#but the reward for all 200 is trash so i'm not really in a rush

[adhdvane]

very happy about the dlc i'm glad i had the forethought to take this pic for my trainer id while i could

[strawberrylapin]

How do you feel abt Lightning x Storm?

I enjoy a bit of rivals to lovers (BernoullixMcQueen hehe) so LightningStorm wouldn't really be any different to me! It could be sweet depending how a writer interprets them. That was the TL;DR. Now here's a long-winded answer that definitely wasn't just an excuse to write a pseudo-fanfic.

We got an older racer that used to be a cocky little shit (but still respected the greats) who wised up and found good friends to be around and help him mature and grow. Then we got a (not that much) younger racer who's a cocky little shit who pushes any genuine relationships away with his arrogance since most of his life was centred around competition. So of course he puts that above everything else, and never really bothered to get close to anyone; it's all about winning for this man.

I'd say Storm actually did look up to McQueen (watching him win seven Piston Cups must be inspiring, c'mon now), then when he really got into training he saw his potential as a racecar and it just blew up his competitive spirit--and ego. Thus when Storm's put on the track he realises that he easily beats out McQueen, and subsequently loses any admiration for the man. I'm better than him, why would I look up to someone slower than me?

Meanwhile McQueen fully sees Storm as an equal racer and pulls out all the stops to train for the race in Cars 3, even if it might be his last one. He just wants a good race (see: "The racing is the reward...I want to feel the rush of moving 200 miles an hour, inches from the other guys..."). He also doesn't want to just give this guy an easy win, which would only boost Storm's ego much, much more than if it were a close race. So he trains to be faster.

So LightningStorm would be kinda like...starting out as McQueen having to try to expand Storm's worldview, that it's beyond just competitions and having to beat others (like McQueen learns in Cars/Cars 2); there's things to love, people all around you to connect with, slow down bro. Basically Cars, but with a much more stubbornly arrogant prick in place of McQueen.

Perhaps McQueen pulls a Sally Carrera moment and drives Storm through someplace to slow down, and leads it into a talk. A talk about his experiences in the last few years? Something about how he related to Storm's 'young arrogant racer' energy but eventually matured? Explaining all the things that made him realise the downsides of his overly-competitive mindset?

And somewhere down the line Storm realises how much he appreciates the guy? And realising how terrible his attitude was with throwing someone he used to be inspired by in the garbage? Maybe Storm goes off alone for his own journey to mature, but keeping in mind what he's learnt about McQueen's own journey?

Then Storm suddenly comes back. McQueen sees this guy roll up to him. He senses vastly different vibes than the racer he saw years ago. They spend a lot of time just catching up, reconnecting. McQueen's impressed with the change. And Storm's finally found something to love. The man in front of him that, years ago, put so much trust and compassion and effort into the egotistical trash-talker he once was.

I dunno about you, but a neat little fic where Storm slowly learns to connect with others with McQueen helping his journey, as Mater did in Cars, would be really sweet as a platonic thing too. Damn.