#I could consider writing something post 2023 Championship Win

[formulapookie]

❤️☀️

Under the cut to read on Tumblr, here to read on Ao3

Careless whisper pecco/vale, 3.1k words

Pecco comes back home when it’s already ten in the evening.

He stayed at the track for hours overtime to analyze what happened with the bike and how he lost it in the corner, basically trashing a possible championship lead because he got it wrong.

Some mechanics told him he shouldn’t hold it so much against himself, but how can he not?  He crashed on home soil, in Misano, after not even being able to win it two weeks prior at the first appointment at that track.

He immediately puts on the race, watching every single moment with great attention.

Once his crash comes he puts on a replay. For an unholy amount of times. Looks and tries to understand how the fuck he could be so stupid to crash like that.

He sees himself sliding on track and on the gavel, a mess of red in the light gray of the side track.

“Stupid idiot”

It’s all he can tell himself. It’s all he thinks really.

“Fucking failure what the fuck is this”

He keeps on watching his figure falling from the bike and losing points in the championship, keeps on insulting himself for how he crashed, for what it means for the championship and for his future in Ducati.

At ten past midnight, when he’s watched himself fall long enough to have it tattooed in his brain, someone knocks at his door.

He knows who’s knocking, and he knows that’s the only reason he can’t ignore him.

He gets up from the cold floor he’s sat on, leaving the remote on the couch and goes to open the front door.

“Hi Vale” “Hi Pecco, care if I come in?”

Vale has - he’s got food with him, food Pecco can’t bring himself to deem worthy of, but lets him in anyway.

He can’t say no to Vale.

“Have you eaten anything yet?”

It’s a dumb question, Vale knows Pecco hasn’t, when he loses, or crashes God forbid, he’s capable of starving himself for two whole days if someone doesn’t force him to eat something.

“No”

“Allora I brought a few things for you” “Not hungry” “Yeah your bullshit doesn’t get to me Pecco, you’re fucking starving, and I can see the race playing on your TV so come eat something”

Pecco looks to the ground, then up to Vale

“I don’t think I-” “Don’t wanna hear it, sit down and eat”

He complies, it’s really difficult for Pecco to keep his ground against him, and once he’s seated Vale starts heating up the food he probably prepared while in Monza for his own race.

“How many times?”

He doesn’t need to specify, Pecco knows he’s asking how many times he’s watched himself fall trying to find out what he did wrong.

"Thirty one”

Vale huffs, taking the food out the microwave and placing it in front of a barely-acknowledging Pecco.

“It’s not healthy. To watch that many times yourself crashing, it gets to your head in ways it shouldn’t” “I have to understand-” “Eat, before we talk you have to eat”

The younger reluctantly starts feeding himself small bites of pasta, trying to keep the food down and not listen to his head telling him to throw it all up.

Once he’s finished Vale takes his plate and puts it in the dishwasher, then walks Pecco to the bedroom.

They should talk, he’s right, but Pecco denies himself of everything when he gets like this, and Vale himself knows how much of a help releasing stress and sadness after a crash can help

He’s done it more than once himself for God’s sake.

That’s why he’s always so slow after Pecco doesn’t perform like he’d want to, and even when he wins, sometimes he over criticizes himself so much Vale has to treat him as if he just lost.

He takes off the younger’s shirt once he gets him to bed, slowly leaving tender kisses on his neck and chest, then going back up and sharing a proper kiss with him, while his own shirt comes off.

“Vale I don’t deserve this you don’t have to-” “Would you stop punishing yourself like this? You watched it thirty one times Pecco, I think it’s enough torture for a long while, I’m gonna give you exactly what you need right now, not what you think you deserve”

Pecco is on the verge of crying, or closing himself up like an armadillo and letting everything in the outside world become far and muffled.

“Let me take care of you ok?” “Ok”

It’s reluctant not because Pecco doesn’t enjoy sex with Vale, he fucking loves it, but because he doesn’t think he’s deserving of it whenever he doesn’t get first place.

And Vale knows, and knows Pecco needs to get some weight off his shoulders, and nothing frees your mind more than sex he found out.

He gets back to kiss him, hands rapidly moving to unzip his pants, having Pecco lift his hips to make it easier for Vale to just take them off.

Vale makes quick work of taking his jeans off as well, then lays Pecco on the bed, starting to kiss at his chest and belly, slowly getting closer to his dick.

His hands are placed beside Pecco’s hips for stability, while the younger’s are one over his eyes and the other buried in Vale’s hair.

The crash is still playing in his head on loop, and Vale knows, knows Pecco thinks he’s disappointed everyone, his family first, him second.

Pecco has this huge fear of disappointing people and not living up to their expectations. And Vale tries to make him understand people would be proud even if he lost the championship, but he can’t get it through his head.

He lifts himself from Pecco’s skin and looks at him, removing the hand covering his eyes and tangling their fingers together.

“Get out of your head and get back to me”

Pecco nods, and accepts Vale’s lips on his with a bit more need than before. One of Vale’s hands sneaks past the waistband of his boxers and curls itself around Pecco’s dick, who’s half hard already, and leaking some precum too.

Pecco moans in the kiss, Vale’s hand is burning hot against his skin, and still feels so forbidden at times, even if it’s been more than one year now, since him and Vale began this complicated relationship between them. 

“Vale”

His voice is soft, but still somehow unsure, like he can’t bring himself to give up control fully, as if he can’t bring himself to let go.

Vale gets rid of the boy’s boxers, yanking them off as if they weren’t even there, and lets go of the hold on his hand.

Instead, he parts Pecco’s legs open, grabbing the lube from the nightstand near the bed, and warming it up quickly in his hands, before slowly pushing in the first finger.

Pecco grips at the sheets, a moan escaping his lips and getting quickly swallowed by Vale, who kisses him roughly, barely letting him breathe.

He pushes a second finger in and Pecco begins to shift towards that mind realm where he’s liquid between Vale’s fingers, where he lets everything morph into pleasure and actually enjoy it instead of overanalyzing every movement the older makes.

Vale keeps being slow, and one may think this is just more torture to Pecco, but it actually is the only way he can keep his thoughts at bay an let himself feel everything.

“Been a while eh? If I did this more often maybe you’d be more relaxed Pecchino yeah?” “Just - just please keep doing this” “Of course”

Vale bites at his Adam’s apple and a shot of pure arousal makes its way up to his brain, leaving him just able to moan out Vale’s name once more.

Pecco’s hand shifts from the sheets he’s gripping to Vale’s bicep, looking for anything that tells him this is here, actually happening, he does it everytime.

“Gonna add a third and then I’m fucking you ok?” “Yes it’s ok yes”

Vale smiles, and still slowly but more resolutely this time pushes  third finger in, scissoring his hole and feeling just how much Pecco needs this. From there it’s not long until he finds his prostate and starts brushing and teasing it, having Pecco make those sweet little whimpers that always get to Vale’s head.

The older kisses him again before breaking away completely to watch how well Pecco is taking him, his own cock is hard at the sight and honestly how could it not? Pecco looks like a vision, all blushy and unfocused, gripping at his arm trying to hold himself onto reality, onto Vale.

Vale removes his finger all together and Pecco reluctantly lets his hold on his arm go, leaving him free of completely undressing himself, and tossing his boxers just on the edge of the bed.

Vale aligns himself with Pecco’s hole and pushes in, he stretched him well, but still he always remains a bit tight around him, and it makes Vale go absolutely crazy for it.

“Fuck Vale deeper”

It’s not often Pecco asks for these things, so Vale is glad he’s doing it right now. He complies immediately, burying himself as deep as he possibly can, letting out a deep breath once he’s completely inside of him.

“Gonna move ok” “Yes yes it’s ok” “Good boy”

And it gets Pecco blushing, not just on his cheeks but all over his chest as well, especially when Vale grabs his thighs and spreads them wider, just to fit more comfortably in between them.

The first thrust is already so good Pecco has to restrain himself from moaning louder than before, but his self control is very short-lived because after a few more he’s letting himself go, sounds of pleasure timed with Vale’s thrusts and the sound of skin slapping.

Vale is holding on his thighs and Pecco is pretty sure that by the strength he’s using they’re gonna be bruised tomorrow. Good.

Vale leans down for yet another kiss, and Pecco welcomes him greedily, wrapping his legs around his waist and forcing them closer. Hands now are everywhere, both his and Vale’s running around on their bodies, their hair.

“Need more Vale I need more”

Of course he does, and the older knows, but he always waits for Pecco to ask, to get out of his shell, to let himself be that kind of vulnerable the boy only lets Vale see. Pecco’s legs are strong, and undeniably so, if Vale wants to free himself from their hold he’s not sure he could right now, not with the need he feels running through Pecco’s veins.

The only thing he can do is pick up the pace, trying to be more precise with his thrusts, look for the prostate and once he finds it just keep on hitting it, driving the boy insane.

Pecco is already close, but Vale knows perfectly well that just one orgasm isn’t going to be enough for him, he’s still too self critical after just one. And Vale surely is not going to refuse Pecco a second release.

“Don’t hold yourself back Pecco, let go, I’ll make sure you come as many times as you need” “Gonna - now” “I know baby I can feel it, come on let go”

And Pecco does just that, lets go of his brain like it’s a balloon in the wind and comes, painting his own abs white and moaning Vale’s name so loud the neighbors surely heard it. Vale keep going, fucking him through his high, and Pecco takes surprisingly little to start getting hard again.

“You’re so beautiful Pecco you know that? So so beautiful and it’s all for me” “Please don’t stop” “Not planning on doing it tesoro don’t worry”

Vale is really fucking good at this, not just with words, but with everything. Pecco feels surrounded by Vale in every aspect right now, despite Vale being slimmer than him he feels like the older man could easily overwhelm him and keep him pinned down on the mattress for hours even.

Which. Happened one time. When he won in Barcelona after crashing in the sprint, Vale had went to him as soon as he could, and he had basically worshiped him and his body for hours, fucking him, kissing him, working him open with his fingers and his tongue and leaving Pecco a babbling and incoherent mess, one hand always holding him down, as Pecco came more times than he can remember.

The memory gets him fully hard again, and Vale starts teasing him more, leaving deep and dark bruises all over his neck. He knows people will notice, ask about them, since he's allegedly single since he broke up with his ex around a year ago.

“Vale no marks they - they’ll ask” “Let them ask, who cares? I’m leaving these for you not them”

And Pecco loses it, he’s almost coming once again, Vale doing this just for him it’s somewhere between sweet, possessive, arousing and just straight up hot.Vale is not doing much better right now, after Pecco comes he’s always so tight around him, it’s overwhelming almost, he knows he’s not gonna last much longer, but luckily Pecco isn’t going to either, not with the way he’s touching the younger.

He gets harsher with it, moving his hands so they’re holding Pecco’s hips down on the mattres, and fucking into him with more force than before, making him moan and whine under him. Pecco gets a hand around his dick and starts stroking himself quick and dirty under Vale’s gaze, the other hand on the bed, fingers holding the sheets tight, knuckles almost going white.

“valevalevale”

It’s the only thing he manages to say before coming again, harder this time, little moans still escaping his chest as Vale keeps fucking him, then once Vale pulls out and comes on his abs as well he’s gone.

Pecco wakes up half an hour later, cleaned up dressed with a pair of boxers and a shirt that’s most definitely not his, as Vale is bringing him water and a little something to eat.

“Thanks” “No need to thank me Pecchino”

Vale sits beside him, he still smells like sex, Pecco smells like sex and Vale.

“Do we really need to talk?” “Yes Pecco we do. This can be good for you, to relax, but you still get right back to criticizing yourself as soon as we finish, everytime it’s like that” “I’m sorry I ruin the moment” “You don’t ruin shit Pecco, you just need someone to talk to, someone who gets how you feel”

Pecco wouldn’t want to doubt Vale’s words but it’s difficult not to. When he feels like today, when he feels like he’s disappointed everyone how can he not doubt?

“Listen, I crashed too, many times, but that doesn’t make me any less worth of what I achieved” “Yeah, but you are you” “And you are you too, if you sucked as much as you think you do you wouldn’t be champion no?”

Pecco scoffs, curling himself beside Vale. With him, after sex, is the only time Pecco actually lets down more barriers and cries. He finds it shaming, something to hide, something he can only trust Vale with.

“i don’t deserve my championships Vale, not like you do” “What the fuck are you saying now Pecco come on” “The truth. In moto2 it was luck, in 2022 I only won cause Fabio’s bike was shit, last year it was because Jorge fell” “No Pecco that’s no -” “This year I keep falling, I keep doing shit, I keep losing control of everything and I can’t hope forever that Jorge will be as stupid or talentless as me and crash it out more often than I do”

There’s silence, for a moment, a still second in which the flight of a mosquito could alter this whole equilibrium that’s set between the two. Then Vale replies.

“You aren’t talentless Pecco, whoever thinks that is an idiot, if you think that yourself then you’re an idiot as well. Can you get better? Yes you can, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t great now too, you do deserve your championships, every single one, and listen to me carefully now”

Vale grabs Pecco’s head in between his hands, turning him towards his face.

“You. didn’t. disappoint. anyone” “But I fell and-” “And so what? Championship’s over because you crashed? Two years ago you were 91 points behind Fabio. And you won because you got them all back. Martin is fast, yes, but you can be faster. You have to stop being so hard on yourself and actually understand how good you are. Fueling yourself with thoughts of ‘If I lose I’m a failure’, which I know you do, doesn’t work, it only gets you rigid and cold and self critical, which then reflects on every second you spend on that goddamn bike” “How can you not be disappointed in me” “Because you never give up Pecco, and that’s something I really admire in people” “But if I keep crashing like that next year Marc’s gonna kill me” “You crash because you’re scared of what the people you care about will think if you don’t win. You get distracted, and you crash. Sometimes you gotta think about the race, the points, not just go and look for the first place like a madman. I learnt it late maybe, I was like that too I’ll admit it, but now I see things a little differently than before”

Pecco doesn’t answer this time, he just snuggles more into Vale’s hold. He feels at ease there, protected, shielded by his own mind.

He’s not convinced of what Vale said, he probably will never be, but he can hear it in his tone Vale is sincere when he says he’s not disappointed in him for crashing.

Vale’s hug is warm against his skin, a relaxing kind of warmth, and Pecco gets lost in it. Vale knows Pecco is not convinced as well, but that’s all he can do for now, try and try and try to get him to understand his worth.

He can’t have Pecco hate himself like that, it would destroy both of them. Pecco firstly because he’d doubt too much of himself, Vale second because he’d see someone he deeply cares about get hurt. Someone he loves, even.

And he can’t have that. So he’ll settle for this, whatever this may be, to have Pecco learn to love himself a bit more each day they spend close, criticize himself yes, but productively, constructively, not in the demolishing way he’s doing right now.

Pecco falls asleep in his arms, and Vale stays. He stays. With Pecco he always does. He already got this thing wrong once, he won’t get it wrong with him.

[slow-button-off]

The f1 Twitter page just posted an interview with Laurent talking about team orders and the article reuses a lot of what he’s already said before but I just can’t believe that they’re saying they’d “impose team orders if it came down to championship positioning” when they clearly haven’t done that. I’m very worried for Monza and how their going to approach it and I am just preparing myself for the worst. Especially with Charles taking the penalty, this weekend could also be another disaster and another race without a podium. He could even fall back to P3 in the championship and people will go on about how Sainz is better and charles shouldn’t be driving for Ferrari.

Hiya!

I somehow missed this ask I'm sorry!

F1 keeps writing article after article based on Mekies answers from that one press conference in Hungary. Here are the links to most of Mekies answers as videos and with the transcript if you want to seem him answer. on Carlos and the mood in the team , On Charles and team orders and on the TD and the floor changes for 2023.

I think the whole team orders thing is super overblown tbh. Because they did use them twice. They could've been faster in their decisions but it's not like they are not making them at all. And they don't need any other team orders other than "let the faster one through".

I think what Mekies means with “impose team orders if it came down to championship positioning” is like forcing Carlos to sacrifice his race for Charles if it meant that Charles would win the whole thing. Or if he were super close to Max. But the strategy but primarily the engine took care of that. Because it's not like they haven't used team orders.

It's easier to overtake in Spa than it is in Canada and considering that some others will probably also take a penalty for an upgrade Charles might not even start in the last row so that'll help too.

Monza also scares me because it's Monza and the extra pressure will not help most likely. But let's try to be positive! If Ferrari should win in Monza it'll be a surprise anyway because the track favours RB a lot.

The people that are saying these things about Charles either have no clue, are on something, or are trolling on purpose. Everyone with a brain knows that those things are lies. And as annoying as it is to see people say these things, they are all idiots.

[virgogear0-blog]

Lukewarm Stove: Fear the Phillies? Harper One-Year Deal? Targeting Gonzalez? Mets, Rangers, Cardinals, More

In case you haven’t been paying attention over at Bleacher Nation Bears – our Bears sister site – the NFL is halfway through their 2018 season, and the Bears are still in first place.

This afternoon was the NFL’s trade deadline, and although it’s not nearly as busy or exciting as its MLB counterpart, there was a surprisingly high number of moves today, including several from the Bears own division (the Packers sent the third-highest-rated safety, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, and RB Ty Montgomery packing, and the Lions shipped away their top receiver, Golden Tate). None of these moves seem to make the Packers or Lions better this season, so, you know … go Bears. And go check out BN Bears to catch up on the relative madness.

Now, here’s some rumors from the BASEBALL world.

Not only do the Philadelphia Phillies appear to be on the upswing, and not only do we know that they – armed with one of those massive TV deals and a sufficiently large market – have as much financial might as almost any team in baseball, but also, you should know that they’ve been targeting this offseason for a good, long while. And while many teams have kept an eye on this winter, few have cleared the books and future commitments as much as the Phillies have. Consider this, via The Athletic: In 2021, the Phillies have just $14M committed to their payroll (excluding arbitration eligible players and future contract options). In 2022, that drops down to $6M, and in 2023, it’s still just $8M. This team was already one of the “big spenders,” but they’ve been just about as dormant as possible in the very recent past, setting themselves up to break the freakin’ bank this offseason.

I am very scared of them, and you should be, too, as we all pine over guys like Bryce Harper and/or Manny Machado. Read about their potential offseason maneuvering at The Athletic … if you dare. *insert Halloween sound*

Sticking with them for a second, Todd Zolecki (MLB.com) writes that although Harper is the Phillies’ 1A target, perhaps not unlike the Cubs, Machado is still within their field of view and nothing that happened this postseason is going to change that. “But the Phillies are smart enough to know that Machado is one of the best players in baseball. They cannot dismiss him just because of his ‘Johnny Hustle’ comments and behavior toward the Brewers and their fans in the National League Championship Series.” Zolecki adds that the Phillies might not be in on too many of the second-tier free agents, because they “essentially already have those players,” which, what? And that they’ll listen to offers for first baseman Carlos Santana, but don’t expect them to pursue free agent upgrades to the rotation.

My translation: Expect the Phillies to be heavily involved all over the place this winter, as they look to use their financial power to turn the corner from halfway competitive, to full-blown NL East favorites.

(Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images)

And perhaps they’re not the only NL East team that’ll go hog-wild this winter? New Mets GM (and former player-agent) Brodie Van Wagenen says “We will win now,” in a statement that sounds like he forgot which team hired him. With that said, couldn’t you see – at least, superficially – how a former agent might be more willing to jump head-first into free agency than a more traditional GM? Of course, he’ll need ownership to take off the handcuffs for that to happen.

Will Leitch makes a case for Bryce Harper to take a one-year deal this winter, and I’m not really sure what to make of it. To be fair, I understand why that sounds like a good idea (Harper is streaky, is sharing this offseason with Machado and a number of other huge free agents gobbling up money, and might have fewer suitors than expected at his price range) … but, no. It just doesn’t make any sense. If Harper was REALLY set on doing something that, he could simply insist on an opt-out after year 1. It might limit the overall dollars he’ll lock in, but I bet by a lot less than you’d expect, and he wouldn’t even be the first person to do it (example, Scott Kazmir got a deal like that from the Dodgers a few years ago). Basically, Harper is good enough and desirable enough that can have his cake and eat it, too. So I don’t know why he wouldn’t.

Mark Feinsand runs down each team’s most pressing need and for the Cubs it’s … starting pitching. A team that has Jon Lester, Jose Quintana, Kyle Hendricks, Yu Darvish, Tyler Chatwood, Drew Smyly, and an option to retain Cole Hamels as starting pitching as its biggest need? Eh. Perhaps they won’t have the best starting staff in baseball, but adding in a significant way to the starting rotation right now in free agency is just not realistic (and honestly, not even necessary – I really like that group). Another depth starter? Absolutely. A big-money signing? No way.

Beyond landing one of Bryce Harper and/or Manny Machado, a serious pursuit of Marwin Gonzalez – to replace Daniel Murphy and/or Addison Russell on the infield – has emerged on my Cubs’ offseason wish list. Gonzalez’s offense has been inconsistent over the years, but he had a huge season in 2017 (140 wRC+), is still just 29, and was above-average at the plate last year (104 wRC+). He can also cover every position on the diamond besides catcher and pitcher – or, at least, he basically did last year – and that has unique value to a team like the Cubs, who’ve been on the forefront of positional versatility for half a decade. With that said, Mike Petriello believes that sort of versatility might make Gonzalez a sneakily popular free agent this winter. I’m all for a pursuit of Gonzalez, but only at a reasonable level. There are many ways to move things around. Remember how the Cubs targeted Ben Zobrist a few years ago?

In a similar post, Petriello also makes an argument in favor of reliever Adam Ottavino (i.e. that he might be more popular among pursuing teams than we’re otherwise expecting).

Why opt-outs are so valuable for the player … you can also *not* use them to your advantage:

Now, Andrus keeps his financial security *and* has another shot at re-establishing value ahead of next winter.

The Cardinals’ contract with a 38-year-old Adam Wainwright figured to be complicated and bonus-laden … and it is:

Basically, he’ll get a $2M base no matter what, but it’ll jump to $2.5M if he makes 5 starts, $3.5M if he makes 10 starts, $4.5M if he makes 15 starts, $6M if he makes 20 starts, $8M if he makes 25 starts, and $10M if he makes 30 starts. And although we’re usually safe to say that a team would be happy to pay him his $10M if he were healthy all year, I can easily envision a scenario where he is healthy, but ineffective and the Cardinals are forced to make some tough, unpopular decision with their former ace and team leader.

No decisions have officially yet been made on the Cubs’ four players with options: Cole Hamels ($20M club option, $6M buyout paid by Rangers), Jose Quintana ($10.5M club option, will be picked up), Pedro Strop ($6.25M club option, will be picked up), and Brandon Kintzler ($10M club option, will be declined, and then a $5M player option, which will probably be picked up), but you can check in on some other option decisions that have been made right here.

Relatedly:

And finally, this just feels like important information to know:

Source: https://www.bleachernation.com/2018/10/30/lukewarm-stove-fear-the-phillies-harper-one-year-deal-targeting-gonzalez-mets-rangers-cardinals-more/