#you people need to put some respect on both max and lewis

[smashstappen]

You can definitely tell who has been a Max fan and into the sport for some time and those who joined past 2021. Here I am laughing at people who think 2024 would ever compare to 2021 in terms of pressure and Max proving himself as a driver. 😂 Babes, he doesn't need to prove anything, Max went head to head with the Lewis 7 times world champion Hamilton.

Picture this, the RB is a slower car than Merc, not by much, mind you, but still slower, but you have Max Verstappen hungry for his 1st title, on the other hand he is facing a Lewis Hamilton hungry for setting a record in F1, at the moment he shares with 1 other driver, Lewis wants to cement he's the best and for that he needs to hold the record of most title on his own. No need to imagine because it already happened and

Nothing can beat that!

2021 will forever be Max's greatest battle, also it's his first F1 title. You can't top that! The level of rage, euphoria, despair, excitement, agony, exhilaration, indignation, amazement, race-craft, triumph, pride, we Max fans went through in 2021! Max could lose the title, or win by the smallest of margins, he could have a dreadful car, not win until 2026, and still it wouldn't even come a little bit close to 2021.

We survived 2021, your 2024 little playground kiddie fight is nothing in comparison.

McLaren might try to emulate 2021, but try as they might the only thing they manage is to look like a bunch of lacklustre clown act, and Ferrari are the original circus of F1, even in this McLaren comes 2nd.

Nah, boo, once you go through a title fight like 2021, Lewis is a master at mind-games, Toto's machiavellianism 🤌 chef's kiss, the back and forth between both teams, even 3 years later they still hold quite a level of animosity, the cult!!!, everything else pales. 2024's little kindergarten playground hissy fit is just laughable.

The only other title fight that can get good is with Sharl, childhood rivals, predestined, like it or not they are, they match each other's race-craft and intensity, that will be so juicy, but Ferrari are not ready for that yet.

[itsvelyria]

"how the f1 boys are when you work from home"

Charles Leclerc

he'll be pouting by your door the minute you start your work day. the reason for him being particularly clingy is because he doesn't get a lot of time with you already, due to his busy schedule. but now you're right in front of him yet he can't bother you? will puppy-dog-eye his way into keeping your door open so he can peek in occasionally to catch a glimpse of you at least. sometimes he says he's going out to run some errands because he's, after all, an independent adult who can spend a day by himself, but always comes back within an hour because he missed you too much to leave you alone.

Carlos Sainz

the sweetest, most considerate guy on Earth; he makes sure you have your breakfast before your work day, keeps his volume down when you're on a call and always has lunch ready when noon comes around. he will come to drag you out to have lunch with him at the kitchen counter even if you tell him you're too busy to take a break. when you are well-fed and back behind the table, he always pays the coffee shop around the corner a visit to bring you your favourite drink. both because he knows you're fighting a food coma and also to make you take a break.

Danny Ricciardo

your #1 supporter. when he learned you'll start having work from home days, he helped decorate your home office. he spent days reading up on ergonomic chairs and standing desks, even researching plants to brighten up the space. he is huge on work-life balance and always shows up at your door at 5 on the dot to drag you away from your laptop, to the gym or to a new restaurant you had mentioned in passing.

George Russell

by nature a very chill and relaxed guy, he leaves you alone for the most part to do his own thing. he's very extroverted though, so when he appears in the background of your video calls, he'll always says hi to to your colleagues or boss. one time you were on a call with a close colleague and he was putting away some books at the bookshelf behind you, chatted her up about her dog and ended up exchanging social medias, becoming your unexpected networking catalyst. it always brightens up your day because it shows how much he cares for the people in your life.

Lando Norris

he would constantly pop in to see you "needed anything" but honestly he just misses you and wants your attention, even if you're under the same roof. when you banned him from your office, he started sending TikToks and memes from the next room over, threatening to derail your focus but always making you giggle. the kind of partner who would hide Post-Its with funny scribbles and doodles among your work documents and wait for you to find them. when you ask him if he wants to get lunch together, the glee on his face is blinding and he shoots up like a little puppy.

Lewis Hamilton

probably the most mature partner on the grid; he likes the intimacy of quietly working together in a shared space. there's just something about soft classical music in the background while you two are working on your respective projects. the highlight of your day is when you take short breaks together in the kitchen over mugs of coffee — telling him of whatever office gossip you had come across while he rambles on about his upcoming campaign.

Max Verstappen

he is very understanding of how important your career and job is to you. while you work, he'll probably be on his simulator in the living room, making sure he keeps the doors closed so he doesn't disturb you. after a long day of you in your office and him of racing, you two like to have a quiet dinner on the couch with a movie playing. he lets you lie on his lap afterwards, stroking your hair gently as you rant about your workday.

[drivestraight]

good morning val drivestraight I have a question for you... can you sell me on lestappen. I follow you for general attitude swag and don't really follow many max blogs (I actually found your blog after that omega George fic lol) but I feel like you of all people could make the greatest ship primer. mostly I'm not very into it bc I feel like the shared history part of it gets overblown by fandom compared to other ships, and they're friendly enough these days that I can't get hatesex vibes form it + Max comes across as really well adjusted and kind of an homeboy. so I'm like what's the hook? what do you like? what's YOUR platonic perfect idea of lestappen? I want to follow u down this road 

omg what an honor...

this isn't much of a ship primer but mostly about me talking about why i like them if that's okay <3

i agree that we overplay their shared history, but it also provides a really nice backdrop for everything they are now. they've always been in each other's lives but in a peripheral sense. and it's that sort of distanced familiarity that is compelling to me. also the potential for intense physicality despite their inability to communicate like normal people. that's the hook to me: they are in each other's orbit but they never have been close. but then you get to the racing: and when it comes to the racing, they've really given some great battles. and that alone isn't enough. it's like - combined with who they are off the track: childhood rivals turned awkward work friends, the fact that they can race that hard and that they respect one another so much is just. so good. sometimes it feels like they can predict each other's moves. like silverstone/austria 19 (yes, mentioned to hell) and bahrain/saudi 22, the w2w there went crazy. and once again, this with everything else: that they have this one place and this one medium for them to communicate at such a high level, and are just so awkward everything else is very good. lewis and seb who have said in the past that max goes over the limit too much, while charles has always said with max, it's always on the limit and never above. obviously things might change if they ever get into a real title fight against one another, but i think they have such great foundations that it will be compelling no matter what. also they've lowkey like stood the test of time: look at how people characterized them in 2019 and how they characterize them today. they've changed so much and their relationship has changed so much but still, both of them are at two top teams, they have found each other again in f1.

also aesthetically, the red/blue of it all is really nice. and just like. They look good together. yknow

they also like. say crazy things about each other sometimes. "i will remember it all my life" / "i know max very very well" / etc. etc.

my perfect platonic idea of lestappen Is Not one where they're best friends and where max is his number 1 defender - because he is not, as many people would have you believe (everyone clipping moments from cooldown rooms and quotes from interviews are putting it out of context and putting words in max's mouth and twisting things weirdly), and because that's frankly so uncompelling and kind of pathetic to think that charles needs max to praise him/defend him for him to have any worth as a racer etc. etc. i could go on about this for ages but i won't. tldr max doesn't care enough to do that.

IN FIC my favorite lestappen is basically: an awkward lestappen who like each other so much and can't actually communicate it properly in any way that isn't physical. but maybe the physicality and the shared history and the racing can be enough.

[kritischetheologie]

Omg you were at the Australia GP?! How was it did you make a whole trip of it etc.

I WAS! It was absolutely amazing-- I did make a whole trip of it, and I am actually still in melbourne, so if anyone else is, hit me up!

I cannot recommend it highly enough as a GP. many thoughts below the cut:

The vibes were incredible the whole weekend; everyone was having a great time in the sunshine, which gave the whole thing music festival energy, but it felt very welcoming and safe and I didn't see anyone get sloppy. I met a girl who was volunteering with the organization racing pride on friday and said that she got a couple of old guys taking a wide path around their booth as if to avoid catching the gay, but that's as bad as any interaction she had. I definitely got the sense that some of the old men who have been into motorsport forever are skeptical of the newer generation of drive to survive fans, especially as an american woman, but it was the sort of skepticism that was allayed by showing even the slightest bit of knowledge of and respect for the history of the sport (I got a fair bit of "wow, you really know your stuff" when I started talking about having gone back and watched the 2010 season). there was a real mix of support-- a lot of mclaren, but fairly mixed between lando and oscar, and then a surprising amount of ferrari (and, hilariously, tons of really beautiful girls who looked like they were incredibly bored, all in ferrari merch. scuderia ferrari the #1 team of hot girls who don't wanna be there?). some max fans, some lewis fans, and a stunning amount of people in mixed merch, wearing a mclaren jacket and aston hat or whatever. nobody seemed to be a die-hard about anyone, and everyone was getting along really well with each other. as I've mentioned, everyone cheered when carlos went p1 in q2, even the people in red bull merch, and everyone cheered when max's car caught fire. everybody is a ferrari fan, etc.

in terms of the event: they clearly had put a lot of thought into making sure albert park could accommodate a couple hundred thousand people, because I basically never had trouble procuring food / drink / water / bathroom in time to make it wherever I needed to go. I sprang for a grandstand seat, and I'm glad I did, since I was alone-- but I think GA can work if you've got a group, so somebody can hold your spot, and there's a lot of incredible GA views. as an american, I was stunned and amazed and overjoyed by how easy it was to get to the gp on melbourne's incredible tram system; they were running extra trams all weekend, had the route changes super clearly labeled, and did a really good job directing people where they needed to go. all in all, I think it was one of the best-run events I've ever attended, without feeling corporate at all (a super-tricky balance). albert park is also just absolutely beautiful, and the track is awesome.

I was sitting at turn 11, so I had an amazing view of one of the sharpest corners, and it was fascinating to see how the drivers' styles differed, especially on their quali hot laps. what everyone says about alonso wringing the neck of the car is so true: he braked so much later, having taken such a straighter line, that I always thought he was going to miss the turn and run off. by contrast, lewis was taking basically the shallowest corner of anyone, barely using the curb at all. you could really see how much he didn't trust the car to do what he wanted it. and oh my god, I do have to give max credit where it's due: his turns were so fucking smooth that it felt like physics worked differently for him than anyone else. oscar, actually, was hitting similar lines, especially late in the race-- I came away very impressed with him. for the race itself, they had tvs and audio commentary, so I felt like I got the best of both worlds experience, getting to watch the race on tv and then see them zoom by in the corners. I found the race a lot easier to follow than just watching it on tv, which surprised me, because the opposite has been true of indycar, but it was easier to remember which midfield battles were going on when I could track them around my corner every lap.

the support races were also incredible. I think I'm going to follow f2 a little more closely this year, not just because I want to see what happens to kimi "the next one" antonelli and ollie "my literal son" bearman, but also because the racing is exciting. the reverse grid top 10 for sprint races is amazing and f1 should import it into their sprint races if they're going to insist on having them.

I feel like this weekend really re-invigorated my love for the sport. maybe that's because literally anybody other than max won, but I think it's also because it was really healing to step outside of the bubbles of internet discourse and just focus on the racing. it was fascinating hanging out all day having a great time with all sorts of people and then logging on and watching everybody be Mad Online. I had some great friendly arguments about whether daniel is washed, who of the class of 2019 is the most likely to someday win a title, vettel vs alonso, etc., but it always felt like a bunch of nerds hanging out at a nerd convention excited to get to debate with the other people who care as much about it as they do. I think we can forget, all being in the fandom together, that we are all here because of the thing we love--that's so assumed as the default on f1blr (why else would you be on f1blr) that it's easier to separate ourselves out based on who we support or don't, who we ship or don't, and so on. not to come off as all love and light and whatever, but the thing that connects us is more important than the differences that separate us.

the city of melbourne is also just wonderful--super hip, full of free museums and little cafes and cool people. totally worth an extended visit!

I feel a bit of the reflexive tumblr need to disclaim how much a privilege it was to get to do this, but genuinely, I just feel really fucking blessed. I told everyone who asked me why I flew all this way for the gp that it was a 30th birthday present to myself (and it is), that flights from california were surprisingly cheap (and they were-- under a grand round trip, which is still a ton of money but less than half what I might have expected it to cost if asked to guess; once you factor in the cost of lodging and race tickets, this trip was definitely cheaper than going to miami or vegas would have been), and that the american races basically never fit my calendar (and they don't). but what those disclaimers don't capture is that this is the biggest thing I've ever done for myself, and I did it just for myself, just because I wanted to. in my post about advice for a 26 year old, I mentioned the trade-off of responsibility and agency. this is the agency half: getting to decide that I love something so much that I'm going to fly halfway across the world to experience it.

so yeah, 10/10 stars, can't recommend highly enough. australian grand prix please sponsor me.

[torgerandsuzanne]

This weekend, all the major movers and shakers in Formula 1 have descended on Silverstone for the British Grand Prix. On track, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton will attempt to slow Max Verstappen’s seemingly inexorable charge towards a third successive title. Off it, their respective team principals, Mercedes’ Toto Wolff and his nemesis, Red Bull’s Christian Horner, will also do battle. But arguably the most significant power move made in motorsport this week may already have taken place. Its architect was none other than Susie Wolff, wife of Toto. And just quietly, she is hoping she may have triggered a revolution.

As managing director of F1 Academy, a new all-female single-seater series, she is currently thrashing out what she believes could be a ‘game-changing deal’ with F1’s 10 teams, which she hopes will boost female participation in motorsport like nothing before.

......

Leaning back in a chair in the library of the Monaco Yacht Club, Wolff lets out a snigger. ‘It’s true,’ she nods. ‘He really did once describe me as a donkey!’ We are talking about her husband, Toto Wolff. The donkey reference actually cropped up in an interview the couple gave to Ben and Georgie Ainslie’s Performance People podcast last year. In the YouTube version of the podcast, you can see Susie, by this point in hysterics, miming someone digging a hole ever-deeper. The exchange is a window into their relationship: playful, loving, with Susie giving as good as she gets. But it also says something about both of their characters. Toto is a high performer, there is no doubt about that. And Susie? Well, ‘donkey’ may be a bit harsh for a woman who once gave Hamilton a run for his money in karting. But she knows what her husband meant. ‘Don’t underestimate the donkey,’ she says, grinning. ‘It gets there in the end. I do have a lot of tenacity.’ She is going to need it in her latest role. 

There have been various attempts down the years to drive female participation in motorsport and achieve the ultimate breakthrough: returning a woman to the F1 grid. Wolff believes F1 Academy is different. For starters, it is the first all-female series launched and owned by Formula 1 itself. That means it is in F1’s interests for it to succeed. So whereas W Series, for instance, was given an enviable platform by the sport the fate of F1 Academy is far more intertwined with the brand. Not only will it compete on the F1 circuit from next season, but the two series will collaborate far more closely. Wolff cannot speak just yet about what that might look like, as the finer details are still being ironed out. Suffice to say there are some very exciting plans in the offing that she hopes to announce soon. ‘I think there are some forward-thinking team principals in Formula 1,’ she says. ‘I certainly feel a real commitment from within the paddock to help change things now.’ ‘When I met them all after my announcement in Bahrain, I said to all of them, “Please don’t think of this as a ‘woman’s thing’ being run by a woman. This is for the greater good of this sport. I hope it will add value to Formula 1 long-term. And we need to be on this journey together.” So far, the response has been very positive, I have to say.’ Wolff smiles. ‘But F1 Academy cannot just be about 15 young women racing. And we cannot have the sole purpose of trying to find the next female F1 driver. We have to stand for something much more. It’s about creating opportunity. How are we making motorsport accessible to girls? That’s why I’m spending a lot of my time in the world of karting right now, trying to understand, OK, who’s out there racing? At what level? What is stopping girls from racing? I think that’s where we’ve got to be really proactive. Because that talent pool is what we need to grow.’

......

Wolff is uniquely well-placed to do so. Born in Oban she had a typically outdoorsy upbringing. Both she and older brother David, were put on skis and bikes as toddlers. Her parents, owned a motorcycle dealership and her father raced bikes competitively, so racing was ‘in the blood’. But, Wolff says, she was ‘never a typical tomboy’. ‘I had my Barbie. I had my dolls. I liked that stuff. But I also loved going fast.’ Eventually the family got a second-hand kart and that was it, although Wolff insists it was just ‘for fun’ until she was taken to a Formula 3 race at Donington Park one year and watched Jenson Button win. ‘That’s when I was like: “This is what I want.” After that I started racing in the European and world championships.’ It was at that point, too, that Wolff began to experience sexism for the first time. She had always been ‘the only girl’ in karting races. Or at least one of very few. But as her participation became more serious, so too did the feeling of being not just different but unwanted. ‘Funnily enough, half of my battle was with the parents of my competitors,’ she recalls. ‘For them, it was not wanting their sons to get beaten by a girl.’

Sometimes her own teams, supposedly on her side, were just as culpable. When she reached DTM, the German touring car championship, Wolff was famously made to drive a pink car. ‘I hated it,’ she says. ‘It was such a cliché. No one wanted to be overtaken by that car.’  Wolff recalls one particularly awkward episode when three-time F1 world champion Niki Lauda came to watch his son Mathias. ‘Mathias and I were teammates and it was a real thrill that Niki was coming to watch,’ she says, wincing. ‘So anyway, he walks into the garage, and all the drivers were in there, and without even saying hi to Mathias or anything, he took one look at me and said to Mathias: “Whatever you do, beat her.” Even Mathias was embarrassed.’ ‘Years later, when we obviously became friends at Mercedes I brought it up and Niki was like, “Yeah, I know. But I knew it wouldn’t have been helpful to Mathias if he got beaten by you.” I said, “But Niki, I was an impressionable young driver.” Obviously he was of a certain generation. But I think that still exists. That stigma. Not wanting to be beaten by a girl. The preconception that women are bad drivers. We have to change that.’

.....

In other times during Wolff’s career it has been double standards that infuriated her. Male drivers could advertise products or cash in on their celebrity. But when Wolff did the same she would be accused of ‘using her body’ to further her career. This is someone who had, and still has, a genuine interest in fashion. ‘It was frustrating,’ she admits. ‘I turned down loads of things. I remember being questioned about one shoot, with Vogue Japan. “What? You’re going to turn down Vogue? No! It’s one of the top titles…”’ ‘Ultimately, I think it’s about finding a balance and doing what you’re comfortable with. I had one golden rule. I would never date another driver. I wanted to look after my reputation and just be someone that was seen as credible. But I think this idea that you just put your helmet on and race and nothing else matters… that’s not the case. Take Lewis. What he brings to the table is his outstanding talent on track. But also, all of the stuff he represents off-track. So if anything, I look back and say, I should have gone even harder.’

.....

Does she believe she was held back? Wolff shakes her head. ‘I think I fulfilled my potential. If I look back now, with more perspective, I wasn’t one of the most talented. I had a lot of tenacity and a lot of determination. A lot of thick skin. So I look back with no bitterness whatsoever. There were a lot of tough moments, I won’t lie. But I also met Toto, which led me to where I am now.’ They met in 2009 when Wolff was competing in DTM. Toto, 11 years her senior and with two young children from a previous marriage, was the co-owner of HWA AG, which ran the DTM race programme for Mercedes. He proposed one year later on a boat in Venice (well, on a boat back to the airport after his original plan to propose at a romantic restaurant was scuppered when a couple they knew sat down at the next table) and they were married in Capri in 2011. Inevitably their relationship, her subsequent role at Williams, and rise through senior management positions at Venturi Racing, a Monaco-based Formula E team, to F1 Academy, have led to allegations of nepotism. 

‘I am completely fine with that because in the end, I know the truth,’ Wolff says. ‘I got the drive with Williams after I met Frank at a DTM event at Brands Hatch and told him I’d done a school project on Williams as a 12-year-old girl and it was always my dream to drive an F1 car. At the end of the conversation he said, “I’ll give you 25 laps at Silverstone.” It kind of snowballed from there. How much of that was Toto? It’s impossible to judge. But I feel I grabbed my chance.’ ‘Toto was never on the radio telling me how to drive a Formula 1 car. He wasn’t holding my hand telling me how to run a Formula E team. I did all of that on my own two feet. I know I’ve got what it takes to be successful, I don’t need Toto to open doors for me.’ She pauses. ‘I think in some instances, it can be very helpful having the Wolff surname, in others very unhelpful. But I wouldn’t change it for a second.’

Marrying up their schedules can’t be easy. The couple’s main home is in Monaco, but when we meet, Toto is back at the factory in Brackley, having just returned from the Canadian Grand Prix. He will fly out to take over parental duties from Susie when she heads to Zandvoort at the end of the week. ‘I don’t think we’re dissimilar to many couples who have busy jobs,’ Wolff says. ‘I have Toto’s schedule on my phone so I always know which country he is in, or at least when he’s coming home. And we just have to prioritise. If that means Jack and I jumping on a plane to wherever he is to make it work, we make it work.’  Wolff admits it is her who generally compromises. ‘Someone has to,’ she shrugs. ‘And right now it’s me, for sure. I’m based here. And Toto is in and out. It’s a big advantage that I understand the industry so well; why he has to be away, why he has to stay longer at the factory. All of that means I’m not giving him a headache at home when he does return. I get it.’

Have Mercedes’ recent struggles on track made things more stressful? ‘Actually I’d say he is in a better place than he was a few years ago,’ Wolff replies. ‘I think he had a moment in lockdown where he didn’t know whether he wanted to stay in the sport. But now he has really got the bit between his teeth again. Sometimes I’m in a room when he’s on a very difficult call and I’m starting to feel, “F--k, this is some serious pressure!” But he can just pile it on. It’s definitely one of his strengths.’ In 2021 the couple moved to Monaco from Switzerland, although they also keep a place in Oxford from which Toto can commute to the factory. ‘Believe me, I never imagined I would be living here,’ Wolff says, laughing. ‘Obviously I started coming out a lot when I joined Venturi. I’d leave cold, grey England and land here in blue skies. I just started thinking, it’s not so bad out here… It works for us now.’  As you would expect, Jack attends a school with the sons and daughters of other international jetsetters. ‘His best friend is Augusto Farfus’ son. Naila Rosberg is a year older, her sister is a year younger,’ Wolff says. But really, she insists, they do not have a lavish lifestyle. ‘My son spends every school holiday back in Scotland because I want him to have that balance. You know, this is a bubble. It’s not quite reality. So he goes camping with my parents.’ As for the Monte Carlo nightlife, Wolff says, ‘We keep ourselves to ourselves. The buzzing social life is just not my thing at all. You find your tribe but we spend so much time away, I’d much rather stay in during the evening than go out somewhere.’

Susie's interview with The Telegraph where she talks about F1 Academy, sexism and double standards she experienced as a female racing driver and her relationship with Toto.

[neptunescore]

Kinda off topic, but do you think that people forget that F1 is BOTH a drivers championship and constructors? People complain that certain drivers are washed and if they had a different car they wouldn’t be as successful. I saw Zak Brown (I hate him sm, I don’t even have a valid reason I just do LOL) say how Max is great but he wouldn’t win championships without RedBull dominance. But isn’t that the point? Almost every championship was won by a championship level car. That’s how dominance happens BECAUSE it’s whichever team is the best at the regulations. It’s literally why FIA always changes the regulations, people expect we’ll see a drivers true form when they are in a different car. Also he said how Lando would match Max in a straight fight and… I’m sorry to say but their grids when they began were two different worlds. I respect Lando as a driver and person (I did question his comment on the Orange but it is whatever, no one knows if it was for PR or out of his own mouth) but we have literal past champions and experts talking about the driver’s expertise. I’ll admit the car is a huge play (maybe like 70%) but the driver is who makes the difference. A good example is Lewis. I love him but everyone knows Mercedes downfall. He showed how much the car plays a role but also how good the driver has to be. We’ve seen him in China sprint be able to get second place because of good setup from the team and because he was able to make that difference. You can argue for many drivers such as Seb, Kimi, hell maybe add Max when he didn’t have the best car on the grid, they all won races even without the best car. Even if those wins were through safety cars or just plain strategy, which is something some teams really struggle in. McLauren happened to be the best car in Miami and had a good start (dare I say luck too) but you can also see from the other teams that everyone was struggling. No one improved their times Q3, a lot of complaints about the cars not being right. This is turning into a Zak Brown hate speech now but I think it’s important that he realizes for Lando to matchup with top drivers like Max or Lewis he needs consistency. Something that drivers such as Charles is good at. He’s still young and he has time but currently? He doesn’t stand a chance in equal machinery, different from what Zak previously stated.

Sorry for my rant!! I went off topic myself but I just think a lot of people in the media (cough twitter) forget how many teams care about the constructors championship more than the driver’s one. No one is a car merchant because there is no way you can make the car’s equal in all fields. Even if the driver isn’t the most important bit their expertise is what makes the difference!

...heyyy (im so sorry it took me so long to answer this ask anon😭, I swear I would've done sooner but at that point all of my asks were just hate crimes and I was NOT feeling the vibe. I'm back now!!!❤️🤗)

But anyway, YOURE SO RIGHT NONNIE. Ugh and this is smthng that acc makes me so irritated sometimes, bc in the end, f1 is more business than it is sport and teams NEED sponsors. I feel like alot of ppl forget that, like the drivers and teams literally DO have to pay to remain in the sport.

This means that the whole point of a team is to build the absolute best of a car they can, especially for teams at the top (rbr, ferrari, mclaren, mercedes), bc that's what the sponsors want. That's what the drivers WANT. They WANT a dominating car. They WANT a car that's 1 second ahead of the wholeass grid. They WANT that. And if top teams don't deliver that then yes, they ARE gonna lose both drivers and sponsors.

I feel like so many fans forget that f1 is literally the MOST competitive sport. No driver wants to be out there in equal machinery. They just want to WIN. Sponsors don't care how competing cars have been beaten, they just want the team they've picked to be ON TOP.

Now, away from all the money talk, fans who put EVERYTHING a driver achieves on to the 'car' just piss me off. You literally cannot be saying that. You cannot be saying max's dominance is only bc of the car when this man has a 20 SECOND GAP to the next car, while his teammate is literally fighting to make it to q3. Like please. Go look in the mirror and think abt ur comments bfr they leave your mouth😭. Monaco also proves that so well, the redbull car was absolute SHIT there, and max still managed to put it up in p6.

Who is not a Zak brown hater in this economy nonnie😌✊🏽, dw I completely get u. Literally no points to add to that bc everything uve said is so right. I feel like Zak just puts lando on a pedestal that lando has NOT achieved. There's still a long way for lando to go, and while I am happy for him and his first race win – Zak brown immediately saying lando is a championship competitor right after it is just hilarious to me😭. Like slow down bro, chill.

All in all, consistency is KEY. And literally not one driver wants to be in a car that's the same as their competitors.🤗

Edit: also nonnie, can I ask who ur fave team/ driver is?? I just like the way you talk and I wanna know so bad now.

[chussyracing]

I don't understand people who make fun of Charles for re-signing for Ferrari. Yes it's true the team has a lot of flaws and messed up a lot with him but it remains his best chance to be world champion. Because despite their null strategy and their null car the team has never been at the bottom of the standings. Charles was also better than some who had a high-performance car at the end of the season. Then what other team could he have gone to? Red bull gives priority to max and mercedes to lewis. Go to another team it's a step back in his career. Ferrari remains the most relevant option for him, especially now that there are going to be real changes with Fred and he becomes the priority. So I don't see why people are laughing

You know how it is with social media, everyone has an opinion and although I do not agree, I respect theirs. And without taking away any credit from newer fans - because we have all been in that positon once - I think some fans may fail to realize how dominance works in this sport.

There are periods where certain teams are ahead of others and those periods come to an end sooner or later. In order to get to that sweet spot of being a number one driver in number one team you need a few things even AFTER you get into F1 and that is: get into factory team that is currently among top 3/4, spend some time in the team so both sides can get used to the settlement (the specific feedback, driver style and preference, working morale etc), get top people around you including trainer/physio, but also mechanics, engineers, team principal and teammate, have top equipment and big enough budget from the team...

There is a lot in play and you need to put everything together, and then when you do, it just clicks. There has always been something missing for Charles and for Ferrari. I'm not saying we're winning this year, because to be fair, that's almost impossible with how ahead Red Bull is and how they nailed current regulations since Newey was the only one who lived through the previous ground effect era. But there are many positive signs already including hiring new staff, strenghtening the FDA, focusing on the future and particularly 2026 regualtions.

There are thousands ways to fail but I think we are gearing up for success. So let the people laugh while they have something to laugh about.

[whatismylife3]

I get why people are sceptical about the “Drive it out” video - this kind of thing should have been done long ago and they should provide more details on what the plans are to tackle this problem. I do think we need to give it chance though to see what they actually do.

However. I am seeing a lot of finger pointing at other drivers fanbases for being the main problem and I just wanna say… it literally not down to just one driver fanbase, it’s basically ALL OF THEM.

No driver fanbase is without toxic and disgusting fans lbr-

• a popular Charles fan page on here said Carlos needed to kill himself and had consistently made derogatory comments to him. I have now blocked them so I dunno if they are still doing it but there was definitely a severe lack of people calling them out at the time. Seemed to be one Carlos fan did and that’s when people said something.

•merc fans sent death threats to Nicky after Abu Dhabi - and I’m saying merc fans because that’s what I saw and tbh no other team fans really had a reason.. unless they just hated max so maybe I should say mostly merc fans.

•there has been racist abuse towards any driver who is not white from multiple fanbases - pretty sure I remember Alex’s family having to be told not to look at comments on any socials because people were saying they eat cats amongst other things, and the amount of people who were awful to Zhou when he was announced by Alfa Romeo was insane. Can’t mention racist abuse without mentioning Lewis - the fact there are people who think it’s okay to call him slurs is vile. I get people don’t like have to like him, but the fact some peoples first insult to him is racist will never make sense and shows more about that person than Lewis. I do see this more on twitter tbh.

•people constantly wishing drivers to crash… even after Silverstone this year! Wtf is wrong with those people?! Drivers have died - most drivers on the grid know someone who has died from this in their career. I usually only see other drivers fans call out people who say that. Fans of the same driver seem to be quiet most of the time.

•Lando fans vs Daniel fans on the regular and they get really nasty. I’m fed up of the war going on between them.

•Lewis fans vs max fans CONSTANTLY at it when at least those drivers can show respect towards one another. They might not be friends but they seem way more mature than some of their fanbases. I know there are respectful fans on both sides and I actually interact with some (lbr, their teams are the ones typically in the media making little comments anyway) - but there are definitely those who act like either driver murdered that persons entire family and is the reason for every war ever to happen. Like my god, some people need to touch grass.

•Carlos vs Charles fans - so many people were mad about Silverstone for Charles… but the truth ferrari fucked up and that doesn’t mean Carlos didn’t deserve a win. Vice versa - I’ve seen some Carlos fans hating on Charles when something happens that affects his race.

There are so many more examples but I’d literally be constantly listing so I’ve put the ones I’ve seen most and some examples that have just stood out to me.

Instead of pointing the finger at each other, which does absolutely nothing but causing fights, actually hold fans accountable for their words. Not just of drivers you don’t like, but people who support your driver. All that person is doing is contributing to the toxic and hateful environment that seems to be all I see when I now go online. All it does is create a bad name for the driver and make people think all the fans of that driver behave that way. I’m sick of coming online and wondering what fucking fan war I’m about to witness and what happened when I was offline.

And I know people will say “but this drivers fans are worse”, I DONT CARE. I’ve said what I’ve said. It’s about making EVERYONE accountable for their words/actions instead of just the fans of drivers you don’t like. If you don’t hold everyone accountable, even if you’re friends with someone saying this toxic stuff, you’re part of the problem. that does include drivers too - but some people are very picky on which driver they think needs to be held accountable and which doesn’t… which makes no sense. Either hold every driver to that same standard or none of them, don’t pick and choose which driver needs accountability and which doesn’t

End of rant. I just needed to say this💀

[russilton]

I go absolutely feral whenever you post something about redbull george man, the thought you put into it is so impressive! I was also wondering how the public feels ab redbull george, do they dislike him? Love him? Hate him with all their being?

🥹🥹🥹 I am glad my ferality is being mirrored by others. I havent through a lot about public reaction to George bc most of the story is told within the paddock via Lewis, but I’m sure I can think of a bit

Edit: this is mark who just finished writing this response, an hour later. I thought of more than a bit.

Redbull au spoilers under the cut let’s goooo

The public opinion on George is about as mixed as it is on Lewis. Some people love him, some people HATE him, and those opinions develop throughout the year

The first time he gets into the Red Bull seat opinions are truly split on him. Some people think he’s just another Red bull second seat filler destined to fail, after all they’ve watched Daniil, Pierre, and most recently Albon get traded around like stocks. It doesn’t help that George is quite publicly cocky, he doesn’t overstate himself, but he did spend 2020 turning the Alpha Tauri car into a beast that even pierre couldn’t match. He’s bold, confident, and has a PR face that other RB drivers struggled with.

Some people think George is the next big thing. Some genuinely see his talent within AT and his F2 Championship as a sign of things to come, a lot like Williams George has. It’s no secret a lot of people often look for literally any chance to shit on Lewis, George is an unfortunately good outlet for that, especially for Unsavoury (read: racist) british fans who want to champion someone other than Lewis, but would rather support another Brit than some Dutch prick. George is quite… publicly critical of this. He’s a dick but he doesn’t want people who support him just for not being Lewis. I won’t say he’s some saint because he isn’t, but George is a big fan of Lewis, he always has been, and he kneeled alongside him in the RB au just as IRL George did. RB management weren’t particularly happy about that one, but they found a way to spin George as good PR and a shield they could use to excuse some of Max’s more shit behaviour.

Once the season starts, opinions split even further. His confidence is a turn off for some, and a turn on for others, and when George starts to get into more scuffles on track with Lewis that just grows. Red bull fans will take any chance to make George a saint that’s the thorn in Lewis’ side, someone who’s making the humble king crack. More passionate Mercedes fans see him as an annoyance who should get out of Lewis’ way, an overconfident asshole who thinks he’s hot shit. A lot of midfield fans like George, he fights clean and strong, and people love a good overtake fight, George and Lewis provide that. People love to share gifs of Lewis’ clenched jaw as he watches George on the podium next to him, the wink George gives him back. There’s also photos of Lewis winking down at an unimpressed George on third. A Brit on Brit rivalry gets people hot, and it helps both George and Lewis are very respectful in interviews about each other. They’ll tease, George will say he thinks someone of Lewis’ experience shouldn’t have left certain gaps for him, Lewis will raise a brow and return that perhaps George needs to remember who overtook him after. Their banter and fights are foreplay for them but with the nature of the internet some people are sure they want to kill each other. A small subsection of tumblr and twitter think they’re fucking. They are correct.

This sort of love him or hate him attitude continues till around the middle of the first half of the season, when Red Bull fans start to be concerned that George is “spoiling” Max’s shot at a WDC. There are still far more max fans than George, after all dutch stoic ness people tend to brush away, British arrogance (somewhat rightfully) doesn’t go down as well. Mercedes fans don’t like George, but he is often used to point to how max could behave on track in a similar car. Hate him all you want George is behaved. As redbull slowly pile the pressure on George to submit to Max, so does the public. In the wake of Silverstone George is blamed for not being able to ‘protect’ max from Lewis, that that’s his job as second. When George hands a win to Lewis in Hungary as a “fuck you im not second driver”, shouting and conspiracy theories run abound. Everything from “he’s just in redbull to screw with max and help another Brit, he’s Lewis’ bitch” to “Actually george is worse than max but the team are biased” to the slightly more correct “George is actually better but being screwed over”. Merc fans don’t know how to react to George giving lewis the win. Nobody likes admitting that Lewis would have deeply struggled to get past without it, so some say George lost his mettle or the car had a mechanical failure.

Summer break silence and this love hate feeling continues, when they come back and George is struggling suddenly people are quick to crow about the second seat curse, that he was never actually that good. People who liked George for challenging max go quiet, ones that liked how he challenged lewis stop paying attention, and it’s a good thing George largely avoid social media because that just leaves some fans and a lot of livid Red bull fans who are ready to spew acid at George. Some still adore him of course, he’s the second man to their goat max, spoiler of Mercedes’ day, but Their praise makes George feel somewhat sick. He thinks he might actually throw up at the cheers he gets at Zandvoort as Lewis is Boo’d.

After the Russia crash, most RB fans left turn on him. He’s blamed utterly and completely for the incident by Red bull and they don’t even think to question it. He’s just like Pierre and Alex, he’s lost his mettle, they want to shame him for his confidence in the early season, they don’t know George is practically driving one handed with all he’s asked to test. To them, George is failing to defend max, or at worse hampering him. The abuse he gets after Russia and mexico is brutal. George is curling into himself too, his interviews are far different to early season, they’re clipped, his answers vauge, and the PR face is in full force. There are memes made of his tense blank face when Max overtakes him without a fight in Turkey, they don’t know George is trying not to hurl in some of those interviews. Most Merc fans are indifferent to him, they wish he’d go back to causing max trouble again, but he doesn’t cause Lewis issues either, so they don’t much care. At the end of the season redbull fans hate him because they blame max loosing the WDC on George not stopping Lewis. They don’t know that honestly George probably would have been the one fighting Max, or the one against Lewis if not for how he’s handicapped. George’s post race interview is praised for how he congratulates Lewis and speaks on how impressive his record breaking his, slipping just a little when he mentions how Lewis had inspired him. People blame Brit on Brit bias but people do like to discuss and debate George mentioning not wanting to cause a safety car, and how that perhaps contributed to Lewis’ win.

So, post season, Mercedes’ fans generally don’t love him, or just don’t care about him. Red Bull fans either view him as a failure, spoiler, or that he just dropped the ball, there’s a lot of back and forth on if he should be continuing to next year or replaced. Some say he’s clearly a more stable option than Alex or pierre, other days his performance drop is reason enough to drop him. Midfield fans are mixed on him too, but he’s generally agreed to be a promising talent, but very green.

When the Mercedes announcement happens, the internet explodes.

A driver moving to another team from RB hasn’t happened since Daniel and look how that went, but holy shit to the rival team? Unthinkable. Some are convinced George is giving up his shot at winning, clearly red bull is on the come back. Ardent Red bull fans accuse him of being a traitor, unfaithful and a terrible person for not sticking with the team that trained him. They don’t know about the abuse behind the scenes, to them it’s almost conspiracy worthy. Some people are confused as to how it even happened, don’t teams have anti competing clauses? How could Red bull let this happen? Some think it MUST be on purpose, trying to convince Toto to hire a bad driver and bring them down (they don’t love to point out the last time christian did that was when Toto signed Lewis, and how’d that work out?)

Mercedes fans don’t trust him. There’s varying ranges to it, some people think he’s a spy obviously going to send details to Red bull, how could Toto hire such an obvious traitor. Some think he’s being hired to replace Lewis and consider it either idiotic or outright evil actions on Toto’s part. Again they can’t see that George would rather stab himself than talk to Christian again, and that he has Lewis to vouch for him, and George’s early season performance is a fairly reasonable justification not to like him.

Lewis keeps him off the internet, drags George out over the Christmas break to just hang out, when George isn’t with his family. When it’s time for George to start working at Brackley in January, Lewis comes with him a lot of days. He says it’s just that he’s working too, and George accepts that. Toto and Bono share glances knowingly about how there’s no way on earth Lewis needs to keep coming in, and he certainly didn’t for Val. Susie figures out that they’re tentatively dating first, because she’s more observant than all of them, but she keeps it to herself. She does make Toto invite the poor boy over during the holidays with Lewis, to welcome him into the Mercedes’ family. Susie knows a boy who needs maternal and paternal adults around when she sees one, and she certainly couldn’t do it to Lewis lol.

When the new season starts, Lewis deliberately encourages a lot of interviews with George, so people can see them getting on. It helps George can finally talk publicly about how much he likes how Lewis drives and how helpful he is behind the scenes. Merc fans do slowly come round on him as George proves to be an even stronger second driver than Val, and a solid team player who the Merc team loves. I def have thoughts about a Canada style team dinner where there’s a sneaky photo of Lewis, George and Valtteri all sat together laughing at something, Lewis with a casual arm around George’s shoulder and Val, still in his AR gear being included within Merc as family

I thought this reply would end up being so short it would make the readmore overkill. I WAS WRONG.

[maxenceandrebisset]

hey! i'm kind of curious abt this, can't wait to see who you come up with! i'm 6 foot, hazel eyes and brown hair (naturally anyway, atm it's green 😅). my hair's also buzzed! i'm a mechanical engineering student, hoping to either go into motorsport (not f1 ironically, fe or wec) or classic car restoration. outside of uni i do a lot of performing (musicals and normal theatre), i help out in student union (subject representative, and i was head of the union at college) and general crafty things; knitting, sewing, embroidery etc. i try to do them as close to early modern or industrial period historical practice, just for fun!

as the performing might suggest, i like to talk! but only once i've actually gotten to know someone, otherwise, as i spent most of my childhood at work with my dad, i can apparently come across as quite serious (my dad works in government, so i had to learn quite quickly how not to offend councillers and mps 🤣). when i do open up a bit, i sort of end up being the mum friend, for lack of a better term? i cook for my flatmates a lot, make sure they're going where they need to get. i do really like to learn things, no matter what they are; my dad always jokes that if money was no object he doesn't think i'd ever leave uni (which he's not wrong abt djgjjd). i in a partner, i generally get on well with people who can offset my nerves a bit, esp when it comes to being out and about in public, but also someone i can have a laugh with, and likes to get out and do things/explore new places!

thank you sm, hope you're having a good day/night ❤️❤️

For the beginning, love the detailed answer - let me tell you, you are hell of excting person! Or at least you sound like this.

As I read through your answer, the only driver, who kept popping up in my mind over and over again was

LEWIS HAMILTON

Now, I won't lie, I am a bit scared that you are some avid Max fan or something along these lines and detest Lewis as many people out there do, therefore you will hate even this answer, so if that's the case, then I am sorry.

- I feel like Lewis would be extremely supportive of your engineering studies and dream of having a career in the motorsport/car restoration - just following him on his social media, you can see that he is encouraging everyone both famous and regular people, especially women pursuing male-dominated fields

- plus I also think that he would eagerly want to help with this interest/direction of yours in particular - tell you his experiences and knowledge of the motor racing, which could help you and be valuable in your profession, or just give a helping hand in the car restoration if he knew for sure that he could help

- outside of F1 Lewis is also artistic, probably the most out of all drivers, so I think that he would love to attend your performances in the theater/musicals and would actually genuinely enjoy them, not attend them only because you are his partner and it would be respectful to do so as many other drivers would

- Differently from the first point, I believe that he would use your interested in knitting, sewing, etc. and "use you" when it comes down to his passion for fashion - letting you design or put together pieces he would later on wear and pull off even if they didn't turn out as great as they were supposed to, ask you for advice or give you ideas for your creations

- Now, Lewis also likes to talk, but he is not any sort of crazy out-going extrovert like Daniel, who would be speaking nonstop even in front of complete strangers - just like you, he likes to talk when he is around people he is comfortable with or he uses his voice and its influence during the more formal events and occasions since he has matured into a very well-spoken guy, who uses his popularity and platform to speak for those, who are not heard, and represent them in the world

- When he is not around his friends, he also seems like that overly serious person who is no fun, (standing alone with his umbrella, earphones and sunglasses on the truck every single race), but from my personal experience of meeting him two times during race weekends and having the chance to exchange some words with him, he is actually really kind-hearted and polite fella with a good sense of humor, surprisingly good one (and his dad-like laughter, which cracks me up every single time I hear it)

- Don't know why, but I think that Lewis actually needs someone, who is like the typical mum friend - he might be 36-year-old, but there is so much on his plate, that I think he would appreciate someone, who wouldn't be completely lost in life and could naturally take care of someone

- Not to begin the suggar daddy discussion here (seriously didn't think I would bring this up, whatever, here we go I guess), but I think that you could peacefully study for however long you would want to because he definitely has enough money to solve the financial issue preventing you from studying forever

Also, let's be honest, your dad would probably like such a rich guy, who could financially back you up until you would have a stable income yourself, as well.

- I also believe that he would be able to take you to many different places all around the world, which you could explore together (not only his house in LA and Monaco) since he definitely is not someone, who would hate travelling and exploring new countries, cultures, etc.

[scarlett-hamiltonf1]

Smut w lewis hamilton please

Love is in the air and not even Lewis Hamilton himself is immune to it. Y/N Wolff is Toto's only child and a common face in the paddock. You are the mastermind behind the social media account and love to keep fans on their toes. Along with that profession, you ran a Public Relations company that contracted with F1 and most of the team used you along with many high-profile clients. With your father's knack for investing, you soon became extremely wealthy and successful.

Your life has revolved around racing for a long time. Of course, when your father took the reins at Mercedes you decided to stand by him even though you supported Redbull. Oh yeah, You and Max Verstappen are best buddies after the drivers got used to seeing you in the paddock all the time.

Everyone knew you as a really chill and friendly person, but the one driver you could not get along with was Lewis Hamilton. You publicly took Nico Rosberg's side in the conflict between the two and from there it went downhill. So here you are at the German Grand Prix watching Lewis meet Michael Schumacher's record. Something you had mixed feelings on.

"He's done it." Toto chuckled, while you huffed.

You wrapped your warm Mercedes jacked around you tighter. "Good for him," you muttered.

Your father looked up with a smirk. "You used to idolize Lewis, remember all the autographs you have framed in your trophy room back at home."

Your trophy room. The room held all your trophies from when you did Karting with the newer drivers. Your favorite was when you tied with Mick at a race, and your father's got in an argument over who really won. In the end, you and Mick decided that you would share the trophy and to this day every six months you take turns with it. Your second favorite was the first WDC Lewis ever won. He gave it to you, for your sixteenth birthday, six years ago.

"Maybe I did idolize him when I was a teen, but knowing him has proved nothing but he's just another rich arrogant F1 driver."

Toto laughed at you while giving you a side hug. "Well, let's go meet the champ and do our interviews."

You followed your father through the paddock to the podium where you met up with Mick.

"Hey, Mickie Mouse!" You exclaimed.

"Hey, Wolff!" he replied with a bright smile.

You basically grew up with Mick, and his family considered you an honorary Schumacher.

"Wanna go up with me?"

You looked over to your father who gave you an encouraging nod, so you followed Mick up to the podium. When you got to the door leading out to the podium someone stopped you and placed the first place trophy in your hands.

There was no time for you to protest as you and Mick were pushed onto the podium stage. You smiled brightly as the cameras landed on you.

Mick whispered a joke to you, to make sure you smile knowing you didn't like being in the direct spotlight for long periods of time...like now.

You stood behind Mick while he talked with Lewis before MIck stepped aside and let you walk forward with the trophy.

"Congratulations," You whispered to Lewis. "You deserve it."

Lewis smiled brightly at you. "Thank you Y/N." and he held out an arm to give you a hug.

You leaned is slowly and soon felt yourself wrapping your arms around Lewis's warm body. His scent seemed to draw you in closer as you felt like you were right where you belonged.

"Forgive me?" he asked while holding up his pinky.

You locked your pinky in his while smirking. "Let's get through this interview, and then we'll see," I replied.

The two of you split from Mick and went to an interview with Will Buxton. He already had a bit of a mischievous look on his face.

"Probably one of the strongest rivalries in the paddock, Y/N Wolff and Lewis Hamilton joining us," Will announced. "That hug up on the podium, was it coming to a truce?"

You chuckled. "I have a bit of respect for Lewis."

"Perhaps you need to learn to give more, Y/N." he quipped with a smirk causing me to look at him funny.

You smirked. "Would you excuse us for a second...I'm about to go save a few reputations," you replied before dragging Lewis to the Mercedes garage and into his driver's room.

"What' the hell!" he exclaimed.

"Teach me some respect? That's really classy Hamilton."

Lewis rolled his eyes before pushing your body into the wall and attaching his soft lips to yours. Your brain and body were telling you no, but your heart was saying otherwise.

"You've been in love with me for a long time." He whispered in my ear. "All I thought about was waiting in till you were eighteen to do this."

"I'm not in love with you!" you snapped.

Lewis dug his knee between your legs while rubbing against your throbbing clit.

"It is time you learn to respect a six-time world champion, soon to be seven." He stated. "But first...I need your permission."

You rolled your eyes. "I doubt you could do anything to make me respect you more, but I give you my permission."

With your words, Lewis through you onto the couch while stripping both your clothes off. He made sure to let you know, you were just there for the ride and had no control over the situation whatsoever.

For someone who was always controlling the drivers and trying to keep them from causing too much drama, you weren't used to being told what to do and not being the controlling one.

Lewis was quick to put a small kiss on your bundle of nerves before licking a long strip on your clit, causing you to elicit a soft moan, trying to be quiet as there were people in the vicinity.

"Lewis..." you breathed out, mouth agape as he sucked, bit, and licked your throbbing clit, already aching for a release.

You grabbed his curls harshly as you felt a bubbling sensation began to grow.

Suddenly there was a pounding on the door and Lewis pulled away harshly.

"Who is it?"

"Max, I'm looking for Y/N. She promised to go for a drive with me on the track." Max replied.

Lewis huffed. "Well, if I see her I'll tell her you were looking for her. Honestly, she's probably dealing with the press about my number of wins."

"Humble." I hear Max mutter in dutch. "Well, thanks! Congratulations again!"

Lewis turned back to me while I burst out laughing. A few moments later he began laughing as well.

"I think Max was divine intervention telling us this is wrong," Lewis stated and I agreed.

You smiled up at Lewis. "When you're off racing, I want you to remember that there's always one person rooting for you, who never stopped."

Lewis smiled as we got dressed, "To our graves?" he asked holding up his pinky.

"To our graves." I smirked.

Bonus:

You walked through the paddock to the Redbull garage. Max was waiting there with a nice Aston Martin, with a huge smirk on his face.

"So how long are you going to keep pretending you and Lewis aren't dating?"

I shrugged. "It's nice leading everyone on to think we hate each other, even my father."

Max raised a brow.

"I wouldn't be so sure, given Lewis bought a pent house in the same building as you, probably more than a coincidence." a voice send from behind you and you turned to see your father.

"Dad?" You exclaimed.

"Nor is it a coincidence that you have that ring around your neck!" he pointed out.

Well, there's the end to your little charade. You and Lewis started dating when you turned 18 but wanted to keep it a secret so you pretended not to like each other. You were even engaged, but you had been found out. Now you'll have to deal with your father, but that was for another day.

[fcb-mv33]

People deadass were like "Michael's overrated he never had a wdc teammate Lewis did ergo Lewis better because he beat them" forgetting one of Michael's first teammates was 3x wdc Piquet *facepalms*

#

No because despite participating in less than half of the season, Michael still placed 14th above drivers who had participated in every round in 1991.

Michael came third in 1992 beating wdcs like Senna & future wdcs like Mika Hakkinen.

He came fourth in '93 in spite of 7 retirements.

He won 1994 & 1995 which speaks for itself.

The Ferrari of 1996 was like the red bull of 2018, it was quite simply a shit box, a tick time bomb but like Daniel & Max, Michael still managed to drag it not just into the points but into the podium places. He still came third just below the far superior Williams (younger fans be like; 👁️👄👁️, lmao yeah Williams were once one of the quickest on the grid, hopefully they will be again soon). In comparison, his teammate in the same car placed tenth overall.

Schumi I love him but he did commit literal war crimes on track that got him disqualified in '97 but he would've been second had he not.

The McLaren of '98 was a rocketship. Michael still placed second beating Coulthard's McLaren, if not Mika's. He also beat defending wdc Villeneuve & wdc Hill (we love to see it).

'99 saw Michael suffer a broken leg in a crash in Silverstone so he was ruled out for most of the season. Despite not starting seven races, he still came fifth. (Again beating Hill we love to see it).

2000-2004 the historic five in a row speaks for itself. He beat both past wdcs and wdcs in the making and unlike the mercs of the hybrid era there wasn't always such a gap between what the cars were capable of (you can argue '04).

Michael came third in '05, now wdc Alonso and future wdc Kimi taking first and second. Michael came second in '06.

People need to put some goddamn respect on Schumi's name.

‘Beating Damon hill you’d love to see it’ YES ANON WE ABSOLUTELY DO LOVE TO SEE IT.

But seriously I’ve nothing to add, to not respect this man shows how little either they know about the sport or that they purely ignore what he has done in Formula 1.

So 👏👏 to you anon🧡

[contrabandhothead]

Hi! I saw your post about requests! :) could I get some BOB head cannons of what it’s like to date them while also being is easy company? :)

I’m so so SO sorry this took so long, and I hope you like it 🤞🏻also, I couldn’t do all of them because school has been keeping me very busy. If you want to send another request, and i’ll do more for you when I have time 💕 Enjoy!

Dick Winters

generally very private about his relationship

mom and dad™ of easy co. 

 i want to say that he puts you on his team during missions, but i feel like he thinks it’s unprofessional 

so he probably puts you on a team with someone he trusts and that he knows won’t take unnecessary risks *cough cough* Speirs *cough cough* 

doesn’t mean he doesn’t get worried though 

give this man a massage please, he’s stressed af  

you’d never want to jeopardize his position though, so you’re generally okay with it 

however, sometimes you get a little lonely 

Dick notices this and tries to clear out a slot in his schedule in order to spend some quality time with you 

treats you like any of the other men, except when you’re alone

king of stolen kisses behind crumbling walls before a battle

very healthy relationship overall 12/10 would be an amazing father 

secretly wants to get married when the war is over 

i’m not saying he definitely proposed on V-E Day but he definitely did it 

cries at the wedding, especially since it’s been so long since he’s seen you all dolled up because of the war 

also cries because he’s finally getting to marry the love of his life 

drunkenly told Nix at his bachelor party about how amazing you would look at your wedding and then went on and on about the specific shade of your eyes

S I M P 

Nix never lets him forget it 

Lewis Nixon

this man 

let’s be for real here 

he has NO idea how to display affection at all, especially because of his past 

so he does what any rich boy would do 

showers you in gifts that you don’t need 

it’s not that you’re ungrateful for them, you just wish he would understand that you don’t love him for his money 

i feel like everyone forgets that he’s lowkey rich 

can’t relate Nix

he will buy you anything he sees you look at for more than a second

always has them delivered by some random Private 

the men tease you RELENTLESSLY for it 

“hey Y/N, what did that overflowing wallet buy you this week?”

“Shut up Tab”

is always worried about you 

especially since he usually isn’t on the battlefield since he moved to staff

you’re fine 

you can definitely handle yourself after Sobel’s training what a fucking dick

takes you out on small simple dates when you guys actually have weekend passes 

the guys always help you get ready for your dates (they see you as a little sister it’s really cute) 

Ron Speirs 

this man 

oh wow 

the flavor 

never really got to see you until Dog Co. was basically absorbed by Easy Co. 

definitely thinks he’s not good enough for you 

when you first introduced the Easy Co. men to him, they thought the exact same thing (they changed their minds after a while though) 

REASSURE THIS MAN. EVERY. STINKIN. DAY. THAT HE IS GOOD ENOUGH. 

P L E A S E 

secretly is a cuddle monster

will 100% sneak into your foxhole to cuddle and will slit anyone’s throat that mentions it 

this man has arms and legs like an octopus when it comes to cuddling 

will pull you back into his arms even if you need to use the bathroom and will not be letting go 

steals you pretty things for absolutely no reason (Ron, no) 

the man is like a freakin magpie

the men of Easy Co. grow to like him more when they realize how happy he makes you and how he doesn’t hurt you 

he actually values their opinion on your relationship a lot

he knows Easy is like family and you’re like the younger sister 

doesn’t show it though 

pushes you away when he feels insecure 

jealous™

surprisingly domestic 

Carwood Lipton 

wholesome but to the max™

you’re both so in love i feel like i’m going to throw up rainbows

signed up for the paratroopers together

i feel like Carwood is the type of person to marry his high school sweetheart 

so yeah, you guys are that™ couple

best aunt and uncle of easy co. 

Lip worries about you just a littleee more than the other men 

he’s just a worry wart in general 

almost threw hands with Sobel once when Sobel insulted you 

he will not stand for anyone insulting his gal 

isn’t as private as Dick is with his relationship, but is known to hide it from superior officers other than Nix and Winters

aka Sobel

was 100% willing to get kicked out of the infantry to defend you from Sobel 

thinks a lot about how good of a mom you’d be, especially when he sees you caring for the men

is also a cuddler, though not nearly as clingy as Ron

just a loose arm to tuck you into his side, especially during Bastogne 

prefers having you on his team, not only because he cares about you, but also because he admires your skill and accuracy 

you’re a damn good shot, and he’d scream it from a mountain for all to hear 

so proud of his gal 

George Luz

you’re either the jokester and the stoic couple, the shy kid and the jokester couple, or the jokester and the jokester couple 

there’s no in between 

cracks terrible jokes just to see you smile 

still tries pick up lines even AFTER you two are dating (even the guys shake their heads)

you two are the entertainment for easy co. let me tell you 

you’re also the only person that can get George to shut up 

you must thank him in kisses he takes no other currency 

clingy baby™

it’s like dating a 12 year old boy sometimes 

he can be so immature but it’s kind of endearing at times

everyone is immediately accepting of your relationship because it just makes sense and you’re both good for each other

wants a hug and a kiss even if you’re just leaving the dining hall to go to the bathroom 

just give the man what he wants or he’ll pout all day until you kiss his cheek 

you guys once had a match of how long you could ignore each other once 

he was surprisingly dedicated 

but he broke 

he snapped like a twig after everyone went to sleep

he dived into your foxhole and begged you to talk to him

he kept snuggling closer to you until you talked to him again

Joe Toye 

rough on the outside, soft on the inside  

brings you flowers when he asks you out (surprisingly very traditional and respectful when he asks you out)

everyone has a good time when Toye is with you, he loosens up a lot more 

loves when you pet his hair and he can just stare up at the stars while laying in your lap 

he’s just as bad as Speirs when it comes to cuddling 

a cuddle bug but won’t admit it 

actually might be worse than Speirs when it comes to cuddling because he can actually sneak into your bunk while you’re sleeping 

also wants to fight Sobel when Sobel insults you and actually almost threw hands 

he almost got court martialed and was 2 steps away from getting up in Sobel’s face before Guarnere and Luz stopped him

hands down the dumbest thing he has ever done 

you were so mad at him for it 

you didn’t talk to him for a week 

you felt bad because he was always giving you those puppy dog eyes from across the dining hall 

Joe gets teased by the guys for being sweet on you  

“at least I got a broad! the rest of ya’ can’t really say that much.”

will not hesitate to let you win during arm wrestling 

he’s not allowed to arm wrestle with you anymore because the guys know he’s just letting you win 

you’re his #1 fan during arm wrestling 

look at those arms tho

Joe  Liebgott   

y’all thought Toye was soft 

OH BOY 

the way Joe acts around you is definitely bullying material for the other guys 

Lieb drinks respect women juice 

thinks you’re so cool 

would probably walk up to random people and be like “that’s her. she’s my girlfriend. can you believe how lucky i am?” 

thinks it’s so cute when you show off your brand new jump wings to him

you just looked so excited 

he wasn’t even staring at the wings when you started rambling about how happy you were, he was just making this stupid in love face

definitely grabbed your face and kissed you hard after that 

he wants SO many kids???? 

ya know those lists that lots of girls have on their phones and it’s just a bunch of future baby names??? that’s Joe 

this man has 8 names

4 girls names and 4 boy names 

he plans to use every name 

just wants to live the domestic life with you after the war 

will freeze his ass off and take your watch just so you can get some extra sleep 

another cuddle monster (they’re multiplying)

whispers really cute things in german to you until you fall asleep

has also almost fought Sobel for shit he said to you 

David Webster 

you help him fit in more with the other guys 

please teach him the art of socializing  

yes, the men have stolen his journal to read all his terrible poetry about you

still gets shit for it to this day 

shares his chocolate bar with you 

longing stares but from across the room 

doesn’t actually take you out until the war is over because he wants to do it right dammit 

has little to absolutely no relationship experience

please teach him 

or better yet, struggle with him and get made fun of by all the guys 

they actually accept Web more now that he’s with you 

cuz Easy Co. loves you 

sends letters all the time when he’s sent to the hospital 

everyone teases him that he acts like he’s more likely married to Liebgott than to you

you’re the only reason the men will stop teasing him 

definitely more badass then him 

you radiate boss energy and that’s what easy co. likes about you 

especially Web

everyone’s like “that’s my girl!”  

and he just smiles in the corner with the rest of them 

Bill Guarnere 

DID I SAY SOFT??? 

S O F T 

weak for his girl 

arm wrestles just to get your attention (flexes all the time for pete’s sake) 

also wants like a gazillion children and talks about it constantly with Liebgott

this man wants an army of little Italian kids 

no one makes fun of you or Guarnere for his actions to get your attention because they don’t want his fist in their face 

people who have almost punched Sobel for making fun of their girl: let’s add Guarnere to the list 

you didn’t ignore him, you just told him off for being an idiot 

if i could describe it, he sulked like a puppy that got told no more treats

so proud of you when you get your jump wings 

probably makes a toast about it at the celebration 

he was so drunk but it was so cute

literally will do anything for your attention 

chugging three bottles of whiskey so Y/N will pay attention to me??? pass the bottle bitch

not a massive cuddle monster but enjoys PDA and the occassional ass slap

probably has slapped your ass in front of company before

this boy has no morals smh 

don’t worry, you get him back though 

Frank Perconte 

worry wart but multiply it by 1000x 

is always bothering you to brush your teeth 

not because he’s scared your breath stinks, but because he cares about you and your oral hygiene 

now gets bullied about oral hygiene and his relationship with you 

ft Skip. “oh Y/N, take me away my princess. did you brush your little pearly teeth??? i would never want your perfect smile to be ruined.” 

Skip has been chased multiple times around Toccoa for this behavior 

will fight anyone that thinks you’re not a good shot 

is amazed how good you are at darts (knows you’re better than Buck) 

does share a foxhole with you 

is NOT part of the monster cuddler club because he knows when to stop 

has not arm wrestled for your attention but will if so needed 

always needs attention

whiny 12 year old boy P.2

sometimes it’s like you’re dating Luz as well 

Luz has purposefully third wheeled before 

yes, you heard me 

ON PURPOSE

likes spontaneous dates 

would fight Sobel for you but isn’t stupid enough to almost do it 

Buck Compton  

realized he had heart eyes for you before his old girl broke it off with him

WAS RELIEVED WHEN SHE SAID SHE WAS DONE WITH HIM IN BASTOGNE 

the other Easy men were like “dude, what the hell are you waiting for. GO GET YOUR GIRL!” 

let’s you win at darts 

is also stupid and needy enough to arm wrestle for your attention

actually wins though 

wants you to kiss his guns (absolutely not sir) 

jealous and protective 

jealous af around Winters 

gets teased a lot about it by the other men

but they can see why he’s insecure about it, Winter’s could sweep any girl he wanted to off her feet

indeed a cuddle monster 

will only share a foxhole with you in Bastogne 

no one else

radiator of heat and thus a good cuddler though 

will only let you make fun of him without repercussions 

wants you to move in as soon as the war is over

always demands to be in your unit during an attack

will keep you safe at all costs (and one of the reasons why he got shot in the ass again) 

Floyd Talbert 

THE ABSOLUTE SWEETEST BABY 

 people use to bully Tab for his condom shipments

now they bully him for the way he acts around you 

tough guy??? no. absolute stick of melted butter when around you 

thinks you’re a saint 

so does the rest of Easy though, so I guess it doesn’t matter

they had everyone from Easy give him a pep talk just to ask you out (Trigger even barked at him) 

he was actually worried you would reject him 

no one will ever reject that man lol it doesn’t make sense

not necessarily a cuddle monster

DEFINITELY A PDA MONSTER THOUGH 

likes when you sit on his lap 

can’t explain it, it just makes sense

will also arm wrestle for your attention 

will honestly do anything for you 

you need me to bring you Jupiter in a jar??? 

sure babe I’ll be right back 

has specific pet names for you 

his favorites are buttercup, angel, and beautiful

Babe Heffron 

P U R E 

does not get bullied for being in a relationship with you because everyone loves him

not a single person in this company, including you, would hesitate to sacrifice their life for that replacement 

whines a lot to you when you don’t give him attention

will arm wrestle for your attention and loses

has not had the chance to fight Sobel before but I feel like he could if he wanted to 

will tear Dike to shreads if he even mutter one hateful word against you 

cuddle monster #2323293

enjoys being the little spoon and the big spoon while in the foxhole 

shares his food with you during meals 

will not hesitate to get shot in the ass for you 

also will not hesitate to get shot for you in general 

is like an angry 6 year old baby when you don’t pay attention to him

is known to give the silent treatment when you’re too busy to talk to him for days

MAKE TIME FOR HIM DO IT NOW 

wants you to meet his Ma in Philly after the war 

has many hopeful dreams that include you after the war 

will only share chocolate with you and Gene

give him a hug, even when he says he doesn’t need it

Eugene Roe 

HOLY SWEET JESUS 

FIRST OFF 

NO ONE IN THEIR GODDAMN RIGHT MIND WOULD EVER MAKE FUN OF YOU, ESPECIALLY AROUND DOC

this man has so many pet names 

he is not afraid to use them on the battlefield, especially if you’re bleeding out because he’ll know you’ll answer to them

“darlin’, mon amour, ma mie, ma belle, ma chérie” 

 please stop Gene, it’s embarassing but also like don’t stop

get us a defibrillator his heart stopped while he was looking at you and we need to do CPR NOW-

thinks you’re the most beautiful girl ever

is not dumb enough to arm wrestle for your attention

he just makes this grumpy or upset face and you catch on quickly 

he’s also not dumb enough to fight Sobel

BUT HE WILL FIGHT ANY SOLDIER WITH THE AUDACITY TO INSULT YOU 

is always worrying about you

especially in Bastogne 

always jumping into your foxhole to check for any wounds

probably lost his sizzuhs that way

always has extra bandages just for you 

treats you with tender care

Donald Malarkey 

THE CUTEST COUPLE EVER

NOT EVEN SKIP HAS THE HEART TO MAKE FUN OF YOU 

is not dumb enough to fight Sobel for you 

doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to punch him though 

is dumb enough to arm wrestle for your attention 

it lowkey depends on the day though 

i mean 

he doesn’t need to arm wrestle for you to admire his arms 

like, have you seen that gif of him taking of his shirt???

loves cuddles in your foxhole but is not a cuddle monster

he’s a big baby when he gets tired

loves it when you take care of him 

has definitely fallen asleep once on your shoulder during watch 

would run up Currahee with full gear 3 times just to see you smile

he needs a hug. give him one now. 

likes to rest his chin on your head 

also wants you to move in (and maybe get married) after the war

treats you kindly, but he’s still a sarcastic little shit 

kiss his muscles

that was literally so long i can’t believe i finished

[generalblizzarddreamer]

Book recommendations based on your Hogwarts house!

A/N I’ve been watching a lot of these videos on youtube and it inspired me to make this post! I hope you enjoy. I love Harry Potter and the fandom but just to be clear I don’t support J.K Rowling and her trans/homophobic statements and the fact that she is ruining the series by adding more to it.

Ravenclaw house 💙🦅(my house)

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

This book just screams Ravenclaw to me. The cults, the science, the research, the history, the small facts on the Smithsonian... literally everyting except the characters themselves and the plot is real. There is so much knowledge to be gained from reading this book and the plot is thick and exciting. 

Strange the Dreamer duology by Laini Taylor

Another book that screams Ravenclaw... Strange the Dreamer and the world and the culture is so thick and is presented in lyrical and intelligent word play that any self respecting Ravenclaw should definitely give this book a try. You will not be disappointed! I know I wasn’t! The main character (Lazlo Strange) is also a Ravenclaw so that is always a perk. 

This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

This book is like a well thought out chess game. The writing styles that the two authors develop is addicting and the letters going back and forth between the two character is so intriguing. There so much strategy and wit in this book that I had to put it on this list for Ravenclaw. 

Wendy Darling by Colleen Oarkes

I love this book so much. I think it’s a book that is worthy of Ravenclaw just because of it’s creativity and the twist that Colleen Oakes put on Peter Pan. I think sometimes we forget that it isn’t just wit, wisdom, and knowledge (although this book is definitely witty and has some wise messages) that Ravenclaws value but also creativity. 

Bonus book: Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. This book is the most Ravenclaw book ever. Need I say more. 

Gryffindor ❤️🦁

Lore by Alexandria Bracken

The plot is tense, most of the characers are Gryffindors, book praises bravery, cowardice is something that is punishable ad frowed upon... the list goes on and on. Lore is filled with high stakes and brave acts that Gryffindor’s will admire.  

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

It was so hard to put one of my all time favorite books in here just solely because it’s not my house (that was not a dig on Gryffindor please don’t attack me). Bree is such a Gryffindor and does so many of the things I can see the golden trio doing. High stakes, daring acts, Gryffindor cast, a Griffindor x Griffindor relationship, perfect for any Gryffindor looking for a book full of twist and turns and bravery. 

The City we Became by N.K Jemisin

This one gives me Gryffindor vibes for the same reasons the other ones do (thrills, daring acts, Gryffindor characters etc). Except for one thing. This book could have easily been placed into Slytherin since the main character uses his cunning to change his identity according to what city he is in at the moment. But I put this book here because I think it shows how Gryffindor and Slytherin are two sides of the same coin. 

Raft by S.A Bodeen

This one was a bit of stretch. Raft is a bit of a unpopular book, I’ve seen people say it was just meh, or bad. I actually really enjoyed this book though and I think how the main character (Robie) deals with being stranded and jumping out of a plane to survive gives me Gryffindor feels. I also think Gryffindors are the kind of people to enjoy a good survival book. 

Bonus: The Hunger Games

Slytherin 💚🐍

Vicious duology by V.E Schwab

Most (if not all) of the characters in this book are so cunning and ambitious and determined to meet their goal that makes it such a Slytherin book. Vicious also makes you question morality and the characters motivations that Slytherins will appreciate this book even more because of it. Bonus: V.E Schwab is a Slytherin. Just saying. 

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

I don’t know what about this book makes me think “Slytherin” but it does. Maybe it’s because it’s about using magic in a cunning way to win, the characters, the main characters mentors (although I think they are both definitely Slytherins). But this book screams Slytherin to me, just for unknown reasons. 

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

I don’t really think I need to explain why this is a Slytherin read so I’ll just put one character name: Kaz Brekker. Kaz is such a Slytherin. He uses cuning and resourcefulless to pull off crazy heists, blackmail people and get what he wants to survive a gang ridden city. And he he put up a calm face even though he may be freaking out on the inside through everything, never revealing his full plan. I feel like these are all such Slytherin things to do, not gonna lie. 

Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian

Oh boy, I could right pages and pages on why I think this is a Slytherin book but I’ll stick to a mini paragraph. The “Ash Princess”, Theodosia, uses cunning and strategy to take back her kingdom. She manipulates to get close to certain people to achieve her goal. And even though she doesn’t necessarily think that these are good things to do, she recognizes taking her kingdom back and acheiving her goal is more important.  Sound like a certain house? 

Bonus: Son of a Witch by Gregory Maguire (So many Slytherin vibes in this book)

Hufflepuff 💛🌿🦡 (I had to put a plant just as a nod to the Hufflepuff common room)

Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel 

This. Book. Is. So. Cute. I didn’t put this in here just because it was cute though, after reading it, it gave me so many feels and Hufflepuff vibes that I had to put it here. 

Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay 

Just going to say this: Hufflepuffs are great finders. This whole book centers around a girl finding her brother. She shows loyalty because she travels around the world to find him. Does that seem extrememly Hufflepuff-y or is it just me? 

Guardians of Childhood series by William Joyce

Hear me out, every Hufflepuff has an inner child as well as a badass inside them, they aren’t all soft (Tonks is proof). The guardians are protectors of children (as the title indicates) but they also kick butt. I think Hufflepuff’s of all ages will enjoy it, and yeah it’s a kids book but to quote C.S Lewis; “someday you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again”. 

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Ok though, but Pride and Prejudice could fit everywhere on here. Lizzie is a Raveclaw, Mr. Darcy is a Hufflepuff, Mrs. Bennet is a Gryffindor (she gives me Mrs. Weaseley vibes. Especially in the 2005 movie), etc. But I’m putting it here because it’s such a Hufflepuff thing to ship Mr. Darcy and Lizzie (seriously though every Hufflepuff I’ve met say that this is their OTP). Just read it and watch as it become your OTP too.  

Bonus: Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson

I do not own any of the pictures used. 

[h2ojustaddmako]

My Thoughts After Re-Watching Season 2

Hiya everybody. Sorry for the long times between posts. Working two jobs and keeping a social life, while also trying to sleep, eat healthy and get hydrated is taking a toll on this account. Bright side is, that because of the whole Corona situation, I might spend a lot of time home soon. So head-up, another headcanon/theory is coming this week, but just to break the hiatus, I decided to write today.

Every now and then, I decide to re-watch one of the three seasons of the show, just so I could have something to fill my time. So, recently I decided to watch season 2 again, and, as I like, pick up on some details, ideas or thoughts I didn’t get during previous binges. I’ve watched this season, like the others, around four or five times now since release, maybe more - and yet I’m still genuinely surprised at the things I notice or realize every time. So I figured I might turn it into a list of the good, the bad, and the plain interesting.

This list is in no particular order, I just write my thoughts as they go.

1. I am still BLOWN AWAY by how good the writing is on this show. It may not be an Oscar-winning script, but for a teen show of the early 2000′s it’s amazingly deep and well thought of, from every angle. That what makes my theories so fun to make, because they planted so much information throughout the shows that I genuinely enjoy picking out details and information from it.

2. To go into more depth, I really enjoyed all the different storylines they brought in throughout the 26 episodes. Look, twenty-six episodes is a lot for a TV series. Most shows release around 10, since long storylines are hard to follow and are easy to get messy. But while they added so many side stories (Max and the original mermaids, Ash and Emma, Cleo and Lewis’ breakup and Charlotte getting in between),. each of these stories merged with the main plot so well, and actually added depth to the story, making it more complicated for the characters, and more interactive for the viewer.

3. While the main focus for the season was the Cleo-Lewis-Charlotte  relationship, both Emma and Rikki had their romantic paths taken as well. But unlike season 1, where the couples fought for screen time, this time those relationships were put to the side in favour of the main plot, which made them more slow-paced and interesting to watch. I enjoyed the fact that Emma and Ash stayed in the dark throughout the entire season, and that Zane only appeared when he was needed. Both are good characters, but not needed every time.

4. On the other hand, Cleo and Lewis’ relationship was handled very maturely all through the season. From when they dated, through the post-breakup, and all the way to managing being friends, the relationship was very well looked into and explored.

5. Might be a side thing, but I loved that Ash was actually figuring out something was off about Emma. One of my favourite lines by him was, “You realize none of this is natural. But you already knew that.” (Ep. 26) Mostly in shows like these, the character either never questions the weird occurrences around them, or the curiosity fuel the storyline (like Zane in season 1). The writer really wrote out of pure logic and not out of plot requirements, and I dig that little detail.

6. This one is felt throughout the entire show, but was most dominant during this one. The show is not about mermaids at all. This is written as a show about three girls and their coming of age process, and the things they have to deal with, one of them being turned into mermaids. But it’s far from being the only problem these girls have, and it’s showing when some episodes really struggle to squeeze in scenes of the girls in their tails for pure rating, even when the plot is not in need of any mermaid action. The girls have a very full and normal lifestyle aside from being mermaids. They go out, go shopping, have other friends, work, study and fail, deal with personal issues at home or with partners. The tails are just another part of their lives and I love it.

7. Episode 23 is a turning point for Charlotte’s character arch. I’ve spoken greatly before about how I feel like Charlotte is seen in our minds as the “bad guy” while she was a nice character most of her time on the show. And she was! Up until episode 23 when was never trying to hurt the girls. She may have acted out of jealousy before towards Cleo, but she was insecure and worried about her boyfriend. What should she think when her boyfriend spends a whole lot of time with his ex and fails to explain to her exactly why? The show did a great job showing the point of both sides in the argument between the girls and Charlotte, and showed the entire process of how their relationship turned into what it was.  A lot of ego, assumptions, and false worries, and a lot of unfortunate events. Episode 23 was really a turning point because that’s where both sides of the fight were really right in different ways, things that led Charlotte to want to go on her own, and the girls to stay away from her. Charlotte acted the way she did because she felt like the girls were treating her badly (which she was wrong about sometimes, but they too hold the blame, mostly Rikki). From episode 24 and on, she started acting as the “bad guy” the show built her to be, and even then I can see her side. But enough on that.

8. Lewis is hot. Idk what’s up with Charlotte’s eyebrows.

9. One thing that feels off every time is how quickly Lewis started dating Charlotte. I don’t blame a guy for moving on quickly, I do find it weird that during the post-breakup from Cleo, he not only protected Cleo’s respect and jealousy by not flirting with any other girl, but also didn’t really seem like he was into Charlotte at all. She was a good friend at the beginning, then Cleo got in the middle, and for some reason, Charlotte did her best to rub it in Cleo’s face that she wants Lewis. But he never, for once, showed interest back until Cleo gave him permission to move on, and all of a sudden they’re dating. What I'm saying is that Lewis never seemed to like Charlotte romantically, like she liked him. So that was weird, they just never felt right together.

10. The reason Charlotte mastered her powers so quickly, at least in my eyes, is because that a) she had the girls to explain her at least the basics, and b) she didn’t put herself into a box of ‘this is what I was given’, bc she wanted to be better than Cleo at every cost. Her will power helped her master her powers. While the girls dealt with learning their boundaries and abilities and adjusting into the new life they got, Charlotte learned about mermaids before her transformation and knew what she was getting into.

11. The show never shied away from real-life issues, that may be considered inappropriate or harsh to the audiences the show is targeted at. Handling with divorce (and the outcomes of it!) and parents starting dating again (true story, Cleo’s way to handle with Sam’s introduction into her father’s life helped me cope when my mother started dating men a couple of years ago), while also showing signs of LGBT references (Nate mentioned people think Lewis is gay, in other words) or even sexual harassment and consent (both when Rikki was mad at Zane for kissing her against her will, and when Ash’s apology to Emma when he believed Lewis thought he was trying to have sex with her/spy on her showering, which to remind y’all, she was 16 while he was 18). It’s so brief I never noticed it before, but once I did, it was hard to miss.

12. And lastly, I just love how this show treats science. So much real life and true scientific information is included in the lines of the story, mainly by Lewis, but also by other characters like Will, Cleo, Lowrey, Max and Dr. Denman. When they wrote the entire base to what mermaids are and how they exist, they didn’t care it was a show for goddamn 9-year-olds, and that what makes it so interesting. If you’re not into science, let me tell you that every scientific blurb or word you hear on the show is 100%% real and makes sense within its context. From talking about marine biology, to referring to mermaids groups ‘pods’ (which is a group of marine mammals in scientific terms), to the science of “magic” and mermaids as a whole, the show knows what it’s doing is within the realms of possibility from a scientific point of view, meaning none of it is real, but it could be, in another life.

Anyways, if you have anything else to add, feel free! This is your list as it is mine. I just really love this show and I wish people appreciated it the same way we do. When I tell people I like this show they remember it as just another kids TV show, and it’s so much more than that.

Hope you’re having a great day, be safe, and wash your hands (just not in front fo people, keep the secret safe!)

Until next time, maybe not as far as you think. xx

[aion-rsa]

Mortal Kombat (2021) vs. Mortal Kombat (1995): Which is Better?

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This article contains Mortal Kombat (2021) spoilers.

“Test your might.” These are the words of a minigame in the original Mortal Kombat arcade fighter from 1992. They were meant to signal an interlude between the simple pleasures of digitized sprites spilling buckets of blood. Yet they’ve also become synonymous with a franchise that’s arguably the most popular video game fighter of all-time. The phrase is also a pretty apt description for the various filmmakers who’ve attempted the challenge of taming this crazy dragon on screen.

More than any other video game series, Mortal Kombat has seen a plethora of live-action adaptations, from Hollywood movies to syndicated television. This weekend marks another milestone in that history, too, with Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema’s hotly anticipated Mortal Kombat reboot opening in theaters and premiering on HBO Max. It’s the third Mortal Kombat movie released under the New Line banner, but let’s just call it the second serious attempt at putting this universe on screen after the 1995 cult classic directed by Paul W.S. Anderson.

That ’95 movie holds the dubious honor of being generally considered the best video game movie adaptation of all-time, thanks to a tongue-in-cheek tone perfect for its mid-‘90s moment and maybe the greatest use of techno music in film. Genuinely, how many other pictures have the soundtrack scream the title of the movie over and over again, and it seems like a good idea?

The new movie took a different approach to the material, and certainly a bloodier one. While both adaptations share the same basic premise of chosen “Earthrealm” guardians protecting our dimension from an invading force via martial arts fights, the executions diverge radically. Here’s how.

The Story

The starkly different approach to storytelling in director Simon McQuoid’s 2021 Mortal Kombat is evident during the film’s opening scene. Beginning in 1600s Japan with a gnarly, brutal fight sequence between Sub-Zero (Joe Taslim) and Scorpion (Hiroyuki Sanada), this version of Mortal Kombat relies heavily on lore and world-building. If you know the video game backstory of Sub-Zero/Bi-Han, and how he was kidnapped as a child by the Lin Kuei cult so they could brainwash him into the magical ninja we now see slaughtering Scorpion’s family, the scene has a sense of fateful tragedy.

If you don’t, well Taslim and Sanada are such gifted martial artists that it still looks really cool. By contrast, Mortal Kombat of the ’95 vintage is pretty straightforward and to the point. This is basically an interdimensional version of the Bruce Lee classic, Enter the Dragon (1973), only with magical powers and the fate of the world at stake.

We’re introduced to three fighters in ‘95, Liu Kang (Robin Shou), Johnny Cage (Linden Ashby), and Sonya Blade (Bridgette Wilson-Sampras), who all get on a boat to the tournament for different reasons. And while Liu Kang was raised by his Shaolin monk upbringing to know what this tournament is, the other two act as our eyes and ears into this strange world of mysticism and Outworld menace. By the time they reach the island, they understand they need to compete with superpowered foes to save Earth in a structured tournament.

Conversely, Mortal Kombat (2021) is curiously both more secretive and open about its bizarre universe. For a much larger chunk of its running time, the new movie’s point-of-view character Cole Young (Lewis Tan) is completely mystified by the superpowered horrors happening around him while the viewer is keyed in early by scenes set in the evil dimension of Outworld. There we see the dastardly sorcerer Shang Tsung (Chin Han) scheme from a throne about killing Cole in order to prevent a prophecy vaguely connected with the movie’s prologue scene in the 1600s. So he sends Sub-Zero to kill Cole in his day-to-day life as an MMA fighter, slaughtering him before he understands he’s been chosen to participate in the sacred Mortal Kombat tournament, which is held in secret every generation.

In fact, there is no actual tournament in the new film. Rather the plot eventually becomes Shang Tsung’s chosen band of evil warriors attempting to cheat ahead of the conflict by attacking Earthrealm’s depleted champions before they even discover they have superpowers (or “arcanas”) and know what Mortal Kombat is. The film thus becomes a quest movie with Cole joining forces with other “chosen ones” (or chosen one-aspirants) to find the Temple of Raiden, a lightning god (played by Tadanobu Asano) who represents the interests of Earthrealm in the tournaments. From there the heroes must learn their powers and evade preemptive, cheating attacks from Outworld’s thuggish baddies.

Side by side, the approaches appear to be the differences between a traditional (if derivative) martial arts flick and a modern studio blockbuster that is trying to cram as much fan service and world-building lore into a two-hour movie as possible in the hopes of making fanboys happy. I hesitate to say the 2021 film is fully following the Marvel Studios template given its copious amounts of blood and (seeming) lack of interest in building a shared universe of interconnected franchises. However, the 2021 film was certainly released in a post-Marvel world where the focus in studio committee rooms is less on telling a single story and more on building a whole convoluted mythology filled with fan favorite characters who are begging to be explored endlessly by future movies. It’s less story-driven than it is content-driven.

As a result, it leaves the narrative lacking. Viewers know long before Cole or 2021’s Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee) what’s going on, and all the anticipation for a tournament that never materializes feels anti-climactic. With its simple structure, the Anderson-directed movie in the ‘90s plays out much more satisfyingly with three heroes (plus poor dead meat like “Art Lean”) entering a tournament by choice or trickery and then trying to survive it while learning vanilla, if tangible, life lessons. Liu Kang needs to accept his destiny; Johnny Cage must look before he leaps; and Sonya has to accept she’ll be the film’s damsel in distress even though she kicks ass. It’s an Enter the Dragon knockoff but it still has more kick than fan service.

Round One goes to 1995.

The Tone

The tone and aesthetics are also jarringly different between the two movies. Released in 1995, the same year Pierce Brosnan became James Bond, and two years before Arnold Schwarzenegger chilled out as Mr. Freeze, Mortal Kombat (1995) is an unmistakably campy movie and it leans into that fact.

Working with a low budget for a Hollywood spectacle even before New Line Cinema cut his funds by another $2 million right before cameras rolled, Anderson directed a B-movie that accepted its limitations and had fun with it. Apparently stars Ashby and Christopher Lambert, who played Lord Raiden in the ’95 movie, improvised dialogue throughout the shoot and rewrote entire scenes. As a consequence, Lambert’s lightning god was more of a jovial trickster in temperament, reminiscent of Loki instead of Odin. Johnny Cage, meanwhile, was essentially the film’s Han Solo: a cocksure wiseacre next to the stoic hero (Liu Kang) and a no-nonsense woman who doesn’t like to be called princess (Sonya).

As again signaled by the almost funereal opening sequence of Mortal Kombat (2021), where Sub-Zero murders Scorpion’s young family, the 2021 film is going for a differing sensibility. There is actually quite a bit of humor still present, with the real reason the Johnny Cage character got cut becoming apparent the moment we meet Kano (Josh Lawson), a loudmouth smartass who takes on the comic relief role but with an added slice of thuggery. Hence his dialogue has a lot more F-bombs than it does cracks about $500 sunglasses.

Other than moments where Kano is allowed to steal scenes, however, Mortal Kombat (2021) plays it pretty straight. Asano’s Raiden is imperious and his fighters stoic. However, it’s also worth noting Raiden is played by a Japanese actor, as opposed to a white American-born Frenchman who was raised in Switzerland (Lambert has quite the international background). Indeed, one of the more admirable qualities of the 2021 film is the focus on a diverse cast that includes more roles for Asian actors and people of color, whereas the 1995 film whitewashed Raiden and left out the Black American character Jax for little more than a cameo.

The 2021 film also upped the gore quotient considerably. While the martial arts of the 1995 film were decidedly PG-13, the tone of the movie was only a few steps removed from Power Rangers in some respects, including its introduction of a horrible CGI creation known as Reptile. The Reptile in the 2021 film appears more convincingly, like the latest monstrosity out of a Jurassic World lab, and the violence he commits is visually gruesome (more on that later).

Honestly, preferences over the aesthetic differences between the two films comes down to a matter of taste. I prefer the tongue-in-cheek eye rolls of the 1995 film given how nonsensical this universe is, and how at the end of the day its target audience remains children. Yet I imagine many adult fans of the video games will prefer the blood-soaked earnestness found in 2021.

Round Two is a draw.

Chosen Players

Anyone who’s picked up a fighting game will tell you it’s all about finding a character or two you like and then training up with them. In 1995, Anderson had the advantage of primarily adapting the original 1992 arcade game with its limited collection of playable characters. Ergo, his film’s lineup easily focused on the three aforementioned heroes of Liu Kang, Johnny Cage, and Sonya Blade, plus the ambiguous Princess Kitana (Talisa Soto), and Lord Raiden. Meanwhile he divided his villain screen time between the sorcerer Shang Tsung (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) and Shang Tsung’s minions, who were essentially glorified Bond henchmen with individual gimmicks.

Fan favorites Sub-Zero and Scorpion are present in the ’95 movie—with much more colorful, game-accurate costumes—yet they’re relatively low-hanging fruit in the tournament’s brackets. Their rivalry is given lip-service but they are dispatched by heroes Liu Kang and Johnny Cage relatively easily. Meanwhile Trevor Goddard’s Kano is more a hapless comic relief baddie who Wilson-Sampras’ Sonya kills with a great laugh line. “Give me a break,” Kano pleads with his head pinned between her thighs. “Okay,” she shoots back before snapping his neck.

Still, the movie largely belongs to Tagawa who makes a meal out of the scenery as the big bad. The guttural pleasure he has in so naturally turning all the over-the-top commands in the video game into his dialogue—“Finish Him!;” “Fatality;” “Test Your Might”—is infectious.

The 2021 film relies on a much larger cast of characters and, unlike the 1995 movie, attempts to give them each a moment to shine in the way Kitana and the original Kano could only dream. This surprisingly begins with the introduction of a totally new character in Cole Young as our point-of-view protagonist. While fan favorite Liu Kang was the hero in ’95, the character is now a supporting player played by Ludi Lin in 2021. And he’s not alone. The new Liu Kang’s cousin, Kung Lao (Max Huang), also gets enough screen time to show off his character’s beloved razor-rimmed hat, which he dispatches one of the movie’s villains with.

There is also the new Sonya, who may have the most complete arc as she strives to be accepted as a champion for Earthrealm, and Jax (Mechad Brooks), who is Sonya’s partner with the chosen one birthmark and who gets a new nasty origin story for his metal arms. And then the new Kano spends as much time working with the good guys as he does becoming a villain in an entirely rushed and unconvincing third act plot twist.

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There are even more villains, most of whom amount to glorified cameos, including Mileena (Sisi Stringer), Nitara (Mel Jarnson), and Kabal (Daniel Nelson). However, they’re all even more perfunctory than Sub-Zero and Scorpion were in 1995. At least the ‘90s ninjas each got a few minutes to show off before being dispatched. Even the ostensible main villain of 2021, the new Shang Tsung, is fairly underserved, left to state banal dialogue from a throne without a throne room, and he’s never allowed to dominate scenes the way Tagawa did so gleefully back in the day.

Unfortunately, this is because the 2021 film has so many characters that it lacks any sense of narrative focus or cohesion. Tan’s arc of wanting to learn his power/arcana to defend his family is as broad and serviceable a hook as Shou’s 1995 Liu Kang wanting to avenge the murder of his brother. But Tan’s Cole Young gets lost in the shuffle after the first act and until the movie’s ending. Character turns like Kano betraying the other heroes similarly feels hackneyed because there is too much noise on screen to really care about who’s making it. Even Kang Lao’s death falls flat. It’s admirable that it’s a good guy fans theoretically should care about (unlike 1995’s token Black character created by the filmmakers to die), but the 2021 movie fails to make the uninitiated be concerned.

Of course there are exceptions. Namely Sub-Zero and Scorpion. Even though Scorpion ill-advisedly disappears for nearly all of the movie’s running time after the film’s terrific opening 10 minutes, Sanada has such presence, and such strong chemistry with Taslim’s Sub-Zero, that their opening salvo leaves you waiting the rest of the movie for Scorpion’s revenge. Taslim is also able to give Sub-Zero some surprisingly tangible, if only hinted at, pathos even after he kills a kid in his first scene and is then forced to act behind a mask thereafter. He’s the real villain of the piece you want to see go down, and his death scene is incredibly satisfying as a result.

It’s probably enough for fans of the games to favor this kitchen sink approach. But overall, less is more.

Round Three goes to 1995.

Fight Scenes

If there is one realm where the 2021 movie truly excels in over the previous film, this is it. And yes, a big part of that is the gore quotient. Whereas the 1995 flick was produced with a PG-13 rating in mind (my elementary school thanks New Line for that), the 2021 movie was able to embrace the gross out charm that made the original game stand out at the arcade all those decades ago. Street Fighter might’ve been first, but only Mortal Kombat let you pull the other player’s spine out.

While that effect doesn’t quite happen in the 2021 movie, almost everything else does. Nitara goes face first into a Kung Lao’s buzzsaw hat, which cuts her cleanly in half; Sub-Zero freezing Jax’s arms and then shattering them in a stomach-churning effect; and instead of going off a cliff, Prince Goro is disemboweled by Cole Young—which almost makes up for the fact that Goro is reduced to a mindless mute this time.

It’s like a highlight reel of fatalities from the video game. But the reason why this film’s fight scenes really stand above the 1995 film isn’t the bloodletting; it’s the action leading up to it. With brutal fight choreography, the new Mortal Kombat shines whenever it lets actors who can actually do the stunts take the arena. That includes Lewis Tan, whose Cole Young mostly fights other MMA types or CG monsters. But it’s especially true for Joe Taslim of The Raid fame. As the villainous Sub-Zero, his moves are lightning quick, even if his powers leave opponents frozen stiff. So when he shares the screen with Tan or Sanada, the action reveals an auhentic flair.

In comparison, the 1995 film suffers a bit from the sin Johnny Cage is trying to dodge within the story: it relies on stunt doubles and tight editing to make the fights exciting. It’s a shame too since Shou is an excellent martial artist, and the one scene he got to choreograph—Liu Kang versus Reptile—has an edge. But much of the time, Shou’s constrained by the direction and editing. Ashby and Wilson-Sampras, conversely, are not actual martial artists, though credit must be given to Wilson-Sampras for doing all her own stunts when getting the role of Sonya at the last minute.

Still, the fights stand taller in 2021. It’s a bit of a shame though that the movie is so heavily edited that it too often hides this fact. Unlike the 1995 ensemble, most of the cast has the moves in 2021, but the editing still feels stuck in the past with its reliance on confounding quick cuts and coverage. During our current era of John Wick and Atomic Blonde this is both a bizarre and disappointing choice. Nevertheless, this is an easy call.

Round Four goes to 2021.

Ending

The final fight was relatively satisfying in 1995. Tagawa is a preening villain, and when the Immortals’ techno “Mortal Kombat” theme plays, it’s a pleasure to watch Liu Kang wipe that smug smile off Shang Tsung’s face. However, the ending keeps going with a Star Wars-esque sendoff to Liu Kang’s force ghost brother, and then the movie undermines its catharsis by immediately setting up a sequel.

In the picture’s final moments, our three heroes, plus Kitana, return to the real-life Thai temple that’s supposed to be Liu Kang’s home. Lord Raiden waits for them there, getting some final sideways cracks in before Outworld’s evil emperor Shao Khan appears like a giant specter in the clouds. He immediately threatens an Earthrealm invasion, despite losing the tournament.

I can attest that in 1995, this was a stunning cliffhanger for eight-year-olds everywhere. But then… Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997), one of the worst films of the late ‘90s, happened.

Meanwhile in the 2021 film, we have a much more satisfying death for its villain when Scorpion returns from hell to send Sub-Zero to the hot place. Their fight is much more technically satisfying, and the cliffhanger setup is a lot more subtle. After defeating Shang Tsung’s warriors, if not Shang Tsung himself, the heroes of Earthrealm saved us all without an actual tournament ever occurring. And instead of Outworld cheating in this moment by invading anyway, they retreat. It’s an odd choice since they’ve been cheating the whole film, so why start playing by the rules now?

Even so, it leaves a destination for a second movie to actually head toward. And to tease that fact further, it’s implied Cole Young will now travel to Hollywood to recruit movie star Johnny Cage for a sequel. It’s pure fan service, but the kind that leaves the possibility open for better things to come. Considering we know where the 1995 movie’s cliffhanger leads—to pits of cinematic hell worse than any faced by Scorpion in the last 400 years—this is a victory for 2021 by default.

Round Five goes to 2021.

Final Victor

Ultimately, neither of these films are high art nor do they aspire to be. In some ways, it’s a case of picking your poison between schlock or schlock. Each has advantages over the other, as laid out above, and each is a long way from a flawless victory. Nonetheless, due simply to narrative and tonal cohesiveness, and just more memorable lead characters, I’ll go with the one that actually gets to the tournament this whole damn thing’s designed around.

Game over.

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