#what can i say like... brocedes really got me good

[wisteriagoesvroom]

Little brothers of mine

The Guides -- Margaret Widdemer [x] // On Speaking Quietly with My Brother -- Jay Deshpande [x] // It Was The Animals -- Natalie Diaz [x] // The Night Before I Leave Home -- Elisa Gonzalez [x] // I Cast It Away, My Body -- william bearheart [x] // My Brothers Mirror -- Donald Platt [x] // Youth -- Tom Sleigh [x] // There, There, Grieving -- Zeina Hashem Beck [x] // Two Set Out On Their Journey -- Galway Kinnel [x] // stray birds -- Rabindranath Tagore [x] // [When night draws on, remembering keeps me wakeful] -- al-Khansāʾ [x] //

and special thanks @blorbocedes for the final LH soundbite gif (screenshot) because i couldn't find it anywhere else

[fourtyforever]

Get in losers were making a fic rec masterlist

Hi y’all it’s me, your local multishipper, and I’m about to be the change I wish to see in the world by putting all the best f1 fics in one place.

Maxiel

cool things to say to your soulmate by @powerful-owl (E, 14k)

A collection of shorter soulmate stories by the great em powerfulowl. Essentially the maxiel thesis as far as I’m concerned. If you ever catch me talking about the goose fic, this is what I’m talking about. Fun story: this was actually the first F1 rpf I ever read and I blame it for why my standards are so fantastically high.

Thursday girl by @boxboxlewis (M, 3k)

Max is outed by the press. Shocking emotional impact to word ratio and off the charts tenderness. Short and sweet and low key a comfort read to me.

the being unknown by anonymous (E, 12k)

Body swap with really unique and emotional vibes. Ngl this one hurt me (in the best way). A fantastic and heart-wrenching take on the horrors of 2022.

Charlos

win or lose (it’s how you play the game) by @f1-stuff (E, 18k)

Hickey bet between charles and carlos. Cannot get over this fic for as long as I live: the silliness is off the charts, the vibes are literally the most perfectly balanced tenderhorny I’ve ever read and the writing is just really that good. I think about this fic minimum once a day.

last night by venerat (E, 24k)

College au. Ngl this one is just especially spicy, but also very very funny and fully captivating top to bottom (see what I did there? haha). Also a great ensemble cast here, which I always love.

Once more (before we die) by @f1-stuff (M, 6k)

Fantasy AU where charlos are princes of warring kingdoms. I love this AU and I love the tenderness between Charles and Carlos that we get out of it. I’m usually not really an AU type of gal but this one really did change my mind.

Playing games by @vegasgrandprix (T, 4K)

Gay chicken. WIP, but I can already tell so clearly exactly where this is going and that is delightful to me. Honestly this really is how they act like 90% of the time already.

Yukierre

match made in heaven by venerat (T, 4K)

Pierre is yuki’s matchmaker. this one is just so sweet and sooooo silly. Comfort read 100%

Loscar

Are they gay or European? (the answer is both) by periwinkle_bumper_cars (T, 30k)

Logan keeps walking in on other drivers in compromising positions. 100% balls to the wall silliness from beginning to end and just completely delightful the whole time. Background carlando, kmag/hulkenberg, brocedes, maxiel, and honestly the ensemble cast is what takes this one from great to top tier.

Landoscar

By a thread by @mctwinkdom (E, 32k)

The classic Australian thongs misunderstanding (gone sexual). Incredibly silly, amazingly hot and honestly a top-tier character study of both Oscar and Lando. A great study in unreliable narration as well (probably part of what accounts for my previous point).

carried away by orphan account (E, 22k)

Fake dating. Honestly this one got me in my feels so much more than I expected from the premise. Sweet and a little bit angsty and just a delightful read all the way down.

Strollonso

green light, red wine (and I don’t feel fine) by @vicsy (E, 19k)

Mafia AU where lance is the son of Fernando’s arch nemesis. THEE strollonso fic of all time I tell you. Unparalleled characterization on the part of both nando and lance, fantastic ensemble cast, FANTASTIC writing, and off the charts unreal spiciness. If you haven’t read this yet then what are you doing

El dick plan by @waddlingpenguin (E, 800)

Lance says ‘daddy,’ both Fernando and Lawrence answer. Short, sweet and SILLY.

camera roll by @penaltyboxboxbox (E, 5k)

Sexting/sex tapes. Overall nice and spicy and just fantastic characterization. Also absolutely crucial is the companion art also by dave penaltyboxboxbox which is literally like the ice cream on top of the cake for such a wonderful fic

silver platter by @wewentcarracing (E, 10k)

getting together fic featuring long suffering estie bestie. Honestly the fic is amazing and spicy and just so well written but Esteban’s ever growing dismay is lowkey my favorite part. Works as a pretty great lance character study as well.

Brocedes

Roseberg’s vs haminkton by @jean----ralphio (E, 16k)

Tattoo artist versus flower shop, except they’re rivals. This is like…just how they are honestly. Absolutely stunning ensemble cast and absolutely hilarious buildup to lewis and Nico finally getting together. Side order of seb just being a massive shit stirrer which honestly I think is the role he belongs in

The real reason nico rosberg retired by periwinkle_bumper_cars (G, 3k)

Secret Santa (gone horribly wrong). This is…..also just how they are unfortunately. The rancidest of vibes but also screeching-out-loud funny.

will be updating this on the reg so stay tuned for more good fics. also maybe if I am very lucky someday I will have my own fics to add to the list. definitely I need to become slightly more insane before I can start writing for this fandom but believe you me I’m well on my way.

[ham1lton]

you said u read ao3 fics! what are your f1 recs?

ahhh!!!!! this is the best question you could have ever asked me like ever i love you so much. i’ve been dying to talk abt this for a hot minute. i opened myself up to any sort of ship mostly because i cared more abt the fic quality then the ship you know? kinda glad i did it because my fav ones are not necessarily ships i am a fan of. it’s really long so i put it under a read more!!

okay so number one has to be the fic that was my first fav f1 fic. this is steal the air out of my lungs (make me feel it). now this has a lot of elements that i love. guy who’s in his own head vs other guy who’s also in his own head but pretends he isn’t. also idk why but i’m always a sucker for a good medical au and this one fucking delivers!!! another maxiel fic i read was three rounds and a sound which has coffee shop owner daniel w/ stressed out student max. a lot of introspection but it’s also unfolding while the romance is. idk i just love this. it’s so good. last maxiel fic is come on, star boy which is a alt universe where daniel is the american guy he always wanted to be and max is the new transfer to his small town’s football team. it isn’t just incredibly written but everyone feels so real and vivid. i can visually see this in my mind everytime i read it. i listened to a lot of ethel cain while reading so that helped. i love this so much and the brocedes in the background?? you’ll never get away from the sound of the woman that loves youuu 🗣️

i’m not really a landoscar girl, i’m gonna be honest. however, where i am going is right where i am, is just incredible. alt universe where the drivers live on a street version of stars hollow? brocedes that influence everything even though they’re long over? charles being insane over max? pierre hating on esteban every second that is possible (i was laughing every time he would just cuss his ass out unprovoked) and annoying george being their street’s version of gilmore girls’ taylor?? what more do u need in ur life?? also oscar in this fic is just my dream man. i think a croissant from him would fix me. actually i read a lot of this author’s landoscar fics and they’re so cute i was sending kudos as much as i can. like already home! just want to bite them both and put them in my pocket. they’re so obviously in love i want to shake them down and scream and smoosh them together. lawyer!oscar i love you. check out their profile!! incredible writer :)))

i’m also not a galex truther but the two of us, in sympathy is so cute!! rich boy!george with broke junior doctor!alex. george attempting to court alex and just absolutely failing. i love it. they’re such a mess i need them in my life. also this loscar future fic is so intense but incredible. i’m really bad at describing but i binged it on my train home and i was really glad i did - i promised to forget you now.

the reason i even got into f1 aka brocedes. this fic i think was one of the first i read. on the faultline which is just amazing. i can’t recommend it enough. read it if u can. another fav is a brocedes threesome with their toxic fucking each other via proxy aka new money, and it’s all cash. cute brocedes!! nico thinks lewis is his sworn enemy but everyone knows otherwise. roseberg’s vs haminkton. this was so cute and funny. cause why was nico saying lewis, the owner of a tattoo shop was stealing business from him… when he owns a florists… he’s so dramatic i want to tuck him in my pocket. this job will take my sole has the same premise but they’re both shoe shops which makes a lot more sense. i just love stupid rivalries and dramatic nico.

now back to my sweethearts, the lights of my life, the fires of my heart - sewis. all of these fics have past brocedes just for context. every tongue should confess talks about religion and queer identity in such a nuanced and delicate way? i adored this fic. transmotion which is another alt universe with fashion designer!lewis and footballer!sebastian both figuring out their careers, themselves and their relationship. maybe together we can get somewhere - this is an mpreg fic which usually isn’t for me but it’s about seb and lewis going on a road trip for an abortion and it’s so good. honestly the ending line of ‘it’s a good feeling, to know that sebastian’s outstretched hand is right there.’ it just stuck with me. i loved it. the numbering at bethlehem which is thee sewis fic to me. professor au?? this was made for me. like perfectly moulded. everything about this is art. i could do a full essay on this fic. just read it, it’s incredible. just amazing. sebastian as the child prodigy who has nowhere else to climb?? i love them both in this fic so much!!! tnab sewis get behind me!! i’m gonna protect u!!

okay i’m sorry this is so long. i just love art. i love writing. i just love the work these authors’ have spent putting together these masterpieces for free!! check them out!! leave kudos!! comment!! <3

[kirasworldofwords]

Also, small announcement from my side: I'm working on a new fic! First chapter is already out, though from here on, I will not continue posting more until the story is fully finished - so this one won't go down the drain like the other one, lmao.

It's called Shadow Ops, like the TV series from 2013 (big thanks to my bestie @ill-procastinato for giving me this name idea, you're the best!) and it's an alternative universe where a few Formula 1 drivers become part of the FBI! This fic will include Hulknussen, Chestappen, Pierresteban, Landoscar, Zhouttas, Webbonso, Charlos, Brocedes and platonic Sargebon and is rated E for spicy things down the line and majorly described injuries as well as descriptions of dead people and swearing.

Included are: Nico Hülkenberg (main), Kevin Magnussen (main), Sergio Pérez, Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, Alexander Albon, Logan Sargeant, Zhou Guan Yu, Valtteri Bottas, Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber, Carlos Sainz Jr., Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg and Jenson Button. George Russel is mentioned here or there, but I won't dive too deep into his role - you'll see why.

There's action, there's love, there will be death and I will make it heartbreaking at certain points. My notes are filled to the brim with stuff I want to include.

I'm really excited about this! And I hope so are you all. 🫶🏻

Have a teaser under the cut!

As soon as he arrived at work and clocked in, he got greeted by one of the many familiar faces of his team and smiled happily. "Good morning, Checo!", the German greeted his colleague, the team's toxicologist, who looked up from the documents he carried to his lab in slight surprise at first but quickly smiled gently. "Buenos días, Nico. Had a good weekend?", the man inquired, waiting for the Special Agent to catch up with him who breathed out a small chuckle. "Relatively, yes. Had a talk with my mom over the phone on Saturday, first one in ages, it feels like. She really misses me. Currently planning my vacation to Emmerich already. What about you?", Nico explained a bit, and Checo nodded along before sighing. "Mmh, could've been better. My sister currently tries to execute a plan to get herself and our parents out of Mexico and into the States. Apparently, the cartel got wind of my occupation and now they're pressuring my parents to get me to come back so they can bleed me dry, basically. It's... a lot to take in.", the Mexican vented a bit, earning himself a sympathetic pat on the shoulder from Nico. "Sounds like a lot of work... I'm positive you can get through this, though. You're Sergio Pérez after all, you can do anything.", he uplifted his colleague who laughed and nodded as he slowed down - he had reached his lab.

"I just need to remember to never give up. That's all.", the smaller man confirmed, having Nico nod at that before they parted ways for the time being, the German now on his way to his own office. He greeted Pierre with a hearty "good morning" as well as the Frenchman rushed past him, the forensic pathologist only shouting a hurried "Morning!" in return. He seemed quite busy, so Nico decided not to interfere.

While on his way to his office, Nico suddenly got dragged into another room - his boss Jenson's office. Nico's partner in crime Kevin was there already as well, the two greeting each other shortly as the German blond closed the door behind himself hastily as he stumbled inside from Jenson dragging him so harshly. "What a way to say good morning at fucking 8 AM, Jenson... What's up? New job?", he asked, and the British man nodded with a serious look on his face. "Brand new job indeed. I already told Kevin all the details, he'll drive you over to the crime scene." - that was all Nico got from his boss, understanding that the Dane next to him would explain everything in detail during their ride to the scene.

As Nico learned later on from Kevin, their victim of the day was a young man, estimated to be somewhere in his mid-twenties and from Great Britain.

[blorbocedes]

hi, hi!!! as the resident brocedes herstorian, i just had a few questions. i'm relatively new to f1, literally only got into it cause i saw one really compelling edit of lestappen on tiktok but then!!! tiktok showed me a brocedes edit and well i've always been a slut for a good tragedy, especially between friends. i think i have the gist of what happened between them but like are there any posts where it's been broken down into detail?? also why does everyone treat nico like he's the villain in this relationship??? and i guess my final question is what happened between schumacher and nico? i saw some people say there were mind games between them??? esp on schumi's end??? also what are these mind games every fic says nico was playing on lewis??? does lewis really not give a shit about nico anymore??? i dont know how many more sad tiktoks of brocedes i can handle 😭😭😭

anyway thank you for the work you do, i love going through your blog!! <33333

hello! for in depth brocedes lore and breakdowns click here (there's... a LOT!)

for why nico's treated as the villain by fandom click here

@manykinsmen also has very insightful essays on nico which is less brocedes focused but a fascinating read, highly recc his blog alongside @distantlaughter and @keepthedelta my nicologist holy grails

schumie era mind games lore here! (schumie was shirtless and hot! nico got hot and bothered as a twink! pissplay?!)

ultimately my, and everyone else's, opinions on it all is subjective. im not inside their heads I can't tell you what they're thinking, just my interpretation of it. and then you can have your own interpreting that's completely different from mine ^—^ happy clicking!

[maxemilianverstappen]

Hey I am a new f1 fan and i have to say Lestappen is the reason I actually got into f1 recently and I jus realised that Lestappen is the most followed ship tag on f1 tumblr. Why do you think ppl seem to navigate towards Lestappen even though as a ship, we hardly get content as opposed to some other ships, say, Maxiel piarles carlando etc.

Like the amount of fics for Lestappen or their dynamic in general seem to attract more fans than the usual f1 ships. I wonder why. Is it cuz of the enemies to lovers trope or cuz both of them are cuties who have a seemingly intriguing vibe between them or ?

Hello new fan 👋

I can't speak for everyone, but I can talk about why I came to like them:

Purely from an aesthetic perspective, they look absolutely irresistible together. They are both very handsome/pretty guys. They really have this beautiful and vibrant energy around them as individuals, and when they are together, they look like someone's fever dream. So, it is very understandable for people to look at them and think: "Wow, these two would look so fucking hot doing nasty/bad/good/horrible/lovely things to each other, let's write them down so everyone can agree with me."

But it is never just this simple.

Lestappen's true allure lies in the way that their destiny seems to be literally intertivined from day one.

Their past before their F1 careers is filled with so much lore as I am sure you're having fun reading about. They have literally been racing against each other since they were toddlers. Everyone who knows them both says that they are of equal talent in different flavors. That they are generational talents and if they're given the machinery and team atmosphere that they deserve, we'll be in a delicious few years of them fighting for championships against each other (i am looking at you, ferrari). So, the childhood rivals narrative is already grand. At this point, I need to say that I liken them to a reverse Brocedes (brocedes were childhood best friends who broke apart as adults due to their championship rivalry. Lestappen is childhood enemies who as adults became closer and I hope if they get to fight for a WDC, they'll get even more closer like Launt and Makkinen.)

They fit all the popular media tropes both as a couple and as individuals:

They are the Sun and the Moon, the Red Oni&Blue Oni, the Fire and Ice/Water. All the best dichotomies you can think of... Dichotomies are attractive for people and in narration because they generally deal with people sewn from the same cloth who have turned out different due to their circumstances, meanwhile being fundamentally the same. Like both sides of a coin...

They also both fit into these contrasting roles and subvert the trope, too. (I am on the 'subvert the fanpopular assigned roles' team because people cannot be fit into simple stereotypes.)

More than the Enemies to Lovers trope (which i always approach varily because most people write Max like a brute and Charles as a helpless damsel), I think the Fated/Starcrossed Lovers, the Mirror of One's Self/One's Better Half/Soulmates tropes are much more explorable and lend themselves to character study better. Because, their situation looks both simple and yet very complicated.

Of course, I am speculating here as a fanfiction author who works on what I can see/read about these men, but apart from the "differents attract" and the "twink/hunk" flavoured fics going around, what pulls people in is how they seem to have been literally created for each other, this connected by the red string of fate thing they have going on. Their whole worlds seem to be revolving around each other:

They just can't help themselves about showing their fascination with each other (one more so openly and loudly, the other is a bit reserved about it, but slowly slipping and it is delicious to watch).

They are each other's both destinied and chosen rivals (God, the intimacy of this shit right here... leaves no room for anyone else to even be an "afterthought" as long as they have each other in their sights as their target).

The single minded attention they have for anything the other does even if they pretend to not pay attention (they do).

The tension between them. (Sometimes spicy with adrenaline and the need to best the other and sometimes tasting like soft, years long unnamed yearning).

Unnamed, unlabeled... as if the moment they put a name on it, call it friendship, joke about it as a bromance, it will turn into something especially Charles doesn't seem that ready to embrace. Yeah, this is them... They have certainly been something for each other for years, since they were kids... That something grew with them, evolved, sometimes had very sharp edges, sometimes soft and fluffy... the way it never died off, never tapered off even when you think Max has become everything Charles has ever wanted to be, gained everything he has ever wished for meanwhile Charles can only watch and possibly blamed himself for falling short and feeling admiration warring with jealousy in his heart whenever Max looks back at him with an expectant smile as if wanting to share his happiness with him. Possibly hoping that one day, when Charles achieves his dream, he will also look at him with a soft smile and be happy with him, too.

God, it must have twisted Charles' heart so badly when he realized that Max genuinely wants to share his joy with him instead of how he expected him to rub it in his face like many others have done to each other and many people believed Max would have done to him. The way Max is so soft and sunny and kind and thoughtful when Charles must have been expecting a merciless killing machine ready to tear him apart both with his words and his on track moves. But the reverse happened and it is so compelling, like, how the hell Max can be so soft for this guy who repeatedly said he hated him in the past as if he wanted to keep the distance as stable as possible. Lol, it is like we are watching an ice castle named Charles crumble irl, and I bet it is a spectacle for the people of the fandom.

And also, the way Charles can be written as someone who thinks he has more to lose if he falls for/accepts his love for Max, because he might feel he is always going to lose to him and never win against him in a meaningful way... (Here, I must say I don't like the fics where they write Max willingly losing to Charles after they become an item. Charles wants a fight and wants it especially from Max, because in his eyes only Max's kind of fight is both "just" and on par with the way he believes what racing is actually about. This is what made him fall in love with the sports and also with Max.) This right here is soooo juicy to pass for the lovers of angst. You can write Max as his mirror that he both wants to smash and also adore like narcissus did, the way you can write them as soulmates in which Charles feels trapped by his fate, the way you can write them as My Better Half whom I hate....

They elicit a huge emotional response in the fans/consumers of fanworks. So, it is only understandable for people to seek out those strong emotions again and again. They induce heart palpitations and it is an addicitive rush of serotonin and dopamine, so who are we to deny ourselves the pleasure of enjoying them?

[ladysomething]

Hello there lovely human 💛

I’m kind of going around my favorite writers and ask them for advice and insights about their process (so I can collect it all like a hoarder). I hope you mind sharing some wisdom with us 🥺

So what I just don't understand is how you can post as you write while maintaining this level of awesomeness in your writing. Without writing yourself into a corner and keeping consistency. And it is awesome, the first time I read "You and me, we got a big reputation" I stayed up till 4 in the morning to finish it and it left me full of emotion and hollow at the same time (the same way as when you finish a great TV show or a good book or an awesome video game leaves you feeling, like something beautiful just ended and you can never experience it again. The kind of hollow that leaves you wondering what to do with your life now, that your world has changed, where your chest is empty and full at same time).

Anyway, how do you approach your ideas? Do you have the whole fic plotted out before sitting down for the first chapter? Do you write in order? Does it always go the way you plotted it in the beginning? How long did it take you to plot out "Where you go I go"? Or "You and me, we got a big reputation"?

Anything you want to share about your process would be appreciated 💛

I'm trying to put into words my first actually long fic ever and I know it will be better if I post it after it is all finished, but it is also easier to keep up the momentum if you have readers on your side.

hi!!!

firstly, thank you for the love on big reputations. I'm coming up on a year since I posted the first one shot in the don't blame me series, and I'm feeling some type of way about that.

secondly ... man oh man. I'm gonna go question by question here, but I'm gonna put it below the cut because I know I'm gonna ramble.

well the first thing is that I'm not posting as a write, not really. I'm three chapters ahead, which for me is what I need to make sure I don't write myself into a corner. I'm far enough ahead that I can keep control of the narrative. some people like be further ahead, others don't need to be ahead at all, but that's about the appropriate distance for me, I've found.

it depends on the fic! wygig is pretty much entirely plotted out, yeah. big reputations was not. I had a general idea about where it started, how it was ending, and what I wanted to happen in the middle, but specific scenes weren't planned - not like wygig. GMTF I had specific scenes in my head that I wanted to write, but more I had specific emotions I was trying to capture, and I built the plot around that. in my original manuscript, I had the three acts planned out, the main plot points per act, and then felt it out as I went (which ended up meaning I had a serious pacing problem that is still unresolved, hence why it's still sitting in my drafts lmao). so yeah, it depends on the story.

I write in order these days, but I didn't used to. I've just found that, for me, writing in order means that it forces me to keep writing, because I HAVE to go through all the boring scenes to get to the fun scenes. I use it as motivation, but that doesn't work for everyone! it certainly means that sometimes, by the time I get to the fun scene, I've forgotten what I had planned for it, so I have to build it all up again lmao.

no it doesn't always go the way I plotted! characters often do things I hadn't planned for them to do - sometimes good, sometimes bad. I've been going very rogue recently with wygig, as @saiyanwitcher can attest to. she's had to reel me back in quite a lot recently haha.

oh god, it took @saiyanwitcher and I probably .. I'd say we worked on plotting wygig for a solid month before I started writing - BUT the major caveat here is that I was writing the brocedes fic while we were plotting it out. so I refused to start writing wygig until I finished that, which meant we spent more time on plotting than I usually would. and then we revisit plot points as I get closer to writing them - see what can be kept, what needs to be deleted, what needs to be changed to fit the rogue elements I've inevitably introduced lmao

as I said, I didn't really plot big reputations out like I did with wygig, so that didn't really take any time at all! haha

as advice for putting together your first long fic ... what I'll say is this. I've been writing for almost 15 years at this point. I didn't even realise that I was coming up with a way to write that works best for me until I'd already done it.

I realised I needed people to give feedback as I go. I need to have written a lot in advance, before I start posting anything, so that I know I can finish it under my own steam and that my interest will continue. I need to listen to my mind when I get bored, and take a few days break from writing - but I can't go more than a week without touching a fic, otherwise I won't go back.

they're all things you'll learn along the way!

I also think you should try not to compare yourself to others. if you try to match what other people are doing, you'll never finish, because you'll end up disappointed in one way or another. it's easier said than done, for sure, but if it's your first, give yourself some slack and take everything as a learning experience!

and remember, above all else, to write for yourself. if your always writing for yourself, writing what YOU want to see, the motivation is easier to find.

[drivestraight]

HEYYYY LINEARITY IM DRUNK AF RN BUT JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT IVE BEEN READING YOUR FICS SINCE OBJECTS IN THE MIRROR CAME OUT AND IM SUCH A HUGE FAN!!! Now apologies for the capslock, but seriously you are a fantastic writer and I love everything you’ve written, so now I shall give my frankly irrelevant kudos, and general glazing. Firstly, objects in the mirror is such a great fic series??? but particularly “all to play for”??. like i love how you wrote charles as so determined and desperate for something that he feels like he must. i think he differs from max in that he HAS to win a championship, for his father, for jules and there’s just so many expectations and wants resting on his shoulders but throughout all of this I don’t think he truly knows what he desires. Max is so different, he’s constrained by so many expectations (mostly jos verstappen’s) but he’s completely opposite from charles in that he knows what he wants and I just love the last sentence, the first time i read it i screamed, then couldn’t get it out of my head of literal months. it’s so painfully ambiguous but i think that’s the true wonder of it, you don’t know as the reader if charles gets what he’s been sacrificing for, you don’t know if his bargain was worth it and this just gives me brocedes vibes in the best possible way. I still dream of this fic. NEXT ONTO WINNING MENTALITY, so this was the fic that introduced me to george russell and MAN was it painful in the best way possible. i love the concept of right person (???) WRONG TIME that permeates this like a particularly good syrup on vanilla cake. i just want to wrap russell up in an albon flavored hug but at the end you make it really clear that moving on was the right choice, even when it hurts and WOW this was so well written. man… i love the way you write max so so much. NOW TIME FOR HEART OUT, my absolute favorite slutty max fix GOD max you got to get it together!!! he won’t fix you and he won’t be your daddy please max it’s completely your choice but give poor charles a chance! this is one of the things you read once and can’t bring yourself to touch ever again because it’s so pure. love it. i am so goddamn tired and i’m sorry for ranting in your asks but three more fics to review/die over before i pass out. KITTY CONUNDRUM charles.. you gotta be more careful with packages from people! thankfully max is a cat person indeed (dogboy max when??? haha… unless) also charles trying to make max jealous in such a silly way and SUCCEEDING man charles you’re so adorable, never change. SECOND TO LAST he just turned in like i didn’t exist, OSCARLOS MY MUTUAL PLEASE PLEASE also i think it’s adorable how oscar thinks so clearly, in my mind i just imagine him mentally doing the dialup modem sound whenever he’s confused. NOW FINALLY RIGHT BEFORE I PASS (out! away! both!) YOUR NEWEST FIC OMG I WANTED TO DIE (affectionately) AFTER THAT CAR CRASH OF A RELATIONSHIP OSC YOU CARE BOTH TOO MUCH AND TOO LITTLE AND IT PHYSICALLY HURTS ME TO WATCH YOU. also lando please get your shit together, i know it’s uncharitable for me to say so but ugh m’boy… you deserve the world (and oscar) but back to oscar nooooo i just want to protect him from the world he’s so messed up in the best way and you can see that he’s just rolling with the punches which is working pretty well for him (f1 seat!) but he’s going against verstappen who 1. has a lot less to lose compared to him 2. is much more experienced with avoiding getting hit by consequences (ie. jos verstappen) and it’s gonna be osc who suffers!!! also every single max appearance i just imagined him doing the smug cat face and it cracked me up so much more then it should have. ALRIGHT, I HAVE TO LEAVE, THANK YOU FOR YOUR EXISTENCE AND HAVE A GREAT DAY!

tldr: i’m in love with your writing please marry me we can get twinklaren themed rings

first of all i literally gasped when i received this ask 😭❤️🥹

this response is going to be really really long so it'll go under a cut HAHA; sorry for the few days delay - i really wanted to make sure i did it justice because it was so lovely!

since objects in mirror came out!!! holy crap that's 20 whole months with me... and please it could never be irrelevant... i like all fic writers love compliments 😭 and god yeah... objects in mirror series was so crazy. i really did mean it when i put in the notes of leave no space that it was a labor of love. wasn't even in the f1 fandom/didn't really know anyone on f1blr or who liked f1 except for a handful of people etc, and was just silently writing the fic, and to this day i'm so astounded by the amount of people who like it + are still finding it and reading it and leaving lovely little messages. and god yeah posting this fic was so crazy to me because of the overwhelming instant response of so many many lovely comments. idk how to explain it that well, but the comments on all to play for especially are still something i read through every now and then. they're just very very meaningful and special, like overwhelmingly deep and detailed many of them were, tugged at my heartstrings etc. and the fic itself was just - such a labor that it made me so happy to know it paid off ten fold. thank you to everyone!!

and yeah. yeah. he could even eat a lion. does he?

i often thought about making a pt4 of the series but in all honesty i just really really really love where it all ends, a sort of ambiguity but unambiguity in a way - it all came full circle, and now all that's left is to win - but it was never really about that. i mean, it was all about that, but i guess the idea is that as you go through all the parts the world starts to expand and you start to get to know them as characters who aren't just racing machines, and they get to know each other as that too. with a lot of difficulties along the way and backsliding, especially in pt3. i really honestly don't think i could write a fic/series like objects in mirror again for f1. it was really one of those things you write when you're first getting into something, and sort of learning things along the way. the magic is all new and exciting and you want to get everything down on the page. not to say that i still don't have fun writing, it's just the sort of thing where you can only write certain things at certain levels of familiarity. writing objects in mirror for me was like, my own deep introduction into f1, learning how i loved it and what i loved about max and charles in that moment, etc. so i know i kind of sound like a broken record whenever i talk about it, but i feel honestly so happy that i could share that with an audience, and that people could go along with that hero's journey with me. blah blah blah it was also a part of me processing my own grief about my dad blah blah blah. anyway. no one cares about that part. thank you so much :)

and GOD. yeah man. winning mentality. another fic i was writing in complete silence lmao because i didn't think that Anyone would be interested in george/max fic at that point in time, and still to this day i feel like it's one of the fics i get the most, like, substantial comments on? not to say that there are unsubstantial comments, but the comments i get for winning mentality are usually meatier and more involved and it's so special to me to know that it, like, affected people and shit. a fun fact about that fic is that i almost ended it right before the final confrontation with alex. like i'd had that part written out dialogue-wise for a while but, after the "tell me something real" "i don't think i'm a very good person" part, i'd thought maybe it would be okay if the fic would end there, but BOY am i glad i didn't LOL. everyone seemed to love the "just because it will make a good story doesn't mean it needs to happen line" so much, and i love it a lot too.

girl max au! i had started writing this after i got back from my study abroad in greece (all to play for and winning mentality were the 2 fics i wrote while in greece... maybe my writing quality goes up when i'm in sunshine in a beautiful place near the water lmao. i gotta get out of nyc don't i), in like. highkey a month i don't remember very well... lots of partying and feeling awful the mornings after and writing girlmax was my way to cope with that during the day time LMAOOO. don't eat don't sleep just do it on repeat. and write girlmax during the day. it was so much fun to write, like it was just so much fun overall, and everyone also seemed to really enjoy bad at sex charles and hotgirl max. i love them so much too. i think about them all the time. hope they're doing well with their fat blonde babies

KITTY CHARLES FIC! yeah this fic was just completely fueled by the image of kittyboy charles and catlover max... since this is the latest (almost typed out last...) lestappen fic i've written, i feel like it was kind of, weirdly, the most developed version of them i've published - in that it's when i was most familiar with the dynamics, and it kind of felt like riding a bike. so much to the extent that i could kind of just, like, take it a little further. focus less on Them as individuals, go on automatic, and focus more on their dynamic and what i like about them: the physicality, the impulsiveness, the push and pull, the awkward conversations, the unfamiliarity, the barriers between them, etc. but the grounded understanding that when it matters they know each other better than anyone else. i think it came out quite nicely :)

carcar fic... man you're really hitting all the highlights of my f1 writing career LOL. yeah man. that one was also a big surprise to me. first off in how well it was received (i don't think i'd had a fic that instantly popular since objects in mirror series), and second of all how much fun i had while writing it (i say as if i didn't feel like i was covered in blood and thorns the entire way writing the second half LOL). it was a pleasure so i'm very happy you & many others enjoyed

last but not at all least, landoscar/norstappen fic. yeah man. yeahhh. when i was posting the fic + making my tumblr post about it i was like... i feel like i'm misrepresenting this as a cool fun casual threesome fic when in reality lksjf;lkdsjf man was it an emotional mess between the three of them. oscar cares both too much and too little. you're so right. he deeply deeply cares but he cares so much that he just shoots himself in the foot all the time. won't settle for halves. something i think about a lot in fic is this whole idea of "miscommunication" and "reciprocated feelings." it's a minor quip of mine, when in fic 2 people clearly like each other but they miscommunicate + prolong the getting together for the sole reason of "he doesn't like me back!" obviously i'm not saying that's bad and inherently worse, but i think it's really interesting when you go deeper than that. there's the indecision, and the uncertainty, of course, but there's also the consequences, worries about compatibility, and other things getting in the way, whether that's other people or a championship (re: objects in mirror and winning mentality are two good other examples i think where this was driven home) that might get in the way. i really love the idea of love triangles that aren't classic love triangles. people you have feelings for, maybe not necessarily romantic feelings, but feelings that are still substantial and earth-shattering, that get in the way of your relationships developing with other people. insecurities, being an outsider, hesitation. the physicality of it too, the discrepancy vs what you let on in your head and in your actions, and what you really want, how it's all perceived by other people - like mark said. oscar wants it more than anyone, but if he knew oscar any less, he'd think he didn't want it at all.

and yeah. max was just so funny to me during all of this. of course it's not so simple that he doesn't care about lando/doesn't have any stakes in anything that's happening - he's possessive with lando and casually cruel with oscar, overtly flippant, etc. and that could be explored more BUT ALSO it's just so funny. bro wanted his threesome so bad and was just driving over all of oscar's feelings 💀 me when i'm max verstappen.

ANYWAY. thank you for this lovely lovely ask ❤️

and thank you again HAHA i think it comes down to me hating dragging things out, so i feel like things eventually come to a natural stopping point in my fics, especially because i usually only ever have one "impetus" going on in a fic so they never end up having to be fleshed out for too long before they're resolved.

thank you thank you ahhhh this was such a lovely and special anon to get 🥹🥹🥹

[slythereen]

Helloooo, i have a genuine question about Charles going to redbull (let me just quickly say that i am not in any way hating on anyone, they're all very talented, so if it seems like i'm shitting on someone, i promise i'm not, it's 2am where i am, i'm very tired and i really just wanna know, and please corrcet me if i'm wrong when stating facts)

Yes, Max and Charles have the same driving style, and have all the lore from their karting days

But what I want to know is, in what world would redbull let Charles (consistently) beat Max? Max has been/ is redbulls golden child, he's been with them since 2016, and he's been very succesful with them, and maybe what i'm saying is wrong but i'll say it anyway: i do kind of believe the team is built around Max? (let's remember how many people were the other driver at rb with Seb and after he left now with Max, like he's the constant and obviously building a team is complicated and idk what goes into it but you can steer it into a certain direction)

And if Charles were to join rb, would he be content with playing second driver to Max Verstappen (who is a 3x wc, like we get angry when Charles has to be 2nd driver to Sainz (who has won like 2 grand prix's) on the occasion (happens too often))

( with this i want to mention the mercedes situation with Rosberg, schuhmacher and Hamilton, where after Michael had left, technically Nico should have been a priority (bcs he'd been there longer), but because Lewis already was a WC, Nico had to be 2nd driver again and brocedes happened) (not that the whole situation is even comparable to brocedes imo, lestappen doesn't even compare)

I truly think redbull are using the whole lestappen thing as a marketing strategy (let's all remember what it's build on) and to create a better image around Max, since they can't really use Daniel anymore because a) he's in the AT seat and b) we saw the uproar from Checo's fans who (rightly, imo) got mad at the whole situation during COTA

This turned out to be way longer than i thought

Hope you have a nice day/evening

🩷

Hello and happy (early) thanksgiving if you’re celebrating !!

I think everything you said is very true actually. I know Red Bull likes to say they aren’t built around Max, but they definitely are. And he’s definitely their golden boy. There’s no getting around that, as much as I think the Red Bull team genuinely likes Charles and would support him.

The reasons why I think that can work regardless:

A) Like you said, Ferrari treats him like a 2nd driver to Carlos half the time — which is just insulting, seeing how Charles should be their prioritized driver and Carlos is most certainly not the caliber of driver Max is. I don’t think he would want to be a true “number two” to Max nor do I think he deserves to be a second. However, if he’s going to get treated that way in Ferrari, I’d rather he get second driver treatment in a competent team where being less prioritized won’t damage him as much precisely because he and Max prefer the same style of car mostly.

B) I think if Red Bull were to sign Charles, they’d be doing it with the intention to try to be the team to do two number one drivers and succeed (unlike Mercedes). Liberty Media was very open and public about wanting Red Bull to have two top drivers for the entertainment value. Plus, it would be just one more thing for Red Bull to completely dominate and do that no one else can, which is very on brand for them. Obviously Max may get a bit more preference initially, but I think they’re smart enough strategically to be able to balance their support if it deserved to be balanced.

C) Mostly, however, I think Red Bull is also thinking ahead to the future. Max has been open about wanting to pursue other categories and other opportunities. Half the time he sounds like he might retire in 2028. So Red Bull needs to be prepared to 1) try to keep Max for longer and 2) have a new number one lined up for when he does leave.

I think Charles is a good candidate in their minds for many reasons, aside from the fact he’s just as talented as Max (arguably). Charles is extremely marketable and likable, without the baggage that Daniel brings (and frankly with more talent than Daniel brings). He gets along well with Max and they’ve been able to be friendly about their (f1) battles, both like to drive aggressively against eachother and therefore are more forgiving with eachother, etc. I think if you’re going to try to make Max accept an equal driver it needs to be Charles.* He’s also shown that he can play the team game and he’s historically been angelic about Ferrari in the media, despite how badly they’ve fucked him over. That’s very useful for Red Bull.

(*Lando is potentially a good candidate and Red Bull obviously has tried to get him before. But I don’t think he matches Max and Charles, which means he’d probably just be a good number two and not a true equal. Plus he and Max were always friends, and I think part of why Max and Charles could manage the more tense aspects of being competing teammates is the fact that they decidedly were not friends through karting.

Also, if the rumors that the Hamilton camp reached out to Red Bull are true? And that Red Bull said no because he and Max couldn’t work as teammates? I think that indicates that they know a second top driver would have to work on a personal level, and they think Charles can work. Helmut Marko indicated that Red Bull approached Charles, after all, which means they must have thought it could work.)

Another major thing with Charles that could make him an ideal choice is that he more openly appreciates the… “show” that Liberty Media is trying to bring to f1. Especially with his Vegas commentary, about how he understands why they are trying to bring in new fans, etc. If Max retired earlier or at the end of this contract I think a huge reason will be because he hates all of the show. So lining up a replacement for Max who won’t end up retiring for the same reason is also beneficial to them.

Which actually loops back to that I think Red Bull knows Charles challenging Max and entertaining him / bringing him fun on track again would help keep Max around. I remain convinced that Charles in a good car could keep Max in f1 longer. Red Bull could very much plan on trying to use Charles to coax Max to stay, and if that doesn’t work out then they have Charles still to continue dominating with. It’s a win-win for them.

Now, that’s not to say Red Bull aren’t just using the lestappen angle to boost Max’s likability. That’s very possible and my second top theory behind it. It may even be more realistic, all things considered. But I don’t think Charles considering Red Bull is as far-fetched as some believe, either.

[presdestigatto]

Yeah I understand your point.

I guess I got more angry because of the way lewis fans are reacting, like saying horrible things aboht charles unprovoked. Saw one of them yesterday saying that charles now would be lewis butler.

And its already like this now, imagine during the season. So that kind of made me wish for lewis to not win the 8 just mostly because of these fans. Also because if one is winning a wdc in ferrari I would rather be charles. Imagine charles fighting to bring Ferrari back to glory for ages only to Lewis arrive and get the glory himself.

About Lewis teammates, you're right he didn't it got it easy like max.

But here is another thing that worries me. I saw some people saying that Lewis got bad blood with pretty much all his teammates except Bottas? So pretty much he was only ok with the one was acting like a second to him

That makes me wonder how it will be with charles. I know they are friendly now, but once they are competing I think it will be different.

Like last year for example, I got the impression Lewis was always asking for team orders. Many times George would fairly be on front because he qualified better and then during the race Lewis would start complaining on the radio.

This makes me anxious about 2025 because even if charles end up having an advantage at quali, what if during races lewis start to ask for the better strategy or to undercut / let him pass?

hey! i think it’s very valid to be pissed at the narratives going around on twitter rn. thinking Charles will fall in line as ferrari’s second driver just because his teammate is a multi-time world champion- where have we seen this before. lol.

ultimately, ferrari is an company and a business and i really doubt that the upper execs care whether lewis or charles brings the title home. christian horner once said that ferrari is too influenced by italian newspapers— currently this protects Charles because they love him. i’d wait and see what narrative they decide to spin regarding the 1644 pairing. i think @verstappenclerc said it well how Charles is still the tifosi’s darling while Lewis was the ‘enemy’ for a good number of years, this probably won’t change unless Charles starts pulling absolute stinkers and they turn on him

anyways onto Lewis again, i think that’s a bit exaggerated due to the silver war? the brocedes fallout is very stark in everyone’s memories, but Charles isn’t Lewis’ childhood friend who Lewis has been constantly beating since they were like 12 lol. he’s chill w George and i could be wrong, but i think he and Jenson were pretty peaceful? in the end i trust in Lewis’ character.

also i don’t pay attention to merc but from what teamlh say, it’s the opposite w George and Lewis 😭 i genuinely dk, but ferrari is still Charles’ team. i think we’ll see them go w2w a couple of times which i’m actually quite looking forward to.

ultimately i am the wrong person to ask about mercedes team dynamics, maybe someone else can weigh in? whether the strategy team will continue to give us teammate related headaches—no point worrying about it now. it’s still a whole year away

[kritischetheologie]

while listening to traitor by olivia rodrigo today i thought wow that's really a nico song about lewis and seb post 2014/2015, like i could quote it but literally all the lyrics work, do you have any thoughts ?

ok so first of all the ENTIRE ALBUM SOUR is about brocedes. if you haven't seen the iconic fancam about this drop everything and watch it.

but yes! traitor in particular. like literally every single line. brown guilty eyes and little white lies yeah I played dumb but I always knew. more representation of lewis cheating on nico with seb WHEN. or you know not cheating but... ain't it funny that you ran to her the second that we called it quits. ain't it funny how you said you were friends now it sure as hell don't look it.

it took you two weeks to go off and date her guess you didn't cheat but you're still a traitor.

NOW YOU BRING HER AROUND JUST TO SHUT ME DOWN SHOW HER OFF LIKE SHE'S A NEW TROPHY jesus christ I'm chewing on glass about this.

AIN'T IT FUNNY REMEMBER I BROUGHT HER UP AND YOU TOLD ME I WAS PARANOID

but of course then we get the absolute heartbroken bridge. GOD I WISH THAT YOU HAD THOUGHT THIS THROUGH BEFORE I WENT AND FELL IN LOVE WITH YOU

ok I lied because the actual absolute brocedes song on this album is drivers license and it's absolutely nico winning the title last week just like we always talked about... g r e e c e... AND YOU'RE PROBABLY WITH THAT BLONDE GIRL WHO ALWAYS MADE ME DOUBT....................

AND I KNOW WE WEREN'T PERFECT BUT I'VE NEVER FELT THIS WAY FOR NO ONE

AND I JUST CAN'T IMAGINE HOW YOU COULD BE SO OKAY NOW THAT I'M GONE

GUESS OYU DIDN'T MEAN WHAT YOU WROTE IN THAT SONG ABOUT ME

cause you said forever now I drive alone past your street

RED LIGHTS STOP SIGNS I STILL SEE YOUR FACE IN THE WHITE CARS FRONT YARDS CAN'T DRIVE PAST THE PLACES WE USED TO GO TO CAUSE I STILL FUCKING LOVE YOU BAAAAAAAABE

that's it that's why he retired there you go.

anyway let's also talk about deja vu (I literally can't believe i'm doing this I have so much work to be doing)

literally ALSO nico pov on sewis, watching lewis run the EXACT SAME PLAY on seb that he ran on nico. SO WHEN YOU GONNA TELL HER THAT WE DID THAT TOO.

OK BUT ALSO?????????? let's talk about good 4 u and the four titles Lewis has won since nico retired...

well good 4 u I guess you moved on really easily you found a new girl and it only took a couple weeks remember when you said that YOU WANTED TO GIVE ME THE WOOOOOOOORLD (in greece)

AND GOOD FOR YOU I GUESS THAT YOU'VE BEEN WORKING ON YOURSELF I GUESS THAT THERAPIST I FOUND FOR YOU SHE REALLY HELPED NOW YOU CAN BE A BETTER MAN FOR YOUR BRAND NEW GIRL

WELL GOOD FOR YOU YOU LOOK HAPPY AND HEALTHY NOT ME IF YOU EVER CARED TO ASK GOOD FOR YOU YOU'RE DOING GREAT OUT THERE WITHOUT ME BABY GOD I WISH THAT I COULD DO THAT I'VE LOST MY MIND IVE SPENT THE NIGHT CRYING ON THE FLOOR OF MY BATHROOM BUT YOU'RE SO UNAFFECTED I REALLY DON'T GET IT BUT I GUESS GOOD FOR YOUUUUUU

*guitar solo*

WELL GOOD FOR YOU I GUESS YOU'RE GETTING EVERYTHING YOU WANT YOU BOUGHT A NEW CAR AND YOUR CAREER'S REALLY TAKING OFF IT'S LIKE WE NEVER EVEN HAPPENED BABY WHT THE FUCK IS UP WITH THAT

AND GOOD FOR YOU IT'S LIKE YOU NEVER EVEN MET ME REMEMBER WHEN YOU SWORE TO GOD I WAS THE ONLY PERSON WHO EVER GOT YOU WELL SCREW THAT AND SCREW YOU

YOU WILL NEVER HAVE TO HURT THE WAY YOU KNOW THAT I DO

*more guitar solo*

maybe i'm too emotional but your apathy is like a wound in salt maybe i'm too emotional but maybe you never cared at all MAYBE I'M TOO EMOTIONAL YOUR APATHY IS LIKE A WOUND IN SALT MAYBE I'M TOO EMOTIONAL OR MAYBE YOU NEVER CARED AT AAAAAALL

(good for you you're doing great out there without me baby LIKE A DAMN SOCIOPATH)

(nobody get me started on enough for you. you say I'm never satisfied but I don't think that's true you say i'm never satisfied but that's not me it's you)

(also obviously happier is a classic nico pov on sewis song too I hope you're happy but not like how you were with me)

[yesterdayiwrote]

Some of the takes I see about George online are actually insane.

I saw someone saying basically the issue with the W14 is that mercedes followed how George felt about the car in development and not Lewis, therefore it suits George and that mercedes should not have taken georges opinion in development as seriously as Lewis's. That they should have focused on making the car suit Lewis and have George adapt.

Its like people aren't aware that these cars are a different era of cars to what lewis won his championship with. Plus it isn't like the engineers are gonna go sure we will go with George in this even though what Lewis says will be faster. They go with what they feel the fastest concept will be, they don't just decide to go with George because they like him more than Lewis.

Plus it ignores the fact that George was working in the Mercedes simulator all the way back from the brocedes era. It was his work in the simulator which gave him opportunities to test drive cars and do free practice sessions and tire tests. Surely he must have some abilty in the sim and the engineers have alot of trust in him. They are always praising his technical knowlege. Just look at last weekend. Lewis even admitted that George chose the better set up and strategy, even though on paper it shouldn't have been.

Honestly I feel for the lad. People insulted him last year because apparently he didn't do enough for development for the car and lewis was doing all the experiments and it cost him points and now because the cars a bit crap its all his fault because they put more weight into what George has said about development. Both cannot be true. You can't say George didn't do any development last year but also blame him for the car being bad this year because of what he said in development last year.

Okay, I’ve been trying to think of a way to answer this since I got it, and I’m really struggling to find a way that covers ALL the nuance of the situation whilst simultaneously airing my frustration and trying not to be a biased dick about it. I do genuinely like both of them.

This creeping narrative that everything that goes wrong is because of George and everything that goes right is because of Lewis really does fuck me off big time because it’s just such childish bullshit and I can’t be dealing with it. That said it’s so ridiculously childish that it’s barely worth giving much credence to. The people know what they’re doing and sometimes you just have to let people have their copium and just… laugh?

I think people need to allow Lewis to be vulnerable and this aching need by some people to paint this picture that he is a perfect, fully rounded driver with absolutely no flaws or weaknesses does no one any favours. Sure we haven’t seen them as much, because success has a tendency to conceal these things, but even the GOATs have areas that need improvement. Merc have no responsibility to treat him as a first priority in all eventualities, and doing so would do Lewis more harm than good? If they had insisted on switching the cars in Jeddah like some people wanted, it surely would have been ten times more humiliating for him when he got passed by his teammate five laps later going quicker on the harder tyre?

George has a really solid eye for strategy. He can call strategy in the car while he’s driving a race and that’s no mean feat. Personally, I feel Lewis is weaker in that area. He prefers the team to lead his strategy and he puts his full faith in them to get it right and that’s fine, plenty of drivers do that. It’s not a glaring void in his arsenal, but in times when things go wrong it gives George an advantage he can draw on. People get angry at him doing it, because he’s ‘putting himself first’ but equally sometimes you’ve got to control your own destiny.

The whole situation with the car design is getting a bit ‘He said, She said’. Lewis said no one listened to him and he had all the right answers. George said they all agreed the direction together. We’ll never know who is telling the truth. Chances are it’s somewhere in the middle. Some teams do design their cars to suit one specific driver over another. I don’t know that I buy into any theory that suggests in Merc it would be George, even if he did come out on top last year. I said before I was a bit disappointed with Lewis’ comments and I think they were ill advised and borne out of frustration, as did he in the press conference, and then effectively doubled down and said something just as contentious in the post race interviews 🤷🏼‍♀️

We know George has done car development. You can’t joke about him being locked in the Sim and then simultaneously accuse him of not assisting with development, and then simultaneously accuse him of driving the entire development direction to suit himself. Like any sane person knows all of those things can’t be true cos the maths ain’t mathing?

Lewis isn’t ultimately responsible for his fans and the things they say, that being said I do feel like he sees more than he lets on and he knows when to give a crafty stir of the pot. They all do? This is purely his fans doing it though, not him, even if Spinz hasn’t helped matters in the past 😒

I think it’s a shame it’s got to this state though. I feel sorry for George and I do feel sorry for Lewis as well. It is a tougher situation for him in light of 2021. None of this is George’s fault though and it’s sad to see the online discourse getting so… tribal at times.

[vro0m]

2013 season summary

Alright sorry it took me so long but here it is. So what happened in 2013?

Well it was Lewis' first year with Mercedes. They're actually not doing much better than Mclaren was in 2012, HOWEVER. I feel like overall the team’s energy is more hopeful because Mercedes is doing better than in 2012, when McLaren was spiraling downwards or stagnating at best.

Lewis is not really joyful though. He has his moments, especially at the beginning of the season and when he won, but you can tell he's still frustrated with his results. The last race leaves us with a last interview in which he struggles to find positives to his season, apart from the fact, as we said, that Mercedes did better in 2013 than in 2012 which was the goal. So what’s up with the results? What’s the issue?

Apart from the fact that Seb in his RedBull is still fucking flying, well, it’s the tyres. It's a whole scandal throughout the season : the tyres are absolute shit (see also : British GP). Also the whole Pirelli testing issue, with Mercedes taking part in a tyre test after Barcelona (as asked by Pirelli) that turns out to be illegal and leads them to being shut out of the young driver testing with the new tyres that Pirelli had to put together hastily in the middle of the season because it was so very bad. And the Mercedes seem to be especially hard on them too, which doesn't help. So the boys do pretty well on quali day (5 poles for Lewis) but they go backwards during the races, which is frustrating for them and about just as frustrating to watch.

But despite Lewis struggling to see them, there are positives. He won a race, which wasn't necessarily expected given that the 2012 Mercedes was very much a midfielder (and is not quite out of it yet) and that he’s new to the team. His points average is barely lower than in 2012 (9.5 VS. 9.95). I mean sure, he’s not winning a lot, but in 2012 he DNFd more than he won so... Yeah.

Also enters Bono and you can hear them figure out how to communicate throughout the season which is interesting (they aren't quite there yet either, Lewis gets a bit frustrated at times trying to explain what he needs to hear and what he doesn't need to hear and when). And we got our first “get in there”!

It’s something people from the inside (Brawn) notice just as much as people from the outside (journalists) : he gets more and more familiar with his team, more and more at ease, at home. And god knows it seems to be a very important element to Lewis' balance. And Niki only has good things to say about him.

Also the tyre issue is pretty straightforward as far as engineering goes. When it comes to the car, it seems to be one, specific, well delimited issue. And when it comes to the tyres themselves, Pirelli pretty much fixed them during that season and they’ll have new ones in 2014, that were tested with RedBull at some point (yeah, apparently they were allowed to do that because they used the 2011 car or some shit like that...).

So yep. Lewis might not see it (and in his defense it’s very easy to say from 2022), but everything seems to be falling into place quite nicely...

Let’s talk numbers : so far, I’ve completed 42.2% of my rewatch. In total, I’ve made 870 GIFs to illustrate it.

Here’s a list of the 2013 GPs with a roughly two-sentence summary and the link to the actual recap if you wanna read it or take a look at the GIFs I made :

1. Australian GP : tense racing with Alonso, it starts raining mid-way through. Lewis P5. No gifs.

2. Malaysian GP : wet track. Lewis pulls a Jenson in the pits. RedBull racing. Mercedes racing. Multi 21. Not too happy Lewis, but P3.

3. Chinese GP : Lewis pole! A lost wheel! Very close racing to the end. Lewis P3 again.

4. Bahrain GP : grid-penalty for Lewis. Tyre talks. Lewis interview. Low expectations. The Mercedes go backwards. McLaren racing. Satisfied P5 Lewis.

5. Spanish GP : Mercedes 1-2. The Mercedes go backwards. P12.

6. Monaco GP : Mercedes 1-2 again. Baby Roscoe. Brocedes chapter 1. Extremely boring race, even for Monaco. Red flag. P4.

7. Canadian GP : Close racing with Alonso at the end. P3. A marshal died.

8. British GP : Lewis pole! British quiz and lollipop eating. Delamination puncture. Delamination puncture. Delamination puncture. Delamination puncture. Lewis remontada. P4. Not too happy.

9. German GP : Lewis pole! Another lost wheel and an unlucky cameraman. Mercedes team orders. The Mercedes go backwards. Bad faith Lewis is back. Fire, empty car on track?! P5. Titty holding.

10. Hungarian GP : Lewis 30th pole! Long race but action packed. First Mercedes win for Lewis!

11. Belgian GP : Lewis pole again! Greenpeace protest. Absolutely mind-numbingly boring race. P3. Flirting with Seb.

12. Italian GP : RedBull Pirelli BS. Lewis starts P12... Radio issues and slow puncture. Bad race but loads of overtakes. P9. A bit defeated.

13. Singapore GP : long race. P5. Hitchhiking. Niki interview.

14. Korean GP : a bit of chaos, fire, delamination. Amazing Alonso battle. P5.

15. Japanese GP : delamination puncture. DNF.

16. Indian GP : frustrating race. P6. Seb is WDC for the fourth time.

17. Abu Dhabi GP : no gifs. Lewis goes backwards. Boring. P7.

18. American GP : no gifs. Boring. P4.

19. Brazilian GP : controversial contact, missing wheels, drive-through penalty. P9. Overall not too happy Lewis.

[blorbocedes]

norstappen is so so compelling to me, please let me ramble for a (few) moments:

I hateeeeeee when people compare norstappen to brocedes (which I am def sure you’ve talked about and have thoughts of) or even any Lando-rivalry BECAUSE literally the situations are not even close

“there are parallels” um so actually yeah maybe parallel universes that had inverse and refracted canon events- brocedes had such an intricate and intertwined path where it led to such a devastating fallout (and here i will admit im not factually caught up in all lore brocedes, so I can’t speak on everything but) anyways methinks that the whole heartbreak and reaction of brocedes breakup was lended to primarily the fact that they were teammates and the fact that they had so much history together

not gonna go into that too in depth but all that just to say norstappen are NOT even close to being brocedes, and now please let me get into why that makes them so compelling

for most of our fav duos on the grid, they have had history as teammates (e.g. maxiel, carlando, sebmark, etc) because dynamics are easier to acknowledge and easier to consume. obviously there are some exceptions like galex and lestappen but we know why they’re so close because of their racing histories

BUT NORSTAPPEN like yes ik they raced in juniors and whatever but it was so fleeting that seeing them come together in f1 is just like woah

Max is historically a fierce competitor and used to be so hot headed he was brash and (c)rude

so maybe a lot of their companionship now could be attributed to the fact they weren’t direct competitors in 20/21 but to me that really doesn’t matter bc the way they talked to and about each other then is still with the same fondness they talk about each other now

even though they’re currently competing for the wdc they’re still friends first and foremost, and they pretty much refuse to speak down on each other (Austria is a whole nother rant I don’t have space for) and they still support each other so so much it’s actually unfathomable to me

like guys come on this is the part where you’re supposed to start shit talking and throwing hands, not going at it raw on the pj with an audience

but their respect for each other is of the highest standard and tbh that’s the ONLY reason they’re still Good with each other in my opinion, although the appearance and the nature of that respect I am mildly unsure of

thank you for sacrificing a piece of your askbox for my rambling, and if you have any counterpoints I’d loveeee to hear them

max and lando never raced against each other, until they got into f1. not in the junior karting categories

personally speaking, wholesome friends to lovers does nothing for me and I don't care for ships that's like let's see who can respect each other harder. that's not what I find compelling ab norstappen but the fun thing about rpf is its all made up and different ppl interpret it in different ways, so if that's what works for you then go off!!! and im glad you're having fun too:3

[russilton]

I'm feeling quite emotional about your Seb POV Gewis fic idea, as someone who's already been following F1 when Brocedes was still a thing and then became what it became. Seb always right there. God, his friendship with Lewis is probably the most special one on the grid, for many, many reasons and I absolutely love the idea of you incorporating it. I never actually shipped them, although they're the obvious and popular Lewis ship - and I absolutely get why, but their friendship means so much to me that it kind of stopped me from touching it in a romantic fanfic sense. I can't explain it, but it's very deeply rooted in my own F1 history, starting back when I didn't even read fanfiction... Idk. I did, however, ship Lewis with Val (still do) just like I enjoy indulging in Gewis and while I can't really see George/Val I am intrigued. You're amazing at writing smut, so I'm sure I'll go crazy and you'll convert me.

And you're contemplating writing for Singapore and Japan? That's amazing, both races felt very special for us Gewis shippers... some very good, memorable content. Do you have any specific ideas you're playing around with?

I’m really glad to hear the concept works for you, writing seb, heck writing ANYONE other than George and Lewis is a new and somewhat tough experience for me. Gewis comes easy because I spend a lot of time thinking about how they think about each other, how they feel when they react to new situations, and just, feeling alongside them. When they’re happy, I’m happy, when they’re sad, I’m sad.

I don’t quite have the same connection to seb, I don’t know as much about him, and while I can bother bads to tell me the technical history, sometimes writing a guy is something you have to figure out personally on your own. Because it’s a short fic idea it should at least move fast when I’m on a roll.

As for sewis or valwis etc, I’ve never shipped them exclusively because I am criminally mono shipper, I literally walked into F1 rpf, saw a gewis fic, and imprinted like a duckling.

I can say with 99% certainly I will never write a fic that doesn’t end with britcedes as the endgame. That doesn’t rule out poly or threesomes though, I’m a big fan of exploring ships of gewis + someone else, and that’s where the couple of Britcedes and Val ideas I’ve had came from. I just profoundly dislike reading things that don’t end with George and Lewis together, it honestly makes me feel sad!

I’ve also got ideas that involve George sleeping around with other people but he still ends with Lewis, because when I write about George I focus on exploring his relationship to his body and how that relates to other people. When I write Lewis I focus on how he is with his friends and family, how his status and skills effect his personal life, so I don’t tend to think about his past relationships, fuck boy au being the one exception because that’s all about him being the paddock top for casual sex and then catching feelings for a guy he won’t let himself have.

My skills with smut will be tested for you because I have a small scene of George/Val post imola 21’ in one of the above fics and while I’ve had trouble figuring out how to get them into bed (or rather, onto a hotel couch…), the smut was really fucking fun hahahah, and the post orgasm banter is one of my faves

(For context, no Lewis doesn’t know they fucked it out lmao, and both Val and George sure as shit ain’t gonna tell him)

As for the Singapore and Japan fic, I haven’t got any concrete ideas yet, because if I do want to write for them I’ll have to finish ZV and Monza first. But I think I want to focus on George needing to be comforted for once? All his races this year were pretty spectacular (not including silverstone, that’s a special case) but both Singapore and Japan just sucked for him, for reasons mostly out of his control. I think id like to focus on how Lewis helps George get through those hard moments, how to handle guilt about wanting more vs accepting and moving on, because that’s where Lewis has experience.

George has experience scoring low at Williams but It’s a different beast to be in a race winning car and score low, there’s more to be conflicted about. He’s allowed to be mad at his team, but also they’ll be beating themselves up worse than him, and it’s moments like that that will define his leadership. Is he going to sulk like Max, or is he going to push them constructively for better. Thats what Lewis wants to guide him towards, not that George instinctively wants to do much different, but it’s helpful to have someone to talk to.

[nobrakesdown]

For the ask game - F and K 👀

Ahhh, thank you my dear

F - I have realized I use my dialogue as more - meat and potatoes, I guess, and mostly flex in my descriptions, but let's see what I've got!

Okay here's a Weird One, but here's a snip from something you can't replace:

"I've had my eye on the Facebook Marketplace listing for a while.  Wanted to wait for the day itself, y'know, treat yo self or whatever."

Michael lets out a deep breath.  "You bought your own murder weapon on Facebook Marketplace." 

"Technically," Daniel says, a hard, tight edge to his voice, "the bomb was the murder weapon."

I love the dynamic here, and I think this does a really good job of showing how Daniel is being very irreverent about his trauma while also being wound incredibly tight.

I am also gonna show off my favorite line from the first chapter of emergence:

The ride there is - fine.  When Lando asks if he can play music Daniel says sure, because it's an easy win and he could use some of those.  They don't talk much, Lando staring out of the window in a way that makes Daniel feel like a middle-aged mom trying to connect with her teenager on the way home from school.  

I love it cause first of all it's just cute, but it also shows Daniel subconsciously defaulting to thinking of herself as feminine before she starts considering gender stuff.

K - I am sure you chose this one cause you knew I would have a hard time picking one >:(. The Monza stillbirth fic is maybe the most angsty to me personally, but idk if it's the worst over all. Another bad one is a fic I will probably never publish but use to process current events. The breeding program au is also deeply angsty, and I'll shout out the brocedes carbon monoxide poisoning fic as another doozy.