало с полутора миллиона до четырехсот тысяч, у парка появились долги, и компанию-учредителя признали банкротом. И в 2001 году парк закрылся. Но на владельце Spreepark по-прежнему висел долг в € 11 млн, поэтому он решился…открыть новый парк! На этот раз в Перу, для чего он перенаправил туда шесть своих аттракционов. Но и там дело не пошло.

Сейчас в парке остались многие аттракционы, на которых можно сделать интересные фотографии. Самый большой аттракцион – колесо обозрения, до сих пор крутится благодаря ветру. Также здесь есть американские горки, ракеты, машинки. С марта 2019 года в Шпреепарке проводятся организованные экскурсии (на немецком и английском языках). Посетители могут ознакомиться с историей парка, осмотреть еще сохранившиеся аттракционы, постройки. Их продолжительность – 1,5 часа. Помимо этого, парк стал местом проведения различных выставок уличного искусства, вечеров и встреч с художниками и музыкантами.

One of Berlin's alternative attractions is Spreepark, an abandoned amusement park with a tragic fate.

The park opened in 1969 on Berlin's Planterwald peninsula, and until 1989 it remained the only amusement park in the GDR. It was important to the founders that the place not only had an entertaining, but also an educational character. This is how the name "Culture Park" - Kulturpark Plänterwald - appeared. In addition to riding the rides and roller coasters, you could go to a concert or dance evening in Kulturpark. After the unification of Germany, it became clear: the old park had no place in the new Berlin. The Berlin Senate organized a tender among contractors to turn the no longer fashionable Kulturpark into a real mecca of entertainment according to the best Western examples: Berlin Disneyland.

The Witte family became the new owners of the park. They renamed the place Spreepark, bought a huge number of new rides, introduced an entrance fee and reorganized the park. They brought many rides from the bankrupt French park Mirapolis, including the famous railway and the carousel with cups, which depicted the old mascot of the Nesquik company - the Groquik rabbit. Three- and four-meter dinosaurs and two mammoths also moved from France to Germany: huge figures immediately became favorites of the public in Spreepark. Stegosaurus, tyrannosaurus, apatosaurus, styracosaurus and friends greeted guests at the entrance to the park, towered over the trees and delighted visitors.

Until 2000, Spreepark was doing well. But the price of tickets was constantly rising, there was a shortage of parking spaces, and the rides themselves were rapidly aging. The number of visitors dropped from one and a half million to four hundred thousand, the park got into debt, and the parent company was declared bankrupt. And in 2001, the park closed. But the owner of Spreepark still had a debt of € 11 million, so he decided to… open a new park! This time to Peru, for which he redirected six of his rides there. But things didn’t work out there either.

Now the park still has many rides on which you can take interesting photos. The largest ride is the Ferris wheel, which still spins thanks to the wind. There are also roller coasters, rockets, cars. Since March 2019, Spreepark has been offering organized tours (in German and English). Visitors can learn about the history of the park, see the remaining rides and buildings. They last 1.5 hours. In addition, the park has become a venue for various street art exhibitions, evenings and meetings with artists and musicians.

Источник:/stalkers.info/zabroshennyj-park-attraktsionov-spreepark/, //www.gavailer.ru/journal/685.html,/ru-travel.livejournal.com / 27731230.html,/andrreas.livejournal.com/756034.html,/berlin24.ru/ru/news/novosti-germanii-segodnja-v-novostjah/6733-urban-trip-v-berline.html,/directfromberlin.wordpress.com/2018/09/14/abandoned-amusement-park-spreepark-in-berlin/,/samokatus.ru/shpreepark-ot-rascveta-do-zakata/.

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all-things-are-nothing-to-me · 11 days ago

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Left to right. First row.

1. The Faggots and Their Friends Between Revolutions by Larry Mitchell.

In a joyous and perverse intermingling of fable, myth, heterotopian vision, and pocket wisdom, The Faggots & Their Friends tell us stories of the 70s gay countercultures and offer us strategies and wisdom for our own time living Between Revolutions. These pages sketch a different shape to time and offer instructions for living within it. This story, like our own, plays out in liminal time. Not the time of revolution, and not after-the-revolution, the story occurs between revolutions. Being between revolutions: being enmeshed in slow entropy, in abandoned spaces, in lives forged without recourse to “winning” or “after.” The faggots feel this disintegration, and live best when empires are falling.

2. Be Gay, Do Crime by The Mary Nardini Gang.

Among the discordant chorus of anons who penned the defining texts of the queer anarchist network Bash Back!, none was more fervent in its glorification of criminal desire, decadent hedonism, and social undoing than the Milwaulkee-based Mary Nardini Gang. Their fiery “Towards the Queerest Insurrection” still circulates as an integral manifesto of riotous queerness, while the “Criminal Intimacy” and “Whore Theory” have made their more subterranean way into innumerable conversations and correspondences.

Ten years later, the secretive group supplements these collected writings with a subtle retrospective. Carefully unlocking the hidden layers of their theses on insurrection, they face up to what they got wrong, concede that the world ended somewhere between the Greek insurrection of 2008 and now, and insist upon the vital task of ushering new worlds into being as we live amid the decomposition and cataclysmic death throes of the old one. To their theses on insurrection, they prepend a new arcana tooled for opening onto the queerest of outsides.

Dedicated to their friends among the dead, this pocket edition is a necromantic mirror, an encrypted message to old loves, and an invitation to those finding these words for the first time.

3. The Criminal Child by Jean Genet.

“As for me, I have chosen: I will be on the side of crime. And I will help the children, not to win back access to your houses, your factories, your schools, your laws, and sacraments, but to destroy them.”

So reads this new clandestine translation of a previously censored and unavailable text by Jean Genet. “The Criminal Child” is a critical engagement with the French youth prisons, a reflection on Genet’s formative years within them, a document of hostility towards society and its benevolent reformers, and – as argued by the anonymous afterword – an initiatory magical system.

5. Witchcraft and the Gay Counterculture by Arthur Evans.

This radical faerie classic, first published in 1978 by Fag Rag Press, uncovers the hidden mythic link between homosexuality and paganism in an elegy for the world of sex and magic vanquished by Christian civilization. From Joan of Arc to the Cathars and the underground worshippers of Diana, the author shows how every upwelling of gender transgression and sexual freedom was targeted by the authorities for total and often violent repression or appropriation. The concluding manifesto calls for pagan reconnection with the living world, the creation of armed anarchist cells, and the destruction of industrial civilization.

Left to right. Row 2.

1. What is Gender Nihilism? A Reader.

A collection gathering readings for discussions on an end to gender: not the proliferation or liberation of gender, but its catastrophic cancellation. The reader brings together writings as old as 1883 and as recent as 2015, juxtaposing nihilist, radical feminist, queer, trans, anticolonial, communizing and insurrectionary approaches with other unclassifiable textual/existential disruptions. Many of the readings are out of print or have only appeared online or in zine form, and include: Adrienne Rich, Monique Wittig, Michel Foucault, Judith Butler, A.R. Stone, Paul B. Preciado, the entities known as Radicalesbians, Gender Mutiny, Baedan, Ehn Nothing, Laboria Cuboniks and, as always, Anonymous. Also includes “My Preferred Gender Pronoun is Negation,” “Gender Nihilism” by Aidan Rowe, and the gender nihilism anti-manifesto that inspired the collection.

2. Baedan 1 – journal of queer nihilism.

3. Baedan 2 – a queer journal of heresy.

If the first issue of Baedan was a knife thrust wildly in the dark, the second is an effort to examine our enemies in a new light; enemies who bear scars yet endure. In a sense, this issue follows through our initial attack and pushes beyond our own horrors at the consequences of words. We write at a time when everything which seemed slightly possible two years ago has borne its rotten fruit; when queer recuperation has become more powerful and accepted than ever, while the fetish for technology has reached an unprecedented frenzy; when so many efforts at subversion languish under the tyranny of cybernetic identity and aesthetics (even our own etymologies have become identities!); when friends turn away out of fear of the unknown, turn toward all the comforts and certainties of the past (identity politics, traditionalism, religious morality, activism, et al). The old enemies rear their heads and the terrain is as bleak as ever. And yet we take seriously that adage: “There’s no need to fear or hope, but only to look for new weapons.”

4. Baedan 3 – journal of queer time travel.

Bædan: journal of queer time travel marks a further attempt to pose and to flesh out a queer critique of civilization. Queer not only in the sense of coming from those outside and disruptive of the Family, but also in the sense of a critique weirder than its more orthodox cousins. We imagine the Bædan project as an effort to pose the critique of civilization otherwise, to begin from another place. In this issue (and beyond…) we have conjured a strange bestiary of thinking, trying to unearth and trace the tradition of anti-civilization thought in the literature of queerness and in queerness as immanent critique.

*I couldn't find this one online*

#queer nihilism #queer anarchism

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ipso-faculty · 6 months ago

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Infinity symbols: a guide to their variations

Infinity symbols are popular in graphic design for good reason. In this post, I'm gonna describe ways to vary up the designs of infinity symbols. My goal is to educate fellow neurodivergent people on how to make infinity symbols that don't look like the Métis flag.

The neurodiversity community has been using rainbow infinity symbols since 2005. Here are neurodiversity flags from 2013, 2016, and 2019:

However, there's a problem with some of the new flag designs for a flag that is autism-specific. Here are some of the contenders:

These use a solid white infinity symbol. The solid white infinity curve is a symbol of Métis.

The Métis flag, created in 1815, has a white lemniscate on red background. Nowadays the Métis use the blue version more often. And to the right is the Métis queer pride flag:

For those unfamiliar, the Métis are one of the major Indigenous groups in what is now Canada, with most of their >600,000 population in the western and central parts of the country. The word métis means half-breed in French; lower-case m métis refers to those with mixed Indigenous and European ancestry. Capital-M Métis refers to the specific culture of métis that emerged, distinct from both Indigenous and settler cultures, and speaking hybrid languages such as Michif.

The issue of likeness has been brought up many times. While I can believe the autistic flag makers didn't know about the issue when making their designs, I know at least one of them was promptly informed of the issue and dismissed it.

The autistic community writ large has been pretty dismissive about this issue. I wonder if some of the defensiveness comes from not seeing an alternative - thinking that infinity symbol design is all or nothing.

I have some good news: it's possible to make infinity symbols that don't look Métis!

HOW INFINITY SYMBOLS VARY (PART ONE)

ASPECT A: TOPOLOGY

The first way we can categorize infinity symbols is their topology. These four varieties are most common

Topology 1: Open infinity symbol - this is the oldest style of using a figure-8 shape to represent the mathematical concept of infinity. On the left is the version Euler used.

Topology 2: Lemniscate - a closed curve. On the left is the Metis flag. The curve is one solid entity: notice how the rainbow gradient on the right fills the whole thing.

Topology 3: Infinity *loop* - imagine you take a hair tie or rubber band and twist it. One part of the infinity loop is clearly in front, with another part clearly behind it. Loops are well established for neurodiversity and I think we should stick to using these.

Notice in the left example how the pattern flips between left and right. Also compare the rainbow gradient on the right to the lemniscate rainbow gradient above it. -

Topology 4: Infinity *ribbon* - instead of a hair tie, use a ribbon. Ribbons have sides, producing an infinity loop that shows two sides.

ASPECT B: THICKNESS

Line width can vary, which also helps to convey a loop! Again, I think we should be sticking to infinity loops when it comes to autistic/ND designs.

Option 1: Constant Thickness The lemniscate on the Metis flag has a constant line width, as does this neurodiversity rainbow gradient from 2016. I think we should avoid constant thickness.

Option 2: Variable Thickness A variable thickness can help to reinforce that an infinity symbol is a loop rather than a solid lemniscate. There are a lot of ways to play with line thickness!

Many neurodiversity infinities are variable thickness and I think we should opt for this to steer clear of Metis territory.

THIS WILL BE CONTINUED IN A SECOND POST (tumblr has a limit of 30 images per post)

But just in case the second post gets lost in reblogs: I think variable thickness, combined with a loop topology, is what we should be using for neurodiversity & autism. E.g.

CONTINUED IN NEXT POST

#neurodiversity #neurodivergent pride #neurodiversity pride #neurodivergent #autism #autistic pride #autism pride #actually autistic #autistic flag #neurodiversity flag #flag design #graphic design #metis

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girlsdressingrooms · 9 months ago

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Iris Barrel Apfel, Decorator and Fashion Stylist

(August 29, 1921 – March 1, 2024)

Ms. Apfel was one of the most vivacious personalities in the worlds of fashion, textiles, and interior design, she has cultivated a personal style that is both witty and exuberantly idiosyncratic.

Her originality was typically revealed in her mixing of high and low fashions—Dior haute couture with flea market finds, nineteenth-century ecclesiastical vestments with Dolce & Gabbana lizard trousers.

With remarkable panache and discernment, she combines colors, textures, and patterns without regard to period, provenance, and, ultimately, aesthetic conventions. Paradoxically, her richly layered combinations—even at their most extreme and baroque—project a boldly graphic modernity.

Iris Barrel was born on Aug. 29, 1921, in Astoria, Queens, the only child of Samuel Barrel, who owned a glass and mirror business, and his Russian-born wife, Sadye, who owned a fashion boutique.

She studied art history at New York University, then qualified to teach and did so briefly in Wisconsin before fleeing back to New York to work on Women's Wear Daily, and for interior designer Elinor Johnson, decorating apartments for resale and honing her talent for sourcing rare items before opening her own design firm. She was also an assistant to illustrator Robert Goodman.

As a distinguished collector and authority on antique fabrics, Iris Apfel has consulted on numerous restoration projects that include work at the White House that spanned nine presidencies from Harry Truman to Bill Clinton.

Along with her husband, Carl, she founded Old World Weavers, an international textile manufacturing company and ran it until they retired in 1992. The Apfels specialized in the reproduction of fabrics from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, and traveled to Europe twice a year in search of textiles they could not source in the United States.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute assembled 82 ensembles and 300 accessories from her personal collection in 2005 in a show about her called “Rara Avis”.

Almost overnight, Ms. Apfel became an international celebrity of pop fashion.

Ms. Apfel was seen in a television commercial for the French car DS 3, became the face of the Australian fashion brand Blue Illusion, and began a collaboration with the start-up WiseWear. A year later, Mattel created a one-of-a-kind Barbie doll in her image. Last year, she appeared in a beauty campaign for makeup with Ciaté London.

Six years after the Met show she started her fashion line "Rara Avis" with the Home Shopping Network.

She was cover girl of Dazed and Confused, among many other publications, window display artist at Bergdorf Goodman, designer and design consultant, then signed to IMG in 2019 as a model at age 97.

Ms. Iris Apfel became a visiting professor at the University of Texas at Austin in its Division of Textiles and Apparel, teaching about imagination, craft and tangible pleasures in a world of images.

In 2018, she published “Iris Apfel: Accidental Icon,” an autobiographical collection of musings, anecdotes and observations on life and style.

Ms. Apfel’s apartments in New York and Palm Beach were full of furnishings and tchotchkes that might have come from a Luis Buñuel film: porcelain cats, plush toys, statuary, ornate vases, gilt mirrors, fake fruit, stuffed parrots, paintings by Velázquez and Jean-Baptiste Greuze, a mannequin on an ostrich.

The Museum of Lifestyle & Fashion History in Boynton Beach, Florida, is designing a building that will house a dedicated gallery of Ms. Apfel's clothes, accessories, and furnishings.

Ms. Apfel’s work had a universal quality, It’s was a trend.

Rest in Power !

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mydaddywiki · 4 months ago

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Jason Kenney

Physique: Husky Build Height: 5' 10" (1.77 m)

Jason Thomas Kenney PC ECA (born May 30, 1968) is a former Canadian politician who served as the 18th premier of Alberta from 2019 until 2022, and the leader of the United Conservative Party (UCP) from 2017 until 2022. He also served as the member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Calgary-Lougheed from 2017 until 2022. Kenney was the last leader of the Alberta Progressive Conservative Party (PC Party) before the party merged with the Wildrose Party to form the UCP. Prior to entering Alberta provincial politics, he served in various cabinet posts under Prime Minister Stephen Harper from 2006 to 2015.

Kenney studied philosophy at the University of San Francisco, but returned to Canada without completing his degree. In 1989, he was hired as the first executive director of the Alberta Taxpayers Association before becoming the president and chief executive officer of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. Kenney was elected to the House of Commons in the 1997 federal election for the Reform Party. In 2000, he was re-elected as a Canadian Alliance candidate and then was re-elected five times as a candidate for the Conservative Party of Canada.

Handsome, nice full lips, husky with nice wide hips. And that brings me to that bangable ass of his that looks good in a pair of jeans. You should know by now, I have the biggest weakness for big, thick asses and this guy his one of the best. Problem is, he’s losing weight. Jason you can lose the weight, just don’t lose that butt. Because if I visit Canada one day, I want to take him out for a test ride. You know what mean. Fucking.

Lets see, Kenney is bilingual, speaking French and English. He has never been married and has no children. Wait a minute. A tough-talking Conservative who has never been married and apparently doesn’t like to be open about his personal life. I think I need to visit Canada. Now. Not to offer Kenney the DICK and video tape it for posterity. It’s to see the beautiful country of Canada of course. And if that other thing happens, all the better.

#mydaddywiki politicians #Jason Kenney

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ladysomething · 2 months ago

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Did I read hanahaki fic ? Yes, omg, yes !! I don't think I have read any hanahaki lestappen, you HAVE to do it, the people needs it. Though, I need to ask, happy or tragic ending ? I😱🌸

happy ending of COURSE!

I actually have some of it written, so here, have some!

2019

“Hanahaki is often misrepresented, Max,” Francois says gently, French accent stilted. “It’s not often a terminal illness, and you are in the very early stages. It can easily be resolved.”

Max purses his lips.

He’s sure that’s the case for others, but it’s not that easy for him.

“What do you actually know about Hanahaki?”

Max sighs, slumping down in his seat. Truthfully, he knows barely anything, just what he’s seen on TV; that the cause is unrequited love, that the longer is goes the more flowers will grow around his heart and in his lungs, that he could have them surgically removed but risk possibly side effects if he does.

He’d known that when he’d coughed up his first flower on the flight back from this year’s Austrian GP he was in trouble. He’d known he needed to see a doctor immediately.

He knows who it is that he’s in love with that is the cause of all this, too.

Francois sighs, then opens his drawer and plucks out a pamphlet. He hands it over to Max, who makes sure to let Francois know how reluctant he is by taking about two seconds too long to take it from him.

“I’m sure you’ve been told it’s cause is unrequited love, but that isn’t true,” Francois says. “The cause of Hanahaki is an inability to be honest about your feelings with the person who is the object of your affections. The more you lie, and keep your feelings inside, the more the flowers will choke you. The person does not need to return your feelings, Max. You just have to tell them.”

Well.

That would be nice, he supposes, if it made any difference at all.

But just as impossible as it is for Charles Leclerc to return his feelings, it’s equally as impossible for Max to tell him. With who they are, the sport they’re in, what his dad would say—

No. Whether Charles reciprocates is the least of his worries.

2023

Max doesn’t see Charles’ Instagram post until after he’s already landed back in Nice, and by that point it’s hours old and the headlines are insane.

There’s not much else for them to focus on, he supposes, considering he’d won the Championship weeks ago. The final race of the season was interesting only to those invested in the results of the Constructors, so Charles casually revealing he’s suffering from a chronic illness is much more exciting to the world.

CHARLES LECLERC REVEALS HANAHAKI DIAGNOSIS

CAN CHARLES LECLERC STILL RACE IN 2024?

SHOULD THE FIA BAN CHARLES LECLERC FROM F1?

Max considers calling Charles as soon as he see’s it.

He wants to know how he’s doing, how bad his symptoms are, what his management plan is. What doctor is he seeing? How often are his check ups? What medication has he been given, and is he getting any side effects?

What, exactly, is it that has Charles so torn up he’s developed Hanahaki?

When Max was diagnosed, he told only a few select people. The one’s who had to know—Christian, the Red Bull board—and the one’s he wanted to know—his mother and Victoria, Daniel. They’d all been so overbearing for days, weeks, months afterwards, and Max had felt even more suffocated from their attention than he had from the fucking flowers.

He locks his phone and tucks it into his pocket as he disembarks the plane, ignoring how tight his chest becomes as he does.

#anon ask #hanahaki au #lestappen fic ideas

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fatehbaz · 1 year ago

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Hmm. Alarming trend in mass incarceration in Central America.

Also: Very disingenuous wordplay here.

Where do we begin?

-- Very disingenuous for multiple outlets to run with "the West”. Though this initial AP article does specify that this refers to the Western Hemisphere, the choice to run headlines with “West” kinda implies that there are no other island prisons in “The West” (as in the European Union, the United States, Australia, etc.).

-- One of the most infamous incarceration schemes on the planet is Australia’s “Pacific Solution,” a “solution” to refugee migration centered on the imprisonment of asylum seekers on island prisons, including the infamous prisons at Nauru and Manus, both opened initially in 2001, and re-fortified after 2012. (Nauru is extremely isolated, in the South Pacific, 3000 kilometers away from the Australian coast; the Manus detention centre is far away off the northeast coast of Papua.) Since 2012, over 3,125 people have been sent to Nauru while over 4,180 people have been sent to Manus. (The “last refugee held on the Pacific island of Nauru under Australia’s offshore detention policy” was “evacuated” to mainland Australia only on 24 June 2023, not even a month prior to this headline.)

-- Obviously the EU incarcerates refugees on Mediterranean islands, notoriously at Moria on Lesbos, whose international reputation as the home of Sappho has been supplanted by its reputation as a de facto prison for asylum seekers. In October 2015, over 10,000 people landed on Lesbos in just one day. In 2017, the island averaged 2,500 arrivals per month. By 2019, humanitarian investigations showed that over 10,000 people were being held in a facility with a maximum capacity of 3,000. In 2020, fires left over 12,000 refugees on the island without shelter. By December 2021, Doctors Without Borders raised alarm that over 2,200 refugees were living in “dire” conditions on the island. As of early 2023, Lesbos (along with Kos, Leros, Chios, and Samos) is hosting over 4,500 people who are stuck in “reception and identification centers.”

-- And in the Western Hemisphere? The US prison at Guantanomo, also on the coast of an island in this same sea.

-- One of the most notorious island prisons was the early twentieth century French penal colony on the periphery of the Caribbean region at Guiana (run by a France, a “Western” power, in the Western Hemisphere), known internationally as “Devil’s Island.”

-- The federal government says the prison will be built “in harmony with nature.”

-- A prison ... in harmony with nature.

-- An island prison in the Caribbean, a region fundamentally and intimately connected to centuries of imprisonment, plantations, Indigenous genocide, antiBlackness, racial castes, and chattel slavery, all achieved and enforced through the bounded, isolated geographic containment structure allowed by islands.

-- And this is extra-worrying, because it seems it’s a regional trend, evidently for Honduras, El Salvador, and Colombia.

-- Merely a few days before this headline about Honduras, international outlets were profiling Honduras’s direct neighbor, El Salvador, with headlines like “Inside El Salvador’s new ‘mega prison’” (Al Jazeera) and, within the past couple months, headlines like “Prisoners are being tortured to death in El Salvador’s prisons” (VICE News).

-- From less than a week before this AP headline, we have BBC: “El Salvador’s secretive mega-jail.”

-- Don’t forget nearby Tapachula’s detention of asylum seekers.

Still discussing implementation of literal island prisons despite our collective familiarity with carceral archipelagoes.

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imaginaryf1shots · 1 year ago

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My Girls (|V) | Max Verstappen

Words count: 5K

Driver!oc X Max Verstappen

Platonic!Driver!oc X the grid

Summery: Cecilia Hansson daughter of a Swedish billionaire, a race car driver, with a dream of making it big in Formula 1. However she has a few secrets that may hurt her as women are disliked in the sport.

Series Warnings: google translated french, dutch, cursing, child abandment, absent father, drinking, car accidents, Jos Verstappen, misogyny, Christian horner (tell me if i missed anything)

A/N: This is a secondary blog so I won't be able to respond but I'm adding you all, just send it in the ask me anything if I missed ou by mistake.

Masterlist

Series Masterlist

Max Masterlist

Previous || Next

Winter love

Finally it’s the end of the year break, a couple of months to have fun and let loose, I mean have fun before Covid hits, but no one knows about that yet.

Lando was back in the UK and he kept asking Cecilia to get on the sim for them to race a little in the F1 2019 game.

Lando(on call)

Come on Cece, why won’t you just get on for a little race?

Cecilia

Lando, I swear to god how many times do I have to tell you that I have a daughter who I haven’t spent-

Lando/Cecilia

Much time with her and like to spend some-

Cecilia

You’re an asshole

They laughed as she shook her head at his antics, to her Lando felt like the little brother she never had.

Lando

Come on, she sleeps at what? 8?

Cecilia

half past seven

Lando

See, besides you need to keep up your hard work, just because you came 5th in the championship and won Rookie of the year doesn’t mean you can slack off.

Cecilia

Piss off Norris, we just finished last week

Lando

So while everyone is slacking you should be having fun with me, we haven’t done a race in a long time

Cecilia

Fine, I’ll text you when I put Nattie to bed

Lando

Cool, now let me talk to my niece, I miss her

Cecilia

I don’t understand you

Lando

You don't have to

Switching to facetime, Lando talked with Nattie for a while before she had to eat.

True to her words that night Cecilia put Nattie to bed, she read her a story and sang her a song, Nattie fell asleep hugging Cecilia and it took everything for her to leave her asleep and not just spend the night in her daughter’s bed.

She texted Lando that she’ll be ready in a couple minutes. Lando got excited and texted her that he’s ready. Turning on her PS5, she got ready and had discord open on her laptop next to her, it seemed like Lando forgot to tell her that they weren’t going to be the only ones, he had some of his friends and Alex as well, she didn’t really mind, she’s met Lando’s friends in the passing before when they came to the paddock.

Everything was going great, they chose the track, who they’d be playing as, Cecilia of course chose herself. But you can’t have everything, not evening a nice game with your friends.

“Cecilia what the fuck?” Lando shouted down the microphone, his voice hurting her ear, her car stopped and wouldn’t move, making him crash into her, they lost their P3 and P2. as their friends laughed and passed them.

“I’m sorry, I don't know what’s going on!” She tried to make her car move but nothing she did made her car move. “I think my paddles are disconnected, I’ll try to reconnect them, you guys continue without me, I’ll join the next round.”

She tried everything she could, connecting and disconnecting, plugging in and out she even restarted her PS5, but nothing seemed to work.

“Something is wrong with my simulator, it’s not working.” Cecilia sounded stressed, she stood back looking at her setup.

“You’re not backing out to spend time with your family are you?” Alex teased her, she knew he meant Nathalie but with Lando’s friends he was careful.

“No, I think I’m the only one awake, it’s not working, the game won’t turn on anymore, I’m getting stressed.” Cecilia said, and logged off not long after, there’s nothing more she can do at the moment.

Apparently she had to get a new one, she had someone come take a look at it, and she had to order a new one, and who knew how long it’ll take for that to happen. When the pandemic hit, she knew there would be no way she'd get her sim for a long time, which was bad for her, not because she couldn't play with her friends, but because it’s something that kept her in a racing mood, and kept her skills sharp in the down season. So she found herself texting Charles to ask him if she could come by sometimes to get on the sim, but he was quarantining with Charlotte and they met with their separate families, which would make it harder for her, since she didn’t want to really get in contact with too many people, so she turned to Max, the only other driver she had in mind. Lewis was in the UK with his family and there wasn’t an abundance of Drivers she was close to who were in Monaco at the moment.

Setting up time with Max was easy since they were quarenting and there wasn't much anyone could do, with her mask on and a short drive later Cecilia made it to Max’s house, she’s never been there before. Walking in she didn't know what to expect, but he had set up his house pretty nicely.

“Thank you so much Max.” Cecilia thanked Max after greeting him with a hug.

“Hey, I'm happy to help a rival out.” He poked at her, she knew at this point they were more friends than anything else, but still they’ve never really been alone before. So that made her a little nervous, seeing Max in his casual clothes and not his team kit made them distance themselves from their work. For her standing there, they were just two friends.

“I think we’re past that.” She placed her clammy hands in the back pockets of her jeans awkwardly.

“I agree, do you want something to drink?” Mask asked and led her through his penthouse and to the kitchen.

“It’s okay, thank you.”

“So what happened with your simulator?” Max asked and took out a tea box and waved it for Cecilia to see, she gave him a nod and he started the kittle.

“I have no idea, I was mid game with Lando and some other people, and suddenly mid race everything stopped working, I tried everything and nothing worked.” She explained leaning onto the island to watch him, he moved around with ease taking out tea cups and sitting the tea bags in. “Dad called someone in to check it out before lockdown and I just couldn't get it in before then.”

“That's weird.”

“It is what it is, I guess we get to hang out now because of it.” She said with a smile and a shrug, Max gave Cecilia her cup before they moved to the room had his simulator sat in, walking in she laughed when she saw two simulators, not one, admittedly one was more advanced with RedBull logo and the other looked like that once she had at home. “Colour me impressed, Mr. Verstappen.”

“Laugh all you want, but now we can race each other, one on one.” Max looked smug with himself. He had no shame, it came in handy now and he didn’t regret it, I mean he lives here all alone, yes he doesn’t stay home a lot but when he does it does get a little lonely.

“I like the way you think.” Patting his back she walked up to the RedBull one and looked at it before she looked at him with a smile, he couldn't say no to her, he let her try it. Max sat everything up for Cecilia and him and they took turns choosing what circuits to play, both playing as themselves. “Is any of your family here in Monaco?”

“No, no, I just came back from the Netherlands when the lockdown started.” Max said and tried to pass the female driver, but she was blocking him very well.

“It must be lonely being here alone.” Cecilia said thinking about how lonely she’d be if she didn't have her family with her, she’d definitely lose her mind.

“It’s alright.” Max didn’t mind it that much, he got used to it, besides he did call his family and check on them to see how things are over there.

“You should come over sometime, as long as you don’t come in contact with anyone, we have a child at home after all.” Cecilia spared him a look before she passed the chequered flag and won the race.

“It’s okay, but I do want to see Nathalie again.”

“Believe me she does too, I don’t know what you two talked about when you found her but she’s been going on and on about you.” Max smiled and turned to look at Cecilia, she was already facing him, they were finished for the day. “And, if you need more convincing, We have a hell of a gym at home, I mean you’d meet my parents, but they’re chill.”

“I didn’t know you had a gym at home.” Max stood up and Cecilia followed suit, they naturally integrated to the sofa in the back of the room, she sat at one end facing him with her legs tucked under her and her back to the armrest.

“We had everything installed after I gave birth, I needed to get in shape and with how small Nathalie was I couldn’t take her with me, and I didnt want to leave her, not even counting feeding her.” Cecilia said fondly, sometimes she feels like Nathalie is growing up too fast. “Sometimes I miss when she was that small, she was so cute.”

“Do you have some pictures?” Cecilia fished out her phone and went to the album on her phone labelled Nathalie 2017, she had her pictures all categorised with the year. Moving closer they both were sitting side by side as she showed him the photos explaining some of the stories behind them. They went so back in the album, there was a photo of Cecilia on the hospital bed with a newborn Nathalie sleeping on her, skin touching skin, Cecilia looked so tired and sweaty in the photos, to Max she looked so young. “You were 18, right?”

“Yeah, I got pregnant at 17 but gave birth after my 18th.” His admiration for the girl just kept growing, he looked at her and noticed how close they were sitting, their thighs touching, he could smell the perfume she had sprayed. He moved his arm to push back her hair to be able to see her face when he stopped himself and cleared his throat.

“I can’t get over how much she looks like you.” Max said trying to distract himself, Cecilia looked up and their eyes met, they were still close she felt like she could see all the shades of blue with flickers of hazel in his eyes.

“My mum says she’s my twin.” Her voice was soft, both their eyes flickered down to their lips, and just as the thought of how his lips would feel on hers passed her mind, she smiled and leaned back creating distance naturally without leaving any awkwardness between them. Soon after Cecilia left with the promise of coming back again later in the week.

The due kept meeting regularly, and Max started hoping her sim would never get delivered. When their meeting time arrived for the week, Cecilia came in with her mask, a backpack on her shoulder, a bag in one arm and her child in the other. The woman was always thankful for her F1 training. Once Nathalie saw the male driver her three year old legs carried her as fast as she could to the driver. Max leaned down and caught her, pulling her up in his arms and giving her a hug.

“Hello, Thalia.” He greets the three year old, stepping back to let her mother move in the house, he took the bag from her hand in a swift motion.

“Hello Max.” Nathalie said with a smile. “We made you cookies!”

“Oh did you?” Max asked her with a smile, he looked at cecilia and she pointed to the bag in his hand, it had tupperware in it, once her mum knew he was here alone, she gave Cecilia some home cooked food, and since she and Nattie made cookies, they decided to bring some.

“Yes, mummy can eat those.” Cecilia shook her head, the cookies they made were okay for her diet, she did make a patch of normal cookies as well.

“I’m sure I’ll love them.” Sitting her down the girl looked around curiously, she started walking around, giving the adults time to greet each other. “Hey.”

“Hey, she’s a bit hyper and had some cookies when we weren’t looking after we gave her some.” Cecilia said and looked at her daughter, she was a mischievous little thing. “I think she talks to Charles too much, I always catch him encouraging her.”

Cecilia sat her bag on the sofa, and took the bag Max held and walked to his kitchen, her daughter and Max followed suit. It made her chuckle. “Mum made you some food, I hope it’s not too much, but she’s a family woman, always wanting to feed people, I think that’s why my brother is her favourite, since I can’t eat everything she makes.”

“It’s okay, thank her for me.”

“Or you can come by like I asked and thank her yourself.”

“Grand-mère makes good food.” Nattie agreed looking up at the duo, Cecilia ruffled her hair thinking how cute her girl is. “Maman! Stop!”

“Yes Cecilia don’t ruffle her hair.” Shaking her head she continued with getting out the tupperware and placing what needed to be placed in the fridge inside of it.

“Mon ange, do you want to watch a movie?” The girl nodded her head and they moved to the sim room, Cecilia gave her daughter her Ipad where she chose to watch cars, ironically. An hour in Max and Cecilia played 8 tracks with 5 laps in each track, all this playing made them aware of the other’s techniques, it was different from real life, but still with similarities, Cecilia would sometimes push cars off track to try and make Max lose, and he may have cursed or gotten mad at other people but not her, he just shook his head and continued on.

They had a late lunch break before Nattie made them play a game with her, the sugar she had in her system took a couple of hours before she crashed, Max slowly got her up from the floor where she fell asleep and carried her to the guest bedroom, after Cecilia tucked her in they moved once more to the living room, they sun had set and they had dim lights on. Max got a bottle of wine with a cheeky look on his face. He only saw Cecilia drink once and that was at her first win, never again, she would get out with them but never drink.

“I drove here.” She whined, wanting a glass of wine.

“Then stay, Nattie is already sleeping.” Max offered and popped open the bottle.

“I don’t know.” She was unsure, she knows that her and Max have gotten closer and she knows where this friendship is heading, she talked to Charles about it once, and told her to trust her instinct and if she felt like it to go for it, but to her the thinking is different, once she became a mother her way of thinking about things changed 180 degrees, she’s not number one anymore it’s her girl. Even if you push that away, Max is amazing with Nattie that is true, but she can’t get him into that, she can’t be sure if he’ll want to be in Nattie’s life, to be a male figure and possibly a father figure. Besides they are colleagues, with jobs that are under the microscope, the moment the public finds out it will be a shit show, and if they ever broke up then what? How can she stare at him 10 months of the year knowing they had something at one point. Too many things could go wrong, and she’s not ready to put herself or her daughter’s hearts on the line.

“Don’t overthink it.” Max could tell that her mind ran with thoughts too fast for either of them to grasp it. He poured her a glass and held it out to her, reluctantly she took it and took a small sip.

“You're a bad influence.”

“Some would beg to differ.” He responded with his own glass, after a moment of silence, he gathered his courage and asked the question he wanted to ask the moment he found out about Nathalie. “Can I ask you something?”

“Yeah sure go ahead, this is good wine by the way.” Cecilia kept her sips small, enjoying the taste.

“Is-is Thalia’s father around?” Cecilia stopped drinking, she just realised that she never talked with Max about it, Max kept his eyes on her, watching her every move waiting for a sign of discomfort.

“He isn’t, he dipped the second I told him I was pregnant.” Cecilia sat with her legs tucked under her once again with her back to the armrest. Her elbow resting on the back of the sofa with her arm holding her head up at her temple, Max also had his back to the end of the sofa. “The fucker left me on my own in a country I know no one in and I only saw his face once since then.”

“What a fucking dickhead.” Max couldn’t understand how some men could just get a girl pregnant and dip, it takes two to tango, knowing that there’s a child out there that is half them and leave them be.

“You can say that again, anyways, he only showed up once with his lawyer, to sign away his rights and told me to keep him out of this, he did try to threaten me.” She laughed remembering the day, Max was confused why she was laughing. “My brother had him almost pissing himself, he’s rich, my ex, extremely so, but my family is richer and more influential so, with one threat to call his dad he had his tail tucked between his legs and left with no fuss.”

“Where does he live?” Max doesn’t know why he asked, maybe he wanted to see if he could find him and maybe just maybe while he’s crossing the road a little something could happen.

“Last I heard in England, he’s British but he has family in Monaco, that’s how we met, he was older than me, thinking back now it was doomed from the start.” Cecilia leaned over and poured herself another glass, and offered to fill Max’s, he too needed another drink. “But you know what, I’d do it again just to have Nathalie, she’s the best thing that ever happened to me, she’s the reason I decided to race again.”

“What do you mean?”

“I was a teen when I got pregnant, and maybe yes I was 18 when I gave birth but I was still a teen at heart then too, you don’t just get older the instant your birthday hits, anyways I felt like a teen when I had her and I thought about quitting everything and just focus on us, but I couldn’t I didn’t want her to look back one day and see me give up when it got hard, I didn’t want her to think that having her ended my dream or that I didn’t work hard for it. No way, my mum is a housewife. Her dream was to have a family of her own, mine was to be an F1 driver.”

“Your dream was hard to achieve when you didn’t even have a child.” Max commented, all he wanted to do now is to pull her in for a long hug, to have her in his arms and protect her to help her like her ex should’ve, who’d let a woman like Cecilia slip through their fingers? A blind man in Max’s books.

“That’s true, and at times I thought that maybe I bit more than I can chew, I mean even now, with me coming fifth in the championship, Mclaren still has me on a yearly contract, and Lando got a three year contract.” Shrugging, it bothered her, Mclaren was applauded for being ‘feminists’ and accepting ‘diversity’ when they didn’t treat their drivers the same.

“That’s not fair.” Max frowned, Cecilia just shrugged. “Well RedBull will always be happy to have you.”

“I don’t know about that, you may hate it but Mercedes is where I wish to be.” Cecilia was honest with him, she hoped to one day be part of Mercedes.

“Because of Toto?”

“Yeah, he’s married to Susie so there’s that, she’s been working for years on including more women in the sport, and he’s always had her back at that.” Cecilia explained.

“But you know he likes Lewis so much, he will place him above you when it comes to priority.”

“Like Christain loves you, every team principal prefers one driver, but I feel like my luck there will be better, that’s why I’m going to prove to everyone that I deserve it next year.”

“I know you do.” Max found himself saying. “I’ve always believed in you.”

“Did you?” Cecilia whispered, Max nodded, her cheeks dusted pink. This is it. This is what Max wanted, he wanted to spend time with her talking, he wanted to talk to her before he fell asleep, to share their feelings and thoughts, talk about everything and anything, share things with each other they never did with anyone else. He wanted… he wants to feel less lonely when it’s late at night and he can’t fall asleep, he wants to have someone who he can speak to about everything, share his secrets with, he wants that.

“Yeah, I did, I do.” His tone matched hers, in the silence of the apartment and dim lights her light blue eyes met his darker ones in an enchanting fight, who’ll give up first, both drivers not used to giving up. Cecilia’s eyes ran down his nose to his lip and instinctively, ran her the tip of her tongue over her bottom lip witting it slightly, the tension in the room rose, Max swallowed and fought with himself to say something, change the subject, but evidently he was the loser between the two of them, he took a swing of his glass and finished it, before he leaned over and took hers placing them on the coffee table, Cecilia watched him with bated breath. Her eyes drew him in they were half closed, Max moved like a predator, a man on a mission, he inclined his face towards hers, it took her only a moment to feel his breath on her face before she pushed up and their lips met is a slow almost lazy kiss, their eyes closed as they lost themselves in the moment, her lips soft and already open, Maxed closed his lips around her bottom one, drawing her in, his nose nudged hers, and her arms moved to his hair holding him in place, afraid he’d pull back. Max’s arms moved to hold her waist and face, with the tip of his tongue he could taste the wine they just drank, deciding then that it tasted better coming from her lips.

It’s been years since Cecilia kissed someone, but she’s sure she’s never been kissed like this before. If kisses are supposed to make you feel like this, then she’s never been kissed before, the warmths of Max enveloped her and consumed her. Moving her head, she wanted more of him, wanted him to-

“Maman!” With a startled jump they pulled away from each other, Cecilia looked at Max like a deer caught in headlights, she didn’t say anything before she moved to see what her daughter wanted. She cursed herself for losing her resolve, for not sticking with her decisions, this just got messy. She hid away in the guest room with her daughter, thankfully she had her phone in her pocket and texted her mum that they’re spending the night.

She isn’t ready to face Max in the morning.

Next morning Cecilia wakes up and she raises her head and looks around for Nathalie but she’s nowhere to be found, slowly getting up, she doesn’t bother looking in the mirror, she slept in her jeans and shirt, yeah it wasn’t a comfortable sleep. Just as she places her hand on the knob to open the door, she remembers what happened last night. Fuck it felt so good, being this close to Max, her heart jumped and she felt all soft and tingly, she placed her forehead on the door and closes her head, reliving the moment once again. Shit, I need to focus. She bites her lip and contemplates what to do. She knows that the mature thing is to talk to Max about it and explain her feelings but she doesn’t really want to, she’s not ready to hear what he thinks.

Opening the door she hears Max talking and Nathalie laughing, following their voices she comes to the kitchen, Max was in a pair of shorts and a shirt. Watching them, Max had Nathalie mixing the eggs in a bowl that is too big, but it made it so she wouldn’t spill any of it, Nathalie was sitting on the counter, Max had one hand beside her, something she did so if Nathalie slipped she’d be able to stop her from falling.

“Like this?” Nathalie asked, looking up at the man for approval.

“Yeah, you’re doing amazing.” She wasn’t, but the answer made Nathalie very proud of herself. “What do you usually drink with breakfast?”

“Juice!” Nattie exclaimed, swinging her legs back and forth, Cecilia rolled her eyes.

“More like milk.” Cecilia interjects, she gives Nattie a look. “Don’t lie mon ange, when do you drink juice?”

“After lunch.” Nathalie answered with a pout, her shoulders dropped and she stopped mixing the eggs.

“Why do we do that?” Cecilia asked her moving closer.

“Too much sugar is bad for you.” Nattie said the words she heard a million times before. Nattie can’t handle sugar well, if there’s no fresh juices they usually give her a small glass after she has lunch, which is her biggest meal of the day.

“That’s right, my smart bébé.” Cecilia kisses the side of her head, and turns to look at Max, he had a smile on his face, it made Cecilia’s heart skip a beat, she looked away. “Good morning.”

“Morning, you sleep okay?” Max takes the eggs turns to the stove before he quickly finishes whisking them without Nathalie noticing, and pours it into the pan.

“Yeah, as good as I could in jeans.” Max noticed her crumpled clothes, and her messy hair matching Nathalie’s, like mother like daughter. Cecilia combed through Nattie’s hair with her fingers taming her hair, the only thing different between them is that Nattie had curls while Cecilia’s straight/wavy.

“I can give you some clothes if you want.” Cecilia declines his offers, she planned to leave after breakfast anyway.

“What can I help with?” Cecilia asked.

“No momie we’re making you breakfast.” Nathalie said startling Cecilia who just raised her hands in surrender, Max laughed. Cecilia still stood by her daughter watching Max move around and give Nathalie things to do.

They had breakfast in the kitchen, Cecilia finished eating first, she wasn’t always a fast eater but when you have a child you need to feed and also feed yourself it made her a fast eater. Max and Nattie were still eating so Cecilia took the moment to rinse the plates and place them in the dishwasher, cleaning up the kitchen.

“Mon ange get your things, we need to leave.” Cecilia called for her daughter once she finished eating, she was washing the pan Max used.

“Are we coming back soon momie?” walking to her mother with her begging look that she always used when she needed something, made Cecilia chuckle.

“Maybe.” with a pointed look the girl turned and left the kitchen with a permanent pout. She knows that Nathalie missed meeting people and just having fun with kids her age. Max is the only person she saw out of her parents and her, her brother was in Sweden, quarenting with his wife, kids and her family.

Max silently leaned his back to the counter next to the sink, his eyes not leaving her. Cecilia tried to act like she didn’t notice, but how could she when he was standing so close, her mind flashed to the taste of his lips on hers.

“Are we going to talk about last night?” Max asked her and Cecilia didn’t answer, it isn’t very mature of her but once again she didn’t want to talk about it. “Cilia.”

“What do we need to talk about?” She decided playing dumb is the best thing to do, maybe she’s really dumb.

“Don’t do that.” Max turned off the tab and moved closer, he was serious, sighing Cecilia turned to look at him. “If you regret it, then say it, but I don’t think that you do.”

“It’s not that simple, Max and you know that.” Cecilia replied, her brows furrowed.

“Then let’s make it simple, Cecilia, I like you, do you like me?” Cecilia’s eyes went wide, her cheeks went red, her mouth got dry and she stood there speechless.

“It’s- max, I-I…” She stuttered feeling flustered and warm, a cocktail of emotions that she wanted to untangle, but if she does then so much would change and she doesn’t know if she's ready for that.

“I’m not asking you to marry me, do you like me? Yes or no?” Max asked once again, this time his tone is softer, full of doubt, maybe he misread the situation, maybe she was drunk(of two glasses of wine?), maybe it was just a spur of the moment thing.

“I do, I like you, but it’s not simple.” Cecilia whispered and closed her eyes, Max moved closer.

“I know that you have to think about Thalia-” She cuts him off.

“I do, but it’s not just that, Max we work together, no not together, against each other.” Cecilia said, trying to prove her point, she thought about this a lot and she talked about it with Charles, and she has a feeling that both Charles and Max saw it like each other.

“I thought about those things too, no let me finish, your jumping to the future, since the season is postponed we have time to figure things out, we’ll take it slow, we won’t say anything to anyone and just keep it to ourselves, it wouldn’t be fair to Nathalie if we got in a relationship and then broke up a while later, as for racing, we keep work separate. You’d be happy if I won right?” Cecilia nodded, not daring to say anything. “I would be happy for you too, and that’s all we need from each other on that point, it’s simpler than you think, we’ll just take one thing at a time, you don’t have to bring Thalia with you until you’re sure we’re going to stay together, or that I’m not just playing with you and leaving, because I’m not, I’m not like your ex.”

“I know you’re not.” Cecilia mumbled, yes she doesn't want to end up heartbroken, doesn’t want her daughter to be heartbroken, but she knows Max is different.

“Then give us a chance.” Max pleaded, his hands cupping her cheeks softly, their eyes met and Cecilia’s resolve crumpled.

“Okay, yeah, let’s do it.” Max kissed her forehead softly before he let her go. They finished in the kitchen together before she and Nattie left, with a longer hug than usual, Max closed the door behind them.

His house now empty, he looked around and there was no trace of the two, it made him feel lonely, since he spent the last 24 hours with them he now felt like he was on his own, something that didn’t bother him before. When you taste something sweater and go back to how things were, it makes it harder, but he had to give it time. Dating Cecilia will be bringing so many challenges but he wasn’t one to shy away from challenges, he knows what he wants and he works his ass off to get them.

CeciliaHansson15

liked by charles_leclerc, maxverstappen1, Landonoriss and 1,597,999 others

ceciliahansson15 photodump, what is everyone been up to? I can confidently say that the art world is lucky I chose not to be an artis😎

anyway, i hope you're all staying safe ❤️❤️

view all 10,149 comments

username1 how can you look sooooo gooood 🧎‍♀️

username2 mother is mothering so hard right now

Landonoriss I've seen your 'art', it's shit

ceciliahannson15 how dare you 🫵👊 these are lies

georgerussell63 I'll have to agree with Lando on this

ceciliahansson15 how did you see my art @/georgerussell63

georgerussell63 uh... ask @/alex_albon

alex_albon mate, why? 😬

ceciliahansson15 how did YOU see it??!!! @/alex_albon

alex_albon well you see the thing is, it was @/charles_leclerc🏃🏃

charles_leclerc not cool mate

ceciliahansson15 charles....

charles_leclerc it was Lando 🤷

landonoriss I can explain

ceciliahansson15 BLOCKED all of you @/maxverstappen1 congratulations on being my new best friend

maxverstappen1 ...thanks i guess

maxverstappen1 do i need to know what happened?

georgerussell63 no

alex_albon no

charles_leclerc no

landonoriss I'll text you

ceciliahansson15 @/landonoriss 🔫🔫

Pierregasly suddenly I'm glad I havn't checked the groupchat

liked by ceciliahansson15, danielricciardo

username5 I'm living for this comment section 😂

username6 only cecilia can get half the grid in her comments section

username7 the power cecilia holds

Next->

it's 4:45 rn so if there's any mistakes tell me

Taglist:

@luciaexcorvus . @vellicora . @tpwkstiles . @belennasif . @eugene-emt-roe . @fanboyluvr . @fangirl125reader , @christianpulisic10 . @belennasif

#f1 x driver!reader #f1 x reader #max verstappen one shot #max verstappen #f1 fanfic #f1dr #max verstappen imagine #my girls #f1 imagine #f1 scenario #driver oc #max verstappen x oc

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peterbscaprisweatpants · 1 year ago

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remember when the symbiote poked around in eddie's mind to unearth his desires and found 2 venomized t-rexes frenching?

[Image description: Two screen caps show segments of panels from Marvel Comics Presents (2019) #5 that depict the venom symbiote exploring Eddie's subconscious. The first shows Venom, with the symbiote in charge, moving in front of a reddish background representing the inside of Eddie's mind. The symbiote says, "LET'S GET A GOOD LOOK AT WHAT EDDIE REALLY LIKES." The next image shows several venomized creatures, including more out of frame. The focal point is two venomized creatures that resemble t-rexes, their claws clenched together, tongues entwined outside their open jaws. Next to them, the symbiote's narration reads, "EDDIE LIKES BEAUTIFUL HORRORS..." End image description.]

#venom #venom comics #venom symbiote #eddie brock #venom spoilers #spoilers #spoiler #veddie #symbrock #leah williams #planet of the symbiotes

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solaireverie · 1 year ago

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Solsplaining Lestappen Gate 2023: Motivations

(aka i spent a full day psychoanalyzing rich white men who drive fast cars for a living)

I'll be the first to admit it: the recent rumors of a move to Red Bull for Charles / news involving him that is just as shocking, affectionately known as Lestappen Gate 2023, is likely delusion. (Or in the words of my beloved sister, "silly season didn't deliver this year, so we have to find something else to obsess over")

However, one common misconception is that one of the main reasons why a deal like this would fall through is the perception that Charles is, and will always remain, loyal to Ferrari, and would never move to another team. However, I actually think that it's very possible for Charles to want a transfer.

Charles is a professional athlete. You don't get to the level that he's at without being dedicated, hardworking, and incredibly competitive. (You can even see his ultra-competitive nature outside of the car — just take a look at the Ferrari driver challenges on Youtube.)

Every single Formula 1 driver (with the possible exception of the man, the myth, and the legend that is Yuki Tsunoda) dreams of winning the World Driver's Championship. Charles isn't going to stay with a team that promised him victory yet keeps failing to deliver (see Silverstone 2022, Spain 2022, Hungary 2022, etc), especially when he's already proven that he can challenge for the title when given a competitive car and decent strategy.

In fact, Charles has already told us the circumstances under which he would be open to leaving Ferrari: when he no longer believes in their "project" and he doesn't feel like he's maximizing performance. (He states clearly that he won't leave at the moment, but the most reasonable estimate for a move has always been 2025, after his current contract expires.)

Now, what could possibly qualify as not maximizing performance? Maybe Charles' past four years with Ferrari?

It obviously isn't all Ferrari's fault. Charles has made his fair share of mistakes and he's paid for them (ex: French GP 2022), but at the end of the day you have to admit that Ferrari seems to make an inordinate amount of mistakes for what should be one of the most prestigious teams in the sport.

Also, not directly related to Charles going to RBR, but it's been said that Ferrari only want to keep one of their current drivers for the future due to concerns about car development since Charles and Carlos have different driving styles. They would prefer to retain Charles, and that's why Carlos has been having difficulties with his contract, but at the end of the day I think that may be another concern Charles may have.

Red Bull have proved time and time again that they are currently on top in terms of car development, pace, strategy, etc. etc. It truly cannot be stressed too much the insanely dominant season they're currently having, and it seems probable that they'll continue this streak into at least the next two to three seasons.

(And even if they do fall off after the 2026 regulations are introduced, they've shown that they can remain competitive and fight to get back to the top. Red Bull have had two periods of domination in the past decade-ish and Ferrari haven't had a WDC since Kimi in 2007 or a WCC since the year after.)

If Charles wants to leave Ferrari to get a better shot at the WDC, Red Bull would be one of his best bets.

On the other side of the equation is Max Verstappen, who has consistently praised Charles' racecraft and has even said that he thinks that they would work well together (mind you, this article is from 2019, which was waaaaaay before their relationship reached the stage that it's at now, and Max was already floating the possibility.)

Red Bull is currently Max's team. He would definitely have a significant amount of input should they decide to change his teammate. Everything he's said so far about and around Charles, as well as the way he acts with him, points to Max not being opposed to the idea. (I'd even go so far as to say that it's possible that he wants to race alongside Charles... *cough* those comments about putting Charles in a better car *cough*)

Red Bull as a team would also benefit greatly from signing Charles. Firstly, he's a great PR asset. He's a media darling and at least one of the top three most popular drivers in F1. For a team that's basically a glorified marketing campaign, that's incredibly important.

Secondly, he and Max have similar driving styles. They're both aggressive and prefer borderline "undriveable" cars. Red Bull have the same issue as Ferrari currently in that their two drivers don't necessarily share the same style, which makes car development difficult. This results in the car suiting one driver (usually the faster) over the other, which then leads to the other driver performing abnormally substandard (see post-Miami 2023 Sergio and McLaren 2022 Daniel).

There are, of course, people who think that Checo might keep his seat or Daniel/Liam/Yuki will replace him.

Checo hasn't been able to achieve a 1-2 in the championship despite having had two dominant cars. This year, if he does get it, it would be by the skin of his teeth (fingers still crossed for Lewis!!!), which if you look at Max's gap with him in the points is simply ridiculous.

He's been decent for getting in the points, but a car like the RB19 shouldn't just be "in the points". Of course, it's not exactly suited for him, but less Q3 appearances than Oscar Piastri, a rookie who had a bad car for a third of the season? Sergio has always been a driver who excels in midfield teams and dragging decent cars higher than they should go, but I don't think he's built for championship contention in a dominant team like Red Bull.

I hate to say it, but realistically I don't see Daniel finding his way back into a RBR seat. He's still a good driver, but he's getting older and his stints with Renault and McLaren really hurt his reputation. The main reason that I think Red Bull would keep him now is for marketing but they've already achieved that by first making him their third driver and then sticking him in Alpha Tauri. Moment of silence for Nyck.

Let's take a look at Red Bull's history of choosing drivers: they've always leaned on the younger side. Sebastian Vettel, Max himself, Pierre Gasly, and Alex Albon were all brought in to replace an older driver. (Which again proves my point about Daniel: Why would RBR replace Checo with a driver older than him? This sentence pained me to write. RBR Daniel you will always be special in my heart!!!)

On the other hand, both Pierre and Alex have shown Red Bull that promoting a rookie too soon can hurt both of them. Yuki, perhaps, but he's not the most stable driver, and he doesn't have the raw talent that Max possesses to make up for the mistakes he makes occasionally. (Personally, I think he'll go to a midfield team eventually.)

For Red Bull, Charles would be a fantastic addition. He's already proven himself, is a publicity powerhouse in his own right, and can compete with Max. Just... no Brocedes ending, please.

Red Bull and Ferrari are incredibly similar in the sense that they are both, at the core of their existences, a mythos, albeit in vastly different ways. Red Bull Racing is a marketing scheme that chases success above all. Scuderia Ferrari is the years of history that looms behind the name.

They're both trying to sell you something, it's just that one is an energy drink and the other is the legend of the Prancing Horse.

Eventually, when Charles is no longer buying into Ferrari, he's going to go looking for another team to put his faith in, and plenty of signs point to it being Red Bull, who in my opinion has shown that they would be more than happy to accept him.

This still doesn't explain why Ferrari would also be posting Lestappen and it's entirely possible that it's all just a ✨ coincidence ✨, but in the meantime I will choose to be delusional!

If you've read to here, I salute you for reaching the end of my ramblings. Please drop by to let me know what you think! Have a nice day and stay hydrated <3

#solsplaining #f1 #formula 1 #f1 rumors #charles leclerc #max verstappen #lestappen #lestappen gate 2023 #red bull racing #scuderia ferrari #it's 2am i have no clue if this is coherent or not #disclaimer: i'm not a professional / motorsport person take everything i say with a grain of salt blah blah blah

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fritzes · 27 days ago

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the qinwen/emma lore

yeah it goes a lot deeper than the drama this year, and if I have to be insane about it then I'm gonna share it with everyone:

so, this is their full h2h, including juniors:

as you can see, emma only won once, and it was their last ever juniors match at the 2019 junior french open

emma went on to lose the final to leylah pretty badly. from the scoreline of the qinwen/emma match, it was pretty hard fought. now, this is what emma had to say about it (in this interview from 2021):

I repeat, the BEST MOMENT IN HER TENNIS CAREER was beating zheng qinwen. she had made two junior slam semis, played on the main tour, and gone to college for tennis, but this, right along with winning a junior slam in doubles, apparently takes the cake. and yeah, it was 6-4 in the third set. this is fascinating

fast forward to palermo 2023, they played in the quarterfinals and qinwen won and went on to win her first title. I have literally scoured the entire tennis channel and the internet but I can only find like one minute of highlights and nothing from the handshake so I honestly couldn't tell you how that match was. sigh

and then of course came the olympics aka emma's completely unprompted public renouncing (for lack of a better word) of qinwen. and then she doubled down on it at the us open. now, I don't know about you guys but the lack of specificity was giving me major petty exes vibes

and then at the us open they were both having great runs but lost to aryna. and they competed for that final spot at the wta finals (but really both of them should have been there anyways). they are just so fascinating to me and I'm excited to see where this rivalry goes 👀

#zheng qinwen #emma navarro #qinwemma? I guess?#qinwemma

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leveloneandup · 4 months ago

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Christen Press Is Determined to Reimagine the Way Female Athletes Are Seen

For two-time World Cup winner Christen Press, who made her debut in the U.S. Women’s National Team in 2013, it’s no surprise that women’s sports have been having their moment—both before and throughout these Paris Summer Olympics.

Press, along with her teammate and partner Tobin Heath, have bet big on the public’s love of women’s sports. The duo launched their podcast, The Re-Cap Show, during the 2023 Women’s World Cup—the highest attended in history. It wasn’t their first foray into entrepreneurship in the women’s sports space; they are co-CEOs of Re-Inc, a global community for sports fans and changemakers, which launched ahead of the 2019 World Cup. The Re-Cap Show has amassed a dedicated online fan base, with video clips circulated among Re-Inc's 49,000 YouTube subscribers and 123,000-strong Instagram following.

On The Re-Cap Show, the duo bring fans behind the scenes of professional women’s soccer, both at the international level and in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). They debrief games with high-profile guests such as defender Ali Krieger, previous national team head coach Jill Ellis, current national team captain at the Olympics Lindsey Horan, and Angel City FC co-founder Kara Nortman. Press and Heath also break down and share their own perspectives on buzzy topics like scandals in the NWSL, what it’s like to date your teammate, and the recent cheating saga with the Canadian team.

Press and Heath launched Season 3 of the podcast in June, just in time to document the national soccer team’s journey at the Paris Summer Olympics. For Press—who returned to the pitch for Angel City FC on Thursday for the first time in over two years, after four surgeries to repair her torn ACL—it's up to women’s media to meet this moment and capitalize on it.

TIME delved into the Olympics, The Re-Cap Show, and why this moment in women’s sports is so important during a video interview with Press.

TIME: The momentum for women’s sports right now is immense. Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese enjoyed record-breaking performances in the NCAA last year, and the WNBA opened their 2024 season with their highest attendance in 26 years. This is also the first Olympics with gender parity. How is all of this impacting the way you cover the Paris Olympics with The Re-Cap Show?

Press: You're spot-on that women's sports are having insane momentum right now. For us, all the attention has really increased our mission to reimagine the way women are seen and experienced in sports. We started our show during the World Cup because we’re women soccer players, and that's when we committed to turning on a spotlight [and] never turning it off.

But the Olympics is this huge opportunity to inspire and reveal what's already there: lots of leagues, athletes, and players that are doing their job all-year round, but they get to be at the highest stage this summer. From a business perspective, [it’s about] bringing those supporters, fans, and community members into the women's sports world, which is the most inclusive, diverse, and interesting community that uses sport as a vehicle for change.

Take us back to creating Re-Inc with your teammates Tobin Heath, Megan Rapinoe, and Meghan Klingenberg. How far have you all come since then?

We started Re-Inc in 2019 with a single T-shirt before we went to the World Cup and it said “Liberté, Égalité, Défendez.” It was a play on the French motto [“Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité”] as we had headed to France, so we switched the word “fraternity” to “defend” because as the U.S. Women's National Team, we were defending our title, but we were also defending the principles of liberty and equality.

But since then, it’s grown into a community. Watching women play sports is an act of revolution. Not so long ago, women were not allowed to play sports, and until recently, we were not paid to play sports or paid very well. And so I think as women's sports get heightened, it is just the living and breathing symbol of progress in society that women can rise and be stars on the court and on the field. With launching our media division, we saw how the coverage was failing to represent the lifestyle and culture of us, and it was just a copy and paste from the men's side. The broadcast and the commentary was so off-putting that it was spoiling the sport for us. No one knew how to talk about gal culture.

What kinds of commentary were you used to hearing while you were playing with the U.S. Women’s National Team?

Sometimes, when I'm watching people commentate, I feel like they’re a kindergarten teacher explaining the basics of soccer with the assumption that the person who's watching has no idea what they’re watching.

I think there's a lot that needs to be improved. Also, when it comes to addressing social issues and the institutional prejudice that happens within sports, especially how we talk about Black athletes… The media should make sure you're seeing this vision of a woman athlete in a way that can be a badass—not self-conscious, but laughing loud and really proud of her success. So I think all of those lifestyle and social issues are baked into the game.

And then obviously, as the game grows, we're going to have more expertise and fundamental knowledge and that will just make the broadcast so much better. Part of why the Olympics is so great is because you get the best—the best commentators, the best camera angles—and that's another reason why people will fall in love with all the sports, since it's not, you know, just an iPhone shot of the last 50 meters of a race.

Your former teammate Kelley O’Hara is working with Just Women's Sports. Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird are bringing back their podcast, A Touch More, and your former teammate Sam Mewis is also hosting her own show, The Women’s Game. Why do you think this is the moment where so many female athletes are working in media?

I haven't heard of another market that people are talking about that is successful right now, other than AI and women's sports. I feel very proud to have started this business five years ago and kind of be positioned as ready for the moment as opposed to reacting to the moment. As athletes, we're all inspiring each other and the businesses that are cropping up are inspired by a desire for all of us to raise the game and continue to have an impact. I'm very proud to be about it, to be a part of it, and to be alongside pioneering women. I think the competition is healthy, and it's necessary. It pushes us and I love that.

Many people view women’s sports as a sacred, safe space—something you talk a lot about on your podcast. Is there any fear that as the women’s game becomes more popular and more fans join, that other energies will enter into the space?

I always say the air gets thinner at the top. I think women's sports is a very diverse, inclusive space. And I actually know that members of the community feel very protective of the space. We have our membership community and our members often speak about protecting the space. There will always be challenges as it gets more mainstream.

That’s why I love doing our show: every week, we're talking about the challenges. We’re talking about how the women's sports community feels about someone's bigoted comment or someone who misrepresented them. And it's a two-way dialogue. I think that's really essential to maintain the integrity.

I remember when the social media scandal with midfielder Korbin Albert—who’s currently on the Olympic roster—came out earlier this year. You and Tobin went straight into talking about it. I think a lot of fans were curious to hear from you about it.

It was hard to talk about that, because we were afraid of someone just clipping a tiny piece of the conversation and, like, missing all the nuance and kind of misconstruing our language, but we thought it was important enough to do it anyway. Nuance is something that's consistently missing from the echo chambers.

What are you hoping the Olympics brings to the world of women’s sports?

Kara Nortman, who is the co-founder of Angel City, always tells a story that she was at the 2015 Women’s World Cup, and was completely moved and inspired by us winning. Then, she came home to try to watch us play, and couldn’t find any games, and she couldn't find jerseys. That’s why she started a women's soccer team. I think that story is so beautiful, because it really emulates what's so special at the Olympics.

I think there's a huge opportunity to uplift sports—even the sports that aren't as popular as women's soccer—and for people to go home and become lifelong fans.

#christen press #tobin heath #re cap show #time magazine #interview #article

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