#formula ownership

[ayolabs]

Understanding Contract Manufacturing: A Guide for Health and Beauty Brands

In today’s competitive business landscape, especially in the health and beauty sector, leveraging contract manufacturing can be a game-changer for entrepreneurs and brands of all sizes. Whether you’re an emerging startup or a well-established company, contract manufacturing offers the flexibility, scalability and expertise you need to bring your product to market efficiently and with a high degree of quality.

At AYO Labs, we specialize in contract manufacturing services for the health and beauty industry. With our fully operational facility in Newark, New Jersey, and the upcoming New York facility opening in 2025 at The Brooklyn Navy Yard, we are positioned to provide comprehensive, flexible, and high-quality manufacturing solutions to meet the diverse needs of our clients.

This guide will explore all the basics of Contract Manufacturing, its benefits and challenges, and how it fits into your overall strategy for business growth and success.

What is Contract Manufacturing?

Contract Manufacturing is a partnership where brands outsource production to specialized manufacturers. In this arrangement, the contract manufacturer is responsible for the production according to the agreed-upon specifications such as formulation, quality standard and quantity.

For health and beauty brands, contract manufacturing is a critical service that enables the creation of products without the need for significant investment in manufacturing facilities or equipment. This allows businesses to focus on branding, marketing and customer acquisitions while leaving the complexity of production to experts in the field.

At AYO Labs, we provide customized manufacturing solutions that cover everything from product formulation and development to packaging and labelling, all under one roof. Our scalable production capabilities start at just 250 units, allowing small and medium-sized brands to access high-quality manufacturing without the burden of high minimum order quantities (MOQ).

Pros and Cons of Contract Manufacturing

Pros of Contract Manufacturing

Cost-effective: Setting up your own manufacturing facility requires significant capital investment. With contract manufacturing, you can save on infrastructure, equipment and labour costs. By working with an established manufacturer like AYO Labs, you can produce high-quality products at a lower cost.

Scalability: Contract Manufacturing offers the flexibility to scale your production volumes according to demand. At AYO Labs, we can handle small MOQs starting at 250 units and scaling up to 2 million units per month.

Expertise & Resources: Contract manufacturers like us have specialized knowledge, advanced technology, and regulatory expertise, ensuring your products meet industry standards and quality expectations. Our team is experienced in R&D, formulations and regulatory compliance, which means you don’t have to reinvent the whole wheel every time you launch a new product.

Faster Time-to-market: With flexible production schedules, contract manufacturing accelerates product development and helps you get to market faster. At AYO Labs, we can often make your product market-ready within just a week, which is crucial in today’s fast-paced beauty and health industry.

Focus on Core Competencies: Outsourcing production allows your brand to focus on what you do best — branding, marketing, and sales. Meanwhile, we handle the complexity of production, quality control and logistics.

Cons of Contract Manufacturing

Limited Control: One downside of contract manufacturing is that you have less direct control over the manufacturing process. However, clear communication and regular oversight through a contract manufacturing agreement can mitigate this issue.

Dependency on a Third-party: Relying on a third-party manufacturer means that you’re dependent on the quality and delivery timelines. Choosing a reputable and experienced partner like AYO Labs ensures you get the consistency and reliability you need.

Intellectual Property Risk: Since the manufacturer will have access to your product formulas and designs, there is a risk of intellectual property theft or misuse. Getting a contract for services that includes strong confidentiality clauses can help safeguard your intellectual property. AYO Labs does not claim ownership of the products it formulates with or for you.

Private Label Manufacturing vs. Contract Manufacturing

Private label manufacturing refers to the type of contract manufacturing where the manufacturer produces the product for the brand, but the brand sells it under its own name. This is common in industries like cosmetics, skincare, and supplements, where brands often outsource the production of their products while retaining full control over branding and marketing.

While private-label manufacturing is a subset of contract manufacturing, it’s important to distinguish between the two. In private-label scenarios, the brand typically does not own the formulation and may select from the range of existing products that the manufacturer produces. In contrast, contract manufacturing allows for custom formulations and specific product designs tailored to the brand’s unique needs.

At AYO Labs, we offer both private label manufacturing and custom formulations and product development services. Our R&D laboratory ensures your product is not only compliant but also optimized for performance and market appeal.

Contract Manufacturing Agreement: Key Considerations

A contract manufacturing agreement is essential for defining the terms and responsibilities between the client and the manufacturer. This legal document outlines key details such as the scope of work, quality expectations, etc. Here’s what to include:

Scope of Work: Clearly define what is expected from both parties, including product specifications, and timelines.

Quality Control: Establish quality standards, testing procedures, and certification requirements. AYO Labs adheres to cGMP FDA regulations and holds certifications like ISO 1234 USP Water System, ensuring our products meet the highest quality standards.

Pricing & Payment Terms: Specify pricing structures, payment schedules, and any penalties for delays or non-compliance.

Intellectual Property Protection: Include confidentiality clauses, to protect proprietary information, including product formulas and marketing strategies.

Regulatory Compliances: Ensure the manufacturer is compliant with all relevant industry regulations, such as FDA regulations for health & beauty products.

The Contract Manufacturing Process

The contract manufacturing process involves several steps to ensure the smooth execution of manufacturing projects. At AYO Labs, we follow a streamlined process that includes:

Initial Consultation: We work with you to understand your product vision, target market, and specific needs. This is where we align our goals and develop a custom manufacturing plan.

R&D and Product Development: Our expert team of cosmetic chemists helps customize your product formulation, ensuring it meets regulatory standards and market trends.

Manufacturing and Production: Once your formulation is finalized, we move to production. Our scalable, automated facility can produce small batches and large quantities, depending on your needs.

Quality Assurance & Regulatory Compliance: Throughout the manufacturing process, we maintain rigorous QA protocols and ensure that your product complies with industry standards, including FDA and GMP guidelines.

Packaging, Branding & Logistics: We handle the final stages of product development, including the packaging design, labelling & logistics to ensure that your product reaches the market on time and in optimal condition.

Why Choose AYO Labs?

At AYO Labs, we understand that every health and beauty brand has unique needs. Our contract manufacturing facilities are designed to provide flexibility, quality, and speed to market — whether you’re a startup or a well-established brand. With a facility in Newark, New Jersey and a new location opening in 2025 in The Brooklyn Navy Yard, New York, we are ready to support your manufacturing needs every step of the way.

From small MOQs to custom formulations, we are committed to helping you supercharge your health and beauty brand. Contact us today at Sales@ayolabs.com to learn how AYO Labs can be your trusted partner in manufacturing.

[copperbadge]

I'm getting depressingly good at identifying the formula for Pop Academic Books About ADHD.

Regardless of their philosophy it pretty much goes like this:

1. Emotionally sensitive essay about the struggle of ADHD and the author's personal experience with it as both a person with ADHD and a healthcare professional.

2. Either during or directly following this, a lightly explicated catalogue of symptoms, illustrated by anecdotes from patient case studies. Optional: frequent, heavy use of metaphor to explain ADHD-driven behavior.

3. Several chapters follow, each dedicated to a symptom; these have a mini-formula of their own. They open with a patient case study, discuss the highly relatable aspects of the specific symptom or behavior, then offer some lightweight examples of a treatment for the symptom, usually accompanied by follow up results from the earlier case studies.

4. Somewhere around halfway-to-two-thirds through the book, the author introduces the more in-depth explication of the treatment system (often their own homebrew) they are advocating. These are generally both personally-driven (as opposed to suggested cultural changes, which makes sense given these books' target audience, more on this later) and composed of an elaborate system of either behavior alteration or mental reframing. Whether this system is actually implementable by the average reader varies wildly.

5. A brief optional section on how to make use of ADHD as a tool (usually referring to ADHD or some of its symptoms as a superpower at least once). Sometimes this section restates the importance of using the systems from part 4 to harness that superpower. Frequently, if present, it feels like an afterthought.

6. Summation and list of further resources, often including other books which follow this formula.

I know I'm being a little sarcastic, but realistically there's nothing inherently wrong about the formula, like in itself it's not a red flag. It's just hilariously recognizable once you've noticed it.

It makes sense that these books advocate for the Reader With ADHD undertaking personal responsibility for their treatment, since these are in the tradition of self-help publishing. They're aimed at people who are already interested in doing their own research on their disability and possible ways to handle it. It's not really fair to ask them to be policy manuals, but I do find it interesting that even books which advocate stuff like volunteering (for whatever reason, usually to do with socialization issues and isolation, often DBT-adjacent) never suggest disability activism either generally or with an ADHD-specific bent.

None of these books suggest that perhaps life with ADHD could be made easier with increased accommodations or ease of medication access, and that it might be in a person's best interest to engage in political advocacy surrounding these and other disability-related issues. Or that activism related to ADHD might help to give someone with ADHD a stronger sense of ownership of their unique neurology. Or that if you have ADHD the idea of activism or even medical self-advocacy is crushingly stressful, and ways that stress might be dealt with.

It does make me want to write one of my own. "The Deviant Chaos Guide To Being A Miscreant With ADHD". Includes chapters on how to get an actual accurate assessment, tips for managing a prescription for a controlled substance, medical and psychiatric self-advocacy for people who are conditioned against confrontation, When To Lie About Being Neurodivergent, policy suggestions for ADHD-related legislation, tips for activism while executively dysfunked, and to close the book a biting satire of the pop media idea of self-care. ("Feeling sad? Make yourself a nice pot of chicken soup from scratch and you'll feel better in no time. Stay tuned after this rambling personal essay for the most mediocre chicken soup recipe you've ever seen!" "Have you considered planning and executing an overly elaborate criminal heist as a way to meet people and stay busy?")

Every case study or personal anecdote in the book will have a different name and demographics attached but will also make it obvious that they are all really just me, in the prose equivalent of a cheap wig, writing about my life. "Kelly, age seven, says she struggles to stay organized using the systems neurotypical children might find easy. I had to design my own accounting spreadsheet in order to make sure I always have enough in checking to cover the mortgage, she told me, fidgeting with the pop socket on her smartphone."

I feel a little bad making fun, because these books are often the best resource people can get (in itself concerning). It's like how despite my dislike of AA, I don't dunk on it in public because I don't want to offer people an excuse not to seek help. It feels like punching down to criticize these books, even though it's a swing at an industry that is mainly, it seems, here to profit from me. But one does get tired of skimming the hype for the real content only to find the real content isn't that useful either.

Les (not his real name) was diagnosed at the age of 236. Charming, well-read, and wealthy, he still spent much of his afterlife feeling deeply inadequate about his perceived shortcomings. "Vampire culture doesn't really acknowledge ADHD as a condition," he says. "My sire wouldn't understand, even though he probably has it as well. You should see the number of coffins containing the soil of his homeland that he's left lying forgotten all over Europe." A late diagnosis validated his feelings of difference, but on its own can't help when he hyperfocuses on seducing mortals who cross his path and forgets to get home before sunrise. "I have stock in sunburn gel companies," he jokes.

[gratisdiamanten]

I had a dream last night that I was at my senior prom (??) and Charles was my date and he was lame as fuck

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Everyday homeowners are human shields for Wall Street’s Internet of Shit slumlords

The American Dream, such as it is, used to be two dreams, one based on work and solidarity, the other on asset appreciation and disconnected individualism. We killed the first one.

As the New Deal gave way to the post-war social safety net, Americans discovered two paths to social mobility: they could join a union, and they could buy a home. Joining a union meant that your wages would rise with productivity, and that the democratic ideal that you were meant to approach once every two years at the ballot-box could follow you into the building you spent more waking hours in than any other: your jobsite.

Labor unions used their political power to win labor rights, so that even workers who weren't a union couldn't be arbitrarily fired, or maimed on the job with impunity, or harassed or abused. And while the labor movement was mired in the same racist legacy that every American institution brought forward out of genocide and slavery, where racialized people started unions of their own or demanded representation from the unions who nominally represented them, they thrived.

Then there were houses. On the one hand, owning your home insulated you from the petty tyranny of the landlord, the threat of eviction, rent hikes, indifferent or dangerous building maintenance, and all the other miseries that arise when you think of a building as your home and someone else thinks of it as an asset, and the board is tilted so that they win every argument.

But homeownership wasn't just sold as a way to get out from under scumbag landlords: it was primarily sold as a way to build intergenerational wealth. Your house wasn't just a place to live: it was an asset, and it appreciated.

And if the dividends of labor protection were unevenly distributed between white people and racial minorities, the dividends of home ownership were almost entirely hoarded by white families. Federal policies – redlining – combined with racist lending at the local level, meant that Black families and other racialized groups were stuck in tenancy, while white families build wealth thanks to federal subsidies:

https://web.archive.org/web/20170220005558/https://www.demos.org/sites/default/files/publications/Asset%20Value%20of%20Whiteness.pdf

Those were the two American dreams: a good job and your own home. We killed the first one, and the second one devoured us whole.

Without a strong labor movement, wages stagnated. Corporate power waxed, and with it, the power to pollute, to poison, to maim and to defraud. The labor movement wasn't strong enough to stop Reagan from killing free UC tuition when he was governor of California. It wasn't strong enough to hold back spiraling health care prices. It wasn't strong enough to block the business lobby from neutering antitrust and ushering in four decades of market concentration, market capture and corruption. Workers couldn't save their defined benefits pension and were railroaded into market-based 401(k)s, forcing them to play the stock casino against their bosses, ever the sucker at the poker table.

With stagnant wages and out of control medical, educational and end-of-life bills, homeownership – the thing you do as an individual, where your gain is someone else's loss – became the American secular religion. Your house wasn't just a place to sleep and keep your photo albums: if it appreciated enough, you might be able to liquidate it on your deathbed and pay off your eldercare, your healthcare, your kids' college debt, and leave enough left over for your kids' downpayments.

And so every American who had a home became the enemy of every American who didn't – including one another's children. Every home built threatened your own property values. The racist, batshit American school funding formula, which sees schools funded out of property taxes, meaning the richest kids get the best schools, turned out to be a great way to increase your property values.

Protections for tenants, meanwhile, threatened the entire American way of life – the American dream itself. Every protection a tenant got – protection from eviction or rent hikes, the legal right to a safe and well-maintained home – reduced the value of every home in town.

After all, the better a landlord has to treat their tenants, the less money a landlord can make from a rental property. The less money a landlord can make from a rental property, the less they'd bid on a house like yours if it went up for sale.

And since anyone planning to buy your house to live in it has to outbid a landlord who might want to rent it out, giving tenants any protection threatened everything – the one asset you owned, which was your plan a, b and c for paying off all that health, education, and assisted living debt:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/06/06/the-rents-too-damned-high/

Today, the house-as-asset scam is breathing its last. There are millions more people who need homes than there are homes available. Sure, homelessness is a fantastically complex problem, but you could address every aspect of it – addiction, mental illness, joblessness – and millions of people would still be homeless, because there aren't enough homes for them to live in:

https://headgum.com/factually-with-adam-conover/myths-about-homeless-people-with-dr-margot-kushel

70% of all inflation in 2024 came from the cost of housing; a quarter of that came from illegal collusive behavior by landlords to hike rents:

https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/up-to-a-quarter-of-rental-inflation

Wall Street landlords have raised gigantic war-chests and are buying up homes at a rate never before seen, converting every available single-family home in many cities from an owner-occupied home to a rental. Private equity and hedge fund landlords have elevated charging junk fees to an absurdist theater project: you pay a "convenience" charge for paying your rent in cash. But also for paying your rent by direct transfer. Oh, and also for paying in cash. When Wall Street is your landlord, your home is a slum, dangerously undermaintained, sometimes lethally so:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/02/08/wall-street-landlords/#the-new-slumlords

Capitalists hate capitalism. The best thing to sell is something your customer can't live without, and that no one else has for sale. That's why "the market" loves private prisons so much:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/02/captive-customers/#guillotine-watch

The vast sums Wall Street is putting into buying up all of America's available housing stock is a bet that they can establish regional monopolies over having a home, and charge all the market can bear.

That's the plan at Invitation Homes, a company that was just targeted by the FTC for a slate of eye-watering crimes against the tenants in the 80,000 single-family homes they've acquired:

https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/09/ftc-takes-action-against-invitation-homes-deceiving-renters-charging-junk-fees-withholding-security

Invitation Homes purchases homes as they come on the market, and they're also a leading customer of the "build-to-rent" housing industry, a fast-growing segment of new housing starts.

Writing about the FTC's enforcement action against Invitation Homes, Matt Soller brings in Starwood Capital Group, who manage Invitation Homes properties, and own 14,000 more homes in the sunbelt. Invitation and Starwood hate the anti-monopoly movement, and Barry Sternlicht, Starwood's billionaire CEO, really hates FTC Chair Lina Khan:

https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/monopoly-round-up-corporate-slumlords

The FTC complaint lays out a suite of just comically sleazy things ways that Invitation abuses its tenants, starting with false advertising. The company lists its houses at relatively low rents, then charges a large fee to apply to live there. When you pass the application process, you're told the rent is actually much higher, and if you walk away from the deal, you forfeit your application fee. That scam's netted Invitation $18m since 2019.

Stoller really hates junk fees, calling them "convenience fees without any convenience, service charges without any service performed." He lays out Invitation's long list of junk fees, which honestly sound like a list that Chatgpt would spit out if you prompted it for fifty junk fees that wouldn't pass the giggle-test: "utility management fees" "Lease Easy bundle fees," "air filter delivery fee," "smart home technology fees," etc etc.

"Smart home technology fee?" Yeah, Invitation's gone in hard for Internet of Shit smart home tech. The SVP who oversees Invitation's smart home fee program was ordered to "juice this hog" (you guys, juice doesn't come from hogs).

After decades of recruiting everyday American homeowners to demand anti-tenant policies that benefit giant corporations, American tenants have few rights on paper and even fewer in practice. That's left the door wide open for Invitation to abuse their tenants in a myriad of dismal and unimaginative ways: stealing their deposits, trashing their credit reports to retaliate against complaints, illegal evictions, busted appliances, mold, vermin, insects – the whole slumlord playbook.

As Stoller writes, there's a twist: "this landlord isn’t just a random slumlord, it’s one of the biggest Wall Street players in housing."

There are vast fortunes to be made in converting the human right to housing into an asset class, but those fortunes end up in the hands of a very small number of billionaires. On their own, they wouldn't have the political power to dismantle protections for tenants.

Realistically speaking, most kids who grew up in their parents' owner-occupied homes are going to end up tenants, thanks to undersupply and housing inflation. But those kids' parents have spent decades demanding policies to make their homes as valuable as possible – including mortgage tax breaks (but not rent tax breaks!), looser eviction laws, and less enforcement of what few protections tenants have.

Middle class homeowners are the useful idiots and human shields of the billionaires who are determined to force every American under 40 raise their kids in a rented slum full of spiders, ratshit and black mold, which will still cost 60% of their take-home salary.

That's why the FTC's action against Invitation Homes is such a big deal. And as Stoller points out, Chair Khan is really just implementing Kamala Harris's campaign promise to get Wall Street out of the landlord business.

Wall Street's raid on your bedroom and kitchen has inspired a generation of "finfluencer" copycats who buy and flip apartment buildings, sucking ever-larger amounts of cash out of them until they're unfit for human habitation, with mountains of rat-infested garbage ringing their crumbling walls:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/05/22/koteswar-jay-gajavelli/#if-you-ever-go-to-houston

Any future worth living in is going to get housing right. We need to stop thinking of housing as an asset and realize that it is, first and foremost, a human right. That's the premise of my 2023 solarpunk novel The Lost Cause, which just came out in paperback:

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865946/thelostcause

You can't protect yourself from rising seas or rising healthcare bills through individual home-ownership. Solidarity – the kind of solidarity that once powered the union movement, and that is powering it again – is the only way to defeat the housing profiteers. The New Deal wasn't perfect, which is why whatever we do next has to be bigger, further reaching, and more inclusive than what FDR did almost a century ago.

The only minority that should be excluded from the next New Deal is billionaires.

Tor Books as just published two new, free LITTLE BROTHER stories: VIGILANT, about creepy surveillance in distance education; and SPILL, about oil pipelines and indigenous landback.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/10/01/housing-is-a-human-right/#rentier-tech

Image: Sam Valadi (modified) https://www.flickr.com/photos/132084522@N05/17086570218/

Carlos Delgado (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wall_Street_-_New_York_Stock_Exchange.jpg

CC BY 2.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

[wethotcrazy]

Tsunoda or Verstappen x princess reader where the media catches them?

Max Verstappen’s Mystery Girlfriend Revealed—She’s a Princess!

pairing: Max Verstappen x Princess! Reader

word count: 951

a little short fic im a little unsure of this but i think its cute. i have never written for max so i hope you like it.

The hum of engines filled the air as the Belgium Grand Prix roared to life, the energy palpable even beyond the track. It was in this electric atmosphere that Max Verstappen, Red Bull’s ace driver and reigning Formula 1 champion, first crossed paths with Princess Y/N of a small but wealthy European kingdom. She wasn’t there for pomp or ceremony, but for her unshakable love of motorsports. Her fascination with engineering had brought her into the paddock, under the guise of a “guest of honor,” though she was far more interested in torque ratios than champagne receptions.

Max had noticed her standing near the Red Bull garage, her eyes sparkling as she watched the pit crew fine-tune his RB19. She wasn’t like the other VIPs who came to the paddock for photo ops. She asked questions—intelligent ones—about the aerodynamics of the car and how it adapted to the tricky Spa-Francorchamps circuit. When she turned to him and asked, “How does it feel to handle Eau Rouge at full throttle?” Max couldn’t help but grin.

“Pretty thrilling,” he replied, his Dutch accent softening his words. “But you already know that, don’t you?”

She blushed but didn’t shy away. “I might’ve simulated it once or twice,” she admitted, and Max’s laughter was genuine.

From that moment on, they were inseparable that weekend. Between practice sessions and qualifying, Max found himself looking for Y/N in the crowd, her royal guards standing at a respectful distance while she chatted animatedly with engineers. She was intelligent, quick-witted, and refreshingly down-to-earth for someone who could probably claim ownership of a castle or two.

By the end of the weekend, they had exchanged numbers. What started as lighthearted banter and shared interests evolved into long, late-night calls discussing everything from racing to the struggles of living under the public eye. Max learned that Y/N had been fascinated by motorsports since she was a child, but her royal duties had always kept her at arm’s length from the world she loved. Y/N, in turn, found Max’s straightforwardness and his dedication to his craft intoxicating.

From then on, Max and Y/N were inseparable. Between races and royal engagements, they carved out moments just for themselves. Sometimes it was a late-night call after a long day, Max’s voice soothing as he recounted the chaos of the paddock. Other times, it was quiet afternoons strolling through parks in cities they barely knew, their laughter blending into the rustle of leaves.

Max was careful not to share too much in public, but he couldn’t entirely hide his happiness. In interviews, he would casually mention his “girlfriend” with a sly smile, never elaborating but always leaving fans buzzing. Clips of him dropping hints circulated endlessly on social media, fueling theories and debates about who the mysterious woman could be.

Their secret didn’t last forever.

It happened one sunny afternoon in Monaco, where Max and Y/N were enjoying a rare day off together. A candid photo surfaced online of them sitting on the edge of the marina, her hand resting lightly on his knee as they watched the boats sway in the harbor.

The internet exploded. “Max Verstappen’s Mystery Girlfriend Revealed—She’s a Princess!” read one headline. Others followed, speculating wildly about their relationship.

For a moment, the world seemed to close in. Reporters hounded them both, and social media was flooded with opinions—some supportive, others less so.

Max, however, remained unfazed. During the next press conference, when asked about the rumors, he simply shrugged. “We’re happy,” he said, his voice steady. “That’s all that matters to me.”Y/N faced her own challenges. Her advisors worried about the implications of such a public relationship, but she met their concerns with quiet resolve. “Max is kind, driven, and genuine,” she told them firmly. “He makes me happy. This is not up for discussion.”

Despite the noise, they didn’t let the spotlight dim their connection. Instead, it seemed to strengthen their bond. Y/N became a quiet force in Max’s corner, offering him calm reassurance during stressful race weekends. Max, in turn, encouraged Y/N to pursue her passion for engineering, helping her connect with teams and experts in the field. Their love only grew stronger in the face of scrutiny. Between the whirlwind of races and royal duties, they found comfort in each other. Y/N often joined Max in the paddock, where she quickly became a beloved presence. Mechanics respected her keen interest in their work, while Max’s team appreciated the grounding influence she brought to his often-hectic life.

On their quieter days, they escaped the chaos entirely. Max taught her how to kart, laughing as she spun out on the first few laps but cheering her on when she finally nailed a clean run. Y/N, in turn, introduced him to her world—showing him the intricacies of royal life and sneaking him into her palace’s private library, where they would talk for hours.

At the Austrian Grand Prix, Max took her on a private tour of the Red Bull factory. Watching her excitement as she examined the intricate details of the car made his heart swell. “You’re amazing,” he told her, his voice filled with awe.

Though their story seemed unlikely to outsiders, it made perfect sense to them. They shared a love for pushing limits, for the thrill of speed and the beauty of innovation. Most importantly, they found in each other a kindred spirit—someone who understood the weight of expectation but refused to let it define them.

And so, they continued forward, hand in hand, their hearts racing not just for the thrill of the track or the demands of the crown, but for each other.

[bunny-jpeg]

Ciao bello, how do you do? I wondered what pastry should I order as it all look so tempting. So, I'd like to indulge myself with some mille-feuille, and hard lemonade to the side, please.

the bakery menu

there's still tons more items on the menu! feel free to submit your own order, i'd love to write more! as for this lovely request, your server this afternoon with be lando norris! thank you again for the combination and i hope it serves your fancy!

mille-feuille (“that’s it, fuck, that’s a good girl.”) + hard lemonade (possessive behaviour) served to you by lando norris (formula one)!

cw: smut/pwp, dirty talk, possessive behaviour/jealousy, missionary position, naive!reader,

lando never considered himself a jealous man. he believed that you were free to go about life as you deemed fit. he trusted you, he loved you. you were his number one fan and the love of his life.

so why did jealousy rear its ugly head when he saw you go up to max verstappen and pull him into a tight hug. in all fairness, your relationship was still new, you two were still getting to know the nitty gritty of one another. but still, how did you know max verstappen. and not on a casual level, but you beamed at him like you hadn't seen him in years.

lando strode over to see what his lovely girlfriend was doing. he was a bit perturbed how he saw how max had an arm wrapped around your shoulders and he was laughing. it was so painfully casual for the three time champion. it only made the jealousy grow deeper in lando's gut as he smiled at you.

he didn't want to scare off his perfect angel of a girlfriend.

even if she was in the arms of the devil. he took you in his grasp and hugged you tightly. even going as far as to kissed you on the forehead. he looked to max for a moment and raised his eyebrows, "honey." he said, "you should be in mclaren area, not red bull." he laughed, trying to play it all off. he patted your face with affection, but also a bit of ownership, "did you get lost?"

you shook your head, "no, landy." you held onto the front of his racing jacket and looked to him, "i wanted to see max before practice started."

lando nodded, "i see, i see." his gaze flicked to the other man, "how do you know my girlfriend, max?" he was trying his best to keep it cool. he didn't want another incident that was plastered all of the headlines for a week.

max looked to you then back to the other driver, "oh... she didn't tell you."

lando made a face, "tell me what?"

you piped up, "oh yeah! i just thought you knew, landy." you were still holding onto him, "max and i are technically childhood friends! i mean ya know, like a million years ago! remember, my dad was an engineer. he worked with max's dad!"

max said to you, "i see not a lot has changed. always forgetting the important details."

you frowned at max and let go of your boyfriend to punch the dutch driver in the arm, "hey! i'll have you know, i got my university all on my own!"

"and how many deadlines did you miss during your program?"

you wagged our finger at max, "ya know, verstappen. you're very lucky."

max seemed amused and looked to lando, "seems you pick them well, norris. i'll see you two later. good luck out there." then turned away, leaving you with your boyfriend.

lando narrowed his eyes at max, who was walking away, and then turned his attention back to you. he took his cap off and placed it on top of your head. he then placed a hand on the top of your head and said, "don't take this off."

you nodded, you looked so painfully sweet. lando knew that you wouldn't try to cheat on him. but your closeness to max had jealousy curl in his gut.

lando was happy that you kept to your word and wore his mclaren hat till you were on your way back to the hotel. he didn't see you with max for the rest of practice, but it still didn't deterred lando from being in your personal space as he kept a hand possessively on your thigh.

once you were back in the hotel room, lando's hands were all over you. his lips were to your neck and you moaned as you held onto him. you felt a heat throb between your legs as you were herded to the bedroom.

you ended up on the bed with a bounce and knew that lando wasn't going to take it slow tonight. you took off the hat but lando quickly grabbed it and put it back on your head, "wear it. you look good in it."

he then got his shirt off followed by the rest of his clothes, you did the same save for the hat which sat proudly on top of your head. you didn't think you looked good in baseball caps, but lando loved you in nothing but it.

he got between your legs, and leaned over you to grab a condom from the box on the night stand. he put it on with ease, his heart raced in his chest as he gazed at you with such love. but also much possession.

"is there any other drivers i should know about?" lando asked, "i don't want any more surprises."

"what do you mean, landy?"

"i know you two were friends, but you were all over him, love."

you looked at him curiously, "but that's how i greet all my friends."

he stroked his cock, you were so innocent sometimes. he couldn't be upset for too long (even though he barely was to begin with). he looked you in the eyes, and said, "that's how you greet all your girl friends." then placed on hand on your middle and the other on his cock as he slowly sank into your sweet hole.

"mmm, honey." you whimpered.

the warmth of your cunt against him made him shudder. he kept one hand on your stomach and the other on your hip as he started to thrust against you. he swore he could feel his cock inside of you as he bumped up into the deepest parts of you.

"fuck, babe." he groaned. he was hunched over you as he started to work your pussy. his thrusts were short and quick, the hot intensity of his movements made you feel good. he said to you, "i just want you all to myself. the one thing that the likes of max verstappen can't have."

he felt a pull in his chest for you. he just wanted you to be his forever. was that a crime? his thrusts became heavier, he could see the expressions that crossed your face. you looked perfect.

"but i'll always be yours, landy." you confessed to him with sucha sweet smile. it made his cock throb in you as he continued to rut against you.

"that’s it, fuck, that’s a good girl." he groaned, "that's my girl, you're perfect. i'm sorry i'm a jealous bastard, i just don't want to lose the best thing i've ever had." he messily made out with you, keeping you pinned to the bed as he rutted against you.

his heartbeat raced in his ears as he continued to thrust in and out of you. you were so perfect for him. you were his perfect half, he loved you to the point that it made him a possessive fool.

"i'll always love you, lando. i mean it." you said with such a sweetness to your voice.

"that's what i like to hear." he said as he continued to thrust. the bed shifted under your movements and you were left feeling hot all over. the space between you was limited and you could feel him reach some of the deepest parts of you core.

you made out with him once more and met with his thrusts. you could feel your mouth growing dry and you body growing hotter. it felt good being so close to him. he was the perfect partner in every way you could think of.

the two of you made love, lando's possessive streak he had all day was slowly diminishing and the love he had for his girlfriend only bloomed. his kisses were sweet even though he pace was rather quick.

"shit, ah. lando." you whined as you felt orgasm creep up on you. the pleasure made its way through your body and left your breathless. you sloppily made out with him once more before with tensed up and came around his cock.

he broke the kiss and panted heavily as he continued to pace. both hands were now on either side of you to get better leverage to thrust up into you.

"you're so perfect, my angel. i want this cock in every way i can get it. i want you more than anything, baby." he panted as he put his all into your thrusts. the pleasure pulsed through his body as he moved against you. you felt like a dream. "so perfect." he panted heavily with a few more heavy thrusts. then he was finally able to finish inside of you. it shook him to his core and made his mind go blank for a few moments.

"lando." your voice felt far as you laid there, overstimulated and sweaty.

he gave a few more thrusts before he finished inside of you with a large groan. his pace staggered then stopped before he pulled out and laid next to you. he pulled you into his arms and gave your cheek wet kisses as you squirmed against him.

"oh, i love you so much." he said with tenderness in his voice, "you're so perfect and i want you to myself forever."

you tried to meet his lips, but kept missing due to how fast he was moving to kiss your heated skin. you eventually took him by the face and laughed, "don't worry. you already got me, honey." <3

[tabletopresources]

Image credit "Fishing" By yonaz

So in last night's 3.5 edition D&D game, my players had a chance to do some ice fishing and one player called out for one of my ad hoc mini-games (I do this a lot haha). I wanted something simple, a combo of character skill and some luck, and so in short order ended up with this very quick mini-game you can easily employ.

:

Quick Disclaimer: These fishing mini-game mechanics may not be entirely original and could resemble systems from other games I just can't recall. For my part, I'm posting this FOR sharing. Feel free to use, adapt, or modify them in your own games as you see fit. No ownership or exclusivity is claimed over this idea—enjoy and share as you wish!

:

Fishing Mini-Game (D&D 3.5 Edition)

Step 1: Build the Fishing Pool

The player rolls a number of d6 equal to their relevant skill modifier (Survival or Profession (Fisher)).

Example: A character with a +10 in Survival rolls 10d6 and sets these dice aside as their "Fishing Pool".

Fishing Pool Example Roll: 1, 1, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 6.

Step 2: Perform the Fishing Check

The player then rolls 5d6 as their "Fishing Check" for one hour of fishing.

Example Roll: 1, 2, 4, 4, 6.

Step 3: Match for Combos

The player now attempts to match the dice results from their Fishing Pool with their Fishing Check results to form combos. The number of dice used in the combo determines the size of the fish:

Small Fish: Match 2 dice from the Fishing Pool with the Fishing Check.

Medium Fish: Match 3 dice from the Fishing Pool with the Fishing Check.

Large Fish: Match 5 dice from the Fishing Pool with the Fishing Check.

Example Combo:

If the player's Fishing Pool has dice showing 1, 2, 4, 4, and 6, they could match all 5 dice with their Fishing Check, catching a Large Fish.

Step 4: Fish Weight and Rations

Once the fish is caught, the total weight of the edible parts of the fish is determined by summing the values of the dice used in the combo.

Example: For a Large Fish (1, 2, 4, 4, 6), the total weight is 1+2+4+4+6 = 17 kg.

To calculate the number of rations provided by the fish:

1 kg = 2,000 calories (or half a ration).

Rations Formula: Divide the total weight of the fish by 2.

Example: 17 kg / 2 = 8.5 kg or 8 rations (we round down).

Step 5: Continue or Stop

After catching a fish, remove the dice used from the Fishing Pool.

If the player still has at least 2 dice left in their Fishing Pool, they can attempt to catch another fish using the same Fishing Check results. Otherwise, they are done for that hour.

That's all that we did and they loved it!

But since then we've considered how future games or others might expand on it with special roll combos, items, locations, setting conditions, Aid Other, etc. So here are some...

Optional Add-Ons and Considerations

Multiple Attempts Per Hour:

If the player rolls exceptionally well on their Fishing Pool, they may be able to attempt fishing multiple times in an hour. To keep this simple, I'd say if they are able to clear the first Pool entirely, they get a brand new roll, a whole new Pool as if starting fishing over, but they keep their previous catches.

Modifiers and Conditions:

You could introduce conditions that affect the Fishing Pool or Fishing Check rolls:

Good Fishing Spot: +1d6 to the Fishing Pool.

Bad Weather/Overfished Area: -1d6 (or more) to the Fishing Pool or disadvantage (see 5e, we use this idea quite a bit even in our 3.5e games) on Fishing Check rolls.

Magic/Luck Items: Grant rerolls or bonus dice to the Fishing Pool or allow rerolls of the Fishing Check.

Special Fish Combos:

Occasionally, you could allow rare or magical fish (or larger species) that provide bonuses or other effects; perhaps these are possible if the combos use specific die results:

Giant Fish: Requires a match of dice with identical values, but double the weight result (ex: a medium fish that used 5,5,5 would be a Giant of its type, and grant 15x2 or 30 kg of edible parts!).

Magical Fish: Grants temporary bonuses, like extra HP or special buffs, when consumed. (ex. A combo of sequential rising values, like 1,2,3,4,5, would grant a Magical Large fish)

Fishing Tools and Bait:

Fishing equipment or bait could modify the rolls:

Better Rods/Lines: Allow rerolls or add extra dice to the Fishing Pool.

Special Bait/Lures: Increases chances of catching better or more fish (ex. set any one die result to 6; or allow player to select the value of any one die, etc.).

Aid Other

Another player can choose to assist Player A if they are proficient in the same associated skill (Survival or Profession (Fisher), etc based on your setting):

Player B (helper) rolls for the associated skill.

If the result of their skill check (rolled like any other skill check) is 10-19, Player A gains 1 extra die in their fishing Pool.

If the result of their skill check is 20 or higher, Player A gains 2 extra dice in their fishing Pool.

Player A can then use these extra dice to help form better combos when matching against their Fishing Check.

Let me know if you use this mini-game in your D&D sessions, or revamp it for the tabletop rpg/edition you play!

I'd love to hear your stories of the biggest catch, or lamenting that one LEGENDARY CATCH that got away!

And check out Tabletop Gaming Resources for more art, tips, and tools for your game!

[bayporwave]

Utik

The utik (yoo-tik) are a sophont species the rakii came in contact with when they first landed on Ra'hah, their second largest moon orbiting Rek. The utik were actually the first to even set foot onto it, as they had no other choice. After suffering massive damage to their ship, the utik were forced to land on the lunar surface and hope to survive or await help. Years later, the rakii show up, which started an a long, chaotic process of attempt of communication and debating ownership.

The bodies of the utik are actually not their true bodies. The actual sophont lies within the pearly cased cockpit. Utik like the Olac bio-mechs, mastered the technical art of bio-technology, having started on a very hot and humid planet. While unlike the Olac who switched to bio-technology as a means to evade a debilitating disease, the utik mastered it for years, working off various symbiotic organisms. Their mech suits, or cyborg bodies you could say are symbiotic, as after their nervous and circulatory systems are linked, the pilot has full control of the suit, having it feed off waste material from the pilot. The suit then takes the waste, replenishes it, mixes it's own formula into it and feeds it back to the pilot. Like a plant, it gets a lot of energy off light and other forms of UV Retaining it for hours. These suits are suitable (ha) for open space, and lunar terran for a limited time. However proper measures are made to keep the suits tidy from "space dust" so no one goes out "naked" and risk exterior damage.

(quick sketch of utik 'pooters n screens. NOT ENTIRELY FINALIZED)

However, this isn't their true form. At least they didn't start off like this.

Way before, after they reached the ultimate feat in their development, their star was noticeably suffering, as it was predicted to eventually turn into black hole. While they had years 'till then, there wasn't enough time to perfect their original forms for the long-term space travel. So. as best they could, they learned to carefully strip and reduce themselves to nothing more than squishy muscle and brain matter, beforehand creating living space suits and sleeper pods to maintain what's left. Several ships shot into space just in time before their star went dark and each ship jumped in different directions hoping to find and terraform a new world. This group of utik weren't so lucky, as said before.

Now for the first half of the year, rakii and utik were on some tense terms. A lot of internal debates on who gets the moon. While utik were capable of defense, they weren't in a great position to, and the rakii weren't sure how to proceed with their first extraterrestrial contact. (Non-religious turned contact I'd guess???) UNTIL, one day it was brought ahead that, the utik secrete an anti-radiation slime. Something they came with naturally, just cranked to 10.

At first, the rakii thought to use this fluid as an applicable substance similar to sun-block, required to apply pre-spaceflight. However, it was revealed that they are extremely allergic to it. So skin-contact was a big no.

(Unfortunate rakii subject applying utik-based lotion. Results: swelling in skin, which can further cause blisters and splits)

After several trials, they came to a conclusion of using it as a gel layering in space suits, capable of absorbing radiation and protecting the wearer.

This discovery brought up a plan and a deal. It was agreed, rakii and utik would share the moon, making their first ever alliance, in exchange the utik would allow the rakii to harvest this anti-radiation goop off them, of course while exchanging knowledge, and resources.

[agendabymooner]

the paddock’s iconic team owners ! toto w. x ofc (hearth sister!ofc) - cmyc extra

summary: toto and tilly wolff are the it couple of formula one. OR this is a series of posts in which fans obsessed over the pair because of their dynamic.

content warning: possible use of explicit language, can be seen as a standalone or an extra to a series (colour me your colour), thirsty fans, social media admins being a mess, fluff, mentions THAT ONE TOTO WOLFF VIDEO, jokes of forbidden romance (ofc owns red bull, he owns merc), f1 team ownership

note: im on my older men kick this week. enjoy xx

a - n masterlist

o - z masterlist

liked by lewishamilton, charles_leclerc, maxverstappen1

user1 girl dinner 😋

user2 girl feast 😩

user3 TILLY PLEASE 😔 you can’t tease us like this

redbullracing mothaaaaa 🥵🥵

mercedesamgf1 mama and papa???? 😮‍💨

scuderiaferrari 😐

mclaren i know you didn’t just say that 😑

redbullracing scuderiaferrari mclaren mother should’ve adopted you two out.

user4 WHY ARE THE ADMINS FIGHTINF IN TILLY’S COMMENRS 😭😭😭

maxverstappen1 🙌🙌 liked by tillywolff

charles_leclerc i like 👍 liked by tillywolff

lewishamilton vacay without your kids? 🤣 liked by tillywolff

tillywolff some peace and serenity would suffice even if it’s just for a week 🙏

danielricciardo i didn’t think you’d be able to find an ostrich in the coastlines until i saw the first pic 🤧 are they feathery enough?

tillywolff you’re a dickhead 😐

danielricciardo you love me tho 😍😘😘 liked by tillywolff

mercedesamgf1 danny, dad said stay away from our mum 🧍‍♀️

[nicolesainz]

Tricks and champions (SV5)

Sebastian Vettel x f!reader

Summary: Retired Sebastian means he’s all the time at your house, hanging with your father ever so casually. There no denying that even with an age gap, you two fancy each other but try to keep it low key. What happens though when you become a passenger in one of Seb’s crazy rides?

warnings: massive sexual tension, angst, fluff, age gap

"God's sake Y/n, go put on something more decent. Sebastian is coming over." My dad said before I could even walk down the stairs. What a nice way to wake up.

"Good morning to you as well dad." I roll my eyes and walk up again to put on some jeans since he so politely asked.

I look through my wardrobe thrice in order to find a fitting one that won't have my dad raging over it. I finally manage to find one that not only won't have my dad protesting over it, but certainly will have Seb staring at my ass for quite some time.

The bell rings as I am trying to put on some light make up. A touch of red lipstick and a hint of eyeliner is what a girl needs at 10 am after a night of doing tequila bodyshots off her best friend.

Its insane how the entire night I was thinking of Sebastian, dancing with me in the middle of the club, his hands all over my body, holding me firmly and laying kisses on my neck, leaving marks of his ownership on me.

But it's a pity this was only a fantasy. Even though many guys came up to me to make their move, I rejected them easier than the way colleges reject my brother's applications. Sebastian was probably with my dad again, showing off his brand new Porsche 718 Boxster, a gift that he got from his former teammate Mark Webber.

"Y/n, can you come down for a moment please?" My father shouts and I clench my fists in annoyance. I swear to god if he asks me to be a servant again and make him coffees every now and then I will spit in one of them.

I walk down the stairs one more time and I can see in my father’s eyes the relief of me wearing something decent, more importantly my eyes fall on Sebastian who is scanning my body for head to toe, giving enough attention to my slightly showing cleavage after wearing the push up bra.

“Good morning Sebastian. How can I help you dad?” I say in a very polite manner, crossing my arms under my breasts, enhancing the volume and shocking Sebastian even more.

I know it’s filthy, I know it’s dirty. He’s 36 and I am 21, but it’s not my fault Sebastian is an extremely handsome man, with beautiful blue eyes, soft blonde curls and a mustache that not only makes him very fuckable but also fitting to my type.

“Actually, Sebastian was looking for volunteers to test out his new car. He wants a passenger so he can try out some new tricks he’s learned or test some he already knows from the formula one car.”

“And since you were always very keen on sports cars, I thought you’d be very fitting for the job. What do you say?” Sebastian adds after my dad, and all I do I smirk at the idea of him flexing his racing abilities whilst I am teasing him so badly.

“Of course! I’d be more than happy to help you out!” I smile and exclaim proudly, whilst putting on my jacket.

“We will talk in three hours. Y/n, behave yourself, I know you’re a lady and obey to what Sebastian tells you to do” Oh I for sure will obey to his commands. Whether that’s me praising his skills or sucking his dick.

“Let’s go! The track is clear now and I’m allowed free access.” He grabs his keys and we walk outside together.

“Wait, what do you mean track? The Nürburgring? Really?” I reply shocked and Sebastian nods excitingly.

“Oh god you’re gonna kill me, aren’t you?” I say with fear in my voice, once we get into his Porsche, Seb’s hand lands softly on my inner thigh, caressing it.

“Oh no Liebling, I would never hurt you. At least not like that.” His grip is more intense, as I flinch but do not remove his hand from my thigh. The touch is affecting me more as I feel my cunt slightly watering with the thought of his fingers inside me.

“Not like that? You have other plans Vettel?” I look at him and with a twist of my body, my breast slightly show even more now, my bra almost popping out. That causes Seb to groan a bit as his eyes land on them and then swerve back on the street.

“Let’s just say my torturing methods include pleasure. And especially when it comes to you.” His hand moves up more than it should, caressing up and down my fully clothed womanhood. Oh dear god that feels good and you can barely tell his touching me.

“And who says I’ll allow you to torture me?” I softly moan accidentally and try to bring myself back into my senses.

“You heard your father. Obey to what I say.” he lowered his voice and I gulped hardly. For most, Sebastian was a sweetheart but who said he wasn't a secret devil?

Once he removed his hand and placed it back on the wheel, I instantly regretted on agreeing at this ride. He is a massive soft spot for me and I am way too vulnerable when I am with Sebastian.

He knows me ever since I was a kid and he was rocking the formula one world by winning four consecutive world championships with red bull. Even though he retired last season, I still see him as one of my favourite drivers.

And I see him as my secret temptation as well.

Sebastian always told me that I would have a bright future in motorsport. Whenever me and my dad would visit him during the race weekend, I’d always spit random facts or stats just to show of my intelligence.

I will never forget the moment when Sebastian won this third world championship in Brazil and after he got out of the car, the first person who he hugged outside of his team was me. He picked me up, because I was wearing a jersey with the phrase “Weltmeistet 2012!” Followed by a picture of him, posing with the infamous index finger.

The exact one he dares to finger me with if I misbehave.

Luckily, my house is close to the circuit, so in less than 20 minutes we have arrived. The gates are fully open and we pull up from behind the garages, whose gates are open and probably have been since 2020.

When he enter the pit lane and the bar is open as well, he drives slowly all the way to the start-finish line. We sit there in silence for a moment before Sebastian looks at me with a devilish look in his eyes.

“I need you to be completely honest with me. I need to know if grandpa Seb still has it in him.” He says and a giggle escapes my lips with the characterization he used for himself. Grandpa.

Daddy? Sure. Not Grandpa though.

“Come on Seb. You’re not that old. You left Formula One a year ago. I don’t think a four times world champion gets rusty this easily.” I reply to his statement with all honesty.

“I’m not old enough to fuck you sweetheart. But to pull the tricks you’re about to witness, maybe.” I gasp at his comment and my eyes widen. Did he really say what I heard?

He turns on the engine once again and the quickly speeds through turn one but instead of drifting, I feel the car balancing on Seb’s side only.

“Stay still schatz.” He says, fully focused on the road.

I am even trying to hold my breath, besides my balance. What is he doing?

The car steadies itself back after turn 4 and speeds once again without breaking through turns 5 up to 7. After that, he breaks slightly and the car swerves at the front and drives with the two front wheels only.

“Are you trying to get us killed? What did I ever do to you?” I hold on to my seatbelt as Sebastian laughs out, trying to be extremely careful simultaneously.

“For you my dear, death with be slow and sweet. Don’t you worry.” I don’t know what is going on inside his mind and whether I like it or not.

Thankfully at turn 12, we balance once again and I let out a loud sigh. Slowly the drives up to turn 13 when I suddenly notice a ramp in the middle of the straight, closing on turn 16.

Sebastian fully floors the speed and I shut my eyes, as I feel the car levitating from the ramp, but surprisingly not falling down as abruptly as I imagined, drifting into turn 17 and then straight to the start-finish line once more.

Once I open my eyes, I look next to me and Sebastian is eyeing me with a raised eyebrow, waiting for my reaction.

“If that was your plan to kill me, then I’m glad it didn’t work. Nevertheless, I was surprised and weirded out on how you know all these tricks. Also, I was a bit fascinated, not going to lie.”

“Do you really thought I was going to kill you? My baby? I’m not as cruel as you think. And thank you for the compliments.”

“You didn’t answer my question. Who taught you these tricks?”

“I think the person you should refer to, is your father.” He unbuckles his seatbelt so he can turn to face me more comfortably.

“Impossible!”

“And yet true. Why do you think we are this close? Near death experiences bring people together.” He winks at me and my eyes roll all the way back to my fluttering heart.

“My old man has impressed me.”

“And now it’s time for this old man to as well.”

“Weren’t these tricks enough?”

“So you want me to stop then baby?”

“No. Definitely not.”

“So definitely not huh? Haven’t seen you this sure about something ever since you decided to dump this pathetic boy of yours. And I still don’t know the reason why.”

“If only you could look inside my thoughts.”

“I can look inside your thighs if you want me to.”

“Is that an offer Vettel?”

“More like a statement, but take it however you like. As long as it comes true.”

Sebastian brings his face closer to mine, his lips are ghosting over mine and his hot minty breath filling my lungs with joy and extreme desire. His tongue swipes my lower quivering lip and a moan is my reaction to his actions.

“Care to share your thoughts darling?”

[fairyminnie444]

I am a teen girl that's trying to manifest a modeling career, a good skinny body, good grades, long hair, to dance solos, clear vision and skin but.. How? I've been manifesting for 4/5 years and one of my desired has always been to be skinny... I have a lot of fat on my hips and stomach, not a lot I just have a thick build and I just I hate it so bad, today my skinny relative was over she showed me one of her videos of her tan and of course I saw her body she's a model, I really wanna be like her too how do I manifest this.. HOW I'm impatient and I have never been this insecure about anything before I'm so desperate I came on to Tumblr when some things not working out I come here but things never work out.. HOW please help ill be sending this to everyone

I can feel how much you want this, and that’s okay. It’s completely normal to feel frustrated and overwhelmed when your desires feel out of reach. Let’s break it down step by step so you can approach this with clarity and focus:

1. Shift Your Focus from Desperation to Ownership

• Desperation creates a cycle of chasing, not receiving. Instead, start seeing yourself as someone who already has what you want. Ask yourself: If I were already a model with a skinny body, good grades, long hair, solos, and clear skin, how would I think, feel, and act right now?

• Write down how you think that version of you would live daily. Embody those traits as much as possible.

2. Be Gentle with Yourself

• It’s okay to feel insecure sometimes, but don’t let it define you. When you catch yourself comparing, remind yourself: “Her success is proof of what’s possible for me. My journey is my own.”

• Self-love isn’t about ignoring your desires; it’s about treating yourself like you already have what you want. Stand in front of the mirror and affirm: “I am transforming into my dream self every single day.”

3. Manifestation Formula for Each Desire

For each goal, use this formula:

• Visualize: Close your eyes and vividly imagine yourself already living as the person you want to be. Feel the confidence, joy, and ease of being that version of you.

• Affirm: Use affirmations tailored to each goal. Example:

• “I am naturally slim and healthy.”

• “Opportunities in modeling flow to me effortlessly.”

• “I’m so proud of my glowing skin and silky long hair.”

• “I always get the highest grades because learning is so easy for me.”

• Detach: After affirming, let it go. Trust that it’s already done in your 4D (imagination), and the 3D (physical reality) will catch up.

4. Stop Trying to Force Change Overnight

• Change happens naturally and steadily when you allow it. You’ve been manifesting for years, but sometimes, the reason it feels stuck is the constant checking.

• Instead of wondering “When will it happen?” ask yourself: “How can I enjoy being me right now?”

5. Daily Practices for Your Confidence

Here are actionable steps to support your mental and emotional alignment:

• Mirror Work: Look into the mirror and say, “I am so grateful for my evolving beauty and confidence. I love who I am becoming.”

• Gratitude: Every night, write down 3 things you love about yourself and your progress.

• Assume the Feeling: Before bed, imagine yourself walking down the runway or acing a test. Feel the excitement as if it’s happening now.

6. Body-Specific Advice

Instead of focusing on what you hate about your body, focus on the love and care you can give it:

• Affirm: “My body is perfect for my dreams, and it naturally transforms into my ideal shape.”

• Visualize: Imagine yourself putting on clothes that fit your dream body perfectly. See it, feel it, believe it.

• Let Go of Time: Stop waiting for the results. Live as if it’s already done, and the changes will happen effortlessly.

7. Trust the Process

Manifestation works, but the key is to stop doubting yourself. You’ve got this. Your desires are valid, and they’re already yours. Every step you take with faith is moving you closer.

Whenever you feel overwhelmed, remind yourself:

“I am on my way, and everything is unfolding perfectly for me.”

[vivwritesfics]

Keep On Rolling

Chapter Eleven

Summary: Lando's best friend having feelings for anyone on the grid? Impossible, right? She worked with them, sharing her friendship with the grid with the world via the FormulaY/N youtube channel.

After film a video including... spicy water (alcohol), everything changes between her and a certain world champion. Good thing she hasn't had a crush on him since his F1 debut, right?

Right?

1.5K words

Series Masterlist

So, once again, Y/N was pissed with Lando. But not the ignoring him kind of pissed. No, after Y/N went to Charles, she went straight to Lando.

Charles tried to talk her down, of course, but he wasn’t very successful.

“How fucking dare he,” spat Y/N as she paced around in Charles hotel room. “I mean, it’s like he thinks he’s got some sort of ownership over me! And I’m sick of it!”

Charles knew this wasn’t the case. Y/N knew this wasn’t the case, too. But she was angry, ready to burst into Lando’s room with all gun’s blazing. Charles shook his head. “You’ll only make things worse if you go in ready to kill him,” he said.

Still pacing, Y/N glared at him. “Not helping,” she said. “Okay, I’m going to go in there, I’m going to lose my shit at him and then I’m going to come back in here and cry on your shoulder, okay?”

Somewhat reluctantly, Charles nodded. He couldn’t stop her as she marched out of his room and made her way to Lando’s.

And that was where Y/N currently was, waiting outside of Lando’s room. She had knocked, foot tapping against the carpeted hallway floor as she waited for him to open the door.

When Lando did pull open the door, he wasn’t ready for what was coming.

“Who the fuck do you think you are,” Y/N almost shouted as she stormed into the room, pushing her finger against his chest.

For a full second, Lando stared at her. And then he held out his hand, what was meant to be a charming smile on his face. “Lando Norris, formula one driver.”

Y/N wanted to hit him. She really wanted to hit him. But she held back. “I spoke to Max,” she began as Lando sat on his bed. “And he told me everything, including how you told him to back off or to leave me alone or whatever. Lan, why the fuck did you do that? You knew I liked Max, yet you went and did this! What if he liked me too?”

Lando scoffed. “Did you ever consider that I was doing what I did for you?”

“What do you mean, doing it for me?”

“He’s not good enough for you, Y/N! You’re my best friend and I just want what’s best for you!”

They were shouting now, Lando on his feet.

“You can’t make that decision for me, Lando!”

“I know him a lot better than you do!”

“Don’t I deserve the chance to get to know him?”

“No!”

Y/N stopped. She so desperately wanted to tell him to fuck off, to leave her alone, but this was his room. So, she did the one thing she could think of, and stormed out of the room.

No, she didn’t go back to Charles’ hotel room to cry on her shoulder. She marched past his room and into the elevator, heading down to the lobby. Her breath was shaky as she leaned against the mirror in the elevator. The moment it opened, Y/N ran out. She ran past the front desk and out through the front doors.

It was raining. Within seconds Y/N was drenched. She had no jacket or coat, not even a jumper on as she walked through the streets. This was what she needed, though. This was good. In her mind she was letting the rain water wash away her anger but, really, it just hid her tears.

***

Charles gave it a good half an hour before he went to call Y/N. She was probably still in Lando’s room, having already shouted at him and now trying to work through things with him. But Y/N’s phone vibrated on the table in Charles room. He let out a sigh and went to call Lando instead.

“Is Y/N in your room?” Lando asked the moment he picked up the phone.

That wasn’t right. “No, she’s with you, isn’t she?” Charles asked, somewhat sceptically.

“She ran out of here twenty minutes ago.” Lando cursed under his breath. “I thought she ran straight to your room!” He cried.

“Calm down, she’ll only be in the hotel,” Charles said quickly, being the voice of reason. “You go and knock on her door and I’ll call Max.”

“Why are you calling Max?”

“Lando!”

No, Charles was right. Lando muttered something else and hung up the phone. The Monégasque had to just assume that Lando was going to check Y/N’s room as he called Max.

Max picked up rather quickly. “Charlie,” he said in a somewhat singsong voice. “How can I help you.”

“Have you seen Y/N?” Charles asked.

Max stopped with the singsong voice. “She left mine maybe an hour ago,” he answered. “Why?”

Charles sucked in a deep breath. “She went to go and confront Lando and now nobody can find her,” he said. “Lando’s gone to check her room, but I don’t know what to do if she’s not there.”

As you, dear reader, can probably work out, Y/N was not in her room. Several messages were sent to the driver groupchat, asking if anybody had seen her. There was an almost unanimous no, but then Esteban said he had seen her from his bedroom window as she walked down the street.

That was how Max, Charles and Lando found themselves running about the streets of the Netherlands, shouting Y/N’s name. They’d split up, trying their absolute best to find her.

It was dark, it was cold and the three of them were worried. “Y/N!” Lando shouted at the top of his lungs, cupping his hands around his mouth. But he got no response, nothing. Those lining up outside of the nightclub he was by stared at him. So, Lando pulled up a picture of Y/N on his phone and asked if anybody had seen her.

“Y/N! Where are you!” Charles yelled as he ran down the street. This area was not very well lit, which was filling him with dread. There were a couple of neon lights from bars, making the area feel a little bit dodgy. “Please don’t be here,” he muttered under his breath as he kept going.

Max wasn’t running about and shouting. He was desperately trying to find her, but he wasn’t shouting her name or calling attention to her disappearance. Max was terrified. She’d run off in an unfamiliar city. Anything could have happened to her.

Sitting against an empty building, with her knees pulled up to her chest, was a girl. A girl with no coat, no jacket, who was soaking wet.

Max approached somewhat cautiously. “Y/N?” He asked and the girl looked up.

Yep, that was his Y/N. He crouched down in front of her and took in her appearance, the hair she had stuck to her face, the goose pimples all over her skin. She must have been frozen. Max himself was only in a cardigan, which was already soaked through. If he offered it to Y/N, it only would have made her colder.

Y/N wiped at her face, wiping away tears. She watched as Max held out his hand, offering it to her. “I’m an idiot,” she said over the sound of the rain.

“So am I,” Max answered.

Finally, Y/N placed her hands in his and allowed Max to pull her to her feet. They stood close, incredibly close, practically chest to chest. “I don’t want to be friends,” Y/N shouted over the sound of the rain. “I was stupid to even suggest it.”

“Yeah, you were,” Max answered, his fingers running through her wet hair.

She wrapped her arms around his neck. Max placed hers on his waist. “You’re really cold,” he said, his fingers grazing the skin beneath her shirt.

“I know,” Y/N replied, still leaning closer.

This kiss wasn’t like the one in the hotel room. Max was ready for it this time, his hands gripping her hips as she pressed her lips to her. Things were moving slowly, sweetly, her lips soft against his own. But part of Max wanted to push her up against the wall behind her, show her what he could really do. But he didn’t. She was already having a fragile night, and he didn’t want to make things worse.

When Max’s phone buzzed in his pocket, Y/N pulled away, giving him the opportunity to check it. It was the drivers groupchat, everybody worried about Y/N. “What is it?” She asked, leaning against Max with his arm around her shoulders.

“Everybody panicked when you disappeared,” Max answered as he quickly typed out a response, telling the groupchat that he had her.

The response he got wasn’t what he was expecting. It should have been, he shouldn’t have been surprised by it. Fernando Alonso, the oldest man on the grid, sent a fucking gif of Taylor Swift winking. Well, whatever he was trying to say, he wasn’t wrong.

Taglist (Open): @sticksdoesart @eviethetheatrefreak @eugene-emt-roe @glai1023-blog @mqcherie @itsjustkhaos @chonkybonky @arian-directioner @lazybot @lpab @princessria127 @fangirl125reader @honethatty12 @larastark3107 @urfavouritef1girly @cassiopeiia24 @callsign-scully @lexiecamposv @dl-yum @savagecelery @laneyspaulding19 @formulas-bitch @teenwolf01 @gayfrog29 @fictionalcomforts @avg-golden-retriever @pxppeypianotme @ruleroftheuniverse @ferrarisbitch @ashy-kit @dark-night-sky-99 @sadg3 @asmoothoperator @formula1mount @perfektpasta @redwolfxx @illicitverstappen @ttzamara

[seastoried]

Given that their composition changes so regularly, any team I currently support may be made up of completely different players, coaches, and administrators in five years. In what sense, then, will I be supporting the same team that I support now?

adam kadlac, the ethics of sports fandom

been thinking about this a lot lately, especially in relation to the growing trend of fans (in a variety team sports) supporting individual players as opposed to teams. what compels us to continue supporting a team even after the youngest player at the first match we watched has retired? what identity, independent of the players who make it up, does a team posses? even after players have been traded, coaches have been hired and fired, and ownership has changed hands, there remains some spirit so foundational to the being of the club that allows us to identify it as the same. this, i believe, is it's grounding in and connection to a particular place.

i find it particularly telling that the practice of supporting individuals over teams is perhaps most prevalent in sports where there is a concerted effort made to scrub away a team's sense of place to make way for sponsor based identities, such as formula 1. the sport's international nature and high team turnover rate (tied to sponsors, of course) likely also plays a part. what, then, is driving this change in other sports?

football has always been a sport where teams have been intrinsically tied to a place. while the player over team support trend has yet to become as prevalent in football as it is in some other sports, it does seem to be creeping in. this could be potentially chalked up to a number of factors. perhaps it's the globalization (read: mostly increased american interest, as the rest of the world has been playing football happily for years) of the sports, introducing fans who have no personal connection to the place a club is from, and therefore lack allegiance to the club. maybe it's the steady increase in foreign ownership of teams, to an extent where this erodes away at fan's visions of a club as a physical manifestation of the spirit of their hometown. perhaps stronger personal branding of players is a part of it; they're no longer simply an agent of the team, but an individual in their own right, worthy of being followed no matter where they go (there is something to be said here about the relationship between personal branding, increased sponsor opportunities, and the fact that having ten individual players shill your product is better than the singular entity that is the team). whatever it is, i do find it a little sad - it renders teams somewhat purposeless, empty husks whose only purpose is to house players, otherwise devoid of value.

[eldritch-spouse]

Pinnie! I was blessed with another dream this year within the Clergyverse!

I was in hell and I starred in a play. It was in a comedy and I played the role of a stupid naive and overly optimistic human that winds up in hell via sleeping in a shell and waking up in the rings and goes on misadventures while charming the demon populous with my antics. Some of the things I remember include ending up in Kalymir's dungeons, almost getting burnt alive and skewered, winning the jackpot in a casino in greed and getting robbed, and getting married. Mainly it followed a formula of, well this thing is pretty bad but it can't get worse, proceeds to get worse but I'm still optimistic. The audience was eating it up, they were laughing so hard and me and the cast got a standing ovation in the end. (✿◠‿◠)

I want to know which demons played the roles of demonlords and how much stress they were under as the respective Kings attended the play.

You yourself would probably have been sweating yourself out of existence, so many eyes would be on you. Three of the Icons who would not miss this for the world are Vesper, Livius and Rinx, so you have at least three pairs of highly judgemental eyes poised on you throughout the entire thing. And sure, maybe Rinx is already buying merch or trying to get ownership of the theater itself, maybe Vesper has began to unceremoniously get the people around him off, but rest assured Livius will hardly blink. He could get on stage with you.

[bunny-jpeg]

Can I get a sausage roll and crostata, with coffee, a vodka shot and a vitamin water with Max Verstappen! (I already submitted but forgot to hit anonymous pls use this one lol)

bakery menu!

want to submit your own order? then hit up the menu, there's tons of things to choose from! i hope you find something you like, orders can be big or small, it's up to you! as for this lovely anon, i briefly saw both your messages and i was like "wow two people want the exact same thing at the same time", but don't worry! your off-anon message has been deleted! but thank you!!

sausage roll ("i wonder how much i could get for photos of this cunt.") + crostata (“stupid slut, this is what you wanted huh? wanted me to fuck you like i hate you.”) + vodka shot (rough sex) + vitamin water (dom/sub dynamic) served by max verstappen (formula one)!!

cw: smut/pwp, rough sex, dom/sub dynamic, semi-public sex, parking garage sex, mild choking, panty gag, car hood sex, quiet sex, clothed sex

you once joked with max that the best necklace you could ever own was his hand around your throat. that line buried its way into max's mind and never let go.

the sight of you, under total ownership of him. you were a bratty sub, you liked to kick your legs like a horse so to speak. you ran your mouth like a motor and got your sick kicks out of standing toe to toe with him. even though he was the dom in this little game, it didn't mean you were going to take it lying down.

to those in the restaurant, you two looked like the perfect couple. the champion of f1 and the woman he held so dear. the front of your shoe rubbed up against the side of his ankle.

"behave." he warned.

he tried to order your usually and you simply said, "i don't want that." then ordered yourself. then you refused to drink the expensive wine he had ordered for your table. once again, bucking against him. why it was a little amusing at first, the act grew tired quite quickly.

and after dinner, in the quiet parking garage. max kept his grip on you, he said in your ear as you entered the garage, "you think this is a joke, don't you? forget all the rules i've given you."

you giggled, "well yeah, if i followed them all the time. then you'd get bored."

he took you by the back of the next and looked at you. even in the low lighting of the garage you could see the intensity in his gaze. he replied, "no, i'll have peace of mind."

you stuck your tongue out cheekily, "simp." then tried to scamper off towards the car, but max's grip on your neck was a little tighter. he held you still against him, you could feel his erection in his jeans. you swallowed, this meant trouble.

“stupid slut, this is what you wanted huh? wanted me to fuck you like i hate you.” he said, "gluttony isn't a good look on your, my treasure... or i guess you're my slut. stupid little thing." then gave your throat a squeeze before he practically dragged you to the car and got you up against the side of the hood.

you collided with the metal of the body and whimpered, that was going to leave a bruise on your elbows come more. thankfully the garage was near dead quiet and the dim lighting left you hidden.

he pushed up the skirt of your dress and took your panties off. you always forgot how strong max was, years of training and driving have left him enough strength to rip those panties off of you.

you heard the ripped of fabric and you were about to make a comment before the fabric was stuffed in your mouth and max held your jaw close around it.

"you keep these safe, alright?"

you tried to say something but the fabric muffled your voice into gibberish. max's large hands groped your ass with your skin exposed to the air.

"i give you everything." max said, "the world and all the stars. the shirt off my back and all the love in my heart. all i ask is that you're good for me." he undid his belt, the sound of the metal sent a shiver though you.

he stroked his cock a little bit, he admired the sight of you over his car. he couldn't waste too much time, but allowed himself to indulge in the pathetic sight of you. as much as you snapped your canines at him, you'd always be his pretty sub.

"i wonder how much i could get for photos of this cunt." he wondered absently before he pressed his cock up against your pussy, "snap a few photos." he rubbed his aching cock up against you more, further pressing you into the car. "i bet you'd love that. formula one's little whore. max verstappen's little fuck toy. wear it with honor like you do all of my bruises."

he was quick to get his cock into you. little formalities or tenderness. if you just behaved then maybe he would've afforded you that. but for now you were just something he owned. like the dress you wore, the meal you had and the luxury car you were pressed up against.

"you look so good under me." he said, "you know how to take me so well. so why do you misbehave? why do you sit there and act like a brat. you are so greedy."

you whimpered as you tried to find some way to leverage yourself on top of the shiny car hood. everything screamed wealth and a sick perverted desire. you two played this sexual cat and mouse and it excited you to no end.

max was a good dom however, he cared for you so deeply. but, you two had an agreement so he of course had to pushed you down against the hood his car and move against you.

you both had to keep it quiet. you could feel the rush of being so out in the public. slightly hidden away as max thrusted into you. your nails dragged across the paint of the hood. you tried to keep your noises to a minimum, but it was hard when you felt your insides get twisted in knots.

"see, this is how i like you. you look prettier like this. under me, gagged and letting me split you in two." he kissed at the side of your face, his slight facial hair tickled your face and made you nipples grow hard.

you felt your hips hit against the metal of the car and your pussy clenched around his length. you felt hot all over, the heat pooled deep in your gut.

the wet sounds of your fucking could be heard alongside his heavy pants. your mouth felt dry due to drooling all over the panties in your mouth. you eventually rested your cheek against the car hood.

his licked his lips as he admired the sight of your back. he made a note later to leave marks across your skin. he wanted you to remember tonight. the lesson he was trying to teach.

he demanded you to be a good girl, a good sub for him. he worked a lot and he didn't need more stress thinking that his sub was misbehaving. he knew it was possible. even if you had a bit of a bratty streak.

"good girl. see."

you whimpered and exhaled through your nose. you tensed up and arched your back. your breathing was heavy pants as you felt your heartbeat throb in the back of your head.

the rush of the possibility being of being caught only added another layer of a hot need in you. you wanted to say something to max, but he wanted you gagged and quiet.

max gave a few more heavy thrusts. your forehead was placed against the metal of the car. you felt like a live wire. you whined something around the makeshift gag. your back arched further as you came around his cock.

he then reached for your neck and held onto it tightly. you groaned a little louder, your brain felt like a puddle as he kept that pussy of yours occupied. subby sluts like you always demanded more, more, more.

he kept you pinned down and fucked you. it didn't take long for him to finish as well. he pressed his entire weight onto you, keeping you down as he finished inside of you. the pathetic noise you made only riled him up in his post-orgasmic bliss.

but sadly he couldn't get another round in with you. someone was going to come looking for their car soon and max didn't need his face in the tabloids. he pulled down your dress over your ass and let his cum leak down your thigh.

the panties were taken out of your mouth and thrown to the floor before he got you into the car and got out of the garage. his hand on your thigh, giving it a squeeze.

he knew a good place that was right near the water, where he could have a little more time taking his beloved sub apart then piece you back together. maybe then you'll remember, max was in charge. <3

[coimbrabertone]

The Full Story of the Andretti Indycar Team

On September 27th, 2024, Jay Penske's sportico.com website reported that Michael Andretti was relinquishing ownership of Andretti Global and stepping back into a strategic role.

Michael Andretti, who spent over twenty years racing in Indycar in his own right and spent just as long as a team owner, was stepping away from team ownership, handing the reins to investor Dan Towriss.

Now, a lot of people have speculated as to why:

Some people say that Michael and Dan had a falling out earlier this season and Michael ultimately left.

Others say that Michael promised Dan an entry into Formula One, and now that the teams have firmly blocked that, Dan demanded some kind of return on his investment.

Others yet think that Michael stepping away is a way to smooth over the friction between Michael and the F1 team bosses, potentially giving an avenue for the Towriss-led Andretti Cadillac to make it into F1 after all.

There is also, you know, the possibility that Michael Andretti was being entirely truthful. He simply wants to step back to a more strategic role rather than dealing with team ownership.

We don't know the real answer though.

Nor is it the topic of this blog.

Instead, this blog is a retrospective on Andretti as a race team, particularly in Indycar. How they started, how the Andrettis got involved, some of the high points, and what the team means to Indycar now that, in one way or another, it won't even been the same.

The story starts in 1993, when Barry Green (a senior Australian engineer who worked with teams like Forsythe and Kraco) and Gerry Forsythe himself (who had run an Indycar team in the early and mid 80s) partnered with Player's cigarettes out of Canada to create a Formula Atlantic team, with Quebecois drivers Claude Bourbonnais and Jacques Villeneuve.

Claude finished second in the standings that year, Jacques just behind in third.

With a promising debut, the team moved up to CART in 1994, fielding Jacques Villeneuve in a Player's sponsored car. Jacques would finish second at Indy and take his debut win at Road America, to finish sixth in the standings and snatch rookie of the year.

Come 1995, the team experienced an ownership split. Barry Green kept Players and Villeneuve initially, while Gerry Forsythe started his own team with Teo Fabi - who had previously driven for Forsythe in 1983 - as the driver.

That didn't stop Team Green from continuing to be successful.

Villeneuve won the season opening Grand Prix of Miami, the Indianapolis 500, Road America yet again, and Cleveland to win the championship.

All of this was enough for Frank Williams to snatch Villeneuve out of Indycar and bring him over to Formula One.

Furthermore, Forsythe secured the Player's sponsorship for his own team for 1996, hiring Greg Moore to drive.

Meanwhile, Team Green had a pair of mediocre seasons in 1996 and 1997, with Raul Boesel and Parker Johnstone, respectively, however, by 1998, the team was ready to compete.

Barry's brother Kim joined in as co-manager of the team, KOOL cigarettes signed up as sponsor for 1997, and they switched to Honda engines that same year.

Then for 1998, they brought on Penske's Paul Tracy and Hogan's Dario Franchitti as drivers. Paul and Dario in those white, green, and gold KOOL cars would be defining drivers in those golden era of CART.

Dario struck first, winning Road America, Vancouver, and Houston in 1998, finishing third in the standings.

Come 1999, and Dario won Toronto, Detroit, and Surfers Paradise, whilst Paul Tracy won at Milwaukee and Houston. Dario finished second to Juan Pablo Montoya on countback, whilst Paul Tracy finished third.

This was Team Green's finest hour.

Paul Tracy won at Long Beach, Road America, and Vancouver in 2000 to finish fifth, but Dario struggled, and more than that, the two gained a reputation for crashing into each other. They crashed into each other at Houstin in 1998 (which Dario won), Gateway in 1999, Chicago in 2000...they were quite literally doing it once a year.

That wasn't the end of it either, since it happened again in Denver in 2002.

Anyway, also in 2001, Michael Andretti enters the story.

Now, Michael had worked with Barry Green at Kraco, but after that, Michael joined his father at Newman/Haas. From 1989 to 1992, Mario and Michael were teammates, and when Mario retired at the end of the 1994 season, it paved the way for Michael to return to Newman/Haas through the end of the 2000 season.

However, Michael wanted to race in the Indianapolis 500, and Newman/Haas was a CART diehard team. Thus, in 2001, Michael partnered with Motorola, Kevin Savoree, and Kim Green to create a satellite entry in the form of Team Motorola.

Michael won Toronto in 2001 and Long Beach in 2002 with Team Motorola, while also finishing 3rd and 7th, respectively, at Indianapolis in those years.

For 2002, Paul Tracy and Dario joined him, in 7Eleven sponsored cars - really a business-to-business (B2B) deal between KOOL and 7Eleven, effectively saying "come buy your cigarettes here!" - and Paul Tracy was pulling off a pass for the lead on Helio Castroneves as the caution came out.

Helio was deemed to have been ahead as Paul complained on the radio, saying that it was the IRL trying to cheat a CART driver out of the win, but the race finished under caution and Castroneves won his second consecutive Indy 500.

For 2003, Michael bought out Barry, with Kim Green and Kevin Savoree initially staying on as smaller partners.

Thus, Team KOOL Green became Andretti Green Racing, and they moved over to the IRL Indycar Series.

Dario Franchitti remained in the #27 car, picking up the Motorola sponsorship, while the 7Eleven sponsorship led to the other two cars becoming the #7 and the #11. The #7 would be driven by Michael Andretti through the end of the Indianapolis 500, while the #11 would be taken over by Tony Kanaan - Paul Tracy had refused to move over to the IRL, so he signed for Forsythe in CART instead.

Dan Wheldon, in a Jim Beam sponsored #26 car, would effectively replace the retiring Michael Andretti after the Indy 500.

In 2004, with the team adding on Bryan Herta in a fourth car - the XM Satellite Radio sponsored #7 - Andretti Green Racing would become the Indycar superteam. They had more cars than anybody else, their Honda engines were better than the Toyota and Chevrolet engines the competition were running, and the likes of Wheldon, Kanaan, and Franchitti would go on a tear.

Tony Kanaan would win the 2004 championship, Dan Wheldon finished second.

Dan Wheldon won the 2005 championship, Tony Kanaan finished second.

Also in 2005, the team achieved two massive milestones.

First, they swept the top four positions at the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. The race in Florida was the first IRL event on a road or street circuit rather than an oval, and Andretti dominated it.

Dan Wheldon first, Tony Kanaan second, Dario Franchitti third, and Bryan Herta fourth.

Second, they won their first Indianapolis 500, capping off a career year for Dan Wheldon.

With Wheldon going to Ganassi for 2006, while Chevy and Toyota pulled out - meaning Penske and Ganassi now had those same Honda engines that Andretti was so successful with - marked a bit of a stumble for the team.

Nevertheless, with Marco Andretti replacing Wheldon in the #26, Michael returned for the Indianapolis, the father-son duo finishing second and third, narrowly losing out to Penske's Sam Hornish.

Still, Tony Kanaan won at Milwaukee and Marco won at Sonoma.

2007 marked a return to form, with Dario Franchitti winning at Indianapolis, Iowa, Richmond, and Chicagoland to take his first championship. Five wins for Tony Kanaan ensured he finished third in the standings as well.

Also, Danica Patrick took over the #7 car, putting a woman in top machinery in Indycar for the first time. She'd finish seventh that year, behind Dario and Tony, but ahead of eleventh placed Marco.

In 2008, Tony would win at Richmond to finish third in the standings again, however, the biggest story around Andretti Green Racing that year was Danica Patrick winning at Motegi. Now, a lot of people diminish this win, saying that half the Indycar world was in Long Beach for the the final Champ Car race.

However, those people don't seem to say that for all the wins that Tony, Dario, and Dan Wheldon got for that team.

Furthermore, at this point, the IRL had won the war. Scott Dixon, Helio Castroneves, all the Andretti guys...sure it wasn't a peak field, but neither was Champ Car at this point. There is a reason that the two series had no choice but to merge.

In any case, the team was on a bit of a decline as well, with the team going winless in a 2009 season where Danica beat out TK by seven points to be Andretti's top driver that season, finishing fifth.

Ryan Hunter-Reay would join the team in 2010 - now rebranded from Andretti Green Racing to Andretti Autosport - and lead them back towards the front of the field, eventually winning the championship in 2012 and the Indianapolis 500 in 2014.

Meanwhile, James Hinchcliffe won at St. Pete, Sao Paulo, and Iowa in 2013 to give the team that one-two punch again.

2015 was another struggle, only winning a single win - Detroit Race 1 with Carlos Munoz - but the team bounced back in 2016, with Alexander Rossi winning the Indianapolis 500 in the Andretti/Herta #98.

Takuma Sato in the #26 would give the team back-to-back Indianapolis 500 victories with his win in 2017, the first ever for a Japanese driver.

Then in 2018, wins at Long Beach, Mid-Ohio, and Pocono, Alexander Rossi would finish second in the championship.

Wins at Long Beach and Road America in 2019 would give Rossi another title challenge, finishing third this time.

Rossi - and Andretti proper - would go winless in 2020, but the affiliated Harding-Steinbrenner car of Colton Herta won the second race at Mid-Ohio.

On top of wins at COTA and Laguna Seca in 2019 before Harding-Steinbrenner joined up with Andretti, this marked Colton's ascendancy at the team his dad once drove for. He would finish third in the standings in 2020.

He won St. Pete, Laguna Seca, and Long Beach in 2021 but regressed to fifth, whilst Rossi, Hunter-Reay, and the returning Hinchcliffe all went winless.

A win for Herta at the first IMS Road Course race and a win for Rossi at the second marked a somewhat better 2022, but with Penske and Ganassi continuing their dominance of the series, while Arrow McLaren emerged as best of the rest, it marked a serious decline for Andretti. Especially once Rossi left Andretti to join an expanding Arrow McLaren team.

To add insult to injury, Rossi in ninth was Andretti's best car in 2022.

This got even worse in 2023, when Rossi's replacement, Kyle Kirkwood won at Long Beach and Nashville, but he was eleventh, and Colton Herta was tenth.

This was bad.

The team was making a lot of noise about trying to get into Formula One, and it even rebranded to Andretti Global as part of those efforts, but how were they going to build their own car for Formula One when they weren't even doing well in a spec series like Indycar?

More bad news for 2024 as DHL left the #28 car - most recently driven by Romain Grosjean - to sponsor Alex Palou for 2024. Andretti Global went from four car super team in 2005 to mid table in 2024 - they needed to consolidate resources if they wanted to get back to the front.

So they did.

Colton Herta in the #26 and Kyle Kirkwood in the #27 remained, but the #28 was taken over by Marcus Ericsson, while the #29 of Devlin DeFrancesco went away entirely. The four-car team was down to a comparatively sleek three, and they hoped to consolidate resources.

Well, wins at Toronto and Nashville Superspeedway ensured Colton Herta finished second in the standings, while Kyle Kirkwood was seventh, and Marcus Ericsson was fifteenth.

The team bounced back somewhat, and things looked good in the offseason.

Sure, Andretti seemed no closer to joining Formula One than they had before, but they consolidated resources to improve in Indycar, while getting ready to move into their fancy new headquarters in Fishers, Indiana.

There was some grumblings that two teams held out on signing Indycar's charter agreement all the way up until the final moment, but it wasn't exactly clear who the holdouts were.

Then Michael Andretti announced he was stepping back at Andretti Global. That...was interesting. That could mean he was the hold out, or maybe not.

It could mean that Towriss seized control of the team, or maybe not.

It could be a ploy to win over the Formula One teams, or maybe not.

It's unclear what will happen to Andretti Global going forward, but this is the story of what has happened to Andretti thus far.