#McQueen can never see Sally as anything but beautiful

[heartstringsbloom]

(Continuation of my Lightning McQueen of Hearts au, tw because McQueen has a brief moment of panic)

Okay, so, it took some time getting used to the red hair. Even longer for the thorny markings to become normal. Oh but, well, the heart-shaped pupils are still a shock. Every time he looks in the mirror he can’t get over them. One might think they were just really good contacts. McQueen wishes that were the case.

And the mask.

Everyone asked questions at first, of course they did. Mater had thought it was a costume of some kind. Flo said he looked cute. Ramone wouldn’t stop picking apart the markings, commenting on the artistry as if McQueen had actually done it to himself.

And Lightning sits there biting his teeth because every time he opens his mouth he wants to shout for no reason he could just cry because why is he so angry? And the next moment he’s preening under the attention and curiously, feeling like royalty.

Its maddening. It feels more and more natural everyday.

But then.

Gosh, then—

The first petal doesn’t startle him. He thinks something blew in from outside, as he’s working with Doc on the 95. He doesn’t think about roses in the desert anymore because, well, after what he experienced. But then but then—

He sneezes one day and a whole flower blooms at his feet.

He doesn’t think he’s ever screamed that loud.

He drops the tray he was carrying and immediately Flo is at his side, having started at the alarm in his voice. he’s tripping over roses now as they blossom around his feet and from the ceiling of the diner and atop tables. They’re all he sees as he stumbles back into the counter.

There are voices around him but his eyes are shut tight because nothing makes sense. This has to be a dream. Nothing has made sense since he found that rose in the cactus patch.

When he comes to he’s laying on Sally’s shoulder, in the corner booth she, Doc, and Sheriff usually inhabit. He knows it’s her because it’s she he spends the most time with. She smells like that awesome coconut soap she uses, and her hair is soft against his face. Out of habit he reaches up to run his fingers through it and her hand wraps around his, bringing it to her lips to let him know.

He’s to reciprocate by kissing her knuckles in return, but stops short because the back of her hand is peppered with tiny little roses. Blue roses.

Her shoulders are shaking and when he looks up she’s smiling, a sweet pinkness in her cheeks. She calls him her personal garden. He’s still reeling.

Her smile falls as his silence stretches. He hates making her lose any amount of joy. With a sigh she dips her head, resting their foreheads together as he brushes through her hair as he always does to ground himself. Unspoken, she goes: it’s okay.

He initiates the kiss and she smiles into it. It fills him with an unspeakable warmth and when he opens his eyes a mess of blue roses are scattered down her hair. It’s the first time the appearance of them hasn’t startled him, because, because wow.

Maybe this wasn’t so bad.

[leclerc-s]

karma - part five

series masterlist // previous // next

charles_leclerc and natalia_leclerc posted new stories

je vous aimerai pour toujours (i'll love you forever)

"bébé, tu es l'amour de ma vie" (baby, you are the love of my life)

siempre te amare (i'll always love you)

tehe, that's my husband 🥰

hey siri, play slut! (taylor's version)

charles_leclerc posted new stories

how did i get so lucky?

😘😍

liked by gracieabrams, sukiwaterhouse, kellypiquet and others

natalia_leclerc no words to describe what it has meant to me to go on this journey with people i love. daisyjonesandthesix  has been the greatest, most fulfilling gift. it’s surreal that it has come to an end, but i have made friends for life, and memories that will bring a smile to my face forever. i could’ve never anticipated exactly how much love this show would get and how my life would change. it has just exceeded all of our dreams. i’m so proud of how far we’ve come. congratulations to all of the winners and nominees 💙 thank you televisionacad for this recognition. oh baby, look at us now 🎶

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user1 charles leclerc, you lucky son of a gun

user2 so cunty of her to be wearing red to the emmys. she owns that color.

landonorris DID YOU MEET TAYLOR SWIFT??

natalia_leclerc maybe. maybe not? charles_leclerc she almost cried. natalia_leclerc traitor landonorris and? i would too, she isn't special.

user3 can charles fight??

user4 red bull may be falling apart but charles will still simp over his wife.

sukiwaterhouse oh baby you looked gorgeous 😘

natalia_leclerc it was all you corazon charles_leclerc please stop flirting with my wife. sukiwaterhouse never you french man. charles_leclerc MONÉGASQUE!! I'M MONÉGASQUE!! sukiwaterhouse french adjacent 🤷🏼‍♀️

francesca.cgomes what a beautiful girl 💙

natalia_leclerc aww baby 💙 user5 praying for my man charles. everyone loves his wife.

user6 you're telling me lightning mcqueen pulled her?? how??

alex_albon believe me, we've been asking ourselves that same question since 2018. landonorris it's a miracle really pierregasly she is the sally to his mcqueen natalia_leclerc and pierre is the mater to his mcqueen

kellypiquet you look amazing red is definitely your color 💙

natalia_leclerc thank you kelly!

max verstappen so does anyone know who our new team principal is going to be??

charles leclerc i'm still trying to wrap my head around daniel not driving this season. sebastian vettel i haven't been told anything yet. natalia leclerc as if they're going to tell me. i only know everything because charles tells me everything.

max verstappen i was hoping someone would know something. i think the anticipation will slowly kill me.

charles leclerc good, then i can become champion. sebastian vettel not that he needs you to be dead to beat you.

max verstappen i guess we'll see won't we?

charles leclerc we will, won't we? natalia leclerc men 🙄

sebastian vettel i think if we don't know anything it's because they haven't found a replacement.

max verstappen then that's stupid, why are they going to announce it when they haven't found someone to replace him?

natalia leclerc because even now we can't get away from spanish papers. someone leaked this shit.

sebastian vettel i have a crazy idea.

charles leclerc how crazy are we talking here?

sebastian vettel i'll be back in like 40 minutes.

max verstappen way to leave us hanging seb

40 minutes later

sebastian vettel i don't know how successful i was but i think they'll think about it.

natalia leclerc seb, what did you do?

sebastian vettel hopefully something worthy of younger seb's chaos.

max verstappen we're fucked

charles leclerc don't be mean. as long as it's not another multi-21 we'll be fine.

sebastian vettel oh my god. let it go. charles leclerc as long as people still hold the inchident against me. i will hold multi-21 against you.

natalia leclerc i don't know why anyone thinks you three are serious people. you're all children.

max verstappen says the woman who's been thiristing over her husband on social media.

"how long did it take you to convince him?" natalia asked. sebastian huffed, "i almost got down on my knees to beg."

"it would not have come to that," kimi replied.

sebastian rolled his eyes, "he was enjoying it. i had to ask his wife to help me convince him. they gave me a deadline to get him on board."

"was there any other option?" max questioned.

"jenson," seb answered at the same time kimi said, "mark."

charles laughed, "oh, would it not have been great to see seb and mark on the same team again?"

"they would've killed each other," max realized.

"no, we wouldn't," sebastian argued. natalia gave him a shit-eating grin, "you still have to see him at the paddock, like every week. he's oscar's manager."

"the mini-me?" kimi quizzed, looking up from his ice cream, because nothing would stop him from enjoying ice cream. everyone at the table looked at him confused, kimi shrugged, "i read what people say. sometimes."

the conversation was stopped by kelly's arrival, "sorry, i'm late. daniil was running late and- nevermind. did you order yet?"

max shook his head, "just kimi, said he needed his ice cream."

"it's very good," kimi replied, "but i don't share."

sebastian huffed again, "i made a huge mistake."

"too late."

taglist: @janeholt3 @vroomvroommuppett @charlesgirl16 @someoneintheworld @iconicbookstore @evans-dejong @minmira95 @leanneg97 @asparklysoul @d3kstar @lollie0024 @magical-spit @gemnetjournal @rockyhayzkid @weekendlusting @ironspdy @namgification @moonyzsworld @Fall-bambi @emilyval1 @lorenakaspersen @spilled-coffee-cup @butterfly-lover @blushmimi @mgmoore @lovely-blackinnon @six-call @bingewatche @vroomvroom95 @lesliiieeeee @itscrzy @alymeddar @fletchingarcher @casperlikej @minmira95

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¡leclerc-s speaks! hope i didn't let anyone down with the kimi reveal, which due to popular demand, i just had to go with him. trust when i say i would've gone with seb if i didn't already have plans for him. listen, i love ollie, he is a baby, and i just had to include him somehow. so i took creative liberties. realistically this couldn't happen but oh well, poaching him and arthur was definitely seb's idea. also, please don't hate me for the daniel thing but liam lawson deserves an f1 seat and he's getting one in this story. at least i didn't get rid of him completely.

¡disclaimer! this is in no way making assumptions about the people involved in this story, this is all fake. it is a fanfiction please don't take any of what is said seriously. this is all for entertainment purposes and as a creative outlet for me. enjoy!

[the-kings-tail-fin]

If you haven’t done so already, can you do a small fic of Lightning’s first win after Doc’s death? I imagine that he would’ve been felt a bit sad but proud at the same time because in a way he’s dedicating his wins to Doc.

The media called it a slump. Racing analysts across the country questioned if Rusteze’s brief stint as a regular championship contender was at an end.

“The brightest stars burn the quickest.”

“A broken team with no crew chief cannot mentally compete, and racing is 50% mental endurance.”

“McQueen just doesn’t have it in him anymore.”

No one stopped to acknowledge that the team was still grieving.  The news of the death of the Fabulous Hudson Hornet spread like wildfire, eliciting an onset of well-wishes, condolences, and semi-genuine support toward Team Rusteze. But that was four months past. The racing world moves on quickly. Two weeks after the news broke, things were back to normal.

Except they weren’t. Nothing had changed. It hurts less to forget and move on, and that’s something the ever positive Piston Cup racing series is quite good at. Write down a name and a biography in a history book and move right along. Focus on the now. Focus on the bright side of racing. The Fabulous Hudson Hornet was immortalized, it wasn’t like he was really gone.

But the Piston Cup didn’t know Doc. They didn’t know the car behind the name, that harsh judge, that caring doctor. And Lightning hated it. The one car that meant so much to him, that the sport claimed to have such a connection to, no one else knew him. They forgot him. At will! Instantaneously! Like there wasn’t still an empty stand on pit row. Doc was glaringly absent.

Lightning wanted to be frustrated. He wanted to be angry at someone, anyone who had let this happen. But let what happen? Let Doc die? No one saw it coming, except maybe Doc, but they’d never know. Let everyone forget? They’d claim they hadn’t forgot, that he’ll forever be remembered. They wouldn’t understand. Who was “they”? Lightning didn’t even know the answer to that.

It had been four months. They’d had plenty of time to regroup. The team was working harder than ever before to compensate for lacking performance. Guido changed tires flawlessly. Fillmore always delivered on fuel. But something was still missing. Lightning knew it was him. His mental game wasn’t just skewed, it was nonexistent. 

There’s something inherent in nature itself that when your environment changes, you change, too. You have to adapt. It’s law. Whether you like it or not, you evolve to fit the world around you. And Lightning had fought this for four long, long months. That silence on the radio, only broken with occasional factual, emotionless updates regarding tire pressure, fuel mileage, and pit sequence was killing him. He needed something more. He needed someone to jest at him when he made a mistake, someone to bad mouth the other racers as they screwed up around him. He needed Doc.

California. It happened at Los Angeles, on a day that almost mirrored the day the tiebreaker race took place. Bright, abundant sunshine, not too warm. It was beautiful. The atmosphere placed Lightning at unusual ease as the team arrived and unpacked in the garages. There was something familiar on the breeze that day, like Doc was there.

“You ready, Stickers?”

He turned and looked at Sally. He smiled, she offered one in return. 

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” he replied.

Sally’s soft smile faltered. Some days were better than others, they both experienced them. The tone in his voice, the flitting of his gaze said more than his lie of a response.

“What’s wrong?” 

She asked the question like she didn’t already know the answer. At this point, it was almost routine, and honestly, she didn’t expect a great answer. Another lie, another half truth, maybe.

But Lightning’s gaze fell. He looked around the garage stall and those next to him. They were empty, for now.

“This was where he showed up first, y’know?” he gestured at the space around him. “This track. After I fixed the road, after they found me and brought me to race in the tiebreaker. Doc drove all the way out here to - “

He stopped. She knew what he meant. A few heavy moments of silence passed.

“But, yeah, I better go to the pits, get ready,” he muttered quietly, turning to exit the bay.

“Wait a second, there,” Sally stopped him before he’d moved more than a few inches. 

“Sal, they’re calling the racers, I gotta - “

“Why did Doc decide to come out here, huh?” she pressed. 

“Well, you know…” his sentence trailed into a non-answer. “You were there when he made the decision, not me.”

“Tell me, Lightning,” her voice softened. “Why?”

He shrugged. “He just decided to come back. I guess he changed his mind.”

Sally nodded a little and sighed. She knew she wasn’t going to get the words out of him that she wanted.

“Yeah,” she agreed. “Doc forgave them, you know? He saw they all weren’t bad. He saw it in you.”

“What are you saying, Sally?”

“I’m saying that you need to do the same,” she explained as gently as she could in such a loud, bustling environment. “What happened to Doc wasn’t anyone’s fault, you know that. It’s not easy, and I don’t expect you to change overnight. I wouldn’t want you to. But… Doc would want you to be happy, to keep racing at your best. He forgave them - he came all that way to support you. And he might not be here right now, but don’t tell me you can’t feel it, too.”

He looked up at her. Her words stung. They always did. She always spoke the logical truth, bringing to the light the things he’d rather stay hidden. But yes, he did feel it. It wasn’t just an uncanny coincidence of the weather and location. Doc was there, somehow, some way.

“I know, Sal, I’m workin’ on it,” he said. “Guess I’m just not good at these things.”

“No one is. And that’s okay.”

She gave him a soft nudge in the fender. He returned in kind and looked again toward the track.

“Now,” Sally’s voice changed into something more productive, more motivating. “You’ve got a race to go run. Can you try something for me?”

“What?”

“Run this race for Doc, not in spite of his absence. I want to see you in that winner’s circle making a dedication speech to him here in a couple hours, alright?”

“Heh, alright,” he brushedit off without bothering to give it a second thought. “I’ll see you after. Love you.”

“Love you more. Be safe!”

Lightning immediately felt himself fall into the same routine of thinking, the same emotions that plagued him every race. That stand was still empty. The radio was still silent. And still, no one noticed.

He forgave them. How could he do that? They’d kicked him out on the spot. Doc had now been forgotten twice, he - 

He forgave them.

The persistent breeze lost itself in the roar of engines on the pace laps. Lightning’s concentration went with it. The lights on the pace car were off, he’d have to focus on not spinning his tires, getting around the cars in front of him. He’d have to do anything but think about - 

I didn’t come all this way to see you quit.

The sudden memory jolted him from his repetitious daze. He looked around. Half a turn left. He could see the restart zone, the flagger getting ready to wave that green.

Doc drove from Radiator Springs to Los Angeles overnight after a sudden change of heart to help him. He’d just up and forgiven the racing world for what it had done to him. Because what did it matter? He was still a champion. He could still coach. He was a legend, and nothing would change that. Docdidn’t need the Piston Cup to tell him who he was and who he wasn’t. The PistonCup didn’t know him. They didn’t need to.

Sally was right. Doc didn’t spend those last couple years of his life teaching Lightning everything he knew just to see him lose his edge after an unexpected setback. Death might have taken Doc, but it couldn’t take everything that Doc had done for Lightning. And Doc had taught him about a whole lot more than just racing.

Run this race for Doc.

And he did. 

[whipplefilter]

I assume that when Lightning had his crash Cal saw and was immediately thrown into a panic attack. If we’re going with the “Cal’s parents died in a crash hc” then that’s 3 loved ones put in dangerous crashes. I’m assuming that Strip and Lynda suspect something when he just gets up and walks away from the TV. Idk, could I request a fic about this please? Thanks

I’ve already read some fic a bit like that, and I didn’t want to step on their territory or accidentally plagiarize, so I started this from a slightly different place, and tried to recreate that strange, strange moment when you’re minding your own business and messing around on the Internet or whatever and suddenly get your world turned upside down by bad news. D:

Cal’s not watching the race. Sure, it’s the last of the season and there’s the usual big to-do, but this is the first season Cal hasn’t finished. For all Cal’s kindness, he’s not going to pretend that doesn’t hurt. Not for the Next-Gens’ sakes. Especially since it doesn’t matter who wins this race. Storm’s pretty much locked in; he doesn’t race risky enough to blow anything now, and no one but Lightning has enough starts to even touch him. And Cal respects his friend, but chances are Lightning’s only gonna touch air. Lightning could win this race and not put a dent in Storm’s points lead. Cal doesn’t need to see that.

So he repaints his uncle’s fence. He organizes the toolshed. He goes to the store and buys a box of filters. He thinks about making holiday plans for Champions Week, somewhere far away and utterly indifferent to the Piston Cup. He hears Belize is supposed to be nice.

He’s reading an Uproxx article about the “Top 5 Roadside Pullouts to Witness in Belize” when Lightning’s name pops up in the Unrelated Articles sidebar, next to the word “Devastating.”

Cal assumes that means Storm won.

Wear good shocks. Even major highways in Belize are rugged, though its natives make a sport of taking curves fast, he reads. Belize has the world’s largest population of Jaguars.

Was it “devastating,” really? Cal wonders. To him, “devastating” implies that no one really saw this coming. Storm’s consistent blowout wins does not a sport make, so maybe if the media does the rest of them the kindness of pretending they had any chance at all makes it seem more suspenseful. Maybe it’s a gesture of good faith towards those who’d previously been at the top of the sport. Or maybe it’s just a mess that Lightning will now have to answer to. He’ll be answering reporters’ questions about his “devastating” loss all break. If, indeed, it’s a break and not an end. But maybe it’d be worse if they didn’t ask anything at all. Cal’s seen more analysts talk about him than have wanted to talk to him, and while he’s never particularly enjoyed interviews even under better circumstances, they always end up talking about him like he’s dead.

Last time he checked, he’s not.

Cal flips over to Facebook, because he’s pretty sure a friend of his had gone to Belize a few weeks ago–for the birding, not the hairpin turns, but Cal remembers liking all the bird photos.

#PistonCup, #RookieWins, and #LightningMcQueen are all trending. If the world had been a different place and if hashtags had existed in 2006, Cal can imagine it would have looked about the same. hashtag Crash, hashtag Strip Weathers, too.

Cal quickly scrolls past all of the news out of the LA 500 in favor of birds.

He wonders if Lightning would come with him. Maybe not. Belize is far way to go without the promise of a race, and Lightning prefers to be home. Cal smiles about that, because as long as he’d known Lightning, this had always been one of his great dilemmas: What should he do during break? Stay at home, or a World Grand Prix? What should he do on Wednesday? Go home or hit a dirt track? Racing, or more racing, or more racing? Lightning had turned down an all-expenses-paid trip to an Acapulco resort to rally in Baja once–missed the resort and the next cup race’s practices, besides.

“This is gonna kill you one day,” says Bobby when they reunite at qualifying. Bobby’s still wearing his Acapulco shades, refusing to relinquish them along with their promise of the beautiful beach he’d bought them on until absolutely necessary.

“Surfing will definitely do that first!” Lightning replies brightly, nodding at Cal. (The waves in southern Mexico had been, as they say, “choice.” So long as you weren’t just learning to surf. Which Cal was. Bobby had snapped a now-viral photo of Cal completely draped in manta rays.)

On the other hand, this might be Cal’s best chance to get Lightning out of his norm. The media had not been forgiving about the trajectory of his season, and if given the chance to leave that, Lightning might take it this time. Sally would probably enjoy Belize.

Cal can’t remember who took all the bird photos. But boy, Facebook’s Trending Topics is sure insistent about hashtag Lightning McQueen. Cal probably wouldn’t admit this in public, because it’s a bit shameful, but he’s sort of glad that it’s Lightning trending, and not Storm. Even Storm’s upset isn’t really about Storm, record-breaking or not. It’s about the rest of the sport. Its future without its legends.

He’s mid-sentence through an email to Lightning when he’s interrupted.

“Cal?” Lynda calls from outside. She’d been gardening with the radio on. More dedicated than he, she hadn’t missed a race in 40 years. Her disinterest in Jackson Storm wasn’t about to stop her now. “Cal, have you heard?”

She sounds distressed, which is a tone Cal’s only ever heard her take when she’s worried about him. The house could be on fire and sinking into the sea all at once and Lynda wouldn’t blink. But if Cal might be hurt? It’s a different story.

“Yes!” Cal calls back obligingly. It’s sweet that she’d be concerned about his reaction to Storm’s win–nail in the coffin, end of an era, that sort of thing. But he’s trying to be gracious and high ground about it all. He doesn’t want to be given opportunities to mope, as nice as that might be. “Yes, I heard! It’s all good! I’m fine! Congratulations to him!” he adds.

But something’s wrong. Lynda’s turned the radio off. She’s turned the hose off. She didn’t even clean the fertilizer from her tires but she’s coming inside.

“Honey, I really don’t think you have,” she says, before disappearing from his window and pealing around the house.

The garage door rattles up, and Cal hears his uncle’s engine, too. They’re discussing something.

Cal’s undercarriage drops.

He turns back to his computer, screen filled now with colorful images of tropical birds.

Behind them is a sea of Lightning McQueen, trending everywhere.

Lightning, plus “devastating.”

Cal just yanks the power cord. He doesn’t want to know. Or maybe he doesn’t want to know like that. He doesn’t know what he doesn’t want to know. Suddenly, everything feels very stupid.

But he does, of course. He needs to know if–

“What happened?” he asks breathlessly, joining his aunt and uncle in the foyer. He can’t breathe.

“We don’t know yet,” Strip answers, which is itself enough. “They don’t know yet.”

“Okay” is a two syllable answer. In racing, anything more complicated is bad–and “okay” has a pretty broad definition. Cal’s seen cars in three pieces pronounced “okay.”

It’s bad.

“Cally, honey,” says Lynda, which Cal hasn’t been called in approximately eleven years, “I need you to breathe.”

And it’s stupid, but Cal tries to imagine a beach–someplace pleasant and calm and nice–and summons only a vision of cornering on a highway in Belize, alone. Like he said, it’s stupid. It’s stupid. Everything had been so normal and in an instant it turned so stupid.

“Cal–”

“Cal–!”

[mlsfrvr]

#throwbackthursday I rewatched Cars yesterday and I read things about Sally from blogs and I'm sure you read them. There are a few things that I would like to say. Since the day I saw Sally in the first movie I always wanted to have a Porsche. Obviously it is impossible. Anyway. In the first film, Sally took on an important role. She was holding the town together. Everyone was desperate, but she was struggling for something. I would love to know her life in Los Angeles. Maybe it depends on other reasons why she help the town. She just does not help because she's in love with the beauty there. Even meeting McQueen was an important process. I'm sure McQueen was in love with her first appearance. Although he said he would not take dinner her, he likes her. Sally was again the reason why McQueen did not want to leave the town before a few days of great racing. Neon signs were already fixed for her. When the team came in to pick him up, I noticed that both of them had their eyes filled up again. What a great loss. For a moment I thought Sally would go behind the trailer. Because on that scene, Sally really seemed to find it what she was looking for. Happiness. Yes, she had said she was not happy in Los Angeles, but there was something much more serious about her. Maybe we will never find out, but she was really happy with McQueen for the moment, and at least I think so, she trusted someone. She seemed to be relaxed. After the race, he returned to the town because he missed the place, and he missed Sally too. We all know that. And I hate that because Mater breaks that moment. We lost the single kissing scene because of him. (But I'm just angry for that scene. I love Mater, do not get it wrong.) Whatever it is anyway. Okay, Sally had to be very visible in the first movie. After all, it was a movie about the town. But I will not say the same things for the next movies. I was very excited when the second film came in five years. But they showed Sally for almost five minutes or so. It was a complete disappointment. The only thing we could see was that both of them were in Wheel Well and that scene did not last that long. Then we watched McQueen's jealousy because of Francesco and then they left the town for World Grand Prix. Only Sally was not treated badly. All the characters in town were treated badly. It was just a film about Mater. It was a movie intended to make money. I'm not even talking about the pit scene in London. It was frustrating. I sincerely laughed in the film only on McQueen, Francesco and Sally scene. Six years later, the third movie was a little better. Maybe not as much as the first movie, but we still saw Sally. She convinced McQueen and many more. At least there were female characters and it was a feminist film. I hope that in the coming years something like a short movie will come out and we can learn what it is. Or they turn alternatives into short films for Cars 3 and we learn about Sally's past. I love Sally so much and I do not want anything to happen to her. She and McQueen deserve the best. For me, they had to get married for 11 years. There is nothing to do. All I want is short films to arrive. Or better yet, they can start working on the fourth film.

[lightning95mcqueen195]

Lightning HeadCannons

Hey, I was bored and I wrote out all the headcannons I have on the kachow boy. There's 50 so I hope y'all will like some of them at least. :) I've seen people put their headcannons on here and I wanted to share mine lol. 1. He's terrified of the dark and needs a night light or someone to cuddle with at all times. 2. He's got anxiety issues, idk maybe just anxiety in general or separation anxiety, cause I think I'd be cute to see him all scared in a store or something with Sally and he can't find her and he's getting scared and then he turns around and she's behind him and he just gets so relieved and hugs her or something, omg. 3. He wants kids one day, but is kind of nervous cause he's afraid he's gonna mess up by not being there or just doing something wrong, but he'd really like to have a daughter. 4. He gets really nervous in tough situations, like super shaky and sweaty (do cars sweat??) and he gets this cute stutter or something. 5. He's a very hyper car, like he was a hyper child always running around and wearing himself out, and like now he's calmed down a bit but he sometimes just gets that burst of energy and no one can freaking calm him down. 6. He's a really good singer, but his anxiety causes him to not sing in public. Maybe he sings with Sally or something idk that'd be cute. 7. With the singing thing, he's not usually shy in front of people and fans but put him on a stage with a microphone and he's got chronic stage fright. 8. Oh, he's shy! I can feel it! He may be able to show that smile on the camera, but on the inside he wishes he could crawl into a hole and leave all these cameras behind lol. 9. He wears glasses/contacts. Idk, I think he'd make a cute nerdy kid. 10. Oh, speaking of nerdy kid, I think he was one. He may seem kinda dumb and hot headed in Cars but he was actually super smart throughout school. He was like top of his class, playing chess, and getting them A's. 11. He had braces. Come on, no one can be born with those perfect teeth without going through some major dental work. 12. He loves to play video games, but not with someone else cause he can't stand losing. 13. He was a delinquent as a kid (even with all them good grades and what not) but like he would do all kinds of bad things around his hometown or something, like all the cops knew him by name lol. 14. He had an abusive father. Idk, I feel he had something bad in his childhood cause that would explain his nasty attitude in Cars, but I feel like his dad maybe forced him into racing when McQueen didn't even want to, and his dad would just abuse him for it. Lighty eventually fell in love with racing, but he always thought of his dad and he's always had that fear that he might come back and hurt him again because he wasn't the nasty racer his dad wanted him to be. 15. Lightning has thought about marriage, but he's nervous about it because he doesn't want to have a divorce like his parents did when he was younger. Plus he doesn't see why him and Sally need marriage because they are perfectly happy the way they are, plus they're both super busy so planning a wedding on top of that would be a literal wreck. 16. His mom was super supportive of him. She was always the one cheering him on a sport events and stuff and she like loves Lightning more than anything in the world and she can't help but gush to the other moms about what Lighty is doing now and how amazing he is. 17. Lighty calls his mom ALL THE TIME! Like four times a week I'd say, like he's always excited to tell his mom what he's been doing and just talking to his mom in general. 18. He reads fanfiction, like he has fandoms he obsesses over or something and he's kind of embarrassed by it, so when people drive in while he's reading it he kind of freaks out and will throw his phone across the room. 19. He loves to sleep and he's like a really heavy sleeper, like nothing will wake him up. He has to set like five alarms at the same time just to make enough noise to wake him up. 20. He loves to cuddle! He's not super clingy but he can be if he wants. He's always looking to cuddle and maybe have a movie date night. 21. He has beautiful handwriting (tire-writing??) and like Sally is jealous cause hers sucks and Lightning freaking breaks out the cursive and Sally ends up just throwing the pen in frustration. 22. Lightning is involved with his fans and the fandom based on him (in the Cars world 😂). He's always talking to his fans and he keeps up with them and laughs at all the things they post about him being super sexy and how he's such a dork. 23. He's a dork. (No explanation needed) 24. He has like so many social media accounts, I'm talking an Instagram, SnapChat, Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook like he's got it all. 25. He loves Netflix, like he binge watches TV shows and movies 24/7. 26. His favorite alcoholic drink is Vodka, even though he's a lightweight, but he figures "go big or go home". 27. He loves horror movies, like he adores them and can't get enough of them! Sally will be terrified and he'll be sitting there complaining about what a big baby she is and how it's not even scary. 28. He loves to read, like he loves all them teen books and all the movies that come out based on books (Fault in Our Stars, etc.). He can't get enough of them. His favorite is Twilight. 29. He likes chick flicks. Like he never admits it, but he does get teary eyed from some of them. 30. He loves fire and he loves the Fourth of July cause he loves fireworks and fire and he gets to play with it ( lol no idea where this came from tbh). 31. He loves Trap music and he likes to get down with it. 32. He's a terrible dancer but he tries. 33. He's literally terrible at everything besides racing. 34. He loves art and he can't help but go to art museums and stuff. 35. If he ever got into a movie as an actor, he wants it to be a horror movie so he can play dead and stuff lol. 36. He loves horror, but he's terrified of dolls, like he can't stand them at all. 37. He's a heavy sleeper but it's like so hard for him to fall asleep. He'll be on social media for hours before he passes out from exhaustion. 38. He has night terrors (due to his abusive dad and what not) and he sometimes wakes up crying and screaming in the middle of the night. When he lived alone he always had to get up and make some tea or something to calm down, but now that he lives with Sally she comforts him in any way, shape, or form. 39. He's jealous of people who can get up early because he totally cannot. 40. Lighty loves his dank memes. They take up probably 99% of his phone storage. 41. It's easy to make him laugh. 42. He has several kinds of laughs. He's got like a polite chuckle and then a full on laughing fit like he's choking and dying or something. There's no in-between. He has one of those laughs that's funnier than the actual joke. 43. He loves Disneyland and he wants to go back but he never has time. He still remembers the first time he went and it makes him sad cause he can't go back for a while. 44. He's a kid at heart. 45. He's always getting in trouble because he does some stupid things from time to time. 46. He loves the beach, like he literally loves it. He owns like a condo in California and he goes there sometimes (with or without Sally) and just chills on the beach. When he's with Sally he'll race along the shore and spray sand everywhere and getting Sally dirty in the process and then she won't talk to him for the rest of the day lol. 47. He's a big coffee drinker because he can't wake up in the morning. 48. He legit uses the word "lit" like all the time and he uses it when talking to his fans and his fans get annoyed sometimes cause he says it way too much and they say stuff like "Light, stop abusing the word or else we aren't using it anymore" then he like just keeps repeating it until everyone literally stops chatting with him. 49. He loves YouTube and he has all his favorite YouTuber's and what not. 50. He loves to argue, like all the time, but more in a fun way than an actual argument way. He'll argue about literally anything and it drives Sally insane until he starts cracking up.

[heartstringsbloom]

Au where McQueen was created (a la the replica program from Kingdom Hearts) for racing and this can go either way, but for the purposes of this story we’ll focus on humanized!Cars

When he wakes up he’s blank. He can perceive everything, see the white walls around him, feel the baggy white jumpsuit he’s wearing. But he doesn’t really associate with anything, rather he just perceives

A man in a lab coat walks in and tells him that he’s a racer. What does that mean?

He learns that it means to go fast, to loop around a track over a hundred times for a trophy. That trophy means he’s the best. The person they hand him off to—Harv—tells him that he’ll be the best

People cheer for him and scream his name from the stands. All he has to do is make first place in that little red car they give him

They also tell him that his name is Lightning. Because he’s fast, there and around the track in a flash. Lightning McQueen.

Royalty? Not yet, Harv tells him. Not until he wins the Piston Cup

But McQueen gets lost on the way. It was supposed to be a tie-breaker, but Mack—and Mack is so nice, always makes Lightning smile—leaves him behind at some diner while McQueen was signing autographs. Strange little mementos that people like to ask of him.

Lightning doesn’t think he meant to. He had been told that the race was too important to miss. Maybe Mack didn’t realize he had even left the trailer

McQueen wanders. It’s nighttime, and the stars are bright and decorate the sky. McQueen wonders why the cars passing have headlights when his doesn’t

(The track is always lit. Is too much light a bad thing? Is he a bad thing?)

One of the cars slows next to him, and McQueen sees the window roll down. Someone with a hat and a badge

Sheriff of . . . Well the man doesn’t say, but he asks Lightning if everything is alright. Lightning thinks it is, except he doesn’t know how to get to California.

It’s a long way, Sheriff tells him. Guess McQueen has a long walk

Sheriff scoffs and asks if he needs a place for the night. Lightning doesn’t think so. He only needs to get to California. But Sheriff shakes his head and mutters something Lightning can’t make out, sorry.

He offers Lightning a ride

Can Sheriff get him to California?

What is with you, kid? You need some rest.

Okay.

Sheriff takes him to a bright orange motel with a sigh that reads “Cozy Cone,” and it makes Lightning smile. It reminds him of the track. Nothing else

Inside is someone with hair bluer than the sky, Lightning thinks. She has to be made of the sky, or the ocean, or maybe both. He asks

She blinks at him and her face gets pink, making her ocean eyes all the more vibrant. Wow.

Sheriff calls her Sally. Lightning forever associates her with everything blue and beautiful

She shows him to a room, and he tilts his head in the tiny but warm space. It’s smaller than his trailer

Is it? Sally asks. He nods, clutches his trailer key in his pocket. He wonders how Mack is doing

Sally asks if he’s hungry, and Lightning hasn’t thought about it. He���s . . . Never been hungry, has he? Should he be?

“Should I be?”

Sally blinks and her eyes get softer, and she looks him up and down as if she’s seeing him for the first time. Lightning mimics her, smiles because she’s so lovely and he wonders how the stars would scatter across her waves of hair

She says to stay put, and leaves. Lightning falters, saddened by her absence, and falls to sit on the floor, folding his legs in a crisscross

He lights up when she returns, carrying a bag of something that smells amazing.

She sets it on a small table next to the bed, beckons him over and starts talking about burgers and fries and a tiny salad, whatever those are

But he eats, seeing how she smiles when he does, and it makes him want to do everything in his power to keep that on her face

Sally bids him goodnight and leaves, and it’s a little sad because she’s so wonderful, but the food tastes amazing so Lightning doesn’t feel as sad

He stares at the empty takeout carton when he’s finished. Thinks about Sally and the stars and burgers and the bed. It’s a soft, neatly made and fresh-smelling. He lays down slowly, finding it an interesting alternative to the seat in his car

He doesn’t think of California that night, too swayed by the sky and the ocean and stars.

[whipplefilter]

Love your work 👍How would Cruz react if Francesco visits Radiator Springs. Would he congratulate her and offer to take her out for a drink in front of lightning(in a platonic way). I imagine Cruz is a fan girl of his(little bit of a crush with those open wheels and all).How would lightning react. Can you maybe do a fanfic.😁I would love to hear your take on it. Thanks

Thank you! I’m glad you enjoy my work. :D I’ve never written Francesco before, haha. Let’s give this a shot!

“You’re an oasis in the desert. This is what they say, no?”

“About–about me?” the protégé stammers. “Uh, no, I don’t… I don’t think they do–!”

“Can you not?” McQueen pouts, eyeing Francesco. “How have you not outgrown this?”

“For Francesco there is nothing to outgrow. He does not outgrow romance! Francesco only masters it. Where’s Signora Sally?”

“Aren’t you married?” McQueen asks.

“Then why are you worried?” Francesco replies playfully, and wiggles his eyebrows.

Fic: Aperto

Francesco Bernoulli alights in Radiator Springs the way he does anything–with aplomb. Mama comes with him, enchanted by the promises of the desert and its interplanetary strangeness. Phoenix is already different from seaside Porto Corsa. Lightning McQueen has arranged for his and Mama’s transportation to his little town, and within the first few miles Francesco immediately understands why. The desert is vast.

Francesco’s seen on TV the haulers that transport the American racers, but the truckbed he and Mama ride in is open to the air. Her scarf whips like a proud flag in the wind and it’s exhilarating, truly, to watch the sand slip past and feel the wind streamline around them. The truck is only going 100 or so kilometers an hour, but the slow speed feels different when it is not Francesco’s own wheels on the bitumen, and when the world is so flat and open and shimmering with the slightest dusting of snow in places. Everything is wide and straight, and once outside the serpentine coil of the Phoenix autostrada, it is not so busy. He has been here before, of course. But it has been a long time, and he does not remember. The first time he’d ridden in a private jet, courtesy of the United Kingdom; he hadn’t seen much beyond the makeshift track they’d driven. And when Francesco races, he does not tend to see scenery.

Francesco is in Radiator Springs today for yet another race. In the years since he’d last touched ground in America, his friend McQueen had, it seemed, gone and found himself a protégé. And in this, her third year in competition for the Cup, she’d won it. She’d then decided she wanted to seed a charity race with a portion of her winnings, and so McQueen had hit the phones. 

Francesco is not sure who else he’ll see this week, though he imagines it will be mostly Americans; McQueen had not actually offered more incentive than a race and a room at something called “Wheel Well” that he promised was delightful. (“I know, I know. Open wheels. Whatever. You’re welcome to sleep outside if you want,” McQueen had preempted.)

“Open wheels,” gapes a muscular yellow car, upon his arrival. The way McQueen looks at her, she must be the protégé.

“Not you, too!” he says, rankled. Then he turns to Francesco and adds, smoothly, “Francesco! Glad you could make it!”

“Your country is very beautiful,” replies Francesco. “It’s a pleasure to return. And Mama says she enjoys the desert very much, which is always a welcome thing.”

McQueen blinks. Clearly he’d been expecting an insult, but that’s the game they play. Rather, Francesco orchestrates, and McQueen follows. See, Francesco enjoys fluttering between insult and grace; it keeps his companions on their toes, and in all the years they’ve known each other McQueen’s never been able to anticipate which tack Francesco will lead with. To his credit, it doesn’t always matter. Some days McQueen adapts seamlessly to either, and doesn’t so much as bat an eye. This, while always a slight disappointment, Francesco does grudgingly admire. Other days, McQueen is less successful. This is one of those days.

“No comebacks?” Francesco offers. “Francesco leaves you alone for a decade and you go soft on him?”

“But you said it was beautiful. Why would I need a comeback?” McQueen frowns. Francesco can nearly see the cogs in his head clicking against each other. “Wait, unless you really mean that–”

“Of course, all nature pales in comparison to such automotive beauty,” Francesco says to the protégé, and offers her his best smolder.

She squeaks. “It’s such an honor to meet you, Mr. Bernoulli!”

“Please, call him Francesco,” says Francesco.

“Still with the third-person, ey?” greets a bedazzled Chevy as he sails by. His tone is slightly less than overjoyed, but not unfriendly. But Francesco never breaks eye contact with the protégé.

“You’re an oasis in the desert. This is what they say, no?”

“About–about me?” the protégé stammers. “Uh, no, I don’t… I don’t think they do–!”

“Can you not?” McQueen pouts, eyeing Francesco. “How have you not outgrown this?”

“For Francesco there is nothing to outgrow. He does not outgrow romance! Francesco only masters it. Where’s Signora Sally?”

“Aren’t you married?” McQueen asks.

“Then why are you worried?” Francesco replies playfully, and wiggles his eyebrows.

“He’s happily married. Four kids, Italian supercar. She’s been on the cover of Vogue five times. She’s actually in Monaco on a shoot with a Saudi prince right now, so it’s probably Francesco who should be worried,” says Sally, popping out of her small hotel. Lightning gives her a look. “What? I read magazines!” Sally replies defensively.

“Giulia and the boys will be flying in from Monaco tomorrow,” Francesco confirms.

“Right. Fascinating. Well, let me show you to Wheel Well, Francesco,” McQueen says, pulling in front of both Sally and his protégé. “There’s a view I think you might be interested in.”

“Oh, allow me!” volunteers the protégé, pulling even further forward. “Come on, Mr. Bernoulli. Follow me!”

McQueen’s protégé zips down the road, taillights flashing–whether in playful provocation or sheer excitement, Francesco’s not sure. But it’s all play, really. He can’t help it. Something about McQueen just demands this sort of fun. Truly, Francesco had nearly forgotten how much he lives for that look on McQueen’s face. It’s good that he’s come here now.

“Take good care of my mother, McQueen!” Francesco calls, as he whisks past him in pursuit of the protégé.

Behind him, he hears Mama’s engine rip into action, then the silky rumble of what can only be German engineering. McQueen is last and loudest.

Francesco hasn’t raced in some time. Long and empty roads, to be sure–often faster than he’d ever raced professionally, as the twisting roads he’d trained for had never allowed for the pure, full, untechnical speed of retirement. But when he hears that engine, it’s an exhilarating, titillatingly almost-forgotten thing. He enjoys racing McQueen very much. And this yellow one, too, he realizes. She slides through a patch of raw gravel with ease, where Francesco is obligated to slow. “I’m sorry!” she shouts, of the gravel her movement kicks up, before it clatters into his face. When they get to this “Wheel Well” he should ask her name.

For now, five engines echo through the canyon, which makes the desert feel somehow vaster. Yet it’s far from empty. Francesco kisses the earth with his tires, digging into the heat of it and letting its warmth encourage more speed.

The desert, he thinks, is lovely. Perhaps beyond compare, it is beautiful. But when they reach the top, Francesco decides this is probably not what he’ll tell Lightning McQueen.

It is so much more fun to tease.

* Fun fact: Francesco’s wife in this fic is an Alfa Romeo Giulia. :3

[the-kings-tail-fin]

A one shot of lightning's proposal to Sally pur-leeze? 🙏🏻😄

This was so hard! I can see it happening so many ways…

Alright, breathe deep, McQueen. he looked at himself in the mirror, giving himself the pep talk to top all pep talks. You’ve been planning this for months. You’ve got this. You know she won’t say no. You just gotta work up the bearings to do it.

The sun was starting to set. Everyone that was supposed to be in place was casually situated in their positions. Those not in on the surprise were minding their own business, hanging out at Flo’s.

Lightning glanced at himself in the mirror again. The simple red and white paint job was a perfect replica of the one he’d had on the night he realized he loved Sally more than anything. Ramone had outdone himself once again. After making sure his white wall tires were spotless, he took another deep breath and exited Doc’s garage.

The sky was all different hues of red, orange, and yellow, fading to deep blue in the distance. The first star was already out and shining. It all felt so right, so perfect.

Radiator Springs was quiet. The tourist traffic of the day had wound down to nothing, leaving the townsfolk time for themselves. McQueen drove over to Flo’s, double checking everyone was still in their positions.

“Whoa, Mr. McQueen.” Cruz greeted him as he pulled up. “I’ve never seen you without your spoiler! You look fantastic! Special occasion?”

He knew she didn’t have a clue what his intentions were, but the inquiry still worried him a little. He just shrugged and played it cool.

“No, not really.” he said. “Just reminiscing the day I realized this town was home.”

“Son, that’s been, what, twelve years ago?” Sarge asked. 

“Yeah.” Lightning answered. “Exactly.”

Sally came cruising over from the Cozy Cone right on schedule with her daily habits.

“Wow, Stickers!” she complimented him as well. “I remember this!”

“Even after all this time?” he asked her. 

“That was the first night I saw the town in all it’s glory.” she remembered it fondly. “How could I forget?”

As if on cue, the neon lights throughout the town flickered to life in the dying natural light. Red flipped on Lizzy’s old radio. It immediately started to play the old doo-wop station. Sally felt the sentiment of that night all over again.

“You plan this?” she asked her boyfriend. 

“Oh, you know, I just thought we should celebrate that day. It’s been a while.” he casually explained, suppressing his rising nerves. “Would you join me for a cruise?”

“Now how could I say no to that?” she laughed. 

They rolled onto the now well-worn road and slowly drove through town, taking it all in. Some of the townsfolk followed suit, just like they had twelve years ago.

“You know, not a night goes by that I’m still not blown away by all this.” Sally commented as they turned around outside the town hall. “It’s still so beautiful.”

Lightning just looked at her and smiled. She was spellbound by the neon lights. Little did she know that she shined brighter than them all.

They passed half the townsfolk on the way back to Flo’s. The other half were sitting and enjoying the parade from the station. At the stoplight, the two of them stopped and looked back at the stretch of businesses and their lively signs. They took a brief moment and reflected on it.

“To think all of this, because of you.” Sally turned to face him.

“Yeah, well, sometimes you just spontaneously feel the need to ruin a road and become a hostage for a week.” he joked softly. 

“I still don’t feel like I’ve thanked you enough for this.” she chuckled a little. “I don’t know how.”

Lightning made eye contact with Flo, who immediately drove over from her gas station. 

“Do I recall someone orderin’ a special around here?” Flo asked, winking at the couple, and sliding a small box off of her serving tray onto the ground next to Lightning.

He took a breath and lowered himself to the ground. Sally stared at him and caught her breath. He hadn’t said a word, and yet her eyes were already beginning to fill with tears.

“Sally Carrera,” he started, reaching over to open the box, “On this night twelve years ago I knew I could never leave this town. I could never leave you. Because I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you, starting right here, right now. Will you marry me?”

Sally smiled through her tears and tried to find her voice. “Yes! Of course, yes!” her voice wavered and caught. Unable to say anything more, she moved in for a sincere kiss. 

The town erupted into cheers and celebration. Cruz was going absolutely ballistic, jumping up and down and screaming. Guido zipped over and helped McQueen put the shiny, bedazzled lugnut on Sally’s front left wheel. Everyone was shouting words of congratulations and encouragement, but it all faded to the background as the newly engaged couple stared into each other’s eyes.

The new chapter had begun. It was time to start planning.