#sector 6 run

[ff7-has-taken-me-over]

This self indulgent af because Corneo was a nasty ass bastard and I wish I could have castrated him the moment I met him. (It’s also nice and fluffy and a little hurt and comfort for cloud because that shit was nasty af)

Zack losing his absolute shit when he finds out about the sector 6 run. Over the dress, the dance, the arena battles, the people that hit on Cloud, the gassing on Cloud (and Tifa and Aerith but mostly Cloud)

Like I can imagine him desperately wanting to go to Sector 6 just to teach Corneo a lesson but Cloud being his usual exasperated self and just dragging the man away from that situation like, “I love you but you’re an idiot. If you really wanna go or see it I’ll take you but leave Corneo out of it.”

[usagimen]

Since Rebirth is soon, here is Sayuri’s old FF7 information.

Wutai, she’s the youngest twin who once lived in Wall Market. At a young age, she used her small stature to escape danger && collect information by hiding. By her teens she was working at her father’s materia shop while desperately trying to find a way to give her family a proper station. In hear early 20’s, she became a dancer at the Honey Bee Inn, using her enigmatic charm, she was able to steal important information from liquored Shinra employees.

Due to this particular endeavor, she was a target for sometime, though many within the community know her as someone who has good intentions yet puts on an impersonal front to protect herself. If one needs medicine, assistance in any way, or someone to just have tea with && assure you’re still breathing in the slums, she is the person. There are rumors for sometime that she taught the children at the Leaf House mathematics && songs, she’s known as their once big sister. 

Her recruitment was not easy as it came with Sayuri understanding she either accept the offer presented in front of her or that was the end. The essential knowledge of being a Turk is realizing one is essentially dead, hence, many speculate she went on to become a professional dancer && live a better life on top. Some believe she’s another ghost while her twin often speculates what happened considering their family was then swiftly moved to better conditions leaving him confused && speculating Sayuri isn’t dead, she’s hiding.

Lethal tongue, she doesn’t necessarily need weaponry to gain a victory. Her recruitment is solely on her charm, charisma, along with ability to be shrewd in political bargains. Essentially, she is a mouth piece of Shinra that extorts their power but the usage of blackmail && espionage. If Sayuri is on the field, it’s an emergency. Although, during Aerith’s escape, she mostly would check in to see if she was fine && offer her sweets or bottled tea, always smiling while refusing to bring her back.

Expert with firearms && knives, thigh holster that secures both, but she also slips a blade in her heels just for aesthetic reasons. Not the friendlier one of the Turks if there is such a thing, though she has hesitated twice, while showing utmost contempt after the plate drop. Sayuri is a conflicted woman, she views herself as a once foolish girl that wished to grasp the stars but when she did, like many, she just learned they were the artificial lights.

[hope-for-the-planet]

From the article:

Uruguay used to rely heavily on oil & gas-based power. But as the economy grew and electricity demand threatened to overtake supply from the early 2010s, it needed to add additional generating capacity, and fast. New hydro wasn’t an option as it had already made the most of that resource. To chart the way forward, the president appointed Ramón Méndez Galain, a particle physicist from the private sector, as the country’s director of energy — a position he held until 2015. In a podcast discussion with the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy, Méndez Galain said one of his primary goals was to make Uruguay less reliant on volatile imported oil & gas. The quest for energy independence made him rule out nuclear power, which would’ve require uranium imports. A decision was ultimately made to better exploit the country’s ample solar, wind, water and biomass waste resources. Because the state couldn’t fund a massive energy programme alone, it ran a series of clean power auctions, where it offered project developers 20-year contracts to sell electricity into the national grid at guaranteed rates. In just five years, $6 billion was invested in renewable energy — the equivalent of 12% of Uruguay’s GDP.

[reasonsforhope]

"High along the peaks and ridges of the mountains in Ecuador, a 25-year-long conservation program is bearing succulent fruit in the form of cleaner water and abundant wildlife.

Established in the year 2000, Quito’s fund for the protection of water has allowed a critical South American ecosystem unique to the world and vital to both plants and animals to reclaim vast tracts of its former landscape, and people are noticing the difference.

“Before the water fund, the páramo in Antisana was very degraded. The only thing you would see was sheep.” Silvia Benitez, the Nature Conservancy’s Director of Freshwater for Latin America, said in a statement. “The change has been amazing. Vegetation is back. The wetlands are restored.”

“Now people see groups of deer. They see puma. I saw a fox. I had never before seen a fox in this area.”

The story of this quarter-century success began when the United States nonprofit the Nature Conservancy partnered with Quito’s water utility company, known as EPMAPS. The second-highest capital city on Earth by altitude, Quito is surrounded by a famous ecosystem called the páramo, a biodiversity hotspot where masses of mosses, lichen, high-altitude palms, and endemic grasses create a mountain environment unlike any other.

The páramo covers slopes above 10,000 feet in elevation all over the Andes Mountains, and acts like a giant sponge absorbing and condensing moisture from the lower ground before releasing it in streams and rivers further down. The Nature Conservancy estimates that in Colombia, where páramos cover just 2% of land area, this hydrological service provides 70% of all municipal water. It’s estimated that páramo sequesters 6 times more carbon than tropical rainforest.

EPMAPS and the Nature Conservancy organized $21,000 in seed money to kick-start a trust fund that would charge downstream users of water from the páramos around Quito for the conservation measures needed to protect them.

Called the Fund for the Protection of Water, or FONAG, it’s accumulated $2.5 million in annual contributions over the last 25 years, and as a result, páramos are retaking ranchland that once displaced them, and the wildlife like whitetail deer, Andean bears, Mountain tapirs, and condors are returning as well.

“Since FONAG’s beginning, its priority has always been the protection of the water sources. But when you conserve water sources, it’s almost automatic that you have other co-benefits—biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and social benefits,” said Bert de Bievre, Technical Secretary of FONAG.

Local communities have become very involved in FONAG’s work. Two dozen have become páramo rangers, local ranchers have moved their animals to lower elevations, agriculturalists have worked with EPMAPS to switch to low-impact methods of cultivation away from watersheds, and the Nature Conservancy runs a nursery that grows many of the endemic páramo plants for use in reforestation.

The Quito-FONAG model is now being implemented across the northwestern areas of South America, and it shows how much can be achieved by simply letting rivers run free.

“Each year, the global water sector spends $700 billion on building and repairing pipes and reservoirs, using grey solutions to engineer themselves out of a problem created by deforestation, agriculture or other threats upstream,” said Brooke Atwell, Associate Director of the Nature Conservancy’s Resilient Watersheds strategy.

“If we were able to reallocate just 1% of that spending ($7 billion) toward protecting nature, it would eclipse all global philanthropic spending on conservation today.”"

-via Good News Network, April 1, 2025

[grimdarling69]

Another deaged Dan and Ellie or otherwise known as Crack pt 6

Pt1. Pt2. Pt3. Pt4. Pt5.

Kon could immediately tell something was wrong with the kryptonite weapons firing at them. Another green blur shot at himnand he spun in the air over it. A move to evade the blast and check on his family.

The kryptonite guns had just enough kryptonite for it to be dangerous only if the blast hit them. They'd immediately go down. Another blast entered his field of vision, and he swerved to the side. He tried to use his supervision but was only met with lead. They couldn't get closer because of the guns, and he could see Jon get angrier his eyes glowed red in warning of his laser, and Kon flew up to evade him.

"Superboy! Don't use them it could deflect -" his father spoke from his higher position quite a few paces away from them, but Jon ignored him.

The vision hit the gun, and the metal melted into orange, red, and green mess. Like an ugly Christmas tree. Weird. Usually, Luthor would have more security than this. Something is officially wrong.

The batjet he'd been keeping an ear out for since he left finally arrived just as Jon melted another one. The jet swerved the blasts even though he doubted it could even hurt them at this point. The jet shot st a few of the blaster and destroyed them an even more explosive mess. Kon used his own vision, his glasses held in place below the lasers on his face with his hand. Another gun exploded, and his father finally got the hint and exploded several of his own.

The jet careened around them and expertly angled between the already destroyed guns and landed onto the beach. He continued exploding the guns but kept an ear out for the bats on the beach. The ones closest to him were mostly destroyed, so he joined his father in his sector while Jon landed on the beach.

Good luck.

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

Jason was not having a good time at all. Not to say he expected to have a great time rescuing his little brother, but he was hoping to try to get some of the bubbling green rage under control by demolishing some robots. He may possibly not have the best guns for demolishing these robots, he was handling it of course, he was a bat after all, he'd be an even worse disappointment if he couldn't handle some glowing green robots that remind him heavily of thing he'd prefer to leave in the past. He risked a glance toward Dick and could see him take down several robots in an expert acrobatic movement that sent him soaring off each of their head and switching between crushing or electrocuting them with his escrima sticks. Show off.

One of the robots he was fighting suddenly crackled and burned a smoking trail into the sky before exploding and sent himself and several other robots crashing into the walls and each other. It must have been faulty wiring. He knew he didn't touch that one, Babs was still mostly blocked out, and none of his siblings were running to patronize him for getting hurt. If he didn't know better, he'd say the robots were cheaply made, but that's never been Lex Luthors style.

"Red Hood. Help Red Robin turn the robots off in the central monitor room. We need to manually plug Oracles systems into the computers here." Right. Thank you, Bruce, for always being there at the worst possible times. He groaned and attempted to shake the tweeting birds away from his head.

"On it, Batman." He couldn't bring himself to use any stupid nicknames right now. He cataloged all the other bats just in case. Goldie was still the same show off. Red Robin had knocked out his robots and joined him for destroying his wave. Spoiler and Signal were in the rafters doing... something with his powers and reflective baterangs. He wasn't touching that with a fifty foot pole no way. They had a tendency to make things explode with those things. Orphan and Batman were still outside the burning hole in the wall they blasted to get through, so he couldn't find them, but they were probably kicking ads anyway. Suddenly, Tim launched himself backward through the air using his staff and landed behind him, hunkering down and messing with his wristcomputer. That assshole definitely planted explosives. He quickly got one last hit on the current robot and used it to launch himself past his head. Just as he landed, several small bombs exploded on the robots and collided with each other, creating more explosions.

"Time to go Hood."

"Lead on, Replacement."

----------

Why does Superman always disrupt my plans? Not just Superman, he reminds himself, he'd brought their son and his brother. As well as Daniel's family or Damian, whatever. The bats were the worst destroying his robots and his walls. Okay, maybe he didn't have the best robots here because they might be missing quite a few parts and kryptonite. But he needed for the portal, and both Vlad Masters and Lex Luthor were anything but resourceful.

The monitor beeped erratically. Gods above if Damian was going to flatline again. He technically wasn't flatlining but pumping ectoplasm through his heart instead of blood at that moment, and that messed with moniters, and when that happens, nurses get all hysterical and almost actually flatline him.

It wouldn't be such a problem if Damian wasn't severely lacking ectoplasm. Typically, his blood was made of both of it. All that rest from the medicine induced coma that he put him in certainly helped him fight the corruption and was now creating his own. See, if only Damian listened to him more often. It'd be better for everyone.

The moniter died down again, and he sighed and ran a hand down his face.

"Whatever am I going to with you?" He muttered with his head leaning back.

"Maybe stop beating me up." He shot up toward the voice. He wasn't supposed to be awake yet, but this was better anyway. He had to get him into the portal before the bats destroyed all the robots. Another litte voice in his brain betrayed him and reminded him the portal was still not done, and they were closing in.

"Little Badger, you know I don't start fights. I end them." He reprimanded.

"And you know I hate that nickname, and we both know you start fights all the damn time."

"Language." Damian stared unimpressed at him. How was he meant to explain this? The supers and bats somehow discovered where we are and are fighting their way in and are currently tearing the main control room apart? Actually, that isn't that bad.

He told Damian just that, and somehow, he didn't seem to like his paraphrasing. Can't please anyone anymore.

"What do you mean my family is here? How could they track us? This isle is supposed to be superproof."

"I don't know, but I don't have some ideas. I believe Susan has betrayed our trust and ratted us out. I will unfortunately have to fire her, and I was just beginning to like her." He sighed. All the best employees turn out to be useless and disloyal. That's why he prefers A.I. Until it started to betray him, too. Ugh. Never get good help anywhere nowadays.

"Vlad! Focus! I need to get to the portal right now!" He winced.

"Well, about that -" Damian shot up and stumbled on his legs from not moving for two weeks, probably. He reached to steady him.

"Don't touch me! Leave me alone." His godson growled and scampered past him. He left the medical area and quickly started studying his current readings and calculations.

" I've already checked hundreds of times. I can't find out what's wrong with it." He tried to explain but was forced to watch, and Damian grabbed a random red pen and started scribbling all over his things. He sighed again. Teenagers.

"I've got it!" Oh you've got to be kidding me!

"You're trying to create your fancy portal. We don't have the time or materials for that, but we can recreate The Fenton Portal. Most of the ectoplasm is soda anyway. I stashed some in the fridge around here since you banned me from drinking it while we were working." He explained already halfway across the lab and opening a fridge labeled 'chemicals only'. Why does he even try anymore?

More alerts were popping up. Most of his robots were down now and the last remaining ones were the brainless ones not connected to the central computer that luckily he didn't have connected to some of his tech just in case, including this lab. Which now meant he would need to take control of the robots himself. Unless he wanted them to be defeated in less than a minute. Luckily again, most of the kryptonite he had that he hadn't rerouted into the portal was inside those portals.

"I'm going to attack your family now." He announced, cracking his knuckles and hacking into his own robots easily.

"Don't kill them, or I'd have to kill you." He replied, ripping and welding parts together. He's pretty sure he just watched him weld something together with 7up. Nope. Not today.

-----------

Jon was feeling...off. He, for some strange reason, felt an urge to let himself be hit by the kryptonite. Not in a suicidal way, but in a way, he instinctively wanted to be...with the kryptonite. Something that is incredibly dangerous to kryptonians like him even if he's only half.

For a while, he dodged guns, destroyed guns, destroyed robots, and then the Reds destroyed the main computer, and most of the robots deactivated until... the robots suddenly started to get stronger and smarter.

TV moniters suddenly flickered on and Lex Luthor was displayed.

"Luthor! Return Damian Wayne now to uss and we will consider lessening your sentence." His father spoke loudly, assuming mics were around somewhere.

"Oh really? You've never been able to get those charges to stick before. What make you think they'll suddenly stick now?" He mocked cruelly.

"You won't get away with this, this time, Luthor." Batman threatened.

"Coming from the man who can even get a failed circus clown to stay in prison? I think I'll be fine."

"Luthor, I know that something is going on. If you tell us we can help you." Nightwing spoke masterfully, emphasizing the man who stole his little brother. He didn't trust he wouldn't stare screaming and yelling at the crazy fruitloop if he tried to say anything. Wait-fruitloop? Where did that come from? He shook his head to clear the thought, but he somehow made eye contact with the shadow he suspected to be Orphan. Who is somehow emitting a very concerned aura. He ignored that and focused on the conversation just in time to hear large explosions from the TV.

"Damian!" Nightwing yelled out. Superman glanced around wildly as if trying ti will himself into seeing or hearing through lead.

He was concerned... but he didn't feel as worried as he should be for his best friend. Like he was definitely worried but he had a gut feeling he would be fine. And a little exasperated for some reason.

"What the hell are you doing? Get back to work! If we don't get that portal open before they find us, I'm going to rearrange your organs upside down!" Luthor yelled behind him. He could feel his face heat up, and he covered his eyes just in case.

"Don't you dare threaten him!" Nightwing yelled at the screen. Batman was starting at his wrist screen as if it would disappear if he looked away. The shadow had slunked away sometime. Spoiler and Signal nowhere to be seen.

"What are you gong to do? Reach through the screen and throttle me?" He taunted.

The screen suddenly started to glitch out in green bursts. It reminded him of kryptonite but...

"I've found them. Follow these directions. I'm almost there myself." He overheard Signal from Batmans comms. He repeated them twice, but he had already grabbed Nightwing and saw his dad grab his own bat. They couldn't go as fast as he wanted to because of the tight spaces, making superspeed dangerous to the supports. If they went too fast, the building could go down on them. They went faster than they should have anyway.

They reached the door where Signal, Spoiler, and Orphan were trying to wrench the doors off the hinges using several blowtorches and a misshapen crowbar.

"I've got it." He set Nightwing on the ground and cleared the door off the hinges just to see a large explosion of green. And Lex Luthor shooting powered up kryptonite(?) from his hands.

He dodged the blasts but his father wasn't able to and was sent flying to the wall smoking.

"Dad!" He screamed his anger at him forgotten. He flew over him and he vaguely remembers a yellow blur following him.

There was a smoking crater on his chest. Burns of all degrees decorating his suit.

"Dad?" He collapsed to the floor infront of him.

"It's okay, Jon. It's not that... bad... it looks worse than is. I promise. Go...bakc to the...fight." his dad spoke, his voice cracking, and he knew his dad was completely powered down. He had to get him to the sun.

"I'm getting you out of here." He promised and gathered him into his arms carefully. He was about to laser several random walls down when Signal handed him the closest trajectory to the outside.

"Hurry. We can handle this." He lied. They couldn't handle a powered Luthor, and he's couldn't let his dad die. He nodded and turned his head away, and his eyes lit up in burning pools of red.

----------

The green was mesmerizing. The only word Cass could describe it. Like it was the only thing that could understand her. It reminded her of the Lazarus Pits.

She ran inside with Spoiler, Nightwing, and Batman close behind. Luthor tried to shoot at them, but they dodged skillfully. She looked past him and could see Damian typing madly on a computer. His movements were deliberate, and he knew what he was doing, but his body betrayed hum to her. His fingers were still, but his wrist twisted slightly too much. His ankles shifted weight between one another. His head tilted backward like he was physically stopping himself from looking at them.

"Damian!" Nightwing vaulted over a blast.

Damian froze for a second but willed himself to continue with new determination, painting his body. Something wasn't right. He should be running to them. Telling them he had a plan they ruined but would pause for enough time they knew he was struggling if they asked for it.

"Damian? We're here to save you!" Nightwing dodged another blast. She could see his plan. Distract both Damian and luthor. It was working, too. Luthor was occssionly shooting her, but he'd all but forgotten about Batman and Spoiler in the rafters.

Damian wasn't at all easily distracted she could tell from his headtilt he was watching them. He sped up the computer. The large portal machine expanded, and greens swirled around.

"Shut it down, Damian!" Nightwing shouted, attempting to rush luthor but failing. She launched herself using the distraction to take luthor out. He is somehow stronger than she can remember flung her off rough enough she hit the wall. She saw stars and failed to rise. Her vision was blurring, but she could see Batman's blurry figure attempting to subdue luthor and succeeding. Where's spoiler?

There she is! Spoiler kumped down on top of Luthor and put meta cuffs on him using the elemnt of suprise. Nightwing reached Damian just as the portal exploded, adding unfamiliar purples mixed in. Nightwing was thrown back, but he recovered and ran back. Batman and Luthor struggled in vain for control. She blinked, and Spoiler was a purple blur at her side.

Her body riddled with worry. She reached out and gently prodded her for injuries.

"Fine. Help little... brother." she tried to say, but it was mostly slurred from the blood loss. Spoiler glanced at her nervously and took out her field aid.

"No. Fine." She attempted to convey, but she just shushed her quietly. She turned back to the fight just in time to catch Damian slip through the portal. Nightwing didn't hesitate to run after him.

"No!" Her father's voice and anguished growled after watching two sons slip through. He tried to follow them, but Luthor got free and broke the computer powering. Just as Batman reached the edge, he hesitated, and the portal fizzled out.

She tried to stay awake but the gentle shushing from Spoiler lulled her into the embrace of darkness.

---------

Dick Grayson hit the strange glowing bluish snow and rolled to a soft stop. He looked around frantically and spotted Damian kneeling on the ground. He had his arms wrapped around himself, and his face was screwed up in pain.

"Damian!" He ran to him and kneeled by his side, hesitating to grab his son if he was injured but wanting to scoop him up after being missing for two months now.

"You shouldn't be here." He murmured but he leaned against him heavily.

"I've been looking for you everywhere. We almost thought you were dead." He gave up looking for physical injuries apart from the maybe a mix between 1st and 2nd degree burns and clutched his son to his chest.

"It's not...safe for you...here."

"And it is for you?" He gathered him in his arms best he could, minding the burns on him. Neither of them were wearing clothes meant for the storm.

The strange snow was colder than any snow he's ever seen before, and it had an otherworldly component to it. Another point for the interdimensinal portal. Behind then sharp hissing screeched behind them and the greens snd purples disappeared. Shit. That was their way out.

"Who goes there?" A large voice echoed from the trees and he cursed himself for not studying his surrounding more. A large...yeti? Emerged from the pine trees he wore armor and had a ice prosthetic hand. He looked mean and rugged.

"Frostbite!" Damian yelled from his arms and started struggling. He gripped him tighter. Like hell, he was letting him loose after everything. Even if he somehow knew this kinda of cool looking yeti. The yetis eyes lit up in what he thinks his recognition.

"Great one? Have you returned to us? Who is this?" The yetis voice was softer but still dangerous he kept his mouth shut and hoped Damian knew what to say.

"My-baba? We need to get your village. I need some help." Wow. Damian had never acknowledged he was anything other than his older brother before. If he wasn't a bat and damn good at compartmentalizeing, he'd probably start crying. Or pass out. Probably both.

"All right then, Great One. Any family or friends of his is friends of ours. Follow me."

Which is how he came to be standing in the middle of an entire town of yetis getting scrutinized by Frostbite(?).

"So how did you meet our King? I've never seen you before." He questioned curiously. What the actual fuck did he get into now.

[suliigwp]

THE TIRE STRATEGY?

--------——————————----------

Carlos Sainz x journalist!Reader

PART ONE

SULI: I accidentally posted the draft and privated it and that's why it says 2 days posted; ENEMIES TO LOVERS(as realistic as I could make it) miss him in red but with how things are looking Williams was an upgrade. SMAU + Written Parts ; also I need to split this in two parts (maybe more idk) cus there's a limit to photos😩 (also I just realized some of the twitter date years are messed up, please ignore it) xoxo

Warnings: Swearing, sexual jokes, usage of 'Y/n' , two parter

2023 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX

Twitter

...

She stood off to the side, waiting for the drivers to get around approaching her, her head buzzing with questions, her little old green journal filled with questions she wrote down during the race and a few minutes they have to themselves-

Sector 2 , Leclerc, turn 12 , Norris- she rushed to write it down, placing the little journal on her thigh, balancing her mic in her hand.

She liked these kinds of races- filled with collisions that lead to penalties- it's more fun this way, at least for her.

As her cameraman tapped her shoulder she looked up. "It's starting."

She stood up, quickly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, looking over the many heads of journalists and media personas, walking through all of them and standing at the front, fixing her earpiece.

The podium first. Easy. Boring, if you asked her, the same answers every single time. She liked getting to the people barely making it, losing the podium last second - and people you wouldn't think would place outside of points. Ferrari Red blurred into the crowd from the side of her vision.

It's been a year already, since she's started working here on the paddocks and she had managed to create an image for herself- everyone dreading the moment she gets her hands on them.

Carlos Sainz, penalized for causing a collision with Fernando Alonso, dropping him to P12. Carlos Groaned internally when he glanced to the side while listening to another reporters question, seeing her there, interviewing Alonso, gosh she wouldn't let him live this down.

To him, She was sharp-tongued, impossible to predict, and completely unapologetic. She asked the questions no one else dared to, not out of malice, but because she could see through everything - and that unnerved him.

Always taking a deep breath whenever she approached with a mic, jaw tight, already bracing for whatever brutal thing she'd say next. In his mind: "She doesn’t care. She’s not here to be liked." But he is. He needs to keep his image.

She nodded at Alonso, wishing him luck on the next race, turning to him, their eyes lock, giving him a nod, him returning it, and pointing where he needed to stand. He rolled his lips, looking down.

"Carlos P12 today because of a five second penalty. Was that a result of poor judgement under pressure like always, or are we gonna see a pattern of recklessness this season?" She turned the mic to him.

'Like always'? What?

He looked up at her.

Twitter

...

"What about that embarrassing run to turn 6 on lap 40? You might've placed in points." She suddenly hit.

Carlos blinked, mouth dropping and closing like a fish on Land. "....What?" Embarrassing? His big brown eyes blown wide, staring at her.

She looked unfazed. "Turn 6. You slid off the track slightly. If you didn't make that mistake you would've placed in points."

Carlos has rarely felt this kind of frustration for someone. Embarrassing? "I think what's embarrassing is how you speak to drivers."

His PR man on his side placing a hand on his shoulder.

She raised a brow. "I think as a journalist I have permission to ask questions."

His brows furrowed. "Asking questions doesn't mean twisting facts to fit your story-"

"the clip is playing on every screen Mr. Sainz. You can look there."

"Carlos, come on. Ignore it."

His eyes never left her as she sighed and nodded. "Thank you. Good luck on the next race." And turned back to her journal.

He walked away. He doesn't remember turn 6 being embarrassing, but that sure as hell was.

Instagram

ynasks

Liked by oscarpiastri, f1, skysportsf1 and 15,777 more

ynasks: Another successful week in Australia! See you in Azerbaijan!

View all comments

lando: thanks for being nice this time

| oscarpiastri: speak for yourself

viviennneehola: cutie pattoie until she's counting the pooints

| ynasks: that was an extreme fail

| viviennneehola: HELLO?

susanaall: Justice for my guy @/carlossainz55

| Lilyooly: Girl let's Not give him flashbacks

Leslandoi: HOT HOT HOT

| lando: agreed

| Sokoko: SIR?

...

2023 AZERBAIJAN GRAND PRIX

Carlos was really considering avoiding all media but when Charles looked at him like he would crack up any minute at him, he knew it was a silly wish.

Qualifying was hard on him. The tires, the strategy, it all sucked. Trying to speak to the mechanics over the radio, and being told to go along with the original plan when the plan that they were talking about was already broken down lap 10.

But he managed to place fifth in the GP. Not good, not a podium, but much better than the last weekend.

Answering some questions the other reporters were asking him, he tried looking around for a way to run away from her.

Child's fantasies.

"Carlos, if you're ready." She called out to him, flipping through her journal with a single hand, holding the mic out towards him with the other.

Jaw tight, he stood in front of her, trying to be calm, pressing his lips together.

"Carlos, today was a successful recovering from a challenging quali, but another difficult weekend. You’ve mentioned struggling with confidence behind the wheel - at what point does that stop being a car issue and start becoming a driver one?”

He stiffened, jaw muscles tightening. Trying to keep calm.

“That’s a fair question. But I think anyone who’s followed my career knows I don’t shy away from responsibility. I’m not hiding behind the car - I’m working with the team to understand what’s not clicking. It’s not about shifting blame, it’s about finding solutions. And I will.”

A little cold. A little defensive. But professional.

"But Charles managed to extract pace from the car. What held you back?"

He huffed slightly.

"The plan was to extract the maximum with what we had. If you think I didn’t, then maybe you didn’t watch the full race."

He keeps his gaze steady, jaw tight, and there’s that flicker in his eyes, half frustration, half challenge, because no matter how much he tries to stay composed, she always gets under his skin.

She let out a surprised chuckle, earpiece signaling their time was over. "That's all. Thank you, good luck in Miami."

He walked off, jaw set tight.

...

"I'm so sorry!"

She waved off the random girl that bumped into her. "Don't sweat it."

Big parties were normal in Formula 1, everyone getting together - Drivers, CEO's, engineers, employees, media personas - everyone at one place with unnecessarily loud music.

She's at a bar, sitting in a dress she spilled tequila over, the light blue dress turning dark, rubbing her temples.

"Look who's here! Didn't think you'd come."

She turned around and smiled softly at the English man.

"I regret coming."

Lando laughed as he leaned down to hug her, taking a seat at the bar himself. "One brandy and a refill for whatever the lady was drinking." He said to the bartender charmingly.

She shook her head with a smile. "How nice of you. If you think this will earn you points and I'll go easy you're heavily mistaken."

Lando placed a hand over his heart, gasping, acting offended. "When have I ever got you a drink just to go easy on me? If people heard you they'd think I'm a horrible friend." She chuckled as she rolled her eyes, thanking the bartender when he slid her drink back, taking a sip.

"Besides. If I ask you to go easy on someone it won't be about me." Said the curly-haired man, trailing off at the end, rubbing the back of his neck.

Drink still to her lips, her dark eyes rolled to him.

"That's scary." Muttered Lando.

She clinked the glass on the surface of the bar. "No."

Lando nodded. "What I expected..." And suddenly waved someone over from behind her. She sipped her drink.

"Lando, Lando!" Said from behind her, Spanish accent sharp.

She stopped her movements as she watched as Lando stood up and hugged Carlos, hitting each other on the back as they exchanged greetings.

Carlos turned around, cute smile across his face withering down when he spotted her.

She sighed, this might be a party but she has to keep the professional aspect. "Good evening."

Lando pushed Carlos in the seat next to his, the slight curve of the bar letting them all see each other.

Carlos didn't complain, it wasn't needed, his face said it all. He was very expressionative, she noted. His big eyes turning to the bartender as he ordered his drink, smiling thankfully when the guy slid it to him.

Silence. If you could call it that, considering the songs playing on the highest sound possible.

Lando clapped his hands together. "So, my favorite people on the paddock-" but of course, no one let him talk.

"What wide variety you have of people to like." Said Carlos, taking a sip.

"-okay, um-"

"How professional." She muttered,sarcasm dripping.

"Yes, because you know all about professionalism-"

Lando tried to skim in. "Guys-"

"-how long have you been a journalist now? I'd think you know better than to make it personal."

"How long have you been a driver? You're not new to criticism, What's different now?" She leaned in on the top of the bar. The bartender now trying to pretend he's not listening.

"Guys please-"

“If you’re going to criticize everything I do, at least try to understand the strategy behind it first.” Carlos' accent getting thicker with frustration.

“And if you’re going to make every race a masterclass in self-sabotage, try not to be so offended when someone points it out.”

"Y/n, no-"Lando placed a hand on her shoulder, but she spatted it away.

“Remind me, do you even drive? Or is your job just sitting in front of a mic pretending to know better than everyone else?”

“Pretending? P12 with clean air. I don't need a helmet to know that's pathetic.” She rolled her eyes.

“Keep talking like that and people might think you're just bitter.” He backed. Brows furrowing close.

“No. I’m just honest. Something your team clearly doesn’t offer you enough of.”

"Enough!" Lando raised his voice.

The two of them shifting their eyes to him, settling down.

"Goodness..."

Lando’s the very unwilling middleman. The guy stuck in the crossfire who just wanted to drink his Red Bull- I mean monster energy- and vibe to the music, not mediate a cold war between his two most stubborn friends.

At first, he tries to laugh it off. Pretends the tension is “just banter” classic Y/n being ruthless, classic Carlos getting worked up. But as the snipes become sharper, the interviews colder, and the silences at group dinners longer, Lando starts to feel like he’s babysitting a divorce he wasn’t invited to.

He tries to stay neutral, but it’s exhausting, because when he’s with Carlos, it’s all frustration: “She twists everything I say. She hates me.” And when he’s with Y/n, it’s: “Why does he act like he’s above being questioned? He’s so defensive.”

Eventually, he stops trying to fix it and just… adapts. Picks which friend to sit with depending on the mood. Schedules hangouts like a divorced parent with shared custody. Texts them both with a weary: “I’m not getting involved, but maybe don’t yell at each other at George’s birthday?”

"Can we not have one night without attacking each other at the neck? Please?"

Y/n sighed, looking elsewhere, lips pressed together to hold herself back.

Carlos leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms.

Lando looked at them both and then turned to the bartender. "What's the strongest you have?"

...

2023 MONACO GRAND PRIX

Frustrating. So frustrating. The entire race. The whole weekend. And as he stood in front of Y/n, their situation more heated up after the fight last weekend, he just wants the earth to swallow him whole.

"Carlos, you called the strategy ‘not ideal’ over the radio. At what point did you realize the team wasn’t listening to you?"

He’s barely recovered from the race, and boom straight to the nerve. Sweaty and breathing heavily he looked up from the ground, And then, without letting him breathe:

"You said ‘I told you so’ mid-race. Do you think Ferrari’s indecision cost you a podium today?"

"I was fighting with everything I had out there. The call came late, the tires didn’t hold, and by the time I reacted—it was over. That’s Monaco."

"You seemed furious after the checkered flag. What did the team tell you to calm you down?"

"Nothing. I'm not calm." He said with a low voice.

Their eyes stay connected, a second of silence overtaking. She couldn't control her face from twisting in a teasing smile. His eyes drifted to her darkly painted lips...

He blinked away, looking off to the side.

"Thank you. Good luck next week on your home race."

...

And then...

2023 SPANISH GRAND PRIX

P5.

"Great race today Mr.Sainz, see you next week." She said with a polite nod, writing something down in her journal.

Carlos stared at her, surprised. Slowly he backed off, nodding, walking back to the garage. Was she taking pity on him or did he become so boring she wasn't interested in asking him questions anymore. Either way, he didn't like that.

Twitter

...

2023 BRITISH GRAND PRIX

Silverstone paddock. The air is tense with post-race chaos. Y/n stands poised with her microphone, notebook tucked under her arm, hair swept by the wind. Carlos is still in his race suit, jaw tight, lips pressed into a line. P10. A disaster for Ferrari strategy once again. And unfortunately, she’s the one standing in front of him.

“Carlos. Tenth place this week in a car that should have finished higher. Walk me through the logic behind staying out on those tires. Was it optimism or just poor judgment?”

Carlos, tight lipped, looking down answers. “We made the call based on what we knew in the moment. The pit wall believed track position would help in the end. It didn’t. Simple as that.”

Y/n tilted her head. “Simple. That’s one word for it. But you were clearly losing time lap after lap. No adjustment, no override? What stopped you from taking control of your own race?”

Carlos' head tilted, looking at her now. “We make decisions together. I trust my team.”

Y/n raised a brow, tilting her head as well. “And yet every time you trust them, it costs you points. At what point does loyalty become self-sabotage?”

A beat. A heavy silence. His jaw ticks. He shifts, stepping back slightly.

"Thank you." And leaves.

...

"And as we wrap up today’s coverage from Silverstone, one thing is becoming increasingly clear — Ferrari seems determined to test the patience of its drivers and its fans alike. Today’s race strategy, or rather the glaring lack thereof, left Carlos Sainz not only exposed but practically stranded on track, forced to improvise a race plan mid-race while juggling tire degradation, traffic, and radio silence that might as well be called strategy-free air. While other teams executed bold and responsive calls, Ferrari hesitated, again, and in a sport where seconds define careers, that hesitation cost them dearly. It’s becoming a pattern. And while Carlos Sainz was busy being the only strategist in Ferrari today, the team was busy... well, we’re still not quite sure what with. So, until Ferrari figures out whether it’s racing or just attending races, we’ll be here — watching. Documenting. And, unfortunately, narrating yet another Sunday of unrealized potential."

A second of silence.

"This was Y/n Y/L from Silverstone. Back to you."

PART TWO.... COMING SOON

[charlesollielandooscararthur]

The Mini Grand Prix at Home

Lando Norris x Family!Norris

You know how some parents spend their Saturdays doing laundry or running errands or… I don’t know, sitting down? Yeah, not us.

It started with a completely harmless comment from Lando that morning over breakfast.

“You know what we should do today?” he said, crunching into a piece of toast. “We should build a racetrack in the garden.”

I blinked. “Like… for the kids?”

He grinned. “Obviously. But also for my own competitive satisfaction.”

So, naturally, five minutes later, our peaceful garden was under siege. And by siege, I mean a complete transformation: we dragged out cones from the garage, uncoiled every garden hose we could find, chalked out some ‘curves’ on the grass (which was already clinging to life), and even repurposed a broken laundry basket as a pit stop marker. It was chaos. Beautiful, glorious, slightly unsafe chaos. Just the way our family likes it.

Lando (aged 25, going on 10 when properly hyped) took charge like it was a real Grand Prix circuit under construction. He was inspecting corners, adjusting cone placement like a race engineer, and muttering things like “We need more technical corners on sector two” while dragging the kiddie slide into position as a speed bump.

Meanwhile, I (also 25, also deeply amused) was tasked with finding the checkered flag. Spoiler alert: we don’t own one. So I improvised, naturally, and tied black and white dish towels together with a hair tie. Was it elegant? No. Did it wave dramatically in the wind? Also no. But it existed, and that’s what counts.

Cue: the arrival of the racers.

Kenya and Arlo burst onto the scene with matching intensity. Our twins, 6 years and 4 months old, were already in full-on race mode. They were still wearing their pajamas, but that did not slow down the intensity of their debate over who would be “Team Norris.”

“I called it first!” Kenya shouted, practically tripping over a cone in her rush to reach the imaginary pole position.

“You called it, but I wear my Norris hoodie more!” Arlo countered, tugging it dramatically over his head to prove his allegiance.

“You can’t just wear the team! You have to be the team!”

I was about to intervene when Rylan made his entrance. Our little superhero, four years and six months of pure, unfiltered confidence, came zooming down the path on his tricycle, wearing a bright blue cape and the most serious racing expression I’ve ever seen on a child’s face.

“I’m not on a team,” he declared, braking with a flair that sent gravel flying. “I’m Captain Fast.”

And honestly? No one dared argue.

With racers assigned (Kenya as Team Norris, Arlo as Team Lightning Strike—don’t ask—and Rylan as, well, himself), the race officially began.

Lando, now fully immersed in his role as lead commentator, crouched dramatically next to the flower beds with a makeshift headset—a pair of my wireless earbuds and a spoon for a microphone.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” he said in his most official tone, “welcome to the first ever Backyard Mini Grand Prix, hosted here at Norris Gardens. Our racers are at the grid, and we are moments away from an epic showdown!”

He paused, gave me a wink, and added, “Over to you, Flag Queen.”

Ah yes. That would be me. Standing at the starting line with my dish towel flag in one hand and, now that the kids were occupied, a chilled glass of white wine in the other. The sun was beaming, the birds were chirping, and my wine was the good kind we usually save for after bedtime.

“Ready,” I called out.

Kenya bent forward like a little missile. Arlo revved his imaginary engine. Rylan narrowed his eyes beneath the brim of his Lightning McQueen baseball cap.

“Set…”

Lando was making fake engine noises under his breath.

“GO!”

They were off. Kenya’s scooter rocketed forward like she’d just received a grid penalty she was determined to erase. Arlo weaved dramatically, kicking up grass like a pro. Rylan? Rylan immediately veered off course and began circling the picnic table while shouting, “I’m taking the long route! It’s for aerodynamics!”

The course was madness. The garden hose chicane caused several near collisions. One of the cones fell over in what Kenya later insisted was a “deliberate sabotage.” Arlo actually braked before the slide-speed bump because he said he was “testing tyre grip.” Meanwhile, Rylan rode directly into a bush and yelled, “I’m in the gravel trap! Requesting superhero recovery!”

Every lap had commentary from Lando that was honestly so good, I half expected a Netflix documentary crew to show up.

“Kenya takes the lead with a daring dive into Turn 4!”

“Arlo not giving an inch—this is some textbook defensive driving!”

“Captain Fast is… somewhere in the shrubbery. Possibly battling squirrels.”

Between each round, the kids would pile over to the pit stop (a picnic blanket with orange slices, because even tiny racers need their electrolytes). Lando would debrief them like a team principal. “Arlo, we need to talk about your corner exits. You’re losing time. Kenya, incredible braking. I think we’ve got a future world champion here. Rylan, how’s the cape holding up?”

I waved my flag with flair every time they crossed the line. I also refilled my wine. Because balance.

We went on like that for hours. Racing. Commentating. Rehydrating with juice boxes (them) and more wine (me). Rylan eventually declared himself the official safety car and drove slowly in front of everyone while humming the Mission: Impossible theme. Kenya built a podium out of lawn chairs. Arlo tried to conduct a team radio with a walkie-talkie that wasn’t turned on.

By the time the sun began to dip behind the trees, and the backyard looked like someone had hosted a birthday party for Mario Kart characters, we were all exhausted—but the good kind. The kind where your cheeks hurt from smiling and your heart feels like it’s glowing.

The kids lay in a heap on the grass, still arguing over who technically “won.” Rylan had the final word, of course: “I won because I flew.” (None of us are sure what that means, but it was too cute to question.)

Lando wrapped his arm around me, pulling me into his side as we watched them chatter and giggle and throw grass at each other.

“Best Grand Prix I’ve ever been to,” he said softly.

I raised my glass. “To Captain Fast, Team Norris, Team Lightning Strike… and the best pit crew in the world.”

The flag waved one last time as the sun set on our little backyard circuit. And in that perfect moment, I realized… this was the kind of race I never wanted to end.

[snoringkitty1]

𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝒂𝒊𝒎, 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕.

‿᧔☪︎᧓‿

You let out a sigh as you stepped into the Section 6 office space, a binder in hand that you planned to drop off for Ms. Yanagi. Personally you didn't like coming here in person because, as unlikely as it was, you dreaded running into Harumasa.

It's not because you didn't like him, no, quite the opposite, you were crushing so hard on him that even running into him made your calm and cool disposition evaporate. You were so shy you could barely get a coherent sentence out around him.

You know you stood no chance, among the many girls who were big fans of Harumasa, you had zero confidence. You didn't have the self-esteem to confidentially say you liked your appearance, you just knew he was out of your league.

You set the binder down on Yanagi's desk, she was out so you didn't need to worry about sticking around for too long to brief her on the info dump in all those files. As you approached the exit, you glanced at Harumasa's desk, cluttered with things he was procrastinating on doing.

"He's probably out on sick leave again.." you muttered to yourself and turned to round the corner into the hall, just to nearly come face first into the previously mentioned mans chest.

You froze like a statue, stepped back, and covered your face as you looked at him when he laughed. God did his laugh sound like the cure to every ailment in your life. "I-i'm sorry! I didn't see--" you sputtered out in a panic, your face had just bumped into the loosened part of his shirt collar.

He waved his hand dismissively before scratching the back of his head, grinning innocently. "I'm glad I caught you before you ran back to the info sector!" He beamed and leaned onto the wall with his arms crossed.

"Uhm- y..yeah.." you lowered your head and played with your fingers, seeing your coy behavior just made him smile. "I wanted to ask you out." He stated blatantly, that perhaps his goal was just to shock you into flustered oblivion for his entertainment, but it definitely worked.

There was a moment of silence, he stared at you, watching your face slowly turn pink, and you stared at him. Hoping and praying this wasn't a prank, hoping you weren't about to embarrass yourself. "W..what? Ask..me out?" You looked around in a panic, "is this a prank? S-should there be camera's?".

Your panic just made him laugh, shaking his head before patting yours and winking "Come on! I'm a serious, hard-working man who treats his colleagues with respect~" he teased, sticking his tongue out slightly.

"R-right..sorry..ugh-" you covered your face and lowered your head, "You're actually serious..?" You asked, softly and sheepishly, too embarrassed to look him in the eyes..his eyes were really pretty though..

"Are you telling me no?" He inquired and leaned forward slightly, raising a brow and cocking a smirk as he grew more and more amused by your reaction. "No! N-no..god that came out fast.." you sighed and took a deep breath, trying to not ruin the moment any further by calming down.

"Perfect~ I have the perfect place to go, c'mon!" He cheered and slung his arm around your shoulder, "w-wait i'm not finished with work yet!!".

And that was how your relationship started, a bit spur of the moment and embarrassing, but it all worked out in the end.

Until one day, a Hollow swallowed your home whole, and left you, a defenseless information decoder, in your home in your closet hiding from ethereal's outside, hoping for rescue before you would succumb to ether corruption.

You could feel your skin crawl with terror, watching the ethereal wander around your bedroom as you peered out from your closet. Your fear was palpable, your heart beat against its cage like it was trying to escape the situation.

You couldn't bring yourself to move so much as an inch if even, the most movement you made was when you trembled and shook like a leaf. Then, your face went pale as your phone started ringing, you never regretted having your phone on you more in the moment.

The Ethereal roared like the song that played with Harumasa's face on the screen was driving the creature mad. In this irritated state, it charged at the closet like a bull in a china shop, the shill screech made you scream as you kicked the closet door open and jumped out of the way just in time for the ethereal to crash into the closet.

With your hiding place exposed, you completely forgot to answer Harumasa as you raced downstairs, the Ethereal not far behind. "Please please!" You cried out and ran over to the door, your hands shook so bad that it was hard to unlock it.

You could hear the shrill screen get closer as the ethereal stumbled down the stairs, the bright green blade that made up its arm gleamed maliciously in the flickering lights. Then, finally, you let out a cry as you pushed the door open. Running out of the house blindly, barely noticing the arrows that flew past you until you stopped running.

Your vision was blurred with tears, staring in front of you before running forward again and nearly tackling Harumasa down with a hug. He gasped, dropping his bow for a moment to hold you tightly, burying his face in the crook of your neck.

"A-Asaba! I th- I thought-" you sputtered out between sobs of relief, your tears soaking into his plain white button-up. "Shh, I'm getting you out of here." He stated, this had to be the most serious you'd ever seen him be.

You looked around, sobbing as you looked at the once familiar environment now turned into a bizarre and unrecognizable space that you could no longer confidently navigate. Seeing how upset you were, he couldn't bring himself to tease you, "Don't look, just close your eyes." He stated. You looked at him and wiped your eyes as you stepped back and took a deep shaky breath.

"Gone..everything's gone.." you mumbled and closed your eyes like he had instructed, squeezing his hand tight once he had wedged his fingers between yours. "I know, but everything is replaceable, i promise." He smiled and looked around, he agreed with his team that he would wait once he had rescued you, but he wanted to get you out of this environment.

He couldn't leave the area, so he led you around in circles for a short while so at the very least you were under the illusion that you were moving to different spaces.

"D'you have somewhere else to stay?" He inquired, his gloved thumb rubbing small circles across your hand. "Uh..no..i'll have to look for a cheap rentable to use for a while.." you sighed and leaned onto him, still sniffling now and then.

"Well~ do I have a great idea for you!" He chuckled, his sunny disposition contrasted with your sniffles starkly. "If it doesn't bother you, you could come stay with me for, well, however long you need to get on your feet?" He offered wholeheartedly.

"You..you're serious?" You asked, opening your eyes to look at him, but he quickly covered them with his hand, chuckling. "C'mon, would I joke about that at a time like this?" He beamed and kissed your forehead.

His voice, combined with his words of reassurance, was enough to soothe and relax you. "I love you, Haru, I love you so much.." you muttered softly and pulled him into a tight hug, squeezing tightly and going quiet.

He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding in, rubbing your back with a smile "I love you too~" he whispered and kissed the top of your head.

You two stayed locked in that hug for a while, so long that you felt like you were going to fall asleep standing up. But before that could happen, you heard Soukaku shout upon spotting you both.

"Asaba!! Y/n!!" She grinned as she crashed into you when you turned to look at the approaching group. "Ah- h-hey, kiddo.." you smiled and patted her head before looking over at Yanagi and Miyabi.

Miyabi had her hand waiting on the hilt of her sword, while Yanagi seemed more concerned about you. "Quickly, dizzy at all? Nausea or a headache?" She questioned before looking at Harumasa, who hurriedly took his glove off to feel your forehead, "fever." He stated.

"I..a headache, but it could be from crying." You frowned and wiped your eyes. "The carrot says there should be a fissure north that'll take you out of the hollow, and we'll finish searching for survivors." The Chief Deputy adjusted her glasses before looking at Soukaku.

Harumasa nodded, snagged your hand, and waved to his comrades, "Let's get you out of here!" He cheered and squeezed your hand, his other hand resting on the sheath for one-half of his bow.

"S-slow down!" You nearly stumbled over your feet as he dragged you, for a man wracked with sickness, he was pretty quick on his feet. He only laughed when you told him to slow down, "not when you're at risk of Ether corruption!"

That was a point you could not argue against, but the Fissure was near, so you didn't need to worry.

Because in a split second, the two of you were spit out onto the street outside of the Hollow. He stood still to catch his breath, panting and coughing as he put his hands on his knees. You looked at him with a frown, rubbing his back.

"Let's head to your place, you look pale.." you frowned and watched him shake his head and stand up straight. "Nope, you get to visit with one of the H.A.N.D doctors." He winked and kissed the side of your head, leaving you in defeat.

"But you're not doing any better than me.." you frowned and wiped the corners of your eyes with a long sigh. Despite the breathlessness, he clapped back fast, "Then we both get a check-up, I'm fine I promise!" He smiled and pat your shoulder.

The day had gone terribly, but Harumasa was quite skilled at making it better. After getting looked at by a doctor, he deemed you were in the earliest stages of ether corruption, but after some anti-corruption medicine, you would be fine. Harumasa as promised got a quick check-up, his illness had flared up from over exertion, but he would be fine once he got home and took his medicine.

The day had started badly but ended quite sweetly, the drive back to him place was short and upon reaching his home, you felt a little intimidated by the idea of living eith him, even if temporarily.

"Are you sure I can stay with you..?" You inquired, following him as he unlocked the door with a small smile on his face. He then turned around briefly and grabbed your hand, yanking you inside with a cheeky smile, "You could stay here forever, and I wouldn't give a damn." He mused and spun you around with a laugh.

The sudden movement nearly made you sick before you giggled and leaned against him, wrapping your arms around his shoulders. "If you're sure..then I can't argue." You hummed and kissed his cheek and jaw, it was hard to imagine being so shy around him like you were at first.

"On that note'll take tomorrow off and we'll go shopping to get you anything you need." He hummed, happily soaking up the attention you were giving him before eventually pulling away to unbutton his shirt. Anything tactical was left at the H.A.N.D building, leaving him in his plain shirt and pants, not for long though, he was not looking to keep his shirt on any longer than he had to.

Now was the time for you to get shy, walking past him as your cheeks turned pink at the sight. You set your jacket on the counter and opened your phone, swiping away any notifications that weren't of note or immediate importance. There were some worried messages from the other members of Section 6, asking about both yours and Harumasa's health.

Seeing you paying more attention to your phone than him, he walked over and wrapped his arms around you, setting his chin on your shoulder and looking at the screen. "Think Yanagi will get mad if i put in a sick leave?" He hummed as you looked through your new messenges.

"If I told her what the doctor said, maybe not." You leaned back against him, completely forgetting that he'd undone his shirt. For the moment though, you were just fine where you were, his warmth and presence enough to finally get the exhaustion to catch up to you.

"I'm getting pretty sleepy, Haru.." you mumbled and set your phone down, rubbing your eyes and struggling to stay awake. "Yeah? Well, then this is the perfect time to put the bed to good use." He smiled and stepped away only to intertwine his fingers with yours, smiling as he pulled you along to his room. You giggled and tried not to stumble over your feet, looking around the house.

The walls were empty, save for a few pictures of his colleagues and a certificate from H.A.N.D, it was kind of sad that he lacked a family..or- well..

You could hear loud meowing coming from his room, tilting your head and gasping, "You have a cat!" You smiled and tilted your head as he opened the door. "Yep, a mean little guy." He chuckled, the kitten looked up in alarm seeing a new face, instead darting underneath the bed and going silent. "He's a street cat, he'll warm up to you eventually." He smiled and closed the door, letting go of your hand as he took his shirt off and tossed it aside.

"I hope so.." you frowned, kneeling by his bed to look underneath at the kitten loafed too far out of reach. He chuckled and helped you back up before playfully pushing you down onto the bed and smiling sown st you. "Now~ let's take a long overdue nap, alright~?" He hummed and kissed your forehead.

For a moment your brain short-circuited, staring and blinking like a deer caught in headlights, before eventually snapping out of it and swallowing hard, your cheeks red as cherries. "U-uh! Yeah.." you muttered and looked off to the side only for him to flop onto the side you'd looked.

"C'mon, eyes on me, for just a second.." he hummed, his slender fingers sliding across your skin and into your hair with a soft look on his face. You hesitantly held eye contact, wrapping one arm around his chest and accepting the kiss as he initiated it.

All the pent-up emotions were released through the kiss, rooting his fingers in your hair as the kiss was quickly deepened while he had the air to do so. Squeezing you tight while you did the say, before pulling away and letting out a long sigh.

"I love you, so much..I hope you're never scared like that again." He hummed and moved his hand to hold your face, then eventually wrapped it around your waist as he closed his eyes. You smiled, silently admiring him as he closed his eyes before eventually closing your own, "i love you too, Asaba.." you mumbled.

He let out a soft hum with a smile before his expression faded, and you both fall right to sleep, exhausted from the events of today.

Thanks for reading

[shivayagojo]

PORSCHE'S GIRL part 2 | F1

masterlist

fia

NEW QUALIFYING RULES: THE BOTTOM 6 DRIVERS WILL BE ELIMINATED FROM Q1 AND Q2. Q3 WILL CONTINUE TO REMAIN THE TOP 10 DRIVERS.

f1

Old Drivers, New Teams. Old Teams, New Drivers. The stage is set for the qualifying in Melbourne. Who will take the first pole position in 2025?

tagged: lewishamilton, carlozsainz, avaflorence

see comments below

batteryacid: Florence's whole winter aesthetic in the Aussie heat is a MOOD

> foksmash: the lack of PR training be hittin' different

> aussie: Gives me Oscar vibes. no f's given.

lewis44: Man, seeing Lewis in red still does not feel right

> totosfav: Ikr!! I was looking at that Ferrari in FP3 was like that's Carlos Sainz- nope, Hamilton.

> plottwist: Manifesting a Ferrari 1-2 today!!

chuckleclerc: Lowkey excited to see how Hamilton and Leclerc gonna shake things up this season 👀🔥

> carbuff: Ferrari's about to serve some serious looks with that darker red livery

f1memes: Carlos getting pole here after getting sacked by Ferrari would be the funniest thing

> sainzstan: praying Sainz coming for that championship with THAT energy 👑

> fastlane: Guys, he's in a Williams. I love him, but please 🙏

Porsche F1: Ava Florence

Admin: Before we head off to your first Grand Prix, the fans want to get to know you a bit better. So let's introduce you to Australia. Firstly, what's your name and what team do you drive for?

"My name is Ava Florence and I drive for Porsche Penske... ah sh** its Martini right? Damn. Porsche Martini Motorsport Racing."

Admin: The F.I.A might penalize you for swearing.

"Ah I won't show up to community service anyway. Unless he did. If he did, I want pictures please."

Admin: What track are you looking most forward to?

"Spa. Literally grew up five minutes away from it. If I don't win there, I might cry. Suzuka would be cool too. Another home race."

Admin: Who was your racing idol?

"Dunno. Never had one. Of course I watched Vettel and Hamilton and Alonso when I was younger, but never really had someone I wanted to be like. The closest... Michele Mouton. She's amazing."

Admin: What's your relationship with Sebastian and Daniel?

"I love them. Seb is kinda like father. And Danny is big brother. Though I think I'm the smarter one... don't tell him that."

Daniel (Off-Camera): You're welcome!

"And he's flipping me off. Love you Danny!"

Admin: Lastly, what's are you looking to accomplish in your first Grand Prix.

"Win."

AUSTRALIA GRAND PRIX: Once again, Melbourne will host the opening round to a Formula 1 season and the excitement is high. McLaren are looking to capitalize on their massive improvements from last season, defending their crown. Red Bull fell off a cliff at the end of 2024, but they still think they can put a fight with their new driver line up. Ferrari has the most hype around them as they've signed Sir Lewis Hamilton, while Mercedes will try to pick up the pieces after Hamilton left.

         Q1 was a heated session and you could've sworn that this was 2023 all over again. Max Verstappen goes fastest, setting a 1:16.643. Only two other drivers cracked into the one minute sixteen margins. Lando followed Verstappen with a 1:16.720, but Charles narrowly took that second spot with 1:26.715. Both Mercedes out high performances in 1:17 and Lewis Hamilton set the fastest of that bunch of 1:17.062, landing him P4 in the first session. Porsche's were the dark horses, setting times for P5 and P7.

          AVA ROLLED INTO the pit lane, her voice teething on the radio:

FLORENCE I have no pace on the straights. Sector 2 is a joke.

HENRY Understood, Ava. Bring the car into the pits, we'll have a look at the front wing.

FLORENCE Where's Seb?

HENRY He's 5th at the moment. He's running a different set up than you.

THUS the issues began with every new team. Sebastian got the "preferred" set-up, a high suspension to increase speed on the straights and allow him to pick up time during qualifying. But Ava had done it before. She's raced with terrible setups and she's always found a way through... and F1 was her dream. If she was gonna be with Porsche, she was gonna have driving done the beautiful way.

          Q2 was a mixed batch of drivers on top. Verstappen fell off his dominance, but he managed to stay in for the next round at P8. Lando once again topped the timing sheets, but Oscar and Leclerc were catching up, Oscar now cracking into the 1:16 times. Hamilton also managed to break in, but still couldn't manage to stick himself in the top 3. It was Sebastian turn to fall to P9 after fumbling Turn 1 and Turn 3 of his laps. Ava settled herself behind the 7x champion in fifth. Coming into the pits, she remained quiet. She hated every second right now. Sure, fifth was a great start to her first EVER F1 race, but she had to fight the car through every corner to get it to where it was. For that effort, she felt she deserved more. She put on footage from Lando's qualifying lap and waited for the final session to begin.

          LECLERC HAS GONE OFF — he spun is car around in Turn 1 and sent it straight to the gravel, failing to set a time for the final session. This was Lando's chance. With competition from Charles gone, he easily snatched the top timings, but Oscar was there; first sector, green, second sector, yellow, third sector - hard brake, attacking the apex, carrying that momentum into the final chicane - purple. But was it enough?

Oscar Piastri : +.097

OSCAR WAS DEVASTED. P2was a great lap, but to know he was only nine hundreds off pole in his home Grand Prix hurt. However, that wasn't the only salt to his wound.

"We ride on board with Ava Florence as she's about to begin her lap. Martin, why don't you give us some insight."

"Certainly, Crofty. She's just gonna come up on the final corner and activate the DRS and down she goes for her lap. Picks up speed to 8th gear, breaks at the 100 meter mark, down to third, hits the apex, up to fifth. Late braking into Turn 3, a little too late, bad exit off the corner. Nicely hugs the apex into Turn 4 and flat out for Turn 5. Faster than her pedal best by a tenth."

"Now, Ava Florence, that is, the Porsche driver. She was complaining about the bad speeds on the straights. We can see that right here on Turn 5."

"Absolutely, and she's gonna have to make up as much as she can in the corners.. here, she crosses the DRS detection zone, it's a yellow second sector. Turn 9, a hard braking zone, she angles her car beautifully, attacking the apex, but being cautious on the curbs. She carries that momentum into Turn 10 - just look at how fast she is in those corners. DRS Zone now... down to third gear, wide entry into Turn 11, just what she needs and she stays smooth on the throttle in Turn 22. Back into third gear for Turn 14 and beautiful exit out of Turn 14 as she hits the DRS."

"And it will be Ava Florence who will take P2 away from Oscar Piastri. She goes purple on the final sector."

"Unbelievable final sector from that rookie. Like you said Crofty, having to fight that car all day and certainly not an easy afternoon for the lady, but she's made it work. As here comes here teammate Sebastian Vettel climbing up to P6."

HENRY That is P2 for tomorrow. P2. Well done, Ava.

FLORENCE YES! Oh I hated this qualifying so much, but happy with this result. What's an Aussie thing I can say for the fans?

f1

The eyes of our top three in qualifying. Time to hit the grid hard on Sunday. 👊

tagged: lando, avaflorence, oscarpiastri

see comments below

delulu4ferrari: Another year, another season where Ferrari plays with my heart.

> chuckleclerc: Charles going on in Q3 gave me France PTSD.

teamLH: How did Lewis not manage to get a single top 3 placement in any session?? Rigged!

> lululemoncalled: Hear me out... maybe he's new to the team?? Just saying.

> oscarpastry: Only TeamLH and Mad Max fans can look at a P4 qualifying and say it was rigged against them.

florence4ever: No hate to Seb, but they gave mama the worse setup and she cooked.

> delusion: How many letters in Formula 1?

visacashapptookmymoney: Piastri fans, how we feeling?

> pawastri: chill

> piastri_leclerc: dead

> leos.brother: trynna stay sane

2025 Australian Starting Grid

Lando Norris

Ava Florence

Oscar Piastri

Lewis Hamilton

George Russell

Max Verstappen

Sebastian Vettel

Nico Hulkenberg

Andrea Kimi Antonelli

Charles Leclerc

Gabriel Bortoleto

Carlos Sainz

Liam Lawson

Fernando Alonso

Yuki Tsunoda

Esteban Ocon

Ollie Bearman

Lance Stroll

Alexander Albon

Pierre Gasly

Isack Hadjar

Jack Doohan

porschef1

View from the top of Australia is so good you can see Stuttgart from here.

tagged: avaflorence, sebsatianvettel

see comments below

vettel_forever: Sebastian P7 to podium, calling it now! 🏆

> florence4ever: Porsche 1-2 from day one 💯

racingnews24: Audi: "We're joining F1!" Porsche: "Hold my beer" 🍻

> f1_memer: The German Civil War continues

> delulu: Out qualified both Audi's and Ava had the worse set up. Queen shit.

audif1: Enjoy the view while it lasts. See you on race day.

> hulk: Get Nico a podium and then talk!

> shoey4ricc: I want Hulkenberg on the podium so badly, but Audi kinda dug themselves a grave by doing all this.

SUNDAY CAME FAST, and the grid was lined up for the 2025 Formula 1 season. The nerves and expectations were on everyone. Lando couldn't manage to dethrone Max in 2024, but everyone said he can do it this year. He had the fast car, he had the pole position, and all he needed was to maintain it. But Ava was right behind. Rookie or not,  she stole P2 from the second McLaren, arguably the fastest car on the grid right now. Speaking of him, Oscar wanted this race win badly. Every driver dreams of winning a Grand Prix, but many dream of winning their home race. This race was crucial for Oscar, not just for the championship, but for his pride.

          NEXT YEAR IS OUR YEAR was Ferrari's slogan for the past 17 years. This year had to be the year though. They had two mega-star drivers. They invested everything into Leclerc. They invested everything into Hamilton. They were just a millimeter away last year. They want to a mile ahead this year.

"Welcome along to the first round of 2025 Formula 1 Season. We are in Melbourne, Australia at the beautiful Albert Park circuit to kick off the start of what is surely going to be a spectacular season. We've got 58 laps ahead of his round, a 3.28 mile circuit and the lap record, set by Charles Leclerc in 2024. 4 DRS zones here, more than any other circuit, around 14 corners. Let's take a look at our grid."

"It was a wild qualifying this year, like it is every year. The lap record holder spun off in Q3, landing him 10th on the grid. But if any driver can make a comeback, it is him. Drivers to watch out for - obviously, we have the pole sitter, Lando Norris. He's been on fire all weekend. Can he finish the job today?"

"We'll certain see, Martin, but the driver behind him isn't going make it easy. Ava Florence, the rookie for Porsche, stunned everyone yesterday. She'll sits P2, only seven hundredths off Norris' time."

HENRY Okay, Ava. Don't worry too much about your start. Our goal is to make these tires last longer than the competition.

"And that Ava certainly will do. She starts on soft tires for the Grand Prix, but she's running a higher suspension than the rest of the top 10, so she might be out on the track for a long time before she comes into the pits. The question is: was that the right call?"

"Only time will tell, Martin, but now the drivers finish up their formation lap... IT'S LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO! Immediately, Ava gets a good jump, she's right on Lando, Max in the back passes on Russel as we head down to the first corner AND AVA GETS TO THE APEX FIRST, SHE LEADS IN, AND SHE TAKES THE POSITION. Once again, Lando Norris will not get to the first corner from pole in pole. Oscar right behind Lando, can't get away-

"The Williams just hit the Aston Martin. Who is it? Debris is going everywhere. Pierre Gasly gets through the disaster, but that's... that's Albon and Stroll there. Stroll's car is beached on the gravel."

"Up ahead, Ava continues her lead into Turn 5 heading for end of the first sector. Behind is Lando, Oscar, Hamilton, Verstappen, Vettel, Russell, Hulkenberg, Antonelli, and Leclerc to round out the top ten.

"We saw Verstappen pass Russell at the start, but looks like Vettel passed him too. He's put into sixth. Let's have a look at crash. Albon is still racing, but car is limping on the road. He's desperately trying to get to the pits. But Stroll... Yeah, he's getting out of the car. Lance Stroll is out of the race. So, first corner, first lap, and we already have our first retirement of 2025."

"Such a shame, especially with Newey entering the Aston department to help them with their new 2026 Honda engine deal. Not the start Aston Martin wanted for their first race. But at least Alonso is still in the race, he's climbed up two places into P12. And here as he are about to finish up the first lap, Ava is still the driver leading into Turns 13 and 14. The gap to Lando has extended, but not to Oscar. The Australian staring at his teammates rear wing. No DRS yet, but in due time, he just might be able to get ahead of Lando."

Lap 3:

TURN 1 - LAW overtakes SAI on the inside lane, sweeping in to take P13

TURN 8 - LEC passes ANT on the outside to take P9

Lap 6:

AVA FLORENCE SETS FASTEST LAP : LEAD +1.350

LAP 9:

TURN 7 -  PIA passes NOR on the inside to take P2

OSCAR PIASTRI SETS FASTED LAP : GAP TO P1 +3.545

LAP 10 - 12:

WHEEL-TO-WHEEL BATTLE:

"Max Verstappen closes the gap with DRS. He's right on Hamilton's gearbox. He makes the lunge into Turn 1 on the inside. But Hamilton just holds on to the position. Verstappen and Hamilton, wheel to once again. They've shown thrilling battles before, but they've also know some jaw-dropping incidents. Verstappen makes the move on the outside. Can he make it stick? They're so close into Turn 4. Verstappen has to back off. Hamilton, defending that P4 with all his might."

"Back into the opening straight and DRS with Verstappen. He makes the lunge once again. He is denied once again. Hamilton continues to defend the position. Up ahead, Florence extends her lead to four seconds. And behind, Leclerc passes Hulkenberg. But all eyes are on these two. Who's going to come out on top?"

HENRY Hamilton and Verstappen are occupied with one another. We're happy to pit now. Your choice.

FLORENCE I think I can extend this stint.

"For the third straight time, Verstappen tries it on the inside line. This time, he gets it to stick, just a sliver ahead of Hamilton. And that is all the space Verstappen needed to get ahead in P4. Behind, Sebastian Vettel has caught up with the two. From fighting one 4x time Red Bull champion to another."

LAP 14:

AVA PIT STOP : 3.1 SECONDS | P6

TURN 5 - LEC passes RUS to take P7

LAP 16:

AVA FLORENCE SETS FASTEST LAP : GAP TO P1 +12.345

TURN 9 - ALO makes a clean pass on ANT for P10

LAP 20:

TURN 3 - BOR overtakes HUL on the outside to claim P9

TURN 7 - SAI and LAW engage in a brief battle, with SAI maintaining P13

LAP 25:

AVA FLORENCE PIT STOP : 2.8 SECONDS | P4 

"Ava Florence emerges from the pits in P4, right behind George Russell. And She's immediately looking for the attack, looking for a way past the British driver. She tries to make a move on the inside of Turn 1, but Russell aggressively defends that position. Not much she could do there.

"Turn 1, and Florence fancies her chances on the inside, but Russell's having none of it. He's defending like his life depends on it! Through the next corner, it's anybody's guess who'll come out on top. They're so close you couldn't slip a piece of paper between them!"

"And now, Turn 3, Florence bravely goes for the outside line. It's a bold move, but- OH MY GOODNESS! CONTACT BETWEEN RUSSELL AND FLORENCE! SHE'S OFF THE TRACK! What drama we're seeing here, ladies and gentlemen!"

RUSSELL Nothing I could do. I had no space.

FLORENCE Someone tell this f***** that he's not Hamilton at Mercedes.

HENRY Any damage?

FLORENCE No damage. Just trying to say sane. What's Russell saying?

HENRY Russell is reporting front wing damage.

FLORENCE Karma!

"She doesn't so happy, does she, Crofty? That was quite a rip on Russell. But the Stewards will be looking into that incident and surely, that's a penalty for Russell. He was on the inside lane, Florence gave him plenty of room. No need for him to push her off the track like that."

"He will see the result of that penalty indeed, but right now Florence has lost crucial time and position. She's rejoined right behind Gabriel Bortoleto."

"I will say. Gabriel Bortoleto, the driver from out of Brazil, has done phenomenally well in his first race. I think we knew had talent, but were wondering what to make off it since he was starting in Sauber. But then Audi announced they would the join the early. And look at how its played out."

"Indeed, it's gone great for the team. Of course, the team they were directly responding to is right behind him."

LAP 28:

TURN 1 - VET makes a daring move on HAM, briefly taking P4 before HAM reclaims it in Turn 2

LAP 30:

"AND HERE WE GO! It's an absolute THRILLER between Florence and Bortoleto battling for P5! OH MY GOODNESS, WHAT A FIGHT WE'RE SEEING!"

"Look at the precision, the commitment from both drivers. Both sides are respecting the space for the other drivers, but neither side is giving up any sort of room. It's strange how that works, but that's an F3 and F2 champion fighting right here. Florence is showing tremendous tactical awareness ."

"INTO TURN 3 - BORTOLETO DEFENDS! HE'S HOLDING THE RACING LINE! BUT WAIT - FLORENCE ISN'T BACKING DOWN! SWITCH TO THE INSIDE FOR TURN 4 - SHE'S DONE IT! FLORENCE MAKES THE MOVE STICK! LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY SHE GOES! WHAT A MAGNIFICENT PIECE OF RACING!"

"Brilliant overtake. That's the kind of move that separates good drivers from great drivers. Clean, calculated, and absolutely decisive. Many said that if Florence continued to race in F2, she'd give Bortoleto a run for the title. And this right here shows it."

LAP 35:

LANDO NORRIS PIT STOP : 2.7 SECONDS | P4

LEWIS HAMILTON PIT STOP : 3.6 SECONDS | P6

AVA FLORENCE MOVES UP TO P2

LAP 40:

TURN 9 - ANT and HUL battle for P10, with ANT holding on by mere tenths

LAP 48:

"Florence has been relentlessly chasing down Piastri. Look at that - she's right on his gearbox, the gap closing down faster than a pit stop. Florence goes for the inside, but Piastri - what a defensive move! He covers it off brilliantly."

"Piastri has made a big jump in his defensive ability. We saw him defend Hamilton on the start and he's doing a beautiful job here."

"She's not giving up yet. She feints to the outside... cuts back to the inside. They're side-by-side through Turn 1, neither driver willing to give an inch! This is wheel-to-wheel racing at its absolute finest!"

"Piastri has the inside line for Turn 2, but Florence is hanging in there."

LAP 49:

TURN 3 - LEC makes a bold move on NOR, taking P4

TURN 8 - BOR defends P8 from a charging ALO

LAP 50:

"Florence has been calculatingher next move for laps. When will she unleash? Oscar Piastri is waiting, ready to defend. Look at this - she gets a phenomenal exit out of the final corner, using that slipstream down the main straight DRS wide open, and she's pulling alongside Piastri - they're NECK AND NECK into Turn 1! Florence brakes later, takes the inside line, and MAKES THE PASS STICK! WHAT A MOVE!"

"Absolutely spectacular, Crofty. That's how you make a race-defining move! She knew she had slipstream, she knew exactly the kind of space Piastri was going to give her and she took advantage of it. Brilliant. Brilliant racing."

LAP 52:

TURN 3 - LEC overtakes HAM, taking P3

LAP 58:

"Ava Florence hasn't been in Formula 1 for long, but she's already made history. The first female driver on the grid since Giovanna Amati in 1992. She will become the 9th driver to stand on the podium in their first race. And the second driver since Giancarlo Baghetti in 1961 to win their first ever Formula 1 Race. AVA FLORENCE WINS THE AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX!"

HENRY Congratulations, Ava! You've freaking done it!

FLORENCE OH MY GOD!! SIGN THIS, TAT IT, STICK ON A NOTE AND PUT IT ON MY HELMET! I DON'T CARE! I JUST WON IT!!

RUDI Okay, that's P7, Seb. Good job. Welcome back to the grid.

VETTEL Yeah, a little rusty. But amazing feeling. Thank you guys

RUDI And Ava won the race, by the way.

VETTEL Hah, really? Amazing. Gute Arbeit!

AUSTRALIA GRAND PRIX RESULTS

1. AVA FLORENCE (+25)

2. OSCAR PIASTRI (+18)

3. CHARLES LECLERC (+15)

4. LEWIS HAMILTON (+12)

5. LANDO NORRIS (+10)

6. MAX VERSTAPPEN (+8)

7. SEBASTIAN VETTEL (+6)

8. GABRIEL BORTOLETO (+4)

9. FERNANDO ALONSO (+2)

10. GEORGE RUSSELL (+1)

11. ANDREA KIMI ANTONELLI

12. NICO HULKENBERG

13. LIAM LAWSON

14. CARLOS SAINZ

15. YUKI TSUNODA

16. OLLIE BEARMAN

17. ESTABAN OCON

18. PIERRE GASLY

19. ISACK HADJAR

20. JACK DOOHAN

21. ALEXANDER ALBON [DNF]

22. LANCE STROLL [DNF] f1

SIGN THIS, TAT IT, STICK ON A NOTE AND PUT IT ON HER HELMET! WE DON'T CARE! AVA FLORENCE WINS THE AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX!

tagged: avaflorence

see comments below

f1_memer: Audi watching this like 👀

> totosheadphones: Absolutely cooked Bortoleto in the race 🔥

madmax: That's how you make an entrance in F1! Welcome, Porsche!

racing_queen: George's front wing is probably still shaking from that incident

> chuckleclerc: inchident

boomerhumor: George "He turned into me" Russell strikes again😅 What a race!

florence4ever: Ava probably some of the best radio messages here: "someone tell him he's not Hamilton at Mercedes" 😭

> goatifi: She stole Fernando's "KARMA" 💀

AUSTRALIA POST-RACE INTERVIEW

Interviewer: Congratulation, Ava. Your first race in F1 and already a win in your bag.

Ava: Hello~ How are you? Thank you so much. You look fantastic.

Interview: I think you look better than me.

Ava: Oh shut up. Tell me where you got that dress from. I need to grab something before I leave the land down under.

Interview: I'll let you know after this. Tell us, what are your emotions on your win? Guide us through this race.

Ava: Yeah, I mean... To be honest, even though I was P2, I thought a win was far away. You know, we ran a bad setup on the car. I struggled in qualifying to even get into some of the sessions but you know, we got P2 in the end. And so then I had to convert that to something in the race. Norris I saw had a slow reaction on the start, so I took the opportunity to get past him into turn one and then from there 1st put stop, you know, pretty good. But then the 2nd pit stop... came out right behind Russell. I thought, you know, I could go for this overtake And, he thought to be an idiot and turned into me when I was on the outside. So I don't know what happened there. I'm not complaining with the end result, but definitely was complaining on that one. Then I had a little fight with Gabriel. I got past him. Norris went into the pits, gave me the second position that I needed. And on Piastri, I was just waiting for DRS to kick in. And I knew that was going to be my opportunity and I got it.

Interview: So, Oscar, you were very close to winning your home Grand Prix. What are you feeling here?

Oscar: Yeah, tough. I was leading for a while. Confident I could get the race win. And then Ava came behind me and it was tough to keep her away. P2 is a strong position. Helps me, helps the team. But I definitely wished I got first.

Interview: Charles, after that spin in Q3, you started 10th on the grid. You worked your way up to the podium. How was it?

Charles: It was good. The car had pace. Obviously, not as much as we wanted, but I made some good overtakes. We had a solid strategy. By the time, I passed Lewis, the McLarens were too far ahead. Overall, strong result for the team. We'll look into the data to see where we can improve because we're definitely faster than what was shown today.

HOWEVER, all that aside, the fans of F1 wanted to know one thing and one thing only. What did the drivers think of Ava Florence? She was the first point scoring woman in F1 history. The first race-winning woman in F1 history.

Oscar: She's very quick. She's a tough racer. It was very hard to defend against her. She's pretty relentless.

Lando: She's crazy good. I mean, first race, first win. You don't just do that randomly. So, she's proven herself.

Charles: I think the race showed it. She has the pace and the racecraft to compete with the best. Very strong qualifier. Strong pace. Not many flaws I would saw. For a rookie, that's incredible.

Lewis: It's amazing to see her race. Not only is she crazy fast, but she's representing women out there in motorsport. You know, when I was growing up, there wasn't any driver that I could look to and say, "He's like me." I got the opportunity to be that kind of driver for others. And I'm sure she's now going to be a huge inspiration for women all over the world. Major props to her.

Max: She's fast. I mean, that's the basis of what you need to compete. And she has it.

Sebastian: Ava is an incredible racer. Porsche has a lot of trust in her and for good reason. She's a strong driver, and a strong person too. She doesn't let the comments get to her. And her character is one of the best out there. Happy for her. Congrats on the race win. Hopefully, many more will come.

Gabriel: The same as before. Competing against her in F3 was definitely one of the most challenging moments of my life. And now we're both on the highest level of racing. Yeah, that's it. She's fast. She's tough. She's great.

Fernando: Fantastic performance. She definitely stands out and she has great race pace, great awareness, overall just fantastic for motorsport as a whole. I don't really care if she's a woman or not. She's got the speed to compete with everyone else.

George: I think, for a rookie, it's a impressive performance. But you're going to have the rookie mistakes that everyone makes. You know, a lot of them are overly ambitious.

Carlos: She's great. Very good race she had today. Happy to see representation on the grid. I hope the best for her.

avaflorence

Australia, whatever you were, I hate you and I love you. First race, first win. Thank you. And I seriously recommend some eyewear for some of these drivers.

see comments below

f1_fanatic92: Love-hate relationships are the best! Congrats on your first win, Ava! 🏆💖

> throughgoeshamilton: "Love-hate relationships are the best." Serious question, are you okay?

ausgp: Come back next year and maybe you're mind will change 😉

motorsport_daily: "I hate you and I love you" - the perfect description of F1!

> delulu: average ferrari fan

landonorris: Congrats... I guess

> avaflorence: No need to be salty honey. Australia is already surrounded by an ocean.

> florence4ever: 😭😭

vettel_forever: First race, first win, and already throwing shade?

> team44: Rusell was fuming in the post-race interview 💀

> hamland: Bro def saw her radio message. He's cooked.

alldatime: She stole Fernando's "yoke", "karma," and his celebration. El Padre 2.0?

> avaflorence: El Madre ❤️

porschef1

We kept the receipts. Double points finish in Australia.

tagged: avaflorence, sebastianvettel

see comments below

lululemoncalled: Someone check in on Audi. I don't think they're doing so well.

delulu: Ava was fighting with the McLarens and Hulkenberg was struggling with Antonelli 💀

vettel_forever: Schumacher 🤝 Vettel joining a German based team after retirement

> schumi: Bro was really copying his idol to the max.

audif1: See you in China.

> porschef1: 🧾

WORLD DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP

WORLD CONSTRUCTOR CHAMPIONSHIP

taglist: @freyathehuntress

[eyneyke]

The Moment pt3

Pairing: Max Verstappen x PewDiePie!sibling Summary: What if Felix had a genius brother who works as a RedBull's engineer and is also secretly dating Max part 29 of A Calm to my Storm Masterlist

aka. The Final Stretch – Max’s Miracle Drive

*just a lil heads up: while I am a fan of f1 and cars, neither english nor car and bolid technology are my forte, so bare with me and my questionable writing of Sam explaining something technical about the car :)

Two-thirds of the race is done, and the impossible is happening. Max Verstappen, who started at the very back of the grid, has fought his way up to fourth place. While no one doubted Max's abilities, today feels like a miracle. After his last pit stop, all eyes are on him, wondering if Sam Kjellberg’s overnight fixes will hold.

Commentator 1: “Max Verstappen is performing wonders today. I mean, he’s climbed from P20 to P4, but considering the issues Red Bull had with the car, this is nothing short of miraculous.”

Commentator 2: “Absolutely. His driving is superb as always, but we have to remember that what Sam Kjellberg did with that car—untested modifications done overnight—this is unheard of.”

---

Suddenly, Max’s radio comes to life.

GP (Race Engineer): “Max, you’re a second behind Alonso in P3. You’re 3 seconds off Sebastian in P2, and Lewis is 6 seconds ahead, leading the race. Behind you, Kimi is 10 seconds back, so you’ve got some space.”

Max (jokingly, but you can hear his breathing): Copy that. Hopefully Sam's still awake.

GP: “How are you feeling? The car feeling okay?”

Max (calmly): “We're both feeling good, mate. Great, even.”

GP (laughing): “Alright, Max, I’m officially handing you over into Sam’s beautiful arms.”

Max (laughing): “I do love those arms.”

As Max exits a tricky corner, preparing for the long straight, Sam’s voice comes over the radio.

Sam: “Max, I need you to empty the battery completely on this straight. 0% by the end of it.”

---

Commentator 1: “What? Did Sam just tell Max to empty the battery? That’s... that’s all the power he has left for this straight.”

Commentator 2: “Yeah, I don’t get it. They’re going to be a sitting duck without that extra energy. What is Sam thinking?”

---

Max follows the instruction without question, flooring it down the straight and draining the battery entirely.

Max (radio): “Battery’s empty, Sam.”

Sam: “Okay, go into the next corner like you would normally. Follow the line. When you exit, turn R20 on 55 and add power.”

---

The camera cuts to the timing screen. As Max’s battery drained, Kimi Räikkönen has gotten within 2 seconds of him. The pressure is mounting.

Max takes the corner flawlessly and follows Sam’s instructions. As soon as he exits, the car surges forward, accelerating, and continuing the drive rapidly despite the battery still being empty.

Commentator 1 (shocked): “What in the world is happening?! How is Max still driving?”

Commentator 2 (in disbelief): “I have no idea, but it’s working! He’s pulling away from Kimi now.”

---

Max (radio, laughing): “Sam’s arms save me again.”

Sam (dryly): “Shut up and finish the race so I can finally go to sleep.”

Max (laughing): “Sir, yes sir.”

As Max pulls away from Kimi, he’s closing in fast on Alonso in P3. The commentators are losing their minds, and the cameras show Christian Horner and Adrian Newey patting Sam on the back. Sam waves them off, his eyes glued to the screen in front of him. 

---

Final Laps

Max overtakes Alonso with a perfectly timed move, taking P3. Alonso can’t fight back, and just moments later, Kimi passes Alonso as well. The battle for the podium is heating up, but Max is now chasing down Sebastian Vettel in P2.

Commentator 1: “Verstappen’s done it! He’s up to P3, and now it’s a race between him, Sebastian, and Lewis!”

Commentator 2: “This is incredible. Sam’s strategy is somehow working, and Max is driving like a man possessed!”

---

On the last lap, Max gets a brilliant run on Sebastian coming out of the final sector and overtakes him for P2. Over the radio, Sebastian’s voice is heard, stunned.

Sebastian (radio): “Woah. That's amazing.” He says breathlessly and amazed by what he just witnessed.

--- 

The crowd is on its feet as Max closes in on Lewis Hamilton, who is leading the race. As they approach the final turn, Max makes his move, catching Lewis by surprise and sliding past him with a beautiful overtake.

Max Verstappen crosses the line to take the victory.

---

Post-Race Reactions

Max’s radio lights up again.

Christian (jokingly): “Max, you and Sam are the reason I’m going home with completely white hair after this race. I’m too old for this!”

In the background, Adrian Newey is heard laughing.

Max (laughing): “Happy to help, boss.”

Sam (dryly): “Good job, Max. Now, please don’t crash in the cool-down lap. Thanks.”

Max (laughing): “Sir, yes sir!”

As the drivers pull into the pit lane, the camera shows the Red Bull garage celebrating like mad, with Christian, Newey, and Sam at the centre of it all. Mechanics are jumping all over each other, and the energy is electric. Other nearby garages, including Mercedes and Ferrari, are seen clapping and congratulating the Red Bull team.

---

Commentators’ Closing Thoughts

Commentator 1: “What an unbelievable race! Max Verstappen wins after starting P20, and credit has to go to Sam Kjellberg for his work overnight. The modifications on that car—untested as they were—made all the difference.”

Commentator 2: “Sam’s miracle engineering and Max’s incredible driving... it all came together today. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

---

Online Reactions

@MaxTheKing: I cannot believe what I just saw! Max went from last to first?!? SAM IS A MAGICIAN! THIS WAS INSANE.

@RBRObsessed: Did y’all hear Max just casually say Sam’s arms saved him again? My heart.

@TheOvertakeMaster: Sam told Max something, Max ACTUALLY listened... and it WORKED. HOW?! HOW DID THAT WORK?!?

@MercedesFan92: Respect to Max, but Sam Kjellberg is the MVP of this race. His work saved that car, and Max trusted him 100%

@FormulaGod: Christian: "I’m going home with white hair." Sam: "Good job, please don’t crash." Them boyz are so tired they just want this weekend to be done

@F1LoverForever: Seb: “That’s amazing.” YES, SEB IT IS!

[cognitivejustice]

In just five years, $6 billion was invested in renewable energy — the equivalent of 12% of Uruguay’s GDP.

The results: Power production costs have declined “by almost half”, according to Méndez Galain. And the clean energy sector has created 50,000 new jobs — the equivalent of 3% of the labour force. Further, Uruguay has become a net exporter of electricity.

The rapid increase in wind power capacity has largely displaced oil use, even as electricity demand has steadily grown.

[collapsedsquid]

97% of firms in India, 96% of firms in Indonesia, and 91% of firms in Mexico have fewer than 10 employees. Of these, most are just a single owner-operator, or perhaps a household enterprise. 55% of employment in developing countries is self-employment, rising to a staggering 77% in sub-Saharan Africa. These individuals operate firms, producing goods or providing services. Indeed they operate most firms. If we want to enable firms to grow, how should we think about these self-employed people? One possibility is that self-employed people are “micro-entrepreneurs.” They would like to grow their enterprises, but don’t have the resources to do so. This is the premise of microfinance, the most popular development intervention of the 2000s. Microfinance is the practice of giving households small loans that they can use to set up or grow a home business. If self-employed people are really microentrepreneurs, then the key to firm growth is giving them more access to capital. However, many different lines of evidence suggest that this view of self-employed people is inaccurate, and that it is more accurate to think of them as workers looking for wage employment than as entrepreneurs.  In developing countries, self-employed people transition to wage employment at similar rates as unemployed people — and earn similar wages when they do. This isn’t what we would expect to see if self-employed people intended to grow their businesses as “microentrepreneurs.” In that case, they would be reluctant to quit their enterprise and take a wage job. This is exactly the behavior we see in rich countries, where self-employed people transition to wage employment much less frequently than unemployed people, and do it for higher wages.  Microfinance studies also reveal that microloans have very little average impact on household or business outcomes. Most businesses run by an individual or a household are just not designed to scale. All of these facts point to self-employed people behaving more like unemployed workers than like entrepreneurs — which is to say, looking for jobs rather than aiming to create them. If self-employed people act more like unemployed workers than business owners, that implies that we should not design policy to bolster the growth of microenterprises. These microenterprises are desperate measures in the absence of wage employment, and will melt away if and when formal-sector firm growth creates more jobs. Formal-sector firm growth is key to making developing countries grow. Another urgent implication of this fact is that there is an unemployment crisis in developing countries that isn’t captured by official statistics. The typical approach to measuring unemployment is to ask whether people want to work but are unable to find any opportunities to do so — including self-employment. By this measure, the official unemployment rate in developing countries is 5% and 6% — around the same as in developed countries. However, if self-employed people are unemployed “in disguise,” this number could be much higher. One study estimated that at least 24% of self-employment during India’s agricultural lean season occurs solely because workers cannot find jobs. If we (loosely!) extrapolate this to a sub-Saharan African country with 77% of workers being self-employed, then the true unemployment rate jumps from 6% to 25%! Even if only 50% of workers are self-employed, then the true unemployment rate is still 18%. That level of unemployment is a catastrophic failure, and a crisis that cuts against both poverty alleviation for individuals and aggregate growth. 

[getvalentined]

Worst FF7 takes I've seen on the subreddit today:

Hojo impregnated Lucrecia via artificial insemination, they were never in a relationship, they didn't even like each other. (Canon: Hojo and Lucrecia were married.)

Gast had a conscience at the end of his life and that means that nothing he did was reprehensible because he felt bad about it. (Canon: Gast is never actually shown feeling bad about what he did, and when he found out that Jenova wasn't a Cetra he ran off with Ifalna and knocked her up to make a real human/Cetra hybrid instead, leaving the monster child he'd been tending to for 5-6 years with a man he knew to be a butcher.)

Barret is the most evil character in the series because he knew blowing up the reactors would kill people and that's unacceptable. (Canon: Barret definitely knew this, but how is killing a hundred-odd people in a bombing worse than President Shinra dropping the Sector 7 plate and killing hundreds of thousands, or anyone in the science department literally torturing people and experimenting on babies? I think this might be the racism jumping out.)

Rufus wanted to kill his father for the greater good. (Canon: Rufus wanted to kill his father because he was abusive and Rufus hated him and Rufus wanted what he was owed, which he believed was the entire fucking world.)

ADDING ON A NEW CONTENDER: Gast experimenting on everyone from research assistants to babies isn't proven lore because the wiki doesn't say it in those words, and even if he did it's not evil because he showed remorse by running away when he found out Jenova wasn't a Cetra. (Canon: DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND THAT BEING IN CHARGE OF A SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH PROJECT BASED AROUND A SINGLE EXPERIMENT MEANS YOU APPROVED AND WORKED ON THE EXPERIMENT INVOLVED? DO I NEED TO EXPLAIN WHY EXPERIMENTING ON CHILDREN IS EVIL? DO YOU NEED SOME HELP UNDERSTANDING THAT GUILT DOESN'T MEAN A DAMN THING IF YOU TAKE NO STEPS TO REPAIR THE DAMAGE YOU CAUSED? ARE YOU FUCKING SHITTING ME?!)

I am constantly baffled by the lack of narrative comprehension in this fandom.

[inthefallofasparrow]

CORRESPONDENCE 1031 – THIRD QUADRANT 6 > NEVADA CENTRAL DISPATCH ~092338 RE: ASSESSMENT REPORT - Officer Yuki de Witt

OFFICER’S NOTES: 3Q6 is one of the more efficient quadrants within the Mining Division. All of Sectors 5 through 9 have consistently run at full or double quota for the last season. CIRCUMSTANTIAL: Successful liaison with 3Q6 Board of Captains (Cpt. SPIEGEL, absent) regarding the sudden death of Unit 23 Cpt. SILTSMEAR from 4Q6. Decision pending. Further info required. INCIDENT REPORT: n/a WORKER MORALE: Moderate

~RESPONSE: Received (211)

DIGGING CORPS - LOG 081/- Hey. I know you’ll never read this, but I guess I don’t need you to. Was only supposed to stay a few days, write up my assessment for Dispatch and then leave, but then one of the captains in a neighboring quadrant fucking died. Nothing nefarious mind you, just dust pneumonia. Certainly, more paperwork than it was worth. Sounds like a lot of weird shit’s been going on over there, so one of the captains went over to assist with the transitional period, and I agreed to stay here at Third Q6 to cover until he could be replaced. That was over a month ago now, and I miss the fucking sun! Never thought I’d say that. Had a few reservations about being stuck underground this long as the only woman for miles in any direction, but so far, apart from the odd leer in the mess hall, I have remained “unharassed”. The worst of it would be one particularly cantankerous geezer called Ira Trask, Foreman of 9C, who insisted on addressing me by my first name until I referred him to the NCD handbook on worksite professionalism, and he relented. I assumed he just wanted to be friendly so I'd help get him promoted, but now I think it was something deeper, more sad and nostalgic. There’s a lock on my door at least, and being exceptionally tall seems to give them second thoughts. But as you’d imagine, height’s not generally an advantage in tight, enclosed spaces with low ceilings. Most shovelmen develop a stooped physique during their time in the corps. Fucked if I’m gonna stay that long.

Yuk

DIGGING CORPS – LOG 94/- Decided if I have to be stuck down here in Satan’s ass crack, twiddling my thumbs, I might as well spend the time processing some individual Worker Profiles. The shovelmen generally alternate between reticent, awkward, sullen or befuddled by the concept of being personally assessed, but if me doing their interview gets them a few minutes to slack off their shifts, they’re happy enough for the distraction. Foreman Trask is displeased by the interruption, but he is welcome to sit on it.

Names seem to be taboo here. I know all the workers’ names of course, because it’s on their file, but that really freaks them out and there’s no point in using them. Share anything of your backstory with your fellow shovelmen, anything that they can tie back to you, and that’s a power they now hold over you. It's like some kind of deep occult shit, but for fucking miners. Everyone gets a new name here, bestowed upon you by your peers. And you only get that so you can tell whose shovel you’re holding.

Met a greenie from Unit 9A named Theodore today. The others call him ‘Mouse’ which he seems to prefer. Whether it’s for his demeanor, his silky brown hair, or, I don’t know, maybe he just likes cheese, he won’t answer to anything else despite having only been here two months. I asked him and a few others what they knew about the late Captain from 4Q6. Common sentiment seems to be that he was mad as a balloon.

Yuk

DIGGING CORPS - LOG 113/- Had a dream about the swing mom never built us. The big tire swing that wasn’t in the apple orchard. I know you don’t remember it, because, well, it never existed, but I feel like I’ve mentioned it before. Anyway, in the dream, I was swinging in the orchard at night time. And the sky was so pitch black, because there weren’t any stars at all. Just a void. Like, the dream was set after the sun had just died, and there was nothing left. Or maybe it wasn’t night. Maybe the orchard was inside a cave. It doesn’t matter. So, the swing was just a regular car tire, but then as I swung higher, I looked down and it was suddenly bigger. Stretching out to the size of a tractor tire. Or something off a monster truck. Then, I swung higher, and the tire grew again, too big for any actual vehicle, and now I could easily fit inside the trough of the tire itself and lie in it like a big hammock. But I couldn’t do that, because the trough was full of apples. Hundreds of these squishy brown apples in various states of decay. And the apples were growing too. Larger and larger, bustling and toppling over each other until they were the size of bowling balls, and then beach balls, and I was sort of half-drowning, half-swimming in these apples. And then I realized. They weren’t growing. I was shrinking. So, I climbed inside of an apple where the pip should be, because I knew deep down that was the logical place to go to die, and then I woke up. I’m pretty sure I know what it means, even if you don’t.

Yuk

DIGGING CORPS – LOG 115/- Random insights gleaned from Unit 9 Review a.k.a. ‘Operation: Peanut Gallery’:

Shovelman ‘Wiles’ - Appears to be the closest thing Sector 9 has to a medic. At least, he says he knows how to saw a man’s leg off without killing him, which is good enough here apparently. I didn’t ask for specifics. There is a constant film of dust covering his glasses, which he seems unaware of.

Shovelman ‘Twoshort’- Tried to convince me it’s common practice for the men to eat handfuls of dirt as a snack, given it’s more nutritious than whatever they were being served in the mess hall. I offered to immediately lodge a formal complaint with Captain Spiegel and the Food Prep team on his behalf, and he backpedaled comically fast, and then tripped on his way out because his foot was asleep.

Shovelman ‘Basher’ – Built like a shuttle truck and functionally deaf after an incident with a stick of dynamite last year. Uses a form of abridged sign language that he and a few others in his unit invented specifically for him. Extremely introverted at first until Wiles came to interpret for me, then he wouldn't shut up.

Shovelman ‘Blessed’ - Recently discovered an injured bat, which he has taken it upon himself to nurse back to health against NCD regulation 58N. He also appears to be deathly allergic to said bat, as his face and hands had swollen incredibly within minutes of handling the thing. A persistent sneezing has overtaken him, but apparently that’s normal and unrelated to the bat. Also allergic to dirt?

Regardless, get me the fuck out of here. Yuk

[reasonsforhope]

Version that doesn't require sign-in.

"Hot Labor Summer just became a scorcher.

[On August 25, 2023], the National Labor Relations Board released its most important ruling in many decades. In a party-line decision in Cemex Construction Materials Pacific, LLC, the Board ruled that when a majority of a company’s employees file union affiliation cards, the employer can either voluntarily recognize their union or, if not, ask the Board to run a union recognition election. If, in the run-up to or during that election, the employer commits an unfair labor practice, such as illegally firing pro-union workers (which has become routine in nearly every such election over the past 40 years, as the penalties have been negligible), the Board will order the employer to recognize the union and enter forthwith [a.k.a. immediately] into bargaining.

The Cemex decision was preceded by another, one day earlier, in which the Board, also along party lines, set out rules for representation elections which required them to be held promptly after the Board had been asked to conduct them, curtailing employers’ ability to delay them, often indefinitely.

Taken together, this one-two punch effectively makes union organizing possible again, after decades in which unpunished employer illegality was the most decisive factor in reducing the nation’s rate of private-sector unionization from roughly 35 percent to the bare 6 percent at which it stands today...

“This is a sea change, a home run for workers,” said Brian Petruska, an attorney for the Laborers Union who authored a 2017 law review article on how to effectively restore to workers their right to collective bargaining enshrined in the 1935 National Labor Relations Act, which was all but nullified by the act’s weakening over the past half-century. Taken together, Petruska added, last week’s decisions recreate “a system with no tolerance for employers’ coercion of their employees” when their employees seek their legal right to collective bargaining...

Since the days of Lyndon Johnson, every time that the Democrats have controlled the White House and both houses of Congress, they’ve tried to put some teeth back into the steadily more toothless NLRA. But they’ve never managed to muster the 60 votes needed to get those measures through the Senate. The Cemex ruling actually goes beyond much of what was proposed in those never-enacted bills."

-via The American Prospect, August 28, 2023

--

Note: I didn't include it because the paragraphs about it went super into the weeds, but the reason all of this is happening is because of the NRLB's general counsel, Jennifer Abruzzo, who was appointed by Biden. In fact, according to this article, this "secures Abruzzo’s place as the most important public official to secure American workers’ rights since New York Sen. Robert Wagner, who authored the NLRA in 1935." Voting matters

[keepthedelta]

what would you consider Rosberg's best race? (wanna hear people wax poetic about their special interest)

it's going to be a list because i am weird about nico

singapore 2016. an absolutely dominate weekend for him, fastest in every single session, outqualified lewis by 7 tenths (and danny ric by 6) setting what was (at the time) a track record. spent the entire race managing brake and engine issues, got screwed over by merc strategy when they were trying to get lewis back onto the podium after he got overtaken by kimi, had to make his tyres last an extra 20 laps with danny ric chasing him down 2-4 seconds a lap faster than him. won the race and then posted a slutty shirtless photo of him being cooled down by a fan in what could be considered the ancestor of the ice bath videos that teams post now.

canada 2014. a real contender for my favourite ever nico race even though he didn't win. both merc cars had mgu-h failure about 20-30 laps in thereby losing half of their power. nico switched brake bias to the front brakes so that less strain would be put on the rear brakes because on the lack of power and potential overheating. about five laps later lewis dnfs with rear brake failure. nico should have been overtaken by just about everybody, but instead he spends the next 30 laps using all of his power and speed in one specific sector (the one with the drs detection point) so that checo (now in second) is too far behind to get drs, and then, even though nico's car is barely alive for the rest of the lap, he can never overtake him. it literally took checo's car breaking down and allowing danny ric (now driving the best car in the field) for nico to lose the win. the mechanical masterclass of modern f1 (and yes it might not have worked at another track or i f someone other than checo had been in second, but i firmly believe that the lowest nico could have ever come given the circumstances was third) and it is not appreciated enough.

china 2012. i rewatched this recently and literally no one believed that nico was going to win until about five laps before the end. he was driving one of the world's shittiest mercs (i promise every single merc pre-2013 was worse than any car since then), got pole by half a second, got a perfect start, flawless tyre management, cruised to victory while everyone else was fighting for their lives behind him (the battle for second was absolutely insane, and nico was just minding his own business about 15 seconds ahead of them all).

singapore 2008. crashgate has entered the building. back then cars refuelled during the race and so another factor in the strategies was fuel load. nico and a number of others were running low initial fuel loads, so they would have to stop relatively early. except, just before they were going to stop, nelson piquet jr binned it into the wall (on purpose) and the stewards closed the pitlane for safety reasons. however, nico and the others on similar strategies needed to refuel so they had to enter the pitlane anyway which earned them a stop and go penalty which had to be served within three laps. nico did those laps as fast as he possibly could, meaning that after he served his penalty he only lost a handful of places (i think 3). robert kubica who also took a stop and go penalty on the exact same lap for the exact same reason (and was in a better car) lost far more places and i don't think he even finished in the points. nico spent the rest of the race rising up the field and finished second only to fernando (who got there by cheating) with lewis in a distant third (tbf i don't think he needed to try that hard by the end as he got a massive points gain over felipe massa his championship competition due to the ferrari pitlane incident).

malaysia 2016. casuals will tell you that this is the race where lewis lost the championship because of his dnf (and if you're a lh hater i recommend watching it because the level of conspiracy that emerges from lewis and sky sports is genuinely quite funny) but i think that's very misleading. in the very first turn seb crashed into nico, spinning him around and leaving him in dead last by the end of the first lap. nico fought through the field, pulled off a rallycross overtake on kimi, got a penalty for it, and was already sitting in fourth when lewis's engine blew up. he then pulled a ten second gap over kimi so that he kept his podium place, got danny ric to make max do a shoey, nearly threw up when he did one himself, told a room full of reporters that he didn't want danny ric to win another race (that year) and filmed one of the funniest ever post-race vlogs where he fidgeted with the neckline of his t-shirt while describing how seb had apologised to him for the crash and that was nice but it didn't get him any points back. truly iconic.

there is definitely a running theme in these choices i think. mostly that i think nico was at his best when he was fighting against the potential capabilities of the car/circuit/circumstances rather than other drivers 🤷🏿‍♀️