#also the race where he had a mechanical failure and then made it up 2 the podium yeah <3< /div> Explore tagged Tumblr posts

[ef-1]

Twitter is mad at Daniel again because they caught on to that CH interview about Daniel being offered the same contract as Max, icl I'm also bitter about it. I wish he wasn't so rash in 2018

It's easy to be bitter in hindsight but the reality is more nuanced, had it not been recorded and internationally broadcast, what happened to Daniel in 2018 would be flat out unbelievable by ANY standard lol. Daniel had mechanical issues in every. single. weekend in 2018 <- this is not a hyperbole or a joke (more on this later). He ran multiple races with a b spec engine -> 20 bhp down on Max. At no point in 2018 did Max run a lower engine power than Daniel. Daniel incurred 8 dnfs, 4 back of the grid starts for mechanical issues and 6 grid drops in total where as Max had *1*[one]. This isn't even accounting for failures in quali or free practice that would have compromised his set up or race prep. Daniel's car accounted for 92% of Red Bull failures in comparison to Max's 8%.

Christian's cunty "he ran from a fight" comment stung particularly hard because it was Christian who made MULTIPLE public apologies to Daniel in 2018 on the ground that he wasn't given a chance to compete. Christian would apologise to Daniel again when Max won in Mexico, even though Daniel had an uncharacteristic outburst in the media pen during that famous "The car is cursed. I can't wait to give it to Pierre" This isn't even diving into the dubious & predatory RB contract practices. At 28 years old, to quote Christian "It's the first time he's effectively a free agent."

You look back at it now and lament it as a bad call but even by Christian's admission Red Bull were on the verge of selling the team for 4 years. Honda was coming in, I know it's easy to praise Honda now but Honda single handedly sent Alonso into early retirement. He found working with them untenable + said it cost him his love for the sport. Those were the lingering images of Honda as they re-entered the sport, the team who electrocuted Alonso then bled his love for racing dry.

If you weren't around in 2018 let me give you a run down so horrific it looks like a joke:

Australia - Race: 3 Place grid penalty

Bahrain - Race: DNF - Battery Failure

China - Free Practice 3: Gear box issue with complete engine turbo failure. Misses FP3 entirely, no quali set up prepared. He would go on to win that race from p6

Baku - Race: DNF - Collision with Max. Racing incident.

Monaco - Race: partial MGU-K failure. He would go on to win that race with drastic loss of power.

Canada - Free Practice 2 - Power unit issue, misses majority of the session.

France - Race: front wing failure. (it disintegrated)

Austria - Race: DNF - Retires from p3 with MGU-k Failure

Britain - Quali: DRS failure. No DRS activation, still qualifies p6 behind Max in p5

Germany - Race: Back of grid start + DNF - Takes new engine for the weekend, starts p19 + has lower power spec A ICE approximately 20 BHP down on B spec that Max was running. Daniel climbed upto p5 from p19 but incurs a MGU-k failure and retires.

Hungary - Race: Daniel is forced to run lower power spec A ICE again, 20 BHP down on B spec that Max was running

Spa - Free Practice 1 + DNF: Daniel misses entire session with engine injector issue + Daniel would go on to retire after being driven into on lap 1.

Monza - Race: Back of grid start + DNF. Daniel takes another new engine for weekend (spec C) and incurs another full grid penalty, starts p19. Daniel would go on to climb to p6 before having clutch failure and retiring.

Singapore - Race + Quali + Free practice: During every session in Singapore Daniel has an unresolved spec C engine clipping issue that Red Bull can't fix.

Russia - Race + Free Practice 1 - Daniel misses FP1 due to mechanical issues. Daniel takes another engine penalty, starts p18

Japan - Race + Quali: Daniel incurs throttle actuator failure, misses quali, another back of grid start.

USA - Race: DNF - Battery Failure

Mexico - Race: DNF - clutch Bearing failure + start software clutch issue. Daniel retires the race from P2

Brazil - Race: Daniel takes a 5 Place grid penalty due to new turbo charger replacement. Starts in p11.

Abu Dhabi - Free Practice 3: Misses majority of FP3 with water leak.

Daniel's insanely vulnerable "if racing was the only thing making me happy this year, I would have been miserable" during the last on the sofa with Max was a v apt summary of 2018. To suggest that Daniel fucked up based on the information he had in 2018, namely Daniel undergoing all those problems + knowing RB was flirting with selling the team + Helmut's fuckery + having an out from the RB umbrella for the first time in his career? Your problem isn't with his decision making process, you just wish he was clairvoyant which is an unfair thing to be bitter about

[6azia]

Refuge | Silco x m!reader

—summary. Y/N goes to Viktor for some advise while enjoying his company

—content warning. drug withdrawal

—word count. 3,0k

—azia‘s notes. I've posted it on Ao3 but now it's also here

↠Part 2 𝔐𝔞𝔰𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔩𝔦𝔰𝔱 𝕾𝖍𝖎𝖒𝖒𝖊𝖗'𝖘 𝕷𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙

The dim, greenish light of Zaun's streets filtered through the cracked windows of Singed's lab. The acrid scent of chemicals and the faint hum of machinery created a symphony of chaos that Y/N had grown far too accustomed to. Bottles of shimmer glowed faintly on the cluttered shelves, their dangerous allure casting eerie reflections on the walls. Y/N ran a gloved hand through his hair, smearing a bit of the chemicals on his temple and hair. The day's work was done, but the weight of it pressed on his chest like a vice.

The lab was far from his home which is the brothel Babette ran, hidden in the once somewhat nice depths of Zaun where few dared to venture alone. Singed worked for Silco, creating the shimmer that will fuel Zaun's underworld, but Silco didn't know Y/N was the one mixing most of it. It was a delicate balance, and one mistake could mean their life.

Y/N leaned back against the lab table, the cold metal biting into his skin through his thin coat. His mind wandered, as it often did, to Viktor. They had been inseparable once, two outcasts drawn together by their shared curiosity and hunger for knowledge at all cost. Viktor had grown up alone, an orphan with no one to care for him. Y/N, by contrast, had Babette. She wasn't what most would call a traditional caretaker, the love she offered was practical, tough, and often tinged with survivalism. But she'd taken Y/N in after his mother's death at her place and for that, he owed her everything.

When Viktor left for Piltover, Y/N had stayed behind. He'd told himself it was because Zaun needed him, but deep down, he knew the truth.

Fear.

Fear of the unknown.

Fear of failure.

Fear of leaving Babette behind in a world that could be so cruel. And so, he stayed, working under Singed, the man who had taken both him and Viktor under his wing and shaped them into the people they had become. Admirable scientist, each with their own unique twist.

Y/N's gaze drifted to the shimmering bottles. Shimmer. The lifeblood of Zaun, and its poison. He'd justified his work a thousand times over. People needed it. It gave them strength, took away their pain, gave them a fleeting sense of power in a world that sought to crush them. But each justification felt hollower than the last. Every time he handed over a batch, he felt a piece of himself crumble away.

He heard the faint creak of floorboards above him and frowned. He wasn't expecting anyone. Rising from his chair, he moved quietly toward the lab's entrance. Seeing Singed returning they gave each other a nod and Y/N made his way out of the lab

He made his way back to the brothel, he tried to ignore the people's noises and their smell as he climbed the stairs leading to Babette's room.

As he reached the top, he froze. His stomach dropped as he saw Sevika leaving one of Babette's girls' rooms, her imposing figure unmistakable even in the dim light. Her mechanical arm gleamed faintly as she adjusted her coat.

Y/N's heart raced. Why would Sevika be here? Did she see him come and go from the lab before? Did she know? Did Silco know? A cold sweat broke out on his forehead as he backed away, his breathing shallow. Silco. The man ruled Zaun with an iron fist, and while Y/N had managed to keep his work under the radar, the mere thought of being discovered was enough to make his blood run cold.

He didn't know if it was the lack of sleep letting him think like this or that the other woman really knows. Her eyes studied him like a hawk. Like she could hear his thoughts.

After taking a deep breath he convinced himself that it was only his mind playing tricks on him from the lack of sleep or the chemical fumes getting to his brain.

The guilt surged again, stronger this time. He thought of the people who will take his shimmer, desperate and broken. He thought of the lives he will ruin, the families he will tear apart more. He thought of Viktor, the man who had left Zaun to make a difference, while he had stayed behind and become part of a new  problem.

Unable to stand the suffocating weight of his thoughts and gaze on him, he slipped out into the night. The streets were loud. There was never a quiet night between the walls of Zaun. He made his way to Babette's room from the backdoor, his one refuge in this city that felt like it was closing in on him and that isn't toxic.

The old yordle was sitting at her usual spot, a rickety table in the corner of the room. She looked up as he entered, her tired eyes softening slightly.

"Y/N," she said, her voice a mixture of surprise and concern. "What brings you here at this hour?"

He sat down heavily, burying his face in his hands. "I saw Sevika and panicked" Babette's smiled at the hunched figure. "Why that?"

"I don't know," he admitted, his voice barely above a whisper. "But if he does..." He trailed off, unable to finish the thought.

"You should have stopped this a long time ago," Babette said, not unkindly. "You've always known where your path will lead."

"I thought I was helping," he said, his voice breaking. "I thought I could make a difference. But all I've done will make things worse."

Babette reached across the table, placing a hand on his. "You still have a chance to change, Y/N. It's not too late."

He nodded, though he wasn't sure he believed her. The weight of his actions felt insurmountable.

The next day, he went to see Singed. The older man was in the lab,  as always, surrounded by his strange contraptions and volatile chemicals. Y/N hesitated at the door before stepping inside.

"You are late again and didn't finish the batch," Singed said without looking up while working with the glowing substance.

"I had to talk to someone important," Y/N said.

"If Silco finds out..." The younger male started.

"Then you will have to deal with the consequences of your actions," Singed said matter-of-factly. "You've always known the risks when helping me."

Y/N clenched his fists. "I don't know how to get out of this. I don't know how to make it right."

"You could have gone with Viktor when there was still time for that," Singed suggested. "I've heard he was accepted in the academy and works now under Heimerdinger ."

The mention of Viktor brought a lump to Y/N's throat. He'd avoided reaching out, ashamed of what he'd become. But maybe... maybe it was time.

The decision was made before Y/N could second-guess himself. As night fell over the county, he gathered what little he needed, leaving behind the oppressive haze of shimmer and the guilt-ridden confines of the lab. The only thing he took with him was a back with a veil of less addictive shimmer.

The trek to Piltover was easy—few dared make the journey alone, especially with the recently more aggressive enforcers. Y/N wasn't worried about them.

He had  enough of the glowing substance in his system that he was sure none of the enforcers could ever do real harm to him. He had used it enough over the years to dull his exhaustion and sharpen his focus, but now it only reminded him of his dependence while stepping out of the hassarted air and into the clean clearing of the bridge .

The streets of Zaun seemed to mock him as he left, shadows of soon to be shimmer addicts curled in alleyways, their hollow eyes glowing faintly in the dim green light. Each one felt like a mirror, reflecting his own self-loathing. By the time he reached Piltover, the pristine air felt foreign, almost suffocating after years of breathing Zaun's chemical-tainted atmosphere.

Finding Viktor wasn't hard. Y/N still remembered the quiet corners of Piltover Viktor and he found together.

It was a quiet apartment near the academy and the library.

When he found him, Viktor was hunched over a desk, scribbling calculations in his distinctive meticulous style, mumbling about some incompetent person and not minding Y/N being there.

The room was sparse but functional, a stark contrast to the chaos of Zaun's labs. Machines hummed softly, their sleek designs a testament to Piltover's technological advancements. Viktor didn't look up immediately, but the faintest pause in his movements betrayed his awareness of Y/N's presence.

"Long time no see," Y/N said awkwardly, his voice hoarse from the journey and the weight of everything he wanted to say but couldn't.

Viktor finally glanced up, his sharp features softened by an unspoken concern. "You look terrible," he said plainly, though there was no malice in his tone.

Y/N managed a weak smile. "Zaun does that to people."

For a while, they didn't say much. Viktor returned to his work, occasionally stealing glances at Y/N, who sat silently, feeling both relieved and out of place. As the hours dragged on, exhaustion overtook them both. When Viktor finally pushed his notes aside and suggested they get some rest, Y/N was too drained to argue.

They ended up sharing a bed, just like they had when they were younger—two boys who had found comfort in each other's presence amidst the chaos of their lives. Viktor's body was warm against Y/N's, a stark contrast to the cold metal surfaces he was used to.

"I'm sorry," Y/N murmured into the darkness.

"For what?" Viktor's voice was soft, though the hint of weariness was unmistakable.

"For everything. For staying behind. For what I've become." Y/N's voice nearly broke.

Viktor was quiet for a long moment and his arm tightened around his friends. "You are not beyond redemption, Y/N. But you must want to change."

Y/N's chest tightened. He didn't respond, unsure if he could even find the words. Viktor's arm draped over him in a comforting gesture, and for the first time in years, Y/N felt something close to peace, even if it was fleeting and not lasting like how he wished.

But as he lay there, his mind kept returning to Viktor's concern earlier in the evening. "You've been around shimmer too long," Viktor had said. "It's in your system. I can see it in your eyes, your skin... It's killing you, Y/N." Viktors voice was steady while tracing some glowing veins on Y/N's body, making the other slightly shiver in their hold.

And yet, Viktor hadn't pushed him away. Despite the shimmer, despite the abandonment, despite the guilt, Viktor still cared.

As Y/N drifted off to sleep, he made a quiet vow: if he couldn't save himself, he would at least try to make things right—for Viktor, for Babette, for the countless lives he had helped destroy. Tomorrow, he would start.

The morning arrived slowly, sunlight creeping through the cracks in the curtains, its golden rays gently illuminating the small, cluttered apartment. Y/N stirred awake first, his body sluggish and aching from the withdrawal. His skin was clammy, and his muscles twitched faintly, but the warmth surrounding him was a strange comfort. It took him a moment to realize that Viktor's arm was draped protectively around him, his body pressed close and legs tangled together.

They had fallen asleep like this, and in the light of day, Y/N could feel the steady rise and fall of Viktor's chest against his back, the soft warmth of his breath brushing against the nape of his neck. For a fleeting moment, Y/N let himself sink into the quiet intimacy of it. It wasn't romantic, but it was safe. Viktor always had a way of making the world feel less heavy, even now.

Viktor stirred behind him, letting out a soft sigh as his hand unconsciously tightened around Y/N's waist. "You're awake," Viktor murmured, his voice still thick with sleep.

"Yeah," Y/N whispered, his voice hoarse. "Didn't mean to wake you."

"You didn't," Viktor replied, his tone gentle. He shifted slightly, propping himself up on one elbow to look at Y/N. His sharp eyes scanned him with a mixture of concern and something softer—something almost protective.

Y/N tried to sit up, but his body protested, a sharp tremor running through him. He winced, curling back into himself as his breathing quickened. Viktor was immediately by his side, his hand settling firmly on Y/N's shoulder.

"Easy," Viktor said softly, his thumb brushing against the fabric of Y/N's shirt in a grounding gesture. "Breathe. It's just the withdrawal."

"I hate this," Y/N admitted, his voice cracking as he buried his face in his hands. "I feel like I'm falling apart."

"You're not," Viktor said, his voice steady. "You're stronger than you think. This is just temporary."

Y/N shook his head, his shoulders trembling. "I don't feel strong, Vik. I feel useless. I feel like..." He trailed off, unable to finish the thought as his throat tightened.

Viktor didn't hesitate. He leaned closer, wrapping both arms around Y/N and pulling him into a firm embrace. Y/N tensed for a moment, but then he sank into the warmth, his head resting against Viktor's chest.

"You are not useless," Viktor said, his voice soft but resolute. "You've made mistakes. We all have. But you are trying to do better, and that is what matters."

Y/N clung to him, his hands gripping the fabric of Viktor's shirt as if it were the only thing keeping him grounded. Viktor's fingers traced soothing patterns along Y/N's back, his touch patient and steady.

For a long time, they stayed like that, wrapped up in each other, the world outside forgotten. Viktor's presence was a lifeline, a reminder that Y/N wasn't entirely alone, no matter how much it felt like it sometimes.

His mind slipping in and out of consciousness while one hand gripped their pillow with all of his might to not hurt the warm body behind him.

When the tremors finally began to subside, Y/N pulled back slightly, his face flushed with embarrassment. "Sorry," he muttered, avoiding Viktor's gaze. "I didn't mean to get like that."

"There is nothing to apologize for," Viktor said, his voice firm but kind. He reached out, gently brushing a damp strand of hair from Y/N's face. "You're allowed to lean on someone, Y/N. You've spent too long alone."

Y/N's throat tightened again, but this time it wasn't from panic. He nodded silently, unable to find the words to express his gratitude.

"Stay here," Viktor said after a moment of silence, his tone almost pleading. "You do not have to go back to Zaun. You could start over here, away from all of that like me."

Y/N hesitated, his chest tightening at the thought. "I can't," he said finally, his voice barely above a whisper. "Singed... he raised us, Vik. He gave us a place when we had nothing. I can't just leave him behind. And Ba-"

Viktor sighed and didn't let the other finish, his expression tinged with sadness but understanding. "You are loyal to a fault," he said, his lips curving into a faint, bittersweet smile. "But I will not argue with you. I know you will not change your mind."

"I wish I could," Y/N admitted, his voice trembling. "But I can't. This is my mess to fix."

"Then promise me something," Viktor said, his hand settling on Y/N's shoulder. "Come to me whenever you need. No matter the time, no matter what it's for. You do not have to face this alone."

Y/N nodded, swallowing hard. "I promise."

The sun was higher in the sky now, the light casting a warm glow over the room. They stayed like that for a while longer, sitting together in the quiet, their breaths eventually falling into sync.

Viktor didn't say it, but he knew the truth: Y/N's path would always lead him back to Zaun, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. But for now, at least, he could be here. He could be the anchor Y/N needed, even if only for a little while.

When Y/N finally rose to leave, Viktor walked him to the door, his hand lingering on Y/N's arm. "Take care of yourself," he said softly.

"You too," Y/N replied, his voice heavy with unspoken emotion.

And as Y/N stepped out into the bustling streets of Piltover, he couldn't help but look back one last time, the warmth of Viktor's embrace still lingering like a fragile piece of hope.

His steps were slow and he was looking at the city of progress. Y/N could feel the judgemental looks from the topsiders on his form.  But he didn't care.

Realizing that he was nearing the bridge, he decided to get himself something small to eat before this privilege was taken away from him. His legs took him to a small shop. An old lady was standing behind the counter, who was glaring at his dishevelled look.

" I think everything here is out of your price range. I would recommend you the shops on the other side of the bridge" The old lady grumbled while eyeing the dull looking clothes on Y/N frail form.

He however didn't spare her a glance and looked at the green apples on display. Feeling into his pockets there were still some coins so he took two for himself. Going back to the counter he dropped a gold hex coin and the lady looked distrusting to him while Y/N packed one into his bag.

[cobraonthecob]

F1 2024 Predictions!

Red Bull: Obviously they’re going to continue to dominate. They have to get in their domination years before the 2026 regulations come by, so as far as 2024 and 2025 are concerned for me, Red Bull is going to aim to dominate and they will. The only thing I’d be interested in Red Bull in is whether or not Checo will have stable mental health to hold a smaller gap in points between him and Max, because what the hell happened after Monaco alsdkjfaklsdfj.

Ferrari: I am not a superstitious person usually, but if you have Scuderia in your name, your strategists are shit. AlphaTauri has this problem, and Ferrari is the same. At least Ferrari has a car that can get points (not great ones, but still points) whereas AT will be far away from the points. So hopefully 2024, the strategists gain more brain cells, otherwise, it’s just going to be a repeat of 2023.

Mercedes: The strategy is questionable at times, but what really needs to improve is the pit stop times. They’re doing better, but they NEED to get their heads out of their asses for that because that’s the real killer in my opinion. 

Mclaren: My surprise prediction of 2024, is that Mclaren is going to be the team that will come close to lighting a fire under Red Bull. Or rather; Oscar, Lando, and Checo are going to be fighting for podium spots after Max fucks off ten seconds ahead of them (a gracious guess, it would’ve been 20 seconds but I decided to be nice). We all saw Mclaren’s miraculous technological growth this year, so assuming Mclaren doesn’t bring a tractor at the start of the season, I can very much see a Red Bull vs Mclaren fight.

Also we need a lando win. Please, he’s been suffering for too long

Aston Martin: I don’t follow AM, so if anyone wants to bring additional info, I’ll be grateful, but I feel like they’ll bring the fight to P3 in the constructor’s championship against Ferrari and Mercedes. They seem to have decent strategy and pit stops, it’s just that the car is average with two good drivers. Maybe they should hope for more rainy races and Lance works his driving-in-the-rain magic.

THE MIDFIELD:

I predict that it’s going to be an Alpine-Williams-AlphaTauri/Racing Balls fight.

Alpine: if the Frenchpine civil war doesn’t fuck them up more, because Pierre really showed what he was made of. I can’t really estimate how good they are against each other because Esteban has had 6 DNFs total, 4 being mechanical failures, 2 retirements because of collision from other people running into him, and I’m not counting all the times Esteban has run into other people but no DNF because I’m not combing through every race lol. I think they’re equal, it’s just that Esteban’s car was plagued with mechanical problems and Esteban regularly finds himself in weird situations where he’s getting bonked into or he’s bonking into someone else. Alpine is going to be fighting themselves and the rest of the midfield lol.

Williams: Alex is definitely going to head that king of the midfield fight for Williams while Logan will quietly improve and hopefully get points. 

AlphaTauri: Daniel and Yūki are probably the best driver pairing AlphaTauri could ask for. Daniel’s experience and Yūki approaching his fourth year on the team means they have to be fighting for consistent points now from both of them, and that’s only if AT doesn’t give them a tractor to drive. Also, before anyone who didn’t pay attention to Yūki’s growth this year, you missed out. The two major times I can say that Yūki costed himself points was Singapore - I definitely think he turned too early in that first lap and doing it next to Checo of all drivers - and Mexico, where he turned on the outside and bumped into Oscar and spinning himself off the track. But most importantly, even though Yūki couldn’t crawl back into the points in time, he LEARNED, and in Brazil, he applied that when he didn’t do the same error when he and Lewis were fighting. 

Sauber: Hopefully with the shedding of AlfaRomeo, they’ll bounce back. But they’re my flop prediction.

Haas: This team flopping is a given. I will be pleasantly surprised if they pull a Mclaren and miraculously be consistently pulling themselves into P9/P10 every race.

[myimaginarywonderland]

Something that I have always wondered is when does a driver classify to have a reputation for crashing into others?

Because something I always see with Lance is people saying he doesn't use his mirrors yet there really isn't that much?

Like the most famous instances are with Seb or the one with Fernando + the weekend with Max/Lando can anyone really recall anything else?

Like genuinely?

I feel like many ignore that at least 80% of DNFs from Lance are due to mechanical failure, others ruining his race or him making a mistake compeltly on his own with no one else involved.

And besides the Aston stint where he sometimes clashed with Seb, something be himself has said he regrets doing, there are really only 3 or 4 instances I can truly recall where he is fully to blame.

Which makes me wonder why does he have a reputation?

But also it brings up the question when is a driver classified as dangerous or when does he get a reputation?

So many people don't seem to understand that especially midfield drivers need to try any moves to pick up as much points as possible. Obviously this doesn't excuse dangerous driving but I feel like many people are forgetting that something a midfield driver needs to risk it because it's the only chance they have at getting points.

There's this tendency to call people out on their driving but really having a questionable move every season should be normal?

This belief that somehow people won't fight or always be cautious doesn't work because expect maybe 2 drivers, everyone truly has to fight for points and positions.

Of course drivers like Lewis and Max will drive cleanly when they are at the front in the best car because there's no threat which means no risk for them.

Drivers like Lance in 2019 or even 2017 can't afford that because they need to fight for every point. And especially in certain situations driver want to prove themselves more than others which means taking risks.

I feel like many people just like to throw around words after maybe 2 races without actually looking more realistically at the influences of those race results.

I also love people calling others out for trying to make up positions but then demanding more interesting races.

If you want closer racing and fights there are bound to be instances where drivers will be borderline or where fans will be split between who was in the wrong in an instance.

But how can you fault a driver for trying everything to get points? Unless he is truly just disregarding drivers safety or purposefully making dangerous moves (like a certain driver in 2021 that had everyone on the grid made at him) there is nothing wrong with trying out a maneuver that might not work out if he sees the chance?

Especially calling out Lance who (expect for 2020) has never been in anything better than a midfield car for certain moves just doesn't make sense.

It doesn't work like that. Yes, there are instances where criticising him is absolutely valid. Yes, it is fair to question him how he sometimes would approach fighting Seb (again something he himself regrets doing.)

But are there really enough instances to give him a label like that especially when it almost never actually showed in results (again most of his DNFs are from other factors.)

[slow-button-off]

I feel like it’s easy to look at the drivers standings today and think about Charles as being « frustrated »

But it’d really only looking at today’s race and yesterday’s quali. The whole picture is so different. The first two races he was « robbed » of so many points by no fault of his own. But of course it’s Motorsport and a team sport so it’s not just luck it’s also a failure on the team part, but those 2 races he actually drove really well with the car he had.

Today it’s a bit different but I also don’t think he could have done much different on that first lap. Maybe he is a bit faulty, maybe Lance is too. But I really don’t think he made that much of a move, like maybe he would have done in 2019 or 2020. Looking back it really looks like a textbook first lap race incident, and with gravel it’s a dnf. While Carlos today, that mistake was avoidable. But he is not the best at starts so those restart are dangerous for him. It’s something he has to work on.

I do think that with no mechanical failure we would be up there with Aston Martin in the WCC and not down to 4th.

But also maybe for the first 2 races Charles abilities to put drive the car makes it seem like it’s podium worthy. While Carlos still is a bit behind. Which also makes me wonder if Charles could have gotten more pace today also. But anyway we can’t go back on that those races.

Messy results all around that kind of reflect the state of the team right now as a whole as opposed to individuals.

I do like that Fred seems to be pretty straightforward yet still protecting the team. It’s a much more confident image for a team like Ferrari.

It's so strange, because people want to claim that it was a frustration thing but then also pretend that that frustation is super strange. Like no it wouldn't be?

I would be losing my mind if I had the first 2 races and qualifying like that.

He could've not gone for it but yk it wasn't some absolutely weird move either it just didn't work out this time. And yeah the gravel killed him. otherwise he would've been like last but still in it. But it being Charles he had to hit the gravel.

I am still surprised that he wasn't actually stuck in the wall back in Brazil.

I think so too probably like 2nd or 3rd. (I don't want to do the maths rn)

I like that Fred is saying that things went wrong without blaming anyone in particular. I think that might be good for the team. I just hope that he can work out where and why these things go wrong to actually fix them. because looking at it from the outside in I have no clue what's going on.

[gresiniracing]

look im just saying that watching jaume masia's first win celebrations was a religious experience and i watched it two years late

[robininthelabyrinth]

Unfettered (aka NHS goes feral) - part 3 - previous parts: on ao3 or tumblr pt 1, pt 2

-

Lan Xichen had the strangest feeling that something was going to happen.

He wouldn’t pretend that he had a touch of foresight – life had shown him the hard way how completely he lacked any sorts of skill in that direction– and there was nothing altogether unusual about anything that had happened in the past few days of the war. Lan Xichen was helping with so much more now than he had during the Sunshot Campaign, when he’d been able to be a little above it all as a mere courtier or a single but powerful scouting force, thanks in large part to his sect’s then-existing weakness and Nie Mingjue’s utter brilliance. Nowadays he had to deal with the endless drudgery of war administration: the clean-up before and after battles, the mechanics of feeding and supplying all the cultivators in their front lines, planning their next move and the next after that…

Nie Huaisang had received a message and stormed out, looking annoyed, but that wasn’t new, either.

There were many demands on his time, after all. Nie Huaisang might not have much experience at war on a personal basis, having largely (and willingly) been sidelined during the Sunshot Campaign, but he was a sharp study and an excellent judge of people. He managed their generals – selected for merit without any attention to what sect they were from, if any – with an iron fist that rivaled his control over his own disciples, and on top of the war there was also his extensive network of spies, his constant scrutiny of their supply lines, his supervision of internecine disputes between the sects…

The divisions between us will be the first place Jin Guangshan strikes, he had said – snarled, rather – at the last meeting between sect leaders, taking to task men twice his age without so much as the blink of an eye. I want this petty bullshit between you resolved, now, and I don’t care how many generations you’ve been fighting over it. If you don’t fix it, I’ll fix it for you, and I assure you that neither of you want that.

They’d resolved it.

After all, Nie Huaisang was right: no one wanted him to step in.  

It was a little ironic, Lan Xichen thought. The entire war had started because of Jin Guangshan’s lust for power, his desire to be called Chief Cultivator – a term Nie Huaisang denounced, as Nie Mingjue had before him – and now it was Nie Huaisang to whom the cultivation world deferred without question.

People were afraid of him.

It still seemed a little ridiculous to Lan Xichen, as if at any moment someone would step in and say that it was all a joke that they’d all been taken in by. That Nie Huaisang was still the excitable little roly-poly puppy he’d always been, Lan Xichen’s good friend’s little brother: stubborn and cute and smarter than he pretended to be, interested in nothing but his art and his fans and his clothing, lazy and indolent and unabashedly happy in a way that had brightened Lan Xichen’s day to see, every time.

He wasn’t, though. And it was Lan Xichen that had helped make him into what he was now.

During his travels, he’d heard cultivators in the field referring to Nie Huaisang as the Pallbearer, obliquely calling him the virtuous mourner as if he were a death-god whose name should not be directly uttered lest it draw his attention – it wasn’t anything Nie Huaisang had accepted as a personal title, utterly inauspicious as it was, but if he didn’t take one soon, he’d be stuck with it. If he wasn’t already.

People were simply uncomfortable calling him Nie-er-gongzi the way they had before, and Lan Xichen didn’t blame them one bit – the Nie-er-gongzi of the past was unrecognizable in the man of today.

But neither could he blame Nie Huaisang for refusing the title of Sect Leader Nie as long as his brother still had a single spark of life in his body.

Nie Mingjue…

Lan Xichen missed him terribly.

He knew he didn’t have the right to – Nie Huaisang had made that clear enough – but he did. He missed his old friend, with his confidence and his kindness and his goodness. He missed having a confidant who esteemed him and who trusted him, who shared everything with him without a moment’s hesitation, who always tried his best and honored those who did the same.

He’d once, and only once, caught a brief glimpse of Nie Mingjue after everything had happened: he’d been in bed, pale as death, face quiet and slack and peaceful in a way it never was, with doctors surrounding him. At the time, they were working furiously to save his life as Nie Huaisang paced furiously outside the door, refusing food and only drinking enough water to replenish the tears that streamed endlessly down his face.

That had been early on, before they’d realized Nie Mingjue had lapsed into a deep coma from which there was no telling when or if he would awake and, even if he did, in what state he would be left in. That had been before Nie Huaisang had banned Lan Xichen from the Unclean Realm…banned everyone, really, hosting them anywhere else he could rather than allow them anywhere near his brother when he was vulnerable.

Before he’d slowly started giving up hope. Before they all had.

It’d been years, after all. Surely if Nie Mingjue’s indomitable strength could heal him, it would have done so by now?

Of course, even if Nie Mingjue did eventually wake up, it wasn’t as if Lan Xichen would get his friend back the way it had once been. Nie Mingjue had always been righteous to the point of rigidity, willing to make the hard choices to punish those who had done wrong no matter their identity, and Lan Xichen had failed him so thoroughly, so completely…

Guiltily, too, he knew that if Nie Mingjue woke up, he’d undoubtedly step up as general once more, coordinating everything the way he had during the Sunshot Campaign – and that meant they wouldn’t need to rely on Lan Xichen’s assistance anymore.

Nie Huaisang had made that clear, too.

Whoever had raised his ire by sending him that message that had pulled him away from their work together…well, they’d better have a very good excuse. Nie Huaisang hated to be interrupted, his temper as short as anyone in his family’s had ever been, and his tongue was more poisonous than Jiang Cheng’s.

Lan Xichen would know, being its most frequent target.

Nie Huaisang had never forgiven Lan Xichen in his part in preserving Jin Guangyao’s life, and lacking the actual assassin to rend to bits, he had grimly decided to make do with the accomplice. He needled Lan Xichen at every instance, taunting him with his failures and deficiencies, making nasty jibes and underhanded remarks that cut deep – and Lan Xichen deserved every single one of them.

Back then, it had been Lan Xichen who had hesitated, refusing to believe the truth. Refusing to believe that his then (and, perhaps, still) beloved A-Yao could ever do such terrible things of which he had been accused, either at his time in the Nightless City or the assassination of Nie Mingjue – he had pushed back, prevaricated, insisted on investigating more, finding out more…in the end the truth had come out in all its ugly wretched filthy glory and the only thing his foot-dragging and indecisiveness that he’d pretended was a devotion to justice had gotten him was Nie Huaisang’s endless disdain.

The worst of it, though, wasn’t the humiliation or the insults, nor his feelings of failure and guilt.

No, it was the way his foolish heart raced at how Nie Huaisang looked now, with all restraint a distant memory – the sharp Nie features on his delicate face turning from blurred to clear as the childhood fat on his cheeks melted away; the intelligence that flashed in his eyes, now unhidden by any pretense or indifference; the utter brilliance in the casual way he rattled off orders, effortlessly taking command without permitting any backtalk; the way he moved, a mixture of the martial general and a dancer’s grace; the way everything about him perfectly fit to Lan Xichen’s taste –

He really was a fool.

He had a crush on you for years, Lan Xichen reminded himself. Nie Mingjue even told you about it, he’d even approved of it back then if only you were interested, and yet you pretended you knew nothing. But now, now when he hates you, despises you, sees you as little better than a worm to crush beneath his heel, now is when you finally choose to see what’s always been there?

He hadn’t said anything to Nie Huaisang about it, of course. There wasn’t any point when Nie Huaisang already thought of him in the worst possible terms – weakling, willfully blind, murderer – and he could easily imagine how it might go, if he ever tried anything.

(“I heard some soldiers say that I resemble Jin Guangyao,” Nie Huaisang had mused one day, his hands locked behind his back as he looked down at their troops training in the field. His voice was cold as ice and sharp as a blade. “Though there’s some disagreement as to whether it’s my face or the devious turns of my mind that bring up the comparison. I thought I’d ask you, Zewu-jun, you being the expert and all – am I a good replacement? A suitable stand-in? If I smile at you enough times, will you do whatever I say without question, the way you did for him?”

I would already do anything for you, Lan Xichen had thought at the time, full of sorrow. In a way that goes well beyond what I felt for him. But even if I told you, you wouldn’t believe me, would you?)

No, it was clear enough to Lan Xichen that his father’s blood ran strong in him, dooming him to only love where he was not loved in return, and to finally realize the strength of that love only when it was too late.  At least it seemed that Lan Wangji had escaped that fate with Wei Wuxian, their earlier misunderstandings aside.

A moment later, as if summoned by his thoughts, the man himself appeared.

“Oh, Zewu-jun, there you are! Have you seen Nie-xiong?” Wei Wuxian asked, popping his head in through the door. Lan Wangji was a few steps behind him, waiting patiently as he always did – he was always patient with Wei Wuxian, gentle in a manner that reminded Lan Xichen of the way he sometimes cared for the wild rabbits back at the Cloud Recesses.

They hadn’t spoken much, of late. Lan Wangji had understood Lan Xichen’s weakness and had not held it against him, but that didn’t mean Lan Xichen had forgiven himself, nor did it lessen the sting of shame he felt over events he felt must have lost him the respect of his younger brother, no matter how Lan Wangji denied it – it was easier to focus on matters of war.

“He was called away suddenly, I’m afraid,” Lan Xichen said. “He left a few shichen ago, but he said he’d be back in time for dinner.”

“Dinner has already passed,” Lan Wangji said, his voice neutral – an obvious reprimand for Lan Xichen for having not noticed, shaded with concern over the way Lan Xichen didn’t always eat the way he should. He wouldn’t be hurt by it, he practiced inedia the way they all did, of course, but that didn’t mean he should miss meals if he didn’t have to. “He has not yet returned?”

“Not that I’ve noticed. But if it’s that late, he should be back soon. Do you need him for something urgent?”

“As urgent as anything else in this war,” Wei Wuxian said with a shrug. “If you see him, let us know.”

“Why do you assume I’ll see him first?” Lan Xichen asked, a little amused, but Wei Wuxian blinked at him as if he’d said something foolish.

“He always comes to you first,” he said. “Hadn’t you noticed?”

Lan Xichen’s breath caught briefly – no, he hadn’t noticed, and his mind immediately started to race, his heart growing warm…but no. He only was being foolish again. As the army’s courier, its administrator, Lan Xichen was the obvious person for Nie Huaisang to contact if he wanted to get his plans spread out to everyone as soon as possible.

There didn’t have to be anything more to it than that.

“So when he arrives, if you could just tell him –”

“No need,” Lan Wangji interrupted. “He is approaching.”

A few moments later, and it was clear from the footsteps that Lan Wangji was right, as always – when Lan Wangji was younger, Lan Xichen used to tease him about having the ears of a bat, capable of detecting everything, and sometimes he really thought it might be true.

They waited, and the door opened, and Lan Xichen instinctively turned away as Nie Huaisang let himself in, not wanting to see those hard eyes turn even harder, the instinctive sneer that rose to Nie Huaisang’s lips at the sight of him that it always took him an extra moment to suppress.

“Nie-xiong?” Wei Wuxian asked, his voice rising a register in his shock. “What happened?”

Lan Xichen turned back at once, suddenly cold all over in terror. Had Nie Huaisang been injured? Some ambush, some attack, or worst of all a garrote made of guqin string the way he’d so foolishly taught A-Yao – but no, when he examined him with his eyes, Nie Huaisang looked hale as always, but for the redness and swelling around his eyes.

He looked for all the world as if he’d been –

Crying?

And yet Lan Xichen knew that Nie Huaisang hadn’t wept in years. One could probably accurately say that Nie Huaisang hadn’t had any expression in years, nothing that wasn’t a sneer or a grimace, maybe at best a smirk. What could have caused him to do so now…?

Nie Huaisang shook his head and unexpectedly – smiled.

A real true smile, his eyes curving into crescents and wrinkling at the corners, his cheeks glowing pink and his teeth flashing just like when he was younger and more innocent and smiled like that all the time. A smile of the sort that Lan Xichen hadn’t appreciated when he had it, the sort he’d thought was lost forever.

Lan Xichen’s heart stopped in his chest.

He wished he could stop this moment, too, to keep it with him for the rest of time.

“It’s da-ge,” Nie Huaisang said, beaming. “He woke up.”

Oh, Lan Xichen thought. Oh.

Oh no.

[justforbooks]

Enzo Anselmo Giuseppe Maria Ferrari, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI, was born on February 20, 1898. Enzo Ferrari was said to have been born on February 18, 1898 in Modena, Italy and that his birth was recorded on February 20 because a heavy snowstorm had prevented his father from reporting the birth at the local registry office; in reality, his birth certificate states he was born on February 20, 1898, while the birth's registration took place on February 24, 1898 and was reported by the midwife. He was an Italian motor racing driver and entrepreneur, the founder of the Scuderia Ferrari Grand Prix motor racing team, and subsequently of the Ferrari automobile marque. He was widely known as "il Commendatore" or "il Drake". In his final years he was often referred to as "l'Ingegnere" (the Engineer) or "il Grande Vecchio (the Great Old Man)".

Ferrari's management style was autocratic and he was known to pit drivers against each other in the hope of improving their performance. Some critics believe that Ferrari deliberately increased psychological pressure on his drivers, encouraging intra-team rivalries and fostering an atmosphere of intense competition for the position of number one driver. "He thought that psychological pressure would produce better results for the drivers," said Ferrari team driver Tony Brooks. "He would expect a driver to go beyond reasonable limits... You can drive to the maximum of your ability, but once you start psyching yourself up to do things that you don’t feel are within your ability it gets stupid. There was enough danger at that time without going over the limit."

During the late 1950s and 1960s seven Ferrari drivers were killed driving Ferrari racing cars: Alberto Ascari, Eugenio Castellotti, Alfonso de Portago, Luigi Musso, Peter Collins, Wolfgang von Trips and Lorenzo Bandini. Although such a high death toll was not unusual in motor racing in those days, the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano described Ferrari as being like the god Saturn, who consumed his own sons. In Ferrari's defense, contemporary F1 race car driver Stirling Moss commented: “I can’t think of a single occasion where a (Ferrari) driver’s life was taken because of mechanical failure.”

In public Ferrari was careful to acknowledge the drivers who risked their life for his team, insisting that praise should be shared equally between car and driver for any race won. However, his longtime friend and company accountant, Carlo Benzi, related that privately Ferrari would say that "the car was the reason for any success."

Following the deaths of Giuseppe Campari in 1933 and Alberto Ascari in 1955, both of whom he had a strong personal relationship with, he chose not to get too close to his drivers, out of fear of emotionally hurting himself. Later in life he relented his position and grew very close to Clay Regazzoni and especially Gilles Villeneuve.

Enzo Ferrari spent a reserved life, and rarely granted interviews. He seldom left Modena and Maranello and never went to any Grands Prix outside of Italy after the 1950s. He was usually seen at the Grands Prix at Monza near Milan and/or Imola, not far from the Ferrari factory, and named after the late Dino. His last known trip abroad was in 1982 when he went to Paris to broker a compromise between the warring FISA and FOCA parties. He never flew in an aeroplane and never set foot in a lift.

He married Laura Dominica Garello (c. 1900–1978) on 28 April 1923, and they remained married until her death. They had one son, Alfredo "Dino", who was born in 1932 and groomed as Enzo's successor, but he suffered from ill-health and died from muscular dystrophy in 1956. Enzo had a second son, Piero, with his mistress Lina Lardi in 1945. As divorce was illegal in Italy until 1975, Piero could only be recognized as Enzo's son after Laura's death in 1978. Piero is currently the vice chairman of the Ferrari company with a 10% share ownership.

Made a Cavaliere del Lavoro in 1952, to add to his honours of Cavaliere and Commendatore in the 1920s, Ferrari also received a number of honorary degrees, the Hammarskjöld Prize in 1962, the Columbus Prize in 1965, and the De Gasperi Award in 1987. In 1994, he was posthumously inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame.

He was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2000.

Ferrari died on 14 August 1988 in Maranello at the age of 90. His death was not made public until two days later, as by Enzo's request, to compensate for the late registration of his birth. He witnessed the launch of the Ferrari F40, shortly before his death, which was dedicated as a symbol of his achievements. In 2002 the first car to be named after him was launched as the Enzo Ferrari.

The Italian Grand Prix was held just weeks after Ferrari's death, and the result was a 1–2 finish for Ferrari, with the Austrian Gerhard Berger leading home Italian and Milan native Michele Alboreto; it was the only race that McLaren did not win that season. After Ferrari's death, the Scuderia Ferrari team has had further success, winning the World Drivers' Championship in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004 with Michael Schumacher, 2007 with Kimi Räikkönen, and the Constructors' Championship in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007 and 2008.

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at http://justforbooks.tumblr.com

[thefloatingstone]

If you’re doing Self Quarintine (and you should be if you can help it) here’s some Youtube recommendations! Some of these I have posted about or recommended before but with almost all of us stuck indoors now’s a good time to remind you of some cool things you can watch for free!

I’m not gonna imbed the videos, I’ll just post the link because otherwise I would only able to post 5 and I want to collect a few so you can make a playlist or something. (I could make a playlist too but then I couldn’t tell you what each video is and you can’t pick and choose which one sounds interesting to you)

In no particular order:

Polybius: The video Game that doesn’t exist

An hour long documentary in which the youtuber did extensive research to find the origin of the “Polybius” Urban Legend, which speaks of an early arcade game reportedly seen around the early 1980s which reportedly gave people migraines, insomnia, nausea, subliminal messages, and in some cases heart attacks.

The Universal S

A shorter video in which LEMMiNO does his very best to try and track down where exactly this S that we all drew in middle school comes from? Why does literally every country on earth seem to HAVE their children draw this S?

I also recommend LEMMiNO’s video on the Dayltov Pass Incident and the perplexing UFO cases

Down the Rabbit Hole: Henry Darger

Fredrick Knudsen has an incredible fascinating series called “Down the Rabbit Hole” which simply focuses on... anything you can discover and go digging into. From weird internet personalities, to bizarre happenings in history. This video is about the artist Henry Darger, a man who lived in the early 1900s and for all intents and purposes had a perfectly average, lonely life, until it was discovered just before his death he had spent literally decades writing and drawing a fantasy world in what is possibly the longest piece of literature ever written.

I also recommend his video on the Hurdy Gurdy

Bedtime Stories Channel

I’m actually just gonna link the whole channel for “Bedtime Stories”. If you like weird and creepy stories, all of which at least claim to be “true” then Bedtime Stories is great. Coupled by illustrations and subtle sound effects, Bedtime Stories is literally listening to someone tell you a story about such things like hikers who mysteriously went missing, Sightings of Bog Men in Florida and giant Birds over Chernobyl, as well as weird and unsettling murders that remain unsolved. Sometimes the facts are a little dubious or have been disproved, but that’s not the point of the channel. It’s here to tell a creepy story, not give you a documentary.

A Journey Through Rule of Rose

Rule of Rose is a Survival Horror gave for the PS2 which has rather bad gameplay... but a FASCINATING story with just as many layers and symbolism as Silent Hill 2 could boast. It tells the story of one young woman traveling back into her own childhood in an orphanage in the 1930s, and all the horrors that contains. From repressed grief, abusive relationships, child neglect, abuse, and bullying... but it ALSO contains symbolism of societal class structure, politics, eating the rich, and how power structures work. Not for the faint of heart, but HIGHLY recommended.

I also super highly recommend his video on the similarities between Silent Hill 2 and Solaris

Clemps Reviews Crisis Core

Mr. Clemps is a great internet gamer who reviews JRPGs and other games he simply enjoys. Sprinkling in a heavy dose of comedy and very fast jokes and observations, Clemps’ videos are always upbeat, fun, and incredibly enjoyable to watch. I’m linking part 1 of his Crisis Core video in which he explains why the PSP game remains a personal favourite of his despite its flaws.

I also recommend his video on Eternal Sonata

Defunct TV: The History of Dragon Tales

Defunctland is a channel that deals with theme parks and theme park rides that are no longer standing, or which are no longer around in their current form. Defunctland also has a sub series though, called “Defunct TV” where they look at the origin of children’s TV which are no longer airing. I recommend the video on Dragon Tales which is incredibly wholesome, and a genuinely uplifting and soft story of good people trying to make good things for children. (I also recommend the videos on Bear in the Big Blue House, Zoboomafoo, and Legends of the Hidden Temple)

Hagan’s Histories of Polar Exploration

A Playlist for Diamanda Hagan’s videos about the doomed Franklin Expedition from the late 1800s, where England tried to find a passage through the Northern Arctic to the Pacific Ocean. This went horribly horribly wrong, with every member of the Expedition dead. Over a 100 years later we are still fuzzy on what EXACTLY happened, but apart from the arctic chill, there is also evidence of faulty canned food, a series of bad decisions, and cannibalism. Caution advised for this series.

I also recommend the rest of Diamanda Hagan’s channel. She is NOT for everyone, but if you enjoy somebody reviewing Z grade indie movies as well as just BIZARRE films, really bad Christian media bordering on Science Fiction (without making fun of religion itself) hot takes of classic (and modern) Dr. Who, an introduction to Red Dwarf, She’s an EXCELLENT channel to check out.

Good Bad or Bad Bad: Pass Thru

A half podcast half review show where two guys watch a terrible film, decide if it’s “Good” Bad or just Bad Bad and tell you if you should watch it too.

That’s it. That’s the whole show.

I recommend diving into the untold madness that is one of the best(?) bad film makers currently still producing batshit insane movies, the immortal Niel Breen.

There is literally nothing I can say that’ll prepare you for Niel Breen.

(I also recommend their more recent video for “Dancin’ It’s on!”)

History Buffs: Apollo 13

Do you like History? Do you like movies ABOUT History? Do you want to know if the movies about history you watch actually resemble what really happened in any way at all? History Buffs is an EXCELLENT channel, which does talk about the merit of a film itself, but is mainly focused on letting you know just how true to life that historical film you watch is. I highly recommend his longest video which covers the space race between the USA and the USSR, leading to what is known as “The most Successful Failure in NASA’s History”. The Infamous Apollo 13 and where the words “Houston, we have a problem” came from.

If you’re not interested in Apollo 13 however, I also recommend his video on the movie Casino, as well as his video on the female philosopher, Agora.

The Internet Historian: The Goodening of No Man’s Sky

With videos with literally MILLIONS of views, you probably already know the Internet Historian. But I still want to recommend him very highly because his videos are just THAT good and entertaining. I recommend his newest video, documenting that time we were all pissed off about No Man’s Sky, the difficulties the game studio was in when the game released, and how they have been working hard to finally create what is now a truly brilliant game which is winning major awards. A really good underdog story of how a video game company actually saw what was wrong with their game, and FIXED it.

I also recommend his video on Fallour 76 as well as the Failure of Dashcon

8 Creepy Video game mysteries

Hey. Did you know that sometimes there’s some REALLY weird shit in video games, hidden easter eggs which took literal decades to find as well as just a lot of “what the actual fuck?”. Oddheader is a channel with a dedicated discord and Reddit form solely focusing on trying to find or replicate bizarre video game finds, mysteries, and hidden glitches. Even if it means getting in his car and driving to a specific arcade just to check a rumour about Street Fighter II’s arcade version. So if you like getting spooked by weird game shit that’s not just some dumb creepypasta, this is a great place to start.

I also recommend his video on weird discoveries in DVDs and movies.

Red Letter Media: Best of the Worst

Look you already know who Red Letter Media is.

You know... these guys:

Here’s a video of them and Macaulay Culkin watching 3 terrible movies together.

I recommend literally any and all of their videos. Their discussion on Carpenter’s The Thing is amazing.

The Impact of Akira: The film that changed Everything

Ok trying to pick just ONE Super Eyepatch Wolf video is literal torture. Originally I was going to suggest his recent video on Final Fantasy 7 for the PSone but I realised I recommended something FF7 related with Clemps, so instead I will recommend The Impact of Akira, a video talking in depth about Akira both as a film as well as a manga, how it completely and utterly changed the anime industry both in Japan as well as the west, and why it is still a meaningful and one of the most important anime/manga even to this day, still being unsurpassed despite so much competition.

However, ALL of Wolf’s videos are incredible, so I also recommend his videos on wrestling (despite me not caring about wrestling at all), His video on how media scares us, The bizarre reality of modern Simpsons, Why the Dragon Ball Z manga is great, and literally any other video he’s made. He hasn’t made one bad video yet.

Was Oblivion as Good as I remember?

Exactly what it says on the tin. The Salt Factory goes back to playing The Elder Scrolls Oblivion and now with hindsight and modern sensibilities, gives feedback on his experience and whether Oblivion still holds up. This isn’t a super in depth review of the game’s mechanics or how its put together or how it was made. This is simply one guy talking about his experience replaying it with somejokes thrown in and how he felt revisiting it. It’s pretty good.

I also recommend the video he did on Morrowind (because I’m biased).

Weird Japan Only PS1 games

Thor High Heels is SO GOOD and deserves SO MUCH MORE subs than he currently has. THH focuses a lot of obscure and lesser known games as well as big popular titles like the Yakuza series, talking about what he likes about them, what he thinks is cool, and just what kind of atmosphere and mood a certain game has, even if the game itself is kind of ass. He’s done several videos on games that were only released in Japan, as well as videos talking about the fashion in Squaresoft games and how it inspired as well as was inspired by real world street fashion, the aesthetic of PC-98 games and other topics. He also styles his videos and thumbnails after promotional art for video games from the 90s and generally just has an excellent style to his channel over all. Very chill.

Blue Reflection Review

ValkyrieAurora is a channel run by Sophie where she talks about games she personally likes and enjoys. Her videos are really laid back and her voice is really calm and pleasant to listen to. She’s made a bit of a reputation for herself as “The channel that talks about the Atelier Games” and general is just a really enjoyable channel worth checking out if you just want something soothing to listen to.

Ancient Chinese Historians Describe Japan

Voices from the Past is a channel were historical text is read out loud in english. These can be anything like the above video where Chinese historians describe the people of Japan around 297 AD, Accounts of “Dog-Men”, or the worlds oldest letter of complaint from 1750 BC. If you’d like something interesting historically to listen to but don’t want a full blown history lesson, this is a really good way to hear contemporary people talk about their experiences and what they thought about each other in their own words, without opinions or input given by the narrator.

The Most Mysterious Song on the Internet

Whang! is a channel that covers weird internet stories, some horrifying, some curious and interesting, and some just plain weird. His video on The Most Mysterious Song on the Internet and its update, are about a song which was recorded off the radio in Germany around the 1980s, and after one person online asked if anyone knew who the artist was as they couldn’t find any information, led to the realization that NOBODY online knows where this song came from or who sang it. It’s a fun mystery to look into that, unlike some others on this list, is not creepy or unsettling, although perhaps a little frustrating.

I also recommend his video on The Most Mysterious Anime theme song, and the haunted Ebay Painting.

5 Lost, Destroyed, and Locked away Broadcasts

Yesterworld is similar to the Defunctland channel in that it talks about obsolete rides, theme parks and other forgotten pieces of entertainment. Although the majority of the channel focuses on movie rides, rollercoasters and Disneyland, I recommend the video on lost and locked away broadcasts which you can no longer see. I also recommend the video about Lost and Rediscovered movie props.

The Nightmare Artist

I talked about this one recently as I just discovered this channel. This video is about the renowned Polish artist Zdzislaw Beksinski who painted surreal and horrifying paintings during his lifetime. There is no mystery here or anything like that, it merely talks about the impact WWII left on Beksinski and how the trauma his country and people suffered influenced his painting, and how certain images and motifs can be seen to directly reference this terrible part of Poland’s history.

Disabilities in Prehistory

Modern media likes to portray how “savage” the ancient past is, and tell us stories of how any person born with a deformity or disability would be thrown over a cliff or dumped in a well because they would be too big a drain on a community to look after. But here’s the thing... according to archaeological evidence, it turns out our ancient ancestors actually did their best to look after its disabled members to the best of their abilities. This video talks about archaeological finds of people who had genetic disabilities and what we can learn from their remains. TREY the Explainer is a great channel for archaeology and also talking about what answers we could have for sightings of cryptids. (not ALL of which we have answers for)

I also recommend his video on Pre-Contact dogs as well as Homosexuality in Nature and the Genetic History of the Ainu.

Decoding “The Secret: A treasure Hunt”

“The Secret” was an art book released in the 80s full of beautiful paintings, but it is also more than that. The book has a fantasy story talking about 12 fantastical races who left wonderful treasures for humans to find,and the book’s paintings and riddles will tell you where you can find each of these treasures which are yours to keep if you can solve the puzzle... and the treasures are 100% true and can actualy be found and claimed, if you can solve the riddles in the book. The video tells the story of the artbook, who was behind it, what the treasures are, how many have been found and various other facts and details.

I also recommend the videos on this channel “The Game: A scavenger Hunt” and “The investigation of Erratas”.

5 Ancient Inventions That Were WAY Ahead Of Their Time

I would recommend you be careful with this channel as its main focus is existentialism and rather alarming topics such as “how close are we to the apocalypse” and other things whose titles alone are enough to upset me. However this video is nothing like that. This video is exactly what the title suggests it is. 5 ancient inventions that were so incredibly ahead of their time you’d think they were made up. From the computer used by ancient Greeks to steel swords we don’t know how to replicate, this video is a great mix of mystery and history.

Although I caution you with this channel, I recommend Joe’s other videos about mysterious books, as well as his video on the most inbred people in history.

However, I know I keep repeating this, I highly recommend caution with this channel. Perhaps its just me and the topics of life and existent are just triggering for me, but I’d recommend maybe just doing a search for the titles I mentioned and not to go searching through the video library unless you’re not bothered by this kind of thing.

-

Anyway I could keep going, but I think that’s a LARGE amount of videos to keep you occupied for the time being as well as some suggestions for further viewing.

Please enjoy, let me know if you found something interesting, and look after yourself!

If you enjoyed this list at all, please consider tipping me for a coffee

☕️ Ko-fi ☕️

[thisguyatthemovies]

New look at an old story

Title: “Queen & Slim”

Release date: In theaters Nov. 27, 2019; on disc/streaming March 3, 2020

Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, Jodie Turner-Smith, Bokeem Woodbine, Chloe Sevigny, Flea, Sturgill Simpson, Indya Moore, Benito Martinez, Jahi Di’Allo Winston, Bryant Tardy

Directed by: Melina Matsoukas

Run time: 2 hours, 13 minutes

Rated: R

What it’s about: A black man and woman on a Tinder date become reluctant fugitives and folk heroes when, during a traffic stop, the man shoots a racist police officer in self-defense.

How I saw it: It would be easy to dismiss or embrace “Queen & Slim” as the blackening of the legend of Bonnie and Clyde. But music video director Melina Matsoukas’ feature-film debut, with screenplay by Lena Waithe, does far more than just add a different race to the tale of the notorious 1930s bank robbers. And to pigeonhole “Queen & Slim” as simply a Bonnie and Clyde tale would be selling it short. The similarities are there, most notably the story of doomed lovers on the run from the law who become counterculture folk heroes. But so are differences aplenty.

Queen (newcomer Jodie Turner-Smith) is a standoffish, sometimes combative defense lawyer. Slim (Daniel Kaluuya, an Oscar nominee for his role in “Get Out”) is warmer but living life without direction. He is a religious man (Queen is an atheist) who works at a Costco. They meet in a diner on a Tinder date (Queen is only there because she had a bad day and had no one to talk to), and it’s clear this is likely to be their only get-together.

But on the drive home, Slim is pulled over for failure to signal and erratic driving. The white police officer is aggressive and condescending, even though Queen and Slim are cooperating. When the officer pulls a gun on Slim, Queen gets out of the car and peppers the officer with questions about his authority. When she reaches for her cellphone to record the situation, he shoots and wounds her leg. Slim and the officer scuffle, and Slim grabs the officer’s gun and accidentally shoots and kills him.

They (Queen mostly, based on how her black clients have been treated by the legal system) decide to toss their cellphones and flee Ohio. Now a couple who seemingly had nothing in common are bonded by a situation neither of them are prepared for. They make plans on the fly, ultimately deciding their best bet is to get to Florida and somehow make it to Cuba. Whether they get there is almost inconsequential. “Queen & Slim” is a journey, not a destination. And while Queen and Slim are chasing freedom they almost certainly will not find, they also are chasing their own legend. They are creating a legacy neither of them planned to leave.

That journey is part road story, part love story, part social commentary. Kaluuya and Turner-Smith have nice chemistry, though it is obvious at times that he is the more experienced actor. Their love story might be a familiar one (two people who don’t seem to have much in common or even like each other almost always fall in love in the movies), but here it feels fresh. Part of their process of falling in love is their trip. They first start going down the path of becoming a couple when they stay at the home of Queen’s uncle (Bokeem Woodbine as Earl), who helps them with money, clothes and a car. They stop at a field full of horses so that Slim can ride for the first time. They visit a black blues bar so they can share a dance and glass of bourbon. They first make love in their getaway car.

Where “Queen & Slim” varies most from Bonnie and Clyde is in their reluctance to celebrate what they have done. Whereas Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker went looking for trouble and were ruthless criminals, trouble found Queen and Slim; they didn’t set out to kill a police officer and become fugitives. Bonnie and Clyde became folk heroes with the help of the white press, which often embellished their deeds. The media in “Queen & Slim” label them cop killers, even after a video of the traffic stop goes viral and much of the public (especially the black part of it) sides with them and even idolizes them. Queen and Slim seem uncomfortable with their folk hero status; they just want their old lives back, knowing full well that cannot happen.

Whether you see Queen and Slim (we don’t learn their real names until the end of the film, and we don’t really learn much about them) as heroic might depend largely on your race, socioeconomic status and political leanings. While Matsoukas and Waithe have made a story about the American black experience from a black perspective, it doesn’t always fall along racial lines. Queen and Slim encounter an older black mechanic who tells them he would have just taken his ticket and gone on after the traffic stop. The couple are betrayed by a black man who appeared to be helping them. They get help from a white couple (Flea and Chloe Sevigny) who operate a modern-day Underground Railroad station. Early in their journey, Queen and Slim are helped by an off-duty Hispanic sheriff’s deputy, but they are forced to deal with him when he learns they are fugitives. But a black police officer who comes face-to-face with the couple lets them go when his white fellow officers aren’t around. And a black restaurant owner congratulates them as “cop killers” and wants to know if they are part of the new Black Panthers.

“Queen & Slim” takes its time, especially as the story gets well into the road trip, but the pace isn’t an issue until the length starts to add up (2 hours and 12 minutes). One scene is troubling and perhaps not necessary. A young black man (Jahi Di’Allo Winston as Junior) idolizes the couple and attends a protest in which participants chant about freeing the couple (even though they haven’t been arrested). Junior confronts a black police officer, who calmly asks him to leave the area. But Junior pulls out a gun and shoots the officer dead. Queen and Slim seem indifferent upon hearing of the shooting; they had not encouraged anyone to use violence, except inadvertently through their actions. It’s not clear why Junior killed the officer, other than maybe he just wanted to kill a cop, black or white.

“Queen & Slim” is a gorgeous film, thanks to cinematographer Tat Radcliffe; many of its scenes could be framed and hung in a gallery. The colors and lighting, and some impressive set pieces, are reminders that while this might be a socially relevant crime drama that is at times violent and unnerving, it is, at its core, a love story. And it’s a love story that can stand on its own despite the too-easy comparisons to a similar story from another time, place and race.

My score: 79 out of 100

Should you see it? Yes, it can be an uncomfortable watch and it goes on for too long, but it makes a bold statement about racial tensions between blacks and law enforcement and is bound to incite discussion.

[goldstonegolem64]

Hope returns Book 1  Chapter 34 Vanguard part 2 Halberd and Wardog

A twenty minutes before the colossus appeared 

Beauregard was flying the ship at top speed as La-Sai had jumped into the one of the defensive terminal  in the bridge and activated the disk shape turret ands started firing on the squadron  

“ OK Beau what's the plan here?” 

“ Well we use a wormhole to get out of here but there is one problem” Beau said as he sharply turn the castile of lion to avoid an ion cannon blast 

“And what Is that?” La-sai  asked

“ I can’t make wormholes” Beau said 

“ Oh That's not good” La-Sai said 

“ Yeah I know. Hey Coran How are the Flux Generator Plates doing?” Beau asked as a screen appeared in the bridge showing Coran as he slipped in and out of view 

“ We can jump about two to three more times before any of the plates break “ Coran said as he spited out of sight again 

“ OK then. to the rest of the crew how long till any of you get to the bridge most importantly Allura?” Beau Asked over the comms  as he started redirecting his bodies to other defensive terminals  through the ship.

“I’m almost to the bridge” Allura said as she Shay and Nyma were booking it towards bridge 

“ were almost there as well”  Adam and Shiro said in unison  

“  i m here “ hunk said has he ran into the bridge 

“it will take  Me and Keith a little bit because we don’t now how to get ou” the ship started to shake followed by lance and Keith  yelling in surprise and the sound of water splashing around and bodies hitting the floor “ Never mind “ Lance groaned 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JQ820nUujk

In the quintessence rejuvenation chamber Zarkon and Haggar stood there  watching as the castle of lions was running away from them again.

Haggar looked towards zarkon . “    Lord Zarkon do you wish to send the twins  now before they have a chance to escape” She asked 

Zarkon  ponder this for a moment “ Sent Quinn he is more level head then his sister but keep her on stand by just in case he doesn't his own against the Valkyrie “  ZArkon said

 “ Alright my lord “ Haggar replied then she turned on her commas “ Quinn get to your mech and Harley  stay behind and be ready to back him up in case he gets into trouble.” Haggar ordered 

“ Yes lady Haggar”  Harley said 

“ As you command Lady Haggar” Quinn said he looked over to his sister “ looks like i’m up to bat “ Quinn said 

“ just stay alive out there brother” Harley said as she started walking towards a pod as she walked towards hers  

“ i will try but remember what mother said” Quinn said 

“ Never make promise you can't keep. Just try your all i have left  “ Harley said 

Quinn quietly noded to his sister as he and her climbed their re pod that a loud him to control the his mech called nemesis A-1 beta or as he called it The halbird. It was small them the other four but that was the point it was made to fight voltron in a one on one do to it’s smaller size and speed  it would easily be able to dodge any attack that voltron or valkyrie  would use against him.But ever if he was build to handle both of them. He he would prefer to fight voltron over then valkyrie to it being the base of what he was going to be piloting and after seeing what it could do to a squadron of warships inthe reports he would rather fight the slower bulker mech that had five people piloting it that could start arguing if stressed enough compare to the faster smaller one that had one guy who would not stop until he was dead no matter how stressed he got  .But thats where is sister would come in  if he ran in to it he thought as the both pod  were slowly being lower out of the room and into the hanger that held held  the halberd.

As for Harley she was  lowered into the hanger that held the nemesis A-2 bate or as she called it war dog. It was the biggest of the four and it was armored to the teeth with twin rail guns on  it’s shoulders it’s top two hands held two blades one was a sword that looked like a nail  the other was a war hammer as the lower two could grab either to massive chain belted slug throwers, two more rail cannons, two corrosive gas throwers and another blade and an Axe.it also had to missile Silo on it’s back that could replace the shoulder canons and if all that fail the ion core that powered the wardog could self destruct and the power from that explosion could destroy a planet .But The downside to all this was  It’s armor it  was heavy duty made to withstand a fall from orbit or the surface of a star but do to that the war dog was super slow and a massive target either of the two enemy mechs but they would have to get passed everything she had and her brother.

Haggar watched a screen as watched as the two pods each holding a different twin were load into the mechs. She turn her attention towards another screen that showed how the synchronisation between mech and pilot.  She watch how the synchronisation screen intently as it showed how fast the twins had synined with their mechs . As she watched she thought back to her first mech she had made with the gladiator Myzax and how fast he was beaten because of his hated toward the black paladin. Then she thought about project beholder. it was made by mutating a lizard like beast  it was built to handle multiple target at once but it was defeated as well do to do votron gaining a new weapon and then there was prorok a failure from the start . each one of them failed and made voltron and the valkyrie stronger. But she didn't care about  those failure because with each one she gained new information that she could use to made the next mech she would create would be able to handle what every those two would throw at it. 

  As she thought this both wardog and the halberd were fully charged and started to leave their hangers. A smile creeped across her face as she though how Voltron and the valkyrie would handle the twi and what new information she would get from this encounter. 

In the living room of the prometheus jay was asleep on the couch with Fitz sleeping next to him. He felt at peace until he heard Val’s voice in the back of his mind

“My pilot something is on it’s way here “ Val said worried 

Jay started to stir from his slumber as he did he could hear the sounds of explosions from outside of the hanger. “ Ok let me guess we were found by central command again and were about to jump again” he guess as he gently moved Fitz’s head off his shoulder and got up from the couch and start to walk out of the living room  and into the hanger  

“ Your are right about that but I’m picking up two new energy signatures and one is staying close to central command and the other is coming towards  us at breakneck speed. it’s right on top of us.” Val said 

Jay looked towards the hanger’s enters and time seemingly slowed down as he watched as a mechanized giffin the size of the black lion and Val in her dragon mod fly by the enters. An just as quickly as it appeared it flow out of sight. Jay felt a chill run down his spine as he run back into the Prometheus to get his Bayard and a shirt

in the bridge

“ Coran how long till we can make a jump” Allura said as a screen appeared show Coran 

“ Right about now” Coran said as a new wormhole appeared a half a mile away as it appeared Jay’s voice came over the intercoms with a little bit of fear in his voice “guy’s we’ve got trouble.”  Everyone has was confessed by this until the ship started shaking

“ What was that?”  Adam asked 

“Barrier integrity at 96  .” Beau said the ship shack again “ barrier integrity  at 82%”  

“ What is hitting us” Allura asked as she fired the castle’s thrusters to the limit 

“ Don’t know give me a second to find out” Pidge said as she rapidly tapped away at the console she was sitting at. “Got it” Pidge said as the castle of lions   entered the wormhole. A new screen appeared at the front of the bridge and showed a silver blur flying around the ship every so often fire a bolt of plasma flow out and the ship shouk again 

“ 72 %”  

“ Should we go out there to fight it?” Kieth asked Allura a little consurend

“ 69%″

“ Not until were out of the wormhole. Because if that thing hits you you’ll might be thrown out of into a random part of space.” Allura said

“ 60%” 

“ Then what do we do just let it hit us ?” Lance asked

“ 55%”

“ We Wait a few more seconds” Allura said as the castle of lions exited the wormhole 

a few seconds before exiting the wormhole 

in the halberd Quinn was having the time of his life as he flow around and fired upon the castle of lions. He felt like he was back home racing with his father and aunt. it was a feeling of true bless as he flew the halberd as he flew a warning appeared on his screen telling that he was about to exit the wormhole. He readied the  tracking beacon that was build in to the halberd. HE stopped firing and braced for where ever he was going to end up. As both the halberd and the castle of lions exited the wormhole . As he exited the wormhole he found himself in the middle of a swirling dust vortex 

“ Ok time turn on the beacon” Quinn told himself as he started to turn on the beacon but he notice that there was no signal coming from it. “ Well it looks like i need to get out of here  before i can call in the cavalry. “ Quinn said  he looked around the vortex and saw an opening at the top and started to move toward it  .But before he could moving toward the vortex’s exit a warning appeared in front of his screen warning him of an oncoming attack. He turned towards the castle of lions and saw a huge beam soaring  towards him  quickly dodge the particle beam that would have seriously damaged him if he didn’t dodge that hit. but only seconds after the beam disapped hundreds of smaller plasma bolts flow towards him and bolted toward the exit at the Halberd top speed . As he was flying away from the onslaught of plasma bolts and dodge another particle beam another. But after a few seconds the bolts stopped flying passed him and then a another  warning appeared telling him about an object flying toward him at faster then he was flying towards him. the moment it was right on top of him i went passed him he looked to see what it was in front of him and saw a huge metal woman facing him as it flow backward it’s spaer in one hand and a staff with a small glowing ball at the top of it in the other.

Quinn quickly fired a few shots at it. the first three shots were batted away by the valkyrie‘s spear. the next two shots were blocked by the wings as they closed around the valkyrie and for a brief second the valkyrie stopped. Quinn saw that as his opportunity to get passed them and in doing so He pushed the halberds thruster beyond their limits as he rocket toward the exit of the vortex  

“ Ok that was close but as long as i keep a good distance i can get of he-” quinn was cut off by several warning signs of oncoming objects 

in the cockpit of the valkyrie   

“ there is no way in hell your getting away from  me birdy ” Jay yelled as he launched a energy ball straight at his fleeing as the ball flow Jay pointed the spear and fire three bolts to follow the ball. “ val put that counter into are speed “ He ordered 

“ on it my pilot “ Val replied  as a green aura appeared around the valkyrie. it rocket toward the fleeing mech 

Quinn saw the oncoming attacks an dodge the ball of energy. it soared passed him but the bolts Were much fast then the ball and his only option was to test out that counter Lady haggar told him about. He quickly turned the Halberd around and closed the wings around him and blocked the three bolts . a smile crept across his face as diverted that power to the halberd’s speed and turned it back around and started flying away twins as fast as before   

Jay and Val looked on dumbstruck as their target just straight up copied one of their abilities “ this is bad. “ JAy said as opened a com channel to the castle 

In the bridge of the castle of lions. 

Shiro was taking to  matt over the ships comms 

“ How are the plates holding up ?” Shiro asked 

“ Not good one more jump and were going to be stuck there with no way of escape” Matt SAid as Coran slide behind him 

“ Okay then but when can we jump again.” Allura asked 

“ Well we need to let the plates cool down which will take a few minutes.” Matt replied as coran slide back into view.

“but what if the galra find us?” Keith asked

“ We would still need to let the plates cool down because i don’t know what will happen if the plates brake mid wormhole jump.” Matt replied as he remembered what happened to ships that had their warp engines explode while in warp space.

“ Alright keep us posted “ Shiro said 

 “ will do and Hunk “ MAtt said

“ Yeah what is it?” Hunk asked 

“ Those cookies you make earlier today have  small cases of skulltrite in them.So they can be used in one jump before they break. So thanks for that “ Matt replied 

“ Your welcome” Hunk replied

 “ Alright then Jay how's it going with dispatching of this new robeast?” Shiro asked 

“ UH not Good turns out this thing is just like the valkyrie in more ways than one. See as it just counted my shots and gained a speed boost from it So i think will need to jump as soon as possible if i can’t destroy it in time “ Jay said 

“ Do you need Assistants?” Shiro asked 

“ Yessss” Jay replied 

“ Alright team suit up and get to your lions “ Shiro said

Jay and val pov 

“ How the hell is this thing faster than us?” JAy said as he slammed his bayard into the slot and turned it 

“well are speed boost was smaller than others before and it had a head start on us “ val replied as both the spear and the staff disappeared. and what took their place was the bow. Val pulled back the bows string and an energy arrow  appeared . She head on to it letting it charge up to full power and to let her target systems lock onto their target .then she release it the Arrow anit  soared across space    

Quinn’s pov 

“ Just a few more seconds and were out of here “ He said as he was getting closer to the vortex’s exit. He could see that the tracking beacons signal was getting stronger the closer he got. The another warning appeared on his screen again. Quinn groaned “ What is it this time “ He looked at the screen to see that he had something flying towards him in a straight line . He move to the side to avoid it. But as he did the object moved with him. “ Quiznak i’ve been locked on to” He looked the halberd side to side trying to shake off the thing flying towards him. As he did this he noticed that his speed was decreasing and was ever targeting him was closing distant. “Shit Shit Shit i’ve come too far to die here “ He growled as he stopped trying to shack of the incoming object and just straight gunned it out of the vortex.as he did the tracking beacons signal was no longer being block and he heard his sister voice over the comms “ Found brother were on are way” a smile creeped across Quinn’s face only to stop as the energy arrow slam right into the Halberds back exploding on contact leaving the Halberd powerless 

The valkyrie moved slow closer to the seemingly lifeless mech.the bow disappeared and the spear reappeared they used the tip of the spear to pock it. the mech slowly started to float away from them. Not moving at all  

“ my pilot why are you not destroying that thing?” Val asked 

“ Sorry i’m just thinking that if we bring this thing back to the ship maybe we can reverse engineer this thing and get another mech that Adam could pilot. So he can stop using my house all the time. “ Jay said as he was about to summon up the whip. But before he was doing this Val whipped round and her making a growling sound that Jay had never heard before. “ Hey buddy what’s wrong?” Jay asked worried 

“ there coming get ready for it” VAl said as two warships appeared followed by a few more then more and after each one appeared fighters started to pour out of them.After the last ship appeared Galre central command appeared behind all of the warships . Jay felt fear run down his spine as he looked appone the monolithic fortress. As he stared at it his comms came on 

“ Jay were on are way n-” Shiro was cut off by Jay as he yelled 

“No fall back fall back to castle and get ready to aaAAaaaaHhhhh” he was cut of by something impacting  the back of the valkyrie’s head followed by two more impacts to the lower back . Jay whipped the valkyrie around and swung the spear for the spear to be caught in the hand of a mechanical woman that was in the place of the griffin once stood.This new foe looked like Val in her human form but with one thing that was different and that was the face of a harlequin mask with a painted on smile. Then jay saw that someone was trying to contact him. He hesitated for a second  before for patch the commutation in

“ UUUh hello” Jay said confused 

“ Hi there pilot of the Valkyrie. I’m Quinn pilot of The Halberd it’s nice to meet” Quinn said with joy in his voice

Jay was super confused by this and decide to stay silent and sent a message to the other to just leave him behind and he will find a way back to them. But what he got back from them was no were on are way

“ So your going to stay quiet Ok then”    

The Halberd kicked the valkyrie square in the stomach area causing Val to let go of the spear and sending her backward and as they were flying back. The turned the spear pointing at the valkyrie and charged at the valkyrie trying to stab right through but as he got close the spear disappeared and reappeared in the valkyrie’s hands She thrust the spear forward and stabbed the halberd in the shoulder stopping them in their tracks. Quinn Felt pain shot into his shoulder. He yelled out i n pain 

“ Brother are you alright?” Harley asked with a mixture of Worry and anger

“ I’m fine how are yo-” He was cut off when he was the spear disappear and what took its place was a energy whip that whipped around one of the halberds right are and the valkyrie started to spine. Quinn tried to to break free of the whipped grasp but it was to late and he was now spinning along side the valkyrie and after a few second of being spun around the whip  that wrapped around the halberd’s arm unwrapped and sent them flying in to the side of a nearby warship. Quinn’s head slammed into the back of his seat 

“Is that all you got you bargain bin rip off “ JAy yelled 

A smile crept across Quinn’s face “ NO It’s no but thanks for asked . Hayley Now” Quinn Yelled

“ Harl-” A massive explosion engulfed the Valkyrie followed by a second, third and a fourth . After the dust and debris cleared It showed a damaged Valkyrie one of it’s wings was disconnected it’s armor was dentend it’s body was  sparking the spear was broken apart and it was floating there lifeless 

On top of a nearby Warship the wardog with all for railguns drawn and smoking  

“ HAHAhAHAHAHA” Harley was laughing her lung out at the sight.

“ Calm down sister we need to keep this thing intact and leave the pilot alive. Well in one piece at least” Quinn said as he moved the halberd closer towards the valkyrie just to make sure that the valkyries was truly offline  

“ Sorry brother i just was really wanted to see what would happen to something if i hit it with all four of my railguns  at once and it did not disappoint” Harley said as she moved closer to the valkyrie as well 

“ Good to know. “ Quinn said as moved the Valkyrie around and after he made sure it was offline he started to order fighters to move in on the Castle off lions.” Now sister take that thing back to central command and when your done come back and help me “

“ Will do “ Harley said as she grabbed The valkyrie the the detached wing. 

As Quinn watch his sister slowly fly away he heard screams over the comms coming from the fighter that had gone into the vortex . He turned around and looked down into the vortex and saw voltron booking it towards him. He quickly pulled back an barely dodged the sword swing that could have easily cut him in two if he wasn’t careful. He had to keep on dodge each swing of voltron blade. “ Hey sister i need you help over here.”

In side of voltron 

“ Keith calm down “ Shiro said as his little brother violently swung his blade with reckless abandon

“ Why should i this thing For all we know Killed Jay “ Keith yelled 

“ We don’t know if Jay’s dead or not.” Lance said

 “His comms might just  be down or he might just be” Pidge was trying to calm keith by giving him reasons onto way Jay was responding to them. But then hunk spoke up 

“ Uh Guy i hate to be the bear of bad news but look” 

A screen appeared in front of each of the pilots it’s showed the valkyrie’s wing  being held by a  four armer robeast. They watched as it turned around and what they saw next sparked anger in all of them as they saw the damaged body of the valkyrie motionlessly laying there. 

“ Ok let’s not jump the gun here we still need a pla-” Shiro  was cut off when Keith  let out a roar of anger as he started to wildly swing the sword again trying to hit the Smaller robeast that was still in front of them 

in the cockpit of the valkyrie 

Everything was muffled as Jay’s ears were ring from the multiple explosions that when off right on top of him.As he was just sitting there regaining his senses he felt something wet  going down his forehead. He didn’t even need to guess what that was. Jay grabbed onto the control stick’s of the valkyrie 

“ HEY VAl YOU UP?” Jay Yelled

“ I’m up but i need a few seconds to reboot the VAlkyrie systems “ Val said 

“ GOOD To know “ Jays hearing returned to normal then another loud Bang  when off . Jay grabbed his ears as they started ringing again “SHIT, FUCK,DAMMIt Quiznack “ He yelled  “ Why is there sound in space” as he yelled that he felt his whole world start moving on it’s own “ HEY IS THAT YOU Val?” 

“ No that is not us .I think we're about to be thrown at voltron. So brace yourself” Val said as the whole world blurred out as the Valkyrie was throw straight at voltron. Unaware of what just happened Keith was still trying to cut down the Halberd well the other were trying to calm him down and after another missed swing the Halberd rocketed downward to reveal the offline Valkyrie as i soared towards them. The team didn’t have time or know how to react to this as the valkyrie slammed into voltron’s chest. knocking Voltron back 

“ Ok is everyone ok ?” Shiro asked 

“i’m fine “ Pidge said 

“ Same here” Hunk and lance said 

“ i’m ok  “ Keith said

“ OK that hurt but i’m alive how are you ” Jay said over the comms 

“ Jay” they all yelled 

Jay winked at his name being yelled “ok hi nice to see your still here despite me saying retreat”

“ Sorry not sorry but were not leaving you behind” Shiro said

“ And we were worried after you were cut off as you were yelling at us not to come help you ” Lance said

“ Good to know”Jay saids A smile appeared on his face as the valkyrie’s power came back on. He switched  the wings for the drills wing causing the dettacked to disappeared from the war dog’s hand and then he slammed his bayard back into the slot As he was doing this the comms came to life 

“ Sorry to interrupt but were fighting or what “ Harley said as she moved the wardog closer 

“ Yes i would like to finish this before lord Zarkon decide to just bombard you with ion cannons and plasma fire ” Quinn said as a sword and shield appeared in the Halbers hands

Voltron and valkyrie looked at each other before turning back to their opponents

“So how do you think were going to get out of this one guys”Jay asked as he wiped sweat and blood from his forehead

“ Don’t know but will think of something “ Lace replied 

“ Coran Allura Beau How long until the Flux generator is ready ?” Hunk asked as he removed his cracked helmet

“ It will take a few more minutes so just hold out until then   “ Coran said

  “Well if we can’t hold out till then it’s been fun fighting alongside you guys and it’s been an Honor  serving you princess Allura and take care of the boy for me “ Jay said as he pointed the bow at the bigger of the two Robeasts 

“ It won’t come to that. Now get ready for what this two do next “ Shiro said 

But before any one could do anything Warning appeared across everyone’s screen As a  bright green triangular worm whole appeared in between the four mech as the upper  body of a colossal mech crawled out and turned to look at Both the Valkyrie and Voltron 

to be continued in part 3 

[whipplefilter]

Hi! I love Cars but one thing that's baffled me recently is what, exactly, causes McQueen to crash in 3. Does he blow a tire? Does he blow both back tires at the same time or is it some other mechanical failure? In Cars they make it pretty clear when LMQ loses a tire (tire visibly bursts, there's a noise) but in 3 it's just a shot of wiggly right tire, and then a focus on left rear tire before both start giving off smoke followed by LMQ crashing. Wondering if u could help clear it up for me.

I am here for you!!!!! These kinds of speculative questions are my favorite kinds of questions! :D In Cars 1, Lightning blows his tires in spectacular fashion in the would-be Championship race. His crash in Cars 3 is a little different–the tires don’t straight up explode, but they do appear to go flat. 

This is some wild tire deformity right here, and not just because he’s turning I don’t think. There’s waaay too much sidewall, and you can see it’s sorta concave. That thing is toast! D: This is the right rear, but we see the left rear smoke first, so it’s possible that one also goes down.

It doesn’t explode until Lightning makes contact with the wall, but Lightning’s also going so fast when the flat occurs that the sudden dramatic loss of tire pressure causes him to get loose, and lose control–which sends him into the wall.

So what happened to the tire(s)?

I wanna offer two possible scenarios:

1. “Using your stuff up.” If you’re racing really hard, just flat out, you’re generating a ton of heat–in your brakes, in the air in your tires, your engine, etc. If you’re a race leader and your spotter tells you someone is trying to chase you down, sometimes you’ll hear the leader say “let him use his stuff up.” It’s far more taxing on a far to march its way up the field–through dirty air, and having to maneuver around other cars–than it is to run up front, where the air is “clean” and you don’t have to deal with anyone else’s turbulence. This is essentially what Lightning is doing after Storm and like half the field pass him. Sometimes you’ll be able to feel something going and back it down, let the temps come down. But sometimes no matter what you do, something just goes and there’s very little warning and nothing you can do about it. 

Given that Lightning just got new tires and had just pitted, though, I’m not sure that’s the most likely scenario, though at the same time it’s totally 100% believable. The air pressures could have been off in the new tires, and once heated the air inside might have generated too much pressure, resulting in a flat. (And who knows, maybe at the Carsverse LA Speedway they use tires with an inner liner, which allows a tire to stay partially “up” even when they go flat, like a second chance at life, thereby increasing the chances of that car not flying into oblivion, for all that that helped Lightning here.)

The second scenario I’m actually really interested in. Up until this ask I hadn’t thought much about the crash happened beyond my primal shrieking!

But right before we see any hint of smoke, and before Lightning realizes anything is wrong, we see that he’s at the beginning of a turn:

So it’s possible that–

2. Lightning missed the turn. Generally speaking, when you’re racing, you want to brake before the turn. You don’t want to slow down too early, but you want to brake right before, be at the speed you wanna be at in the turn. (Braking and turning at the same time reduces traction, and you want all the grip you can get. I imagine riding the brakes through a turn at race speed would also heat them up real quick, which you also don’t want.)

If you miss your braking point and have to brake hard to try to get yourself at the speed you want to be in the turn, you can lock up the wheels. This happens because the grip of the brake pads exceeds the grip of the tires on the road, which makes them stop spinning, all at once. When you brake, weight shifts to the front of the car–and more weight means more grip, and less weight means grip. 

So if weight shifts to the front, that means the rears have less grip. And if the rears have less grip, then it’s all the more likely that if you brake too hard your brakes are gonna have more grip than your tires on the road. 

Once you lock up the wheels, your tires are skidding in one spot against asphalt, which is what causes the smoke. 

This wears them down quickly in that one spot, which causes flatspotting. That is, literally a flat spot on a tire that is supposed to be round.  (A quick clarification: a flat spot is part of the tire’s tread eroded to be flat like a pancake. A flat tire is when the tire loses air from inside of it.) 

In Lightning’s case, it seems like it might also have literally given him a flat tire (or two). That’s the moment you see his eyes go wide, and he realizes something is wrong. 

And I do think it was the tires and not some other mechanical failure, because I think a mechanical failure would hurt them. Lightning didn’t look hurt–just surprised, and then dismayed. Because then he gets loose, can’t regain control, and slams into the outside wall. 

And that hurts.

It’s possible the tire pressures were off, or they just failed, as tires do. It’s possible Lightning pressed them too hard, and they failed on him. But now that I’ve gone through the footage more attentively I think the culpability might rest more squarely on Lightning himself: I think he made a mistake. 

He missed his braking point, got into the turn too fast, tried to compensate, locked his wheels, lost control, and paid a heavy price. D;

But I don’t want to end on such a dour note. One thing this does say about Lightning is that he doesn’t agonize over his mistakes. In the first movie when he couldn’t make the turn on dirt, he ranted nonstop about his “perfect turns on every track I’ve ever raced on”–he was used to perfection and he was obsessed with his failure. 

While that’s not necessarily a bad quality to have, since excellence is not such a bad thing to strive for and it certainly motivated him, I think it’s so important to come back to the fact that as he was moping in Doc’s garage, he wasn’t focusing specifically on mistakes he made, or his crash itself–he was worried about the business side of things. So he missed the turn–whatever. He’s probably done it before (albeit with softer consequences). He’s not obsessing over his mistakes, or worrying he’s going to make a mistake again. (It’s racing. It’s gonna happen. Nobody is actually perfect.) He just knows he needs to get faster. It’s a minute distinction but an important one. 

Even before Cars 3 gets going, Lightning has already grown to the point where he’s confident not because he thinks he’s perfect but because he recognizes that he is going to make mistakes–but he’s not going to dwell on them. He’s going to move on, keep pushing forward. Never look back.

[racingliners]

F1 Re-Watch 2022: Round 5 - Miami

Okay so this was one of the races where I didn’t watch C4 highlights, so the only thing I remember from this weekend was everyone roasting the fake marina, Underwear-gate, and Mick and Seb crashing at the very end of the race (😭)

So, let’s just dive in and hope I land in the water and not the plywood marina

*bops to the F1 theme*

I am a bit apprehensive for this one bc I’m terrified I’ll hate the track sdvghaerghe

I want to be open minded but, it’s v hard to get enthusiastic over what was once a carpark

Seb starting from the pits???? oof

and Lance???? Aston Martin what were you doing in Miami???

hmm. Ferrari front row. This does not give me optimism.

(sorry Charles fans, but lad did not have any luck from pole last year 😭)

Love Lewis’ neon helmet though

(should I add helmet watch to livery watch??? idk I probably will)

okay credit where credit is due the setting with all the palm trees is quite pretty

But I’m sorry the fake marina really isn’t it my dudes

So AM started from the pits bc their fuel was too cold and they had to change it???? That’s extremely wack

[Start/Lap 1]: Everyone clean into turn 1????

lol Charles said au revoir at the start

oof this is a long lap

A clean first lap???? I’m astounded.

[Lap 2]: Or maybe not Lewis was on the radio saying Fernando hit him

(what is this, 2012???)

[Lap 3]: The whiplash I got from hearing that Russell was under pressure from Alex. How tf did he start in P15?!

Teeeeeed!!

ew no I don’t want to hear from Horner

[Lap 6]: Can’t say the track is going anything for me rn. I feel like I’m watching parade laps

“It would be nice to see him [Mick] get a few points this afternoon” and then he didn’t 😭

[Lap 7]: Zhou out with a mechanical failure.

[Lap 9]: Aaaaaand Verstappen passes Charles with DRS.

(Yeah Mattia you should look dead inside that was embarrassing)

[Lap 11]: “It’s a four horse race out front” Is it though???

[Lap 15]: One quarter race distance. I’m a bit bored lads ngl.

also YIKES that on-board with Charles porpoising. 0/10 would not recommend to a friend.

[Lap 16]: Anyway Seb’s made his way up to P16 woo!

SEB SIGHTING!!!! FINALLY

aw yeah that battle with Latifi was pretty good!

passing on the inside. v sexy.

[Lap 18]: Yikes 3.5 sec gap between Verstappen and Leclerc. 

(insert “It’s a Ferrari” “It’s a shitbox” scene from Rush)

[Lap 20]: Oop Seb v Kevin? 

“I’m losing power” “No you’re not” “I’m losing power!” oof Perez is not having a fun time

Livery watch: very bored of all the matte liveries 😭 Give me shiny

[Lap 24]: “The car is so difficult to drive” Yup. Shitbox.

“Let’s go on board with Sebastian Vettel” About bloody time Crofty.

[Lap 28]: Over a five second pit stop for Sainz. Clowneria Ferrari strikes again.

[Lap 30] Don’t let Horner talk over Bono. Rude.

also thank fuck I’m past half distance. How did C4 make a highlights package from this?!

[Lap 31]: Hell yeah Seb into P13!!!

The Seb onboards are what’s making this race bearable ngl. Even if he just went down to P15.

[Lap 39]: aggressively waves blue flag

[Lap 40]: oop Nando on Gasly violence

well, it wasn’t really violence. more a heated exchange of words.

[Lap 41]: AH SHIT LANDO

Thankfully he’s okay but yikes wheels shouldn’t just come off the car like that.

“And it’s the soft tyres. Ooh la la” Is Ted okay?? Did he remember to drink during the race??

[Lap 42]: Seb with a 3.4 stop 😔

Ferrari didn’t stop Charles or Sainz. Zero braincells on the pit wall. Disappointed but not surprised.

oh god not a shot of the boats on the fake marina it’s so bad

[Lap 45]: Comms getting hyped over Mick 🥺

You’re crying. Comms think Charles has a chance to get past Verstappen on his old hards and you’re crying.

[Lap 47] YO SEB INTO P12!!!

ohhhh there was Kevin on Lance violence.

[Lap 50]: Merc on Merc fisticuffs??? 👀

oh damn maybe Charles did have a better chance than I thought.

[Lap 52]: oop Perez on Sainz violence.

[Lap 54]: Seb into P9 for all of three seconds before I assume he went into Mick 😭

BOYS WHY 😭😭😭

“You can’t be mates in Formula 1 you just can’t” idk about you Martin, maybe they were able to have a grown up convo about it.

ugh. pain.

[Lap 57/Finish]: Well I’m glad that was over.

The best part of the race was by far the post-safety car period. Not even the midfield could save how dull it had been up to that point. So... yeah. 4.5 front wings out of 10. Next up: Spain!

[weaselle]

Scry Capers hashtag fictionblast

      In the far future, more than half of humanity lives on the Moon. There are also a few populations on in-system space stations, the Mars Colony, and the Fleet Crews that live on the enormous ships that travel between them all.      The last of the earthlings inhabit a dead and deadly Earth, ruined by humanity’s failure to properly steward our planet and ravaged by terrible wars. Vast abandoned mega-cities return to nature and yet become home to the unnatural: altered animals/people that are either cybernetically Upgraded or biologically Enhanced beings. Scavengers and Privateers make illegal loot runs to Dead Earth for anything of value to smuggle into space colony black markets.       The situation for the few million people still living on Earth is growing worse and a final chance of rescue off-planet is taking place, a cooperative mission organized by the governments of the Moon, overseen by the newly formed and nefarious Planetary Evacuation and Transfer Agency, who takes violent measures to protect against “infiltration” of the Moon by any who are not “pure” humans.       This is not a welcome policy for the various UpGraded and Enhanced people who have become a part of Dead Earth society - lifelong lovers, leaders, parents and friends in the communities left to fend for themselves for so many generations. Into this hotbed of unrest and wreckage sails the crew of one small smuggling ship. Come explore this future with them. Basically it’s about a space smuggling ship of rag-tag adventurers who raid the surface of Dead Earth and sell goods on the Lunar black market. They wind up chasing down a series of ancient sites that answer questions about the deep origins of humanity.

In addition to the Martian and Lunar Colonies, there are the Space Stations, and The Fleet. Originally, the Fleet was the Station Supply Fleet, created to service the seven space stations humans had built. Life on these stations was secretive, and their smaller populations tended toward high I.Q.s in the top of their various fields of study, who then raised  several generations of children who were certainly very, very smart, even if thus far unproven to be genetically enhanced to be extra intelligent, as several stations were rumored to do. Stations were little worlds unto themselves, and along with developing various needed commodities in their areas of specialty (such as nano-tech, medical research, the production and improvement of various foods and technologies) they also developed their own ways of life. Likewise, the Service Fleet, many ships crewed by up to two hundred men and women on between-station journeys that could take three years or more, acquired their own culture. The stations began to have differing opinions about what the law should be on-station.Those opinions disagreed with the opinions of Earth and the Lunar colonies, and when one of those disagreements came to a head on Station Delta, Space Command  found out very quickly that one of the things all the stations had in common was an opinion that attempts at military boarding and take-over of a station would not be tolerated. Initial reports by surviving members of the Lunar Military incursion team were to the effect that yes, the extremely intelligent people of Station Delta had, in fact, thought to engineer quite efficiently against armed intrusion. Planetary authorities were further caught with their pants down when the seven stations of Sol System immediately unionized, announcing themselves an alliance of self-governing bodies. The Sol Union then gave the fleet that serviced them (and relied largely on the stations for refuel and supply) an offer: “join us.” On each ship of the Fleet, decisions were made. On some ships, there were votes. On other ships arguments were more pointed. Explosive, even. Two ships were lost entirely. In the end, the Council of Captains was formed (some of whom were very new to their captaincy indeed) who defined each ship as an autonomous entity within the Captain’s Council, and unanimously offered an alliance with the Sol System Union, simultaneously offering Earth and the Lunar Colonies a peace-treaty with trade agreements. Once the Sol Union signed allegiance with the Council of Captains, there wasn't really any choice for Terran government; the station labs produced a lot of the best goods and technology: medical equipment and vaccines, personal electronics, as well as widely enjoyed arts and entertainment- that last bit was particularly tricky for Space Command to get around. It was extremely difficult to garner the support of the citizenry when the 'enemy' was so damned popular. And the ships of the Fleet were almost all of the serious space-craft humanity had made; there was no space navy, or any kind of second fleet to provide shipping. In effect, the rebel space stations, while refusing to trade any of those things with Earth or the Moon, had agreed to sell to the Fleet. And the Fleet was offering to sell those things to the Earth and Moon. And buy goods from them to sell to Sol Union, of course. Terra couldn't afford to refuse, and indeed, the Delta Solar Treaty worked well for all concerned.  ______________________________________________________________________ The ship is a Sprite Class escort ship repurposed for surface raids and smuggling. The crew is 12 strong 1 AL Short. Buff. Mechanic. Loves vehicles. Missing two fingers. Weapons of choice: sawed off shotgun, hammer, and explosives. Seems fierce but is a big softie. Loves sandwiches and beer. Very seriously insists that he is not of the magic race of dwarves. Always winks afterward. Pet/companion: robot badger. 2 PAIGE Navigation officer. Bookkeeper. Researcher. Woman of Persian heritage. Smart, plays chess, loves books. Grew up half her time on a Space Fleet ship half at a space station. Excellent cook. Weapons of choice: tranq gun full of customized doses and a poisoned dagger. Pet/companion: cat. 3 FEY the captain’s left hand. Loyal to a fault. Black-haired lady of Irish decent. Deadly with several weapons, as well as hand to hand, for some reason, likes the compound bow. Pet/companion: a raven. 4 Q (sometimes Quade or Quin) Tech savant. Computer engineer, code monkey, inventor, robotics tech. Ship pilot. Genius. Always listening to weird music. Androgynous ace black person. Pet/companion: probably-sapient robot built by Q. Resembles a spider the size of a chihuahua  5 DOGWOOD (or maybe Jinx) Being of mystery. So many tattoos. Unrecognizable ethnicity. Witch, probably. Constantly picking pockets and pulling little cons. Tarot cards for poker, winners hands come true. Weapons of choice: hands, random items, the surrounding environment, and pure luck. Flirts with 100% of everyone. Pet/companion something that is probably a coyote but might be a fox? some kind of jackal? Smarter than it should be.  6 . SIX Six is trouble. Don’t bother Six. Six is emotionally fragile and also might rend you limb from limb. Let’s just, let’s just leave Six alone. Pet/companion: the beast within 7 LIEUTENANT WOLFE (usually just called Lieutenant) the captain’s right hand. Weapons of choice, rifle, axe. Russian and Scandinavian ancestry. Companion/pet, clearly, a grey wolf, grey, named Shadow (follows him everywhere.) 8 EIGHT-BALL. Rogue. Gambler. Half-Japanese black trans woman. Loves pool and casinos. Loves cash, jewels, and reeeeaaalllyyyy expensive whiskey. Quickdraw artist with a pistol. Personal pool cue houses a sword cane blade. Laughs easy, holds grudges. Pet/companion: raccoon. 9 THE CAPTAIN. Also referred to as Boss. Trying to navigate the group to success. Slow to give up personal information. The crew are all family the captain would die for. Non binary person with ancestry in mongolia as well as various east asian populations. Pet/companion: Siberian Husky.   10. DOC. Not actually a doctor, more like a paramedic, field surgeon. Sort of a vet for humans. A mostly Tibetan person. Might be 40 years old, might be 90 years old. Pet/companion: saker falcon. 11. SU. Sometimes Suke. Assassin. Bodyguard. Not a talker. Japanese. Highly specialized weapons. Pet/companion: venomous cyborg snake.  12. The Client / possible new adoptee, a well-off lad from the lunar colonies, disowned for his stance against the political status quo, with powerful political enemies. He has hired the crew to help uncover proof of a big secret he is trying to bring to light, and he has his own secret from the crew. Meanwhile, he does his best to unlearn some of his lunar colony privilege and preconceptions, out where population gene pools aren’t screened for designer mutations and cybernetic upgrades don’t define you as less than human. Companion/pet: cyber-ferret. _____________________________________________________________________ Here is some background and world building, and please, I know it says prologue, but it’s really just, like, rough world building notes

[kurojiri]

To the birth of a new era

Fandom(s): Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming GEN: Tony Stark & Peter Parker, May Parker & Tony Stark Summary: Somewhere along the way Tony Stark’s schedule aligned itself to Peter’s own academic calendar. And while that was both exulting and nerve breaking, it also made Tony want to take a step back to reevaluate how he got there in the first place. Not only that, but he couldn’t help to worry about the future.

Tony Stark never wanted to admit it, but the world would eventually need Spider-Man more than Iron Man. (And he was scared for that day to come, for Peter to bear the world’s flaws and misguided problems.)

Prompt Used: Peter’s birthday, Peter invites Tony to a school event @petertonychallenges Words: 2,035 Ao3 or ffnt

In a sense of self preservation, Tony had managed to even his breathing in hopes that his decisions in life hadn't fully sunken in just yet. Or brushed against the unraveling sense of anxiety filling his body. Not that he had even the time to recover his feelings to see the damage and occurrence that left him in a conscience ordeal. One that made him feel even more of a failure of having to be a witness of his own spiral life and its chaotic indifferences. In any case, Tony had no other choice but to agree that he did leave behind too many loose ends and in sub-consequence made more susceptible destructive debris loitering around his troubles.

Whether he had been informed by the world or by SHIELD, Tony Stark’s own personal responsibilities had become everyone's background noise.

After years of cementing his status and influence Tony had still found that the limelight was still a bittersweet victory and pillar. Because, in one end he still had the world at the palm of his hand, and another, Tony was still an instrument to his own plans. Getting wrapped up at the world’s own problems had never sat well with him. Not because he didn't particularly hate the attention of being a superhero gave him (he always did appreciate a good photo session) but rather, because Tony had not seen himself as a proper person to be labeled as a Hero of any kind in the first place.

He had been referred to as the merchant of death for a grace of time to change a majority of past opinions that quickly.

He gave the younger folks some benefit of doubt when they encountered and adored his new attached name of Iron Man. The youth had always been more adaptable and nimble with their choices. Yet, that had not made him approve of their support because in the back of his head, Tony had always been afraid. Of being casted away when one-day Iron Man would be yesterday's old news and he would be laid off as a forgotten old disappointment from history.

In that kind of fickleness charging his views, it made him weary of Spider-Man’s initial introduction and passage of being a vigilante and overall friendly neighborhood superhero.

Iron Man had been the first hero to the modern world since Captain America was abruptly put to sleep back a few decades ago. Years after him and Tony’s own personal hell of never being good enough to appease his father had crafted him to simpler conclusions. And that was, that being a superhero had never been his intention. Nor had it ever been something he would have predicted would stumble into his resume or self-introduction.  

It came with backlash, hypocrisy and ongoing worship mindlessly humming when he created the suit and eventually revealed himself in that same breath of chaos ensuing his public life. That was why meeting Peter Parker and in turn, also meeting the beginning of Spider-Man had made the pit of his stomach to drop further. The kid had started too young. Still too naive to see how the world (but mostly humanity) corrupted everything it touched. It was if Peter was a small child that had never gotten over playing dress up on Halloween. Peter had created his costume and name a few months prior of meeting Tony Stark, while at the same time, he had made his own brand of cult followers before Tony officially stepped in to help.

And while Tony had done his best to integrate Spider-Man’s life with Iron Man by default, there had still been too many loose ends etching into his nightmares. Ones that already buried his already crippling addiction to caffeine when he couldn’t find time or peace to sleep. The kid wasn’t even his own by blood, but that hadn’t mattered when he took in all sides that Peter Parker showed him. Tony Stark had been pulled in by his boyish charms, Pepper and Happy too with the way they all loved seeing Peter come out of his shell and bravery as he welcomed their light teasing and companionship they endowed him.

His constant upgrades to Peter’s suit were a testament of his underhand fear of losing such a bright light and mind.

Tony had already messed up too many times. Like a long lifetime of screwing up his own adolescence to his eve of being Iron Man. It basically made him exhausted that he had lived a life of nothing but cynical values and horrible coping mechanisms reaching deep inside his soul. Peter had become a sort of clasp of hope in his life. The boy who was the opposite of him. It genuinely scared him at how attached and awestruck the kid was to him, because that meant that Tony had to tread carefully.

Because if he said something wrong again, or did something it would be on him. The Vulture had gotten too close. Their government was taking notice and Tony was feeling like a father.

It was getting real.

Too much that Tony Stark had to reel himself in a panic stride to his lab in hopes of being alone in his thoughts. The cool metal and rumpled clothes he had on were all he could focus as he started mindlessly tinkering. The music blasted his ears and just like that, his worries muffled within his body. In mid turmoil and with FIRDAY still speaking clearly and going along with his random conversations he started was what made his tension leave in slow breaths. He still wouldn’t be completely okay with Spider-Man being dragged along with the Avengers’ crap but for now, he was grateful that he was Peter’s backup.

For now, mentoring Spider-Man and giving Peter, a legitimate internship would be on his agenda. Because when he thought about that kid, he always remembered the sincerity in his words when he described his desire to help the little folks. The righteousness was unparalleled, that was why it always made Tony want to be better.

Not only for himself but for Peter as well.

(The kid deserved that much at least, if not more.)

Rising at mid-morning had always been a dull echo. The aches in his back, the coffee that was ready for him to consume and the simple routines of FRIDAY helping him start the day was all the same. Pepper would be annoyed but when he didn’t have a scheduled early meeting he had the right to wake up whenever his brain felt like getting up. It was one of the few perks he had for being a billionaire genius. The only thing that subtly changed the cycle was the addition of Peter. It started leisurely and almost undetectable in the way that Peter’s school calendar and pre-arranged events were combed over to FRIDAY’s knowledge.

It had become a surreal kind of epiphany that blazed into Tony’s core.

The month had been faring better than usual and after his three hours of sleep and coffee almost done from his cup FRIDAY had informed him of Peter’s birthday and science fair was coming up soon. It had been just a simple schedule rundown. The one that came with him looking at his tablet as he usually poked around his to do list and picked the ones that felt more pressing or entertaining.

“Can you repeat that again.”

Her voice again repeating the two things that shook him: 1. He for a second forgot birthdays existed. 2. He almost forgot about Peter’s offhand comment and low-key invitation for him to coming to see his school’s science fair.

Sometimes he really hated how real life had made a mess of his previous life lessons. All that bitterness and self-doubt had meddled with his sleeping routines. Its effects had him imploding him to race through his passing memories to pick up anything concrete to dissect. He had to give Peter something good—scratch that, something better than perfect. An object at least that had a sentimental message for the kid. But that was the problem.

He was out of his element. Tony had all the money in the world but he usually never gave proper gifts. (That had been Pepper’s job.) Now he was stumped.

Teenagers had always been a handful angsty shits. (He’d been there and done that phase.) Yet, Peter wasn’t an actual normal teen. The kid had better morals than most of his peers all combined. He was selfless as he was generous whether he wore the suit or not. That was what made it tricky for him to figure out what he could give him that didn’t seem too redundant or overly pricy to make Peter feel uncomfortable about repaying him for his generosity.

(Which was stupid because Tony was a billionaire who ninety-nine percent of the time didn’t really care how much money he blew off because he could afford it. That and Peter deserved to be pamper after all the shit he had to put up with for being a teen vigilante.)

He knew that both Ned and MJ (the girl that Peter had started to mention more often) were all going to give him gifts that revolved to Star Wars or something close to that realm. Then there was his Aunt May that would be giving Peter something probably really sentimental from his late uncle. Either way, Tony was at a loss of where he could venture. He ended up throwing a large pile of crumpled paper balls into a trash can after he had a long session of brainstorming. It entailed of him pulling at his hair and dunked a couple of cups of coffee for the rest of the morning and first hour after lunch.

Strangely enough it had been May that opened to him one random afternoon when she was calling if he wanted to meet up with her before the science fair started so they could both greet Peter together.

“I thought you hated me.”

He had remembered at how angry she had been when she saw Peter wearing a custom-made Spider-Man costume that had screamed Stark technology from a mile away if anyone was really paying attention. And May Parker had always been scarily observant on occasions that needed it. Peter had mentioned that trait a couple of times in passing when he babbled about his family life.

“I disliked all of the possible scenarios of him getting hurt running through my mind when I saw him in that suit. But I do appreciate the time (the suit upgrades) you are giving him.”

An air of acceptance passed on to Tony as he gripped his coffee mug. He kept looking at the screen of May’s contact name on the screen. On the other line May kept talking.

“You are a part of the family, you know.”

In the background, Tony almost dropped his mug when he couldn’t help but suppress a shocked gasp. It went unnoticed as she kept talking about how Tony was doing good for Peter since Ben’s death. She described how painful it had been to see Peter a couple of months ago when the accident had been still fresh. How he had shut down and dropped most of his school activities before he started to come home late. When he got the ‘Stark internship’ May had seen another layer of happiness that brewed into her nephew.

Something that had been obviously been due to Tony’s sudden guidance. There still had been some instances when May had been skeptical but she had always found herself to always be proud and supportive for Peter. That was why she took the time to speak to Tony now, with Peter’s birthday and science fair coming around the corner. He needed to know that while May would always be paranoid and worried (for good reasons) that she would be there for either of them. No matter the time and place.

Because, that was what it meant to be a family.

“So then, what do you think I should get or do for the kid then?”

May’s chuckle only made him feel more hopeful as he heard her suggestion.

[wednesday-editorials]

Destiny 2: Faction Rallies, Forsaken and Disasters in 3, Oh My...

Saturday, June 9th 2018

Written by: A Curious Wednesday

When it comes to Destiny 2, growing pains have become expected.  In a game with more potential than a designated hitter can swing at, this is ultimately very frustrating.  With the arrival of Season 3 of D2 and the announcement of Forsaken, the trend of uneasiness continues.  In a previous post, I talked about my concerns for Warmind, something that any narrative driven player can relate to.

To briefly recap:  the story aspects of Warmind are abysmal at best.  You get 5 story missions that introduce you to a new NPC and two new villains.  We (wrongfully) assumed that the new host of characters would be properly developed.  Ana Bray, for instance, is a legendary guardian who’d been MIA since Crota and Luna, I believe.  During that pitched battle, she fired her golden gun with such focused power and will that the light from it lingers still.  That battle was supposed to have happened centuries ago. She also has connections to Clovis Bray and is, perhaps, the premiere Gunslinger.  Even better than Cayde-6, whom like her, is an original Risen. Now, this is never really conveyed in those 5 missions. None of her legendary feats are ever really mentioned.  She’s essentially relegated to a throw-away NPC and Vendor.

Compiling this problem, Zavala, the leader of the Vanguard and Consensus is not developed any further.  Instead, he continues to be pigeon-holed as “Den Mother” to all guardians. All you need to do to confirm this, is speak with any of Destiny’s fanbase.  Most, if not all, will agree that Zavala is everyone’s overprotective mommy.

When it comes to the two new characters, both are abused and mistreated.  Nokris has soo much story potential.  He is the exiled son of Oryx and the runt of his brood.  He’s the smart one. A necromancer (possibly a male wizard), which is a rarity amongst the Hive/Krill.  He attempted to usurp his father’s power and place as king and failed. His co-conspirator, Xol (a worm god, a being of unimaginable power, eternal life and knowledge) is essentially defeated as a strike boss, which is an insult and disservice to Xol and the grandeur that is supposed to be the “Worm Gods”.  In fact, both are ultimately just strike bosses. Beating either during the campaign is unfulfilling. Being sent to the Deep by Xol is a joke and possibly the greatest offense for me.

So, with things on the narrative side of the spectrum so weak and lacking, you’d hope that Bungie would make the new season’s Faction Rally topnotch.  Personally, I don’t mind the “Renown” mechanic in principle. During the grind to faction rank 50, it adds to the challenge. However, the vehicle for this delivery is problematic.  By skewing each firefight in favor of the AI whenever a player has active “Renown” it has ended up making every open-world activity more difficult than it should be. With the arrival of Escalation Protocol, this oversight becomes glaringly apparent.  Escalation Protocol is a new feature and endgame mode where you join up with other guardians to take on wave after wave of Hive opponents in increasing difficulty. Ideally, 3 level-capped. 385 light-level guardians should be able to complete all waves if they can communicate and work together.

In practice, it’s usually one fireteam that sparks it once they notice 3 or more random guardians patrolling the Hellas Basin.  Since all guardians need to complete Escalation Protocol waves (a least once), any available guardian generally comes running when EP is activated.  Currently, this means that 1 team ends up trying to complete an EP with underpowered guardians, culminating in failure and frustration.  With the arrival of the first Faction Rally this season and the release of “Renown” its made an already challenging open-world event more difficult, by further handicapping the player in favor of the AI-controlled enemy.

The trend of handicapping the player to up the difficulty is nothing new.  Its an established procedure carried over from Destiny.  Any time you enter a darkness zone (iow “Boss fight”), for instance, you are effectively de-buffed, weakened by the overwhelming presence of Darkness and cut-off from the Traveler’s Light. You’re left with your own strength and light to see you and your team through.  Why does this happen?  Perhaps, each of these areas are influenced by the taint of Darkness to such an extent that it manifests physically.  At least, that is how I like to think of it. As it adds a narrative reason for the game mechanic. 

However, by further handicapping the player, it ultimately diminishes the feeling of grandeur and heroicness that you’d normally experienced as a maxed-out, veteran guardian (player).  Destiny did a good job of preserving that feeling of being a walking, talking badass.  You were/are the prophesied guardian. The one Saint-14 looked up to, perhaps even idolized.  You were the one that did what no other guardian could do. And, if you were capable and competent, you did it alone.

Destiny 2 does a great job of stripping you of that feeling, making the overall experience occasionally frustrating and lackluster.  The grind to rank-level 50 is long enough and made worse by the fact that some of us have limited time to invest in D2′s grind.  Now, here’s where the two schools of thought diverge. School 1) everyone should have access to and the ability to get everything, so you must level the playing field; School 2) only the dedicated should get everything since they put in the time, effort and hardwork.  I, myself, fall into the second camp or a variation of it.

I believe the unexpected problem that is “Renown” could be fixed by tying the effect to a faction’s emblem, class item or both and enabling factions to recruit and have relevance all year around, like they were in Destiny.  Thereby, turning Faction Rallies into something special and unique.  Something on par with Crimson Days, Festival of the Lost, Sparrow Racing League and the Winter Solstice event.  Perhaps, each faction, dependent upon their beliefs structure needs to accomplish something significant.   Perhaps, its a month long competition for bragging rights and something else.  Something more.  Something like supremacy or even, just something as simple as which faction gets the lion’s share of funding for the rest of the fiscal quarter. 

In Destiny, factions were always relevant.  As soon as you reached level 20, you were allowed your choice of which faction to pledge to, and you could, after a week, decide to pledge your loyalty to a different faction.  Rank progress was limited and constricted. You had to work to progress through the rank levels in Destiny.  You had to represent your chosen faction on your guardian.  As the benefits of pledging to a faction were only available when you, the player, equipped a faction-specific class item and/or emblem.

Once you did that, it was an uphill slog to those coveted exotic items.  Uphill, but worthwhile. Like many of the more obscure features of Destiny, you were rewarded for the time you put into it.  It wasn’t gifted to you; you earned it. There was no time limit.  Thus negating the feeling of artificial pressure. It didn’t matter how long it took you to get those coveted items as long as you were willing to put in the work to get them.  It took me 2 years or so to get Dead Orbit’s exotic cloak.  I didn’t mind the wait.  I also didn’t stick with Dead Orbit exclusively.  A more dedicated player would have gotten that item and others much faster.

In Destiny 2, this psychological/societal feature is not present.  It’s almost as if the Vanguard took pity on those surviving guardians of the Red War.  As if they became Oprah during her final season of her talk show: “you get an exotic! You get an exotic!”  “You get raid gear!” “You get trial gear!” This analogy can be and has been applied to Hawthorne.  I imagine this is what Hawthorne would shout in her best Oprah impression as she tossed out specially encrypted engrams to the throngs of clamoring guardians with their hands out.

Of course, I know better than to believe that fantasy.  There’s no narrative reason for these decisions. There’s no real narrative pull for participating in the Faction Rallies to begin with.  There is for Strikes, the Crucible and the Iron Banner. Strikes, from a narrative perspective are high-level, precision operations that makes assassins out of you.  In order to protect the remnants of humanity from Darkness. The Crucible, on the other hand, is a way to hone your skills and abilities; to sharpen you. It also serves as a way to resolve grievances.  Nothing like a sanctioned fight to the death, to prove your point.  “Fight me for what you believe!” The Iron Banner honors the fallen Iron Lords thru glorious gladiatorial combat and serves to further hone your abilities and skills. Of course, the Iron Banner is also not what it used to be.  Now that level-advantage is disabled, it's no different from the Crucible. This is too bad, because the added difficulty made participating in previous iterations of the IB savoring. It gave rise to water-cooler moments and bragging rights.

The concept of Faction Rallies overall is neat.  However, in practice there’s nothing special about them.  The weapons you can claim are ultimately reskinned versions of likely superior Vanguard and Crucible weapons.  There is no meaningful choice behind siding with a particular faction. Arach Jalaal of Dead Orbit raves about escaping a defined end and little else.  Lakshmi-2 of Future War Cult raves about the inescapability of war and how we all need to prepare for it. Executor Hideo of New Monarchy is obsessed with protecting and preserving humanity’s cradle, Earth.  Beyond some ambient dialogue you might chance upon by standing before each vendor, there is no way to know what each faction stands for or why you should care. The experience has devolved into a loot-grab for the shiniest prizes.  Oftentimes, this means that New Monarchy wins each faction rally because their armor, vehicles and weapons are the most appealing.

For those of us who know what each faction stands for, this is a deathknell of sorts.  I, myself, am a Dead Orbit loyalist. I could be accused of being a fatalist, but by that notion, so too are the Fallen/Eliksni.  They abandoned their homeworld after the Whirlwind, just like Dead Orbit and Arach Jalaal want to do. That is something I agree with.  In Destiny, it was why all three of my guardians sided with DO.  I’ve always distrusted the Traveler. It brought ultimate war and destruction to our doorstep.  Through the usage of the former grimoires I learned that it did similarly to the Fallen and Cabal.  When those two species/peoples could no longer protect it, the Traveler fled. Abandoned those people to their fates.  Dead Orbit believes the Traveler will do that to us, should the time come. I agree. So, they’ve prepared a fleet of ships and supplies.  They fund scouts to search out our galaxy for a home untouched by the Darkness and Traveler. And while, each faction acts with the best interest of humanity in mind, DO is the only one pragmatic enough to plan long-term and realize the survival of our species.

Future War Cult are, in some ways, battle-crazed zealots.  Fanatics that believe crushing their enemies here, now and in the future is the only guarantee for victory.  I consider that to be short-sighted, but still a noble cause. They don’t wish to abandon earth any more than New Monarchy does, but they are willing to if it means our survival.  They also have ties to the Vex and some misunderstood, wonky machine monikered, “The Device” that allows individuals to glimpse future, alternate timelines.  It’s how they prepare for the wars to come. They prepare, though, which is a key difference. They don’t try to avoid those future conflicts.

New Monarchy, on the other hand is the most obstinate.  They are not interested in entertaining a future where humanity no longer resides on earth or in the Sol system.  They are not interested in a governing council. They are not interested in exploration, but rather, reclamation. Their shtick is reclaiming what was lost.  Reclaim the Earth and Luna. Reclaim the Golden Age. Reclaim Earth’s dominance. Sire tons of children to build up our population numbers. They are interested in the absolute power, authority and rule of one individual.  Executor Hideo is a zealot. A diehard. It’s the only way to become an Executor.

Again, without having prior experience, how many of you would know all of this about each faction?  All you’d readily know is that NM offers armor reminiscent of medieval regalia and bold colors of red, gold, brown and teal-green.  DO offers armor reminiscent to what you’d scavenge in the wild. Something homemade. Its weathered, worn. It’s got miles on it. History.  Their colors are black, white and brown. FWC provides modern, mass-produced armor that strikes a balance between full-plate protection and padding (think “kevlar”).  Theirs is a further balance between the grandiose of New Monarchy and the practicality of Dead Orbit. FWC believes in standing out. Therefore, their colors are white, purple/blue and gold/orange.  This all means that when choosing who to represent, its really a matter of what look you’re going for with your barbie. Maybe, just maybe, one faction has a weapon that is superior to the rest.  And that influences your decision.

I’m all for glamorizing my guardian on occasion or when the mood strikes me, but overall, I’m driven by the narrative.  Wherever I can find it.  It’s why I originally sided with Dead Orbit 4 years ago. It’s why I’m so crestfallen about the state of Destiny 2.  Why I’m so apprehensive about Forsaken.  If you logically think about it, Bungie has likely already finished working on Forsaken.  They’d already finished Warmind by the time they called their “summit”.  Which meant that there was no fixing Warmind, further exacerbating the underlying issues plaguing Destiny 2.  Issues that many have already brought up via Youtube channel hosts.  The likes of My Name is Byf, Mylien Games, Darkside Royalty Lore have all articulated similar points better than I could have.  

Forsaken, undoubtedly, will probably be better than everything prior to it.  The Taken King elevated Destiny to a new level.  It delivered on some of the promises that had until then been cast aside.  Therefore, its an educated leap that the same will be true of Forsaken. Nevertheless, if the underlying narrative problems aren’t rectified, it’ll ultimately be a hollow victory.  Again, take this season’s Faction Rally as an indication. The “Renown” mechanic sounds like a good idea. It could have been a good idea. The Good Idea Fairy would agree. This, is, however, why we don’t acknowledge “good ideas”.  In order for a good idea to be implemented properly, it needs to be tested and tested and measured and reigned in by the physicalities of the circumstances. This is why you only deliver on things you can promise.

By stripping D2 bare in the 11th hour and starting anew, they threw away too much to make way for a different direction.  A disastrous direction that they are now scrambling to retract. All the features that Forsaken is adding back in, should never have been removed in the first place.  To charge for it is narcissistic at best. If you have doubts, look to this month’s Faction Rally and last month’s Iron Banner (the one about that emote.).  Exotic ornaments and catalysts are available dependent upon which faction you choose to pledge to. However, you can only pledge to one. Meaning, if you want them all, you must grind to 50 in each faction ranking system before the Rally event ends.  The decision isn’t based upon a narrative reason. It isn’t based upon which faction best suites you. Its based upon the loot offered. If you’ve got a busy life and can only hop into Destiny late at night or on the weekends, you’re s.o.l. Bungie attempted to fix this by making loot rewards from all activities available to all, regardless if said player contributed or not.  That didn’t work out well. The playerbase decried this practice. So it was rescinded in the form of a compromise: instead of getting high-level engrams from anywhere, you’re now only rewarded high-level engrams from either the Vanguard or Crucible engram pool.

Previous iterations of the Faction Rally had systems similar to this rally’s “Renown”, skewing combat in the the favor of the enemy and penalizing idiotic player practices.  Those proved unsuccessful as well, which is why they were removed. Like the Dodo, “Renown” will likely disappear as well. It will be replaced with some other, newer good idea that will ultimately not pan out as intended and the cycle will continue.  Until Destiny 3, where Bungie gives up on their plans of creating a new sub-genre: MMORPG-based FPS and settles on a Call of Duty clone/knockoff/lesser version.  Except instead of the “good” CoDs, it’ll be Black Ops IV with no narrative or campaign, entirely multiplayer and group-content driven.  Does anyone remember Shadownrun?  How can I predict this? Bad things happen in 3s. We’ll experience some other, new Faction Rally system and gimmick before Bungie gives up on that and attempts to circle back to D1 standards for factions, by which point it may be too late.