#plus . literally everything ab er

[puppmeo]

There's so many medical dramas that i want to watch SO bad but ER had spoiled me with it's medical accuracy

[cafeaulater]

okay wait actually im dying to know about ‘Ofa Lahi Atu—you’re so great with building culture into the hxh world and i need to know what this title MEANS

Omg thank you! I really appreciate that you think I do a good job a building culture into my writing 😁

So I hc Gon as Pacific Islander, specifically as Tongan. ‘Ofa Lahi Atu is Tongan for ‘I love you a lot’. I really wanted to write a fic exploring what it might look like with Killua visiting Gon’s home (sometimes I call it Tofua’amotu in stories I write, which literally means Whale Island) and experiencing the language and culture. 

I think a lot of the lifestyle would feel very strange for him, from the traditional dress (men traditionally wear what is called a tupenu, which is like a calf-length wrap skirt, with a mat over it wrapped around their waist) to the communal culture to, well, everything that very much contrasts with his upbringing with the Zoldycks. 

Tbh, it’s been a challenge incorporating everything that I want to in a way that will make sense to readers who have never heard of Tonga (and without sounding like a language or culture lesson). But I think I am slowly finding the balance!

Anyway, here is a cute snippet of what I have already:

Killua had made a habit of checking his phone constantly for translations, making sure to utilize common phrases like “thank you” and “hello” and “can I help you” so they’d become habitual. 

But this time, even with his handy app, he was baffled. The word had been ‘moa’. Abe had said it multiple times when talking to Gon, and he’d heard his name mentioned along with it. They’d been talking about him. Mito had used it, too, with a bashful chuckle. Upon consulting his phone’s dictionary, he’d had no trouble finding the translation:

Moa - n. a chicken, either living or to be eaten (Na’a mau kai moa fakapaku. We ate fried chicken.)

Killua shoved his phone in his pocket, not upset, but mostly confused. What did it mean? Was it an insult? A joke? Something else? Mindlessly, his feet carried him around the small house, past Mito who was cooking in the kitchen, past Abe as she wove on the porch, and straight to the back yard where Gon was sitting near Mito’s garden.

Gon let out a shameless squeaking noise as Killua approached him. “Killua, you look so pretty!” he exclaimed. 

Killua’s blush was red enough to rival the flowers around his neck. Gon eyed the necklace with a grin, pointing at an almost identical one that he was sporting with his floral green shirt. “We match!” Gon’s grin was so wide that Killua worried it might get stuck. He opened his mouth to say as much, but then Gon continued. “Abe made these for us from the heilala tree.” He pointed at a small tree by Mito’s garden. “They’re the flowers of royalty.”

“I- er… is it okay for me to wear this?” Killua asked lamely, suddenly struck with the fear that he was crossing a line.

In two long strides, Gon was in front of him with a comforting arm on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, Killua. Abe wouldn’t have made them if it was inappropriate. We wear them for special occasions, like for the feast tonight, but there are certain patterns for making them that are for the nobles only.” Gon’s arm shifted from Killua’s shoulder to hovering over his heart, touching the necklace gently as a thoughtful expression settled on his face. Killua wondered with horror if Gon could register his pounding heart from this proximity. “Plus,” Gon added softly, “you look so beautiful with it.”

Killua squirmed, biting back his usual response of how embarrassing Gon was. Instead, he said what was really on his mind. “As beautiful as a chicken,” he muttered before he could stop himself.

Gon’s eyes widened with an unasked question, then he muffled a laugh in his palm. “What does that mean?” The sentence barely made it out between his childish giggles.

“Don’t think I didn’t hear you and Abe gossiping earlier,” Killua grumbled as he plopped down onto the ground, adjusting his skirt carefully so he could sit cross legged. 

Gon was laughing harder now. “Wha- ahaha what are you talking about?”

“Oh, come off of it, already. You and Abe kept saying my name and the word moa. I know that means chicken! I’m just saying what I heard…” he trailed off, crossing his arms over his chest with a huff. 

Immediately, Killua wished he hadn’t said anything because Gon was laughing so hard the younger of the two was genuinely concerned that he might not be getting any oxygen. 

“Killuaaaa,” Gon guffawed, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye as he doubled over on himself.

“Geez, idiot, breathe!”

A deep breath in, disrupted by another laugh, an uneven breath out, followed by a deeper, calmer breath in. “Killua,” Gon whispered, clearly trying very hard to not lose himself to laughter again. “Moa means chicken, but it’s also a slang word.”

Ah. Yeah, English to Tongan dictionaries weren’t great for learning colloquialisms… Killua’s ears burned under tufts of white hair, ashamed that he’d even brought it up.

“Boyfriend.”

Killua’s head snapped up to meet a gentle, golden stare. Gon’s hands joined his own, which he’d folded in his lap. He nearly shuddered as Gon’s thumb stroked the back of his hand, leaving in its wake a trail of warmth that Killua secretly wished would never fade away. 

“Moa,” Gon said again, “it means boyfriend.”

It was uncommon between the two of them for Killua to be the one to short circut, and yet, his mind was suddenly buzzing with something equally comforting and annoying.

“Wait,” he began, slowly. “Then… are we? I mean… er-” Killua cleared his throat, glancing to the grass to his right. 

“We can be. Y’know… if Killua wants…” One of Gon’s hands left Killua’s lap to rub the back of his neck. “Abe and Mito have been teasing me about it all week. I didn’t want to make a big deal or talk to you about it if it made you uncomfortable, but…” his voice trailed off, leaving the wonderful but mortifying question hanging in the air.

“Of course I do, you idiot,” Killua muttered. Then, without thinking, he leaned forward and kissed Gon’s stupid slaphappy grin off of his face.

[labelleangel]

Tag of Basic Information ~ okie dokie so I just saw I was tagged in this and it's like 3:30 in the morning and I can't sleep (plus I saw this video on sleep paralysis and it freaked me out) (plus I'm on my phone which makes things tough) (and thank you Emily for tagging me I'm too tired to search up your username rn but thank you ily bae) ABC tag AGE – 18 BIGGEST FEAR – probably being disliked or being a disappointment/a failure. Also clowns, fuck clowns. I used to be extremely scared of spiders and I still am but I'm able to kill them now CURRENT TIME – 3:39 am but will probably be after 4am when I finish this DRINK YOU LAST HAD – Water EVERYDAY STARTS WITH – Coffee, a pb&j, and a clementine FAVORITE SONG – I have a lot but I'm gonna try to keep it brief. Any Disney song, My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion, Evermore by Josh Groban, Ride by Lana Del Rey, a shitload of Beatles songs there's too many to list, Monkees songs, and songs from Newsies, Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat GHOSTS, ARE THEY REAL? – Bill Nye and other scientists say nah but I've seen a couple things that make me think "shit, probably" HOMETOWN – ive been told it's a stereotype that we're bitchy and I don't doubt it. But we're hipster af I feel IN LOVE WITH – My dog Angus, Leo DiCaprio, speaking french and anything french related (if you're from Quebec or France hmu let's communicate a bitch is tryna become fluent) and nature. JEALOUS OF – People who are straight A students easily and people with clear skin KILLED SOMEONE – Shhhh LAST TIME YOU CRIED – idk probably yesterday MIDDLE NAME – Lindsay NO. OF SIBLINGS – one ONE WISH – to be able to speak all the languages of the world fluently PERSON I LAST CALLED/TEXTED – My homegirl Gillian (love you boo) QUESTION YOU’RE ALWAYS ASKED – I used to be asked if I was in college when I was still in high school but now I'm in college I'm not asked that anymore lol REASON TO SMILE – Emily had a FANTASTIC list so mine would probably be similar to hers. LEGGO: sunrises and sunsets. The beach. A walk through the woods on a sunny day. Snuggling up with a pet. Snuggling up with a person. Seeing a loved one for the first time in forever. Disney movies. Romance movies and fairy tales. Hearing something in a language you're trying to learn and being able to understand it. Finding seashells on the beach. Traveling to a new place and seeing the landscape change. Confiding in someone and having them listen to you. Intellectual and deep conversations. Concerts. Unity when tragedy strikes the world. Love. Being in love. Being in a great big lake and floating on your back and closing your eyes. MUSIC. A GOOD ASS PLAYLIST FOR ANY OCCASION. EMPHASIS ON LEARNING A NEW LANGUAGE. There's so much more of any of y'all wanna discuss messaging works lmao SONG LAST SANG - Love Potion °9 by i forgot TIME YOU WOKE UP – 10:30 am UNDERWEAR – none cus I'm in my pj's VACATION DESTINATION? – I'm trying to get to Quebec this summer but I love traveling in general. I'd honestly go anywhere WORST HABIT – picking and peeling the whites of my nails off and probably being messy when it comes to my room YOUR FAVORITE FOOD – I LOOOOVE SPAGHETTI AND JUST PASTA IN GENERAL ZODIAC – Leo BOLD tag ~ listen, a bitch is tired so I'm just gonna put yesses next to them if they apply cus I'm still on my phone and I don't think I can bold anything → appearance: I I am 5′7″ or taller- yes 5'8"
I I wear glasses
I have at least one tattoo
i have at least one piercing - yes, my ears
i have brown eyes i have short hair
my abs are at least somewhat defined- i have a couple bumps near the top but they're not totally "defined" i have or have had braces -yes I hated them 
There is something I would change about the way I look - yes I'm trying to get my hair cut into layers soon → personality: I My Hogwarts house is: Gryffindor Hufflepuff - gryffindor af (lowkey used to be in ravenclaw but it's a long story and now I'm in gryffindor) Ravenclaw Slytherin 
I am an introvert 
i like/love meeting new people - yes yes yes
people tell me that i’m funny - maybe, but it's mostly me telling myself 
i enjoy physical challenges -sometimes
i enjoy mental challenges -It depends 
i’m playfully rude with people i know well - yes but I try not to be too mean 
i started saying something ironically and now i can’t stop saying it - yes its awful someone help 
There is something I would change about my personality -yup → ability: I I can sing well 
i can play an instrument 
i can do over 30 pushups without stopping
i’m a fast runner - I guess???
i can draw well - i have sketches all over the place 
i have a good memory 
I’m good at doing math in my head 
i can hold my breath underwater for over a minute - I can hold my breath for 9 hours
i have beaten at least 2 people in arm wrestling 
i know how to cook at least 3 meals from scratch
i know how to throw a proper punch - yes thanks to my brother → hobbies: I i enjoy playing sports - yes i love playing soccer and baseball and volleyball and just being active 
I’m in a orchestra or choir at my school or somewhere else
i have learned a new song in the past week
i work out at least once a week - I try to
i’ve gone for runs at least once a week in the warmer months - yes cus volleyball kept me in pretty good shape and now that's over idk what else to do with myself 
i have drawn something in the past month
i enjoy writing - yes and the best gift you could give me is a journal
Fandoms are my #1 passion
i do or have done martial arts → experiences: I i have had my first kiss - yes
i have had alcohol - yes
i have scored the winning goal in a sports game - yes
I have watched an entire season of a TV show in one sitting
i have been at an overnight event -yes
i have been in a taxi 
I have been in the hospital or ER in the past year - I should've added hospitals to the list of things I'm afraid of, but thankfully no i haven't been to the ER lately
I have beaten a video game in one day
i have visited another country - Canada ig??
i have been to one of my favorite band’s concerts - One Direction yo → relationship: I I’m in a relationship 
i have a celebrity crush - basically any cute actor but it always comes back to Leo DiCaprio 
I have a crush on someone I know 
i have been in at least 3 relationships 
I have never been in a relationship
i have asked someone out or admitted my feelings to them 
I get crushes easily - same as what Emily said, i get infatuated but i don't get crushes super easily. But if i like you i god damn like you A LOT
I have had a crush on someone for over a year
I have been in a relationship for at least a year 
i have had feelings for a friend → my life: I i have at least one person i consider a “best friend” - hey gilli and Teags (and my follege besties OF COURSE) where you at 
i live close to my school my parents are still together -yep
i have at least one sibling - yes
i live in the united states -yes
There is snow right now where I live
i have hung out with a friend outside of school in the past month - I hung out with friends in the past two days actually 
i have a smartphone - yes it's what I'm using to painstakingly type all this out on 
I have at least 15 CDs 
I share my room with someone → random shit: I i have breakdanced 
i know a person named jamie 
I have had a teacher with a last name that’s hard to pronounce 
i have dyed my hair
i’m listening to one song on repeat right now 
i have punched someone in the past week
i know someone who has gone to jail -yes but I can't say who
I have broken a bone 
I have eaten a waffle today 
i know what i want to do with my life - mostly, I just hope it all works out
i speak at least 2 languages fluently - IM FUCKING TRYING. IM TRYING SO DAMN HARD. IMMA GET THERE SERIOUSLY IF YOU ARE A NATIVE FRENCH SPEAKER HIT ME UP!!!!! 
i have made a new friend in the past year - @ All the friends I made at college you're all the bomb Okay so now imma tag @squiinty and @plurth and @natsukashiiii I legit copied and pasted @yixingding 's post and re-wrote everything (iPhone probs) and it's now 4:05 am lol but this was fun my Leo ass loves talking about myself so I invite literally anybody to do this too and THANK YOU EM&M FOR TAGGING ME ITS SO FUNNY I SAW THIS AT LIKE 3:30 IN THE MORNING I MISS YOU BOO

[fathersonholygore]

Hulu’s The Path Season 2, Episode 4: “The Red Wall” Directed by Michael Slovis Written by John O’Connor

* For a recap & review of the previous episode, “The Father and The Son” – click here * For a recap & review of the next episode, click here. Last we saw Eddie Lane (Aaron Paul) he got punched out poolside while drinking with old friend and possible new flame Chloe Jones (Leven Rambin). He was then carted into the ER having a bad reaction to the booze. Will he be okay? Is it a physical reaction, or a more emotional one? We start with Sarah Lane (Michelle Monaghan), listening to a tape of Lisa Jackson (Megan Byrne) when she came to Cal Roberts (Hugh Dancy) and Meyerism. She was helped, now Cal wants his return on that investment. Because these are exactly the types of things he does, he puts in a good deed to make up for the bad he’ll do, and so the vicious cycle goes. Now Sarah wants the tax exempt status in order to quell her guilt knowing what Cal’s done. At this point she’s no better than him, either. Back to Eddie, he’s awake and in the hospital. Doctor Sally Hollins (Gretchen Hall) talks with him about why he’s there, why he lost it at the pool, the fight, all that. Chloe told Dr. Hollins about him spending “the last two decades in a cult” and now the doctor wants to help. Although this is nothing but opening a wound for Eddie. Especially when his brother’s suicide comes up. Things get trickier for Lisa, too. She’s been summoned to the compound, and this frightens her. So she goes to Abe Gaines (Rockmond Dunbar) and the authorities. But none of it’s easy, not for Lisa, not for Abe and the law. The higher-ups want the Meyerists taken care of, soon. Yet Gaines worries Cal will manipulate Lisa. Still no telling how Abe’s undercover work is going to go in the end, we might see something nasty happen. Right now they’ve got Lisa with a recording device, heading into the meeting willingly. Uh oh. Even Abe doesn’t look too sure about any of it. Everyone sees Cal differently. Hawk (Kyle Allen) buys into his bullshit, as do many of the others, Noa (Britne Oldford) and certainly Mary (Emma Greenwell). However, we can see, more and more, how Sean (Paul James) looks at him with contempt. There’s an inevitable confrontation. At the same time we see the sadness of one of Cal’s lectures, as they each take turns changing the colour of the wall. All visualisation. Seeing everybody excited like they’re literally watching it change is soul crushing. And now Sean can see through Cal. It hurts for many reasons, not only because that baby’s likely not his, but rather most of all because he actually let Cal hypnotise him into that way of life. Richard (Clark Middleton) and Kodiak (James Remar) aren’t stopping in their quest. They don’t know who hurt Steve (Keir Dullea). Kodiak is intent on finding who did, Cal or not, by any means necessary. While Richard’s worried big accusations will ���harm the movement” and, rightfully, wants proof. They’ll eventually discover one kill Cal has under his belt, sooner or later I’m sure. But was it him who killed Steve? Could it have been Eddie?

At the hospital Sarah arrives to see Eddie, who isn’t impressed he’s being followed. Is he? I believe it, though I also believe she had nothing to do with that. Probably Cal, knowing his devious nature. Sarah keeps talking about knowing “your damage” and using all the Meyerist buzzwords. Simultaneously, Eddie rejects the movement and loves his wife deeply. One of the saddest parts of any of the plots in The Path. Over in the new building Cal runs into a man who’s now homeless because of the building the Meyerists bought. He also gets a bottle tossed at him in the dark. Oh, the joys of being in a cult! Dr. Hollins diagnoses Eddie with PTSD, giving him medication to soothe the anxiety, et cetera. She refers him to a support group, as well. “You‘re free now, Mr. Lane, and you can have a wonderful, productive life.” To which he has no real response. He knows it’s true, and all the same, isn’t it tough to admit you’ve spent a huge portion of your life working towards a fraudulent goal? I think so. Eddie is caught between so many things. On top of that could be the guilt of killing Steve. At least he’s got Chloe around, she does care for him and wants to see him escape the cult, sheltered life he was living behind for good. Hawk has a charged moment with Noa, as she rejects him for being a “boy” when they’re at a private concert together. What we do see is that Hawk’s not totally lost in the movement. Not yet, anyways. That is coming quickly. In other news, Sarah flips at Cal for having her husband followed. Then they get into their shared darkness. We see in this scene, as we do others, how the people in a cult – even the leaders – start at a point where they want to do good, they even are good people, and somewhere along the line that disappears, fading into obscurity as the individual good winds up above the good of the whole. Cal: “You can‘t win. Someone always suffers.” The day of Lisa’s visit to the commune comes. Before Cal can go meet her, Kodiak hauls him aside; he’s found a rabbit eating his strawberries. He asks Cal about the “weight of leadership” on his shoulders. Or does he see the weight of something else, and this is his way to get under the new leader’s skin? Oh, I think he’s a tricky one, that Kodiak. Once Lisa gets to her meeting, she finds out she’s meeting Sarah. Hmm. Now Sarah brings up everything about when Lisa was there, how they helped her. This is a wildly tense scene. Then Lisa reveals she’s recording them, silently, and the meeting is over. The law thwarted. A situation getting more crazy by the minute. Speaking of crazy, Sean goes to see Eddie. About his doubts. They sit and talk together, Sean worries about his child – that’s not his – with Mary, and everything else bearing down on him. Eddie says he wishes he could be with his family: “But, I can‘t have that,” he says solemnly. He tries to tell Sean that it’s all about his life with Mary, their marriage, nothing else. Eddie: “No one can change the colour of a white wall”

Later, we find out Noa’s mother is a music mogul, of some sort. Sarah then tells Cal about giving Lisa the tape of her ‘unburdening’ back, after she revealed the recording device on her. We hear more of her tape, too. She hit a kid on a scooter, a street kid she says. And then she lived with the guilt. So finally, Cal figures out there’s somebody undercover in their ranks. This visibly has him shaken; Sarah’s equally disturbed. And Eddie, he’s decided to start taking his medication. He sees further how the damage of the cult spreads. First him, now Sean, and countless more will come eventually. He even takes off his ring, heads out to a support group and introduces himself. Can he turn the page on Meyerism? Or will events now out of his control pull him back into the void?

Fuck, what a great series! This second season is stellar, no matter what others say. Plenty of material to keep going, plus there’s a couple extra episodes this time around. The Path – Season 2, Episode 4: “The Red Wall” Hulu's The Path Season 2, Episode 4: "The Red Wall" Directed by Michael Slovis…

[robertkstone]

2018 Best Driver’s Car: A Record-Breaking Year

There is a heavy stillness in the air, the weight of expectation.

Less than an hour before, our resident pro driver, Randy Pobst, had flung the mighty McLaren 720S around WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in 1 minute, 29.78 seconds—the fastest lap ever recorded in the history of our Best Driver’s Car competition. Now, he’s powering the 911 GT2 RS down the infamous Corkscrew, the echoes of the Porsche’s barrel-chested bellow, so much like the iconic 935 racer, cascading through the surrounding hills.

A silent crowd clusters around the giant Racepak monitor in the pit garage. The folks from Porsche North America HQ are here, as are Chevy handlers from Detroit, the McLaren and Aston Martin support teams from the U.K., the Lamborghini guys from Italy, a pair of helpful Honda people, and a posse of Motor Trend editors. We hold our collective breath, transfixed by the real-time trace showing the Porsche’s progress around the 2.2-mile track. The clock deconstructs the lap, by fractions of a second. The 911 explodes onto the front straight and dashes for the finish line.

Distance. Time. Time. Distance. Eyes flicker across the screen; synapses snap the calculus.

Let’s back up. Our Best Driver’s Car shootout is not about a lap time. It’s about confidence: the confidence a car gives you when you take it to the limit, be it your own or the car’s. But when the lineup includes four of the most powerful supercars sold in America, lap times add spice to the competition. At stake? Bragging rights. The fastest car around Laguna Seca may not be Best Driver’s Car. But it will be king of one of the world’s most famous road courses.

Along with the McLaren and Porsche, the big dogs of BDC 2018 include Chevy’s refreshed Corvette ZR1 and Lamborghini’s Huracan Performante. “Seven hundred horsepower is the new 500 horsepower,” Chris Walton muses as he eyes this 2,786-horsepower quartet. And 500 hp is the new middle ground, with the 600-hp BMW M5 and 400-hp Audi TT RS bracketing a group that includes the 460-hp Mustang GT with Ford’s Performance Pack 2, plus Aston Martin’s all-new 503-hp Vantage and the 505-hp Alfa Romeo Stelvio Q4 Quadrifoglio.

Wait … an SUV in BDC? Yep. The Stelvio is so fast and agile, it damn near defies the laws of physics. It’s a driver’s … er, SUV.

Power isn’t everything, however, and the final three cars making the cut this year did so on the quality of their chassis rather than the output of their engines—though with 306 hp from just 2.0 liters, the turbocharged four-banger under the hood of the Honda Civic Type R has the fifth-highest specific output of this year’s field. Joining the Type R are Kia’s Stinger GT, whose poise had impressed us during last year’s COTY evaluations, and Mazda’s MX-5, back with a 17-percent boost in power and other detail tweaks.

Why no Ford GT? Of course we asked, and Dearborn initially agreed to send one of its low-slung, 647-hp supercars. But two weeks before we were due to start testing, Ford suddenly pulled the car, for reasons the PR department requested we not make public. Send your emails to Ford Motor Company. Maybe they’ll tell you why one of the most exciting driver’s cars ever to carry the Blue Oval wasn’t at BDC.

ROUTE 198

As usual, BDC opens on Route 198 in the sun-bleached hills of Central California. Our 4.2-mile test section, closed to traffic by the California Highway Patrol, allows judges to evaluate the contenders on a real-world road, albeit in closed-course safety. Climbing about 1,000 feet and crossing the San Andreas Fault en route to a turnaround point at the top of the hill, it’s a bewitching mixture of quick corners and mid-pace sweepers (if triple-digit speeds can be counted as “mid-pace”), with humps and heaves that test the limits of suspension travel, shock tuning, and chassis balance. The downhill run puts a different set of loads through the chassis and a spotlight on braking, stability, and steering precision.

Route 198 always throws us some unexpected moments. The monstrously fast 911 GT2 RS causes sharp intakes of breath for some judges when they arrive at corners with a wooden brake pedal and no sign of retardation. The culprit turns out to be the ultra-stiff sport setting for the shocks: It’s calibrated purely for track work, and using it on bumpy Route 198 means the Porsche’s front wheels can be in the air at a critical braking point, causing extreme ABS intervention. “Hated this car on the way down the hill!” Frank Markus gripes as his pulse rate returns to normal.

There are sidelong glances at the Corvette, too. Everyone loves the Herculean supercharged V-8 under the hood, its ferocious power accompanied by a volcanic wall of sound. But no one loves the chassis. The massive brakes haul the ZR1 down from dizzying velocities with insouciant ease, and the hyper-aggressive turn-in response is backed up by impressive front-end grip. After that, it all falls apart, the rear axle failing to provide support on corner entry or traction on corner exit. The big ’Vette is a tail-happy handful. We had all seen the footage of GM product development boss Mark Reuss casually looping a ZR1 into the wall while pacing the Detroit Grand Prix. Now we understood how easily that could happen. “The ZR1 needs to come with warning labels,” Ed Loh mutters.

The Audi TT RS seems quick and has that distinctive five-cylinder thrum that has defined performance Audis since the original Quattro Coupe. But the suspension lacks travel and feels underdamped, leaving the little coupe bucking and bouncing its way up Route 198. “A tad disconcerting,” Erick Ayapana notes.

Thanks to the super-sticky Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires that come with the Performance Pack 2, the Mustang GT has a ton of mechanical grip. But it feels clumsier and less composed than the Chevy Camaro SS 1LE that impressed us so much in 2016. “It’s hard to have a lot of confidence in this car,” Mark Rechtin grimaces.

There are pleasant surprises, though, like the Aston Martin Vantage. “It’s fascinating to drive the Vantage on U.S. roads after Jonny Lieberman and I tried it in Scotland,” Jethro Bovingdon says. “Over there it seemed a real monster—wide, stiff, and always shouting at you to drive faster. On 198, it’s different but no less engaging. The whole vibe is one of effortless control, and the car hums with feedback.”

Although at entirely different ends of the BDC spectrum, the McLaren 720S and Mazda MX-5 perform as expected. Those of us lucky enough to have spent time in the 720S beforehand knew the big Mac’s endless surge of acceleration, delicately detailed steering, outstanding brakes, and remarkably fluent ride would impress first-timers. And the MX-5 did what Miatas have always done best: offer one of the purest driving experiences you can get, at any price.

Honda’s Civic Type R is another crowd pleaser, and not just because of its remarkable engine and precise gearshift. At $35,595, it’s the second-cheapest car in this year’s shootout (just a couple hundred dollars more than the Miata), but the chassis feels like a million bucks on Route 198. Tremendous front-end grip is complemented by a rear end that tracks faithfully, regardless of throttle condition and road surface. “Incredibly capable and confident and easy to drive fast,” Scott Evans gushes.

BMWs have underwhelmed us recently, so not many editors expected the new-generation BMW M5 to feel so effortlessly fast and supremely composed. The engine is staggeringly good, a 600-hp iron fist wrapped in a velvet glove. Traction and chassis balance are terrific for a big, heavy sedan. The steering  is linear and consistent though still lacking the delicious tactility that once defined Munich’s best sport sedans. “It’s a family car and a sports car at the same time,” Miguel Cortina smiles.

Kia’s Stinger GT and Alfa Romeo’s Stelvio Quadrifoglio also win hearts, because both outperform our expectations. “Beneath the slightly soft-edged responses is a chassis of real balance and a subtle, nuanced delivery,” Jethro notes after stepping out of the Kia. Chris swoons as he exits the Alfa, impressed by its exhilarating twin-turbo V-6, sure-footed chassis, and sharp steering. “Wow! Way better than I had ever hoped it would be.”

Jonny had been saying for months that the Lamborghini Huracan Performante was a supercar to rival Ferrari’s 488—last year’s BDC winner—and the McLaren 720S. Those of us who hadn’t driven it were skeptical. Flashy, loud Lamborghinis have tended to overpromise and underdeliver; the Aventador’s last place in 2012 is a case in point.

A thigh-high wedge of weapons-grade machismo, the Huracan Performante turns heads wherever it’s parked. The first few turns on Route 198 reveal substance behind the showmanship—superb steering precision, immense braking capability, prodigious cornering grip, lovely chassis balance, and terrific traction. Randy speaks for us all after hurling the shrieking Lambo up the hill and back: “This car makes you into a god. You just get in and you drive like Ayrton Senna.”

Over a sun-blasted roadside lunch from our favorite Tacos La Potranca De Jalisco and dinner at The Cork & Plough in King City, we exchange praise and snark as we rank the contenders after our Route 198 test session. There’s fierce argument over whether the Porsche was better than the McLaren and whether the Aston and Honda really deserved to be ranked as highly as some thought. And what was an SUV doing here?

But there was nearly unanimous consensus as to which car should top the list: The Lamborghini would head to WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca as the leading contender for the 2018 Best Driver’s Car crown.

LAGUNA SECA

Laguna Seca is where Randy shines. He’s hot-lapped every Best Driver’s Car contender for the past nine shootouts, delivering not only a benchmark lap time but also concise commentary on how each car felt at the limit. Randy’s innate talent is an ability to get the best out of a car from the get-go, often extracting its quickest time on his first flying lap.

He’s also remarkably consistent. If Randy’s times fade on subsequent laps, it’s because of tire degradation, brake fade, or a spike in intake temperatures causing the engine to pull power.

Motor Trend therefore has a unique data set at its disposal: lap times for more than 120 performance cars, set by the same driver on the same track using the same methodology. The evolution of performance can be tracked right here.

Over the years we’ve relied on the talents of our in-house Gyro Gearloose, testing director Kim Reynolds, to create and build a multitiered Racelogic Vbox system that captures not only lap times but also key data points that help us understand exactly how a BDC contender behaves during the lap, which enables us to correlate objective information with Randy’s subjective commentary. But for 2018, Kim’s triple-redundancy setup has been augmented with the brand-new Vantage CL1 data-logging system from Racepak.

Racepak’s CL1 multichannel data acquisition unit receives data directly from a vehicle’s OBD II port (including engine revs, coolant temperature, and throttle position) and merges it with any external channels you choose, plus its own highly accurate accelerometer and GPS data (including mph). Then it’s Bluetoothed to (and stored in) a windshield-mounted iPhone so Randy can see, real-time, his speed and how much he’s ahead or behind his best previous lap on its display. Simultaneously, the app sends the data, via cell connection, to a server in Phoenix, where the information is rendered into graphics and overlaid onto a swipeable and rotatable track map. Racepak president Tim Anderson says the highly intuitive graphic interface allows team members to watch, as it happens, a car’s performance from anywhere in the world.

Randy will start Day 1 with the all-wheel-drive cars and lower-powered contenders. For Day 2, he’ll open with the big dogs from PerformanceJunk WP Feed 3 https://ift.tt/2PRhjS6 via IFTTT

[scottyunfamous]

My First (and Last) Fitness Rave

Whaddup fancy face!

Let me start by saying how awesome it is to know that you’re all as awkward as me! I thought my last post was going to make me look strange(er than usual), but then everyone was like ‘Omg bitch, same!’, so now I feel less weird about finding hiding places to work out in, in the gym lol. I have a holiday off of work this week and will be attempting the weights room…and all of its horrors *cough* men *cough*.

Two weeks ago my betch, Delia-Rene (Vexy, for my SDTV heads), hit me up to go to a fitness rave. Yes heaux, a whole rave for fitness! She’s embarked on her own fitness journey and previously attended DJ Melody Kane’s, ‘No Kane, No Gain’. After watching it back on her Snapchat I thought, ‘Rah, that’s actually a dope idea’, so when she presented ‘The Night Shift’ to me I was totally up for it…plus early bird tickets were £5, and heaux, until we upgrade from this pre-rich bank account, frugal is life.

The Night Shift’s tagline was, ‘Don’t get drunk, get pumped!’ If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ll know that getting drunk is one of my favourite pastimes…(as is getting pumped…*wink*), so it didn’t light a fire under me right away. Honestly, I kept wondering how much more fun it would be to work out whilst drunk. I tried working out whilst high once, but a side effect of weed is cotton mouth. I was too thirsty to continue so I ended up eating snacks and watching the rest of my Zumba DVD from the comfort of the sofa. T’was a productive day.

Back to the fitness rave.

If you follow me on Snapchat, you already know I go to the gym looking ruff and tuff like carpet fluff (though since the hot new guy has started working in my gym I’ve made an effort to do my hair, and by do my hair I mean secure my wig) but this was a RAVE, which (in Scotty-land) means that extraness was allowed, so I swapped my mash up house clothes for some mesh panel leggings, a fitted top, boxer braids and my regular dick appointment makeup (5 minute makeup for when you wanna make an effort for bae, but not really).

The event was held in the Camden Centre. There was stage with a DJ playing some big tunes, two male trainers and a room full of women of all shapes, sizes and ethnicities, patiently waiting for the inevitable torture to begin, underneath a domed ceiling with a chandelier/disco ball thing and colourful strobe lights.

The smoke machine billowed cooling smoke across the stage, and all I could think was…what about us? Bitch, it was HOT! There wasn’t a lick of air conditioning in there, just two dibby-dibby windows opened wide enough to do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING FOR ANYBODY, a fan near the front that might as well have been switched off because made no fucking difference, and a bag of bitches with body heat. But I was excited same way, fancy faces. I couldn’t wait to lose this weight in my very first fitness rave.

After doing our obligatory snapping so that Snapchat could see how extra healthy (and generally extra we are), the class began. We placed ourselves towards the back -in the middle so that we’d be less noticeable in the sea of bodies when we skipped the exercises we didn’t want to do, and to make escape easier. These were regular occurrences.

We began with boxercise to soca music. I’m a soca head so I was HERE for it. It’s hard to get tired or fed up when soca music is on (not that it stopped the tiredness altogether, but it helped).  It was like carnival…but not anywhere near as fun. Fun is easily annihilated when you start asking people to do burpees…or any kind of floor work, and bitch, there was floor work galore! Now, I can’t really complain because more time when they asked us to do shit we wasn’t finna do, it either meant that it was time for a fake water break, an option #2 (which is a nice way of saying ‘it looks like that hard ass move you want me to do is working these particular muscles, so I’mma find a lazy ass way to work them without doing what the fuck you told me to do’), or straight up giving each other the ‘seasoned friendship look’ (you know the look, the one that is like you saying 'bitchhhh' without saying it) and not doing it.

At the start, when we didn’t want to do something at all, there were half-assed attempts to make it look like we were trying, just so the trainers wouldn’t notice that much. An example of said attempt was being instructed to do press ups, but instead of actually moving, you just lie on the ground with your hands in position and wait for everyone else to finish so you can reserve the energy you don’t have for the next move.

Stop judging me.

In my defence, for every exercise I did not attempt, I made up for it but dancing inappropriately to the music because carnival is coming and I need to start flexin my ultimate inner heaux. I’m making this sound really bad, like we went there and didn’t do shit lol. We did, I promise lol. By the end of it we were sweating and tired as fuck.

There was a half an hour break before the next section (body conditioning to trap and grime music) began. I’m generally not a huge fan of this kind of music, but even I can admit that it’s actually decent to work out to. It’s mad hype, so in turn, you also get hype. Everything was going well, and by well I mean that there was even more fucking floor work, which I was damn tired of by that point and stopped even trying to make it look like I was attempting it. You know them ones where the trainer walks by and you’re so over it that when they yell out ‘Keep going’ in a general direction (but you know it’s meant for you), you just look them in the face like ‘fight me’?

Two-twos (I’m showing my age…also, why was this ever slang?), one of the girls that was lying on the floor with me while everyone else did push ups earlier, decided to up her viva and attempt the excessive floor work. Next thing you know, the bitch is screaming down the building, laying on the round with a bunch of people around her coz she done fucked around and fucked up her knee. Things were swiftly put on pause as the ambulance was called.

At that point I wondered what any normal person would in that situation… “Does this mean we can go home now?”

Stop judging me.

Bitch, don’t nobody need to work out for 3 mu’uh fuckin’ hours. It is too much. Plus, I was starving. Some (just me, by myself) may even say that I was wasting away to practically nothing!

Naturally, I tried to get Delia’s determined ass to agree to leave, but she was like, “I spent £5 for this shit, bitch. We are staying.” Inside I died a thousand hangry (hungry/angry) deaths, but a part of me was proud and inspired that she was willing to push through and challenge (kill) herself (us), that tenacious slut bucket.

Shit like this is why having a support system on your weight loss  journey is very helpful, because when you wanna give up, there’s always someone nuff enough to force you to keep going.

I’ll admit, her can-do attitude rubbed off on me as the night (regrettably) continued. We were instructed to stand away from the injured girl still lying on the floor (much care, so sensitive), and they moved onto the 90s R&B section to do abs. As we kicked our legs up in the air and squatted down low, I yelled at my friend, with absolutely no shame ‘DO IT FOR THE DICK, BITCH!’ Sometimes you just need to think of how much better in bed exercise will make you. I know this sounds like a joke, but it’s not –penis is part of my motivation, heaux! I’m tryna do some skinny bitch ‘pick me up and fuck me mid-air without your legs shaking’ kinda shit.

I’m struggling in these skreetz so my legs can go all the way back without my stomach doubling up and pressing the air out of my lungs. I’m putting in work with this squat life so I can do 30-day squat challenge on the dick for more than three (two) minutes (seconds) before reverting to that grinding shit we like doing so much.

All in all, it was fine but literally the whole night just felt like the same moves done over and over again to different music. We definitely got a workout but I feel like the next time they do it they should get a female trainer as well. I’ve noticed that male and female trainers train you slightly differently. Men are more focused on strengthening/sculpting whereas women will mix it up with a bit more cardio.

I think part of my disappointment with the event was that I hoped for a different atmosphere, something more light-hearted and fun since it was meant to be a fitness RAVE. I pictured lots of whooping, cheering and upbeat encouragement like I experience in my Zumba class. This felt quite serious. The fun for me only really came at the end when we the DJ flung on Candy by Cameo and sped it up.

I wish that they’d provided yoga mats or at least informed us to bring our own because the floor we were doing all of that godforsaken floor work on was polished and hard as shit to stay stable on. I get very sweaty palms when I get hot, so doing press ups and all that was a myth because I kept slipping and sliding. Also, on the flyer we were promised fresh food and smoothies…we got neither. Instead they were charging £1 for a bottle of water that you could buy for 55p from the corner shop.

Also, this has nothing to do with exercise; more a marketing opportunity missed out on in the name of seriousness, but the instructors were tall, well-formed black men in a room full of women…why did no one take their shirt off, plis?

I think that if I did ever decide to do one of these again, it would probably be aerobics or something. I can do Serious Sally in the gym. If I go to fitness rave, I want fun. I know some of you are probably like, 'Heaux, that’s not the point of it,' and you’d be right, fun is not the point, but bitch, when you are not a gym bunny/fitness freak, fun helps.

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Fancy something a little more daring? Read chapters 1-5 of my sexy, award-winning urban romance, Running Wilde (new chapter posted every Friday)

Until next time, fancy face

Love Scotty x