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mecachrome · 9 months

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pre-mclaren oscar piastri primer (ft. maxf, landoscar)

0. introduction

for a few months now i've been wanting to make both an oscar primer and a timeline of pre-mclaren landoscar moments, but i couldn't figure out which one to prioritize… then after some deliberation i finally realized i could just combine the two things together! so. here is an oscar-centric timeline that is mainly about his racing background, moving to the uk, and how he became acquainted with other members of the rfm pack—aka lando, maxf, and logan. i don't know whether any of this information is useful or even vaguely interesting, but i mostly just wrote it for myself and thought i'd share what i had in case anyone else wanted to check it out. please feel free to comment or shoot me an ask if anything here is egregiously incorrect; i've checked and linked as many sources as i could but it's of course possible that some errors remain :)

1. background, rc racing, early karting days (2007-2015)

oscar piastri was born on april 6, 2001 in brighton east, a suburb of melbourne not far from albert park circuit, as the son of chris and nicole and to-be oldest brother to 3 younger sisters. a love for all things automotive ran deep in the piastri family: both of his grandfathers were mechanics and his father had also co-founded his own vehicle diagnostics software company, hp tuners, aka oscar's sponsor throughout his racing career. thanks to his father's business, oscar's family was objectively well-off and managed to contribute a fairly substantial amount of support toward his junior career, but they also weren't swimming in cash by multi-millionaire motorsport standards either.

(L-R) edie, mae, hattie, and oscar, from nicole's twitter — each sibling is ~2 years apart (source)

while most drivers on the current grid were introduced to motorsport through go-karting, usually at or before the age of 7, oscar's path to single-seaters differed slightly. he first developed an interest in racing via remote-controlled cars at the age of 6, when his father brought him a monster truck as a souvenir back from a business trip in america. oscar began racing them that same year, eventually moving to safer electric track vehicles and even winning the second class of the national titles in 2010, at the age of 9. he was so small then that he often needed to stand on a milk crate to see the cars on track, and the next-youngest competitor at the time was twice his age. (source)

youtube

oscar on the podium at age 8 (nov 16, 2009)

oscar with his father chris, who often competed alongside him in a separate class (dec 21, 2010)

by 2011, oscar and his father were seriously considering his potential of pursuing rc racing as a viable career path, but things changed when he was introduced to karting via a friend's daughter in the rc community and his aspirations slowly shifted toward racing from inside a car. oscar was an unsurprisingly sporty and competitive child growing up; he'd played some cricket and aussie rules football and knew that all he wanted to do was race professionally, full-stop, at the time thinking along the lines of australian racing categories like v8 supercars. he was still competing in remote car racing as late as 2013, but he began karting seriously within australia in 2014, placing respectably in the junior categories of several regional karting series against relatively senior and more-experienced racers, and even going to france for a one-off event where he finished on the podium of the iame international junior x30 final. this outing affirmed his potential to his father and motivated the two of them to split time between australia and europe in 2015 as they juggled his karting future; plans for two more european events that year fell through, including the cik-fia world championship at the kfj level (which logan sargeant would go on to win), but at this point they were officially looking to take his career to the next level and commit fully to european karting in 2016.

this is when ricky flynn (and the hypothetical idea of lando norris!!!) comes in. before we get into rfm and karting professionally in europe, it's important to note that the defining aspect of landoscar's junior careers is that their pathways never once intersected. in fact, they don't even seem to have met properly before oscar entered the f1 grid as alpine reserve, although they'd spoken over social media and oscar was familiar with several people around lando's life—for example, maxf, logan, guanyu, and even lando's older brother oliver, who had also raced for rfm.

in short, you could say that landoscar's biggest hindrance was their parallel excellence. oscar was good enough to catch up and even surpass everyone else at lando's level, but lando remained untouchable throughout the years. oscar is only 1.5 years younger than him, but their f1 careers are offset by 4 years (2019 vs. 2023 debut) because of exactly two things: oscar's 2022 gap year in alpine and his two attempts at formula renault eurocup. on the other hand, lando sped through all of his junior categories in blistering fashion, falling short of the championship only once: the year he placed 2nd in f2 behind george russell. this is significant because many talk about the clinical nature of oscar's rapid single-seater ascension and three b2b2b victories (still very impressive, especially given his limited karting career!), but all of that speaks equally to the illustrious nature of lando's junior success and the sheer magnitude of faith placed in him as mclaren's "golden boy" coming up the ranks. to put things into further perspective, lando was teammates with maxf and jehan daruvala at rfm until 2014, jehan competing in the same class and max one below, yet by the time oscar was racing max and jehan—in f3 in 2020 and f2 in 2021, respectively—lando was already into his 2nd and 3rd years of f1. here's a chart that hopefully makes a bit more sense:

majorly simplified timeline showing lando, guanyu, maxf, logan, and oscar's junior careers + the karting classes they primarily competed in each calendar year. maxf did not complete his 2nd f3 season and many of them contested multiple/different formula renault series, but this is just a rough overview of their feeder series experience.

2. moving to europe, rfm, regional formulae (2016-2019)

back in australia, oscar was a member of the oakleigh go-kart racing club and being actively mentored by james sera, a multi-time australian karting champion and fa kart dealer who worked with young karting talents alongside his cousin david. in late-2015, he presumably helped oscar and his father reach out to ricky flynn, who ran ricky flynn motorsport (rfm) and whose team was at the time enjoying exorbitant success in the karting scene; lando had won the world championship at the kf level the year prior, and logan would soon clinch the kfj title in 2015, results which further drew oscar's interest toward the team. ricky flynn agreed to take oscar on and have him and his dad move out to europe, and by november 2015 oscar announced on social media that he would be joining rfm the next year. in january of 2016, he and his father moved to hertford, uk, so that oscar could begin a 100-day karting program and travel extensively around europe to attend races. this is where he met logan sargeant, who was in his final year on the team but competing a class above, now at the ok (previously kf) level. oscar himself was only competing in the okj class.

not oscar-related, but as you can see guanyu, logan, and maxf were already acquainted before oscar and logan met, since the three of them and lando had been in rfm together as of 2014 — (may 11, 2014) & (feb 6, 2015)

oscar and logan in 2016

in an interview published on june 7, 2023, oscar reflected on leaving australia and committing to his racing dream, saying:

"i think if there was a turning point, it was probably when i started finishing towards the front in australia, and i started winning a couple of races here and there and finishing in the top three of championships and stuff, and then went to europe and fully committed to going down that route. [...] there's obviously a very big commitment at that point when you move halfway across the world without family and stuff. so i knew at that point that i really wanted to become a professional because, firstly, that's what i want to do anyway, but, secondly, now i'm sacrificing seeing my family, and stuff like that to be able to do this — which was a sacrifice i was more than willing to make."

like the majority of oscar's karting career, his time with ricky flynn can primarily be summarized as decent. none of his performances were particularly stellar, and in november 2016 he placed 6th in the fia world championship final behind the likes of victor martins and théo pourchaire (he mainly competed against guys like them, dennis hauger, caio collet, etc… once again logan was a class above and lando/maxf had already graduated to single-seaters), but he showed promising racing foundations and a great capacity for improvement, especially given that he'd moved to europe the same year and was still adjusting to life and racing on the opposite hemisphere. about 6 months into his new karting venture, oscar had settled in reasonably well and his father decided he would return to australia to continue on with his life, so they made the joint decision that oscar was to begin boarding at haileybury's uk campus and continue racing in europe entirely on his own. uk and australian school years are misaligned, so my personal understanding is he moved to europe after finishing year 9 in australia, attempted online school/took a few months off (he says he did online coursework here, but mentioned here that he was out of school, so it sounds like it must have been a very half-hearted effort…), came back to australia over the uk summer to do some more karting, then began boarding in september 2016 as a year 10 student. he spent ~4 years there and eventually received his a-levels in 2020, except his final year was disrupted by covid and he never sat his exams. (blog post mentioning his a-levels + btg transcript excerpt about his exams; his website says he attended haileybury from 2016-19, but i think this mainly encapsulates his boarding period, as he was still doing remote work in april 2020.)

oscar in f4 with his gcse revision guide, 📸 sebastiaan rozendaal (may 20, 2018)

2016 is also when oscar began his well-documented super-liking of several of lando's social media profiles. i think understanding oscar's time in rfm and his extremely british single-seater origins helps better paint his history with lando and maxf; my personal understanding of pre-mclaren landoscar is that while oscar never formally met lando or maxf during his karting days, he knew of them quite well through rfm and thus followed them on instagram/twitter after moving to the uk. of course, oscar has a fairly active social media presence in general, so young oscar quietly liked instagram posts and tweets from many different people, but i do feel compelled to note that in the early days he liked lando, maxf, and logan's posts with seriously impressive frequency compared to anyone else on the grid (or anyone in general, really); after creating his twitter account in may 2016, some of the very first tweets oscar liked were from maxf, and he also liked a multitude of mundane lando tweets from 2016 until… today, while on the other hand he didn't start liking george's tweets—another similarly-aged young british talent—until late 2017. (he does have some fun george-admiring moments though, but that can wait for another time!) outside of rfm, other people oscar was familiar with during his early racing years were british f4 teammate ayrton simmons, to-be series champion jamie caroline, and old australian karting friend christian pancione, who appears to still be one of his best mates (if not his best) as of today. fun fact is that christian raced for the carrera cup as a support event to the australian gp in 2023; here's oscar allegedly checking the quali live timing at lunch during his own media day.

so, to conclude, oscar's early lando focus basically traces back to the motorsport path he took at the behest and guidance of his early rfm connections in the uk. the thing is that despite growing up in australia and vaguely admiring several aussie drivers in f1 as a child (read: mark webber and eventually daniel ricciardo), oscar has never had a specific driver he consistently mentions when pressed for his racing "idol," likely since his personality inherently resists idolatry and he instead views successful people more as actionable benchmarks or reference points for self-improvement rather than as unattainable paragons of accomplishment. as a kid forced to grow up almost entirely on his own, the majority of his racing aspirations were molded independently in the uk—he completed his karting career in the uk, boarded at haileybury for 4 years (fun fact: other drivers to attend include jehan, callum ilott, and clément novalak; callum was a few years above oscar and finished school in 2017, but the two would later become quite talkative over social media anyway), raced in british f4, became a brdc member, contested eurocup under a british license and therefore had the british flag raised and british national anthem played during his wins, stayed in the uk even at alpine since the factory is based in enstone, etc. oscar basically moved to the uk from australia without having really met anyone significant in the racing scene (other than jack doohan, or more importantly jack's father mick, but jack is younger and did an extra year of karting) and pretty much didn't have anyone specific to "look up to" at the time. oscar's first acknowledgement of lando's online existence was in december 2015, when he liked one of lando's instagram posts prior to moving to england, so it can be assumed that lando basically functioned as his most accessible reference point in the junior ladder as a 14 year old dipping his toes into the european racing scene for the first time. that is my highly subjective analysis of the situation!

select quotes re: oscar's inconsistent responses to his motorsport "hero" (or his favorite driver / a driver he looks up to in general):

(f1fs; mar 9, 2022) "i started watching f1 in… 2009 was the first season i properly watched. so when brawn came in, obviously mark was the only aussie on the grid at that point, so i was kind of naturally going for him. then joined by daniel, so obviously going to support the aussies, but i think watching lewis has been nothing short of spectacular, and a very good role model. [...] i think when i was first watching, i supported mark, but, you know, and i hope he takes no offense to this—vettel was winning everything at that point. so i was supporting mark, but vettel was doing most of the winning. i think now that i understand more about racing though, i would say [the driver i look up to the most is] lewis, mainly. the way he goes about things on and off the track is quite exceptional."

(mcl youtube; mar 29, 2023) sporting idols mentioned: ayrton senna, alain prost, michael jordan (see also ultimate athletes list)

(p1; aug 10, 2023) "i would say i never had like one specific idol. when i was growing up watching mark webber was at red bull, and obviously being australian, red bull being very quick at the time, i kind of naturally followed him. i mean—even like some of the guys in the junior ranks above me. like lando was always kind of two, three years above me, winning… most things on his way up. so i guess kind of him in some ways?"

(eff won; dec 4, 2023) "i don’t really have like one specific [idol]. i think what lewis has been able to do in terms of getting to seven world championships was incredibly impressive. i think what max is doing now is also very impressive…"

the first lando post oscar liked on instagram (dec 21, 2015)

the first maxf posts oscar liked; instagram (feb 26, 2016) & twitter (may 9, 2016)

anyway, back to british f4! despite his initially unconventional foray into motorsport, oscar's journey progressed in a much more orderly fashion once he stepped up to single-seaters. his actual debut was in f4 uae, which he ran 3 rounds of between 2016 and 2017 (another fun fact: this is where he briefly acquainted himself with mclaren indycar driver david malukas, who would later recall him being very intelligent and whom zak brown allegedly spoke to oscar about before appointing to their indy team). after cutting his teeth on actual car-racing for the first time, oscar decided against moving up to the ok class as he felt confident in his ability to be competitive in single-seaters. his first full season was therefore the 2017 british f4 championship, during which oscar signed with arden while logan went to reigning champions carlin (lando had won with them in 2015, then maxf in 2016). oscar made his way to the top step 6 times in the season and placed just barely above logan for 2nd in the championship, finishing behind the considerably more experienced jamie caroline. arden was also founded and is currently owned by red bull team principal christian horner, so it was during oscar's time there that christian took note of and interest in his talent; oscar reportedly did a few runs in the red bull simulator but was passed over for joining the academy, which christian later voiced regret on. (source)

maxf, logan (center), and oscar (to max's right) on a day maxf was visiting the 2017 british f4 grid (april 11, 2017)

linus lundqvist, oscar, and logan on the podium at snetterton (jul 30, 2017)

jamie and oscar, who were… er, mathematically in the main championship fight. for some reason they made them take these photos (sep 30, 2017)

after a successful f4 outing with arden, oscar returned to the team for his first season of formula renault eurocup in 2018, a renault series that ran in its specific configuration until 2020 before merging with the parallel regional series frec to become what is today known as freca. this season proved to be less competitive for oscar, as arden was relatively inexperienced in this series and oscar's three teammates were afflicted with what can colloquially be referred to as a "skill issue," making it difficult to collectively develop the car throughout the season. (blog interview) the series was thus returning driver maxf's to lose, who at the time was racing for reigning champs r-ace with teammates that included oscar's fellow rookies logan and victor martins.

despite the unideal environment, oscar managed to prove his worth by placing a respectable 8th in the series, scoring 110 points as a rookie driver and capping the season off with 3 podiums and a top-finish of 2nd place—a jarring contrast to his teammates' joint total of 12 points. this result attracted the attention of r-ace and granted him a seat with them for the 2019 season, at which point maxf and logan both graduated to f3. thankfully that wasn't too much of a concern for oscar since he'd always intended to do two seasons of eurocup, and now he finally had a chance to win the first serious championship of his racing career with an established racing outfit.

oscar, max, and yifei ye on the hockenheim r2 podium (sep 23, 2018) [full gifset]

oscar's second season of eurocup is when he truly started proving himself as a driver, or at least to the people whose names, money, and opinions mattered around the paddock. his main competition in 2019 was again victor, who was now racing for mp and had been made a member of the renault sport academy back in 2018 after a strong performance in french f4. despite a close title fight, oscar managed to hold him off for the championship in the final race of the season, kicking off what would soon become an impressive string of consecutive single-seater series titles. even sweeter was the fact that all eurocup champions were awarded a renault sport academy spot that could be left or taken as they pleased, and of course—while the finances weren't nearly as impressive as alpine would later proclaim in their baseless smear campaign—oscar's connections in the racing world were limited as an australian driver almost exclusively managed by his father, so he gladly accepted the offer for the many venues of support renault presented to him.

see also: bby oscar briefly mentioning lando after winning eurocup in 2019 (@ 1:10)

oscar being lifted by his team (r-ace) after placing 4th in the abu dhabi finale and winning the title by 7.5 points

3. renault sport academy, lockdown, f3 (2020)

many things happened in 2020. one: oscar became an official member of the renault sport academy, joining the likes of max (who'd been picked up on merit after winning british f4 in 2017), guanyu, christian lundgaard, caio collett, and fellow new recruit hadrien david (victor had been strategically demoted after oscar's win because renault is a notoriously unserious organization, but again this is not the post). two: by the time oscar was ready for f3, moving up the ladder proved to be exorbitantly expensive, and he realized he needed better funds and managerial support to sort his career out. he'd been offered a spot in prema's f3 team by team-owner rené rosin at the end of his eurocup season, who'd named him for the post-season test before the championship was over and stressed that the spot was his no matter where he finished. (source) prema is unquestionably one of the top—if not frequently the top—teams one can drive for in most junior series (though there is also somewhat of a self-selection bias; if you ask oscar he is not a significant beneficiary of prematax!), having absolutely demolished the f3 competition that same year and achieved a clean sweep of the drivers' standings with rob shwartzman, marcus armstrong, and jehan at 1-2-3 consecutively. oscar completed post-season testing with them in spain alongside to-be teammates logan and fred vesti in october (source), before confirming on jan 26, 2020 that he would be joining them for the f3 season as a renault junior.

so, where does mark webber come in here? apparently mark's trainer from red bull and wec had also been oscar's trainer since 2016 (i'm pretty sure this is australian physiologist simon sostaric), and it was through their joint connection that oscar was introduced to mark. according to mclaren's 2023 season preview, "the pair hit it off, and webber took his countryman under his wing," signing oscar to jam sports management, aka the management agency he runs with his wife ann. mark's support would become a major factor in helping oscar progress through the feeder ranks and establish himself in f1, mainly because he had actual connections and could help oscar network with sponsors and negotiate his way during future signings. of course, more on this later.

as an aside, here are a few things mark has said about oscar:

"he’s got that white line fever when he puts his helmet on and turns into a different character, which is sensational." (mar 1, 2020)

"one of oscar’s biggest strengths by a mile, compared to everyone he is competing against — and this will be a huge string to his bow when he makes it to f1 — is his composure. he has immense levels of composure. [...] if you are weak mentally you won’t make it. he was on his own from an early age. he did brilliantly with his studies. but the racing disease would not go away, he wants it very much." (sydney morning herald; dec 11, 2021)

"he’s a prost, mate. he’s such a thinker and so calm. at first i thought i needed to inject a bit of urgency in him, but actually no, he’s got his own frequency. that’s just where he is." (the race; oct 7, 2023)

estimates provided by chris piastri on the cost of oscar's junior career, stressing the million-dollar commitments of running a single season of f3 or f2 (source)

anyway, back to the chaotic events of 2020. i think something that's good to keep in mind when discussing oscar's time in the renault sport academy is that he was actually a relatively new recruit, as in he only participated in a single training camp with the other juniors in 2020 and most of them (max, christian, guanyu, the temporary ghost of victor) already knew each other before. oscar essentially met with renault's factory team in early 2020, filmed promotional material with other juniors in january before attending the season opener together in february and then heading to winter training camp later that month, after which he and max left early for f3 pre-season testing in bahrain on march 1—a blessing in disguise, seeing as caio, hadrien, and christian remained behind and would soon be stuck quaranting in a hotel in tenerife—then briefly spent a week at school before returning home for what was meant to be a quick pit stop at the australian gp, which at the time had yet to be canceled.

then, of course, lockdown happened.

simplified breakdown of renault junior stints, notably showcasing the academy's struggles to meaningfully promote any of its juniors

oscar at the 2020 renault season opener alongside then-academy director mia sharizman, then-tp cyril abiteboul, alain prost, f1 drivers esteban ocon and daniel ricciardo, and the other academy juniors: fewtrell, lundgaard, zhou, david (feb 12, 2020)

oscar and maxf behind the scenes of the same event (feb 12, 2020)

stuck in australia for three months, oscar would end up participating in two fia virtual races, one for f2 and another for f1 (jun 7, 2020). a fun landoscar tidbit is that he finished 5th in the virtual gp right behind lando, so they technically had raced each other before 2023, depending on... well, whether you count a 2020 sim race wherein george russell and alex albon lead the pack as a real race. nevertheless, this was a time when drivers were becoming much more active online, seeing as streaming was the best way to keep their images relevant and connect with fans, and despite oscar expressing little interest in streaming on twitch he would still experience a considerable uptick in his online activity and twitter reach that year.

racing resumed on july 4 at the red bull ring in austria; oscar had been granted an exemption to travel to the uk and complete a 2-week quarantine back on may 27, a reassuring indicator to the motorsport world that the f3 season would run after all. now that he no longer had to attend school, having received 2 b's and 1 c for his maths, physics, and computer science a-levels, oscar relocated from hertford to oxford in june to be near the renault facilities, which he visited nearly every day to train at, and began living independently (as in in a flat) for the first time since 2016, rooming with fellow renault junior caio collet.

as i said before, this season is when oscar's online presence and "memeability" began to really conceptualize, enabled primarily by the fact that he was a) finally living outside of a school dormitory, and b) now, of course, signed at prema, a team notorious for its social media visibility, literal family atmosphere, and frequent youtube pandering. according to this f3 article, his twitter followers jumped from 795 at the start of the season to 11.6k by the time he won the championship, an audience built significantly off the self-deprecating string of jokes he used to tweet regarding drs and general reliability issues faced throughout the season.

what i guess i want to touch on here is how oscar's online presence has always been concentrated around the bare fundamentals of his personality: dry humor, candid words, sparing emojis, a few humorous photos detailing the mundane reality of his everyday routines, and at most the occasional inopportune meme or reaction gif (#thepiastri 🤷‍♂️, f2 in baku, jetpack guy, so on). he's bantered frequently with callum on twitter and near-obsessively liked memes, videos, and other updates lando shares with his audience, but he also has seemingly little interest in building up his own "brand" the way lando so smartly has with ln4 and quadrant, and quite frankly seems viscerally incapable of wanting to engage one-to-one with fans or otherwise leveraging the popularity of his material image. basically what i like to say is that oscar enjoys being adjacent to "lad humor" and will happily enable it, but he really has no interest in being the one to initiate it himself!

"there's some things you want to share, some things you don’t. in today's age and sort of having the profile that us drivers do, we kind of just have everything shared,” piastri said. “but (social media) can be used for good, certainly within the profiles that we have. but in some ways, it can be negative, and there's always going to be people out there that don't like you for being you.” piastri tries to write as many of his posts as possible, and he checks those written by his team to be sure they sound authentically him. (the athletic; jun 29, 2023)

along these lines, oscar does enjoy the spotlight, only he seems to prefer it concentrated in a specific lens toward a specific productive end. he's endlessly capable of seeing the objective upside of a situation, joking after he was made a meme in baku following his f2 sr1 collision that he was all for it if it got him popularity. after his eurocup championship he also said: "i think everyone loves a bit of spotlight on them. i think that's just human nature, so a bit of attention's always nice." which is interesting to me!

but back to racing. this season would unexpectedly become two things: maxf's last competitive season in motorsport—especially disappointing considering that he'd gone into the championship expecting to put on a second-season title charge, instead failing to gel with the hitech team to the point that each increasingly poor weekend made him spiral mentally—as well as oscar and logan's last season racing against each other before f1, since logan would later encounter financial difficulties that left him stranded in f3 as oscar catapulted himself to f2 victory. 2020 was obviously a weird season in general because of covid and the gap from pre-season testing, so it also meant that oscar had gone into the season fairly rusty; he managed to win the first race of the season, but on top of his drs rollercoaster he did struggle with middling results in qualifying and was met step-by-step throughout the championship by logan.

maxf's last race in f3 was the barcelona sprint race on august 16, with three rounds left to the end of the season. he dnfed in an unfortunate first-lap incident mere moments after oscar charged his way up from 5th on the grid to the front of the pack, where he would eventually breeze his way to victory and pull himself near-level with logan for the championship lead. i recognize that this is an oscar post and not a maxf post, but i think their time in f3 during an extremely isolated and covid-affected period speaks to both an interesting dynamic between them (the little kid who always lagged a series behind you suddenly beating you on merit) and their respective temperaments toward racing. while at renault, max reportedly lived with jack aitken during the week but would return to his family home on weekends, so it makes sense that he struggled to adapt when covid hit and drivers were collectively forced into very regimented sporting bubbles. mark webber, who worked for channel 4 as a commentator and had access to the f1 paddock, basically couldn't see oscar in person and instead spoke to him over the phone every day on race weekends. maxf said of his decision to quit:

"normally [...] i’m able to stay calm under pressure and i don’t let many things get to me but when you have a bad qualifying result and you see guys up there that you know you’re capable of beating, it definitely takes a dig at you inside and it’s been a lot to process throughout the year." (source)

while then-academy director mia sharizman, who worked closely with the renault juniors, spoke of oscar's inherent propensity for independence and how he adapted well to the pressures of living on his own:

"if you look at oscar piastri, he has been living on his own, [away] from his family who are in melbourne for the past five to six years. because he has been living on his own in boarding school, he learns how to live on his own, and he thrives in that. we have to force him... 'have you spoken to your father?!' it's just things like that, but he thrives in that. that's why he thrived in those weekends racing. he loves being on his own without anybody. on the other hand, we had max fewtrell, for example, who can't – he couldn't survive the 11 weekends racing, because he always needed his family to be around him. so those are the things that suddenly you see and, i think that that we see now, after a few years a driver who is quick, a driver who has the talent, and then the driver who is stable." (source)

2020 is also when lando and oscar spoke to each other on twitter for the first time. yay! after lando went semi-viral for having a meltdown over a hornet on three separate social media platforms, oscar first joked with him about it on august 24 (this was incidentally also the day maxf announced his functional retirement, which oscar liked as well 😭), before referencing the incident again a few weeks later in september.

(aug 24, 2020) / (sep 10, 2020)

outside of drs tweets and trying desperately to banter with lando norris, oscar's popular tweets at the time included several food-related mishaps and home appliance tragedies. while this isn't actually a lando moment, he was also slandered by the LN4 twitter account a month later on october 17 for reasons that remain a mystery, resulting in this set of interactions:

(oct 17, 2020) / (oct 19, 2020)

bonus: maxf's tweets @ oscar (when you aren't close enough to just text him.......)

but back to f3. similarly to his second season of eurocup, oscar would go on to clinch the title in only the final race of the year, this time even more stressfully—he never got pole that season and won arguably off of consistency, benefiting from errors and unfortunate collisions involving his primary competitors. after a hectic qualifying and string of contentious grid penalties set for the before-last round in monza, he began the feature race 15th on the grid but put on an impressive performance to finish on the podium, buffing his points lead after logan was tapped by clément and put out of the points. he, logan, and fred all dnfed in race 2 (read: the novalak pendulum swung away from oscar's favor to maintain stringent cosmic equilibrium, while logan and fred threw away a points opportunity with a teammate4teammate love tap), and oscar went into mugello with only an 8-point lead over logan and a 24-point lead over pourchaire. this weekend proved equally hectic, as is frequently the case with f3 racing standards, but in short oscar and logan entered the final sprint race level on points, with théo approaching terrifyingly near in their rearview mirrors. logan was unceremoniously taken out of contention on the first lap after contact with zendeli, and oscar managed to squeak his way to 164 points in the championship by placing 7th in the race; théo finished 3rd, with 161 points, two positions away from claiming both the race and the championship title.

a succinct summary of an eventful season! (posted jun 30, 2021)

despite winning the f3 championship in far-from-dominant fashion, oscar's career was now steadily on an upward trend. on october 30 he was rewarded with a private test in the r.s.18 at bahrain alongside christian and guanyu, and a month later confirmed that he would be racing for prema again in f2 (december 1, 2020). as a rookie f3 champion there was a moderate amount of interest in him, but no one really expected him to carry home the f2 title on his first try and so one of the main favorites going into the next season was his second-year teammate and 2019 f3 champion rob shwartzman.

4. f2, alpine reserve duties, #piastrigate (2021-2022)

at the start of 2021, fernando officially took daniel's place at renault and the team rebranded itself as alpine, parting ways with team principal cyril abiteboul and functionally replacing him with new ceo laurent rossi—part of a no-tp management structure, frankly a self-evident infrastructural faux-pas from a million miles away. the renault sport academy was then also renamed to alpine academy; again i know that this is an oscar post so i won't get too into the details of Alpine Being Alpine, but understanding how the academy functioned does help better contextualize the inevitable unfurling of piastrigate.

the main issue, really, would always be laurent rossi, or at least the values laurent rossi had been hired to represent and which he willingly peddled during his controversial tenure at alpine. after rossi's appointment it was reported that "the renamed alpine academy was now being tugged in two directions between director mia sharizman's ideal as a creator of future f1 drivers and alpine's chief executive officer laurent rossi's commercially-led preferences." (source) mia directed the academy from january 2016 until may 2022, and had been the one to restructure its recruitment process by demanding better funding and robust testing programs to cyril:

"when we first restarted the team in 2016, it was, we didn't even have a two-year-old car program at that time. we had to use a 2012 program using the [lotus] e20. [...] then in 2018, i went through it, and i said to cyril abiteboul, "look, let's try and do this." we needed financial resources. i needed a head start with financial resources to kick start the program whereby you entice drivers, and you offer [a place] to the academy drivers. it was more to see how they are... it was more of an evaluation process... that was what the first idea was. then we developed the program to develop the drivers to suit their formual 2 program." (source)

(note: mia also believed that 2020 was a disappointing year for all of his juniors save for oscar's performance in f3, which is a whole other thing. but rossi's greatest shortcoming was that he had singular, insulated vision, and he resisted any external input to the detriment of reactionary business decisions, a fact that alienated alain prost and soon led to his exit from the outfit in 2022. not a good look!!! prost would later call rossi "the best example of the dunning-kruger effect, that of an incapable leader who thinks himself able to overcome his incompetence with his arrogance and lack of humanity toward his troops." 🤌)

so basically, the cracks of mind-boggling incompetence within the team's leadership structure were long evident. on a brighter note, oscar's 2021 f2 season would quickly become his strongest single-seater contest ever (f1 youtube has a good summarizing video of his season, if interested); because of covid, f2 was experimenting with a three-race format this year in which quali set the reverse grid for sr1 and sr1 results then set the reverse grid for sr2, which essentially meant high qualifiers were rewarded for simply maintaining composure in the first sprint and running cleanly in the top 10 in order to secure a favorable grid spot in sr2. oscar adapted well to this format, building off his reputation of smooth, consistent driving on top of slowly improving his qualifying results over the course of the season, finally breaking through with his first feature-race win in monza.

oscar with mia sharizman

this is also around the time when lando mentioned oscar in official f1 media for the first time, reading off a question about him to daniel in an interview posted in october:

"this one's not even about formula one. it's about oscar piastri. oscar pias-tree! [...] he's been on it this year." — (full video) (oct 1, 2021)

of his own f2 campaign, oscar said:

"i thought that i could challenge for race wins, but i probably wasn't expecting to be so consistently at the front. consistency is something that i’ve had as a trait throughout my career, and i was expecting to be consistent in my results this year — but maybe a bit lower down!" (source)

not only did he end up being consistently at the front, he became virtually unstoppable in the second half of the season. on december 11, oscar clinched the title in abu dhabi with two races to spare, ending the season with 5 consecutive poles and 4 consecutive feature wins, 60.5 points above his previously-favored teammate in the standings. #notbadforashitqualifier!

by now oscar was a hot commodity in the paddock; the only problem was that alpine didn't really care, mainly because rossi had enthusiastically re-signed ocon to a three-year deal in 2021 and held zero intention of actually promoting any of its juniors to one of the race seats, plus the one open spot at alfa romeo had instead gone to guanyu and his considerable financial package (though oscar has always been vocally defensive of guanyu's appointment to his detractors). instead of moving to another series, such as indycar or super formula, oscar recognized that he'd proven everything he needed to prove within the feeder system and opted to remain on the grid as alpine's reserve driver, mainly so that he could embed himself in an f1 team environment and—most crucially—avoid being left "out of sight, out of mind," because once you go to america you usually don't come back.

i'll keep the rest of this post brief since i feel like everyone already knows What Went Down, but a quick highlight for fellow landoscar enjoyers was the 2022 australian gp on april 10, during which oscar accompanied rosanna tennant for the post-race show and awkwardly participated in a chaotic lando & alex interview. as far as i know, this was landoscar's first time interacting on-camera!

o: "i haven't raced either of them, no." l: "not yet!" o: "not yet. hopefully soon." — (full video) (apr 10, 2022)

then silly season started, and everything was thrown into disarray when sebastian vettel announced his imminent retirement and fernando subsequently took his place at aston martin; alpine scrambled to recover from this blindsided move and prematurely promoted oscar to an f1 seat, to which oscar eventually posted The Tweet—claiming he'd never signed a contract with alpine and would not be racing for them in 2023, thus kicking off #piastrigate. or the piasco, or whatever you prefer to call it.

here's a good article that properly summarizes the crb ruling, but tl;dr: mclaren and alpine had come to an agreement back in march to loan oscar to mclaren's stable of reserve drivers after daniel contracted covid; mark webber, who was close to andreas seidl from their time at porsche in wec, quietly negotiated a contract with mclaren for 2023 that oscar would then sign on july 4, which was reportedly initially a reserve deal with an upgrade clause to a full-time drive given a dr buyout; alpine's legal team turned out to be essentially one overworked legal director who mishandled the situation thanks to a lack of organizational support, while a concrete williams deal never actually existed no matter what people continuously allege, and any proprietary right to oscar's services that alpine purported to have for the 2023 season would soon be voided by crb rule on september 2. in other words, they dun goofed.

because tumblr dies when i try to include it in this post, here's a link to a condensed chronological timeline version of this post.

that's it for now. i'm sure you know how the rest goes!!!

#oscar piastri #*m #quite possibly the dumbest thing i've ever written and most likely of no use to anyone at all. but i had fun so no flames pls 🥲☝️#there's so much more i could have said this is quite frankly the condensed version... scrapped a whole separate section on just his psyche #i need 2 be normal.........#op meta

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j4gm · 1 year

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SPOILERS!!! REFERENCES AND EASTER EGGS IN F&C ep. 8: JERRY

The last of four posts for today.

This episode has a very dark setting. This is the universe where The Lich wished for the extinction of all life. There is nothing here. This establishing shot features the Squirrel's apple cart, from a few episodes ago, but he is long dead and it is long abandoned.

We are introduced to a new cosmic entity, Orbo, who is Scarab's boss but is not to be mistaken for Prismo's boss, whose identity remains a mystery.

Simon name drops a whole bunch of magical items from the original Adventure Time series; the Armour of Zeldron from Blood Under the Skin, the Wand of Dispersement from Sons of Mars, the Porcelain Lamb from Beyond This Earthly Realm, and the magic beans from The Pods.

This episode suggests that the nature of Simon and Betty's relationship was initially quite unhealthy. He was one of her lecturers, and she had an infatuation with him from first sight.

This illustration features the ancient wizards who sealed Coconteppi beneath Wizard City in the Distant Lands episode of the same name.

Simon's expedition to find the Enchiridion was first mentioned in the newspaper clipping in I Remember You, and was mentioned again in Temple of Mars.

BMO apparently survived The Lich's wish because he isn't technically alive. I wonder where Neptr and the other MOs are. Cannibalised for batteries, perhaps. Also, that BRB note is very sad and is identical to the one Finn wrote in Blenanas.

There are various familiar items in the thawed out remains of the Ice Kingdom; ninja paraphernalia from The Chamber of Frozen Blades, Ice King's diary from The Empress Eyes, and of course the tape collection from Holly Jolly Secrets.

Here's a deep cut: That machine in the background to the right of Simon is the machine that held the lightning power that Finn went to steal in What is Life, so that he could power up Neptr. The Demonic Wishing Eye is also in this shot.

For a single frame, Ice King and Gunter can be seen reduced to skeletons. Presumably this was the exact moment that the Lich's wish took effect. Everyone died instantly, in less than a frame.

When I watched this episode for the first time I was confused about where Fionna got the working crown. But you can just about see it inside the drum in this shot, where Ice King mentioned he had put it in his tape.

This is the exact moment the photograph was taken for the newspaper clipping seen in I Remember You.

We first heard the story about how Simon met Betty after they tried to check out the same library book in Broke His Crown. It's cool to see it playing out for real.

Simon throws a pebble at the window and accidentally hits Babette in the face, exactly like Finn and Jake did to Kim Kil Whan in the episode Ocarina.

This is the second time Simon caused Betty to miss this research trip to Australia. She says in Temple of Mars that she never got the opportunity to go, and resolves that her life might not have been so messed up if she'd followed her own dreams instead of following Simon's.

The song in this scene, the motif of which has been heard throughout the series, is by Half Shy, who also wrote "Monster" for Obsidian.

BMO is buried with a paper flower because there are no real ones left alive. His death seemed pointlessly cruel.

THE LICH! He is in his half-disguised Billy form, confirming that this is his wish-altered reality. Like in his other appearances, the first line he speaks is a single word command. This time, the command is "Cease." But with nothing left to do he has become depressed, and he doesn't bother killing our protagonists.

And finally, we are left on this cliffhanger. Fionna and Cake have returned to their world. Scarab has convinced the boss that Simon must be destroyed. And GOLBetty is here to claim them both while the Lich watches on.

This episode's dream features a pair of Lich skulls either side an effigy of GOLB.

#adventure time #fionna and cake #easter egg posts

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magicfootballstuff · 1 year

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Finalist (alessia russo x reader)

Summary: World Cup fluff. Alessia has no idea you're on your way to Australia to surprise her before the final.

———

“Did you watch the game?” Alessia asks, calling you at the earliest opportunity after the semi final ends. You know she must still be at the stadium and you can hear the sounds of her teammates celebrating in the background.

“As if I’d miss a match as important as this one,” you reply. “Your goal, baby - that was something special.”

“Really?” Alessia asks, the giddiness apparent in her voice, even over the phone.

“Yeah, it was. It was incredible. You’re incredible.”

“I wish you could be here,” Alessia says.

You glance up at the departure board and read the words “Sydney - gate opens in 20 minutes” before you sigh and reply, “Yeah, so do I. I’m sorry.”

Because what Alessia doesn’t know is that you watched her semi final match from an airport lounge in Singapore, where you have a layover between flights on your way out to Sydney.

“Don’t apologise,” Alessia reassures you. “I know how hard it is for you to get time off work.”

It has been hard, you’ve been so busy at work recently that you were forced to stay in England while Alessia competes on the other side of the world. But after the Lionesses won their quarter final, you knew you had to fly out to Australia for Alessia’s final match, whether it was the final or the third place match, just to get the chance to see your girl play in a World Cup. And now that you know it’ll be a World Cup final that she’s playing in, you’re extremely glad that you managed to persuade your boss to let you have the time off.

“Anyway, it means a lot to know you’re supporting me, even from so far away,” Alessia continues.

It takes all the effort you can muster not to confess everything and tell her that you’re not as far away as she might think, but you’re determined to keep this a surprise.

“Always supporting you,” you promise her. “All the way to the World Cup final.”

You can practically hear her beaming down the phone, and you can picture the way her face scrunches up in delight as she replies, “It doesn’t feel real yet. I don’t think it’ll feel real until we actually step out on the pitch.”

“I’m so proud of you,” you tell Alessia.

You hear the opening bars of ABBA’s Mamma Mia followed by a shriek down the phone, then the distinctive sound of your girlfriend’s laughter.

“I’m sorry, baby,” Alessia apologises. “Ella wants me to dance. I’m gonna have to go. But I love you and miss you so much!”

“Love you too! See you soon!”

You only realise the slip of your tongue when Alessia has already hung up, by which time you can only hope that she’s too distracted by the dressing room celebrations to notice and ruin the surprise of your impending arrival in Australia.

———

For reasons you can’t explain, you’re nervous as you wait by the Sydney harbour, against the backdrop of the opera house and the famous bridge. You only landed in Australia this morning, and though it’s now early afternoon, it feels like the middle of the night to you.

You’re about to see your girlfriend for the first time in six weeks and Alessia has no idea. Maybe that’s why you’re nervous, afraid that your sudden appearance on the other side of the world to where Alessia currently thinks you are will somehow distract her from her preparations for the biggest football game of her career.

You check your phone for the millionth time in the last twenty minutes. Your most recent message is one from Luca, who is in on the surprise, telling you that Alessia insisted on stopping for coffee and that they’ll be with you in ten minutes.

That was fourteen minutes ago.

You turn around, leaning back against the harbour railing, and glance down at the bouquet of flowers in your hand. What if this was a silly idea? What if your arrival in Australia two days before such an important game is a distraction for Alessia? What if she has other plans for her last day off before the tournament ends and you’re taking that away?

But then you glance up and you see her in the distance, walking towards you with her brothers on either side of her, laughing at something that one of them has just said, and your heart stops in your chest. She’s changed out of the England tracksuits you’ve become so accustomed to seeing pictures of her wearing and into a pair of dark trousers and a white crop top, a pair of sunglasses perched on the top of her head that pushes her blonde hair out of her face. Maybe it’s the sun kissed glow from spending more than a month in Australia, maybe it’s the fact that she looks so relaxed and happy, maybe it’s the fact that you haven’t seen her in person for so long, but she looks like a goddess as she strides obliviously towards you.

You push yourself off the railing and try to straighten up your own appearance, fully aware that spending thirty hours on planes and in airports and your current state of jetlag probably means you resemble a zombie more than your normal human self, certainly not somebody worthy of Alessia, but you can only hope that doesn’t matter.

She continues to come closer, still unaware that she’s walking towards you, until she’s close enough that you can hear the familiar laughter as she jokes around with her brothers.

And then her blue eyes find yours and being the clumsy girl that she is, she actually stumbles slightly when she sees you, doing a double take as she recognises you.

“Oh my god,” Alessia says, and then she’s running towards you.

You hold your arms out wide as Alessia launches herself at you, knocking you slightly off balance as she wraps her arms tightly around you and buries her face into your neck. It feels so strange, yet so familiar to have Alessia in your arms after so long apart, and you’re never going to take spending time with her for granted again.

“But … but you’re in England?” she says, her voice muffled by your hair.

“I’m pretty sure this is Australia,” you reply lightheartedly, squeezing her tighter.

“What are you doing here?” Alessia asks, pulling back and cupping your head with a hand on each side of your jaw, staring at you in disbelief, as if she still isn’t completely sure that you’re not a figment of her own imagination.

“Sightseeing,” you tease her. “No, I’m here to see you, silly. My girl’s playing in a World Cup final on Sunday - do you really think I’d miss the chance to see that live?”

“But we talked yesterday,” Alessia says, her face scrunching up in a cute frown. “You were at home.”

“I lied, I was in an airport in Singapore,” you confess.

Alessia’s eyes widen in surprise, then she says, “You sneaky little… I can’t believe you’re actually here.”

“These are for you, by the way,” you say, untangling your arms from around Alessia so you can present her with the bouquet of flowers you bought - red and white for England, obviously - before they get too squashed.

“They’re beautiful,” Alessia says, as she accepts the gift and admires the flowers.

“Beautiful flowers for my beautiful girl,” you say cheesily. “I’ve got something else for you too.”

“Yeah?”

“Uh huh,” you nod, as you place your hands on Alessia’s hips and pull her closer, pushing yourself up on your tiptoes to close the height difference and press your lips against hers.

Alessia’s lips are exactly as soft as you remember them and she gasps at the contact, before pulling you in even closer with her free hand. You try to savour the moment, enjoying the way that Alessia’s aura surrounds every part of you, her lips pliant beneath yours as you fit together like it hasn’t been over a month since you last got to kiss her.

It’s a special kiss, one that you wish could last forever, but a kiss that is ultimately ruined by a raucous wolf whistle followed by fake retching noises from Alessia’s brothers nearby.

Alessia pulls back with a groan, then turns to her brothers to scold them.

“Okay, you two can get lost now. I want to spend my day off with my girlfriend.”

You turn to Luca and Giorgio and give them an apologetic shrug.

“Sorry guys, Lessi makes the rules.”

You endure a bit more teasing, Luca continuing to gag while Giorgio makes a comment about you being whipped, but that’s quickly forgotten as Alessia pulls you in for another kiss, and by the time you break apart again, the Russo brothers have got the message and left you alone with your girlfriend.

“This is the best day ever,” Alessia says, reaching for your hand and threading her fingers through yours as you start to walk side by side towards the Sydney Opera House.

“Are you sure about that?” you tease her. “I mean, you scored a goal that helped your team get through to their first ever World Cup final yesterday. That sounds like a pretty hard day to beat.”

“That was good but this is better,” Alessia answers without hesitating. “I might have to reconsider on Sunday though. You know, if we…”

Alessia trails off without saying the word win, and you know probably still can’t quite get her head around the fact that winning the World Cup is a possibility.

“Whatever the result, I’m so glad I can be here to support you,” you tell her, bringing your joined hands to your lips and pressing a kiss to the back of her fingers. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

You’ve travelled halfway around the world for Alessia, and you’d do the same journey a hundred times over, just to see the smile that spreads across her face at your words.

#woso x reader #woso imagine #alessia russo x reader #alessia russo imagine #established relationship #fluff

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ingravinoveritas · 5 months

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Have you seen this? I head "Michael got excited about being connected through matching bracelets" and immediately thought that you're going to have some thoughts.

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGeQE7KSk/

Oh my god. No, I hadn't seen this video until now, but thank you SO much for sending it to me! I'll post a clip of the most pertinent part about what Michael said below, but I urge folks to check out the whole thing on Tiktok, as this is the woman who made the bracelets we saw David wearing at the Proud Nerd Con last weekend:

My first immediate reaction after seeing/hearing this was utter disbelief and delight, coupled with a complete lack of surprise because...Michael. If there is anyone who could channel "15-year-old girl during the last week of summer camp" energy, it is Michael. It's also terribly bittersweet and yet somehow fitting knowing that we're nearing the end of Michael's time in London--which I think we can now refer to as Shennant Summer, at least in Australia, though the last six months were technically the winter here.

(My second thought was that I feel like we're a hell of a lot closer than ever before to my imaginings of Michael and David getting complementing tattoos somehow manifesting into reality...)

But...my god. I don't think any of us could picture Michael and David not being connected in some way, even if/when they're not in the same city, and yet the thought of Michael wanting to have some tangible reminder of David with him always is doing things to my heart that may necessitate the use of defibrillators. I feel like this is some kind of reverse Parent Trap situation where Michael is going to "accidentally" pack one of the Tennant kids in his suitcase, which will mean David will have to go to Wales to collect his wayward offspring, and then the next thing you know they're on a yacht drinking Champagne while "I Love You (For Sentimental Reasons)" plays in the background.

I think what is so incredible to me is that we know how soft (in the best way possible) Michael is, but to know that he's specifically gotten that way over David--that he holds David in that deep heart space--is achingly beautiful. I know a lot of folks will say that this is giving all of the "friendship bracelet" and "besties" vibes, but I really don't think it's much of a stretch to think that it could be something more. Everything about this just feels so romantic at this point that, in my opinion, it would seem almost ludicrous to not consider it a possibility. Because right now, neither Michael nor David appear to be holding back, and I'm so here for it.

Thank you again so much for sending this my way. I'd love to hear what everyone else thinks, so please feel free to add your thoughts in the comments. Thanks for writing in! x

#weirdandtired #reply post #michael sheen #welsh seduction machine #david tennant #soft scottish hipster gigolo #proud nerd con 2024 #Michael is about as subtle as a drunken llama on roller skates #at this point the subtext might as well be a billboard #i am hard-pressed to think of any other male 'BFFs' who have matching bracelets #i'm just saying #there is no heterosexual explanation for this #high profile friendship #low profile lovers #they are perfect together your honor #ineffable lovers #discourse

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mrchiipchrome · 1 year

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Sunscreen

W.C.- 2 k

“Have you got everything we need? Sunscreen? Towels? My sudoku’s?”

“Check. Check and check. I’ve got everything we need Lee, and even if I did the other girls are gonna pack plenty of things. You’ve seriously going to have to calm down, we’re spending the day at the beach.”

“Yeah I guess you’re right, I’m sorry”

“You’ve got nothing to apologize for, my love. Now come on, let’s go.”

You put your hands on her waist, pulling her in for a kiss full of love. The beach bag is slung haphazardly over your right shoulder after you’d checked its contents as per Leah’s request. The two of you had been invited to an Arsenal beach outing, the last meeting before everyone shipped off to Australia for the World cup.

Releasing her waist from your iron grip, you walk out the door side by side with your fiancée but not before stealing another quick kiss from her usually pouting lips. You unlock the car for Leah remotely as you lock up the house, triple checking that your house was locked up before joining Leah in the car. Settling into the driver's seat, you lean back and put the bag in the backseat before putting the key in the keyhole and starting the engine.

With one hand on the wheel and one on the back of Leah’s headrest, you look through the back window as you maneuver your way out of the driveway. Leah can’t resist pressing a soft kiss against the exposed skin of your neck, resulting in you stopping your movements entirely too distracted by the affection from your favorite person.

Waking from your slight trance, you continue your earlier actions of backing out. DJ Williamson makes her appearance as she connects her phone to the aux and starts to play the playlist she made specially for the two of you, made up of your shared favorite songs and lyrical pieces.

Jamming out, you’ve driven about half of the journey when the music gets cut off and the sound of someone calling replaces it. Seeing the face of a certain Irish captain paired with ‘Leprechaun 🇮🇪🍀’ clues you in to who’s calling you. Accepting the call you are instantly met with the screaming voice of Katie Mccabe floating around the air of the enclosed space of the car.

“Ey! Where are ya? We’ve been here for a while now”

“My dear Katie, we’re there in like 10 minutes don’t you worry. Did you manage to drag Ruesha with you?”

“I sure did” You hear the sound of the phone being passed through the speakers in the car, enforcing every little sound coming from the other end of the phone.

“You asked for me, darling?”

“Rue, my love! How you doing? Been missing you, yeah” You and Ruesha had clicked as soon as you had met and became best friends faster than the Flash could run, ever since then you’ve been calling each other pet names for fun. What made it even more fun was how your partners hated it, your favorite activity outside of football was to annoy them two.

“Been dealing with my crybaby, but otherwise I’ve been alright darling. How about you? How’s it been dealing with Grumps?” Snorting at the nickname Ruesha’s given Leah, you can feel her glare burning into the side of your face.

“Leah’s been much less grumpy since I proposed, maybe you should take a page out of my book and pop the question to Katie so she’ll stop being so feisty.” The words falling from your lips are words you know are going to come into fruition within the next couple weeks, Ruesha having told you her plans as soon as you told her yours.

A ‘hey!’ comes from the background of the call, Katie clearly having heard your comment on her feistiness.

“Right, we’re pulling in now so we’ll see you soon.” Surprisingly it’s not you who speaks this time, instead it’s Leah who ends the call when she’s done.

After you’ve put the car in a parking space and turned off the engine, you reach over and open the compartment in front of Leah’s legs, pulling out a roll of sports tape to put over her engagement ring so that she won’t lose it. Taking her left hand into yours, bringing it up to your lips to kiss the back of it before placing kisses to her fingertips with the same tenderness you always have with her. Pulling off a bit of the tape, you put the thin strip of the sticky material over the silver band sitting prettily on her slender finger.

“Like that. I did a pretty good job, right?” The kiss she presses to your lips serves as confirmation and you sigh contentedly into the passionate kiss. Leah takes the opportunity to slip her tongue into the opening between your lips, exploring your mouth like she’s done so many times before. Swiftly pulling away from her addictive lips is harder than you would think it would be, and the whine that leaves her kiss swollen lips has your knees weak.

“Lee, we’ve gotta go and join the others no matter how much I want to let this play out.”

“Let’s go then.”

Exiting the car, you pluck the bag from the back seat before locking the car and joining Leah where she’s stood near the front of it. Taking her hand in yours again, you two walk in the hot sand towards the placement of the group of footballers.

When you finally arrive at the group, you hand Leah the picnic blanket you brought to sit on. She places it over the burning hot sand before taking the bag from your practically vibrating form, knowing how excited you were to get in the water and play with the teammates who were as ‘mature’ as you. Pulling your shirt over your head, you expose the bathing suit that had been hiding under the article of clothing, and the friends surrounding you let out a few whistles.

“Bye, babe” Trying to slip away into the water before Leah makes you put on the suffocating sun lotion, you get about 1 meter before she realizes what it is you’re trying to do.

“Wait Y/n! You really didn’t think that I would forget right?” Gesturing for you to come back, you let out a low grumble before returning to her now sitting form ready to be smothered in sunscreen. You look on as she squirts the lotion into her palm before she dips her right index and middle finger into the puddle and takes your face between two of her fingers. Tapping her fingers all over your face, she leaves behind tracks of white that are going to be blended out within a short while. When she decides that the blobs are spread out evenly enough, she starts to rub it around and effectively blends it out. Moving on to your neck, she takes what’s left of the puddle in her hand and smears it all over your neck before motioning for you to turn around so that she can repeat the process on your back. Her fingers massage the sunscreen into the skin of your back and you have to bite down on your lip to prevent the groan from escaping the vicinity of your throat.

A short time later, the entirety of your body has been sun lotioned and it’s your time to return the favor of covering the difficult parts to reach. Watching carefully as Leah takes her shirt off, you swear you’re in heaven as you see her abs flex with her movements. As she lays down on her stomach, you put the cold liquid directly on her back instead of your hand before spreading it evenly over every strong and incredibly visible muscle. When you’re done, you give her a light tap on the bum to show her that you’ve completed the task before you hand her the tube of sunscreen, ready to take off towards the water. She turns around to give you a kiss before you’re allowed to run down to the waves.

Half an hour later is when you start missing your girl, walking up to her with water dripping all over the place from your body. Leah’s laying on the blanket, eyes closed as she’s obviously tanning lightly. You get the perfect idea when you notice that she doesn’t seem to acknowledge your presence coming up to her, but like always Leah knows you better than anyone meaning she knows exactly what you’re thinking.

“Don’t you dare, Y/n.”

“Do you have eyes everywhere or something?” Your voice is filled with disbelief as you question her.

“No you’re just really predictable” She tells you while throwing one of the towels at your still dripping body.

“As much as I want to contest that, I know that you’re gonna win so I won’t even try. We’re gonna go play chicken fight, you want to join?” The question is more of a formality than anything, you know Leah just as well as she knows you. When she shakes her head you lean down to kiss her and hand her back the towel she had given you. Walking down towards where you know Ruesha’s sitting, you ask her if she wants to join in on the game, the two of you against Katie and Beattie. She agrees as soon as you say Katie, always down to knock her girlfriend down a peg.

Leah watches on as Katie complains about you pairing up with her girlfriend before both you and Jen go down under the surface to let the two women sit on your shoulders. You keep a tight grip on her knees so that she won’t fall off your shoulders. A countdown is started and as it gets to 1, you start moving towards Jen and Katie, and as the women on top of your shoulders clasp hands with each other trying to push each other off Leah hears a question coming from left.

“To think that you want to spend the rest of your life with Y/n is really sweet. Your relationship is cavity provoking by how sweet it is.” Caitlin expresses her feelings with the statement, and Leah can’t help but agree.

“She’s my person, y’know. I’ve loved her since I was little, there’s no denying that I’m doing the right decision by marrying her”

When Leah turns back to where you were just a second ago, she can’t spot you anywhere. She figures that you’ve just gone underwater again, but as she feels your cold and wet body on her warm and dry one she quickly realizes how wrong she was. The sound of her shriek has the entire team looking in your direction and seeing what was happening. As Leah pushes you off her and into the sand, you let out a loud laugh at her immediate reaction.

“I regret agreeing to marry you.” Her playful tone lets you know that she isn’t serious, that and the conversation you’d overheard.

“No you don’t”

“You’re right, I don’t”

The rest of the day goes by in a flash as you finally manage to pull Leah with you to swim with the promise of a shared shower as soon as you come home. You eat, talk and joke around with the rest of your teammates and when it is time to return home, Leah has to practically drag you away from your friends before you get reminded of your deal. The entire car ride home is spent in silence, tired from the outing with your friends.

The first words are muttered when the front door is closed and locked.

“How about that shower I was promised?”

Soon the bathroom looks more like the laundry room with all the clothes strewn about haphazardly, but you don’t mind in the slightest as long as you get that long awaited shower with your fiancée who you love more than anything.

Guess who's caught the flu? 😍🤞 (spoiler alert: it’s me) (no joke my body is actually in a lot of pain lmao)

#leah williamson #leah williamson x reader #woso imagines #woso x reader #woso imagine

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anonymousicecream · 2 months

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The Queen Pt. 3 (Yeri x M Reader)

BxG

Fluff

6 years later

In the 6 years since you graduated, you explored the world. You didn't officially went to college, but you instead take courses at different colleges around the world. You went to Australia, Singapore, New Zealand, UK, US, France, Italy and Germany throughout those 6 years, sharpening your skills as well as broadening your connections for your upcoming job in the future, which is becoming the heir to the L/N enterprise.

You have been living in NYC for the past 5 months. It was a rough start at the beginning due to the culture and climate, but it didn't take long for you to feel like you're at home. While at NYC, you also met Koreans by the name of Bae Joohyun and Kang Seulgi who are also living in NYC, with Joohyun working at JPMorgan and Seulgi being an art student at NYU. The three of you manage to bond quickly due to your similar ages and your cultural backgrounds. It can be said that the three of you spend time almost everyday.

Today was supposed to be an ordinary day. You start your day by drinking coffee and going on a jog around your neighborhood in Upper East Side. You took a shower before wearing a white polo and white trousers before you go to Columbia University to meet your lecturer, who will be the last lecturer you'll meet before you return to South Korea to officially start working at L/N enterprise. The day went by quickly and it went well, and before you know it, it's already 4, which is the end of the course. You packed your bag before leaving the class. You checked your time, and seeing that it's 4:10, you decided to go to the place where you enjoy peace the most: Central Park. You took a walk from the campus to the park, which took you around 15 minutes. As you arrived at the park, you immediately walked towards a burger vendor, which has been your favorite ever since you found it with Seulgi and Joohyun. You ordered your regular of a triple beef burger with brisket and fries, before walking towards your favorite bench. You sat down and started eating, taking in the view.

You continued eating, before you finished your fries well before you finish you burger. As you reached for your burger, you heard someone say something. "Hi!" A young boy said. You turned around to the voice and saw a young boy, around 5 years old, if you can guess correctly. The boy seems sad and confused, but it all changed when he saw you. "Hello there! How may I help you?" You replied, trying to look as calm as possible. "Not much really. I just saw you eating the same burger as my mom, the very exact one actually." He said, and you're flabbergasted. "Oh! That's nice. It would be funny if I know your mom. By the way, what's your name?" You asked. "Toby! Toby Kim, or if you'd prefer my real name, Kim Taeyang." Taeyang replied. "Nice to meet you, I'm y/n l/n. Oh by the way, are you South Korean?" You asked, which was a bad attempt as you're one and he looks EXACTLY like one. "Yes I am. But I never went there though. My mom said that we'll go there soon." Taeyang replied, as he now take a seat at the empty part of the bench next to you.

"You know, Taeyang. You kept on mentioning your mom. Can I know her name?" You ask. "Of course, her name is...." Taeyang replied, but before he can say his mom's name, you heard a very familiar voice. "TAEYANG! TAEYANG!" The voice of a familiar person, searching for the boy you're talking to. "MOM!" Taeyang screamed, and ran towards her mom. She then hugged Taeyang, as you stood up and walked towards her. "Mom, I met this very cool Korean guy." Taeyang said. "Oh yeah, what's his name?" His mom asked. "His name's y/n l/n. Look, he's there!" Taeyang replied, guiding his mom towards you. As you saw her mom's face. You were shocked, horrified. It was Kim Yerim, the girl you fell in love with 6 years ago.

The look on her face was the same as yours. Shocked. Confusion. Anger? 6 years since the last time the two of you met, in Korea, the two of you are reunited again, now in New York City, halfway around the world.

"Oh, Ms Kim, nice to meet you." You said, trying to act polite, as if you didn't fuck her for months. "Nice to meet you too mr L/n." Yeri said, offering her hand, and you shook it, giving a short smile. "We're running short on schedule, so we have to go, sorry." Yeri said in an urgent matter. "But mom, can't Mr L/n come with us?" Taeyang interrupted, and Yeri looked at her son in fear.

"Do you want him to join us?" Yeri asked. "YES!" Taeyang said energetically. "Well, go on ask him then!" Yeri said as Taeyang walked up to me. "Mr L/n, my mom here is cooking dinner for me. Would you like to join?" Taeyang asked, looking at you with pleading eyes. You looked at Yeri, trying to gain her approval, which she gave. You then looked back at Taeyang before saying "of course buddy." This got him VERY excited and he jumped around for a while before Yeri had to interrupt because the sun is setting quickly.

The three of you left the park and walked towards her car, which is a black Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG. You helped Taeyang jump into the back seat before you hopped onto the passenger seat, with Yeri driving the car. It took the three of you 15 minutes to get from the park to Yeri's penthouse. During that time, you got to know more about Taeyang which includes his hobbies and interests.

Once the three of you arrived at the penthouse, you were instructed to sit down on one of the couches on the living room while Yeri went to the bedroom with Taeyang. A few minutes later, you saw Yeri come out of the room and walked towards you.

"So..." The two of you said, before saying "You go first." The two of you shared a joint chuckle before you allow Yeri to talk first. "So, Taeyang wants steak but I happen to want Spaghetti with Meatballs, so which one do you prefer?" Yeri asked you. "Well, I got used to accepting your requests, while I never really granted Taeyang's wishes, so let's cook steak instead." You replied, trying to give her a flashback of what you two were, and she chuckled, hearing what you said.

She then guided you towards the kitchen, where she gave you an apron to wear as she took out the meat, garlic, olive oil and mushroom.

"So, how's things?" Yeri asked, striking a conversation as we wait for the steak to cool down. "Great honestly. 8 countries, 15 cities in the past 6 years." You replied. "Damn, you definitely didn't turn out how you wanted to." She replied. "Yeah, figured that I need a broader perspective on the world. It's been a fun 6 years." You said. You caught up a bit with each other before starting to cook. You were in charge of grilling the steak while Yeri made the mushroom sauce. It took another 20 minutes before the food is finished, and Yeri then called Taeyang, telling him that the food is finished and inviting him to eat.

You set the table up, putting the steak, mash potato and sauce at the middle of the table. You took a small portion for yourself, Taeyang and Yeri, making sure that we all can finish the food little by little. You were about to dive in and enjoy the food, but before you were able to do that, Yeri kicked your shin. "What?" You asked. "Mommy! Mr L/n ate first! He should lead the prayers." Taeyang said. "What? And Taeyang, from now, just call me Y/n or Samchon, if you like." You replied. "Well Y/n, we have this rule in our house. Whoever reaches for food first has to lead the prayers. So, lead us, y/n." Yeri said, smiling, making me feel nervous. You grabbed onto Yeri's and Taeyang's hand, as the three of you held hands, before you start the prayer.

"Dear God, thank you for gathering here to enjoy this dinner which consists of steak, mash potato and a mushroom sauce. Thank you for allowing us to enjoy this meal I prepared, and thank you for allowing us a chance to be together. Amen." You said in your prayers, and as you ended the prayer, you noticed that some drops of tears are coming out of Yeri. At that moment, you realized that Yeri is married and Taeyang's not your son.

The three of you enjoyed the meal, and it took around an hour before the three of you finished the meal. Yeri started preparing Taeyang for bed as you sat down on the sofa, taking in the amazing view. "Samchon!" Taeyang called. You then look at him and ask him "Yes Tae?" "Can you promise to me that you'll be here when I wake up tomorrow morning?" He asked, which shocked you, and made you scared, because on one side, you want to fulfill his promise, but on the other, you know how hard it can be. "I cannot promise you, but I'll promise that I'll try to be here tomorrow morning. How does that sound?" You replied. He then nodded and smiled, giving me a high-five before walking towards his bedroom with Yeri. It took another 30 minutes before Yeri left his room and went to the kitchen, before returning to the living room with a bottle of wine and 2 wine glasses. She took a seat in front of me.

"So, how's home?" You asked, striking a conversation as she poured wine for you. "Honestly, I don't know. I haven't been there since I left." Yeri said, which made you sad and disappointed. "Why?" You asked. "It's Taeyang," Yeri said, before continuing, "His father left us very early on, even before he was born, and my parents understood that and supported me. But we don't know how the public will react if an 18-year old had a son without a father. That's why I never came back."

You listened and hummed along, understanding her situation. "How about the guy you're supposed to marry?" You ask. "It didn't work out. Their family cancelled it after they found out I was pregnant with Taeyang." Yeri replied. "Do you know who his father is?" You ask her. "Of course I do. He has been very hard to reach, until today." Yeri said, while whispering the final part, which you caught onto.

"Yerim-ah, am I the father?" You ask her, and a look of shock, concern, and confusion appears on her face. "W-Why would you think that?" Yeri countered, not knowing what to say. "You said, until today, which means that you met the father today. And I'm probably the only male you AND Taeyang met today in which you guys had an interaction." You said. She then went silent, looking around, before standing up, "follow me."

You stood up, following her into what looks like her bedroom. She ordered you to sit on her bed, which you do, as she walks to her desk, searching her drawers for something. Once she found it, she walked to you and gave you a book. "It's the DNA test. If you're wondering how I got it, I asked your parents for help." Yeri said to you. You read the tests, before realizing and acknowledging the truth. "Why didn't you tell me?" You asked her. "I couldn't. Our agreement was based on lust and our raging hormones. I couldn't bring myself to ask you for support, knowing full well that I gave you consent to do what you did, and I couldn't hold up my end of the bargain to take contraceptives." She said, while breaking down, crying. You immediately got to her, hugging her and caressing her scalp, calming her down. "It's okay, I should've known better and contacted you." You said. "NO! It was mine. I should've been honest with you. I never took the pill. I was crazily in love with you back then. I just couldn't bring myself to the fact that you will reject me because our agreement is based on our hormones. I'm sorry." Yeri said.

"I love you."

"What?"

"Kim Yerim. I love you."

Yeri stopped crying and looked at you, before tears of joy got out of her eyes. You wiped them, before you leaned into her, kissing her as the two of you make out for the rest of the night.

(The Next Morning)

You were awaken by touches from an angel. "Morning there." Yeri said "Morning princess." You replied, kissing her and smiling, admiring her face. "So, where does this leave us?" Yeri asked. "I mean, we both love each other, so, marriage or take it slow?" You offered. "Let's take it slow. We gotta tell Taeyang the truth first though." Yeri reminded. "Ah yes, good point."

The two of you then walked out of her room and saw Taeyang already on the kitchen, eating his breakfast cereal. "SAMCHON!" Taeyang shouted excitedly, rushing towards you. You lift him up, hugging him, before setting him down on the chair. "So Taeyang, do you remember how I told you that your dad is on a worldwide exploration?" Yeri asked him. "Yeah." "Well, he's here, and he's in front of you." Yeri said, which shocked him, to say the least. "Wait, so, you're my dad?" Taeyang asked. "Yes, I am." You said. "Hi appa!" He said, making you smile. You then kissed his forehead, before doing the same to Yeri and hugging her, now that the three of you are a one big family

#kpop #kpop gg #kpop fanfic #kpop imagines #red velvet #male reader #kim yerim #yeri

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privateinvestigatorsuniverse · 4 months

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How Do Background Check Australia Experts Help Employers

In today’s world, the job market is highly competitive. Too many candidates with spectacular achievements and qualifications are trying to secure positions in top-rated companies. But do you think it is that easy to be a part of the company? Well that is why the companies do hire background screening experts. Even with top-notch background checks, Australia professionals put their best endeavour into assisting companies in building a trustworthy and robust team.

Unmasking The Truth And Reality Into A Bigger Canvas

The background check Australia helps companies to get all the details beyond the normal qualification of the candidate. They do verify the past of the individual, their educational History, and if there is any criminal record. Thus, they validate on

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They confirm whether the document holds the authentic degree certificate or not. Also, learn about their previous roles in different companies. They cross-check if the resume reflects the exact information provided in the degree certificate.

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A type of criminal record might seem alarming when hiring for a certain kind of position. So, background check Australian experts try to reduce the risk by pointing to red flag areas. Thus ensure private investigator workplace security and safety.

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The background check experts demonstrate the organisation's commitment to ensuring a reliable and safe work environment. Thus, it builds trust between the employee and the employer.

Background Check Carrying Out Different Investigation

Verifying The Employment

The background experts date back to the past to confirm the employee's employment date, job role and the reason for quitting.

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They conduct deep educational verifications to conform to the diplomas and degrees.

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The background check experts try to go through the public records to understand if the concerned employee is free of legal obligations or criminal charges.

Final Say

Thus, the above are some ways criminal background check experts validate a person's reliability.

#Background Check #Background Check services #Background Check Australia #Background Check for Employment #educational verifications #criminal charges

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oconist · 4 months

Note

I posted a note saying how bad I feel for Esteban but how glad I am he's leaving Alpine (meaning to say that I hope he goes to a good team) and a good friend of mine replied with "yeah I don't like him, bad driver, agreed" and I have no idea how to respond to that... I'm a new F1 fan so no stats ready but I DO know he's not a bad driver but all I can talk about is his background growing up but IDK I need help responding pls?

hi!! same sentiment here, hope he has a contract but glad he left that toxic team.

he's not a bad driver, despite what people say. if u check his stats in feeder series like f3 n gp3 he was a consistent driver that was usually in the podium. if you check his early f1 stats, he had good first full year in force india (points in every race except a retirement and a p12) and was usually close to checo in the standings (if he wasn't being disqualified or had retirements) or his other teammates (last year with 6 retirements vs gasly's 2 and like a 4? 6? point difference)

the year with the biggest position difference is 2020, covid year, in which esteban had not raced in an f1 car for a year against dric who had already a year on the team.

most people think he's a bad driver because of the collisions he has been in, specially with his teammates, but only two of them have been fully his fault (a collision with perez and now in monaco with gasly). the problem is the people he gets in collisions with, and the reason why most people are quick to blame him. drivers that, as usual, blame the other before checking the on-board after the race (which is normal behaviour btw and totally expected, it's weirder if a driver doesn't defend themselves) but ocon never really defends himself, and his biggest/most memorable crashes are with drivers like checo, alonso and verstappen that have big diehard fanbases.

it's true that his style is agressive, but he has also proven he is a team player when needed (defended gasly in australia 2023 after the crash, does follow team orders on the radio, not to mention that he has never talked badly about any team nor teammate he has had and is always cheering the team up on the radio [radio this year after alpine sucked, he was the first to open the radio and cheer the team up, while gasly said the car sucked (true)]). people forget that your teammate is your first rival, but ocon doesn't and unless he is told otherwise, he races them as if they were any other driver. and he normally is on par with his teammate, so of course there are going to be fights between them.

most of the time he does deliver with his overtakes and defense. he is good at managing tyres (record for longest stint in c3 tyres in baku, turkey 2021 where he didn't change tyres, alpine relying on him to manage tyres for all their one pit stop strategies all these years) and good at qualifying.

also, he has never been in a good car, either backmarkers (now and his first half year in f1) or midfield cars and yet he has a win, a 2nd place and a 3rd place. he is consistently in the points if the car allows it, has been praised by prost and is a good test driver and at giving feedback.

i hope the reason why he left alpine is because of the disrespect he has been put through and i really hope that he has a contract for next year. i have never seen a driver been more attacked by his own team (rossi, bruno, otmar) than ocon in the recent years.

#azda.asks #in between tests so its not researched extensively sadly #but yeah most of his crashes are either not his fault or not fully his fault like most people assume #f1 #esteban ocon

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reysdriver · 2 years

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Rockstar!James

headcanons of James as a rockstar — rockstar!james x gn!reader

warnings: sexual headcanons (there is a warning before them) so minors dni, 18+, mentions of sex

words: 0.5k

a/n: marauders aus take up sm space in my brain so im making this, and i may make rockstar stuff for all the boys

- In a band called The Marauders of course

- Reminiscent of like rock bands from the 70s and 80s

- James plays the bass, maybe drums, but I mostly see him playing bass or guitar

- Talks about you in concerts and interviews

- But you also have a secret signal or code word that he uses that only you two (and maybe the other members) know about so he can show he's thinking about you privately

- If it's a modern AU, he'll post you on his social media all the time, and a lot of his fans are in admiration of your relationship

- Writes songs about you/dedicates songs to you all the time

- Spoils you with gifts and souvenirs from every stop of their tours

- Has it in his contract that the dressing room needs to have your favourite snacks and drinks so you can be comfortable backstage with him

- Has personal touches of yours on his instrument like your name and a heart stitched on his guitar strap, stickers of yours on his case, etc

- Asks for good luck kisses before every performance

- You're always the first to hear the band's new songs

- Has a scrapbook or memory box full of polaroids of the two of you in every foreign city you visit

- Only buys guitar picks (or drumsticks) in your favourite colour because duh

- If this is an AU with Harry, you stay home or in a hotel room with Harry when he's young and you two watch all of James' performances live

- Then he'll write songs about Harry too ofc

- The band lets you pick setlists and track orders

- James insists it's because you have the best taste, but the other guys don't mind since they often can't agree anyways

(nsfw headcanons below)

- He has a bucket list of cities where he wants to fuck you, and he makes a big deal of checking off places every time they go on tour

- Like imagine him "Babe, this'll be our first time in Australia, that means we'll have to cross Sydney and Perth off the list"

- He has recorded your moans and used them in the background of a song, but it's quite blended in so nobody notices and it's like your little secret

- He once told you to sit on the amp while he plays iykyk

- A lot of quickies backstage where it ends just in time for him to perform

- Him kicking the other boys off the tour bus so you two can have some privacy

- If he's a guitarist/bassist, you know he's good with his hands

- If he's a drummer, you know he has the best damn rhythm

- Take those both however you will

- If he goes on tour without you, the day he returns will be nothing but sex to make up for all that lost time

#james potter #james potter x reader #james potter x you #james potter x y/n #james potter headcanon #james potter hc #rockstar au #rockstar!james #rockstar!marauders #james potter fluff #james potter smut #marauders era #marauders headcanon #marauders hc #marauders fluff #marauders smut

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spadesolace · 2 years

Text

solace

pairings: idol! haerin x model! reader

warning/s: a few hints of hate comments, overworking, you might feel single bc i did while writing it, and just fluff... plus reader secretly watching haerin's fancams.

requested: yes, and i was planning on writing a haerin fic the other day, this anon knows my brain and idk how.

Haerin was tired.

Everything would have been fine if they were given a break but the amount of performances they had to do was too much for her. She loved performing, it was her passion. She knew the consequences of being an idol, the amount of cameras on her, the prying eyes, little to no personal space (sometimes), and the negative comments. she couldn’t wait for promotions to end and get her well deserved rest. During one of their lives, it was part of promotions to be active online and connect with fans, she knew that trolls would come once in a while and she didn’t mind it until it was hitting her insecurities. Haerin was tired and being attacked online, the girls took notice and wanted to help but she brushed it off. she needed you.

Haerin hasn’t seen you for a while, could she blame you? You had quite the schedule as a model, sometimes flying around the country and you were finishing your classes online. Luckily, she had a copy of your schedule, she knew you had the entire month to finish your classes as exams were coming. You were home and Haerin can’t wait to see you, hold you, and stay by your side. She wanted to be alone with you.

Once promotions for omg ended, Haerin could already feel her energy draining faster. She was expected to be at the dorms but she needed you, she wanted the comfort you brought. What did she do? She talked to her managers, asking to be dropped off at your place instead, they were open with your relationship. You were a good influence to Haerin and the girls, and they could see it whenever you would visit the dorms. Whenever the girls were tired and you were in town, only one call from you without any hesitation you’d take care of them. Haerin wanted to be selfish this time, just the two of you alone, no distractions, no Minji asking Haerin to leave the door open, no Hanni and Danielle asking you about your trip to Australia, and no Hyein asking for your hugs.

It was an easy yes from the managers, if anyone deserved a break it was all of the girls and they had a month. While everyone piled into the van, tired but happy, Haerin was tired and excited to see you. You were her home, and as sappy as it is, it was the truth. A simple gesture from you could make haerin happy, from holding her hand under the blanket as you watched movies at her dorm, cooking her favorite meals because you hate seeing her hungry and skipping meals, running to the dorms if her period came and she needed a pick me up, to always checking up on her everyday.

When the van had parked inside your apartment, the girls waved her goodbye as Haerin went down getting ready to see you.

“Tell y/n we said hi and make sure to bring her tomorrow in the dorms.” Haerin nodded at Hanni before closing the door only for Hyein to complain why they couldn’t stay at your place for the night.

Haerin ran to your place, luckily there weren’t many people using the elevator when she got in. punching your apartment’s door lock, which was your anniversary. She could faintly hear the music coming from the living room. You were letting the show play as your background, but Haerin took notice that you were now watching once the familiar tune of their new song played. As soon as Haerin could perfectly see you, smiling as you watched the recording of her dancing, she could feel her heart swell. It was her first time seeing you watch her perform and she never knew how much you enjoyed it.

To you, Haerin was your comfort. You may not see her on a daily basis physically, but you’ll take any chance you could get to call her or see a video of her. She was the medicine to keep you sane throughout the day; a fancam of hers? You'll watch it and notice the littlest of things she’d do. Would you admit that you watch her videos whenever you miss her and she can’t answer the phone? No, but there was no point hiding it now that Haerin was literally behind you as you cheered her on.

You feel a soft pair of arms around your neck, the familiar scent of grapefruit finally hits you. Haerin.

“Hello, sweetie.” Haerin only hummed as she finally rested on your back, her fatigue was nowhere to be found but her mind wasn't quiet. Her entire body might show her relaxing but her thoughts were buzzing.

“Tired?” She nodded, you held her hands in place, giving it a small peck when she wasn’t moving from her spot.

“Sit down, I'll prepare you a bath and we can order whatever you want for dinner.”

“No.”

“No?”

“Cuddles.”

You could only smile as you let go of Haerin so she could walk around the couch to sit next to you getting her well deserved cuddles. In your embrace, where Haerin could let everything go, she finally let her thoughts out, from how tired she was from practice to promoting for three weeks, getting hate online, and not seeing you. Pulling her closer to you, slowly laying down on the couch so you wouldn’t disturb her cuddle time, sometimes you think she’s more of a koala rather than a cat.

“Haerin-ah, don’t forget to rest even if schedules get hectic and those trolls better be ready when I find out who they are.” Haerin laughed at your joke, a sign that she isn’t that much bothered by it anymore.

“I know the advice ‘don’t listen to them’ is easy to hear but a bit hard to do… You’re perfect and the fans know it, I know it, heck how did I even get such a perfect girlfriend?”

“Shut up… and thank you.”

You kissed her forehead, letting her rest on top of you. A few minutes later, you heard light snores coming from Haerin, she was indeed tired and holding you helped her calm down from the hectic schedules she had.

You were home for Haerin, and she was yours.

#haerin imagines #kang haerin x reader #haerin newjeans #newjeans #kang haerin newjeans #newjeans imagines #newjeans x reader #kpop x reader #kpop gg #wlw

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stars-n-spice · 4 months

Text

TechPhee Mermaids!

It's mer-may ya'll! Not doing prompts or anything, lol, just wanted to draw some sillies as mermaids :)

Background is something I put together on Canva <3

Check out the others! (soon to be finished-)

Wrecker & Khea // Echo & Viram // Crosshair & Tay // Hunter & Jung // Omega & Batcher

Individual shots and information about the fish they are and why under the cut!

Tech as a Mototi Octopus (or the Poison Ocellate Octopus)!

Originally I thought to make him a dolphin because they're also smart but then I realized that I already made Echo a Beluga and Hunter a Seal so I was like, "Ok, no more mammals" and made him an Octopus

There IS such a thing as a Maori octopus but apparently they're really aggressive so I went with this one instead (also it was more colorful than the Maori one)

They're also found in Australia/the South Pacific

And they're smart, so that's why Tech's one (obviously)

Also the blue ring reminded me of the little blue circles Tech has on his back of the hand armor plates.

Phee as a Sailfish!

For Phee I was trying to find a fish that was either associated with pirates or hung around shipwrecks (which is how I found the wreckfish, which I used for Wrecker)

I initially didn't find anything but then I remembered that SWORDfish were a thing

Then that led me to finding out about the SAILfish, which I thought was PERFECT because it has a sword AND a sail - perfect for a pirate - I mean, a liberator of ancient wonders like Phee!

Also the colors were really pretty :)

#mermay #tbb #the bad batch #tbb tech #tech bad batch #phee genoa #tech x phee #techphee #silly squad #my art #max's masterpieces

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crinkled-emotions · 6 months

Note

If you are taking prompts for buddie. Could you do one where Buck is sick maybe with food poisoning from the whumperil lists and Eddie ties care of him. If you don't like that prompt maye use the one "I think I need to sit down" for buck. Have eddie catch him and slowly lower him down.

If you arnet taking prompts that's ok! Thank.

Hehehehe anon I hope you're still here bc I'm BACK to be a menace to the 9-1-1 fandom (be completely ignored) and yet they can't get rid of me!)

I started a rewatch so I'd be ready for season 7 then I remembered it won't be (legally) available in Australia for ages... and kept watching anyway bc it's been so long since I did a complete rewatch from s1 e1. It's been SUCH a treat.

I've also got a friend watching for the first time and their excitement is reminding me so much of the first time I saw this bunch of adults in firefighter uniforms and went oh.

Anywho- on to the fic!

"Eddie, hold up!"

Eddie glanced over his shoulder, frowning when he spotted Bobby jogging down the stairs.

"What's up, Cap?"

"I know you're going home but I was hoping you could check on Buck. He just called out and I need to organise someone to cover him."

Eddie paused, brows furrowed.

"Did he say why?"

"I was hoping he'd told you."

That reminded Eddie- he hadn't heard from Buck all shift which was very unusual. He shifted his bag to his other shoulder and reached into his back pocket for his phone, checking his messages.

"I've got nothing, but I'll let you know what I find."

"Thanks Eddie."

Bobby squeezed his arm then headed back upstairs, calling out goodbye to Hen, Chim and Ravi who were also going home after a long 24 hours. Eddie also waved at them, sending a quick text to Buck to warn him he was stopping by. He was hoping Buck had a minor cold but something told him to stop by a pharmacy on his way over just in case.

One visit to CVS later and Eddie was letting himself into Buck's apartment, plastic bag in hand. The apartment was eerily quiet as he stepped inside, unusual because even if he was upstairs for a moment Buck usually had the TV in the living room playing for background noise. Eddie dumped the plastic bag and double checked the living area for signs of life, poked his head into the downstairs bathroom, and then took the steps to the mezzanine level. His eyebrows knit together in confusion as he took in the rumpled blankets, the empty water bottles strewn throughout the room, and Buck-

Buck.

"What happened to you?"

Eddie knelt by the Buck-shaped figure in bed, finding his shoulder and giving it a gentle shake.

"Ugh, Eddie no, don't. I'll puke again."

"Again?"

Buck groaned, turning his head. Blue eyes met brown and Eddie put the back of his hand to Buck's forehead.

"You're a little warm. How long have you been puking?"

"What time is it?"

"Nearly 1pm."

"Almost twelve hours."

Buck leaned into Eddie's touch, eyes fluttering shut into a grimace when Eddie pulled the blankets off.

"C'mon, sit up. Let me get a better look."

Unwillingly Buck did as asked, leaning against the headboard.

"Does anything else hurt?"

"My head and my stomach; I think I ate something bad."

"Wait here."

Eddie hefted himself back up, rounding the bed to go back downstairs. Buck huffed, swiping at his eyes.

"Not like I can go anywhere!"

He grumbled, playing with a loose thread on his boxers.

"Not without puking at least."

He glanced up when he heard footsteps on the stairs and Eddie reappeared, plastic CVS bag in hand.

"What are you doing?" Buck asked, watching Eddie dump it on the end of the bed and rifle through it for a moment.

"I got you something... aha!"

He produced a bottle of Pedialyte and a plastic cup he must have grabbed from downstairs, pouring a serving of the liquid and then handing it to Buck.

"Bottoms up."

"Eddie," Buck groaned, "I-"

"-I know, you're really nauseous. Just trust me."

Eddie's never led him astray before and he's not likely to start now. Not after everything. Not after last summer.

Eddie still gets a funny look on his face when Buck brings up that random Friday morning kiss. It's not regret, it's never regret, just... well. Buck's not really sure. He's never seen Eddie like that.

He downed the Pedialyte.

The nausea reached its peak a few minutes later and it was only Eddie's quick dad/medic responses that got the trash can under Buck's chin in time. He'd been sitting on the other side of the bed, flicking through the channels to find something to watch considering it was almost 2pm. The minute Buck scrambled to sit up again after being asleep for almost an hour Eddie had grabbed the trash can and handed it to him with lightning fast reflexes, instinctively rubbing Buck's back. When Buck resurfaced Eddie handed him a tissue, switching that for the soiled bin liner.

"Here. You- uh."

"Thanks."

Buck's voice was hoarse as he wiped himself off, cheeks flushed a gentle pink. Whether that was from the fever, the humiliation of throwing up in front of his crush or a combination of both he wasn't willing to think too hard about. Eddie hefted himself off the bed, taking the trash can from his hands.

"Back in a sec."

He headed for the ensuite and Buck listened to the toilet flush then the sink run, hand slapping out to reach for his water bottle Eddie had kindly refilled earlier. A couple sips settled without issue in his stomach and he adjusted when Eddie reappeared, placing the bin back down beside Buck before flopping on to the bed with him and reaching into his back pocket for his phone.

"Chris said they're starting Earth Sciences this week," he said absentmindedly as he replied to whatever was going on then tossed his phone on to the bedside table and glanced over at Buck.

"How are you doing?"

"I'm gonna sue them," Buck complained pitfully as he lay back down, burying his head into his pillow. Eddie snorted.

"Careful Buck, remember last time you did that?"

An eye opened, the blue a stark contrast against the dark sheets, but then Buck smiled.

"I'll sue you too Eddie Diaz."

Eddie rolled his eyes as he swatted at Buck's shoulder, grabbing the remote again.

"Sure you will, man. Now what do you want to watch?"

Buck hummed, scrubbing at his eyes.

"Mmmmm... nothing food related."

Eddie flicked past an old rerun of Martha Stewart, nodding.

"Of course."

The clock struck five and Eddie carefully extracted himself from where Buck had somehow managed to curl up with his head on Eddie's thigh and was having another sick nap. He checked his phone and saw the notification that the food was almost there so he went into the kitchen and grabbed bowls. He heard someone knock on the door and went over to take the food from the delivery guy, thanking him as he carried it back to the kitchen island. In a couple minutes he had Buck's broth in a bowl and warm, his own stir fry hot and begging to be eaten. Considering Eddie had just come off a 24 hour shift when he headed to "check" on Buck, the food was very welcome and he took a couple bites for himself before sneaking upstairs to check on Buck. He was still asleep and for the first time since Eddie had barged into his apartment, he didn't look like he was uncomfortable. A part of Eddie felt cruel for waking him but the other part of him, the medic part, knew Buck needed something in his stomach that wasn't Pedialyte or water.

"Hey, Buck, come eat something," he called up the stairs. Eddie heard Buck groan followed by the sound of him trying to get out of bed.

"Eddie I'm dying," he groaned. Eddie rolled his eyes.

"You're clearly feeling better if you're complaining about dying. C'mon, come down here."

Sure enough, Buck made his way downstairs in a pair of athletic shorts and a shirt just as Eddie tossed a spoon down on the table beside the bowl. He collapsed into the seat in front of the soup, one eye on the downstairs bathroom door.

"Try and keep that down then we can talk about something solid."

"Thanks, Eds."

Buck picked up the spoon and tentatively worked on getting the soup down; Eddie joined him after a minute and practically chewed through his stir fry without even thinking about it. Nothing could ever be as good as Bobby's-

Oh, that's what he forgot.

Bobby: is everything okay?

Bobby: Eddie?

Eddie: sorry Bobby I completely forgot

Eddie: he's got food poisoning but he's already coming out the other side

Bobby: I figured you'd call if there were issues. Thanks Eddie

Buck, sitting beside Eddie working on his soup, raised an eyebrow as Eddie put his phone down.

"What's Chris up to?"

"Hopefully not begging Carla for a second serving of ice cream. No; that was Bobby. He was worried when you called in."

Buck frowned; Eddie could see where his mind was going and touched his shoulder.

"I would have come to check on you if I'd known even if he didn't ask. You don't call out of work unless you're contagious or it's serious."

Buck pushed away the soup, elbow on the table so he could rest his head on his hand. Eddie reached over to check him for a fever again.

"How do you feel?" He asked. Buck made the so-so motion.

"My head hurts."

"Go lie on the couch; I'll change your sheets so you can go to bed."

"Eddie no, you don't have to-"

"-Buck, it's clean sheets; not a marriage proposal."

Buck's mouth twitched upward into a smile; Eddie squeezed his shoulder and left the table to go upstairs. Buck watched after him with a warm feeling in his stomach.

It wasn't nausea.

When Buck stirred the next morning he paused, grimacing to take stock of the situation. His head was down to a gentle (irritating) throb against his temples but his stomach was staying put for the time being. The sheets were still tucked over him and he yawned into his hand, rolling over and tossing an arm over his bed mate-

Wait.

Cracking his eyes open Buck took stock of the situation. He knew he'd been sick again sometime overnight, barely able to remember tossing cookies (soup) because it had come out of nowhere in his doze. Part of him remembered Eddie being there, a figure in the darkness and he'd-

He'd stayed.

"Eddie," Buck whispered. Eddie cracked an eye open and reached his arm out, brushing a thumb over Buck's cheek.

"You look better," he rasped. Buck hummed.

"You didn't have to stay."

"Hm, well, maybe I wanted to."

Buck's eyes fluttered shut as he revelled in the feeling of Eddie's thumb on his cheek. When Eddie was half asleep he could be incredibly tactile and Buck lived for when he got to see Eddie like that.

"No one needs to see-"

"-Buck. I want to know when you're sick, or you're hurting. Whatever it is."

Buck's cheeks flushed and he buried his face back against his pillow. Eddie's hand moved to the back of his neck, brushing through the ends of his hair like it was something he did all the time.

"Thanks for coming, Eddie."

"Sure."

Eddie gently squeezed Buck's shoulder.

It felt like coming home.

#9-1-1 #911 #911 on ABC #911onabc #Evan Buckley #Buck #Eddie Diaz #Buddie #Sickfic #Hurt/comfort #Fluff

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