#it's just a sprint after all

[ninetqs]

I get what you're saying honestly but do you think he shouldn't have wasted time defending and then just overtaken later?

his tire conservation strat is generally beneficial in full races and like the smarter decision but I can see how in a sprint it's not optimal bc the other guy will still have some tire left but it's also a sprint so I'm like... how many fucks do i give genuinely...

we'll see how quali pans out i suppose

also do you really think his ability to overtake has dampened since 22? idk

I think what you've spent most of last year doing rlly affects what you have most practice with this year and last year the main thing they struggled with was keeping tires aliveso this year he's exceptionally good at that. it's kind of interesting ig but I don't think you can lose practice at things like that?

if it was a joke I'm sorry it's very late and I think I'm d lirious but I'm interested in hearing your thoughts anyway

your fic was very lovely<3

response below cut bcs it got long

his tire conservation strat is generally beneficial in full races and like the smarter decision but I can see how in a sprint it's not optimal

like there's only 18 laps how much can you really conserve. i just do not see the point of being that soft in a sprint. they had way more pace today than they showed

imo this whole year ferrari and charles have fixated a bit too much on the concept of going long. baku is an example there was no reason for him to stay out that extra lap in the first stint. and in terms of car development the team swung the pendulum too far in the baby direction for how the sf-24 deals with tires, as seen in their quali performance this year -> i am not too worried about this though bcs they hired serra precisely to fix this issue and they talk about it every single week so i have confidence it will be improved for the 677

there are races where this fixation benefits him immensely (zandvoort, monza, singapore) and ofc he is one of the best tire managers so he'll play to that strength, i just do not believe it was the right move for this specific race and i think ferrari need to be more flexible in their strategies. charles himself said this in his post-race interview

carlos also acts like this Every Single Time he's behind charles and i think charles should be more proactive in adjusting his strategy depending on this. like no driving faster at the start is not the way he prefers but the options are a. cook tires fighting [what happened], b. let him pass then pass him back after, or c. just match his pace and i feel like a is objectively the worst one

also do you really think his ability to overtake has dampened since 22

judging by this year yes, but as i said in my comment i think it's somewhat a symptom of having to drive the greedy sf-23, where he got used to being more passive at the start since that car died after like three laps and a little late braking. i do think he is the best defender on the whole grid but ferrari has not been good in qualifying this year so he is rarely defending anything

i'm not saying he's a bad overtaker btw, just that he doesn't race the same way he did pre-2023. i rate charles as the second-best driver overall and one mid race where he was pouting behind his helmet doesn't change that 🙂‍↕️ this is why i have no qualms about blasting him for his failures, i know he can do better

also if he decides to lock in for tomorrow and do a last lap overtake for p1 i will gladly accept all the hate coming my way. charles' success > my mental health

[pine-rhyme]

My most sensible prediction for Alecto is that at some point in the book, Alecto's soul will go into Noodle.

I really hope nothing bad will ever happen to Noodle but I think that her transfering to a non-human body will give her a very sweet moment of unbridled joy. We know Nona suffers from some sort of dysphoria, wishing she had more legs and finds hands a general nuisance. If anything I am rooting that Alecto will either find a way to transform herself or find another host because having been made as a Barbie is a masive disrespect to everything that she is.

And it might also save her from the fate of every cover character in this series and will survive to be there too in the epilogue.

Also it will be badass as hell and hilariously cartoonish for her to bite John's ass.

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

Was Frank present when Eddie got dropped in the water? Bc that sounds goddamn hilarious.

no but Wally had to go over to him like "um. Frank. i dropped Eddie-" "you what" "-in the water. i dropped him in the water" "you WHAT?" and then they went to the Lake™️ to just. stare at his facedown unconscious body.

[fuwahua]

Day 10: Spider

/ᐢ⑅ᐢ\ ♡ ₊˚ TKTober Day 10: Spider ꒰ ˶• ༝ •˶꒱ ♡‧₊˚ ♡ Tags: Implied Arlefuri (Arlecchino/Furina) ./づ~ :¨·.·¨: ₊˚ Arle boss form mention `·..·‘ ₊˚ ♡ , post-AQ, petnames

“What were you thinking this afternoon?”

“Huh? This afternoon?”

Arlecchino’s face remained unchanging, almost bored, as her hands absentmindedly combed through Furina’s hair.

Furina swallowed from her position on those strong thighs, resisting the urge to fidget, as the silence dragged on. Between the two of them, she was always more of the talker and that went for almost everyone and every situation. It was just that she genuinely didn’t know what Arlecchino was talking about.

“Arle?”

“Earlier this afternoon, when the traveler wished to spar with me, you had a… transfixed look on your face,” Arlecchino said. Furina hummed, the recollection coming easily now: Aether had requested Neuvilette’s help for something, and she’d been too curious to not come along. It was amusing to see him amass a team consisting of Arlecchino’s coworker and familiar ginger (who’s enthusiasm for the spar died rather quickly as soon as Aether explained he was merely there to support, not fight), a rather poor, sickly looking doctor from Liyue (who… well… she would never see the Traveler in the same light again after making the poor man run to the point of coughing up a lung), and—

Herself, wielding her new vision.

Neuvilette had carried them through the fight in all honestly, just as Aether predicted. As reassuring as it was to have the Great Ludex watch her back, her heart had thundered when Arlecchino launched backward into the air and unveiled a secondary form with ease. She’d always known the harbinger was powerful, but even so, nothing had prepared her for the way dark energy cut through the grounds just by their team.

“Did I scare you?”

“N-no! No,” Furina gasped, shaking her head. Her reply was too quick, and she hastened to clarify, pulling herself upwards to face Arlecchino. “Honest, no. You’d startled me, yes, but I wasn’t—I wasn’t scared.”

Arlecchino’s head tilted. “Truly?”

“Truly,” Furina affirmed. It had been scary, being in a fight, but she’d known from the moment Arlecchinos’s amused glance met hers that she would walk away unscathed. And she had! Honestly, the main damage taken was by the poor doctor, and that was more due to running around than Arlecchino’s attacks. On her end, there had been little more to do than summon the occasional hydro friend, cheer on Neuvillette, and be transfixed at how smoothly Arlecchino moved in the air.

The expression she’d had staring down at them from the sky, completely at ease in her own power, was beautiful. And then limbs seemed to branch out from her back, and she’d looked straight out of a fairytale.

“Then why stare?”

“Well, that’s—” Furina looks away, suddenly flustered. “It’s pretty silly. Nothing interesting!”

“I’m interested.”

“No, really! It’s just a silly Fontaine children’s story!”

“A children’s story?” Arlecchino echoed, leaning in closer. Furina squeaked as arms closed around her waist, tugging her into Arlecchino’s shadow. “Why wouldn’t a Father be interested in that?”

Blasted, Furina and her lousy choice of words! She swallowed as Arlecchino’s fingers pulled loose her buttons, cold hands meeting her skin. The contrast of temperatures made her shiver, and Arlecchino’s looming overhead expression, just at ease as earlier in the day, left her heart thundering. “A-arlecchino?”

“Mon Cherie, won’t you share with me the story?”

“U-um, I—eehehehehe! Wahahahit, wahahahahahit!”

Furina jolted in Arlecchino’s lap as surprised giggles left her lips, squirming at the sudden attack of tickling fingers along her bare skin. They circled her stomach, eager to map out the sensitive spots Arlecchino no doubt had memorized twice over, and she yelped as they slipped to needle her sides. “A-Arlehehehe! Why?!”

“It’s a children’s story you refuse to share, no? Then I shall deal with you as though a child.”

“B-but! Thihihehes isn’t hohahahaaw you t-treheheat your kids!”

Arlecchino smiled, bemused. “You would much prefer this method than how I tend to pull secrets loose from my children.”

“W-Wehehehhehehell! Lehehet’s tahahahalk about thihehhes!”

That—okay, that was probably true, but still! Furina let loose fresh peals of laughter as Arlecchino moved to dig into her sides, knuckles seemingly intent on rubbing along the curve of her waist in the most maddening way. But she was no match for someone of a Harbinger’s title, and every attempt made to escape was foiled instantly by how quickly she folded to a harsher nudge against her ribs or scratch along her stomach.

“Won’t you share, droplet?”

Furina squawked. Share? What could she even say when she was busy laughing her head off, mind occupied by the sensation of Arlecchino’s hands, now warm after tucking themselves quite comfortably against Furina’s stomach. Her face heated up as Arlecchino leaned over, squeezing her eyes shut to avoid the gaze seeking her own. No doubt her cheeks were burning pink, her fair skin making any attempt at hiding her fluster useless. Though even if it weren’t, Arlecchino could probably still tell. “S-Shahahare whahaaht?!”

“Playing dumb? Very well—let me convince you to recall.”

She shook her head as they continued their ascent, giggles morphing into wild cackles as fingers prodded, pinched, tickled every centimeter of her torso before petering back downwards. She squawked in realization, thrashing against Arlecchino as sweat beaded on her forehead.

“N-nahahah! NohaHAHAH! NAHHAat THEREHEHEHE!!”

Furina shrieked as Arlecchino’s nails met her thighs, quick and deadly in how they slipped down to scratch at the sensitive inner area. She threw her head back, eyes popping open at just how that area was, desperation hitching her voice an octave higher. “PLEAHAHAHAHSE!”

“Would you like that? For me to plead you to share?”

Furina kicked her legs out as she begged through her laughter but trust a Harbinger to be anything but unrelenting. Those hands held her down with ease as they spidered along her thighs.

Spider… spider!

“SpiHEHEHEHDEHEHER! It’s spihheheheheder!”

“Hm?”

Arlecchino’s nails dragged along exposed skin as Furina curled up, cackling. “StAHAHAHAP! NAHAHAHA MOREHEHEHEHE! I’LL SHAHAHAHARE!”

“Good girl.”

Archons, her face could only get so red. Furina whined as Arlecchino’s hands shook themselves loose from her legs, fingers intently pricking her as they left; still, it was an act of mercy that Arlecchino leaned back and let her scrub at her burning face in peace. Leftover giggles left her winded, and she winced as she rolled into a sitting posture.

“Are you alright?”

“I-I’m okay. Actually, I’m way better off than that doctor from today.”

Arlecchino chuckled, eyes twinkling in amusement as Furina wheezed in a way not so different than Baizhu. Okay, maybe she needed to exercise more.

She squeaked as fingers met her side, intent. Arlecchino nudged her again. “The story?”

Oh, that. Furina sighed, feeling the redness that’d started to recede from her cheeks bloom once more; it had been a busy passing thought then, and it was even sillier now that she’d had it tickled out of her like an interrogation scene from a B-grade musical.

“Um, there’s a Fontaine children’s rhythm that, actually,” Furina paused, trying to recall it. “It’s about a spider. An itsy-bitsy spider, and it goes… up a well? I think?”

“It rains,” Arlecchino said. “And it washed it down the well.”

“Yes, that one! And—wait, you’re from Fontaine. I forgot! You already knew the story!”

Arlecchino raised a brow. “I did. What I do not know is why you were so distracted by a nursery rhyme.”

Furina coughed, glancing away. “It’s… because of you.”

“Me?”

“Your transformation, today!” She snapped, the exhilaration of the earlier fight welling up in her. “It was—it was unexpected! You just moved your arms and then your body changed, and these extra limbs came out of you and you looked like a spider catching us all in your web. It was so cool! You were so strong, and confident, and I was totally wowed because you were so, so beautiful!”

Arlecchino blinked at her, blank gaze broken as surprise overtook her before fading into a gentle veneer of a smile. Furina’s heart thudded when the smile was transfixed her way, mystique. “Thank you, Mon Cherie.”

“Y-you’re welcome.”

She fidgeted as Arlecchino reclined against the sofa, almost lazily, before patting her lap in clear invitation. Furina smiled as she crawled back, tension leaving her when the same hands that tormented her now combed through her hair in patient adoration, careful to smooth out the curls she’d messed up in her squirming. She closed her eyes, sighing.

“You… really are beautiful, Arle.”

“You as well, Furina.”

“Not Mon Cherie?”

Arlecchino chuckled, pinching Furina’s cheek. “You’re beautiful, Mon Cherie.”

[cometblaster2070]

Lizzie: You know, Hunter gives Ashlynn flowers every day. I wish you’d do that.

Kitty: Well, alright then.

*Later*

Kitty: *Hands Ashlynn a bouquet*

Ashlynn: Excuse me??

Kitty: Yeah, don't ask me, I’m just as confused.

[leclercskiesahead]

Some absolutely baffling and let’s say truly imaginative interpretations of the race start so here is the break down of what we actually see.

Charles moves to his left (outer track) off the racing line. George behind him immediately shifts to his right (ie inner track) because he senses the gap. At 0:06 there’s a clear line down the straight for George because Lando also moved outwards to cover Charles.

Bottas and Hulk were trying to look down the middle once George went to the inside so he had to come back out a bit to cover them, and his entry atp would have been a bit too narrow. But even when he goes back outward a bit, he still stays well inside Charles’ line as seen right at the end of 0:08/start of 0:09. He blocks Bottas into the turn but not Hulk, we’ll come back to this later.

At 0:10 Lando and Charles take their first apex on this part of the turn sequence, moving back to the inside of the track. In isolation this is normal and covers George’s inside line. But as they pass the apex, Charles goes back out wide. At 0:11 is when he starts drifting to his left again. Carlos’ car body doesn’t even overlap his.

Now all this time, Oscar and Carlos pretty much stayed on their initial outer line off the grid. They do drift inward as they enter the T1-3 turn sequence but again this is normal. They are both still well outside of Lando and Charles and their “apex” here - since it is the race start and all cars are around - is on the center line of the track.

0:11-0:12 you can see Charles drift outside Lando and behind Oscar as if he wants to take that Oscar’s line. Mind you he has the space to do this because Carlos’ car still doesn’t overlap his atp.

0:13-0:14 Carlos is still half a car behind Charles. This is hardly an “attack” by Carlos. In fact, Oscar is also just half a car behind Lando and just outside of him, but as they continue along the curve, Oscar can only tuck in behind Lando. There was barely any overtaking threat from Carlos.

As it goes from 0:13.5ish to 0:14 the front five cars start to turn again but Charles still continues his outwards drift, going too deep into the curve and pushing Carlos off track. And leaving the door wide open for George.

At the boundary of 0:12 and 0:13 the gap between Charles and George could still fit a whole car length, possibly one and a half. But within a second and a half that gap is closed because Charles ran so wide and deep and George has been sticking inside all this time.

Note that Hulk actually pulls ahead of George for a moment in 0:12 yet he cannot keep his nose in front around the curve, being on the outer line. Behind that, another car also seems to briefly get its nose in front of Bottas but Bottas easily covers them on the inside. Fernando and Hulk had to swoop their whole cars ahead of Checo and Bottas respectively to overtake those cars on the outside. These further show that Carlos was barely an overtaking threat to Charles. Charles didn’t “need to choose” between defending against Carlos or George. He certainly did not need to defend as much as Carlos had to during the sprint.

Instead it just looks like he was aiming for a wide line (remember he started drifting outwards from like three seconds before he actually goes too deep and right off the starting line he also drifted out) and misjudged how wide to go, leaving him far too little lateral space with his teammate and a huge gap for others to pass him on the inside.

[d-lanx]

[aq2003]

FUCKKKKKKKKKKKK I WAS SO CLOSE

[nerosdayinanime]

ok i originally just wanted to think of something w obagiyuu but then it went to obamitsugiyuu but then sabiuzui happened and now its a full on everyone lives au with everyone hugging the last 3 ubuyashiki kids just after kiriya announces the demon slayer corps disbanded and im Crying

[bumblingbabooshka]

The Doctor turning into women and having romantic dalliances with men is every kind of queer...to me.

[jamiesfootball]

Loosely based on this

Nate dropped the books. Twenty-five books was a lot of books. He tried carrying them in stacks and one of the stacks caught the corner of the doorway. Most were fine, nary a layer of dust on the ground to disturb the wrapping, but two of the books slid into the shower area.

Nate hurried to pluck them up. He quickly peeled off the wrapping before the pages themselves could get wet. He found the spare roll leaning by Ted's desk, rewrapped the gifts, and stocked them on the shelves. He wondered if maybe Ted would have his own recommendation for Nate, since Nate had been the one to provide the run-down on all the players when Ted mentioned he wanted to get them books.

O'Brien. Proud, posh, spoke like an English lord. Irresponsible with money. Wasted public school education. Remarkable talent as a goalie squandered by low-effort as he languished with a mid-level team. He was a decent man, if a little conceited, and Nate hoped The Beautiful and the Damned served as a good wake-up call. Ted must think highly of his potential; he was one of only a handful who merited an age-appropriate selection.

Arrogant self-absorbed bully, convinced of his own talents. Refused to listen to the older, more experienced people who knew better. Bully. Antagonist in the way of the true heroes trying to eek out a win.

Jamie Tartt deserved Artemis Fowl.

[itshomobirb]

2 memories i feel like sharing, & some backstory context: so my ass has been spayed, and healthy people take 6-8 weeks to fully recover from getting spayed. i, chronically ill, took longer. as with any abdominal surgery, they told me "no lifting over 10lb u could tear ur stitches." and for reference, my cats are 12 lb wonders.

so im chilling in bed. ~4 weeks after surgery. and my mother starts SCREAMING my name. like "OH MY GOD BORB COME IN HERE NOW QUICK QUICK HURRY OH GOD." so i do, albeit slowly because, you know, still recovering from major surgery. she's freaking out about one of my cats, who looks entirely normal. oh but he ~suddenly stopped~ and ~twisted his body~ i don't know if he's going to be ok. one mother panic attack and one emergency vet visit later (with my mother's help bc i couldn't lift my cat due to lifting restrictions) : he had flea dirt on his hind legs. he was twisting around to lick around his arse. cool 👍 (ofc my mother, on the ride back from the vet, tried to tell me NOT to give the kids flea meds, she doesn't know what kind of ~health ramifications~ flea meds can have if *gasp* the kids don't actually have fleas)

around the same time period, i get woken up by my mother screaming "HELP HELP HELP!!" the first day it happens, she stops within ~15 seconds, and i hear my parents talking before i fall back asleep. find out later the mechanism for moving the window panels up & down in the bathroom broke, so the top panel had trapped her fingers a la guillotine style. my parents joke "well borb if you hear your mother screaming... her fingers are probably trapped 😂." can you guess what happens next. my father was gone the next day, and guess who got her fingers trapped AGAIN by the bathroom window. so i get woken up by her screaming, and i have to help dislodge the window around her bare naked ass. and sure, i have sympathy because i bet it was really painful. but like. are you fucking stupid. my father had to literally childproof the window by installing a screw so the guillotine panel would catch against the other panel so fingers wouldn't get trapped. just so my mother wouldn't get her fingers trapped again. we all knew that if it wasn't there, she would 1000% get her fingers trapped again. but *im* supposedly the incompetent fuck up that NEEDS to be told exactly what to do just in case i, idk, have an independent thought.

[loumauve]

things are going well

not pictured: me, wheezing and coughing, because I decided sprinting the entire way to the bus stop in winter temperatures was a good idea

[gothamslostboy]

Star did full glam makeup on Paul at least once a month so he could feel like the prettiest man on the board walk

I went on a journey I didn’t expect in the tags and I wish I put them in the actual post

[trollbreak]

swap beastly and neyeon :3

So I like the neyeon doodle much more than the beastly one, but art hard and I can’t entirely conceptualize beastly as a normal guy, since he was made to have mutations, but um… beastly is. Cat hardware dog software, he’s mcfucking comfies!! Important for u to imagine him with the zoomies and nobody gets hurt about it. He’s so fucking sillies!!! Head empty! Not a thing behind those eyes!!! Just love!!! Probably annoys his lusus but he’s soooo cute so it’s fine :P

Neyeon on the other hand um. Is less fortunate. Ethann pt 2 but like fr. They don’t develop as many visible mutations as desired, so. The doc kind of works on trying to see which ones didn’t fully develop and if they could be made to function anyhow. Like the separate jaw bones but one lower lip, that gets. Rectified. Neyeon is Unhappy about this and is in the Grumpy club with Ethann abt it. Is a little sillies w their siblings tho :3 tries to cheer them up where they can bc like. It’s not their fault they’re experiments! …They don’t get to do field trips like beastly tho. They’re actively hostile to the scientists. They’d slowly have more of their animal traits showing over time, but it’s a slow process, and by the time that gets noticed, they’re already in a (more) experimental category.

[godsfavoritescientist]

Finally rewatching some doctor who, and the episode 'midnight' is such a different experience now what the fuck.

Spent the first half of the episode like "wait the doctor IS being reasonable this is an undiscovered lifeform its just trying to learn things its not its fault people think its creepy </3" and also "this is a bit more contrived than I remember. Why are all these tourists down for Murder after 20 minutes of someone repeating what they say." But of course the episode is having so much fun with itself that I'm having fun too <3

Anyway my crack theory is that the midnight creature is post-finale bill, due to the line, while possessing someone, of "I can move, I can feel again, I'm coming back to life" and all the really obvious evil little smiles