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vro0m · 2 years

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vro0m’s rewatch - 154/310

2015 Monaco GP

And it’s already time for the worst GP of the year... yay...

So I don't have the full broadcast for this one and honestly I'm kinda glad because Monaco is so damn fucking long as it is already.

Welp now I have it and I have no excuse not to watch it so here we go. (Spoiler : retrospectively the full broadcast was so worth it)

Lewis is on pole. Nico locked up and messed up his lap, twice in a row. Hill says Lewis has struck back after what happened in Spain and compliments him a lot but Simon calls him out, because if you remember he said he'd been too distracted during the break and Lewis hit back at him (I don't know if it's figuratively with the racing or if he said something about it). Johnny is grinning from ear to ear listening to him trying to justify himself now. Hill says nobody likes to have people commenting on their lifestyle but– Simon cuts him off : does he stand by it though? He maintains he thinks there is something in it, he thinks you can't travel the world and show up at the race at your best jetlagged and all. Simon asks for Brundle's opinion. Brundle says it's not his place to comment on how he lives his life, he seems very relaxed compared to how he feels himself sometimes. Johnny chuckles. Brundle thinks Lewis looks very comfortable and at the top of his game. He says right before his final run, Lewis went "okay guys let's all just calm down." Apparently it wasn't going too well and then he aced it and Nico made a mistake and that's that.

Let's hear from Lewis himself. He says it feels very special and wow the broadcast is shit it's completely lagging. He says it feels like a great achievement and it's gonna be a tough race no doubt (can't hear, can't hear) Natalie says he's only won one and by his own very high standards that's not enough, can he win again? (can't hear) …it isn't enough but he's grateful for the one he does have and he'll work as hard as he can to win a second one today.

Simon says he's read somewhere that Lewis went away to work on a couple of areas he felt he'd been weak over the years on this circuit. He says it shows his attention to details.

Anyway it's Lewis' first Monaco pole! Of course Nico is right behind him. Then it's Seb and Daniel, Kvyat and Raikkonen, Perez and Maldonado, Verstappen and Jenson.

Meanwhile Nico could become the fourth driver in history to win 3 Monaco GPs in a row after Graham Hill, Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna.

Oh god… Lewis went to play football?! With fucking Thierry Henry?!

There are famous people there but I don't know who they are so I'm not impressed. Some of them are not in elite-athlete shape so I’m guessing either retirees or not sportsmen.

So yeah, Thierry's team won. Oh they have a lovely talk. It's a looooong one though (like it lasts almost 10 minutes) so I'll just tell you about what interests me the most and post the thing afterwards so you can listen for yourselves.

Lewis says Thierry has been doing it for years but for him it's the first time (the video has a bug I think?) then he says he never played in front of people and Thierry says neither did he and they laugh.

"The guys were really happy to be around you," Thierry Henry tells him, "at the end of the day you ARE, you know, a living legend, like they're saying."

I like his calm voice and demeanour, it's attractive. Lewis denies it but Thierry doesn't care, he insists : "Yes you are! You know, you're gonna play it down obviously because you're humble."

(Look at him babygirling I’d say he finds Thierry as attractive as I do)

A bit later he says : "I always explain to people that when I do something to win, I see, if I can say, myself in Lewis because he wants to win everything. Everything that he does." Lewis says he thinks they share the same mentality, when you go out there it's do or die. "I hate losing. Do you hate losing?" he asks. Thierry scoffs. He says he doesn't understand people telling people they should be good losers. They agree that they don't know what that is, (although of course Lewis has shown us he knows, since then. Or maybe he's learnt since then. Idk.) Lewis says he thinks people like that will never be champions. (Yeah. He definitely learnt. There's a difference between not caring about losing and losing with composure, if you know what I mean. That might not be the best way to word it but you get it, I trust that you do.)

They must have recorded right after the Spanish GP because Lewis talks about getting a lot from what happened "yesterday". He feels like because he had to gain some places back he was more successful than maybe if he'd won the race. He calls it a challenge of composure. (But that's literally what I was saying about being a good loser. The same word even, lmao. Lewis you do get it you dumbass (affectionate)). He talks about the moment when Bono told him not to try and catch Nico at the end because he wouldn't be able to. He's proud of overcoming all that and not getting flustered. He then says he knows he needs to be better prepared than ever, he says the previous year he wasn't prepared the best he could for Monaco. "I've had a good car for the last two years and I haven't capitalised on it," he adds. (Bro you won the title, is Monaco really that important that you would say you didn't capitalise on it?) He thinks third time's lucky.

Thierry asks how you find the right balance with a teammate. He says it's not easy as a footballer to be an individual in the collective. Lewis says he doesn't get paid to lift the other one up. On the one hand you want the other guy to be second for the team, but at the same time sometimes you want "the Ferrari guy or someone to take points away from that guy". "You wanna be a team player, but also you wanna win."

He's gotten older though (he says 'a lot' but he's 30 at this point so I refuse that) and now he thinks there's an opportunity to be a leader. (Oh that’s truly… Actually I've been thinking this season we’re seeing more and more of the current Lewis in him and that's another thing he did actually emulate right? He definitely did become that leader in the end.) When he was younger he only thought about "me me me" and wanting to win and nowadays he thinks if he wants to earn the place to be a team leader for all these people, there's a way he needs to conduct himself. Even though he wants to win, he also needs to make sure the team gets a 1-2.

Thierry says it's like the guy on the bench, he might need to replace you for the end of the game or because you're injured, and you need him to win for the team so you give him advice and lift him up but if you give too much, you might become the guy on the bench, and you might find out that once that guy plays he's not looking at you anymore. That's where he sees a similarity between them in that sense. People don't get it, how you need to be nice but not let him take over. He jokes : "I will help you. But you will never play."

Lewis says the thing with F1 is that everything is recorded, from your heart rate to the vibrations. So you don't even need to tell the guy, he can just go in the backroom and look at it. "All of your talents are on display." He says the difference in your heart and in your ability can still come through even though it's diminished because of that. (I never thought of that part, actually. I didn't know they had such easy access to their teammate’s data. I guess it depends on the team and all that as well but yeah it makes it that much more difficult to navigate. It's kinda crazy to think that eventually Lewis developed in such a way that even with that data his teammates aren't able to emulate him? Or maybe they didn't have as much access anymore after that brocedes fiasco? I wonder.)

I still wrote most of it down in the end because pretty much all of it was interesting lol. Thierry says "see you soon on the field". He adds he won't see him on the track because it's too dangerous for him. "I'm soft." They laugh.

Back on the track it's another footballer. Fucking Cristiano Ronaldo. Meh. We see super models greeting Lewis in the garage, I think it's Gigi Hadid? Idk. Idc. They're with Spinz. While Johnny says he does think Lewis took control of his life and the whole management thing had a role in that too, we see Lewis joking around with the models, handing them his steering wheel then his very heavy bling necklace. Johnny says he feels comfortable with everything that's going on around him which is funny because it's true of his life and of the models lol. "Something he hasn't had for many many years," he continues, "he's always been open on that fact." And it gives him ultimate confidence on track. (I like Johnny Herbert I have to say, I feel like he's often right and doesn't take any of it too seriously.)

There's a segment about Jules winning Marussia points here in 2014 and it makes me incredibly sad to hear these people talk about him. They all sound so proud. Max Chilton, his teammate at the time, says he got goosebumps just talking about it.

It's time for Lewis to get in the car, the models have to go. Oh, Nick is there! They hug.

I also read that Mercedes announced that they renewed Lewis' contract for an additional 3 years ahead of the weekend! Somehow I don't think they mentioned it during the broadcast but maybe I just missed it idk.

Formation lap.

They're racing!

It's a tight start, Lewis is ahead but just about. Behind him, Nico is level with Seb and there's a Red Bull, Daniel I imagine, trying to get in-between them but locking up as he tries not to collide with the Ferrari. The cars fall into place, it's actually Kvyat who almost made contact, he got ahead of Ricciardo. Yellow flags in sector two. Yeah someone is in the barriers and reversing. It's Hulkenberg. As he tries to go away again he runs in the debris of his own car. The marshals jump the barrier to take them away. His front wing is gone. Massa is dead last and saying on the radio it's finished. What happened to him? Ohhh on the replay we see Hulkenberg was actually SENT into the barriers by Alonso… Hulkenberg pits, and Massa pits and they're both getting new front wings. And Max and Maldonado make contact. Verstappen is trying to race wheel to wheel in Monaco. Which isn't a thing. Unfortunately. But tbh good on him for trying. Alonso gets a 5 second time penalty for the collision with Hulkenberg. Max and Maldonado are indeed wheel to wheel and it made me inhale through my teeth, it's scary scary. I mean. It would be scary with any drivers but it's Max and Maldonado. On paper, terrible pairing for wheel to wheel racing on a tight street circuit. Verstappen takes P8. Ted says Maldonado has a brake by wire failure so things are gonna get worse for him. Yeah, they retire him.

It's lap 10. Lewis, 3.1 in the lead, is told to manage his front left brake. Behind him it's of course Nico, then Seb, then Kvyat and Daniel, Raikkonen, Perez, Verstappen, Jenson and Alonso is currently P10. Lewis is having issues with brake balance and temperature. It's affecting the strategy, Ted says, as they're telling him he's not making a gap to Seb quick enough now. It's so early in the race to be struggling, I'm worried.

Lap 20. Lewis is 3.9 ahead now. The order behind him is obviously unchanged. He's told the brakes are coming under control and he can reduce lift and coast. Nico is told it's important to reduce the gap to Lewis in case there's a Safety Car. A bit later, they tell him prime warm up looks better than they thought so Vettel is a threat to the undercut, hence he has to push. He's not getting closer to Lewis though. Lewis complained he lost time in traffic but now it's Rosberg and Seb caught in it and it's helping him a lot.

It's lap 30. Lewis is 8.6 ahead and the pit stops are ongoing. After the top 3 it's now Daniel, Raikkonen, Perez, Jenson, Kvyat, Alonso and Nasr. Verstappen is just exiting the pit lane after a 31.0 wheel change in a 52.821 pit stop. His race is ruined. Seb pits. Daniel pits. Nico pits to cover Seb. Raikkonen pits. Nico is still ahead but it was close.

Lap 40 (sigh). Lewis still hasn't stopped and he's 8.2 ahead. Why aren't they pitting him. He's losing time. Behind Seb is now Kvyat, Raikkonen is P5, then Daniel, Perez, Jenson, Alonso and Nasr. Nico just set the fastest lap… Alonso just went straight on in a run off area. He's out.

Lap 50. The Monaco gp is always so testing for whatever is wrong with my brain wiring istg. It makes me wanna bite things really hard. Anyway, Lewis is, guess what, still ahead, by 10.8 seconds. So there was no reason to worry about Nico earlier. But he clearly must have stopped and I missed it because otherwise it wouldn't be possible. I mean this race is fucking boring and I can't focus so no surprise. Anyway. They keep showing us "battle for P2" between Seb and Nico but Seb is over 1.5 seconds behind so they're really grasping at straws there in reality.

Lap 60. Lewis is a healthy 15 seconds in the lead. Bla bla bla. Please make it end. Max tries to overtake Grosjean in the hairpin and can't make it. That's another risky pairing. He's told to push the engine. Oh. Guess what? They crashed. It's actually a quite heavy one… One of them changed direction and Max's front left hit his rear right. That suspension is shredded and Max goes straight into the barriers at high speed. It must have hurt… Grosjean is able to leave the scene. All the RBR mechanics have horrified looks on their face. Can we hear him over radio? He's moving. Virtual Safety Car. From his on-board we see him hand his steering wheel to the marshals. "You OK Max?" – "I'm OK." He's struggling to climb out of his car though, maybe because it's embedded in the tepco barrier. He's up and out. Safety Car. Max is being checked upon by marshals. Ooof the replay is scary, that must have been a serious amount of Gs. On the radio Grosjean asks if he has damage. "He's a (beep) that Verstappen. That was stupid." Plenty of Safety Car pit stops. Wow. We see Verstappen's car hooked on a crane and the marshals are reaaaally struggling to extract it from the barriers. It's quite shocking how deep into it it went. Lewis pits???????????? He had to wait a bit to avoid an unsafe release.

Oh shit. Nico is ahead. Lewis and Seb are side by side behind the Safety Car. Now what. Lewis is P3. No, come on. If Nico wins I quit. Not really but that would be infuriating. How did they fuck up that much, Lewis will be furious. Ted says Lewis on the radio said "I've lost this race, haven't I?" but Bono answered not if they lose tyre temp and he'd be fast behind on supersofts but that would work IF WE WERE ON A FUCKING TRACK ON WHICH YOU CAN FUCKING OVERTAKE FOR FUCKS SAKE

Ooooh this is so frustrating.

Lewis asks "what's happening guys?" and Bono says they're reviewing a video? What's that about? Is it about P2? Because we just saw a replay of him leaving the pits and he was clearly behind Seb if that's what he's on about. Seb on his radio says he was in front. Yes you were. He's told they can see from the TV and it was clear. Brundle keeps talking over the radio message to say the same thing just shut the fuck up man. We know.

10 laps to go. He needs this SC in but they have to repair the barriers… lapped cars can overtake. Brundle is pissed because that's optional and they don't need to do it. Honestly fuck off. (I'm sorry I'm really pissed off by this race.) Yeah that's a lot of lapped cars but still. What's the use keeping them lapped that's just traffic for the midfield. Be real. Bono : "Lewis can you let us know who was ahead when you crossed Safety Car Line Two?" – "Nico was ahead. I was alongside Sebastian." No you weren't love I thought we'd left the bad faith with McLaren come on. Seb is complaining : "This is like sending swimmers to swim with weights on their legs, this makes no sense. We need at least two, three laps at better pace to get a bit of temperature, I mean this is a joke."

Safety car coming in at the end of lap 70. That'll leave them 8 laps. Fucking hell.

Here we go. Lewis is all over Seb's rear, he needs to get ahead quickly so Nico can't get away but if he rushes he'll crash. I'm losing my fucking mind. He can't make it. Nico is already over 2 seconds ahead. You can tell he's pissed from the way he drives. Don't fuck it up though… DRS is enabled. Daniel overtook 2 cars since the restart and is up in P4 but very honestly who cares right now.

5 laps to go… Nico sets the fastest lap. He says it's impossible to pass. I need you to try though, like last race, don't give up. And Daniel sets the fastest lap, he's right behind Lewis, so I guess he became relevant in this race after all. He's under investigation for pushing Raikkonen wide though.

3 laps to go. Bono : "Strat mode five and you have strat mode two available." – "Please stop talking to me, please." He's losing on Seb, getting closer to Daniel, I'm so very very angry at this race how did they fuck up THAT BAD. No further action for Daniel. Come on Lewis. Fight back please.

It's the final lap. I can't believe what I've seen. And Daniel is told if he can't overtake Lewis he'll have to give his position back to Kvyat.

It's the end of the race.

And so Nico fucking wins fucking Monaco fucking again. Seb is P2 and Lewis is P3. Ricciardo did give the place back to Kvyat.

Bono : "Sorry about that Lewis, mate. Just going to have to have a word with the pit wall."

I have no words.

Lewis stopped by the side of the track?! He's gone again. What was that.

Ted tells Niki it seems like the team has lost Lewis the GP. "Yes, clear." Why on earth did they pit him? "I don't know. Confusion… in the overhead… I will say… a lot of people talking. And, wrong decision." Ted is adding fuel to the fire saying the Ferrari weren't even about to pit, there was no threat and the gap wasn't big enough. "Full agree." He says he was listening to the talks and there was too much confusion. Ted asks, if he's the boss now, how does he handle it and how does he handle Lewis, who's gonna be "absolutely spitting blood." Niki says he honestly feels really sorry and even apologised to his engineers. It's unacceptable. He asked Toto to analyse it properly and see what the mistake was.

Rosberg is out of the car, Seb is out of the car, Lewis' car isn't even there.

Ted is with Toto now. He tells him Niki said it was unacceptable. "You've lost Lewis the grand prix. Why?" Toto says they did, they made a mistake, they thought the gap was a different one than it actually was, then Lewis called in that the tyres temp dropped and he had no grip. "A complete misjudgement." (As he talks Lewis finally arrives and straight up runs over the P3 sign.) Toto says he's just so sorry, "we just screwed it up for him". Ted says he's already apologised on the radio, what is he gonna say to him? He says there's nothing else to do but to apologise, and apologise, and apologise. (You know what else there is to do, actually? find out what happened and make sure it never ever EVER happens again, but we already know that it did.)

Lewis slowly, methodically, gets out of his car, while Nico is beaming on the side. Lewis is walking very slowly to them. Seb offers his hand first.

Lewis shakes it but barely looks at him. Seb whispers in his ear as he sets down his helmet (while I make the gif I hear "[something] won this race", possibly you should or would have won this race).

Nico did not make one gesture in his direction, he's still smiling on his side. They head up the short flight of stairs to the Monaco royalty. He's just so happy and expansive about it honestly it infuriates me. Like I get it, he's happy, he's won Monaco three times in a row but fuck that.

But Lewis is good so he walks up the stairs, taps Nico's shoulder and shakes his hand.

(See now the whole conversation with Thierry Henry just. Yeah I don’t need to spell it out, you get it.) Charlene pats his shoulder amicably after kissing his cheeks.

He barely lifts his trophy to the crowd without a smile and sets it down.

Seb says something to him again.

He looks down during the anthem. Nico's satisfied grin as Lewis wipes his face istg. I know it's not his fault but he's so grating right now. Also Lewis' face… if I was from his side of the garage I would be shitting myself. The crowd is chanting his name though. He gives them a thumbs up but it doesn't cheer him up.

They hand them champagne. Nico grabs his bottle and runs off with it. Lewis walks away with his.

Some official stops him in his tracks though as he's truly walking away.

The interviews begin. Will he even talk to Brundle?

Nico says he's very happy but he also knows it was just a lot of luck today. "Lewis drove brilliantly and would have also deserved the win for sure. But that's the way it is in racing." Lewis is back, we see him sitting down behind Nico with his head bowed still. Honestly… this is such long moments after a race like that it must suck so bad. Brundle asks Nico if he has an explanation as to why Lewis was brought in and not him, he says he doesn't. You don't know the decisions being made as you're in the car. The restart on cold hard tyres was very hard but it worked out.

In his interview Seb smiles as he says it was pretty close but he's confident he was ahead of Lewis out of the pits. He's happy to be on the podium again and he feels like they were closer in the race than they were in quali.

Yeah Lewis does NOT want to talk. Brundle says he thinks he speaks for millions of people when he says he's sorry for him. Behind him, the whole royal family starts clapping for him.

The whole crowd starts cheering for him. "Yeah that was not… the easiest of races. But you know the team has done amazing all year long and we win and we lose together so uh…”

“You know I'm just grateful for the job that I did and congratulations to Nico and Sebastian."

… He's matured a lot, hasn't he? It makes me genuinely emotional. Remember the first seasons? He's grown so much. Also it's remarkable how he actually doesn't get very angry but rather sad. I'm pissed af as you can tell. He's just disappointed.

Brundle asks if he can tell them why he was pitted. He takes a big breath in. "I'm sure we'll sit down afterwards and try and think of ways we can improve."

How bad do you feel now, Brundle asks. You've lost a Monaco grand prix it's been taken away from you. What's going through your mind? "... Uh… come back to win the next one."

A couple of people in the crowd yell "yeah!" and people start clapping, including the Royal family again.

I just realised Nico's ears are absolutely not the same size.

I read that in the post race press conference Lewis said the stop was made after he complained of his tyres, and he thought both Nico and Seb had already stopped. He was asked if he'd have full confidence in the team's strategy after that and said yes.

Max got a 5 place grid penalty for the next race after his crash with Grosjean. He also got 2 penalty points. Oh wait lol. Until now I was like yeah okay, fair. But then I read that he claimed Grosjean brake tested him. Bro stfu. We all saw what happened. Grosjean did not slow down. Verstappen was criticised by Massa, who said he deserved the penalty. He said he did nothing wrong and pointed Massa to his own accident with Perez in Canada 2014. Bold move child. Sit down and drink your milk.

Let's check out the postrace content now that I have it.

They sent Ted to talk to Nick. He says they're all gutted, he did such a good job. He's massively proud of what he's done yesterday and today. He seems emotional. He says he doesn't know and he doesn't want to comment on it. Ted explains what Mercedes said the mistake was due. He talks about Senna who crashed and went straight to his apartment. Nick says you can see Lewis' emotions right away. He's obviously hurting right now, but he's gonna remain positive. He says he'll make sure to give him as much support as he can, he knows he's there for him and hopefully they can pick him up and get him ready for the next one. Ted says this race kinda means more to him than others, "100%" Nick answers. Monaco is very special for everyone.

From the commentators cabin, Crofty says he can see just above Mercedes garage, in the offices, Paddy Lowe, Toto Wolff, Bono and James Vowles. They've been talking for 15 minutes, basically since the end of the race.

We get to hear what Lewis says in the press conference. He's not okay. He says he can't express how he feels so he won't attempt to.

He says he saw a screen and it looked like the team was out so he thought Nico had pitted. He couldn't see the guys behind him so he thought they were pitting. The team told him to stay out so he said the tyres are gonna drop in temperature, assuming the guys behind would be on options, while he was on hards, so they told him to pit. So he went in with full confidence that the others had done the same.

Natalie bravely went to interview him as well. Let's see how that went. Oh fucking hell. Natalie starts by asking if sorry is enough from the team. He says yes with a small smile but it sounds like he's about to break.

She asks how he gets over this, because none of them can imagine how frustrated he is, and angry. He says he'll refocus tomorrow, enjoy his evening, and try to win the next race. "As simple as that?" – "It's all I can do."

She said they talked before about him wanting to be a leader in the team, is that just another big challenge he has to overcome in that respect? "Um… Yeah, I guess so." – "So you can actually be that reflective and you can actually say to yourself 'you know what I can be the bigger man here, I can grow, I can learn from this'?" He says it's very difficult at the moment, "but you know I'll…" He interrupts himself, looks down and shakes his head.

"I'm world champion so I need to behave like one and I'd like to be the team leader and I think today I showed my pace, I showed what I can do here in Monaco and… So… I feel content in my heart that I did everything I could." (The cameraperson is struggling real hard and just zooooomed on his cheekbone freckle lol) Natalie asks if he's spoken to the key strategist. He says no but it was a collective decision between all of them (he says “us”).

Then Toto is with Ted. He says they had a problem with the maths. They thought they could afford a stop to protect against Seb. But Ted cuts him off out of sheer disbelief. "But Ferrari weren't out in the pitlane!" he exclaims in a hushed voice. "You weren't protecting from anything! They weren't out, they weren't gonna make a stop!" Toto says they were 10 seconds behind them so they could have made a pit stop when Lewis was in. There was plenty of time to do a stop. But he says at the end of the day there's no excuse, because they got the maths wrong. He seems furious. The calculations for the gap were giving them a bigger gap than what they had. "Full stop". He says the margin mistake was 3.5 seconds. Now the question is whether they should have made the call with a 3.5 seconds gap or not.

Ted is back with the others and he's not convinced by his talk with Toto. He says first of all even if Ferrari had pitted someone, the Merc (aka Nico) would still have had track position. "What circuit did they think they were at?!" he bursts out. "Track position is key!" Then he adds even if Seb had been on the quicker tyre at the end, he wouldn't have been able to get past just like Lewis wasn't able to. He's very right. The issue here isn't the gap miscalculation.

Ted, although he says himself he might be a bit dramatic, wonders how Lewis can ever again trust a call from his pit wall after that. Simon says twitter is weaving conspiracy theories. Brundle says what they've got to remember is the million calls they've made that were spot-on. But Ted maintains it will stay in Lewis’ head though.

Nico says yes it's a weird one to celebrate because not all of the team is excited. Indeed on the team photo I felt like there weren't as many people as usual. Of course Lewis himself wasn't there. Johnny asks if it matters, with a mischievous smile. Nico says he's learnt to take it. Sometimes the sport isn't nice to you and sometimes it is, he knows he's been incredibly lucky today, and he'll take it. Hill says Lewis will get over it, right? They're all racing drivers, they know how it is. Nico says it's not the first time and won't be the last, but he's sure today ranks as one of the worst moments for him. Losing in such a way really isn't good, especially since he's done such a good job this weekend. (He's actually being remarkably gracious about this I have to say. Very fair.) He says he has a lot of empathy for him but also a lot of space to just be happy.

#f1 #lewis hamilton #vro0m's race reviews #2015 #2015 monaco gp

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danielxricciardo · 3 years

Text

Cheater III

Summary: You found out Max cheated on you part 3.

Warnings: angst and fluff by the end

Word count: 2.5k

Part 1 and Part 2

Cheating in a relationship is the saddest thing. It can kill the personality from the inside. Bring changes a lot mentally. These situations turn into you to be good or bad. Some may be helpful to be stronger.

It feels bad when our loved one cheated, cause we are well connected to our partners. We had a lot of plans for that person to spend a most valuable time of ours. When it isn't going to happen then it feels unsuccessful or bad. Expecting something from another person is common in humans. When it turns down we feel such pain, like stabbing with words, The words have the power to kill or to give life to the opponent's mind. The reason why people say 'think before you talk'.

True love doesn't involve multiple people... You knew that.

When you are in love with someone, you don't cheat and you're not talking about just finding others attractive. You just don't desire to be sexually intimate with other people when you are truly "in love" with one person. You're not talking about caring for someone or loving in general.

You're talking about the head over heels, you're soulmates, the stars have aligned and nobody else has what you have, a type of love that consumes your whole being and makes you want to give that person the world. And that includes giving them the greatest physical pleasure that they can possibly experience. Cheating takes that away from you and that is why it hurts.

The person you are in love with and desire, who you thought felt the same way is revealing to you that intimacy with you is meaningless when you thought it was special. They do not desire you in the same way that you desire them. They are not "in love" with you in the way that you thought. All of your love is in vain.

“Why do we feel bad, even horrible, when our partner cheats on us?"

A trust, expectation, a promise was broken. This type of violation hits you closer to the heart because you have let that person through all your external defenses. Because you fear the loneliness that you are going to face. Nobody wants to end alone. When you put in so much for your relationship, you want it to last. But when your partner cheats you think that you would end alone, gradually realize this happens and life doesn't end here and someone else is going to come into your life.

Why do guys cheat on girls?

Both men and women cheat. In some cases, the reasons are simple: humans are animals with sex drives. We are biologically programmed to "spread our seeds." We have other instincts, such as loyalty, honesty, and guilt feelings. Those drives duke it out with lust in our brains. Sometimes, lust wins. It's more complicated than that because we tend to associate sex with so many other things: youth, freedom, adventure, personal attractiveness, you name it.

You know people make all sorts of excuses like, “I wasn’t happy in my relationship” or “I didn’t know what I was doing” or “I don’t find my partner attractive anymore” or “someone convinced me to do it.” You’ve heard these. But it’s funny to you.

A cheater can never have any excuse. They do not deserve to have that say after cheating on someone.

If you weren’t happy in the relationship, then why didn’t you break up first and had sex with someone else? Why didn’t you say that you needed a break and then had sex? Also, how can someone even convince you to cheat on your partner? It’s nonsense.

Some people will even go as far as to say that the other person made them feel loved, so they got swayed away. If you are not feeling loved by your partner and someone else is doing that job, then aren’t you supposed to figure out your feelings first, maybe break up with your partner and then be with someone else? That’s common sense.

Nobody deserves to be cheated on. The blame is ALWAYS on the cheater. Nowadays people even try to justify cheaters. It’s insane. To you, all the answers to “why” are simply just excuses trying to justify their unacceptable behavior. You know, how they always say that a person who cheats once will cheat again.

Since you found out that Max cheated on you and until this moment, so many months have passed that you have the impression that you have started to heal. You were with a man who made you feel fulfilled, happy, and loved. There were days in a row when you didn't think about Max, but even when you thought, you had in mind only the beautiful moments. Like when, for your first date, he rented your entire favorite restaurant and he cooked for both of you, even though he didn't know how to cook more than just one egg. Or when you first visited him at a Grand Prix for the first time and he won and came to you and kissed you in front of all the cameras, telling everyone that you are his lucky talisman. Or, your favorite memory, when you were at his house after you met his family and heard him talking to his father about you. Sure, you didn't understand a word they said, but Victoria translated to you what was most important about that conversation: Max loves you so much and if he doesn't get to marry you, he'll never marry anyone else.

As dear as your last memory may be, it is also painful because it is like a slap in the face to the fact that there was a time in your life when you were in love and now you were no longer together.

When you told your family that you started seeing another man, more than 6 months after you and Max broke up, your mother asked you how you could get into a relationship so quickly. relationship.

To be honest, you weren't ready yet. You were damn scared but Stephen, your boyfriend now, went after you a lot and you decided that if you don't give him a chance now it will be many years before you think about going on a date with someone else. You knew it wasn't going to be a long relationship. You didn't have much in common with Stephen, but he was a good, sweet boy, and you needed someone who wouldn't make you hate all the men in the world.

"Look, I'm not saying you didn't go through something traumatic, but it's been almost a year since then and I think it's time to come and show everyone that you're not afraid of anyone or anything," says Anthony who called you on facetime one Sunday night after the race.

"But I'm afraid."

"Just shut up, no one needs to know. You just come here, you smile, you laugh, you act friendly with everyone and you're going to look like you're better of without him."

You sigh and get out of bed, and go to the kitchen to get a pill for your headache.

"But he will be there..."

"Okay, so? Who cares about him? I'll always be by your side, I promise he won't talk to you."

"Can I come with Stephen?"

"You know I can't stand him, Y/N. Take him with you to the next Grand Prix, I don't feel like seeing him now, okay?"

"I'll think about it."

You have decided, however, to go to the last Grand Prix of the season, in Abu Dhabi. No one but Anthony knew you were coming to the race.

You forgot what a busy atmosphere it was on Sunday. However, everyone who saw you came to you to talk a little and to tell you that you missed them. You smiled and answered that you missed them as well.

The road to Red Bull Racing was long and short at the same time.

"Do my eyes see well? Y/F/N Y/L/N!" says Christian Horner, who comes to you and hugs you.

You first see Sergio Perez who waves at you, happy to see you, then you see Max who comes from somewhere in the back. Had he just heard your name?

"Hey, guys! I'm so glad to see you again. I missed you all."

"And we missed you, Y/N!" Christian answers on behalf of all Red Bull Racing employees. "Welcome home."

You giggle.

"Thank you."

In less than 10 minutes since you got there, Anthony broke his promise. He promised not to leave you alone so that Max could not come and talk to you.

"Hey," Max says softly, coming behind you.

You shivered at his voice, a voice you've dreamed of every night since you broke up. You turn to him and analyze his facial features. He was the way you remembered him, maybe even more handsome.

You look left and right for Anthony but you can't see him.

"Hey." You answer Max and your heart starts beating much harder.

"I'm so glad to see you... I missed you."

The desire to take him in your arms and kiss him was so strong that you felt dizzy. You couldn't focus on anything, not even a few words to say.

"Do you think that we... We could see each other after the race to... Talk?" he asks, moving his weight from one foot to the other.

"Okay," you say and regret it the next second.

"How stupid am I for wanting to get back together with Max after he cheated on me?" you asked Anthony.

"First of all, you're not stupid for wanting to get back with your boyfriend. Relationships are the most real things anyone can experience. We're growing while we're together. As we grow, we also go through many different behaviors in life. Behavior does not make that person. Behaviors come and go as we grow into who we are. No one is perfect. You cannot name one person you know to be 100% perfect, right?" you shake your head and he continues. "We all grow organically, and the best thing about being in a relationship is that you get to watch each other grow. You get to experience the person you care about to develop. Relationships are like walking through a door that you don't know what's on the other side. But you go through the door without any fear, doubt, or unbelief. Relationships are the livest-realest- life experience. He is a man. A man can only love once or twice. Just because Max has sex with a woman, doesn't mean he loves her. He just wanted to get his rocks off for a moment. When it is all said and done, he loves you. It may sound strange but just think of all the men you knew. Think about all the relationships you knew about. Think those who have been together for years on out. So, no you're not stupid for wanting to embrace your boyfriend's "only temporary behavior". You're smart for wanting to have the courage to walk through the next door. You're smart for being optimistic and knowing that things will get better with time. You realize the importance of maintaining a companion."

You blink several times.

"Why do I feel like you've practiced this speech in front of the mirror several times?"

He laughs and runs his arm over your shoulder.

"Maybe because that's what I did?"

You laugh and you hug him.

"Thank you for being my friend. So you're saying I should give Max another chance?"

"You don't have to give him a chance if you don't want to. But listen to your heart. Don't just do it because I'm saying so because you might regret it and you'll blame me. If you want to give him another chance, just do it. He's not the kind of man to cheat. I don't know what was on his mind when he did it with Kelly. But something tells me he regrets what he did and he will never cheat again."

"Hey, can we talk now?"

"Sure. Congrats on the win!"

"Yeah, thanks."

You both went to his room to talk. You were scared and your palms were sweating. You didn't want to start the conversation because you had different scenarios in mind, all different, depending on what Max would tell you the first time. You swallowed hard when you entered his room. The last time you were there, you two broke up.

“I’m truly sorry for hurting you.” he started saying after he closed the door behind you. "I care for you more than anything. I’m deeply sorry for hurting you… Hurting you is the most painful thing I have ever done. With a bruised heart and a deflated ego, with a sad soul and a head hung low, I apologize to you. An apology is nothing to what I’ve done; but still, I know you have a forgiving and understanding heart and won’t let resentment destroy our love. I have shown you what an idiot I can be by making that mistake. Now it is your turn to show me what a darling you can be by giving your anger a break. Without you I feel lonely, I never want to lose you in my life. I am sorry and I’ll work hard on changing my behavior. I know that I caused you a lot of pain. Whatever happens, remember that I am the guy, who will always be there for you in good and bad times. I know you’re angry now, but I want you to know that I didn’t mean to hurt you. I’m sorry for hurting you. I am ready to make amends. If I could, I would have wiped your memories about all the terrible things that I have caused you, but all I can do is to promise you that I’ll create only happy memories for you. I hope when you feel ready you can forgive me."

His words took you by surprise. You knew he would try to apologize, but in your mind, you weren't crying. You knew before you came to the room with him that you would forgive him.

"I forgive you. To be honest, I think I forgave you before we broke up but my ego was hurt and I couldn't forgive you so quickly. What you did was horrible and I hated you for so many months for making me feel so small and insignificant. But I love you. And I want to give ourselves another chance."

tag: hellolipoops, taina-eny

#max verstappen imagine #max verstappen oneshot #max verstappen #f1 fanfiction #f1 oneshot #f1 one shot #f1 2021 #f1 fandom #f1 #f1 x reader #f1 imagine #formula one oneshot #formula one imagine #formula 1 oneshot #formula one #formula 1 #red bull racing

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let-them-read-fics · 3 years

Text

Blackpink HC / One Shots: Enemies to Lovers, College AU (2/2)

Requested: Yes

Warnings / Misc. -- Bickering, Rivalry, Fluff

A/N: Hey everyone! This is the second half of the request, featuring Rosé and Lisa. If you want to see the first part, with Jisoo and Jennie, click the link below. I hope you enjoy!

Click for Jisoo and Jennie

♡ Happy Reading ♡

🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

Rosé

Park Chaeyoung: The girl who hung with the wrong crowd.

Your problem lied more so with the people she associated with than her herself. You couldn't wrap your head around why such a kind person like her would spend time with the class clowns and bullies, and to make matters worse, she would stick up for them as well.

She spent most of her days in either the art or music room, creating the masterpieces that her brain came up with.

But as soon as school was over, she'd be hanging out with them again and getting into trouble. For instance, because of her talents, they would invite her to go with them and graffiti various hot spots around town. She never vandalized any monuments or landmarks of importance -- she typically stuck to bridges or abandoned buildings -- but after getting caught with them multiple times, it was inevitable for her to be held accountable.

She was given a week's detention to make up for her actions

You, coincidentally, had a teacher that absolutely loathed you for no reason at all. No matter how good of a student you were for him, he didn't care; he had a vendetta against you for some reason, and he patiently waited for the opportunity to ruin your day.

You came in literally 10 seconds after the bell rang, putting the breakfast sandwich you stopped to get on the way into your mouth so you could open the door. He was standing at the front with a smug grin on his face, and you already knew what was coming.

You were also given an ungodly sentence of a week's detention.

Turning Point

"If I see you on your phones, I'm taking them." The monitor informs before sitting at the desk, reclining in the chair and putting his feet up soon after. You sigh and lean back in your seat, attempting to find a way to pass the next two hours without getting in trouble. Your eyes scan across the room, eventually landing on Rosé, where she sits a couple rows away from you. Sunlight is streaming in through the window next to her, its golden rays peeking through the breaks in the clouds above to shine on her. She looks gorgeous as she doodles away in her notebook, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear when it falls in front of her face.

After waiting on the monitor to fall asleep and sending one last glance to double check, you quietly stand from your seat and go sit next to her.

You barely know each other, but she's your only hope of remaining sane and occupied.

"Hi," you greet, looking into her eyes.

"Hi," she copies, a tiny smile forming on her lips when she notices your impressed expression upon gazing down at her paper. You have to hand it to her -- she's really talented.

"You're really good," you compliment, still admiring the artistry. Seeing as how you're looking down, you fail to notice the blush that works its way to her cheeks. Coming from you, the simple remark meant a lot to her.

You spend the rest of the day making small talk and getting used to one another, leaving detention later with the hopes of sitting together again.

----

The Next Day

"Hi again," you whisper, glancing over your shoulder to ensure that the coast is clear. The monitor is out like a light, with his mouth hanging open and an obnoxiously loud snore coming out.

"Hi," she giggles, watching as you dive into the floor for cover when the man shifts in his sleep. You thought he was waking up, and if he finds out you moved seats, he'll definitely have something to say about it.

"The coast is clear, cadet," she nods like a soldier, assuring you that it's okay to move back after a minute.

"That was close," you breathe out in relief, glad to live to see another day.

You share a laugh, though it has to be hidden behind your hands and kept a minimum. It's cute though -- like a little secret between the two of you, only for you to know.

"What're you drawing today?" You ask later, laying your chin in your palm as you gaze down at her work. Her reply comes out stuttered at first when she feels your leg innocently brush against hers under the table.

"D-dalgom. My friend's dog." She manages out, mentally smacking herself for looking like a fool.

You smile, thinking she's adorable. "I bet it'll be great," you encourage. She grins back as her eyes scan over your face, committing the memory of you to heart. She's always had a thing for you, ever since the time you were paired up in Biology last semester, so she's been enjoying detention more than she thought she would. Seeing you makes the time go by faster, though ironically, she wishes it would slow down a bit.

You make her feel appreciated for more than just what she's capable of producing, and the divide between you and her friend group is blaringly obvious. They like her because of the rush she can help them achieve; you like her because of her.

That thought persists in her mind for the rest of detention, and before she knows it, the monitor is releasing you again. She bends down to put her notebook in her bag when a thought pops into her mind: she wants to ask if you want to go to the park with her. When she's done zipping her bag up, she looks back up at you, only to find you on your phone, talking to someone.

"Yeah, mom. I'll stop by on the way home. So milk, cereal, ramen, and paper towels, right?"

She watches as you wait for a reply, tucking the phone into the crook of your neck as you move to write the list down on a spare piece of paper.

"Alright, love you, too. See you later." You hang up before looking back at Rosie. She looks a little down, and you have no idea why.

You pause for a moment, silently psyching yourself up for what you're about to ask. "This is gonna sound really strange, but do you want to come with me to the store?"

Her heart's pace increases at that, happy to know that you want to spend more time with her, just as she does with you.

"Actually, yeah. That sounds like fun."

You grin at her before spinning around and doing a little celebratory dance, which wins you a strange look from the monitor. You stick your tongue out at him before grabbing her hand and rushing out of the room, hearing his disapproval shouted after you.

"Milk?"

"Check."

"Ramen?"

"Check."

"Cereal?"

"Nope."

You nod at her words, now reminded of what you were forgetting. You push the buggy towards the aisle of cereals, gazing around in wonder at the huge selection. Rosé is just the same, eyeing all of the options like a kid in a candy store. After grabbing your mom's favorite kind, you decide on one for yourself and bring it back to the cart. Rosie scoots her leg over, making room for them beside where she sits, reclined in the cart.

You grin when you see her eyeing a box of fruit loops. Huh; fruity. Go figure.

You wordlessly grab the box and hand it to her, feeling your heart melt when she looks up at you like you hold the key to the universe.

"Thank you, Y/N."

"No problem, Rosie." You say, putting your hands on the bar as you begin pushing the buggy again. "Now, I say we see how long it takes to get to the paper towel aisle. My last record was 30 seconds."

She looks at you, clearly impressed, with her eyebrows raised. Without question, she pulls her phone out and gets the stop watch feature ready to go.

"3...2...1... GO!" She shouts, commanding your legs to start pumping as you race down the long strip of store before you. A couple kids dart out of the way just before getting smacked into, quickly turning around and cheering you on as you charge forward.

Her giggles fill the air as you drift around a corner, shouting apologies to the lady you almost bumped into.

"Sorry ma'am!"

A few seconds later, chest heaving and legs sore, you come to a stop in the aisle, dramatically collapsing in a heap next to the buggy. Rosé checks her phone as she reaches down to poke you.

"22.18 seconds, champ," she declares victoriously, smiling when you magically regain enough energy to stand up and celebrate.

"Woohoo! Team Y/S/N (Your Ship Name) for the win!"

She laughs along at that, joining in on your celebration, but she's blushing like crazy on the inside.

-----

The Last Day Of Detention

Ever since your trip to the store, you and Rosé have grown closer and closer. You traded numbers and text occasionally, though nothing beats having her all to yourself for 2 hours straight with no distractions. She feels the same; when she's in class, she can't wait for the bell to ring and signal your reunion. Part of her wants to get in trouble again, just to see you more often.

So, as you'd expect, it's really no surprise that you're sat right in front of her again, telling jokes and asking about her day. You've grown a bit more bold with every step closer you've taken towards her heart, and now you reach down to intertwine your fingers with hers.

She happily accepts, even bringing your hand up to her lips to press a kiss to the back of it. She smiles against your skin after it, making butterflies take flight in your stomach. She's got you wrapped around her finger, and you don't even try to fight it anymore.

The sound of the classroom door opening alerts you, making her lower your hand. She doesn't let go of you, though, and that fact warms your heart for some reason. The squeaky hinges groan out again as the door opens wider, revealing about 4 or 5 people from the friend group that she hangs out with. They motion for her to sneak out with them, but she just shakes her head.

"Come on, Rosé!" They whisper-scream, offering her a way to freedom. Little do they know that she'd take this imprisonment over freedom any day, so long as you're by her side.

"No! Get out before he wakes up!" She whisper-shouts back, eventually convincing them to leave.

"Why didn't you go?" You ask once they're gone, toying with her fingers as your hands rest on the desk.

"Because I like spending time with you." She admits, letting her defenses down.

"I was hoping you'd say that," you smile, letting her know that you feel the same.

The Fallout

After detention, the two of you walked out of the school, hand in hand

"Would you maybe, I don't know... wanna go to the park with me?" She asks nervously, glancing up at you.

"You read my mind, Rosie." You smile at each other and head towards the parking lot.

You started hanging out more, and she distanced herself from her old crowd

You encouraged her to enroll in your school's art program and show her work that way

"You're really talented; it deserves to be seen."

Your support meant the world to her, and she never failed to let you know

"Thank you, Y/N. Having you behind me means the world to me."

At one of her art shows, where she was tasked with unveiling a new piece that she'd been working on for months, you got the biggest surprise of your life.

She created a mural of you, all decked out with every color of the rainbow, utterly gorgeous

She lit up when she saw your reaction

"This piece is titled 'Mine', which I hope the girl in it will soon be." She says into the microphone, looking at you with hope shining in her eyes.

You nod your head with a smile and walk up to her, pressing your lips to hers in a kiss that was long-overdue. She wraps her arms around your waist, pulling you in closer with her sweater-padded hands and kissing you again and again.

The crowd claps for you, happy to see such an ending.

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

Lisa

I couldn't choose between these two gifs so enjoy both for the price of one ^^^

Lisa Manoban: Cocky, smug, and self-assured. The dancer knew she was hot shit, and she wasn't afraid to show off.

You're all for people being confident and happy with themselves, especially when they're talented, but something about Lisa always seemed to rub you the wrong way.

Whether it be her lack of a filter or the arrogant swagger that she naturally exuded, you weren't sure. People wanted to either be her or be with her, but you fell into neither of those categories.

She always left you frustrated in one way or another, whether it be from her teasing or her witty comebacks

The teachers loved her, as did the students. She was the class clown, so her position was pretty sacred in the grand scheme of things

You, on the other hand, irritated her for other reasons. You were the only person she couldn't get to crack; you never gave into her charms, and it infuriated her to no end. She wasn't used to not getting what she wanted (as childish as that may seem) and having you, one of the most attractive girls at school, turn her down? Well that was a massive blow to her ego.

You weren't afraid to say your piece, and that both pleasantly surprised and upset her.

She constantly tried to flirt with you in class, but you knew it was all for the attention. She just wanted to make her friends laugh, which they always did.

"Y/N, come here babe. There's an empty seat next to me," she coos, batting her eyelashes as you walk in the door. It's a free day, so everyone is sitting with their friends, wherever they like.

"I'm good," you decline, deciding to sit against the wall beneath the large window of the classroom.

"Oooo, denied," Lisa's friends laugh at her this time, chuckling harder when she sticks her middle finger up at them.

"Yah, shut up," she says, nursing her bruised ego as she turns around and opens her phone.

You smile as you continue working on the homework you cracked open, scribbling an answer down onto the notebook paper in front of you. Your fingers glide over your textbook in search of the definition of the term you're on, and Lisa secretly watches from afar. Without realizing it, she grins when you light up upon spotting the answer.

Sometimes her flirting does work, though, and you turn into a blushing mess

*whistle* "Damn, Y/N. You're looking fine today," she exclaims, fanning herself. You worry that she doesn't really mean it, but when her eyes remain on you a second too long to just be friendly, you blush. She's taking in all of you, looking impressed all the while.

"Right back at you, Manoban." You wink, sitting down in your seat across the room. She lightly blushes back, though she does a good job of concealing it.

Considering you share a couple classes and the class sizes are relatively small, it was pretty likely that you'd end up paired together eventually

You weren't happy about it, especially not after the way she had acted that week. Her cockiness had been at an all time high as of late, leaving you frustrated and upset. She was so full of herself; all you wanted to do was wipe that stupid smirk off her face.

"Y/N, you'll be paired with Lisa," your photography teacher informs, pushing her glasses up higher on the bridge of her nose.

"But Mrs. Ta--"

"Pairings are final," she cocks her head at you, persuading you to give in. With a sigh, you respond, "Yes ma'am," and attempt to ignore the sound of Lisa's friends high fiving each other in celebration.

The Turning Point

"My parents are gone for the rest of the week..." she says, holding the door open for you as you carry in your equipment. A hint of suggestiveness lies in it; she's alluding to exactly what you think she is, and you push her shoulder upon realizing it.

"Knock it off, Manoban."

"Okay, okay," she chuckles, listening to you for once. The surprise is clear on your face.

She leads you towards the backyard, where you set up one of your highest power cameras and turn it on. You have to create a gallery of different photos, all under the same theme. You both agreed to do a time-lapse of the sunset, and take pictures of the stars after.

Once she makes sure that the timer is set correctly and that the auto shut-off feature is enabled, she motions for you to follow her back into the house. You do, and she leads you into the kitchen.

"Do you want a snack?"

"Sure, do you have any ramen?"

She nods, quickly busying herself by bending down and searching through the cabinets. After she finds it, exclaiming a pleased, "Aha!", she tells you to go get comfortable in the living room.

Three minutes later, from your place on the couch, you begin to smell something burning. You scramble up and rush to the kitchen, only to find Lisa running around like a headless chicken, attempting to put out the small fire she started.

"HOW THE HELL DID YOU MANAGE TO BURN RAMEN?" You shout, though your tone isn't angry. You're just very shocked, and loud about it. You push her away from the pot, albeit gently, and get the flames to go down relatively quickly. You turn the burners off and put the pot in the sink, leaning against the counter to recover from the adrenaline rush.

"Oops?" She asks more so that says, with a growing smile evident in her voice.

You shake your head and chuckle despite yourself, turning around to face her. "You can order a pizza now to make up for that." You point a finger at her, grinning stupidly when she presses the tip of hers to it.

"Your wish is my command, princess."

Thankfully you're already walking away as she says that, so she doesn't get the satisfaction of seeing you blush.

---

"Lisa, I can't keep going." You groan out, sweat dripping down your face. The pizza you ate earlier is giving you a stomache ache, paired with the physical activity you're doing.

"Y/N, just a little longer, we're almost there," she huffs out, keeping her movements steady somehow. You're a mess by now, so you don't understand how she's still going.

A couple minutes later, the TV in front of you lights up, saying, "Awesome moves! You win!" as you collapse to the ground in a heap.

Why you agreed to play Just Dance with her after eating is beyond you.

"Good job," she compliments, grabbing your hand to high five herself with it.

"Yeah, yeah," you roll over, catching your breath.

She lays down beside you as you recover, telling jokes to hear that laugh that she loves so much. She prefers yours over anyone elses, so it's always such a reward when she gets you to crack up.

"We should probably head up now," she notes, realizing that the stars will be coming out soon. You agree, and she carefully helps you up.

"Here, I'll carry you," she turns, bending down so you can get on her back.

"Lisa, you can't carry me," you brush off, feeling insecurity bubble up again like it always does when you're offered a piggyback ride.

"Y/N, I promise that I can. Trust me," she reassures, looking into your eyes sincerely.

"Alright," you sigh, standing onto the couch to get on easier.

"See?" She asks, sliding her warm hands up your thighs to keep you secured against her. "I've got you, babe."

You tuck your head into the space between her shoulder and neck, inhaling the sweet scent of her perfume.

"I'm gonna punch you if you drop me," you whisper, feeling her laugh against you.

"Fair enough."

-----

Later, On The Rooftop

"Careful," she instructs, outstretching a hand to help you climb out the window. Her camera hangs around her neck, and she takes the cap off of the lense once you're both safely sitting on the roof.

"Wow," you sigh, gazing up at the sky in wonder. Her house is far enough away from the city that you're rewarded with a gorgeous view of the stars, unburdened by the industrial fog that hangs over the cosmopolis.

"It's beautiful out here," you say, looking back at her. You tense up a bit, not expecting her to already be looking at you.

"Sorry," she laughs at herself, looking away once she gets caught admiring you.

"It's okay," you reach down and gently squeeze her hand, making her blush lightly.

"Let's get started," you conclude, pointing at the camera. She nods, knowing that she'd never get the assignment done if you didn't step in to tell her to (considering she'd rather admire you), and she points the device to the sky.

After snapping a few pictures, she lays back in order to get a better vantage point of one of the star systems. She hands it to you after she's satisfied with her work, and you take your turn with it.

She notices that you keep brushing your hair out of the way when it falls in your face, so she decides to help you.

"Here," she says, saddling up behind you. She gathers your hair up, running her fingers through it to neatly pull it up for you. Thankfully she always keeps a spare tie on her wrist.

"Thanks," you smile, snapping another picture. The simple act warms your heart; she's being selfless for once, and helping you without even being asked. It's a refreshing change of pace.

"You're welcome." She chirps, sitting back down beside you.

-----

Later, In Her Bedroom

"Oh, I really like that one!" She says excitedly, pointing at the TV. Her phone, which is connected via Bluetooth and automatically receives pictures of her choosing from the camera, is displaying some of your best shots.

"Yeah, you did really well with that. I think we might beat everyone else if we use that as our cover piece."

Your compliment makes her momentarily shy, and she quickly realizes how much she loves your praise.

The two of you continue like that, reviewing the different pictures and choosing your favorites. She always finds ways to compliment yours, noting your technique or the filter you used, and it always makes you smile. She's different than you're used to, and it's throwing you for a loop, pleasantly surprising.

---

Lisa steps out of the room to go to the bathroom a few minutes later, leaving her phone connected to the TV. A ding sounds out across the space, pulling your attention away from the stack of notes laid out before you. Your eyes dart up to the screen, reading the text message that appeared at the top of it.

Austin ⛓: "Dude, did you get into her pants yet? We're literally betting over here 😂"

You blink a few times as their words sink in, making your chest hurt. You were really beginning to believe that you had been wrong about Lisa; clearly, though, your instincts were right.

Feeling betrayed, you shove your folders back into your bag and stand from the chair, willing yourself not to cry. The sound of the sink turning on lets you know that she's almost done, so you hurry your movements and make your way towards the door. She steps out into the hall just as you exit her room, looking at you with wide eyes.

"Woah, woah, woah, what's going on?" She asks with furrowed brows, approaching you. One of her hands lands on your arm, and you shrug it off as you brush past her without another word.

"Y/N, did I do something wrong?" She asks from the top of her staircase, watching as you walk towards her foyer.

"Why don't you ask Austin?" You bitterly call over your shoulder as you turn the knob, slipping out the front door. She hangs her head upon registering your words, realizing what must've happened. She makes a mental note to give him hell when she sees him again.

Tears sting your eyes as you exit the house, wrapping your jacket tighter around yourself. You should've known something like this would happen. The chilly night air bites at your skin, stealing more of its warmth away with every step you take. The temperature doesn't change your mind, though; you're upset, and you'd rather freeze out here than be face to face with her right now.

"Y/N, wait!" She calls after you, blasting out the front foor. Her footfalls sound off behind you, announcing her rapid approach, but you don't turn around. Realizing this, she darts in front of you, keeping you from walking any further.

"Please, don't go. He's an idiot, Y/N."

"He might he an idiot, but that doesn't take away what he said," you scowl, clenching your jaw. "Betting? Really, Lisa?" You ask quietly, hurt evident in your voice.

"It was a stupid thing they tried to convince me to do. I didn't want to, but I couldn't stop them from talking once you and I were paired up. That's not what I want, though. I'm not just in it for that."

"How am I supposed to believe that? This is your M.O., Lisa."

"It's different with you, I don't know why." That's a lie; she knows exactly why you're different than anyone else she's flirted with in the past.

You stand there before her, silently weighing your options. After seeing the pleading look in her eye, her dark orbs full of sincerity, you relent. "Just take me home. We'll work on it another day," you compromise, allowing her in just enough to take you home, but not enough to stay at her place any longer. You're still weary after a text like that, and you will be for a while.

"Thank you," she breaths a sigh of relief, clasping her hands behind herself as you begin walking back to her house. She notices you shiver on the way, and she slips her jacket off without hesitation to cover you. Neither of you have to say anything; one glance from you is enough for her, and she's content knowing you're warm.

The Fallout

From there on out she was always honest with you and actually spoke out when her friends tried to do something stupid

She still remained the charming class clown that she naturally is, just getting rid of the not-so-nice parts of herself

You slowly let her regain your trust, little by little

She did nice things for you on the daily, whether it be holding the door, carrying your books, or offering to buy you some lunch

"Morning, Y/N. Wanna grab some breakfast?" She asks, moving her head to the side towards the café at the center of campus.

"Sure," you smile, laughing when she celebrates.

She invites you to her dance perfomances

When she goes to championships, you're always first on her list of invites

"I want you there." She declares, handing you the flyer.

"You've got it," you decide, knowing there's no where you'd rather be. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

At said championship, she won the highest title and claimed victory for your school

You joined the rest of the team on the stage to celebrate, congratulating the solo dancer on her achievement.

"I'm so proud of you, Lis--"

She suddenly kisses you, clearly high off her win. She pulls back when she realizes what she just did, a worried look on her face.

"Shit, I'm sorry." She looks between your eyes, attempting to gauge your reaction.

"Get your ass back here," you order, feeling butterflies take flight when she eagerly presses her lips to yours again, wrapping her arms around you to spin you.

"Does this mean I'm forgiven?" She mumbles against your lips.

You squint, pretending to think about it. "Maybe... or maybe not."

Her subsequent gasp is quickly muffled by your kiss, which she can't seem to get enough of.

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12yeahiminluvwu · 4 years

Text

Captain

pairing - JJ Maybank x Athlete!Reader

summary- JJ Maybank gets his shit rocked by the captain of the school volleyball team

word count- 2,365 (i got so carried away, oh my goodness)

warning(s)- swearing, uhh JJ gets hurt but he’s fine, volleyball lingo (if you don’t understand, i’m happy to translate lol) this wasn’t proof read so, have fun if theres any typos.

---------

“It’s volleyball week, class. Experienced played on the left court, beginning players of the right court. Over on the left, we’re playing normal sets to twenty-five, no serve cap. On the right, normal set to twenty-five, serve cap is 3. Have fun!” Mr. Perkins said and let everyone lose. Volleyball week was your favorite because you got to do something you actually liked during gym class.

You and a few of the other varsity girls made your way to the court and made a quick game plan with the other three players you’d gotten on your team. From your middle position, you see JJ Maybank from across the net. You had no idea that he even knew what volleyball was, seeing as the only thing he ever did was surf and smoke weed.

“You ready to get your shit rocked, Maybank?” You smirked, waiting for the serve. His eyes scanned up and down your body before meeting your eyes with an equal smirk.

“Bring it on captain!” JJ didn’t know much about volleyball, but he was determined to stay on the court for as long as he could before Perkins booted him over to the other court. He wanted to be close to you, try to impress you. This was the best way he knew how to do that right now.

The ball was served to the setters corner, a pass, set, and a hit made. Your teammate, who was a libero on your actual team, made a dig to your setter and you released to make your approach calling a 1, which is a quick/low set right above the tape, and realized that JJ stood flat footed- not even attempting to block you. The boy watched as the ball connected with your hand and ducked, thinking that it was headed straight for his face.

The ball dropped right on the 10-foot line and your team cheered for you, as you had won the first point. JJ watched in a daze as you smiled and laughing, taking the compliments your team was showering you in.

“JJ! Block her next time!” Someone said from behind him and he nodded aimlessly, doing his best to focus and try to play. The set went back and forth a few times before you went back to serve. You had begun to catch on to the fact that JJ had absolutely no idea what he was doing, so you intentionally served him, knowing it would get you a point.

The ball spun in your hand once, and you placed a hand on top lightly before drawing your arm back and tossing the ball,swinging through right at JJ. The ball coasted perfectly above the net, floating right to him, but it ended up hitting him in the face.

“Oh shit!” You gasped, running across the floor to where he now laid on the floor.

“You ok Maybank?” JJ laid there quietly, trying to grasp on to what just happened. Of course, he's the one that gets clocked by a serve. And of course it was y/n’s. Just his freaking luck. Opening his throbbing eye, he saw you staring down at him, close enough he could feel your breath fanning across his face.

“JJ, come on, I didn’t hit you that hard!” You said, placing a gentle hand on his cheek. You felt him lean into your touch as his eyes fluttered.

“Y/n, I’m gonna have you walk him to the nurse, ok? I wanna make sure he doesn’t have a concussion.” Perkins said and you nodded, latching onto his hand to help him stand up. He was a little unstable so you wrapped his arm around your shoulder, while yours held securely onto his waist.

“You know, when you asked me if I was ready to get my shit rocked, I didn’t know you meant literally!” He groaned. A giggled escaped your lips and you looked at him, almost like you were seeing him for the first time. His face looked different up close, he looked a little less tough. He looked softer.

“”Well, maybe you shouldn’t have let your guard down,” You shrugged, smirked in his direction.

“Oh, so that’s how it is, ok.” He scoffed and you laughed again, tightening your grip on him. A beat of silence passed between the two of you before the boy spoke again.

“Can I be honest with you?” He asked and you nodded, perking your ars at what he was going to say. You were very aware of how close you were to him, as his body heat was beginning to make you sweat. You passed by a few people who were in the hallway, avoiding going back to class.

“I have no idea how to play volleyball…” He finally admitted and you stopped in your tracks, feeling laughter bubble in your chest.

“Ya think I didn’t notice that?” You laughed out, and the redness on his cheeks darkened.

“Why were you on that court if you don’t know how to play? There's nothing wrong with being on the beginners court!” He shifted, taking his arm off of your shoulder and leaning against the wall. Suddenly, he was more interested in the floor and playing with the hem of his shirt than he was looking at you and you felt the weight shift between your feet, your eyebrows raising at him.

“Because… I wanted to impress you…” He trailed off. Your cheeks began to heat up at his confession. Truthfully, you didn’t think JJ, or anyone, thought about you that way. You’d never really been a main character like JJ, or any of his friends.

“Why?” You asked, grabbing him from off the wall so you could continue your journey to the nurse’s office. This time, he held onto you a little tighter than he had before, he realized you did the same.

“Because you’re freaking y/n y/l/n! You’re the captain of the volleyball team, voted most likely to play in the Olympics before you turn 25! You’re, like, awesome! And, I didn’t know how else to get your attention. So here I am, with a possible concussion.”

“I’m not worth getting a concussion over JJ, why didn’t you just ask me out ;like any normal person would?” Your boldness surprised you, but you figured that it couldn’t really hurt at this point.

“Cause, John B said that would be lame…” He muttered.

“Well, I guess you’ve learned to not always listen to John B,” He nodded and looked over at you.

“How about we go out tonight then? Catch the sunset, have a picnic?” He asked, causing your smile to grow wider.

“As lovely as that sounds, I have a game tonight… but I’d like it if you were there.” He nodded, looking around before looking back at you.

“What’s your jersey number?” He asked. You had come upon the door to the office and you slowly opened it before answering him.

“13.” You said and sent him in, walking in after him.

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

JV had just finished, meaning you and the girls were out on the court warming up and getting ready for your game. Galway Girl by Ed Sheeran blared throughout the gym, hyping the team up.

The whistle blew and you looked over to the ref, holding up a C. That’s your cue.

You won serve and thanked the ref before departing back to your team, who had gathered around the bench, waiting for coach to give the line up. You’re starting, obviously, so you gave your speech and made your way onto the court, quickly scanning the crowds to see if JJ was there.

You didn’t see him right away, but he was there with his friends, wearing your number painted on an old t-shirt he didn’t wear often enough to care about, with your name above it.

---

It was down to the wire now, 11-13 in the fifth set. JJ had no clue what was going on but he knew that every time you hit the ball and got a point, he screamed the loudest of everyone in the gym. You still hadn’t seen him as you were focused on the game, the cheers just sounding like white noise filling the void.

“Bro, you’re over here yelling like she’s already your girlfriend! Step it up!” John B said and that kicked him into gear, making the rest of the pogues laugh at his willingness to act like an idiot. You went back to serve and his mind raced back to his trip to the nurses office earlier in the day. He silently hoped you would do the same to one of the girls on the other team. He’d learned that when you hit someone in the face on a kill, it's called a six pack. He liked that name, for obvious reasons.

JJ silently hoped for you to six pack someone all night concluding that it would be really sexy.

“Come on y/n, ace these bitches!” He yelled and that caught your attention. You looked over and saw him, standing amongst the crowd with a proud smile plastered on his face. You took another deep breath, after sending him a quick smile, and refocused yourself on the task at hand. You needed to keep the serve if you wanted to get to the end of this game without a fight.

You served the ball exactly how you had earlier in gym class, and watched as it floated over the tape, dropping right in front of the left back passer. Your team cheered you on as you came into the middle of the court. The ball was passed back to you, and you went back to do your routine all over again, choosing the same person to serve to, knowing it would psych them out.

The passed the ball high and to the middle, making it easy for the setter to get there and make a play. Sucks for them though, cause your offense read it, and easily went up for the block, the ball going straight down to the ground.

13-13. Two more and you win. You breath a little deeper now, looking over to your coach who is holding on a 5, indicating where you needed to serve. Deep right back corner. JJ watched as the ball spun in your hand, watched as it floated over the net, and watched as the players made their moves. The last hit was made, coming over the net quickly. Left back took the pass and you called ‘Pipe”, a back row middle hit.

The ball landed in the net, ending your streak. The score was 14-13 now, and in a set that only went to 15, it meant you had to bust your ass to get the ball back. Typically, a libero or defensive specialist would rotate in for you right now, but you had been working on your back row skills so coach opted to keep you in. The ball was served to your right, the setters corner. The pass was made, a set to the outside, and a kill, bringing you back to 14-14. You had to win by two.

The play was a blur, all you knew was you won that point, and before you knew it, it was game point again.

The feeling that washed over you when the crowd erupted in cheers as you won the game was one you would never get used to. Euphoria, a high that would never get old. One you couldn’t build a tolerance to.

The team rushed onto the court, dogpiling in the middle as the crowd started to shuffle out. When you made it out there was still a group of people standing around in the gym, waiting to talk to different payers.

A small crowd of four people stuck out to you, one in particular catching your eye. You ran over to him and he smiled, catching you in his arms and spinning you around as you laughed into his shoulder.

“You came!” He laughed at our surprise and nodded.

“Did you really think I’d miss it?” He asked and you shrugged, still wrapped up in his arms.

“I didn’t see you, so I wasn’t sure.”

John B, Pope, and Kie all looked at the two of you in amazement. They had never seen JJ like this with anyone before. The group watched JJ swoon over you and hype you up about winning all the way out to your car.

“Hey JJ, we’re gonna head out. You comin’?” Pope asked him.

“I could give you a ride if you want?” You offered and he looked back between you all, opting to spend as much time with you as he could. The car ride was filled with laughter about how amazed JJ was that you could jump as high as you did and hit the ball as hard as you were capable of. It was funny to see him so enamoured by something that seemed so mundane to you at this point.

Pulling up to the chateau, you both got out and stood at the front of the car, neither of you wanting to part ways.

“So, I’ll pick you up tomorrow at 8?” He asked and you nodded. He began walking into the house, but stopped when you called out to him.

“You’re not even gonna kiss me goodnight?” He turned around to see the smirk on your face and dropped everything to run back to you, scooping you up in his arms and attaching his lips to yours in a deep kiss.

You felt a fire ignite across your whole body as you shared this moment with him. You shared a kiss filled with passion, desire, and emotions you couldn’t yet name.

“Night, Captain…” He whispered in your ear, leaving you with nothing but goosebumps and shivers down your spine.

---

hehe, this was really fun to write.

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rosemarypasta · 4 years

Text

➤ pairing : oikawa tooru x female reader (karasuno manager)

➤ chapter warnings : slowburn (?)

➤ summary : You just recently joined the Karasuno boy’s volleyball team as their first year manager. As you grow closer to your teammates, you also unexpectedly grow closer to one of their biggest rivals, Oikawa Tooru

➤ chapter word count: 1939

-ˏˋ chapter four ˊˎ-

THURSDAY

4:00 PM

"TANAKA AND NOYA, KEEP IT DOWN!" Daichi yelled, his head turned to the back of the bus where a mixture of wild and feral first year and second year volleyball players sat. He turned back and sank into his seat in the first row of the bus where he was sat with the rest of his first years players who were seated across you and Shimizu. The scolding Daichi gave his team was very much effective however, all hell breaks loose once more as the bus stops for a toilet break in a gas station and everyone chaotically raced to get off the bus. You didn't need the toilet so you stayed back and remained seated.

You felt your pocket vibrate and you mentally squealed with glee. You rushed to pull your phone out and read the message sent to you.

Oikawa: hey :) are you there yet?

You looked around to see if anyone was snooping but thankfully, a good 9/10 of the team went to to use the toilet so no one was there to read your messages.

Y/N: We're almost there! Hinata begged for another toilet break...

Oikawa: hahahaha if he were on my team i would've just left him

You smiled at his playful message and began to type another reply.

"Watcha smiling at?" A voice in front of you said out of nowhere. You jumped in your seat at the sight of the charismatic yet cunning vice captain and accidentally threw your phone up in the air. The silver haired boy laughed at your overreaction and bent down to pick your phone up as you felt your cheeks and ears burn up.

"Man, we're never gonna reach Seijoh at this point." He groaned as he handed your phone back. The Karasuno volleyball team was headed to another practice match with Aoba Johsai but this time, it was held in their school.

It has been over a week since you last saw OIkawa and traded phone numbers with him. You've been texting him on a daily basis at this point and you felt ecstatic when Takeda sensei announced the practice match. You had to conceal your smile as the announcement was taking place as you felt Tanaka and Nishinoya's eyes burning a hole on your back, as if they knew exactly what was going through your head. Of course, you kept the fact that you've been getting friendly with their rival's team captain under wraps, though it wasn't like anyone has come up to you and asked who you were texting so you weren't technically lying about anything but you did feel guilty for some reason.

"What are you thinking about Y/N?" Sugawara hummed as he fixed some bags on the overhead compartment above your seat. "O-oh um nothing, I was just wondering why we don't have practice matches with other schools," you lied, "I never knew Karasuno had such strong ties with Seijoh." Sugawara rested his chin on top of the seat beside me, furrowing his eyebrows in deep thought. "That's true, it's odd how Aoba Johsai asks for a practice match so soon after our last one, especially because they won previously. During my entire three years in this club, Seijoh has only reached out to us a total of three times so they must really like us now huh." He shrugged. You were about to continue the conversation but the bus was shortly filled back in with the rest of the team and you were forced to continue the journey to the practice match.

You arrived in another fifteen minutes and the boys immediately started to stretch and warm up for the practice match they were all so pumped about, still unsatisfied with the result from the match they previously had. You took a seat beside coach Ukai and Shimizu and pulled out a notebook and a pen from your backpack to take down notes of the match. A student from Seijoh playing as the referee blew his whistle and commenced the match.

You looked over to Aoba Johsai's side of the court to see Oikawa serving first. His brown hair was styled as usual with no hair out of place and his veins on his right arm popped ever so slightly as he held the volleyball he was going to serve with one hand. He threw the ball up in the air and your eyes unexpectedly met. He smirked in the midst of jumping to deliver his signature jump serve and hit the ball with all the power he had. Though the power he had could leave anyone in awe, the word "OUT" echoed the gym and Oikawa was greeted with a smack on his head by his vice captain, Iwaizumi, who he frequently mentioned in your conversations.

The entire team glanced menacingly at their captain while he rubbed the back of his neck and gave them a playful wink, making you giggle at the sight of the peculiar volleyball captain. You thought all captains of any sports team would be more reliable and mature like Daichi but you guess you were wrong.

The matched resumed and the ball Kageyama served turned to be a chance ball for Seijoh. The ball fell into Oikawa's hands and he perfectly and accurately sets to his vice captain, allowing him to spike. The white uniformed team momentarily cheered at their first point of the day and their first years gave Oikawa showers of praises for the performance he just did. "I guess he is reliable in his own special way." You quietly whispered to yourself, subtly smiling at him.

The game resumes as usual. Aoba Johsai snatched the win for the first set and the two teams took a five minute break before resuming the match. Oikawa winks at you before running towards his bench to get a drink and to discuss tactics with his fellow teammates.

"Dude, what is up with you." Iwaizumi asked his captain after dragging him out of the crowd of resting volleyball players. "What are you talking about?" Oikawa innocently replied, casting a smile towards his childhood friend. The shorter of the two tightened his grip on his water bottle as he saw his fabricated smile. "Don't tell me you went all the way to beg the coach to set up a practice match with Karasuno just to hit on a girl." Iwaizumi sighed as he came to the realization of his best friend's intentions, "I know you're a bit messed up in your head but this is the first time I've seen you go this far just to get a girl's attention." He started, putting his hand on his captain's shoulder but before he could go on any further, a whistle was blown, commencing the start of the next set. Oikawa slyly grinned, mentally thanking the referee for getting him out of a lecture and started to jog back to the court. "Just quit staring at her, I'm sure blondie over there already got a hint on what you're after." The Seijoh ace whispered to the captain, averting his gaze from a not so happy Tsukishima, who was trying to look at Oikawa dead in the eye.

6:00 PM

The two schools managed to finish two three set games by the time the sun has already begun to set. Fortunately, Karasuno was able to win a game which means each Seijoh and Karasuno won three sets by the end of the day. This improvement left a happier and satisfied impression with the Karasuno team which made you happy as well, seeing them so proud with their performance.

Everyone was already outside, getting ready to board the bus back home and were all noisily discussing the match. Knowing how immature and irresponsible the boys can be, Shimizu took it upon herself to take a quick scan of Seijoh's gym to make sure none of them left any of their belongings like the responsible manager she is but, you stopped her as you felt bad that you didn't do nearly as much work as she has done. You told her not to worry and to save you a seat on the bus before running back into the gym.

You knew the boys were exhausted from the intense and long rallies they had throughout the game so they were dying to go back home to get a proper rest so, you sprinted into the gym and attempted to get back to the bus as fast as you can.

You scanned the floors for any familiar bags and the area where you and Shimizu sat and realized that nothing was left behind. You turned sharply after checking under the benches and expected to see the view of the gym's polished wooden floors but all you can see was pitch black nothingness as your face made "thud" noise.

"Y/N-chan?" The wall you just collided with spoke. You raised your head quickly in embarrassment as you realized you just ran into Oikawa, to be specific, ran into his torso. You shifted your gaze from his white uniformed abdomen to the confused look he was wearing on his face.

You were speechless. You didn't know what to say or do. A million thoughts are running through your head, attempting to find ways to cope with the embarrassing act you've just done but a laugh interrupted your thinking. "Man, Y/N-chan, you gotta be more careful from now on! What if you did this to Mad Dog-chan? He'd bite your head off!" He chuckled as he patted your head softly. You stared at him in disbelief, trying to piece your thoughts together as your whole face turned red. All you could say was "sorry" in the midst of his fits of laughter.

"But I'm glad I was able to bump into you alone Y/N! Metaphorically and physically." He said as he finally calmed down, his face beaming at yours. "W-Why?" You stammered, still not over what just happened. Oikawa bent down close to your left ear promptly, not giving you time to fluster over his abrupt move. He was so close you could feel his warm breath on the left side of your neck. "Well afterall, I did arrange all this just so I could see you again." His voice soothed. You felt your surroundings go mute again, just like the last time you saw him. Without skipping a beat, he continued. "Y/N-chan." His voice was deeper than usual, a serious tone draped over your name. Without realizing, you held your breath in anticipation of his next words.

"Will you go on a date with me?"

You turned your head to face him. A date? The captain of Seijoh's volleyball team is asking you on a date? Everything felt surreal and the whole world seemed to spin. Your breathing was deep and slow as your gaze met his sickly sweet smile.

You were ecstatic. Never in a million years, you would've thought your classic case of unrequited love and admiration would turn up like a protagonist's love story in a shojo manga. Your heart was beating so fast, it felt like it could leap out of your throat. You wanted to scream yes immediately, however a series of coughs from the entrance of the gym interrupted the golden moment you were experiencing.

Both you and Oikawa, whose bodies were an inch apart, diverted your attention to the tall blonde boy leaning against the door, just a few steps away from where you were.

"We're waiting for you, Y/N."

next: -ˏˋ chapter five ˊˎ-

previous: -ˏˋ chapter three ˊˎ-

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nowgoalbola · 4 years

Photo

Match Time:7/3/2020 03:45 Friday（GMT+8）

Italian Serie A -- AS Roma VS Udinese

Livescore | Match Prediction & Tips| Asian Handicap Odds|Line-ups& H2H Stats

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

Two teams with contrasting aims ahead of the final run-in in Serie A face off at the Stadio Olimpico on Thursday as top-four chasing Roma welcome relegation-threatened Udinese. Roma have had a mixed time of things since returning to action and are nine points off fourth, while Udinese are three points above the dropzone following back-to-back defeats.

Match preview

After seeing off Sampdoria 2-1 in their first game back thanks to Edin Dzeko's second-half brace, Roma simply did not turn up in their big clash with AC Milan last weekend. Not helped by the kickoff time in the sweltering conditions, Paulo Fonseca's side barely managed to trouble Gianluigi Donnarumma and deservedly fell to a 2-0 loss at San Siro. That brought an end to a three-match winning streak for Roma in the Italian top flight, either side of the three-month hiatus, and could well prove to be a costly defeat. Atalanta BC won for a sixth league game in a row later on Sunday and are now nine points better off than the Giallorossi in the race for the final Champions League qualifying spot. Roma are nine points clear of Parma in eight, meanwhile, so it is looking increasingly likely as though Fonseca's men will be contesting in the Europa League next season - unless they go all the way in this season's competition. A positive set of midweek results could change all that, however, and this is a fixture that Roma certainly tend to do well in.

They boast a 100% record against Udinese in their last six home league meetings and have scored in each of their last 13 such encounters, netting 33 times in total. Udinese are also winless in five league matches, losing three of those. Indeed, no team has won fewer games on their travels this term in Serie A than the Bianconeri. Luca Gotti's men have lost to Torino and Atalanta in their first two games back following the three-month layoff, making it nine games without a win in the league. They now have only a three-point buffer on Lecce in 18th place and still have Roma, Lazio, Napoli and Juventus to face in their final 10 matches. Given that they are winless in their last five away games against opponents starting the day in the top five, it looks like things will get worse before they get any better.

Roma's Serie A form: LLWWWL Roma's form (all competitions): WWDWWL

Udinese's Serie A form: DDDDLL

Team News

Jordan Veretout and Lorenzo Pellegrini have incurred automatic suspensions after picking up yellow cards against Milan last weekend. Fonseca is expected to turn to Gonzalo Villar and Javier Pastore in their absence, while Bruno Peres and Aleksandar Kolarov - left on the bench last time out - are pushing for recalls at full-back. Roma midfielder Diego Perotti has scored four goals in eight games against Udinese - more than against any other opponent in Serie A - and will be hopeful of starting this one. As for Udinese, Rolando Mandragora is their only confirmed injury absentee after leaving the field early in the recent defeat to Torino. Gotti will welcome Rodrigo de Paul back from suspension, however, with Mato Jajalo the favourite to drop out. Stefano Okaka will be looking to make a positive impression against his former club, having scored only two goals in 34 league appearances for Roma across several spells with the club between 2004 and 2011.

Roma possible starting lineup: Mirante; Peres, Mancini, Smalling, Kolarov; Cristante, Villar; Under, Pastore, Mkhitaryan; Dzeko

Udinese possible starting lineup: Musso; Maio, Nuytinck, Samir; Larsen, De Paul, Walace, Fofana, Sema; Lasagna, Okaka

Odd analysis：

Roma 2-0 Udinese Roma looked poor against Milan last time out and their top-four hopes are now hanging by a thread. Udinese have not picked up a victory in any competition since the first half of January, though, and it is unlikely that they will end that run in the Italian capital on Thursday.

AS Roma VS Udinese

Pick:AS Roma

#as roma #Udinese #italian serie a #livescore #match prediction #tips #asian handicap odds #line-ups #h2h stats #free betting tips #free livescore #betting predictions #Football Tips #agen bola indonesia #soccer #football #sports

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drivindrivin · 5 years

Link

While I don’t necessarily agree with these rankings, I always find what Jolyon has to say very interesting. He, Jack Nicholls and Jenny Gow are great on the BBC radio F1 coverage.

Jolyon’s five best drivers of the year

Max Verstappen

Lewis Hamilton

Charles Leclerc

Carlos Sainz

Sergio Perez

Article under the cut

Former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer, who left Renault during the 2017 season, is part of the BBC team and offers insight and analysis from the point of view of the competitors.

The Formula 1 season ended in Abu Dhabi on Sunday with a podium that summed up the season perfectly - the three outstanding drivers of the year were all on it.

Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton won the race, from Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc. For me - and I suspect many others - they were the best three drivers in 2019. Just not quite in that order.

This is my assessment of the F1 grid in 2019.

The five best drivers of the year

1. Max Verstappen

In terms of choosing the best driver of the season, Hamilton and Verstappen were practically inseparable. Hamilton won the championship, but if I had to pick just one of them, I'd say Verstappen just edged it.

His relentless pace and consistently high level caused team-mate Pierre Gasly to be demoted from Red Bull to Toro Rosso in the summer break. And now the pressure is mounting on Alex Albon, Gasly's replacement, as Red Bull desperately search for someone who can operate somewhere near Verstappen's level.

In the first part of the season, Verstappen's victory in Austria, achieved while lapping his team-mate despite being behind him on the first lap, underlined his dominance over Gasly, who has excelled against both his other F1 team-mates, Brendon Hartley last year and Daniil Kvyat this.

Three race wins, extremely few mistakes and being a constant thorn in the sides of Ferrari and Mercedes shows how good Verstappen has been.

This was underlined by the fact that he finished the season comfortably third, ahead of both Ferraris, despite being in a slower car in terms of absolute pace and being wiped out by each of the Italian team's drivers at some point.

The only big downside for Verstappen are that a first pole position in Hungary should have been followed up with another in Mexico as well as Brazil, were it not for some foolhardy driving to not back off past a yellow flag.

That cost Verstappen another win. Potentially he could have exercised more caution in Belgium Turn One as well, but aside from that Verstappen's season was flawless.

2. Lewis Hamilton

Equally as impressive as Verstappen, this was an almost perfect season for Hamilton, in which he was strongly in contention for victory at nearly every single race.

When Hamilton leads out of Turn One, the race is boring. This was demonstrated once more in Abu Dhabi, although team-mate Valtteri Bottas couldn't challenge him from the back of the grid. When he doesn't, he's always a factor in the fight for victory anyway.

Hamilton has had one of his finest seasons and it has gone under the radar, because the title has been effectively wrapped up since June.

But winning 11 from 21 races proves his dominance, particularly because of the threat he's had since the summer break from Ferrari and Red Bull.

In the end, I have marked Hamilton down behind Verstappen only because he went off track while leading in Germany and hit Albon in the chaotic final couple of laps in Brazil.

In reality, there was nothing to choose between the two. Hopefully next year we can see them in a genuine title fight. That is a mouthwatering prospect.

3. Charles Leclerc

Ferrari have had a lot of stick this year - and quite rightly. They have been disappointing in every area.

Abu Dhabi was a real microcosm of their season. As Hamilton and Mercedes waltzed to an easy win, Verstappen showed up both Ferraris.

Both drivers hit the wall on Friday. Leclerc missed a final qualifying lap because of a pointless strategic timing 'gamble'. The team were investigated for a fuel irregularity before the race even began, and ultimately found guilty. And they had a seven-second pit stop with Sebastian Vettel as well for good measure.

Leclerc can sometimes get lumped into Ferrari's woeful season; he has after all made a fair few mistakes, such as crashing in Baku qualifying, in the race in Germany or hitting Verstappen on the first lap in Japan.

But this is only his second season in F1, and in reality he has been a revelation. Taking the pole position trophy for his seven poles shows how fast he has been - and he added two excellent victories as well.

Leclerc has brought numerous question marks upon the future of Vettel, because of how much he's ended up shading his team-mate as the season has gone on, combined with Vettel's own mistakes.

In fact, Leclerc has beaten Vettel on every single measure - he outscored him in the championship, took more wins, more poles and comfortably won their qualifying head-to-head. And that was despite Ferrari starting the year favouring Vettel, and imposing team orders - generally in the German's favour - a number of times.

Races such as Bahrain and Belgium show how good Leclerc can be. Hopefully, with another year's experience and a second season with Ferrari, he can cut the mistakes and become a season-long threat. Whether Ferrari can hold up their part of the bargain is a different matter.

4. Carlos Sainz

Sainz is another man who has had an exceptional year, and just managed to take sixth in the championship with a brilliant last-lap pass on Nico Hulkenberg in Abu Dhabi. With both Gasly and Albon, his rivals for that spot, spending half a year in the significantly quicker Red Bull, that is seriously impressive.

Sainz hasn't been the fastest this season. He's actually been out-qualified by rookie team-mate Lando Norris 11-10 in the head-to-head - although the Spaniard is actually ahead when taking into account only sessions in which a fair comparison can be made. But he's been relentlessly strong in the races and ultimately that is what counts.

Sainz's first laps have always been strong, and his race-craft has been superb as well. He has made several great overtakes in the year, and barely had contact with other drivers, in spite of often being in the thick of the midfield chaos.

A first podium in Brazil was thoroughly deserved. It's just a shame he didn't actually get to stand up there as the stewards dithered when handing Hamilton a penalty.

McLaren have had a brilliant season, with huge progression from last year. But they have a lot of work to do if they and Sainz can achieve any better next year.

Consolidating fourth in the constructors' championship and getting closer to the big three will likely be the aim in 2020.

5. Sergio Perez

This was a really tough call between Sergio Perez and Daniel Ricciardo, but in the end I've given Perez the nod because the Racing Point was not as good a car as the Renault and the Mexican all but matched the Australian's points total.

It's been an under-the-radar but extremely strong season once more for Perez. Five top-seven finishes in the past nine races leapt him up to 10th in the championship, ahead of Norris and almost catching Ricciardo, despite having a slower car across the season.

There have been a few mistakes along the way, particularly in a barren patch in the middle of the season such as at Germany and Silverstone, where Perez went a full eight races in a row without scoring.

But either side of that run he failed to score in only two other races and surely punched higher than his car, with four best-of-the-rest finishes, thanks to some super race performances.

The rest of the grid

This season has been a real fall from grace for Ricciardo, since winning races with Red Bull last year. The switch to Renault hasn't been anywhere near a success. In fact, the team have dropped backwards by 31 points and a position in the constructors' championship even though they splashed out on the big-money signing of the Australian.

But Ricciardo isn't to blame for any of that. As a driver he has actually been very strong this year, outshining Nico Hulkenberg 14-7 in qualifying and 54-37 in the points.

Everyone who has raced alongside Hulkenberg rates him highly - including myself - so Ricciardo beating him in that manner, in his first season with the team, is an impressive start, personally at least.

The Pierre Gasly that drove the Toro Rosso in the second half of the season was very good. Both fast and consistent, he scored a stunning second place in Brazil in what was my favourite moment of the season.

Sadly, the Gasly that started the year in the Red Bull never got going. This was the ultimate Jekyll-and-Hyde season, with some of the best and some of the worst. Very mysterious.

George Russell, Albon and Norris have had strong rookie seasons. For Russell, he's had no competition and a terrible car, which has made gauging his performance difficult. But for what it's worth beating team-mate Robert Kubica 21-0 in qualifying was good. He had flashes of pace and barely put a foot wrong.

Albon's Toro Rosso half-season was encouraging. His Red Bull second half started in an encouraging fashion, and fell a little flat towards the end of the season. He could do with kicking on a bit next year, but hopefully a full winter of team integration can help.

Norris' season started very well. He was fairly consistently ahead of Sainz in qualifying in the first half of the year and was held back by misfortune in the races.

As the year went on, Sainz increasingly established himself over Norris as the lead McLaren driver, but points in six of the past eight races show that Norris still did a solid job. He is my rookie of the year.

At the other end of the spectrum, Kimi Raikkonen had a very good first half of the season in the Alfa Romeo, before slipping back, along with his team, in the second half.

A sequence of silly errors kicked off the second half of the season, but on the whole Raikkonen has still shown he has what it takes at 40, as he showed Antonio Giovinazzi the way, beating him in all but three races.

It was a tough year for Haas, and in particular Romain Grosjean, who was generally out-performed by team-mate Kevin Magnussen.

A number of incidents and a fair amount of radio whining didn't help the Frenchman's cause, but the team fell away from good midfielders to ninth in the constructors' this year, and for the most part had no clue why that happened.

They desperately need to understand the tyres more, as this has been their Achilles' heel since day one. One day they can be super quick, like in Barcelona when they were best of the rest. The next they are absolutely nowhere.

Finally, Kubica had the worst season of all. It was a remarkable achievement for the Pole to get back onto the grid after his rally accident in 2011, and the terrible injuries he suffered. But that's where it ends, sadly.

I was a Kubica fan in his BMW days and when he was at Renault in 2010, and I hope people will remember him as that driver, rather than the tail-end Charlie who limped around in a very poor Williams car this year.

Either his right arm and hand - which have only partial movement, and which appear to be more or less a passenger in the car - were holding him back, or so much time away simply left him rusty. Or maybe both.

Either way, his performances this year were not a true representation of a driver who is supremely naturally talented.

#f1 2019 #f1 #jolyon palmer

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angrylizardjacket · 6 years

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act your age: [1] Beautiful

Chapter Summary: Giselle, queen bee of Year 10, wants to audition for Heathers but is tired of being typecast as the Mean Girl. John is far too sweet for his own good. Roger doesn’t want to be here.

Word Count: 2262 | [act your age masterpost]

The moment the casting call gets pinned on the notice board outside of the arts department staff room, Giselle knows, one way or another, that she’s going to be a part of it.

“Did you see the school’s putting on Heathers?” When she brings it up at lunch, her friends all nod and giggle and make comments about how ‘wouldn’t it be fun if we all auditioned; we could be the Heathers!’ and something in Giselle’s gut twists as she gives them a smile that doesn’t reach her eyes as she hears them make assumptions about the casting. Taking a long sip on her chocolate milk and listens to the girls butcher lyrics and melodies, though she doesn’t bother correct them, they’re having fun after all, and besides, she’s the only one who’d benefit from showing them up, and despite popular opinion, she’s not mean or needlessly cruel like that.

Obviously she’s not blind to the way people regard her, she knows she’s pretty and rich and standoffish, which is partially a carefully cultivated personality she’s developed to survive high school, but it also happens to be partially things she can’t control, but that she has to take in stride anyways. She’s lived her life in the shadow of her parents, and how she’s presented herself, how she acts, has always been seen as a reflection on them. Her mother’s never been so high maintenance, but everyone talks about her father, and he can’t help but listen.

Speaking of her father, he’s elated at the prospect of her auditioning; he’s a producer, and a successful one at that, has had his hand in almost all of the big-name shows that have come through this town for the past thirty years. Giselle’s childhood had been complimentary tickets and front row seats and backstage passes; to see her finally taking an interest in actually performing was something akin to a return on a long-term investment, not that her father would ever say that to her, but part of her could tell.

Her mother smiles gently at Giselle over afternoon tea, Giselle’s dumped her bag on the floor by the kitchen island and is talking through her audition song choices out loud, and her mother looks on in awe. The school just asked for a three minute song, it didn’t have to be from Heathers, it didn’t even have to be from a musical, just to make it easier on those kids who probably weren’t as well versed in musical theatre history. Giselle, however, had practically been baptised in it, and wanted to show off more than just her impressive vocal range.

“You’re gonna ace it, Jellybean.” Her mother muses with a fond grin as there’s a lull and Giselle devours a banana. Giselle hums and grins, leans into it when her mother kisses her forehead, and then is off and running, taking her bag and changing into her work uniform.

“Did you hear about the musical?” It seems like she’s asking everyone, and in moment of peace at work, that includes John Deacon, who was behind the counter filling a bucket with water and soap. He makes a noise that Giselle takes to mean that he hasn’t, though he’s still mostly focused on his task at hand. “I’m thinking of auditioning.”

Giselle at work is nothing like Giselle at school, and it took John almost a full three weeks to realise this. They’re in the same year, in some of the same classes, but they’ve never spoken more than two words to each other before they started working together at the cafe that sat between their two houses.

“You should, you’d do great.” There isn’t even a slight hesitation before his response, and Giselle is beaming despite herself.

“You don’t even know what show it is.” She counters, still wearing a grin, and John puts the bucket on the floor and sticks his mop in it.

“Yeah but I’ve heard you sing.”

John might be one of the only truly positive forces in her life, Giselle realises as another customer steps up to the counter, and it shows. It’s not often that she puts up a front around him, at first it was because she was simply too tired from work to bother, and after all, it’s just John Deacon after all, it’s not like it’s a huge betrayal of trust if he lets it slip she smiles with real emotion on occasion. But the thing is, it doesn’t take long for her to realise that he’s as genuine as she is usually guarded, though he’s quiet enough that no-one really seems to notice.

By now, they’re actually, genuinely, very good friends, even if it doesn’t seem like it to anyone else. John talks her through her nerves for the weeks leading up to the audition, though he’s the only person outside of her family who she lets see her like this, and never at school. She’s different there, not cruel or unkind, just guarded; she’s not allowed to show hesitation like this at school, and it makes John’s chest tighten just a little knowing she allows herself to be like this around him.

The day before her audition, when Giselle’s shift ends and she’s about to head home for the night, John gives her a hug. It’s unexpected, she’s never taken him for a hugger, but it’s exactly what she needs right now after working herself up at the prospect of the looming audition.

“You’re gonna do great, Geeg,” he’s the only one who uses that nickname, the only person her age who she’d let get away with it, and she hugs him back. “Just get a good night’s sleep, drink plenty of water, maybe some lemon and honey, okay?” Pulling back, he grins at Giselle’s faux exasperation.

“Yes, mum.” Giselle rolls her eyes, but gives his shoulder a thankful squeeze before heading home.

“God, how’d they drag you into this?” When Giselle arrives at the music room fifteen minutes before her scheduled time slot, her stomach in knots, there’s only one other person waiting. She knows immediately from the blonde hair and flippant tone that it’s Roger Taylor, and he looks like he’d rather be anywhere else.

“I,” Giselle hesitates, frowning, “I signed up?” She’s confused more than anything else, phone in her hand, sheet music in front sleeve of the binder she’s got clutched to her chest. Roger makes a dismissive noise in the back of his throat, tipping his head back and a silence falls between them, broken only by the faint and not too terrible audition song that’s being muffled by the closed door.

“You’re Roger, right?” Her voice surprisingly level and confident; he seems to know who she is, if his earlier comment is anything to go off of. When he smiles, it’s an easy, cocky grin, and she rolls her eyes at him.

“Guilty as charged,” he confirms easily, “and you’re Giselle.” He pauses, regarding her for only the barest moment before he hums, “actually, ‘shouldn’t be surprised you’re here.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” Bristling at the implication, it takes her a moment to push down the anger that flared within her when he mentions her father; he didn’t mean it as an insult, just making note of the correlation between her family and her current situation, “I’m not my father.”

“Would be weird if you were.” Roger agrees easily. The response takes Giselle by surprise enough that her anger dies down, and by then the other auditionee, a girl in Roger’s year, Giselle is pretty sure, invites him in for his audition, holding the door for him while blushing. She wishes him luck, and he winks at her, telling her he won’t need it. Before the door closes completely, both girls hear him announce himself.

“Hi, I’m Roger Taylor, I’m auditioning for the role of tree number three and I’ve prepared Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.” So clearly he does not want to be there. The other girl hides a giggle and doesn’t even acknowledge Giselle as she leaves.

The thing is, of what she hears of it, his audition actually goes really well, a pitch-perfect version of Twinkle Twinkle if she’s ever heard it. She’s too nervous to tell him that, especially when his audition lasts all of five minutes, putting them ahead of schedule, and giving Giselle no time to calm her racing heart. She’s outwardly nervous, which is something she doesn’t allow herself to be on campus, or during daylight hours. The worst part is that when he opens the door, Roger Taylor sees her wide-eyed nervousness as he calls her in. He pauses for a beat afterward, frowning; he knew Giselle by reputation, the same way she knew him-

As soon as he starts considering that he may have seen a crack in her armour, it’s as if a physical barrier comes up, hiding her fear behind her eyes and a thin smile, and with a clear and precise focus, she pulls her lyrics sheet from her folder, breezing past him. Fifteen year olds are so fuckin’ weird, is all he really thinks after that.

Giselle waits until the door closes completely before she gives the panel, which consisted of the drama teacher and the music teacher, her most winning smile. They greet her kindly, and the music teacher reaches out for the music sheet and Giselle’s phone as she hands them over. They ask her who she’s auditioning for, what she’s singing, and seem surprised when she tells them she’s going for the lead, for Veronica.

She can see it in their eyes, they expect her to be a Heather, just like her friends, just like the rest of this school. They’re not meant to and they know it, can’t just judge kids like that, and they really try to not let it show, but Giselle saw it anyways.

“I’ll be singing Breathe from In the Heights.” She says, and her voice doesn’t shake.

When the song finally finishes, there’s a ringing in her ears, like the world around her has turned to white noise, and she can feel herself breathing hard, hands trembling, but she doesn’t look away from the teachers. There’s no hesitation; they ask her to prepare a song for both Veronica and Heather Chandler, and tell her when callbacks are.

The tremble doesn’t leave her hands as she opens the door for the next kid, a girl in the year above her who is giving her this wide-eyed look like she heard Giselle’s entire audition and is dreading having to follow it, but when the girl shuts the door behind her, Giselle sees there’s one other person waiting in the hallway.

“That sounded lovely from out here, how did it go?” It’s John, smiling and sitting on the window sill, and Giselle's response catches in her throat, just for a moment.

“Are you auditioning?” She asks, confused, and he hops down from his seat, shaking his head, offering a shrug when her brow furrowed.

“I wanted to come cheer you on, sorry I couldn’t get here earlier.” He’s beaming at her, picking up her folder where she’d left it on one of the seats, handing it to her. “I don’t have long, I’ve got a half-programmed robot waiting for me back in the computer lab.” He muses as they take a few steps down the hall, and Giselle can’t bring herself to look at him; John Deacon, who everyone else in class jokes about building himself a friend rather than making the effort of actually talking to someone, made the effort for her. They’re friends, sure, but... Giselle doesn’t want to think about how pleased this all makes her feel.

“I think it went really well.” She admits, not reverting entirely to her popular persona, the smile she gives him is genuine. “I got a callback.” She grins tentatively, and John beams back at her, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

“See, I told you you had nothing to worry about,” he starts, but Giselle’s answer is a reflexive snap.

“I was never worried.” It’s so clipped it stings a little, and she regrets it as soon as she says it, her cool mask now firmly in place no matter how much she wants to remove it. It’s a knee-jerk reaction to deny any sign of weakness, even though she knew John meant nothing by it.

But still, they’ve stopped walking.

“Of course you weren’t,” his voice is soft and reserved in the wake of the sharp tone shift, and he gives her a thin, guarded smile, “I should be getting back to my robot; I’m glad it went well, Geeg.” He hesitates like he wants to say something else, but Giselle doesn’t know what to say, how to explain or how to apologise, and turns and veers off down the hallway towards the engineering department.

And just like that, she feels anxious again, which isn’t a feeling she’s well versed with; she’s never snapped at John before, and he’s never left like that, and the anxious feeling lasts all through the next day and a half while she throws herself into learning her new songs, though it’s not going well. She’s dwelling on it, she knows she can’t focus, and the moment she apologises to him at work, and he grins at her like there’s nothing wrong in the world, she knows without even trying that she could hit every note of Candy Store if she wanted to right now. She doesn’t, and the customer is getting a little impatient, but she can’t stop smiling.

the heathers: @whoschantel

[message me to be added to the tag list xx]

#roger taylor #john deacon #roger taylor imagine #john deacon imagine #john deacon x oc #bohemian rhapsody #borhap #bo rhap #borhap imagine #bohemian rhapsody imagine #act your age #queen #queen imagines #high school au #and all the queen's men #ask your destiny to dance fic #heathers #heathersrelated

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laurenovercalifornia · 6 years

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None of you asked for this, but y’all probably know as someone who grew up in SoCal, I am keenly defensive of our coast’s disney park. As such, here is my official ranking of which rides are better at which parks:

1. Pirates of the Caribbean: Winner- Disneyland. Look, I’m going to say this a lot, but ours is the original and the best. The theming of the queue and load/unload area is better, the bayou scene is better, we have the Blue bayou restaurant and we have two drops. We’re better. Plus, the ride’s outside facade and the placement in New Orleans square is more thematic and special than it is in WDW.

2. Haunted Mansion: Winner- Disneyland. This is actually a tough one, but I think the facade and queue are more thematic on the west coast. It’s more enclosed and run down, and other than the occasional screams from nearby Splash Mountain, it’s pretty spooky. The Florida queue is too open and sunny for my tastes. And as fun as the interactive tombs are in the Florida queue, it’s almost too goofy. Florida does have two additional scenes than the Cali one, but they don’t add much. Plus, we have the cool portrait gallery in Cali that again, adds to the atmosphere.

3. Jungle Cruise: Winner- Magic Kingdom. This was tough as I’m not particularly attached to the ride itself and I’ve only ridden the WDW version once, but the inclusion of the temple scene really adds to the ride. Queue-wise, I want to say I Iike Cali’s better, but really as long as they both have the old timey radio spiel, we’re good.

4. Splash Mountain: Winner- Disneyland. I’m not sure what it is exactly that I Iike more about ours, but I think it’s better. Our ride feels like it has more animatronic characters, larger show scenes, an additional song (the one the possum? Sings to the kids on the way up the lift hill) and you aren’t outside for too long after the big drop. Florida has the cool jumping Br’er rabbit figure but the laughing place scene isn’t nearly as terrifying and chaotic in Florida as it is in Anaheim’s.

5. Big Thunder: Winner- Disneyland. I don’t know if Florida’s has been redone with the new finale like ours has, but I think ours is better because it’s been redone and “plused” with the new finale, which is way more fun than the shaking walls of the old scene.

6. Space Mountain: Winner- Magic Kingdom. Look, I don’t exactly keep quiet about how underwhelmed I am by our space mountain. I def don’t think it’s worth it unless you can walk right on. But that being said, I like the track layout and vehicle better in Florida. I recently learned that they took the Matterhorn track layout and put in Florida and made it space. So that’s probably why I like it more, it’s way more rough and the individual seats with the T-shaped lap bar means they can do sharper turns and sudden drops in a way they don’t do in Cali.

7. Radiator Springs Racers vs Test Track: Winner- DCA. Look man, Test Track is a super fun ride and it goes really fast, but RSR wins because it has the fun racing element, amazing theming, and some really impressive dark ride elements. I don’t even like Cars and I try and ride this every time we go if we can because it’s fun. Plus, Test Track, while it does have the really fun interactive element of designing a car, just screams too much Iike an ad for me (which it is).

8. Mission Breakout vs Tower of Terror: Winner- DHS. You all know I am not a fan of the new overlay of our tower, but that fight is over now, so I guess I’ll stop complaining. Well, that much, anyway. But obviously the tower in Florida is the OG and it’s still really cool. As a horror fan, it’s hard to find spooky theme park attractions that aren’t cheesy, and the OG tower is spooky without being outright scary. It’s a master of theming and atmosphere, has a killer soundtrack and pays tribute to a show I grew up loving.

9. Matterhorn vs Expedition Everest: Winner- AK. This is not remotely a fair comparison, and I adore both rides, but comparisons must be made regardless. The 2015 refurbishment of the Matterhorn saw the placement of some amazing Harold animatronics and some cool new scenes and effects. I love this ride and try and ride it every time I go to DLR. But Expeiditon Everest is such an awesome ride. So thrillling, so well themed, and it has a cool environmental message. Even with Disco yeti being a disco man since like, 2006 or whatever, it’s still a must-do ride.

10. Incredicoaster vs Rock n roller coaster: Winner- Incredicoaster. This was hard for me because I still miss Screamin (rip) but I have to say the fact that it’s an outdoor coaster really helps. I like Rock n roller coaster and both rides have really well themed queues (and honestly, not that great of a storyline) but there is something about riding Incredicoaster at both nighttime and daytime and feeling the wind on your face.

11. Indiana Jones vs Dinosaur: Winner- Disneyland. Listen. Dinosaur is a disgrace of a ride. Tbh if they redid that whole area into an Indiana Jones themed South American land like the rumors, I’d be fine with it. Dinosaur is SO BORING. It’s dark. It’s loud. There is zero tension. Oh no, the dinosaur is chasing us, what will we do?? I assume the ride was more fun when it first opened but Eisner neutered it and here we are. Oh well. Anyway, Indiana Jones is probably the greatest American ride they’ve ever made and it’s immersive-ness and theming and everything else is SO GOOD and honestly I think Disney should lay off the screens and go back to that (here’s hoping the new rise of the resistance ride is more like this).

12. Star Tours: Winner- DHS. The rides are basically the same but the outside queue for the Florida version is way cooler. So that’s a plus. even though you can see the lights and the support structures (because “studio park”) its’ still super cool to hav the Ewok village and the giant AT-AT outside.

13. Toy Story Midway Mania: Winner- DCA. I haven’t been to the new Toy Story Land yet so this might change next time I go to Florida but I just love the Victorian midway boardwalk theming of the DCA version so much. The ride is pretty much the same regardless but it’s so charming. And I love our Potato Head being an actual barker on the outside a whole lot.

14. It’s a Small World: Winner- Disneyland. Ours is the original and the thing that makes it better is that it’s an entire giant facade. It’s gorgeous. The small world facade being hidden in Florida really cuts down on the iconic parts of the attraction.

15. Peter Pan: Winner- Magic Kingdom. Personally I think both versions of this ride are overrated, but the one in Florida seems a little cooler, if I recall right. Idk, man.

16. Buzz lightyear: Winner- magic Kingdom. I don’t remember this too much but I think it’s cooler in Florida? Regardless, I don’t ever do this ride because I’m usually prioritizing other stuff.

17. The Railroad: Winner- Disneyland. I Iike the OG railroad because we got those cheesy dioramas left over from the world’s fair. Nice. Plus, I don’t remember if the WDW version cuts through any rides like the DLR one does, but seeing Splash mountain is fun.

18. Grizzly River Run vs Kali River Rapids: Winner- DCA. Dude, come on. As someone who grew up going on Grizzly, sometimes 5 times in a row, that ride is great. Great soundtrack, great queue theming, great theming on the ride itself, and it has Iike, three drops and several parts where you can get wet. So imagine my surprise when, after waiting for like an hour in 80 degree heat, listening to the sound of chainsaws the whole time, I get on Kali only to discover it has one measly drop?? So weak. WEAK. Although I do appreciate the environmental message, even if it’s like, super creepy to hear chainsaws in the distance in line.

This is all I can remember off the top of my head so that’s where I’ll leave off. If I missed any, let me know!

#long post #text #disneyland vs disneyword stuff #west coast best coast

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motogpfanpage · 6 years

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ROUND 18: MALAYSIA

Last round of the Asian tour for the MotoGP paddock took place at Sepang. The Malaysian track always provides it's lot of drama due to the weather conditions and the fair wars betweens riders going into the last part of the championship. This year Malaysian GP was no exception.

1) Fate favors the Brave ...

Having the start from 7th on the grid due to a "dangerous behavior being too slow on the racing line" penalty, Marc Marquez knew from the very start that the race would be a hard one and that he would have to push for the win: "It was a very, very hard race. First because we started from seventh place, so that was an extra motivation because I'd never won from the third row. The first lap was not the best of my career and I had to overtake some riders, but then I saw that Valentino was pushing really hard from the beginning. So I pushed too, but I was riding like qualifying and I overheated my tires."

Pushing is one thing, but in Marquez' case, pushing also means saving a handfull of crashes, which once again he did all weekend long: "I was just riding by instinct, not by using my head, and pushing on the limit. I was fighting against myself and the bike to be as close to Valentino to attack in the end. I nearly crashed 3-4 times during the race."

Lady luck though already had her plan moving and while Marc Marquez almost made a mistake at each lap it's Rossi who went down while he was leading at the front from Marquez and Zarco: "The plan was just to try to be there at the end! I mean, I didn't have anything more. We were both riding on the limit. A really fast pace. But he was on the limit too and I saw he was starting to struggle, but there were only 4-5 laps left so it would be very close, because our level was very equal. (...) When I was only six tenths behind he did a mistake because he was a little bit wide and when you are fighting like this you don't want to lose any time, so he tried to come back on the line too quickly and crashed. When I saw that Valentino fell, my body just relaxed and I was riding in another way, because both of us were pushing a lot."

2) ... Or maybe it doesn't.

After a very disappointing race at Phillip Island where teammate Maverick Vinales won, Valentino Rossi was desperate to finally find the miraculous recipe to get back on the top step of the podium, and for a while, he did, thanks to the many changes his team made on the bike: “We modify a lot the bike, the setting to try and make everything help the rear tyre. At the end it worked. Already from Friday morning I felt good. We worked well with the team. We just made a small adjustment. We can be competitive for all the race. Also Maverick was not so bad, and also Zarco. Because Maverick started from very behind, no? This time the three Yamahas were quite competitive. It was more mechanical [than electronics changes]. In the last races we improved the electronics, like three or four races ago that helped a bit. But now it’s more mechanical. For me the problems are not fixed and we have to improve. Like I said, we worked well on the software but we have to make something more in the hardware from Japan. I think we need some details, especially in the electronics and also in the engine. We speak a lot with the Japanese and it looks like it will work.”

But fate, karma or whatever you would like to call it had other plans for Rossi and so, even though he made a pitch perfect race start and went on to do a fantastic job at leading the race, the only mistake made by the italian proved to be lethal for his hopes of a win: “It’s a mixed feeling. From one side I’m very happy for the race because it’s the best race of the season for me and also it was coming in difficult conditions at a difficult track for us. This is very important. On the other side it’s a great, great shame. I’m very disappointed for the mistake. To make a race like this and go home with zero points is frustrating, yes. We have to say it’s my first mistake of the season because I arrived always at the end except in Argentina. But maybe it’s the worst moment. But like you said, I’m devastated for the crash. But I’m also happy because anyway we lived the dream for 15 laps. After the victory of my brother also, it can be a great, great day. But it’s like this.”

The crash cost Valentino Rossi a lot as this zero point taken makes him lose the runner up position in the championship standings to Dovizioso and he will now have to fight against Vinales for 3rd at Valencia, a track he doesn't keep close to his heart: “Also today the result can be very important also for the championship because if I don’t win and I arrive second I close the third place with Maverick and I can be five points from Dovi [Andrea Dovizioso] for second in Valencia. Now Dovi has gone and we have to fight with Maverick for the third place. But I think Valencia is an important weekend because it’s one of the most difficult tracks. If we are able to be strong also there it’s positive."

Valentino might have lost the 2nd place in the standings but he did won back the admiration of many fans who were desperate to see him do well again. He also impressed his former teammate Jorge Lorenzo who congratulated and praised him on twitter:

JL99: "Apart from the crash, I've never seen Valentino Rossi so consistent. More than 10 laps in just 1 tenth at the hottest and longest track impressed me. And some said he started to feel his age after last race"

Such praise coming from the number 99 could only soften Rossi who answered: "Grazie Jorge!"

We couln't be happier to see them finally having a respectfull releationship !

3) Behind Marquez

Behind the race winner, Alex Rins took another podium leading him to a fantastic 2nd half of the season: "Our Suzuki is going very good. The factory deserves it. They have done a really good job during all the season, because since Qatar I felt we had a very competitive bike. But it looks like since the middle of the season we did a very big step. At Assen, Suzuki brought me a new engine, with a little bit more top-end power, and since this point we improved a lot. We were able to hold the slipstream and fight with Yamaha and Honda on the straight. And then also I think the experience of trying to control more the tyres and electronics. Suzuki are now working for next year, taking a lot of information, and already Guintoli is trying a new engine that looks very good. We will see what happens next year. For sure I will give my best to try to beat these guys and be more constant at the front."

It's been a while since Johann Zarco was able to fight for pole positions and race podiums but in Malaysia, like his yamaha teammates, the frenchman was back to his old self and fought for the 2nd place most of the race, only giving it away to Rins at the very end: "The strong beginning of the race was key for the podium. I had a great start from pole and it helped me to go well in the first two corners. Valentino was pushing a lot and going so fast. I was not able to overtake him, but following him was good enough to go away and save the podium. Later I did a mistake in corner 14 and Marc overtook me very cleanly and then I tried to stay behind him. I expected Marc could catch Vale quickly but instead he was closing step-by-step. I lost a little bit to him, but I was able to keep a good pace and have a bigger gap to the guys behind me. After Valentino crashed I was second, again with a good gap, I thought I could control it but five laps from the end I saw on the pit board that Alex was coming maybe five-tenths per lap faster than me! I tried to push but I was not fast enough and in the last lap when he overtook me in turn four I wanted to overtake him again and fight a little bit. But there wasn't the possibility and I almost crashed in turn 11. I got the podium last year here in tricky conditions, but this year was like a real constant race and the strong beginning helped me finish on the podium. Third is just a fantastic present because I'm now the first Independent rider. I'll try to keep it in Valencia and being on the same points as Rins means whoever finishes in front can be in the top five of the championship."

Now the paddock is heading back to Europe and back to Spain for Valencia and it’s legendary end of the season race. Jorge Lorenzo should make a full comeback after a failed attempt at Sepang. Rossi and Vinales will fight against each other for the 3rd place in the standings while the Team, Best independent and Rookie of the year titles are still to be given away.

Buckle up, Valencia is coming. And we will be there. #CannotWait

#review #sepanggp #sepang #malaysiangp #motogp #valentino rossi #marc marquez #alex rins #johann zarco

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vro0m · 3 years

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vro0m’s rewatch - 28/288

2008 Hungarian GP

Recap + gifs!

It’s round 11, we’re on the grid where it’s hot and dusty.

McLaren front row I think? Yes, Lewis on pole! The commentator talks about how he made everyone wait for him for a few minutes to start the drivers’ parade and arrived “bouncing” down the stairs all confident and claims it’s a psychological game he’s playing. (I mean, maybe he’s just happy and had something to do or whatever?) Lol, Damon Hill is commentating this weekend and says yeah, that’s exactly it and maybe there was a good reason for him to be late but the effect is the same : it shows others that he stands out. (I bet he stands out for a couple other reasons to begin with, like the fact that he’s Black and very good at his job.) All the journalists are very preoccupied with the possibility of Kovalainen and Lewis crashing into each other for some reason.

Formation lap.

And they’re racing!

Oh wow, Massa jumped from the 3rd place and overtook both McLarens right away. Very impressive. He even locked up in the process but still made it.

10 laps in, Lewis 2.2 behind which isn’t a massive gap but it will all come down to how much fuel they have.

Lap 17, Massa pits from the lead. Lewis has to push now. Oh but he pits only one lap later... He leaves with slightly more fuel than Massa did though. He’s in 6th now. Not great. A little while later, Raikkonen and Alonso pit from in between them and we’re back on square one, Massa 3 seconds ahead of Lewis.

Lap 30, no change. Lewis is 3.6 behind and slower than Massa. Bourdais’ car caught on fire in the pit lane so they covered it in foam and sent him back out?

And now another fuel fire with Barrichello? Damon Hill says it’s the third of the race, I’ve only seen two but I admit I wasn’t paying close attention. Oh, it was Vettel’s RedBull right at the beginning of the race, and he had to retire. There’s probably gonna be some investigation to figure that out.

Lap 40, Lewis now 5 seconds behind. HE’S OFF THE ROAD! Left front puncture! Ohhhhh no. He’s getting to the pit lane. It’s dramatic, you can see all the cars passing by as he does. They’re putting him on the supersofts which is weird because it’s super hot and there’s a bunch of laps to go. He’s now all the way back in 11th. On the replay, we see he really didn’t do anything particular to get that puncture, it just kind of happened as he was in the middle of the track. However, one thing that comes up frequently is that he tends to overwork his tyres. I guess he learned a lot since then because now his tyre management is one of his forte imo.

Lap 50, Lewis is who knows where cause they never fxcking show the standings. 8th.

Lap 60, 10 laps to go, he’s up in 6th. Oop, as Sutil brakes in a corner there’s a literal cloud of black dust that comes out from his brakes and he has a puncture. In the meantime, Lewis has spent more time than anyone else on the supersofts that weekend and that’s a bit worrying for the end of the race. The broadcasters talk again about pushing or lifting up.

3 laps to go, Massa has an issue! Smoke at the back of the car! He’s stopped on the track! Oh that’s so unfortunate. It’s now Kovalainen first, Glock second, Raikkonen in third slowing down as Ferrari probably tells him to look after his engine.

And it’s the end of the race!

It’s Heikki’s first win! Also great job from Glock finishing second after his terrible crash in the last GP. Lewis is 6th but still leads the WDC. As Kovalainen goes past, he claps and gives him the thumbs up.

Lewis says he salvaged the best of the worst and that last year they lost a whole championship because of a puncture so it’s nothing new to him. He says it was a bit disappointing seeing Massa go past at the start but he just did a better job than him and he’s happy for Heikki.

Also it’s better if he and Glock get the points rather than the Ferraris anyway.

#f1 #lewis hamilton #2008 #2008 hungarian gp #vro0m's race reviews

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sbknews · 2 years

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Holgado takes impressive first win under pressure

The Spaniard takes his and Tech3's first Moto3™ win ahead of Muñoz as Moreira claims a first podium - the first in the lightweight class for Brazil. Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Tech3) is now a Grand Prix winner! The season opener was a classic last lap showdown and the Spaniard put in an impressive performance to start his sophomore season on the top step, holding off David Muñoz (BOE Motorsports) and Diogo Moreira (MT Helmets - MSI) under some serious pressure. Moreira's podium is his first and the first for a Brazilian rider in the lightweight class, and Holgado's win is the first in Moto3™ for Tech3 as the Grande Premio Tissot de Portugal hosted some history. There was early drama for Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) as he couldn't get away for the Warm Up lap, the Turk forced into a pitlane start. Once the lights went out though, Joel Kelso (CFMoto PrüstelGP) took the holeshot from the front row and immediately started to put the hammer down, but it didn't take long for the chasing pack to close back in. Holgado and Ayumu Sasaki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) both made for close company at the head of the freight train, and Moreira was soon on the scene too, despite that tough qualifying for the Brazilian. The classic group then formed, and by the last few laps the top 10 were glued together in a fight for the podium. They had some company soon enough though, with Öncü on an absolute charge to come back from his pitlane start. By the last few laps the Turk was into that group. At the front of it though, it became a battle of five for the podium: Holgado, Moreira, Muñoz, Jaume Masia (Leopard Racing) and a stunning performance from rookie Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo). Holgado was inch perfect, however, and was able to withstand the pressure for that first win, with Muñoz getting past Moreira for second. The Brazilian's podium is still his first, and the first for Brazil in the class! Rueda was just forced to settle for a fourth place as he begins his full-time Grand Prix career, but he managed to stay a few hundredths ahead of Masia. Fellow veteran Sasaki will want more than sixth next time out, with Stefano Nepa (Angeluss MTA Team), Xavier Artigas (CFMoto PrüstelGP), Kelso and Öncü completing the top ten. Now it's next stop: Argentina, so join us for more next weekend! Moto3 Top 3 - Race Result - Portimao 1. Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Tech3) - 34'27.061 2. David Muñoz (BOE Motorsports) - +0.175 3. Diogo Moreira (MT Helmets - MSI) +0.45 Moto3 Top 3 - Championship Points after Portimao 1. Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Tech3) - 25pts 2. David Muñoz (BOE Motorsports) - 20pts 3. Diogo Moreira (MT Helmets - MSI) - 16pts For more Moto3 info checkout our dedicated Moto3 News page Or visit the official MotoGP website motogp.com

Read the full article

#Dunlop #Moto3 #Moto32023 #Portimao #PortugueseGP #Tissot

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jetsettermac · 2 years

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my last sports festival

september 10, 2022

i went to my last sports day in japan ;__;

as always, i was impressed with how the students basically organize the festival themselves. they paint the back panel, they choreograph almost everything themselves, they practice during their free time. i can’t say i would have that much spirit if i were the one having to do all these things haha.

sports festival had all the usual things, like various races and relays, dance, mikagura, march, etc. but this year they added a long jump rope where several students jumped at the same time and the number of successful rotations of the rope were counted toward the win, as well as a ball carry race where two students had to race around the track while balancing a ball between them.

the major change this year though was the cheer. the school didn’t build the stands like usual but instead had the students sit under tents. when it was their turn to cheer, they came out and lined up behind the martial arts kids in three rows and used towels the same color as their block to cheer. there weren’t any panels so they didn’t make any pictures. it was actually quite sad to see, since i know what it used to look like back before covid. i was hoping to see that one more time.

in any case, this year i cheered for blue block but red block won. it was really close though!

#jetsettermac #mac.txt #mac.photo #fukuoka #daily #sep22

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peaskyblonders · 6 years

Text

Gangsters [2]

A lot of backstory to Charlotte's character in this chapter, Enjoy!!

2466 words, I'm terribly sorry.

Charlotte stirred in her bed as she slept, her nightdress sticking to her skin and sweat making its way down her back and forehead. The nightmares were recurring, they never seemed to leave her, no matter where she went. They always followed her.

She could see fellow soldiers next to her, she took a deep breath as Padraig Pearse read the proclamation outside of the GPO. She fiddled with the gun in her hand as she stood next to one of the leaders. She had to remind herself she was doing this for the good of her country, people were relying on her. This was the start of the war.

As Pearse finished she got herself positioned, waiting for British soldiers to arrive. If they wouldn't give Ireland their independence, then Ireland will come get it themselves. She could hear the sounds of their horses on the concrete, she peeked out of the window quickly and could already tell they were outnumbered, but it was too late to back out now, there was too much at stake. She looked towards Padraig and waited for him to give them the signal to start firing, saying a silent prayer in her head when she briefly closed her eyes.

She quickly rose up from her squatting position when it was shown. Immediately moving towards the window and firing at the British, moving out the way every few seconds to catch her breath. Turning back around she felt a sharp pain in her shoulder. She screamed in agony as she looked around the building, seeing her fellow soldiers and some leaders on the floor. She turned around and continued to fire, ignoring the blood dripping down her shoulder. She had tears in her eyes and couldn't see where she was firing, only stopping when she heard a woman scream. Her head shot up as she noticed a civilian on the floor, a bullet in their stomach, staring at her direction in horror.

Charlotte shot up from her bed, tears in her eyes and the familiar feeling of guilt in her stomach. She tried so hard to remove the image of the woman from her mind, but she continuously failed. She looked at the pocket watch on the side of her bed and read the time. 6h00s. She ran her hands over her face and climbed out of her bed. She dunked her head into a bucket of cold water and quickly got dressed, putting her riding boots and coat on before leaving her house. She locked the door quickly and looked across the street. She saw one of her men watching her house from the door of a shop but chose to ignore him.

She lit a cigarette as she made her way to the black car parked outside of one of her neighbours' houses. Charlotte banged her fist on the top of the car, waking up her driver, who upon seeing Charlotte apologized furiously.

Charlotte shut him up as she raised her hand. "The stables" she spoke as she blew out a puff of smoke. Her driver nodded his head and started the car. The car ride was silent. The memory of the 1916 Rising replaying in Charlotte's mind.

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

Charlotte allowed the horse to bring her wherever she wanted, she needed time to clear her head before any of her men saw her like this. She needed to be collected each time they saw her, she was essentially their leader. Upon seeing people walking around the streets she decided it was time to bring the horse back to the stables and begin her day. She had work to be done, she needed to calculate the books and research the buyers interested in the horse.

That made her start thinking about Mr Thomas Shelby, she didn't know if she trusted him enough to buy her horse. He seemed like a well-calculated man, but he didn't seem capable of loving himself, let alone a horse and Charlotte always found the best buyers for her horses, she believed they were beautiful and intelligent creatures and as a result needed to be treated like it.

Charlotte was too focused on reaching the stables before 8h30 that she didn't notice Thomas Shelby watching her from afar, he was impressed with how graceful she looked on top of the horse, he also noticed how beautiful the horse was and how similar it seemed to the one John was describing to him the other day. He pursed his lips as he put out his cigarette and walked back into the betting shop, continuing on with his days' work.

Thomas was walking towards his office when a man stopped him. "You don't happen to know the odds of tonight's race d'ya?" the man had short black hair and an Irish accent. Thomas stared blankly at the man.

"Shit sorry" the Irish man spoke as he pulled his hand out of his pocket. "I'm Wayne, don't really know how this betting thing works" he rambled on. He placed his hand back into his pocket when Thomas didn't shake his hand. Thomas was about to tell him that he could either bet on a horse or get lost when John suddenly approached them, he slapped his hands on Wayne's shoulders and grinned at Thomas.

"Tommy we've got loads of money from people betting today, tell the poor sod who's gonna win and let him bet a little on it" he spoke. Wayne smirked. So the rumours are true, the Shelbys do actually fix races. Interesting.

A few moments later Wayne walked out of the betting shop with a slip in his hand and a grin on his face. Bunch of idiots he thought to himself as he made his way towards Charlotte's house, where they were all to meet up at 9h00s.

----------

Charlotte strolled into her house and was immediately greeted by most of her men. "Ok let's get this started. Speak," she demanded as she lit her cigarette and paced around her living room.

"Your accounts seem to be calculated correctly"

Charlotte scoffed "As they always are"

"The IRA want to know how you're getting on"

"Remind me to write to them" she replied as she inspected her nails.

"I joined the Peaky Blinders"

"You joined the Peaky what now?" Charlotte stopped walking as she looked at one of her close friends, James. He shrugged as he continued. "Its a good place for information," he said nonchalantly.

Charlotte was about to protest to his stupid idea when Wayne spoke up. "He's right, they fix races, Lottie. If we can form some type of business with them, we can get lots of money. They're also a family! I met Thomas' brother today in their betting shop-" "Why were you in Shelby's betting shop?"

"Not important. But what is important is that families are hard to take down, so we might as well form an alliance with them" Wayne stated, fellow men, nodding their heads in agreement. "Families may be hard to take down, but when they do get taken down they either stay down or a war breaks out. Do you really think you're ready for another war, Wayne? " Charlotte argued, raising her eyebrow and crossing her hands, her cigarette between her lips.

"I think you should trust me on this, we'll be stronger united with the Peaky Blinders than we would be on our own and that's a fact" Wayne stated as he cocked his head to the side, trying to read the expression on Charlotte's face. "I can't have any of you lads getting hurt, you came here with me and I'm not about to lose any of yous because of the Peaky Blinders"

"We're strong men, Lottie" one of the men shouted from the couch, the rest shouting in agreement.

"If I remember correctly, we came here for you, you didn't force us- but we still came, because we're loyal to you and if you don't think we'd risk our lives for you, well you need a wake-up call" James spoke as he stood up. "Now I recall you coming here to speak to a certain inspector"

"Has anyone actually seen that inspector?" Charlotte wondered. "He's at the Garrison tonight, gonna be looking for Thomas" James spoke and smirked when Charlotte furrowed her eyebrows at him. "What? The peaky boys talk"

"Let's go to the Garrison boys, I think we have some unfinished business to attend to" Charlotte grinned as she changed into some heals and applied her lipstick before heading out the door, 10 of her men following slowly behind her, James, Rogers and Wayne by her side.

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

Charlotte strutted into the Garrison for the second day in a row, there were fewer people in the pub this time considering it was still early in the morning, but she did immediately spot Inspector Campbell and Thomas sitting at the bar. The inspector spotted her also, gulping heavily when she started making her way towards him.

"Inspector how lovely to see you" she spoke sarcastically, she turned towards Thomas and greeted him briefly, before turning all her attention towards the Inspector. Thomas looked at her with curiosity, pondering how she could possibly know the inspector. "I believe we have some unfinished business to discuss, hmm?" she continued. This intrigued Thomas even more, he couldn't come up with an idea of how they could possibly know each other, were they an item before? Possibly. Charlotte seemed like she had better taste in men though.

Charlotte took the inspector's silence as a sign to continue. "If I remember correctly, during our last encounter I had placed a knife in your shoulder after you tried to rape me. Does this ring any bells?" Charlotte flipped her hair behind her shoulder as she glared at the inspector. She leaned in towards him, not caring that Thomas was sitting to her right. She needed this confrontation.

"Yes, well I recall you liking the plan until it actually happened" the inspector scoffed. His comment made Charlotte's blood boil. "You never mentioned anything about using me for your pleasure. I only happened to find out what a sick bastard you are when you started to make advances towards me!" she practically growled as she took a step closer to him. She poked her finger in his chest and looked him dead in the eye. "Now if I hear you've even thought about laying a hand on a woman, I won't hesitate to track you and kill you myself. I don't care if the lady is a whore if she doesn't want you to touch her and not like I'd blame her- then don't. Women deserve to be treated like ladies regardless. But you, on the other hand, deserve to be treated like the piece of shit that you are" She then dug her heel into his foot. "Do I make myself clear, Inspector?"

The inspector nodded, his face turning a bright red colour, Charlotte removed her foot and nodded towards the door, where she knew her men were waiting for him. "Get the fuck out of my sight"

The inspector rushed to the door, not once looking back at Charlotte.

Charlotte sat down where the inspector had previously been sitting, she lit her cigarette and inhaled deeply, she then faced Thomas, who was looking at her with a look that she couldn't recognise.

" I apologize for my behaviour, I slept for six hours today, which is double the amount I usually sleep so I'm quite disoriented" Thomas' shook his head at her statement, and suddenly remembered the horse she was riding earlier.

"I've been thinking, and I'm guessing your business has something to do with horses" Thomas stated, never once taking his eyes off the brunette who sat in front of him, she was unlike any girl he had met before, it was fascinating. It also worried him, the encounter he just witnessed had shocked him. He figured Charlotte was troubled, but so was he.

Charlotte laughed, a sound that Thomas enjoyed. "Yes, I train them. I'm actually looking for someone to buy one, you don't happen to know somebody interested do you?" she asked innocently. "I am, but I'd have to see the horse up close. The Peaky Blinders are hoping to get involved with racing" Thomas says before placing a cigarette between his lips and lighting it.

"I'm sure that can be arranged, Thomas" Charlotte answered, crossing her legs and looking towards the barmaid, she noticed her watching herself and Thomas eagerly but paid no attention to it, she didn't have the time nor the energy to deal with irrelevant people.

"So, I'm guessing that's what your business is? Dealing with horses, training and selling them?" Thomas inquired, leaning closer to her so she could hear him.

"The majority of it yes" She spoke, throwing her finished cigarette into Thomas' glass of whiskey, which he chose to ignore.

Thomas raised his eyebrows. "The majority?"

Charlotte turned her body towards Thomas. "You're not the only one with secrets, Mr Shelby. Everybody has their own little skeletons in the closet. They're what makes life a bit more exciting" she spoke slowly, the quietness of her voice and their close proximity made the conversation they were having more intense, more intimate, and of course, she could feel the barmaids eyes on her, but that's what made it even better.

Thomas raised his eyebrows at her "I'll be the one to meet with you to see the horse." He stated, changing the topic of their conversation. He didn't trust her enough to allow any of the family or any of his men to be alone with her. He only knew her name and part of her business but was determined to find out more.

"I'm free whenever you are" Charlotte responded.

An idea suddenly popped into Thomas' head, and he just couldn't stop the words from coming out of his mouth. "How about now?"

Charlotte's eyes widened a fraction but she quickly composed herself before Thomas had the chance to notice. "Off we go then, Thomas"

Thomas stood up from his stool and brushed the dust off his jacket as he looked back towards Charlotte who was also stepping off her chair. She grabbed another cigarette out of her pocket and went to look for a lighter. Thomas chuckled at her habit and quickly grabbed his lighter out of his front pocket and took a step towards her to light it for her, he was almost certain she could feel his breath on her neck. "Call me Tommy" he spoke as he lit the cigarette, looking into her eyes when he was finished.

"I'll call you what I want, Thomas," she says giving him a cheeky wink before walking out of the pub, with a Thomas Shelby following behind her, the tiniest smile present on his face

Tags: @asfaraslifegets @magical-mischief-makers

#peaky blinders #peaky blinder imagine #peaky blinder fanfic #tommy shelby #thomas shelby #peaky blinders fanfiction #shelby #tommy #tommy shelby fan fic

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