#gearbox when i catch you

[comma-tose]

Something I noticed that I REALLY don't like is just how much current borderlands seems to be trying to diminish Rhys and Fiona's personalities and achievements.

It started out with Rhys in Borderlands 3, where Vaughn implied he was fake and that they haven't spoken in years for some reason??? Then it happened again in New Tales, where Rhys was written as incompetent, and an awful boss that fires his employees for having ONE bad idea.

It also essentially calls him a warmonger that's focused entirely on profits, and has no moral compass beyond "the almighty dollar". Going as far as to explicitly state that that is literally Atlas's motto.

Aside from all that it also says that Atlas is essentially failing and that Rhys has absolutely no idea what he's doing, which is especially weird considering how in Borderlands 3 it's stated that Promethea is finally starting to do well for itself again, and through Echo logs you hear that even Marcus is impressed with how well Rhys is doing.

So for Rhys we have him losing connection with his best friend and being called an idiot, fake, being mischaracterised as a terrible person that apparently learnt nothing and has regressed as a person to a borderline unrecognisable state.

----------------------------------------------

And now we get to Fiona. Since borderlands 3 treats the female protagonist of Tales as if she just doesn't exist, Fiona's story continues in Debt or Alive so...

SPOILER WARNING FOR DEBT OR ALIVE.

Not only is Fiona characterised VERY strangely in the book but they also just give Sasha credit for some of what Fiona does, and Fiona alone tends to be the target of blame in the book. Oh and she gets compared to Handsome Jack for good measure.

To start off with, Fiona doesn't even get her wish from the Vault of the Traveller. She gives it to Sasha, and Sasha wishes for a rare Vaultlander figurine of Typhon DeLeon which is destroyed a couple of chapters later. So not only does Fiona not even get to use her wish but the product of the wish gets destroyed anyway so it's entirely pointless.

Fiona also just decides to not be a vault hunter. That conversation she can have with Rhys SECONDS before this happens, about how it suits her, about how she's sad the adventure is over? It's just ignored. She immediately gives it up because she doesn't want Sasha vault hunting and getting put in danger again. Sure she still likes vault hunting but it is immediately given up. (I could write a whole other post about why this bugs me and I probably will).

Fiona has flaws that are addressed in the books, as they should be, all characters have to have flaws, but she is the only one out of the sisters to have flaws addressed. Sasha's are treated as if they don't exist, even when they're very apparent. Fiona learns to not be overprotective, and that she can't stop Sasha from doing things she wants to BUT Sasha doesn't learn anything. She does impulsive things that endanger both her and Fiona, and her risking their safety for fun or on a whim is just never mentioned. (Again something else I'll definitely talk about in another post).

Fiona is also consistently the one who comes up with the plans in the book, while Sasha is either not doing anything or suggesting they take the easy way out. Fiona is the one to start removing the debt cuffs from people while Sasha stands there bewildered, asking what she's doing. Fiona is the one to come up with the plan to scam the billionaires so that they can use the money to free everyone from debt while Sasha suggests just funding Gaige's revenge scheme (and assumedly just abandoning the people in debt??). And Fiona is the one to figure out how to get into Holloway's panic room and save everyone.

Fiona having her moments to shine would be great if they consistently didn't end with her being called an idiot, getting badly hurt, failing, or at one point being compared to Handsome Jack of all people. (Additional point: Sasha doesn't even defend her when she's compared to Jack, which is weird and very out of character.)

This might be petty but the book also gives credit to Sasha for Fiona surviving Bossanova's murder rally in Tales. Which is really weird considering Sasha and Fiona were separated during the entirety of that event. So instead of mentioning a time where Sasha actually helped save Fiona, like in the bio-dome when she was caught by Finch and Kroger, I guess they're actively retconning an event to give Sasha the credit. For some reason.

Fiona also has to confront Sasha about how she's treating Rhys, but then like a chapter later she literally apologises for all that, despite having every right to call Sasha out for that. So again Sasha's flaws are not being recognised as actual flaws and instead it's Fiona who's somehow in the wrong and Sasha learns nothing. Sure by the end of the book she considers Rhys her boyfriend but she is never the one to tell him. Fiona is, because Sasha just doesn't bother to, because it never treats her as someone who has to grow as a person. Sasha is usually either just used as a plot device to progress things or just doing almost nothing while being given credit, instead of being developed like a proper character. I'd call her a shell of what Tales Sasha was but even that feels too generous.

I used to really want to see the Tales characters in other borderlands media, but at this point I just dread it. Because why would I want to see my favourite characters being wildly mischaracterised and mistreated by the franchise?

[woso-dreamzzz]

Sisters

Irene Paredes x Teen!Reader

Summary: You and your sister's wife

"You know," You say, voice thick and rough with sleep," My sister will get annoyed if she catches you sleeping in my bed."

"Lucía sent me to get you."

"And you're doing that by getting in bed with me?"

You flutter your eyes open, rolling over until your face to face with your sister in law.

Irene looks down at you, a smile on her face as she reaches out to pinch your cheek.

You squawk at her, swatting her hand away with a little yelp. "Stop it! You're so mean!"

"And you slept past your alarm," Irene reminds you," You need to stop doing that."

"Who are you? My mum?"

Irene grins. "I mean, technically-"

You groan, pulling a pillow over your eyes to block her out.

With your parents failing health and your own dedications at La Masia, they had signed their rights away and transferred your custody to your sister, Lucía.

Irene had put her own name on the paperwork too - something about it running smoother if it was clear it would be a couple taking care of you and not just Lucía.

You feel a poke on your shoulder and you swat blindly at Irene.

"Leave me alone," You say," Why can't you just let me sleep?"

"Because we have training," She replies, continuing to poke you," And you take ages to get ready. You're worse than Mateo."

"Mateo's practically a baby," You say," If he takes long to get ready then it's Lucía's fault."

"What's your excuse then?"

You sit up, shrugging. "It's Lucía's fault. She got me ready as a kid too. She's the reason I take so long."

"Go and get dressed, hermana," Irene says with an eye roll," I'm leaving in ten so if you're not ready by then I'm leaving without you."

"No you won't!" You yell after her.

You don't think she will but you still rush to change just in case.

Irene's stood at the door when you get downstairs, throwing her keys up and down while Lucía bustles around the kitchen with Mateo.

"Kiss your sister goodbye," Irene teases as you scoop up your bag and approach.

You groan. "You're so annoying."

"I don't hear you telling your sister how much you love her."

You make sure to drag your feet all the way over to Lucía, pressing a kiss to her cheek before doing the same with little Mateo.

"Be good at practice," Lucía reminds you," And if Irene gets on your nerves, tell me and I'll keep her in line."

You grin against Lucía's shoulder. "She's not all bad."

"Don't tell her that. She's already got a big head. Don't make it get bigger."

"I'll try."

"Let's go," Irene says, getting a bit impatient and you pull away from your sister.

"You're the one that made me say goodbye."

"Oh? So it's my fault?"

You pretend to think. "Yes. Yes it is."

Irene rolls her eyes fondly as an arm is thrown over your shoulder. "Love you Lucía, love you, Mateo! I promise I won't kill your sister!"

The car ride is an easy one, familiar.

You'd signed your first professional contract with Barcelona in the summer, rising through the ranks of La Masia before taking your place as one of the new centrebacks Barcelona signed for the new season.

"You nervous?" Irene's eyes are on the road as she speaks.

You rolls your eyes and scoff," No."

It's a complete lie and you think Irene knows that because one hand leaves the gearbox to gently rub your shoulder.

It's a little annoying how good she is at doing it while she's driving.

"You're going to do great," She soothes, the same voice she uses when Lucía is anxious and Mateo is crying," It's going to go so well for you. Everyone's friendly and no one is going to make fun of you."

You stare out the window. "You don't know that."

"Tell me if they do." She's gone serious now, pulling into a line of traffic and turning to look at you. "I know you like to solve things yourself but I'm serious. If anyone says anything or they make you uncomfortable, you come and get me."

"I know, Irene," You reply," You've been saying that kind of stuff for years."

She grins at you. "Just making sure you remember. No one is going to be mean to you but just in case."

"You're not going to hover, are you? Because I'll tell Lucía. She says you need to stop that."

"Lucía's not the boss of me."

You both exchange looks before bursting into laughter.

"Yes, she is."

Irene rolls her eyes. "Fine. I won't hover if you tell me if someone's making you uncomfortable. Deal?"

"Deal."

"Good." She looks back the queue in front of her. "Now what do you want from the drive through?

You frown. "Lucía said last night we weren't allowed to get breakfast from the drive through."

Irene winks. "I won't tell if you won't."

[uniquexusposts]

Below Deck | C. Leclerc (2)

Summary: Y/n and Charles had broken up a few weeks ago. Y/n thought it was a good idea to enter the yachting world to get over the break up, but suddenly he shows up at the last charter of the season. How will they cope with it? Words: 2008 Read the story that was based off the one shot here Part 1

"Do you watch F1?" It was Max who asked it.

Luca, Otis and Y/n were standing in the lounge. They were having a conversation with the guests, well, Max, Charles, Carlos and Pierre did. They just got back from the beach picnic. Y/n hated that these people were polite, curious and just... Why can't they leave me alone? Luca stirred Y/n into the conversation, and she couldn't just leave.

"Yes, I do! Well, not so much now I work all the time, but where I can, I follow it," Luca said.

Luca was such a sweetheart. He always looked angry, but that was just his facial structure. And he looked so intimidating because of his muscles, but he was a real sweetheart.

"I'm more of a NASCAR guy, I'm sorry," Otis mentioned awkwardly.

Otis was the guy who was probably the most responsible. He never had drama, never. But when there was drama, he was always there. He sometimes had funny comebacks. Together with Y/n, they were drama free.

"And Y/n says she doesn't watch F1," Luca said and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "But I think she secretly does."

Y/n played along with him. "Secretly, I'm a big fan," she smirked. "But don't tell anyone."

"See, I knew it," Luca laughed.

The guests laughed along, trying to not make it awkward. Y/n had to bite her lip to try not to burst into laughter because it was so fake and uncomfortable. She knew almost everything about F1.

"The next race is..?" Luca asked.

"France and right after that, Budapest. The last races before the break," Pierre responded.

"Very cool. I can catch up with it right after we finish this job," Luca happily said. "The last race I saw was with the accident, Imola, I believe." He let go of Y/n. "Dear Lord, that looked horrible."

Y/n pressed her jaws on each other, and her face straightened. She quickly remembered she had guests - who were still her friends - in front of her, so she relaxed all the muscles in her face. Get out of here.

"It looked more horrible than it actually was," Charles replied. "Which was explained later on."

This was a sneer, and Y/n knew it. She looked impressed and nodded. "Of course it did," she mumbled.

Pierre and Carlos looked at Y/n and then at Charles; if looks could kill... They looked at each other and sent each other a look. A look that told: it's bad.

"May I ask how it was for you? I really can't imagine how it must be to be in that car. It really looked so bad. What a small touch can cause..."

Italy, Imola, Sunday. Everything started fine that afternoon until a gearbox of a driver stopped working. Red flag. All the cars went to the pits. Very unfortunate for the driver who had his race finished way too early.

On the other hand, Charles could make an advantage with the restart since the official start went like shit. The car was removed from the track, and everyone was ready for a standing restart. So it began again.

Until Charles Leclerc got a small touch of someone.

Charles shoved over the track at many kilometres per hour. His car flipped upside down. His car hit the barrier with 40G. His car crashed and shattered completely. It took the people over 30 minutes to get him out of the car. It took Ferrari another 90 minutes before a statement was released.

"When you get into a F1 car, you're packed. The impact was gigantic, and I saw my life playing in front of my eyes, but it really looked worse from the outside than from what I saw in the cockpit. Thank god for every regulation and the modern cars," Charles summarised.

"My goodness, it still sounds horrible. I'm glad you got out safely," Luca mentioned, relieved. "I feel like, when it goes wrong, it goes good wrong. Just like with Zhou at Silverstone last year."

"That one was pretty ugly as well," Max agreed.

"I still think the crash of Grojean is the worst in years," Y/n stirred. "I saw it happening, and I thought: nope, we're not doing this again. When he got out of the car, I've never felt so relieved," she said.

Pierre nodded. "He got so lucky. I've seen the reconstruction video, and I heard his story; it was so... I don't have words for it."

"F1 is an ugly sport," Y/n blurted.

"It depends," Charles shot back.

"It is an ugly sport," Y/n sneered.

"Felix for Y/n," the radio went off.

Thank you so much. Y/n grabbed the transceiver from her skirt and held it to her mouth. "Go ahead," she said.

"Can you make two mojitos for Kelly and Rebecca, and bring them to the front deck?"

"I'm on it," she said. "If you will excuse me," Y/n smiled and walked away without waiting for a response.

The smile on her face dropped straight away, and her eyebrows lowered. She was so done with everything, and she wanted to go home so badly. Then she remembered that she didn't have a home, so she had to return to her dad. Y/n was close to having a breakdown but had to keep it together. She arrived at the bar and made two mojito's as requested. Y/n brought them to the two girls and walked to the laundry room to fold and steam some clothes.

She walked with the folded clothes to the bedrooms of the guests. She knocked on every door, making sure no one was in there. In two of the bedrooms, it was that case. Y/n knocked on the last door and opened it without hesitation as she expected it to be empty.

"Oh, excusez-moi," Y/n said when she saw someone in the room of Pierre and Charles. She stepped outside and closed the door behind her. It could be Pierre, she hoped not for Charles.

"No, it's fine."

It was Charles.

"I have your clothes," Y/n mentioned. "Or Pierre's," she mumbled, trying to not give him attention.

The door opened from the inside. "Thank you," he said. "You can put it in the closet."

A sigh left her mouth. For some reason, she didn't accept it. Now it really felt like he was using her. Well, he paid for this service, but it just felt so weird to Y/n.

"Sure, perfect," she said and entered his room again. It was deadly silence, awkward silence, in the room. Y/n placed the clothes in the closet.

"Why did you say that?" Charles suddenly asked.

"Said what?" Y/n was glad that no one from the crew on this boat spoke French. She could hold a conversation without them knowing what they were talking about. Now she had to control the tone of her voice.

"That F1 is an ugly sport."

"Because it is."

"That is not fair to say."

"Why? It's my opinion." Y/n stepped to the door, ready to leave the room.

"It is not fair, Y/n," he repeated.

She closed the door behind her and stepped toward him. "You know what is not fair? The time that you have let me wait after your accident in Imola. Do you remember how long it took me to discover that you were alive? Two fucking hours," Y/n whisper-yelled.

"I still do not understand why this is why you broke up with me," Charles replied in the same tone.

"For me, it is."

"Why? Tell me why, Y/n. Or is that even too much to ask?"

Her face straightened. "I'm not doing this here. Find someone else to mock on, Charles." She stepped towards the door again.

"Explain it to me! I had asked my team multiple times to contact my family when I was at the medical centre; how many times do I have to tell you that?"

"It is so fucking ridiculous that I had to wait for two hours. I had no idea if you were alive, if you were dead. Nothing. Those two hours were almost the two longest hours of my fucking life. Perhaps you were dead, I don't know," she replied and shrugged. "It's the fact that I had to read it in a statement on social media, I didn't get that message from you personally. Even if it was two hours later, it would have been much better than a social media statement on Twitter."

"Why are you still blaming me for it? I have asked-"

"You don't get the point, do you?"

"Then explain it to me, Y/n. I have been guessing for weeks, and I still don't know what went wrong." Charles scanned Y/n's face, and he noticed the change in her eyes. A glossy layer washed over her eyes, and they became bloodshot. Her shoulders hung low, and she looked down. Charles straightened his face and looked down as well. "I am sorry, Y/n," he whispered.

She was shaking her head, and she took a short breath. Soft sniffs filled the room. "I am sorry."

"Mon amour..." Charles stepped towards her and wrapped his arms around her. He pressed a kiss on her forehead and stroked her back. He closed his eyes when she snuggled her face against his shoulder. His heart broke again.

"My mum," Y/n began and pulled back. "She...erm..."

Charles knew her mother passed away nine years ago. He had no idea what she had to do with this.

"...passed away in a car accident," she softly said. "One night, she didn't come home from work and..." She took a deep breath. "She caused an accident because she was drunk, five other people passed away, and four people got injured."

"Jesus Christ," he whispered. "I'm so sorry, I didn't know that." Everything started to make sense now.

"We only found out a day later because the police failed to contact us."

All the strings got connected together. Accident and no communication.

"So when you crashed and when I didn't get any updates, I panicked. And when I read the statement, I got so angry because... I'm sorry. I probably overreacted," Y/n mumbled and dried her eyes. "But I didn't want this to happen again, and I...the same rollercoaster began. I should have talked to you."

Charles retook her in his arms. It was her trauma, and she panicked. Of course, she would get angry. "You never told me this..."

"It's not really a positive thing to talk about, is it?" She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his waist. "My dad asked us not to talk about it with anyone because, you know, we're the family with the alcoholic mother who killed five people."

"Is that why you moved to France?"

"Yup..." She took a deep breath and looked at him. "I'm sorry, I should have reacted differently. It was not your fault. I was just really scared that something bad happened with you, and I compared this situation with my situation."

"But why did you run away, baby?" He whispered and stroked a piece of hair behind her ear.

"I was scared." When Y/n blinked, tears rolled down her cheek. "It's a stupid reason, but I was scared. And then I got an offer to work on this yacht... I am so sorry, Charles. Working in this environment makes you forget everything around you, but I collapsed when I saw you again. Mentally and physically." One thing she loved about Charles was that he gave her time to speak; he never pushed her to talk. "And I fucked it up, I know. I am sorry."

Charles showed a small smile. "You should have told me..." He kissed her forehead again.

"I know, I'm sorry." Y/n looked at him; of course, she wanted to redo the moment, but she couldn't turn back the time. "I know it was not your fault, I know I hurt you, I..."

It was silence between the two again.

Y/n was deciding whether this was a moment where they would fix it or not. Of course, she hoped he could forgive her, but she hurt them by hiding her own problems.

"How many more days until you are done?" Charles suddenly asked.

"Two."

"Two?"

Y/n nodded. "You're the last charter."

He gently pushed her head in his direction, making him look her in the eyes again. "Do you want to come home then?"

Her face softened, and new tears came into her eyes. "Really?"

"Yes, really," he smiled. "Only if you want."

"Yes, please, I'd love to."

They looked at each other, and they pressed their lips to each other.

Taglist: @itsjustkhaos@crashingwavesofeuphoria@maryvibess @softi92

[katyawriteswhump]

a deep and dreamless love (steddie love month, day 11)

For @steddielovemonth, day 11. 'Love is saving the last bite for them,' from (@acasualcrossfade) Thank you <3

Rating: M  WC: 1,630 CW: blood drinking and mild horror. Tags: Vampire au, vampire Eddie, angst and whump with fluffy softness!

…

“You sure you can make it home all right?” Robin climbed out of Steve’s car and paused at the driver’s window. “It’s awfully dark already.”

“It’s cloudy, Robin! Cloudy daylight fries vampires as good as any July scorcher. Now get inside. Before you have to run and fall on your face.”

“Low blow, Dingus.” She curled her lip, muffled her overlong woolly scarf tight beneath her chin. “You know you can always crash h—"

“Robin! If you don’t quit yammering, we’ll BOTH end up as vamp juice-boxes.”

“If we’re gonna play that game, Shit-bird, don’t catch sight of your stupid hair in the rear-view mirror and start fiddling. Don’t wanna find your shrivelled body with my mail.”

“Hilarious. Get inside. Please?”

Steve waited to check she was safe indoors before driving off. He felt bad for being extra cranky, because she was right. He was running late. Their boss had made them stay for extra cleaning at the store, and thick clouds brooded low across an already darkening sky. However, crashing with Robin wasn’t an option.

She was safe now.

Eddie needed him more.

He drove fast, burning rubber round the corners. Nobody enforced speeding laws in Hawkins these days, not this close to sundown. He was halfway home, when the engine spluttered. Then clonked. He hit the break, thrashed at the gearbox. The BMW choked pathetically and conked out completely.

“No.” Steve flicked the ignition key. Nothing. “You gotta be kidding.”

He jumped out, opened the hood. Oil, water. Is the battery disconnected? He could hardly see in the dim light, plus he’d little faith in his basic car maintenance skills. 

Especially with his damn stupid hands shaking. 

He slammed down the lid, sprinted the hundred yards back to the nearest phone booth. He fumbled a coin into the slot and dialled.

It rang. Once, twice, three times, four times. Steve pushed sweaty hair from his eyes. “C’mon, Eddie, pick up! I really don’t wanna die, 'cos you’re moshing to Van Halen.”

The rings finally cut off: “Munson Mansion.”

“What took you?” Now Steve spoke, he realised he was practically hyperventilating.  “I’m in serious shit. My car broke down.”

“Dammit, it’s dark already? Shiiiiit! Must’ve overslept. Okay, calm down.” Eddie sounded, if anything, even less calm than Steve. “Where are you?”

“C-corner of Mason and Sherman.”

“Hold tight, Sweetheart. I’m a comin’.”

Steve pulled the collar of his jacket up—redoubling the defences of the scarf he’d worn all day—and started swiftly back toward the car. The shadows of night slinked across the grey front lawns, swallowing up broken picket fences. 

Then swallowing up Steve. 

He considered running up a driveway, hammering on somebody’s door—a better option than hunkering down in the car, though only if someone let him in.

Too late.

A tall figure in a hoodie appeared as if from nowhere, and blocked Steve’s path. The vampire’s toothy grin flashed in the chilly twilight.

“It’s rude to sneak up on people." Steve squared his shoulders, battling to keep his voice low and steady. “You hear me, knucklehead?”

He reached into his jacket, gripping the wooden stake he always carried. Before he could line up any kind of aim, the vamp was on him, knocking the stake from his hand. He grabbed Steve by the front of his shirt, lifting him clean off the ground. Goddamn vampire super-strength! Steve kicked the bloodsucker on his leg. Hard. Son-of-a-bitch didn’t even lose his grip.

“Payback time, Harrington.”

“What the—”

Steve attempted a punch, which fell short. He then registered the face behind the leering fangs. It was a football player, who’d graduated a couple of years before Steve.

“Chad Lloyd? Seriously? You’re not still pissed about—”

“You kissed my girlfriend, douchebag.”

“I was lifeguarding! I had no idea she was fake drowning till she shoved her tongue into my mouth. Gimme a break.”

Chad beamed, cheesier than ever. “Oh, I’m gonna break you, Harrington. Before or after I drink you dry.”

“Look, if you wanna keep a date, you really need to work on your one lin—”

He hurled Steve to the ground. Steve landed with a bruising, stunning thud. Then the vamp was upon him, rolling him over, ripping off his scarf and pulling down his collar. Steve kicked and struggled, though he’d almost no hope of escape.

“Hey, what’s this?” Chad tore away the neat dressing tucked under the side of Steve’s chin. “Guess I shouldn’t be surprised that slutty Steve Harrington is someone’s sloppy seconds.”

No. Not there! Nobody else drinks from there!

He rammed his knee up into the vamp’s happy-sacks. Then shoved the tender side of his wrist—and that throbbing latticework of veins—right in the sucker’s face.

Chad snarled, grabbed Steve’s arm, hoisted the whole of Steve upright with it. His freshly erupted fangs ripped deep into Steve’s wrist, and he chugged greedily.

Steve’s vision spotted. The usual woolly, sicky feeling swelled in his guts, fogged his brain. He slumped, helpless and terrified, against the vampire. Who just kept drinking.

Okay… I screwed up… Screwed up bad... I always tried so damn hard to save myself for you... Miss you already, Babe… Oh, Jesus!

He was unsure if he heard the distant roar of a motorcycle engine. Could’ve been the fading thunder of his own blood. Then the whoosh of a crossbow bolt gashed into his waning consciousness. Once more, the sidewalk flew up to meet him. He’d a vague notion that the vamp fell too, smacking down beside him.

Eddie’s worried face filled his vision. His heart squeezed sluggishly, aching with love, and the world disintegrated to nothingness.

…

“Steve? C’mon. Wake up. Please wake up.”

Steve’s eyes fluttered open. “Huh?”

“You’re back!” Eddie squeezed him tight. “You scared the crap outta me.”

This was nice. He’d never object to waking up in bed with his naked boyfriend, and half-naked himself. Apart from…  Actually, not feeling so awesome.

Unsettling memories trickled back.

“How you doing?” asked Eddie. “That bastard drank waaaaay too—”

“M’fine.”

To be truthful, the whole right side of his body felt like it’d been slammed by a truck. He lifted his bandaged arm to drape around Eddie’s shoulders and struggled to disguise the effort. 

“Nothing the usual routine won’t fix.” He smirked. “You know, water, spinach, lentils. Gourmet steak dinner with red wine.”

Eddie planted a sizzling kiss on Steve’s cool, sticky brow. “Only wish we could afford that for you, Sweetheart.”

“I’ll take sex for dessert. Plus we don’t have to pay for your food.”

Steve’s fingers had barely touched the fresh bandaging on his throat, before Eddie snatched them, kissed them, tucked them away again.  “You’ve lost too much already.”

“But—”

“I can go a night without feeding, Baby.”

“If you skip dinner, you’ll be grouchy and pathetic in the morning.” 

What Steve really wanted was to wrestle Eddie into submission. He’d tease and goad him into unleashing that vampire super-strength, grappling till Steve was the one pinned to the mattress and then...

Annoyingly, Steve was too feeble to even try and sit, so he sneered. “What happens if I’m dumb enough to get jumped again tomorrow? Or Robin, or Dustin, or any of the kids? As much as I hate to admit it, they need a tame vamp looking out for them, way more than they need me these days”

“Answers still ‘no way in Hell.’ Which I’m heading to for sure, but at least the music will be—”

“Don’t change the subject. Look, I nearly got my arm torn off offering that moron my wrist. All to save the best bite for you.”

Eddie stroked Steve’s hair. “Emotional blackmail ain’t gonna work tonight.”

Good job I’ve learned to play dirty.

This time, Steve ripped the dressing from his neck before Eddie could stop him, revealing the twin fang marks Eddie left last night.

And every night.

“What? Why!?! Don’t want…” Eddie flinched away. “I don’t like this, Stevie.” 

Steve snaked his good arm up, threaded his fingers through Eddie’s lush tresses. He tugged Eddie down toward his throat.

As if on cue, a drop of hot blood trickled from the barely healed punctures. A groan shook through Eddie. He clamped onto Steve’s lifeblood, incisors piercing deep.

Steve bit his lip against a keening, desolate cry. Love didn’t only suck—it stung like a bitch, and the tide of Eddie’s hair smothered him. Still, the slip of Eddie’s tongue against his blood-slickened skin always flipped him out, in a not-entirely-bad way. From the corner of his eye, he strained to catch glimpses of Eddie drinking.

Gnnng! Too damn hot.

Soon, little stuttering gasps escaped him, as he teetered on a knife-edge. Damn, if Steve wasn’t already so shattered, so woozy, he’d be so up for sex after this…

…until he wasn’t. It hurt too much.

Eddie ripped himself free, jumped from the bed, and was  gone.

Steve lay there, trembling violently, his blurry vision further misted with tears. Completely at Eddie’s mercy. 

I’m safe. I'm safe.

Soon after he grew too weak to keep his eyes open, he sensed the skitter of featherlight fingertips. Eddie had returned to bandage him up again. Then Eddie gathered him into his arms and roused him with a tender kiss.

“Wasn’t so hard, was it?” mumbled Steve, lips moistened with his own blood.

“Holy shit, Stevie.” Eddie stuck out his tongue, kinda silly. His eyes shone with fear. “I’m a vampire. A goddamn evil, blood-sucking predator. One day, I might not be able to stop.”

“That’s bull.” No evil could overcome a nature as sweet and soft as yours. “I trust you.” I trust our love. Steve nuzzled into his favourite tattooed parts of Eddie’s chest.

I’ll save the last bite for you. Always.

He slipped away, warm and cherished in Eddie’s arms, and into a deep and dreamless sleep.

...

(also part of my steve whump fic series on AO3.)

[justaninchident-f1xreader]

max verstappen x reader part2

(incase you missed part one https://www.tumblr.com/justaninchident-f1xreader/740195080454930432/max-verstappen-x-readeer?source=share )

themes-

ferrari female driver jealousy enemies to lovers possible spice (i will put the warning accordingly)

warnings- none in this chapter, so don't worry lovelies

chapter 2 - his steely gaze max's pov-

Monaco's hangover clung to me like cheap champagne, sour and acidic. The sting wasn't just from the defeat, snatched away by a rookie in a crimson devil of a car. It was the fire in her eyes, the mocking tilt of her head when she passed me in the pit lane, the audacity of that damn grin stretching across her face. Y/N L/N, the first woman on the grid, the Ferrari flamethrower who'd dared to make me, Max Verstappen, the reigning lion, sweat.

The paddock buzzed with her laughter, a melody weaving through the drone of mechanics and engineers. I saw her across the way, surrounded by the usual gaggle – Lando, Norris, the McLaren goofball, Charles Leclerc, the Ferrari prince, and Carlos Sainz, ever the grinning peacemaker. She fit in effortlessly, her fiery hair catching the morning sun, a halo crowning her mischievous hazel eyes. I could almost taste the salt of the sea, the tang of adrenaline that clung to her like perfume.

But admit that? Hell would freeze over before I let anyone, least of all her, see even a flicker of appreciation in my steely gaze. So I schooled my face into a sneer, the weapon I wielded better than any titanium gearbox. Her laugh, bright and unafraid, pierced through the armor I'd built around myself.

"Still crying over lost glory, Max?" Lando's voice, as irritating as a tire screech, broke the spell. I grunted, a retort already forming on my lips, but Y/N cut me off.

"Just admiring the scenery, Lando," she said, her eyes flicking to me momentarily, the spark catching fire in their depths. "Never seen an orange storm cloud before."

The jab landed clean, a pit lane undercut straight to my ego. I forced a laugh, harsh and metallic. "Careful, rookie, the scenery might bite back."

The game was on, a constant push and pull, a verbal fencing match on every grid, every press conference. On track, we were predators circling each other, waiting for the right moment to strike. She was fearless, her overtaking moves audacious, calculated risks that somehow always seemed to pay off.

But every night, under the Monaco moon, replaying the race in my head, I'd see flashes of her in the cockpit, the fierce concentration in her eyes, the way her lips moved around the radio commands. Every victory felt hollow, tinged with the ghost of that 0.09 seconds, a constant reminder of her fire.

I hated it. Hated the way she made me think, made me push harder, made me see the cracks in my own ironclad confidence. But beneath the surface, a grudging respect began to simmer, a flicker of admiration hidden in the ashes of defeat.

Y/N L/N, the Ferrari firecracker, was more than just a rookie. She was a force of nature, a hurricane in a scarlet dress, and she'd turned my world upside down. And I, Max Verstappen, the Dutch lion, wouldn't have it any other way.

We were destined to clash, to burn like meteorites across the Formula One sky. And somewhere, deep down, in the pit lane of my pride, a part of me couldn't wait for the next race, for the next duel, for the next chance to be consumed by the inferno she called her passion.

The game had begun, and the heat was rising.

[l-norris]

The last race of the triple header has blessed us, and now thou shall receive another recap, this time with a new(-ish) design!

(... It's literally only the header that's new but whatever)

DISCLAIMER: Remember that this is just for shits and giggles, I'm not trying to actually hate on any of the drivers cuz all (most) of them are very dear to me!

As always - numbers in brackets = lap numbers

- Pre-race anxiety is through the roof

- Checo starts from pitlane

- Logan starts from 12th!! Go funky American man!

- Lando and Max are starting next to each other

- God help me

- Rain hovering in the distance

- Ferraris are fucked

- Formation lap starts

- George speedy formation lap

- He wants to get this OVER with

- Pierre has issues with the car after 50-grid-place penalty rip

- He retires before the race even starts

- It's lights out and away go!

- Lewis instantly swoops over to protect George

- Lando bottles start again :(

- Lando struggles with tires

- DRS enabled

- What happened with Pierre? We don't know.

- Mans didn't even make it through the formation lap

- Alex loses pieces of his car (3)

- Logan reports it like he's scared they'll make him switch cars with Alex midrace

- I wouldn't put it past Williams tbh

- Talks of rain already (4)

- "Double stacking won't be a problem for Red Bull" SHOTS FIRED

- Alex and Fernando contact at the start of the race btw

- ... So that's why Alex' car is falling apart

- PSA: Checo is not last anymore! (7)

- "Hülkenberg, who was the fastest Ferrari powered car in Qualifying yesterday." CROFTY PLS😭

- Esteban classical dive-bomb

- Pierre had a gearbox issue btw

- Glad we got that outta the way

- So much for switching all the components in the car

- Alpine please get a grip (they won't ever)

- "Lando we'll keep it simple" what does that mean William

- William I don't like how this sounds

- "Rain in so-and-so many minutes" SHUT UP!! I'M SO FUCKING SCARED RIGHT NOW YOU SHUT UP!

- Guanyu pits (13)

- Charles overtakes Lance (14)

- Lando closes up to Max (14)

- I've seen this movie before and I didn't like the ending

- Lando overtakes Max! (15)

- Oscar now also closing in on Max (17)

- He overtakes him easily! (18)

- Holy hell the Red Bull is a tractor

- Lewis overtakes George! (18)

- And Lando swoops past too! (19)

- Switched to ORF bc F1 TV is behind by like half a lap

- People switched to inters and damn bro y'all were STUPID for that

- And before you ask

- Yes, there was a Ferrari involved.

- Yes, that Ferrari was Charles Marc Hervé Perceval Leclerc.

- Terrible day for Tifosi 4.0

- Red Bull sacrificed Checo

- "It's too dry for inters" We know Checo (unlike some teams)

- DRS enabled (24)

- The people on inters crying rn

- I'm crying too dw

- horrendous laptimes from the drivers on inters (we're talking 1:50 territory here)

- Max in 5th

- 30 minute rain cell incoming

- Checo lapped (25)

- Charles lapped (25)

- That's three in a row now Ferrari

- What the fuck are you doing Ferrari

- Sigh...

- Lando and Oscar fight (26)

- help me

- everyone pits except for the Top 4 (27)

- Lando pits (28)

- Mercedes double stack (28)

- They fucking forgot Oscar again😭

- McLaren when I catch you McLaren

- Charles pits AGAIN (28)

- This is worse than Spielberg

- I can't do this anymore

- Red Bull fumble Checos pitstop (29)

- Max can't keep up

- He's 1.3 seconds slower than Lando

- "It's not raining anymore mate" Okay Lewis

- George retires (34)

- Horrible day for GR63 fans (me)

- Kevin almost bins it in classical Kmag style (35)

- Lando wobbles a little and gives me a heart attack in the process (36)

- Max is suddenly somehow faster than the others (38)

- What a fucking surprise /j

- Slicks time (38)

- Lando stays out one lap longer

- Lando pits (39)

- Lewis leads (40)

- MCLAREN. WHEN WILL YOU LEARN THAT YOUR ACTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES?!

- That's like the fourth win y'all just fucking gave away

- Mr. Stella I'd like a (not-so-friendly) word or two

- Kimi Antonelli sighted! (45)

- Max is gaining on Lando🫣 (46)

- anxiety

- I'm sweating real hard

- Max swoops past Lando (48)

- man

- Lewis is still in the lead

- if it is one person who deserves the win it's Lewis

- At least they're keeping it exciting until the end

- This is fine

- last lap starts!

- Oscar fastest lap (51)

- Rooting for Lewis rn don't talk to me

- HE WINS IT!

- Carlos steals fastest lap btw

- BUT!!!

- GET IN THERE LEWIS IS BACK

- HE'S CRYING😭

- HE'S CRYING I'M CRYING EVERYONE IS CRYING

- LEWIS😭

- I wanna give him a hug so bad rn

- He deserved that win

- Also he's DotD!

- "Why didn't you go onto Mediums instead?" LEWIS PLEASE LEAVE THE CHILD (Lando) ALONE!!

- The cooldown room scenes are a blessing and a curse lmao

- ... Feel free to add on!

... Phew! What a race man. There were some classics (like Ferrari and McLaren screwing their drivers once again), but Lewis deserved this win so so much, I'm literally in tears. Sad that George had to retire, but at least we got two Brits on the podium🥹

[beyondtheglowingstars]

Ndbasjbhdasjhdv these two have been RATTLING my brain for the longest time (is there actually a time when they're not?) so I had no option but to give in and write a fic. Post ST Link chooses to remain an engineer, I'm pretty sure you'll notice a few specific headcanons of mine shining through on this fic etc, etc. I hope you like it regardless.

Gift

Pairing: Zelda x Link (platonic) Word count: 3.1k WARNING(S): None :) General info: Link had picked up on a small detail during their travels. What he had noticed, it bothered him; but he wanted to fix things and help Zelda experience what she wasn't given the chance to. Meanwhile, she feels in great debt with him and while she isn't able to fully repay him, she does the best she can in that moment even if it's something small.

His mind had been thinking about it for a while now, back to the way she had reacted when she first got on the Spirit Train and experienced what was beyond the immediate proximity of Hyrule Castle.

“It’s so pretty and peaceful out here! I’d love to run through these fields if I ever get my body back.”

And every other comment whenever they traveled to a different area was filled with pure, child-like wonder and excitement; they only helped confirm his suspicions of the princess never having set foot past Castle Town. Had she really been walled up in the castle almost her entire life?

Maybe he was exaggerating things a little. After all, she mentioned that she had seen snow before. Perhaps it was more accurate to think that Zelda had not stepped foot outside of the castle since her parents, the former king and queen, were still alive and in good health. She must have been around eight to ten years of age back then. Which was a very, very long time ago.

He found it ironic, how everyone else essentially had more freedom than the princess of New Hyrule herself. But he wasn’t judging or making fun of the situation, goodness, he could never think of it that way. But it did put into a more clear perspective just how much influence Cole had back then, however. And the more he thought about it, the more upset he felt.

The way her face lit up when she saw snow again since who knows how many years ago, how she had laughed with joy when she saw the dolphins keeping up with the train then leapt out of the water when the whistle was blown, how her eyes fixated with interest on the many flowers and animals in the forest… At this point he realized that he may have, unconsciously, created a mental album where he recorded Zelda’s every reaction to all those new experiences. His anger within did not subside, but there was no use in getting upset about past injustices, was there?

She had gone with him everywhere during the adventure and explored almost every corner of New Hyrule because of it, but there must be a big difference between having seen the world as a ghost compared to a living person. He was on his way to Hyrule Castle to complete a delivery after all, maybe he could try to talk to the princess once he got there and arrange plans for taking her across the vast land of the country; maybe catch up with her too, it had been a month since the adventure concluded and they had seen each other. But as hopeful as he was about getting to see Zelda again, he knew that she had to be incredibly busy with royal duties and wouldn’t have time for something so insignificant. Perhaps some other day.

Link sighed as he set his gaze on what was ahead, Hyrule Castle was quickly coming into view. The train was set to a slower speed, the engineer blew the whistle as he got closer to his destination, and even though he was nearly there, his mind couldn’t stop making him anxious and more wistful for getting to see the princess. Adjusting the gearbox, he brought the train to a slow and calculated stop at the station.

Once he stepped off from the train, he was greeted by a castle town resident. A large man that seemed to be accompanied by another male.

“Link! Thank you so much.” Grinning, the man stretched his hand out for the hero to take, which he did.

Only to later feel a large hand pat his back with enough strength that almost knocked him off-balance. The handshake concluded, Link was about to speak before being beat to it.

“I’m guessing it will be as much as last time, right?” The blond nodded his head in affirmation.

“Here you go!” A small pouch filled with rupees was handed over to the young engineer.

“Don’t worry about unloading, I’ve got a friend to help me with that.” The statement revealing the reason for the other male being there.

And for one, Link was glad about not having to unload the cart from the heavy shipment. The two men almost effortlessly picked up the big boxes and expressed their gratitude towards the hero once again before leaving. He was left alone to his thoughts after that.

His hand absentmindedly clenched around the knot keeping the rupee bag sealed, his body gently rocked back and forth on his heels; maybe he should give a shot at trying to see Zelda again after all, and if it turned out that her hands were too full for something like that, he could always try again later, no problem. Hopefully he wouldn’t be a bother.

The blond put the newly acquired rupees into his wallet and marched towards the castle garden. Various people around the town waved and addressed words of admiration at him, which in all honesty, all the attention overwhelmed him and lowered the small amount of confidence he struggled to gather just to get to the front of the castle. But when he actually got there, one could swear the last remaining fragment of confidence he still had could be heard shattering into a million pieces.

He found himself in a familiar scenario, approaching the two guards at the front of the castle, with one of them eyeing him suspiciously. Even if he had saved the world, it seems like some guards would remain the same as they’ve always been. Link looked back at the guard and swallowed thickly, rehearsing in his mind again what he was about to say to the watchmen as he opened his mouth to speak.

“LINK!!” But this time he would be interrupted by the person he least expected to see.

Both the young engineer and the guards turned to the source of the sound. Clear as day, there was Princess Zelda running to the castle entrance, heading to their direction as she waved to her friend. Link’s face immediately brightened, and he instantly felt relief from all the things he’d been worried about. Zelda practically squeezed in between the two guards, she ran at Link with outstretched arms implying an incoming hug, the hero mirrored her gesture in expectance of a soothing embrace.

What he was not counting on, was for Zelda to squeeze him in a bone-crushing hug. He gasped in surprise, and then it became painfully apparent that he should have taken in a big gulp of air before engaging with the princess, seeing as he wouldn’t be able to properly breathe until the girl chose to let him go.

“LINK! Why didn’t you come visit earlier?!” As if he hadn’t already experienced enough emotions the last few seconds, he also felt himself being lifted off the ground a few centimeters, his cheeks warmed up with a faint red hue.

To make matters worse, he could see one of the guards trying his best to not laugh out loud, while the other one ignored the basic concept of giving the teens a small moment of much needed privacy.

“Pardon my interruption, but Your Highness, you should not venture outside the castle unannounced.” The man in green uniform stated, Link swore that the watchman was looking down at him with a menacing stare.

Zelda put the boy back on his feet after hearing the voice. Not that Link didn’t appreciate the gesture or how the princess was beaming with excitement to see him, but he was definitely grateful to be able to breathe normally again.

“You’re right. Let’s go, Link!” Zelda politely nodded at the guard, taking the engineer’s hand in hers as she replied and practically dragged Link into the castle.

The boy nearly tripped and fell from the unexpected dash. Zelda’s smile had not let up even now as she ran through the corridors holding Link’s hand, the guard in charge of watching the stairs leading to the throne room had to step away or else he risked being ran over by an enthusiastic princess. The hero had no clue where the girl got this much energy from and neither did he know how she was able to run so fast with heels on, all he knew was the way to Zelda’s chambers was a blur and suddenly found himself sitting down on furniture that was probably more expensive than anything he’s ever owned. The monarch sat beside him, the icy blue of her eyes trained on his face.

“Really, what took you so long to come back, Link?” Her arms crossed in front of her chest, face showed a minor pout.

“I’m sorry, Zelda. I figured you were busy so I didn’t want to bother you.” The engineer took his conductor cap in his hands and began fidgeting with it.

Zelda’s eyes widened with a gasp.

“Link, don’t ever say that again!” She lightly squeezed Link’s shoulders, the gesture making the boy become slightly tense, but he loosened up again just as quickly.

“You have no idea how much I’ve missed you! Had it not been for the train’s whistle and I wouldn’t have known you were here. You can come whenever you want, you know?”

“If you say so…” Link refused to meet her gaze for the most part, opting to direct his attention to his cap instead, which he was still playing with.

Zelda flashed him a sympathetic smile, one which made the hero audibly let go of a breath he didn’t know he had been holding, and copied her smile. The princess drew back her arms to rest on her lap, the engineer took this moment to adjust the cap back onto his head.

“Yes, really! I mean it. And I haven’t been too busy as of recent, actually. So don’t think you interfered or anything like that.”

Link internally sighed in relief, instantly feeling lighter after knowing that he wasn’t inconveniencing the princess. The boy cleared his throat.

“I’m glad to hear, Zelda.” A shy smile popped on his face.

“Umm, since you’re saying that you haven’t been too busy, I was wondering if you’d like to go on a trip with me across New Hyrule. I figured you didn’t get to enjoy much from the places we went to since we were tight on time and you were, well, a ghost back then.”

The engineer twiddled with his fingers, searching through his brain for the some of the things he’d been practicing in his mind to say in this moment.

“Of course, it doesn’t have to be to be today! You probably have something to do later on, so just tell me when you’re able to go, if you’d like. I can take you anywhere you wish, just tell me where and I’ll get us there.” A half-nervous smile on his face as he hoped that Zelda would take his offer.

The princess stared into Link’s eyes, her expression unreadable to him, and he was almost sure that she was about to reject him and never consider the offer. Until she squealed and he felt himself being squeezed in a hug again. It took him a few seconds to fully process what had happened, but when he reoriented himself he wrapped his arms around Zelda in return. At least this time he didn’t feel like his ribs or any other bone would fracture.

“I’d love to go! Thank you so much!” She separated much sooner than before, lips curved in a grin.

Link thinks it’s the happiest he’s ever seen her until now, and he couldn’t help giggling at her antics.

“Oh, I never did thank you properly for everything you’ve done for me. Yet here you are, giving even more without asking for anything in exchange.” Zelda’s expression became pensive.

“What do you mean? You were always looking out for me during the adventure and saved my butt more than once. Without you, I would have died on the first day! I have nothing to ask of you. I can’t.”

The princess averted her eyes, silently giggling to herself as she recalled a few fun memories from the adventure.

“I guess you’re right. You’re lucky you had me! Otherwise I think you might have slept in the dungeons.”

Link’s cheeks flared up as he picked up on Zelda referencing an embarrassing moment he had in one of the quests.

“H-hey! Here I am, offering to do something nice for you, and this is how you pay me?” A glint of mischief in his eyes as he added exaggerated his tone in a joking manner.

“If you don’t like it, then maybe you should take better care of yourself! And maybe then I’ll stop teasing you.” Link gave a fake huff of indignance.

“But it’s true! If I find out you’re still as careless as you were back then, I’ll put a phantom in your house so you’re reminded of me and do the minimum to take care of yourself.”

The hero pretended to roll his eyes in annoyance, face decorated with an evil smirk.

“If you do that, I’ll invite a rat family to your bedroom so they can turn it into their home.”

The princess gasped in disbelief. This time she was the one whose face dusted with pink on the cheeks as Link chuckled at her reaction.

“Here I am, worrying about your well-being, and this is how you pay me?” Zelda imitated his tone from earlier as if to mock him.

It only made the engineer laugh loudly, until his contagious laughter caught on to Zelda herself and the room was filled by the sound of their combined laughs. They were probably heard all the way from a few corridors away but neither of them cared about the volume of their voice, taking them at least a minute until they were both gasping to recover air and finally calmed down. Zelda was the first to speak again.

“Okay, but really now. I do hope you’re actually looking after yourself now.”

“Alright! I’m not as careless anymore, I promise.” Link put his hands up as a sign of defeat.

Zelda showed a smug smirk, knowing she had won this time, but having no further intentions of teasing Link.

“Well, it was a lot of fun talking with you again. Let’s go, Link!” Zelda swiftly stood up from her seat and set her hand out for Link to take, her demand and actions snapped him out of the head-space he was in.

“H-huh? Go where?”

“On that trip you said you’d take me, dummy!”

“Right now?! Are you sure?” The hero hesitantly took the princess’s hand, standing up much slower than she did in comparison.

“Yes! Oh wait, I forgot to ask you if you’re free for the rest of the day, didn’t I?” Zelda flashed him an apologetic smile, letting go of his hand. “Do you still have to do something today?”

Link looked to the side, scanning his mind to make sure there wasn’t any unattended business he has to take care of later, but he didn’t find anything. Well, there wasn’t anything except for a minor favor Alfonzo had asked him to fulfill. But he knew his instructor well and it wasn’t anything urgent; surely, Alfonzo wouldn’t mind if Link took longer to complete his task if he found out that Zelda was involved.

“No, not anymore. I’m free now.” He smiled to hide the lie, which Zelda bought anyway.

The girl punched the air in celebration. Link half-expected the princess to bolt out of the room right that moment with him in tow like she had done earlier, but was thankful to see that wasn’t running out yet.

“So, where would you like to go, Your Highness?” The engineer wiggled his eyebrows at Zelda as her formal title rolled out of his tongue.

The princess rolled her eyes and poked one of his sides a few times to tickle him, making Link cover that vulnerable section and Zelda drew back her hand, satisfied on the inside that she was able to get back at the other teen. She held her chin on one of her hands, taking on a pose of thought as she hummed and wondered where she wanted to go.

“How about you take me to Aboda Village? I want to know more about you.”

Link stared at her with a face of confusion, but ultimately didn’t question her decision like he first intended to.

“If that’s where you wanna go, then I’ll take you there.”

“Great! It’s time to go, then.” Zelda was beginning to head out, but Link didn’t follow her as a question of importance spun in his head.

“Zelda, wait. Don’t you need a guard to go with you?”

“Under regular circumstances, I would. But since I’m going with you, you’ll be my escort this time.” The princess stated as if she weren’t talking about something important at all.

“You can do that?! Are you sure?” Link’s eyes widened in surprise.

“I have more freedom now that a certain someone isn’t here anymore, so I fully make the rules now! Well, I do for the most part…” The last sentence coming out in a whisper.

“I trust you, Link. You saved my life before, and I know you’d do it again if you had to. Just like I’d do the same for you in a heartbeat if it ever came to it.”

The hero was left speechless, body unmoving as several feelings ran through his head.

“And if anyone were to doubt you, I’ll be there to remind them why you’re more capable than any other swordsman in New Hyrule! If you had chosen to become part of the castle guard, you’d have ended as my personal body guard.”

Link let out a giggle of joy and took the princess’s hand in his, feeling more determined than he ever had before.

“Well, Your Highness, you’re in luck that I keep my sword in my train. Now let’s go back to adventure!”

Zelda mentally pat herself on the back as she considered to have achieved a significant victory for the day. She was happy to see Link come out of his shell little by little, but she thought the cherry on top was to know that he was feeling confident. She nodded at him in approval with energy, while making it a new goal for herself to help Link have more of these moments. She believes that he very well deserves them more than anyone else.

[frangipanilove]

Got some grit in the gearbox, Daryl?

Kudos to Sylvie for cutting through the crap and getting straight to the important stuff:

Back in TWD 6x14 Twice As Far, we were all baffled to learn that Daryl, our favorite southern redneck, for some inexplicable reason didn’t know how to drive a manual car. Yeah. Super weird.

In fact, it was so utterly incomprehensible, that the only possible logic behind including that bizarre scene in the episode would be for symbolism purposes.

Because in fact, in TWDDD 1x6 Coming Home, Daryl's response to Sylvie’s question “have you ever been in love”….

...was to change gears. Very demonstratively.

So clearly the man knows how to do it. Why did tptb so badly need us to know that Daryl didn’t know how to drive a manual car back in 6x14 Twice As Far?

This was Denise’s death episode, and she spent a considerable amount of her last minutes on the show explaining to Daryl how to change gears. It all seemed a bit odd. Why?

I’ve answered that question already. They did it for symbolism reasons.

When Denise joined the show in season six, TD immediately recognized her as a Beth proxy. She was also ultimately killed off by taking an arrow through the eye (Sirius symbolism). Daryl was very distraught from her death.

It’s not for nothing that she, the Beth proxy, was the one who (for symbolism reasons) had to teach Daryl Dixon how to change gears properly. Because not only would Daryl on a normal day obviously be perfectly able to drive stick (he literally built a motorcycle from spare parts! Come on! The man clearly knows his way around gears), he was also the one who fixed the music box back in 5x11 Them (yes the one that totally symbolizes Beth).

His diagnosis? Grit in the gearbox.

(I wish I could remember who first made me aware of the link between Daryl’s inability to properly change gears and the grit in the gearbox. It was likely @wdway or @angelthefirst1, as they’re both experts on catching parallels like these)

I want to take some time here to remind everyone about the meaning of the numbers 11, or “one one”. I’ve written extensively about it, both in the past and more recently. 5x11 “Them” was the eleventh episode of season 5. Remember this post about the connection between the words “record” and “heart”? A music box is part of the “recording studio” symbolism. A record player is a music box, illustrated below by the record player Daryl got for Judith in season 11, a record player in a box, a literal music box. The music box from “Them” is part of the “one one recording studio” symbolism I’ve talked about so much recently.

And the music box that symbolized Beth had “some grit in the gearbox” according to Daryl.

Let’s move on to the clock for a minute. After escaping from Madame Genet’s Maison Mere, they find a police car (Police = blue). Before they start driving, Laurent gives Daryl the clock, and Daryl attaches it to the rear view mirror. Remember there are strong navigational themes around the clock.

Remember Morgan’s rabbit’s foot from 5x8 Coda? It was literally one of the first things we saw on the show after Beth had "died".

We later learned in a flashback (in 6x4 Here’s Not Here) that it originally belonged to Eastman, who in turn had gotten it from his daughter. He told the story of how it gave him hope and a will to survive, it was truly a good luck charm.

We also saw in in 5x16 Conquer, hanging from the rear view mirror of a car, much like we saw Laurent's clock hanging from the rear view mirror in 1x6 “Coming Home”.

I talked about the symbolism around the rabbit's foot and rear view mirrors in my Sirius/North Star master post. Back then I interpreted it as something that was about "looking back", like "back in time", plus the obvious "back" = "coming back" = "return". In fact, we also saw a walker that appeared to have her head twisted around so that she was facing backwards, something which in my opinion further indicated a theme of "looking back". Again, this was directly after Beth had "died", and symbolically speaking, looking back would mean looking back at Beth's "death". Like, "Reverse! Everything is not quite what it seems".

The link between Sylvie's question about Daryl's love life, the clock and the music box from 5x11 Them is the grit in the gearbox. The gears. Immediately after Sylvie has asked her question, and Daryl has successfully changed gears, the car starts malfunctioning. Could it be grit in the gearbox perhaps?

The music box had grit in the gearbox, but he fixed it...

[racing-is-passion]

Saudi Arabian GP: Red Bull gives you wings...

... but the story of the race is written by someone else. Because the 18 year old Oliver Bearman, who is the youngest driver ever to drive a Ferrari in an F1 race, had a great race and showed some really great overtakes and also kept his cool in the last laps of the race, when Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton catched up on him with newer tyres. In the end Bearman kept both behind him and finished in seventh place. This means we now have the rar situation of three different Ferrari drivers being in the top 10 of the drivers championship. Something that should only have happened during the early years of the F1 World Championship, when Ferrari was the absolute top team and had between three and four cars in the race.

But there also were other stories, for example the story that happens every race and involves a flying dutchman. Max Verstappen won in a dominant way again, with his teammate Sergio Perez finishing second and with a big gap behind him, Charles Leclerc crossed the finish line.

After only a few laps, Lance Stroll took a corner too tight, hit the inner wall and broke his suspension, so he crashed into the wall and caused a Safety Car. All cars, except for Norris, Hamilton, Hülkenberg and Bottas went to the pit and switched to hard tyres, to drive to the end.

Speaking of Norris, he had a jump start, but surprisingly didn't got a penalty for it. I've never seen such a clear jump start without a penalty, I can't explain why, to be honest. Even the jump start of Bottas in Austria, some years ago, was not that clear and so it was at least understandable that there wasn't a penalty.

And Alpine... yeah, Alpine, what should I say about them? Not only is the car unbelieveable slow this year, no this time Gasly had gearbox issues in the formation lap and had to retire his car after the first lap of the race.

source of the result pictures: sky.de

[commodorebuzzkill]

A bit of distraction for us left-leaning military nerds.

Let's play a game... AND YES, I STOLE THIS SCENARIO FROM THE NAFO GANG ON YOUTUBE, SO SUE ME! You are now in charge of the procurement of military equipment for the nation of Elbonia, a nation that as of now (being around 1956) has had its government overthrown by an authoritarian communist coup (meaning the not fun kind of communism). Headed by El Jeffe, our glorious leader (who has all the meglomaniacal tendencies you'd think he would), the revolutionary army is now looking to fill itself out to a well-rounded modern army and air force with all the bells and whistles. But here's the catch. You are actually a CIA plant, and your job is discreetly sabotage the revolutionary army and revolutionary army air force with equipment that looks cool but is pretty much garbage. If you fail to deliver sufficient coolness, El Jeffe will have you shot. If it actually turns out to be perfectly serviceable, the CIA will have you shot. Thus, the game is this: Select one or more categories of military equipment, and then propose a weapon designed or produced before 1956. This can be something that went into full production, something that died in the prototype phase, or something that never escaped the drawing board. Eastern Block, NATO, Former Axis Powers, doesn't matter, so long as it's before 1956, it's fair game.

I will offer my first entry:

Category: Light Bomber/attack aircraft

The Douglas A2D Skyshark.

Looks a lot like an A-1 Skyraider, don't it? Well, on a basic level, it's a heavily modified Skyraider with a giant turboprop in the front. Said turboprop put out a whopping 5100 shaft horsepower, plus an additional 810 lbs of thrust from the exhaust, attached to a contra-rotating propeller. That means the A2D's top speed is 492 mph! So, El Jeffe, I present you the reliable frame of the A-1 Skyraider, but better in every way! Just look at this big, mean, bruiser of a ground pounder. It doesn't need the giant runways of modern jet aircraft, and the rugged construction and beefy landing gear will allow it to operate from grassy fields. Or even from small aircraft carriers if the glorious navy of Elbonia is provided with them. And now the bad stuff. The Skyshark has about half the maximum bomb load of Skyraider, reduced from 10,500 pounds of underwing ordinance to 5,500. So, that kinda sucks.

But it ain't got nuthin' on the Skyshark's real fatal flaw. That giant turboprop is the Allison XT-40, possibly one of the worst turboprops ever made. The XT-40 isn't really one engine, it's two turboprops coupled together and made to drive a single shaft through a deeply tortured gearbox.

This lead to the destruction or near-destruction of two prototypes. The first XA2D-1 was lost in December 1950, when the starboard power section of its engine failed while the pilot, Cdr. Hugh Wood, was attempting to land. The failed section of the engine failed to de-clutch, and most of the power of the remaining half of the engine ended up going to the compressor of the dead half. Hugh Wood was unable to check the rate of his descent and crashed, unfortunately dying as a result.

Then there was an incident in 1953 when test pilot C. G. "Doc" Livingston was performing dive tests in another XA2D. In the process of pulling out of a dive, his Skyshark made a loud bang, and his front windscreen was covered in engine oil. Doc Livingston then managed with the help of his chase plane to land his now powerless skyshark intact. Upon examining the front of the aircraft, he found that the prop and gear box had wrenched free of his aircraft, yeeting the planes means of propulsion whirling off into the sky.

Not a year after that, the prototype for the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk flew for the first time, putting an end to the misery of the Skyshark program.

So, I can guarantee the CIA that Elbonia won't have much luck with this one. I'd predict lots of engine trouble and maintenance problems all around, with a high accident rate and low operational readiness rate. But since it looks cool, I think El Jeffe will go for it.

And I will pass this one along to @hms-exeter.

[trainsinanime]

There's a developing story in german railroads that I need to share with you all because it has become a meme at this point. It concerns this type of vehicle:

Source: Falk2 on Wikimedia commons, CC-BY-SA

This is the class 711.1 overhead line maintenance car, one of several different types of similar vehicles. It is designed to fix any problems that may develop with the overhead lines. It's diesel-powered, obviously, and it has a big workshop on the inside full of all sorts of copper equipment, and on the top, a special pantograph for checking wire alignment and a working platform from where you can actually touch and work on the wires.

The official nickname for them when they were introduced was Hubarbeitsbühnen-Instandhaltungsfahrzeug für Oberleitungsanlagen (lift working platform maintenance vehicle for overhead line equipment), or in short HIOB, the german spelling of the biblical Job, which was definitely not a bad omen at all.

22 of these were built between 2002 and 2004, and they (as well as other similar vehicles) are stationed all over Germany to react quickly to any issues with overhead lines, as well as do various forms of regular checks and maintenance. The 711.1 is special, though: It keeps catching on fire.

Picture by fire brigade Bienenbüttel, found at https://www.az-online.de/uelzen/bienenbuettel/flammen-bahn-1605363.html

The first one burned down in 2012. Nobody got hurt (in any of the following incidents), and it was treated like a freak accident. Specifically, the investigation revealed that it's related to how the train functions. Normally, for a diesel train, you either have a direct mechanical connection from the motor to the driven wheels (sometimes including something like the torque converter in an automatic gearbox), or sometimes the diesel engine drives an electric generator and electric motors at the wheels drive the train. This, on the other hand, has a hydrostatic transmission: The main engine drives a pump that creates pressure in an oil system, and this high-pressure oil is then used in motors at the wheels to drive the train.

The good thing about this arrangement is that the train can run both fast (up to 160 km/h or 100 mph) to quickly reach the place where it's needed, but also really slowly, walking pace or slower, so someone standing on the roof working platform can check every part of the wires carefully.

The bad thing about this arrangement is that the oil in the system is flammable. If there's a leak, it sprays out, and if that spray hits something hot, it can ignite. That's what happened here. Okay, gotta do better maintenance, alright.

Then it happened again, in July 2020.

Source: German Federal Police, via official accident investigation report

The cause was pretty much the same, but the effect was much more noticeable. The train was underway on a training run when it came to a stop for no clear reason. The staff activated the parking brake, got out, and noticed that their train was on fire. As they were calling firefighters, however, the train suddenly started to move. The engineer actually climbed back on board and tried to activate every braking system the train had, and it had a lot of them; this one was specifically equipped for more mountainous railway lines. But none of it worked, and the engineer jumped back out at still low speeds (no reported injuries).

It kept rolling downhill for 22 kilometres (about 14 miles). Station staff tried to stop it by putting signals on red and hoping for the automatic train control system to stop it, but train control systems can't do anything if there are no brakes. Others tried to put wheel chocks on the rails, but those are for parked trains, fast trains will just throw them to the say. So on it went, burning more and more. In the end the railway decided to find a nice save spot where nothing important was around and firefighters would have easy access, and let it derail there. That's what the picture above shows.

What happened? Well, the same as before, but this time with an additional twist. The fire had destroyed all normal braking systems. It hadn't destroyed the parking brake, but on this train, the parking brake is electrically controlled. You don't need to electricity for it to stay active, but you need it to activate or deactivate it. The fire had already destroyed the relevant electrical lines when the engineer thought they activated the parking brake.

Two trains of the same type burning down for the same reason is scary and warrants action, even if it's eight years apart, and the accident investigation report lists a number of steps already taken and others that were planned, like more checks for leaks, new procedures for leaving the train so it doesn't roll away, perhaps changing some equipment out.

And it seems to me personally that these changes had an effect. Of sorts.

You can ignore the narration (which consistently calls it an engine even though it's a rail car), just admire these pictures of a driverless burning train coming towards you. Yes, in January 2023, another of these trains caught fire, it rolled away again, and got derailed on purpose again. We don't have an official accident investigation report yet, so who knows what happened here, but, like, it's not exactly hard to make a guess.

Just to really hammer the point home, let's go to February 2023, just a month later, and this time we see the same thing in Dresden.

Picture: Credited to "Firefighters", from https://bahnblogstelle.com/198726/erneut-brand-von-instandhaltungsfahrzeug-diesmal-in-dresden/

This time it didn't run away! My understanding is that the train drivers, well aware of the history of this type, placed wheel chocks in front of the wheels before it had the chance to do anything crazy.

Which brings us to last month. You won't believe what happened June 13th, 2024:

Picture: Firefighters Haan, via https://rp-online.de/nrw/staedte/haan/triebwagen-brennt-auf-der-bahnstrecke-gruiten-hochdahl_aid-114420335

So as the Wikipedia infobox helpfully says,

that's five out of 22 burned down. I gotta say, if your train's Wikipedia article has a "train burned down" counter and a section of fires that's nearly a third of the whole article, that's an issue.

(Ironically, it is actually not the most-burned-down german train by percentage. That dubious honour goes to the MaK DE 1024, an experimental heavy diesel locomotive. Three were built, two of them burned down eventually. The sole survivor was, in the numbering scheme of its last and longest owner, number 13.)

As of right now, DB has decided that these trains can't be trusted with engines, so for now they will all have to be pulled by locomotives. To me that sounds like it should fix the issue, for some value of "fix".

It's definitely notable that during the first 18 years of this type's use, they suffered two fires, and after they implemented all sorts of fixes after the second, three more burned down in just four years. I don't want to say the fixes made it worse, maybe it's just age starting to show, but it doesn't seem to have helped any.

Anyway, I hope that they either manage to fix or replace these trains before more burn down, but I have to admit that it's also very funny to open social media (mostly Bluesky for me these days, I haven't yet decided on a Mastodon server) and see the rail bubble shout because yet another of these machines has burned down.

[batgeance]

Lilac is fully aware that the extremely rare left-hand drive 1964 Aston Martin DB5 waits for her only living uncle with a big purple — at her insistence — bow on its hood, yet gasps for Bruce and drops her jaw once the crypt that is Wayne Terminal illuminates. Her platinum blonde pigtails swing as she clasps her hands over her mouth and shouts, “Grandpa’s! Car!” with such zeal, the bat colony wrenches from their slumber and swarms the abandoned station’s ceiling. Joker preemptively ducks should one fly too low and smack him in the head. 

“Irinka!” before his three-year-old bolts toward the parked vehicle that Nix spent the past three months fighting with a Belgian collector to repossess for a small fee of thirteen-thousand dollars to ship it back to the states, Joker slides his cigarette between his lips and scoops Lilac off the concrete by her waist. She giggles and swings her feet as if it were gymnastics practice as he flips and shelves her on his hip. Lilac loops an arm across the backs of her father’s uneven shoulders and rests her crown against his. He’s regretting giving her pigtails. The elastic cleaves a trench in his scalp.

Now that his toddler’s bulldozed what should’ve been a surprise, Joker pivots on one heel and adjusts his hold on Lilac so she bumps higher up his right hip. A red polyester curtain falls behind her as she waits for her father to sashay backwards without a sound across the concrete that took him, by him he means Gary, an obscene amount of time to coordinate logistics so it’d arrive unspoiled.

“There’s…” Joker pauses to lower Lilac.

She sprints toward the DB5 and wrenches the passenger door open. Its bright red leather interior pops even under the cave’s scarce light. The child disappears inside the passenger seat and waits for her father and uncle to approach. In the meantime, her iPhone slips from her coat pocket so she can set the PopSocket on its dashboard and track their Grubbs delivery.

Joker tosses a glance over his shoulder to ensure his little daughter’s staying put, then plucks the cigarette from his mouth so he, still walking backward like a tour guide, can punctuate with it, “Only 899 of the model left on Earth…so…” he clears his throat, “Naturally…” Werewolf gestures inside the vehicle once he stands parallel to it, “Your three-year-old birthday twin carved the dashboard with a rock she found on the way in.”

Lilac points out a very long, sad horizontal line that she’s hashed out at the end. Venting a plume of smoke from his nostrils, Joker lifts his eyebrows so the false comma-like pair painted on his forehead vanish.

He clarifies, “She says it’s you.” Another feature catches his eye. Joker throws a finger toward the gearbox on Lilac’s left and further explains, “Apparently Dad swapped the automatic out for a manual. It’s um…” his mouth quirks, “Road-ready, though…” out the side of his mouth he adds, “Not the way you drive. I…”

The placard on the dashboard spells, ‘Thomas Alan Wayne.’ Joker’s hands go up, tossing a smoky thread between the brothers.

As he says, “I-I’m not…exactly…the president of Dad’s fan club either,” Joker’s free hand, though trembling beyond his control, slips a long dark strand behind his little brother’s ear, “But…” His eyes avert, tracking the concrete as if any stagnant shadow might somehow lunge and tear what remains of his throat apart. When no such respite arrives, he blinks until he can feel Melpomene’s elongated diamond begin bleeding blue down his cheek. He shifts his torso and shoulders in a subtle oscillation that ripples from his trunk to his nape and reinvigorates him enough to admit, “He gave me you. And for that, I can’t hate him.” The cigarette returns to his lips. Joker’s thumb roves the slope of his little brother’s cheek as his fingers burrow deeper in his scalp. “I won’t.”

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ—ㅤHAPPY BIRTHDAY, BROOSE!

Bruce  clocks  the  model  just  as  soon  as  he’s  got  the  whip  in  his  sights;    Lilac  takes  precedence,    of  course,    and  her  uncle  anticipates  a  launch  in  his  direction  with  all  the  steady  foundation  of  a  base  gymnast  prepared  for  his  flyer  to  somersault  in  the  air  above  his  head.    She’s  not  exactly  interested  in  practicing  her  parkour  so  much  as  she’s  proud  to  show  off  her  vandalism,    but  Bruce  stays  ready  on  the  very  high  chance  that  she’ll  change  her  mind.  

Arthur  swings  into  focus  next,    though  it’s  difficult  for  Bruce,    a  steadfast  gearhead,    to  listen  so  intently  when  he’s  more  hands  -  on  than  he  is  interested  in  an  instruction  manual.    Or  a  lecture.    @jokethur  probably  knows  it,    but  if  he’s  put  off  by  Bruce’s  split  attentions,    he  doesn’t  ever  show  it.    Maybe  that’s  the  wound  of  brotherhood,    particularly  the  eldest’s.    Or  maybe  that’s  just  Arthur.    Bruce  wouldn’t  know  either  way;    he  only  knows  what’s  being  taught  to  him  now.  

The  coupé  is  pristine  barring  his  niece’s  artistic  upgrade.    Bruce  can  see  that  without  having  to  pop  the  hood  or  get  under  the  chassis.    He’d  like  to,    though.    For  now,    he  settles  for  following  his  big  brother’s  lead  in  this  orchestrated  dance  and  forgets  to  ask  how  he  got  away  with  getting  it  here  without  his  notice.    He’ll  remember  later  when  his  eyes  don’t  burn.  

Bruce  came  in  on  his  bike.    Removing  his  helmet  reveals  the  caked  black  caught  in  his  lashes  and  smeared  past  his  eye  sockets.    He  drops  his  utility  pack  somewhere  along  the  path  he  tracks  along  behind  Arthur  and  continues  to  eye  the  DB5  like  he’s  half  caught  in  a  dream.    It  isn’t  suspicion,    but  his  veneer  is  too  tempered  with  emotion  to  parse  it  one  way  or  the  other.    Either  way,    he  doesn’t  sniffle  because  he’s  allergic  to  anything  in  the  Cave.  

❝    Did  you  drive  it  in?    ❞  Bruce  poses  this  question  to  Lilac  when  he  ducks  down  to  admire  the  interior.    His  graffiti  -  style  portrait  plucks  a  wince  from  him  prominent  enough  to  dry  his  eyes  for  a  moment.    ❝    Nice,    ❞  is  all  he  offers.    And  then,    his  mouth  quirking,    ❝    Thanks.    I  like  my,    uh,    hair.    ❞

If  he  looks  at  Arthur,    he  knows  his  throat  will  close  up  again.    He  doesn’t  need  the  excuse,    but  he  gives  it  to  himself  as  he  straightens  from  his  fold  into  the  car  and  wheels  toward  his  brother  without  warning.    Bruce  has  nearly  half  a  foot  on  Arthur;    he  still  tucks  his  face  into  the  eldest  Wayne’s  shoulder  and  curves  his  both of own  until  he  can  lock  his  arms  around  his  more  -  than  -  willing  captive.    ❝    This  is–    ❞  His  laugh  is  wet  and  hacking,    as  if  he’s  the  one  that  smokes  a  pack  a  day.    Bruce  squeezes,    and  then  pulls  back  to  reflect  his  brother’s  misty  gaze back at him.    ❝    You  won’t  really  keep  me from  test  driving  it  now,    will  you?    ❞

[f1]

'No hard feelings' Alpine pair Gasly and Ocon reflect on their race-ending collision in Melbourne

It was an unfortunate ending to the Australian Grand Prix for Alpine, as drivers Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon made contact on Lap 58, sending both into the barriers, along with their hopes of a double-points finish. At the second restart of the race, Gasly starting in fifth went off the track at Turn 1 looking to avoid making contact with the rear of Fernando Alonso's car. But as he made his way back onto the circuit, he instead ended up making contact with his team mate, with the resulting incident bringing a premature end to both he and Ocon's race. READ MORE: Verstappen takes first-ever Australian GP win amid huge drama in Melbourne When asked about his part in the clash following the race, a dejected Gasly said: “I mean for now I’m just extremely disappointed with the outcome of the race. I gave everything out there… I don’t even want to comment about the ending. "We remember what happened before. For now, I’m just gutted to miss out on a strong result and we will have a couple of weeks to look back at these last two laps.” Gasly was choosing to remember the part of the race where he ran in fifth, keeping pace with Alonso and Carlos Sainz ahead, the Frenchman believing their performance will serve as some “extra motivation” for the Grands Prix to come. This feature is currently not available because you need to provide consent to functional cookies. Please update your cookie preferences ‘I’m extremely disappointed’ – Gasly has ‘nothing to say’ about last lap crash with Alpine team mate Ocon “I was pretty much in the gearbox of Carlos for quite many laps, [and] I was catching Fernando,” Gasly explained. “I think at the end there they picked up a bit more pace. All in all, I don’t feel like we’ve missed much to be fighting with them properly. We were both 30 laps [and] I had Fernando in my sights. READ MORE: 'It's just such a shame' says Mercedes' Russell after retiring with power unit issue in Australia “I was kind of hoping that we could pick up a bit of pace towards the end. It came a bit unexpected, but I felt comfortable in the car and that’s clearly giving us some good direction for the future with the team on what we need, and just giving some extra motivation for the coming races that we've got the pace to be fighting up there.” Speaking just after his team mate, Ocon explained: “Obviously, Pierre came back off the track to on the track and left me no room and we collided, but no hard feelings, you know. "It could have been anyone and he came and apologised so it’s all good on that side. It’s just that yeah, it never seemed to tick on our way this weekend." This feature is currently not available because you need to provide consent to functional cookies. Please update your cookie preferences Ocon reveals his Alpine team mate Gasly has already apologised for their late crash in Melbourne Ocon had endured a turbulent weekend up until that point, starting with him missing out on Q3 in qualifying by 0.007s, making contact with Nyck de Vries’s AlphaTauri on Lap 10 during the race, going past Yuki Tsunoda and Oscar Piastri to get into the points before ultimately crashing out with his team mate. “The rest of the weekend, the rest of the race, how much positives there was in that race and looking at the pace, what’s crazy is that I've never had a weekend like [this] where it never clicks, the result in your direction. READ MORE: 'It's the worst start to the season ever' says Ferrari's Leclerc as he laments Lap 1 DNF in Australia “The pace was good, the pace was strong, and we were as fast as the Astons and the Ferrari in front. So it’s difficult to digest and obviously that last restart, a very chaotic start, a lot of cars off the track. “Overtaking around the outside against those cars that had DRS in front, it was not like cars that were without defence. We were not far off Sergio [Perez] at the time in terms of pace and that was pretty good, so you know, we keep that in mind and hopefully come back stronger next [race],” Ocon concluded. via Formula 1 News https://www.formula1.com

[charliejoyce921]

Don't Let Holden Trax Troubles Slow You Down

The Holden Trax is a compact SUV that has gained popularity for its stylish design, practicality, and efficient performance. However, like any vehicle, it can encounter a few troubles that may impact its smooth operation.

From engine issues to electrical faults, problems with the Holden Trax can be frustrating for drivers who rely on their vehicle for daily commutes and road trips. But don't let these issues slow you down! With the right knowledge and proactive maintenance, most Holden Trax troubles can be fixed swiftly and effectively.

Common Holden Trax Problems

Engine Performance Issues A common complaint among Holden Trax owners is a lack of engine power or stalling. This could be caused by a variety of factors, such as a faulty fuel injector, a clogged air filter, or issues with the spark plugs. Regular servicing and timely replacement of parts like filters or injectors can keep your engine running smoothly.

Transmission and Gearbox Troubles Some Trax owners have reported issues with the vehicle’s transmission, including jerking, hesitation, or slipping gears. A common cause could be low transmission fluid or the need for a software update for the gearbox. Keeping your transmission fluid topped up and addressing transmission problems early can help prevent major repairs down the line.

Electrical Malfunctions Electrical issues can range from malfunctioning power windows to problems with the dashboard lights. A common cause of electrical malfunctions in the Holden Trax is faulty wiring or a dead battery. Ensuring that the battery and electrical components are regularly checked and maintained can help avoid costly repairs.

Suspension Problems Some drivers have reported issues with the suspension, such as unusual noises when driving over bumps or a rough ride. Worn-out shock absorbers or struts are often the culprits. Regular suspension checks can prevent these problems and ensure a smooth driving experience.

Tips to Keep Your Holden Trax Running Smoothly

Routine Maintenance: Always follow the manufacturer's recommended maintenance schedule for oil changes, tire rotations, and brake checks. This will keep your Trax running efficiently and help you catch potential issues early.

Stay Alert for Warning Signs: Pay attention to any strange noises, warning lights, or changes in performance. Addressing small problems early can prevent them from becoming larger, more expensive issues.

Visit a Trusted Mechanic: If you notice a problem, visit a qualified mechanic who specializes in Holden vehicles. They can diagnose issues quickly and recommend the best course of action.

Conclusion

While Holden Trax troubles are not uncommon, they don’t have to slow you down. By staying on top of routine maintenance, addressing issues early, and seeking professional assistance when needed, you can keep your Trax in excellent condition and continue to enjoy a smooth, trouble-free driving experience. Remember, taking care of your vehicle today means fewer problems tomorrow.

FAQs

1. What should I do if my Holden Trax’s engine is stalling? If your Holden Trax engine is stalling, check for issues such as a clogged fuel filter, a failing fuel pump, or dirty spark plugs. A mechanic can perform diagnostic tests to identify the root cause and suggest repairs.

2. How often should I get the transmission fluid checked in my Holden Trax? It's recommended to check the transmission fluid every 30,000 to 60,000 kilometers or as advised in your vehicle’s manual. Regular fluid checks can help avoid transmission issues and prolong the life of your gearbox.

3. What are signs of electrical issues in a Holden Trax? Electrical issues in a Holden Trax may manifest as flickering lights, non-functioning power windows, or dashboard errors. If you notice any of these symptoms, it’s important to have the electrical system inspected by a qualified technician.

[renaultamour]

Why You Should Get A Renault Kiger CVT Turbo

Anyone would be mighty excited to decide on a new car for their family. Here’s one such journey laid bare with regards to the Renault Kiger for sale.

We have owned the Hyundai Accent, Maruti Swift and lastly Hyundai Xcent (all petrol manual variants). Driving a manual car in intense traffic was taking its toll and hence we decided to look for a new automatic car that would, hopefully, bring back some ease into the commute. What’s more, the Xcent was having problems with some part or the other every year driving up the ownership cost. After having owned two Hyundai cars, I have come to realize that after three/four years it’s a downhill experience with Hyundai and Hyundai replacement parts are not cheap!! Thus began our search by browsing the internet to find the most VFM automatic car in 2023.

I went through most reviews of every car in my budget on YouTube and forums on the internet. From what I could absorb, NA engines with 4-cylinder engines were the best bet according to the experts, which swayed me towards the Honda Amaze CVT and Brezza VXI AMT.

We first headed towards the Honda showroom and having driven the Honda Amaze CVT, I must say it is a car worth every penny for city bumper-to-bumper driving. Googling, I found that a new facelift is to debut in 2024, which kind of killed my interest in the current generation because there were quite a few features missing in the present car including TPMS.

Next, we headed to the Maruti showroom. Brezza VXI AMT has quite a lot of features missing for the price it commanded. I thought the car was OVERPRICED big time and came to the decision rather swiftly of getting a three-cylinder engine with turbo if it offered better value.

We first headed to Hyundai to test drive the Venue DCT and I was not at all impressed with its looks or driving, moreover the rear felt crampy, but my wife liked it and as she was going to drive it every day who was I to complain. Still, we decided to explore and see what else is available in the market.

Next, we headed to KIA, which in my opinion has the best-looking car out there both exteriorly and interiorly in the automatic range Kia Sonet. With the premium price it commanded and having read the horror stories about the DCT gearbox in city bumper traffic, we decided that it was not for us.

In the meanwhile, I chanced upon a white Renault and the car was really eye-catching. I made a note of Renault Kiger as it passed by me. I did an extensive search on Renault Kiger and it seemed the most VFM and even more in comparison to its rivals. There were quite a few complaints about mud problems with the car, but it seems with the new Kiger 2023 the company had it all sorted out. When discussing with friends and colleagues, they all dissed the car like it was some sort of China-made product even though one had ever owned a Renault car. I wonder why people have this negative connotation about Renault. What’s more, initially I was having a hard time differentiating between a Renault Kwid and a Renault Kiger. My wife decided there and then that she did not want to even look at the car, let alone drive it. But going through all the comparisons, it seemed a no-brainer that this is the most VFM car out there. I eventually managed to coax her to at least see and drive the car before giving up on it.

When I first saw the Renault Kiger in the showroom, I was absolutely gobsmacked! It really is beautiful and stylish with a whole load of space inside. It really felt big on the inside. They didn’t have the CVT Turbo to test drive at that moment and asked me if they could get it to my home, which was a downer for me. Anyway, when I did finally get hold of it, the drive was a pleasure. We took it on a steep incline with four of us onboard and in normal mode it had no problems pulling itself up. We, or rather I, immediately knew “This is it!” That is how good the test drive felt.

It checked all the boxes with regards to CVT reliability in bumper-to-bumper traffic, and ease of driving, and from a learned source the CVT mated to a turbo is the best combination that one can have for city drives. All this while, friends and relatives were still lecturing us on resale value and how Renault might wind up pretty soon. But the car had felt good to drive and we decided that our safety and convenience within our budget should take precedence. With that in mind, we decided to bite the bullet and go ahead with booking the car and now - the rest is history.

One-month ownership experience:

It’s been a month since we got the car and the car is truly a gem! It has got some road presence and people do stare a bit longer at your car -- I don’t know if it is because you do not see so many Kigers on the road, but I guess it definitely helps. The sound of the turbo spooling is exhilarating. There is also no more fatigue from driving through traffic, which is a blessing. A lot of people have been complaining about the AC's effectiveness, but I find it more than adequate. The temperature is always set at 26 with ACC switched on and I have never had a chance to complain.

The audio setup is good and should suffice for most people. With the heavy rains that we have had recently, I have had the chance to thread through flooded subways and the car performs a charm. Full marks to Kiger on getting the ground clearance right, the only downside being some minimal body roll.

Special mention again to the space management inside the car as although the vehicle looks smaller from the outside, it feels big on the inside where it really counts. How they have managed that with such a big boot space is a marvel in automobile engineering. This is truly the USP of the car.

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Shared from https://www.team-bhp.com/news/

[the-firebird69]

Watch "Top 5 FASTEST ELECTRIC BIKES In The World You Can Buy" on YouTube

There will be a second race and we're challenging them to erase and as well. And their bikes are standard bikes they're well known brands one of the notco the other is BG had a company that was Stark and it changed to lectric. And there's a few others and mostly 750 watts when was 500 and still kept up and it's because of just because they're mid-engine you can just reverse the rear wheel and tire without taking it apart at all you just turn it around and put it back on and put the chain on around the derailleur and you have to shift gears carefully that off on the throttle shift a little from the throttle a little and shift and it's a little skill but it works. Now Jay Leno went ahead and switched one of his around and thought he could have a business and he knows he has a business and he wants to try it but he's not doing it so our son kind of prodded him a little more and said to take the hub motors which there's a ton of and they're not using that much and trying to hook it up to a gearbox and he found out how to do it it goes on the side and it kind of still goes in the middle and it looks funky like a different kind of motor and it is a different kind of motor that kind of motor lasts pretty good and he laughed and says because of its shape I said yeah because the smaller ones it's like an alternator all the electricity is jammed in there he goes wild and it has more room for it to disperse and if you put wires in the outside and the EMP type thing to the ground just one it would help it out even more on the outside perimeter and he goes okay so he did that and it worked and I'm telling you these things work really well. It's only about $1,500 for the average bike cost in the race that cost more but they're made for people way more Trump has those and he was disappointed or sending by one but he couldn't afford that much money and he was really upset and then he figured out it doesn't have any money he still doesn't get it. Feels like do me a favor and try and get me money and you'll feel you'll feel it from other people not me so he's trying and says I can't do it at all. And that's what it is it's competition somewhere so we're going to challenge them to erase with the same type of bike with the same wattage motor and with the standard battery they issue it's got to be a stock bike that you just switch the wheel around and brand new and we want to set up where and when and we want to run this ad hoc race and see who wins we think we might catch the wind because our bike goes faster for some reason when we do this to it it might be Tommy f and his guys messing with the wind seriously we got 20 miles an hour faster now these bags of other expensive and very expensive and they don't have gears and that's why it doesn't work and it's a wasted damn time they're more the cost costly than a motorcycle but we're putting up here that this is what it's like when you're going fast and it's not a huge deal 50 miles an hour quite often our son went that fast on his while his brother's 10 speed it's really bja and he did a lot a lot okay and even faster to clock them up to about 65 and so did other people and said you're speeding he says what are you talking about I don't write a pack road on a bicycle and they said you have to go to speed limit this is how am I supposed to train it wasn't a cop it was someone going by and they said oh yeah you have to go fast he knows how are you going to buy me I'm going fast and they drove off it wasn't a cop at the time but that's what they're saying he's going too fast

Thor Freya

They know what we're saying but we're starting to hear something that they want the bikes so we're going to do a race maybe more and doing it the racetrack would be awesome I think it's a great idea people think it's a joke until they see how fast we go these things kick ass

Trump

Wait a minute okay I did and then you're gone but really people need these and they're converting their own and there's a couple things they should know you should put hydraulic brakes on the kit is online it does not cost much it goes with any of those Pole line brakes which they all are you already have most of it you just need the calipers the pads and the new desk and mostly the amounts on these bikes cuz they're made for them and you look on eBay ebike kids and for your bike and another thing is you need new tires mostly the puncture resistant ones and they are for the street and you can buy them online other than that have a ball this is the greatest thing I've ever done

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