#winners rally team

[bumblely]

some people are apparently convinced that Jos Verstappen is ""trying to destroy Red Bull"" and is behind the Horner-gate because it was first in the Dutch press and other things happening with Red Bull at the moment. I don't understand why he would try to do that or even want do that 🤷‍♀️

[pauking5]

Runaway 🏎️ Chapter 1

Pairing: Naozumi Hiyama x fem reader oc

Synopsis: There's no place for women in the world of racing. Let alone rally. Until you show up - the daughter of a racing legend who lost everything out of nowhere - ready to stir the pot of competition and throw fuel to Naozumi's fire, burning wild in more than just one way. Just how far will you go to take your rightful place in the world of rally, restore the team to its glory and change things for the better?

Genre: racing AU, enemies to lovers, rivalry, suspense, a whole lot of teasing, gender power games, dating in secret

Word count: 4.5k+

A/N: Here it finally is. I can't believe I got to write about one of my passions in this way. Though I love rally, getting the technicalities right was rough but I researched as much as I could on it so it feels like the real thing, though there might be some minor inaccuracies, not really affecting the story.

This one has been in the works for a good period of time and though this first chapter is short and fast-paced, there's so much more coming. Trust the process cause god knows I do. I hope I can make Naozumi justice and I can't wait for you to read the next ones. Enjoy lovelies.

Now Playing: Edge of Seventeen - Wuki

Next Chapter 3 Chapter 4

It's not about how fast you go.

It's about how long you go fast.

Fast like-

A knock reverberated against your helmet, interrupting the pre-race mantra before you even finished reciting it, bringing you back to the chaos prior to the race start.

Chaos you wanted to avoid at all costs.

Blinking your eyes open, you took in the smell of burnt rubber and the atmosphere, fully packed with the deafening roars of the crowds in the stands soaring over the music heard all the way to your station. Another voice joined in the noise, demanding your attention.

"Raiko, are you ready?"

Letting out an exasperated breath, you waved off whoever spoke to you and closed your eyes again.

"Give me a minute, will you?"

Okay, where was I?

It's not about how fast you go-

A drilling noise came from your right, annoying the living daylights out of you.

Ah, fuck it. Since we keep getting interrupted...

How about I tell you a little bit about me.

Name's Raiko Suruki.

Yes, that Suruki. Here we go again.

I'm the daughter of the famed Hiro Suruki, five times Japan World Rally Championship winner, consecutively if I may add.

Proud podium sitter for thousands of times.

Also kind of a living legend of the primetime of the rally world.

The same Hiro Suruki that started one of the best teams in the history of Japanese rally, snatching six more titles under his directory. WRC'S Golden Boy.

After his personal fifth title, he decided he wanted something more. Something that would fulfill him, beside his love for driving at the most insane speeds known to man and having his first and only child - that's me, in case you didn't know.

Anyway, without any second thoughts or doubts, he retired from the sport out of nowhere, changing the fireproofs for the laid-back team principal shirt and a cheap very 'dad' baseball cap. At barely 35 years of age, he took the biggest leap of faith of his life and Suruki Racing was born out of fuel and passion for rally.

He poured everything he had into the team and built it from scratch, taking it so high in his prime that everyone wanted a piece of it. Be it driving in a seat for the team, changing parts as a mechanic or simply having shares in it.

It was basically the shit. The pinnacle of rally in the whole of Japan.

The team became a national sensation. So many influential people, from mere businessmen to politicians, even foreigners were so interested in it and helping it expand. It genuinely felt like the only way for him was up, flying like a rocket towards the legends' hall of fame.

It went like that for a while. He was beaming with happiness, unable to understand where all that luck came from. But like everything good, it didn't last. Once he started to question it all, it was like a switch flipped inwards and it all fell to ruins.

Everything started going wrong.

All of a sudden, the cars started missing parts the night before races. They had engine failures mid-race in almost every stage, followed by DNF's on every scoreboard.

And those aren't even the most shocking things that happened. You name the disaster and it definitely happened to Suruki Racing at one point. Disastrous, life-changing, career-ending type of things.

The mess piled up more and more and it showed despite dad's efforts to stay afloat.

Contract deals with sponsors started falling through, losing funding for a lot of parts and investments in equipment. Then the drivers got fed up with the constant failed races and blamed the car or the team if they felt like it. They terminated their contracts way before their terms were up under the pretense that they wanted different things... which were not related to Suruki Racing. The mechanics chose to stay, well, a few of them anyways, but it wasn't enough.

The team ripped at the seams and slowly but surely ran into the ground and dad couldn't find at least one reason why it happened.

It was like a curse you couldn't get rid of and I saw it happen first-hand.

The late nights he would spend in the garage trying new parts that kept failing with every test on the car. The way he would go as low as begging the drivers to come back offering them money he didn't have because no driver, rookie or experienced, didn't even bat an eye once the name of the team was mentioned.

Lost, penniless and with a heavy heart, he had to watch the one thing he loved the most on earth rust little by little, no matter what he would do to prevent it.

Mom called it karma for his reckless racing days because as talented as he was, the road forgives no one. That you can be God's favourite and still lose everything. And he didn't want to understand that. He never did.

I was too young to help back then. Too young to understand what Suruki Racing meant to him. Too young to do the only thing I could to save it.

Until now.

So, let's try that again, shall we?

Name's Rai Suruki, driver for Suruki Racing 2.0.

Another knock to your helmet, echoing in your head louder than the first, brought you back to the real world for good this time. Mechanics rushed around you to finish the set up on the car before you were called up to take your spot in front of the race marshal, which from a quick glance at the scoreboard would be soon.

Looking to your left, you were met with a set of dull brown eyes, messy jet black hair, a funky moustache and an extremely creased forehead for his middle age, all belonging to your co-driver, Don Tanaka. He's another legend of the sport.

Former training coach for some of the current biggest teams in the WRC, with a CV of experiences surpassing most people that have been in rally for longer. On top of all that, he is an even bigger friend of your father's. When he called him up asking for an old favour to train you, he couldn't say no.

But if it was up to commenting, you'd say he was one of the biggest fools for giving up a lavish salary with so many perks for one favour, especially for your old fart of a father.

Driving with him was great, but training with him was hell on Earth.

"I was doing my mantra," you reasoned, trying to get him off your case.

"Your mantra sucks."

He is an absolute joy to be around, isn't he?

"Well," you turned to him in your seat with a tight-lipped smile, "you're the one choosing to be co-driver to a young adult at your ripe age of 40. If I was you I would've picked something more calming, like gardening."

Bringing his hand to his chin in thinking, he sat in silence for a moment before he spoke.

"That doesn't sound so bad right now," he went on trying to push your buttons.

"Oh, shush," you waved him off, turning back to the wheel.

If there was one thing he liked doing, it was keeping you in check by poking fun at you. He was like that one uncle you could always go to with your secrets or to ask for extra pocket money, but in return he liked to tease the fuck out of you for it. Every. Single. Time.

As much as you hated his antics, you did kind of owe him a lot. He was the one who caught your talent for racing early on, back when you would drive plastic mini cars made from scraps around the team garage like you had years of experience. A few drifting maneuvers around old tires done like a pro at the cool age of 8, and he was sold on you and your potential.

Amongst all the teasing and the pain of having to train like a man, you've spent enough time with him to know you could count on him for literally anything. He was the best co-driver you could ask for and you wouldn't want anyone else in that seat directing your fate for the world.

He knew what it took to annoy you greatly in order to deliver on the dirt track and prove yourself. Especially now, since you were the only woman on highly occupied male territory.

Racing is a man's world. With as many female advancements in motorsport as there were today, the majority of the community was still not convinced that a woman could drive better than a man or even compete alongside a whole grid of their species. They can regard you, acknowledge your existence, but they would never accept you.

Your father knew your entry to the championship would stir up a lot of unwanted attention, besides the fact that he was basically reviving a cursed team and you happened to be the poster face for it this time around. It sounded like a catastrophe in the making.

Frankly, you were ecstatic to get to drive an actual race car outside of the junior series and helping the team get back to its rightful place, restoring its deserved glory. But you knew it wasn't going to be easy work. Especially, since public enemy number one - the press - was going to try and tear you to sparkly shreds for a lot of reasons. An attack that they started before any official information was out.

A few months ago, when the announcement of Suruki Racing's comeback after ten years of inactivity hit the WRC, the media had a field day with it.

They criticized your father for being a nutjob that didn't know when to quit. They smeared Don Tanaka's name like he didn't make most of the drivers currently selling their dying papers. They even tried to get paid scoops from anyone involved with the team in the slightest.

But the team had one wildcard left to play before pulling the curtains for good and giving them the satisfaction that they ruined it.

You.

The press didn't know about you. No one in the other teams knew about you. Thanks to your father's extremely private life, no one even knew of your existence.

The only people that did were your team in the garage, from the mechanics to your PR agent.

Even walking into the circuit grounds this morning, long hair down over your shoulders, sporting the team gear in plain sight, no one batted an eye at you. Even if they did, they would think you were involved with technical or marketing - though even that was a rarity in this universe - or worse, just another groupie looking to get one of the drivers under your hood.

Your father wanted to give everyone a show they'll never forget by having you drive the first race in the calendar without a proper introduction. No car reveal. No interviews. No pre-race press conference. Just a car and its driver.

This way they would judge your driving before they actually got to judge you for being a woman at the wheel of a three hundred horsepower beast. He trusted you and your judgement on the track far more than the lousy press setting you up for fail. They would get a proper car show and speech after the race anyway.

It was out of the ordinary but that kinda summed up Hiro Suruki and his bipolar personality.

The distorted sound of a megaphone, followed by the voice of the race marshal called you to the start line.

"Car 7, Rai Suruki for Suruki Racing, you're up next!"

You could already see everyone turning their eyes to your station, booming cheers going quiet, turning into sharp murmurs.

Time to get this show going.

Rolling up your windows to block the world, you put the car in gear and drove to the start line, waiting for the green light. Looking out at the lines in the road ahead of you spotting the first hazard ahead, the nerves climbed up your spine faster than your engine could pump the pistons for pressure.

You prepared for this for most of your life, but if you were being honest, it all got a little too real now, sitting with your foot hovering above the gas pedal ahead of the moment that could make or break your career before it even started. The very moment that could be a step forward to restoring your father's name, getting the team back on track in a new age of rally racing. The moment for a change.

No pressure, right?

"Raiko," your co-driver called your name, but you couldn't tear your eyes away from the road, gloved fingers tightening on top of the wheel with a small snap. "Do you remember the course?"

"Yes."

"Good. All set?"

"I think so."

"Raiko, look at me."

"You're not my style."

"Raiko," his voice turned more serious and deep with warning. With another sigh into the small, cramped space for breathing your helmet provided, you turned to him.

"You've got this. Let's prove everyone wrong."

He was right.

Let's prove everyone wrong.

The race marshal started the countdown, walking from the front of your car to the side, each number in the count descending with your nerves. You loosened the hold on the wheel, stretched your legs to the pedals and let out a deep breath.

"3."

It's not about how fast you go.

"2."

It's about how long you go fast.

"1."

Fast like lightning.

"GO!"

A soon as the lights went green, you hit the throttle and took off into the dirt, raising the dust behind you. You skidded off to the side a little due to the gravel but you got control of it before anyone could notice.

Tokai was a pretty difficult course to rally depending on which stages got picked for the day. More forest terrain gave way to hard roads, receding in wheel control, gaining insane suspension pressure. This one was more of an open valley terrain, which was a bit safer, but the later you got the okay to race, the more dust and gravel from other drivers would pile up in front of you, making visibility dangerously low. The corners were way too tight and one second off from Tanaka's directions or a mishap of your footing could cost you and put your car on the sidelines.

"5 left over crest," Tanaka paced you for the upcoming hill and you prepared to release the throttle.

"1 left 100."

Wheels back on the ground, you resumed pressing the pedal as a hairpin portion came into view. The cloud of dust in front of you was chalky and you had to get through it before it raised higher. Putting the car in second gear, you got ready for the drift portion.

You had to be extra careful here. The mechanic in chief told you to go easy as the rear could send you into oversteer, throwing off the balance of the car and fuck up the race completely.

Listening to your gut, you waited for the right time then tapped the brake, cut the wheels and pressed the throttle, sliding across the portion. Loud cheers and whistles erupted as the crowd in the stands got up to watch you complete a perfect drift.

"3 right don't cut."

Reduce pace and prepare for a possible road hazard.

You slowed down and sure enough a bump in the road came up. If you missed that one and took it at 120 kmph, it would've projected you off the track, crashing the car hard into the rocky wall like a cereal box. Thankfully, you swerved around it, feeling the car lift off the ground on the left for a bit before it fell back down.

"6 right very long."

Hard left into a tight corner.

"Cut 8 left."

Tight corner requiring you to follow a straight line in the curb.

This was the last and worst corner on the track. You were lucky it didn't rain because this is where your car can skid off into the stands. You caught the straight line pretty fast, cutting a few seconds off your lap time without slowing down.

Following the rest of Tanaka's directions and focusing on the rest of the road, the race finished before you knew it. You liked the state you were in as you drove, mind clear of everything else because as soon as the adrenaline in your body decreased, your brain got bombarded by all kinds of issues.

Did I push the new suspensions too hard? God, I hope I didn't scratch the rear in the hairpin. Was my timing too off on that last corner? I should've practiced it more.

Driving back to your team's station, you sent all those worries at the back of your head and got out to watch the screen showing the score board just as it updated to display the new track times since you were the last to go.

1. Akira Shinkai - Sigma Racing Academy - 1.23.40

2. Naozumi Hiyama - Spica Racing Factory - 1.23.59

3. Rai Suruki - Suruki Racing - 1.24.25

"WE BAGGED THIRD PLACE?!" you yelled throwing off your helmet onto the car seat.

"WE SURE DID," Tanaka high fived you, beaming with energy just like you.

"That's 15 points on the first stage! Well done, lightning strike," he ruffled your hair as you snickered, nose scrunching up with a smile at the gesture you were already accustomed to.

"The car held up a lot better today than in testing. Maybe we lifted the curse," you wiggled your eyebrows at him at which he flicked your forehead. "Ow, what did you do that for?"

"Don't jinx it. We still have two more stages to go."

"But-"

Before you could say anything else, you were interrupted by angry shouting coming from the station next to you.

"I told you to not touch the third gear," yelled a strained voice.

You walked to the side of your station, peeking your head by the team banner, and watched the heated exchange between one of the drivers and his mechanic. Your eyes wandered to the car sitting in the middle, not one hand touching it for the regular post-race check up. From the different strokes of sky blue layered over stark white, the red and blue sponsor stickers and the carbon spoiler, you recognized it to be Spica Racing's.

"It doesn't matter now," shouted another voice, so annoyed and sure of themselves as if they owned the place. "I got a good lap record this time."

"What would you do if you had to retire in the middle of the race?" shot the mechanic, chastising the driver for being careless.

He got up in his face, towering over him though the other was much taller than him.

"We won't win if I don't attack!" he yelled back, throwing his hand in the air to make a point. "The moment I think of being scared I will lose. I won't make that mistake. So just do your job and fix the car."

With that final remark, he rounded the car to walk away from the station until he noticed you in the corner, now standing in full sight just at the line between your stations.

Quickly replacing the scowl on his face with what was probably his natural smirk, he came to you, stopping short of the barrier separating you.

"I don't do autographs, but for you I can do more than that," he added a daring wink, flashing his cocky smile at you.

Ew.

Taking a small step back hoping his vibes wouldn't envelop you, you uncrossed your arms from your chest and lifted an eyebrow at him.

"I don't want your autograph."

Taken aback at your response, he backed up slightly too and looked you up and down, taking in your deep blue and dark gold team fireproofs and the suit tied messily around your waist. The old, way out of fashion colours seemed to ring a bell.

"Suruki Racing...," he started doubtful, "the shithole that revived from the ashes? Are you a mechanic, a co-driver or something for them? If you are, why don't you jump ships? I wouldn't mind having you on my team instead," he finished his speech of intent with another shit-eating grin.

Who the fuck was this guy?

The audacity that wafted off him must definitely make him popular with the ladies.

"I don't think we've met before," you extended your hand out to him, curt and polite, like a normal person would do, introducing yourself.

"Rai Suruki, driver for Suruki Racing," emphasizing your role in the team so he got it through his head that you weren't some bimbo.

If you were, you'd make sure your fist decorated his face in pretty red tones before anything else.

He straightened back, smirk gone from his face in all sense of the word. It got replaced by some kind of curiosity. Looking between you and your palm hanging in the air he looked confused to say the least. He's heard about female racers before and seen some working in technical around the place, he's just never seen one stand against him on track.

Tired of being polite to someone who obviously has never heard about manners, you were about to retract your extended hand when he caught it in a firm grip and pulled it towards him, just holding it instead of shaking it. The move sent you forwards, almost barreling into him when your reaction response kicked in to steel you a safe distance away.

Maybe Tanaka's intense survival program pays off sometimes.

"So," he began and you wondered if he was about to say something intelligent or spew more shit with that mouth of his. He decided to choose the latter. "You're the one driving the Beetle dupe right there?"

Eh, come again?

Your eyes widened at him, looking at where his finger was pointed to confirm that he was pointing at your car and not anywhere else, then you whirled your head back at him appalled.

"B-Beetle dupe?!"

"I thought you were a guy."

Wouldn't be the first time I heard that one.

You took your hand back from his hold, wiping it on the sleeves of the suit hanging on your hips in the hopes that it would wipe off the disgust you were feeling too. It didn't but it was worth a try.

"It's the name," you replied through gritted teeth.

He backed up some more to scan you again, though more attentively this time, like you were some kind of illegality, cooked up from the pits of his imagination. You gave him your best front, hardening your jaw and rolling your shoulders backwards, proving you were more than a pair of boobs and a vagina, which was apparently his deranged first impression of you.

You deserved to be here. No amount of stares from the male specimen, surprised or with sinful intentions, could ever make you back down from this. This was yours to take on. No man could take this from you. Not him anyway.

So, you stared him down too, trying to find something else beside the extreme big dick energy and unsurmountable lack of scruples surrounding him. Struggling to see anything else but some disdain in the way he crossed his arms over his broad chest, a rich prick attitude from how he shifted on his legs like the world owed him golden lingos every time he breathed, and some leftover rage from the screaming match with his mechanic still present in the tick of his jaw, you let your eyes meet his own in conclusion of your very own analysis.

Yeah, there's nothing else in there. An ambulant douchebag. Just like I thought.

Flashing cameras were suddenly thrown in your faces, interrupting the intense stare-down between you. The press and some people, potentially fans of other teams by their t-shirts, surrounded you from every corner of the plastic barrier around the two stations, pushing each other over the race marshals that tried their hardest to keep them away. It wasn't long until they pushed over the barrier.

Too absorbed in the chaos, you didn't notice he leaned down to your ear but when you did, you stilled in your shoes, all blood draining into your pounding stomach. He spoke close and low, so only you could hear his words.

"Don't get too comfortable around here, rookie," he whispered, hot breath hitting the shell of your ear making shivers run down your extremely clothed spine. "Let's see how long you last in here because this season might just be your first and last."

Pulling away with another one of his smirks that were starting to get on your nerves, he regarded you once more before he walked off in amusement to his cool-down room, giving you a full view of his broad back.

Oh, just you wait -

A reporter shoved into the human barrier of orange and green safety vests reaching the railing, yanking it back and forth repeatedly until the poor plastic seal broke off, letting everyone else pool in around you.

Uh-oh. This wasn't good.

They packed around you like wolves on their prey, all shouting different things at you while shoving their big cameras, recording devices and phones in your face. The flashes blinded you, turning the world white and too bright for it to be natural light from the clouded sky above.

Your hands shot up on instinct to cover your eyes from the flaring lights as your ears focused on filtering through the blaring sounds of camera clicks and voices. Then the countless questions registered clear as day, hitting you like a truck at full speed.

"Are you Rai Suruki, daughter of Hiro Suruki?"

"Where did your father get the money to restart the team?"

"Is your car even going to last a season?"

"Do you consider yourself a challenge to the rest of the drivers?"

I guess that was it for mystery, dad.

Some of the other teams passed by the ruckus, sparing quick judgmental glances or sending disgusting sneers your way like that was the way they initiated your welcome ceremony at the gates of the jungle.

If this was any other series, you would've been so welcomed by the rest of the grid and treated somewhat better by the media and the fans. But this was the World Rally Championships.

Driving was dirty.

Talk was filthy, full of disrespect and unspoken trials of envy between each driver.

The press competed to see who would get your head on a pike first and parade it as the story of the century.

Respect was fought for, not earned.

It was a different game. One where you needed to play even if you didn't want to so in turn you wouldn't get played. Survival of the fittest truly.

You steeled your gaze, waving the reporters off and digging a hole through the crowd, successfully escaping away to your pit crew. Helping with packing up bits and pieces and taking your own stuff, you headed back to your team quarters, aware of the intensifying stares belonging to the rest of the teams still around their stations, talking about the first day in this season's calendar being an interesting one.

You had a feeling you and the team were the hot topic of conversation since you could feel their eyes searing deep holes into your back, burning hotter and doing more damage than flame-lit arrows aimed straight at you ever could. Tanaka wrapped an arm around you giving you his curled moustache smile, sympathizing with you.

Looking up at the sky darkening in mauve and pink, you let a small smile grace your lips. At least today was done. Your rally racing career has officially started. The team was back in business.

However, this first stage was just one of the many challenges still to come. Who knew what else was on the way?

As you trudged on the warm asphalt, warmed by the mid-spring warmth of March, there was one thing you knew for sure.

This is gonna be a long season.

Next

Thank you for reading :) As always leave a like, comment or reblog!

[dangerousblizzarki]

🎬Total Drama Action🎬

Episode 7: "The Chefshank Redemption"

"Sorry Bowie, you're not the winner. You lost, so you're a loser. Its just logic!"

-----

Okay time for me to post the other elimination edits here on tumblr. Damien's and Ripper's will be posted within the next couple of days but they're posted on reddit weeks ago if you wanna check them out right away.

-----

Okay, time for some context.

At the last elimination, Priya got voted out by the grips in a 4-2 vote orchestrated by MK because she didn't want Team Captain Priya to gain too much power. MK was able to rally up the desperate Nichelle after her performance last season and Ripper, but had trouble with Caleb and Raj. Caleb decided to side with Priya because he wanted to buddy up with the strongest grip, while it took a little convincing from Bowie for Raj to vote alongside MK against Priya.

The Bowie-Priya feud started way back when they were still deciding the teams. Bowie was able to choose first and he chose Millie to separate her and Priya. The latter then retaliated by choosing Raj.

Now at the Gaffers' elimination, the main targets initially were Axel for her overbearing attitude towards Millie's performances, and Millie for being the weakest link of the team. Millie found out that Bowie indirectly had something to do with Priya's elimination and has had enough of his schemes.

She was able to wrap in Zee quite easily because it's Zee, talked to Damien about his chances of winning if he lets Bowie stay when he's allied with Emma and Wayne, and offered Axel safety because it was clear Bowie's alliance was more irritated with her.

So in the end, it was Bowie who got eliminated in a 4-3 vote. With Raj feeling awful about it.

-----

References:

[lokisprettygirl]

Brokenhearted (Daemon Targaryen x Female Reader) (Non Canon Modern AU) (18+)

Read Chapter 10 here // Series Masterlist

Chapter 11

Summary: Daemon steps ahead in the league. Samantha is on a mission to bring him back to her.

Trigger Warning: 18+ Sex, Smut, Degradation kink, reader gets turned on by the thought of Daemon hurting people to protect her, weird kinks,  Discussion of mensuration and Pregnancy, bloodshed, flashbacks of abusive relationship, toxic masculinity, sexual abuse, Samantha, traumatic distressing content, Daemon is a big time smoker so if it’s something triggering don’t read it, alcohol drinking, mention of past trauma and therapy, cigarette smoking, possessive behaviour, violence, baby needs therapy, baby is trying

Daemon was in the last round of the match, you had hoped that it would be easy and fun to watch him kick some ass but you weren't ready to watch him get beaten up as well, his face already had a nasty bruise under his eye, his cheekbone was splintered, there was blood all over his body, it belonged to both him and his opponent. The crowd was going wild as they got ready for the last round, on his one minute break he looked your way and asked Jonathan to bring you to him, he wanted to be with you even if just for a second.

"Heyyyy" he leaned down on his knees and pressed his head against the fence so you grabbed onto his fingers.

"You're doing so good..I'm so proud of you" you yelled from the top of your lungs so he gave you a smile.

"I want to win darling, I have to win" he huffed so you squeezed on his finger in a reassuring manner.

"You already won the moment you stepped in there baby"

As the break came to an end, you stepped away from the fence and went back to the stand, even though he was physically wounded his eyes seemed to sparkle like never before, he really was born to be a fighter.

And as the fight began again, you watched with bated breath, cheering him on with everything you had. You knew that Daemon could do it, he really needed this win.

As the last bell rang, you felt your heart pounding in your chest, dread washing over you at the thought of what was to come. You knew that Daemon had given everything he had, but you couldn't bear the thought of him losing.

The announcer stepped into the octagon, holding the mic close to his mouth. You could feel the tension in the air, the crowd holding their breath as they waited for the results.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, this has been an incredible fight, and both fighters have shown tremendous heart and determination," the announcer began speaking, all of a sudden the arena has gone completely silent.

Your heart sped up as he continued speaking "but there can only be one winner. After five rounds of intense fighting..."

The world seemed to slow down as the announcer finished his sentence, "the winner and the contender to make it to the quarter finals... by split decision... Daemon Targaryen"

A deafening roar filled the arena, as the announcer raised Daemon's arms in victory. You felt a sense of relief wash over you, mixed with pride and joy, that's when you were finally able to jump and scream in happiness.

Viserys was at the airport when he got the news, he couldn't have been more proud of Daemon for knocking the first match of his comeback.

Jonathan hugged and lifted up Daemon to celebrate, his team was rallying around him, all of them felt ecstatic at the moment, he was returning to the game after so long and he didn't have much time to train for this so it seemed like an impossible feat at first.

After a few minutes a bodyguard came to you and took you away with him, Daemon wanted to see you in his dressing room, he had a robe on and a medical expert was working on his injuries, his room was filled with people but as soon as he saw you he walked towards you and pulled you in his arms, he placed his head down on your shoulder as you hugged him tightly.

"Can you all clear out the room please?" He looked around so everyone stopped what they were doing and fled almost immediately, his new assistant Darryl closed the door behind him and that's when Daemon cupped your cheeks to kiss you, he then picked you up and walked towards the nearest wall to press you against it.

"Tell me that you're proud of me" his eyes were teary as he spoke and yours did too as you noticed the look on his face.

"I am always so proud of you baby, no matter whether you win or not" he placed his head between the crook of you neck, your arms flung around his neck, fingers running through his scalp, he was sweaty and ruining your dress with his blood but you didn't care, you just wanted to hold him and let him know that he was loved and taken care of.

"I need you babe" he whispered in your ear as he put you down.

"Well you also need medical attention" you bit on your lips as you said that, you clearly desired him too, how could you not? Especially after watching him be so fearless in such a brutal sport.

"Hmmmm i need You first" his hands sneaked under your dress and he pulled your panties down and you took his shirts off, your eyes gazed over the the groin pad he had underneath his brief,

"That looks oddly erotic"

He chuckled as you took it off, he picked you up again and your legs wrapped around his waist, his fingers played with your lips to arouse you further, he didn't really need to go on for long, his cock was fully erect as he shoved the tip inside your warmth slowly.

You moaned as his girth stretched you out, the sound was like music to his ears, he was still high on the rush he had felt in the ring and all he needed now was to submerge himself in you.

"Watching you there in the crowd was everything I needed my sweetheart" he mumbled sweetly so you cupped his cheeks to kiss him.

"I'd always be there for you even if I'm not in the crowd, though I have to admit, I don't enjoy watching you get hurt like that" he smiled at the comment, hips moving back and forth in a perfect rhythm. The look of pride on your features warmed his heart.

"Mmmm part of the job love"

"I know baby"

He always knew you were nothing like Samantha but moments like these always came as a reminder to him that he had now what he had wanted with her. She couldn't wait for a chance to hurt him, you on the other hand always wanted to take away his pain.

As he came inside you his body finally felt sated not just because of the release but because of the woman he had in his arms. He had ruined your dress so once you both showered, he gave you a spare t-shirt of his to put over the dress, the dress neatly worked as a skirt.

After getting his wounds patched up Daemon took you to go see Viserys who had called Daemon and asked him to meet at a restaurant. As soon as they met, Viserys just lifted him up and twirled him around like a child, he was so happy and proud of his little brother, not just for facing his fears but successfully accomplishing what he had wanted. He had a long way to go but Viserys knew his brother was getting back to being the man he was born to be.

"Mum would have been so proud of you" Daemon's eyes teared up and he placed his head down on Viserys shoulder.

He had told you that his mom had passed away before both of them had arrived in NYC. That's why when he met Samantha and she took such good care of him in the beginning he fell hard and fast for her, she loved him like a lover but cared for him like a mama would and when she started to hurt him he just blamed himself at first because he couldn't grasp why his girl would ever want to hurt him like that.

He just always believed that he was in the wrong and must have done something to warrant that behaviour.

He had vowed to himself that he'd never make the same mistake again, that he'd never allow anyone to make him feel so vulnerable, so open but you changed it, his resolve was shaken as soon as he had seen you that night in the alley, you didn't know any of this but he had spent that night just thinking about you, a part of him warned him to not seek you but he didn't listen and now he felt lucky that he followed his instincts.

"Didn't bring your wife?" Daemon asked him as all of you sat down for dinner, you had met Viserys's wife Allison at his birthday party but you didn't get a chance to talk much, she was also ignoring you and she looked at you a certain way that didn't make you feel welcomed. Daemon's young niece Raina lived in London so you had never met her either.

"You know she has a name" Viserys scoffed at Daemon's tone. You placed your hand on his under the table to gesture to him to calm down. Viserys had a phone call so he excused himself for a minute and you turned to Daemon. You had an inkling that Viserys had a troubled marriage but you never asked for details. It didn't feel proper but now that your relationship has developed you wanted to know more about his family.

"Do you not like her or something?" You asked him so he snickered, it's been a while since you had seen him snickering that way.

"His cunt of a wife? No i detest her, detest that she's considered family" his tone regarding his sister in law surprised you.

"Why?" You asked him softly so he looked at you,

"You know I escaped Samantha? But he married his Samantha, she's…not exactly that awful but she's a cheating whore and has been caught in the act multiple times, makes sense that she bonded with Samantha" your eyes widened as he said that.

"They are friends?"

"They used to be, got no clue of their current situation " he said nonchalantly.

As soon as Daemon said that suddenly everything clicked, maybe Allison and Samantha were still friends, maybe she was the one to tell her that daemon was moving on. You remembered her watching you intently at the birthday party. It would explain how she was able to find his house address so easily and even the name of the hotel you both were staying at. You had several doubts but it was a day for celebration so you didn't want to ruin it with those negative thoughts.

"You want to go dancing?" He asked you so you smiled.

"No I want you to get rest tonight, you need it. Also since when do you dance?" You chuckled and the smile on his face faded as he looked down.

"I used to, until I was repetitively told that I looked ridiculous" you gulped as he said that. That bitch. She truly was the bane of his existence, she made sure to ruin everything he ever enjoyed in life.

You caressed his shoulder and leaned into him to kiss his cheek, he instinctively placed his head down on your shoulder.

"We can go tomorrow okay? Can you just rest for me tonight?" You said to him so he nodded. "I love you"

"I know, i know" you pulled away from him as Viserys returned to the table.

"Apologies my folks..a client needed me" you smiled as he said that.

Daemon's next fight was scheduled for five days later and you had plenty of time to kill and he needed full recovery from his minor injuries so he didn't have to train in between either, he had made it to quarters already and if he clears that match there will be semis and then the final, you had no doubt in his abilities as a fighter but unfortunately you won't be able to be here for the whole league, it was a three week long event and you knew you'd get fired if you were to disappear for that long.

Daemon had told you that he'd fly you in and out for his matches and you were in no position to deny him, you didn't want to deny him. Normally a guy spoiling you with money and jewels would have made you feel like an object but you knew your relationship with him was deeper than those materialistic things. He needed you and you wanted to be there for him.

As you were stepping out of the restaurant, hand in hand with him you weren't really watching ahead of you as your eyes were focused on him, you then bumped into a guy who was entering the restaurant.

"God I'm so sorry" you turned to the man to apologize and he glared at you.

"Watch your fucking steps bitch" he said as he walked inside, you didn't even have time to blink before Daemon had stormed towards him and grabbed him by the neck, he dragged the man towards the nearest table and smashed his head onto the surface with sudden force.

You walked towards him to get him off the guy and other people in the restaurant helped as well. The other man didn't even try to fight back, he was terrified as it was, you grabbed Daemon's arms and you had to drag him out of the restaurant.

As soon as you both sat down on the backseat of the car there was an uncomfortable silence between you two, when he couldn't take it any longer he finally spoke,

"Why are you upset?"

You glared at him as he said that

"Just because you're a fighter doesn't mean you can just beat up anyone who looks at me wrong" he sighed as you said that.

"He didn't just look at you wrong he called you names for no absolute reason"

"Name..one name" you argued

"Same thing…you really think I'd just watch when my girl is being disrespected like that?"

Now how do you argue with that?

"You can't just attack people like that Daemon, it has consequences"

You sighed again so he placed his arm around your shoulder and kissed your cheek,

"You remember how we met right?" He smirked as he turned your face towards him and pecked your lips.

"That was different, I was being attacked"

"It's the same thing.. on my watch nobody gets to hurt you like that, words and actions alike" he said softly and your eyes narrowed.

"Yeahh then what about Samantha? I'm sure she's going to pull some shit again someday" He stiffened up for a moment as you said her name before he cupped your cheeks and locked his lips with yours.

"I'd kill her for you if you'd ask me to" he mumbled between the kisses and the gasp that left your mouth was unreal.

"Daemon.." his name on your lips came out in a whisper, you didn't know a comment like that would arouse you, such a morbid but scintillating thought.

"I would..i would kill anyone for you"

"Gods to the hell" you pulled away from him as you realized the driver was perking up his ears.

The moment you were back in the hotel room you sat him down on the couch and straddled him, the hard on was enough for you to continue, you didn't even undress, you just pulled your panties down, took his cock out of the confinement of his pants and sunk yourself on his length, his fist gripped your hair and he pulled you in for a kiss.

"It excites you..I can see it, you know I'm capable of that, don't you? you know I can be a dangerous man when I want to be'' he whispered sinful words in your ears as you hopped up and down.

You didn't want to encourage this violent, borderline criminal behavior but you were too turned on to think straight or logical right now.

"Shhh don't say that dae..it's so wrong" you resisted with your words but the way your cunt was dripping on his cock told a different story. He couldn't help but smile at the effect he was having on you.

"So wrong but it feels soo good right?"

"Mhmmmm" you whimpered as the pleasure fueled by the physical intimacy as well as his words began to rise slowly.

"And you're such a depraved whore for enjoying these thoughts are you not?" He asked as he pulled on your hair slightly, just enough to cause a sweet stinging burn.

"Gods yess I'm a whore"

The smirk on his face was now replaced with a mixture of lust and need for you, he wanted to see how far he could take this thing with you.

"Not just any whore, you're mine..all mine" he said, his tone was authoritative.

"Yesss pleasee…all yours" yours was a whimpering mess.

"And I'd do anything for you my private little whore..even kill the woman i once loved"

Your body convulsed on top of him as he finished his words, milking his own cum as your walls squeezed around him, it felt too much but too good, in the past year of your time with daemon and his resistance to not take any action against Samantha had left a lingering doubt in your head, you feared that he was still hooked to her in some ways so these awful words he spoke about her sort of invalidated those fears. Well for now atleast .

You felt horrible for having such thoughts. You also felt helpless for allowing a man to have such an effect on you but you didn't want to stop, not now, not ever, and if you were really blessed you were hoping these feelings would last forever.

You didn't even remember when he had taken you to the bathroom and cleaned you up, you didn't remember when he had put you down on the bed, your mind felt completely hazy in the wake of your orgasm.

"I love you sweetheart, I need you to understand that" he mumbled softly so you looked in his eyes.

"I know..so do I and I just want you to be safe" you caressed the bruise on his cheek and he leaned into the touch.

"I'm safe with you..you keep me safe..it's something I didn't have with her and if worst comes to worse I'll do whatever it takes to keep you safe as well, you never have to worry about her, she means nothing to me" his voice was soft as he spoke, he wasn't a sappy guy, he never was but in moments like this he always let his guards down.

"I know I'm sorry baby"

"Shhhh it's okay love"

As soon as his body felt the comfort of your warmth and the soft bed he fell asleep.

As you caressed Daemon's hair and unwound his braids, you couldn't help but feel a sense of tenderness towards him. He seemed so soft, so precious, almost fragile at that moment. More so than before, like all of his past battles and struggles had been stripped away, leaving behind only the man in front of you.

You longed to protect him, to wrap yourself around him and shield him from the world. You knew that he had fought hard to get to where he was, and that he would fight even harder to stay there. And you wanted to stand by his side, through thick and thin, to help him through each fight.

You wanted to spend the next three days just lounging with him on the bed and have him rest but he had other plans, he figured that you had never been to Vegas before so he made it his mission to spoil you with sightseeing, buying you everything you even as much as glanced at for a fraction of a second. And ofcourse the mind numbing pleasure, even though he wasn't allowed to relieve himself that way he couldn't stop fucking you, he was a bad boy afterall.

He won't be seeing you for the next fight as much as he wanted to, but you had promised him that you'd be there for the semis, he had never felt such a need for a woman like this, the last time he felt this way was when he had first met Samantha. But he had been with you for a year now and the feelings he had for you only seemed to grow deeper with every passing day and he felt the happiest he had ever been in life, things were finally falling in the right places.

The night after he had smashed the quarters and made it to semis, he fell asleep all alone and suddenly he woke up with a nightmare, he saw you treating him the same way Samantha did, he knew he was just reliving the trauma through these frequent nightmares but watching you like that had made him curl up in a ball on his bed and cry, once he was assured he won't do or say anything that would hurt you, he finally called you. He just needed to hear your sweet voice and make him feel loved again, he wanted to forget that nightmare.

But It was around three am and he almost regretted it when he heard your sleepy voice,

"Hey baby" you mumbled and his eyes teared up.

"Can I see you? FaceTime?" He asked you so you immediately converted the call,

"Are you okay? Bad dream?" You asked him softly, the sight of you on your bed made him want to curl up to you right that moment..

"How do you know?" You smiled as he questioned you,

"You're okay baby, I'm here" he gulped as your soft voice melted in his ears, he didn't want to seem weak but you made it impossible with your tender voice.

"Did I wake you?"

"Yes but you can call me whenever you want" you answered honestly so he hummed.

He stayed on the phone with you for an hour before he hung up so you could get your sleep, he wanted to keep talking to you but he didn't want to be the selfish man he used to be with you before.

In the morning when he was out on the run he bumped into the person he didn't want to see again, he was just hoping she'd leave him alone because he didn't understand her longing obsession with him, it's been seven years. What was she thinking? What did she want from him now?

"Hello sweet boy" she smiled as she walked closer to him, honey sweetness dripping from her tone, he took several steps behind because he didn't want to indulge her, not in the slightest.

"Saw your fight last night, I guess you didn't see me in the crowd…those scars on your body..tch tch..I feel bad our little games in bed gave you such lifelong scars" she closed the distance between their bodies and caressed his arms, that condescending pitiful look on her face, that filthy touch made him freeze for a moment and she used the opportunity to hug him tightly.

The same day as you came back to your apartment after work there was an envelope waiting for you on the door. At first you thought it was something from Daemon so you smiled and picked it up but it wasn't from him.

As you flipped through the contents of the envelope, The pictures inside were of Daemon and Samantha together, hugging and at one point she seemed to lean in for a kiss. But that was not what bothered you, she must have stalked him like she always did. But as you flipped through the pictures, your blood ran cold as you saw something that made your heart sink.

He had a smile on his face and it terrified you. Why was he smiling at her like that? What was he doing?

😌😌😌😌😌😌😌😌😌😌😌😌😌😌

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@stupidthoughtsinwriting

[riacte]

Team B.A.T.S. of Ninth Life — (MCC9 Blue Bats in Life Series terms):

It’s the ninth season of the Life series with a rotating cast of 40 players per season. False and Ren loyally ally every single season they’re in and their factions end up being the second faction to be eliminated three seasons in a row so they’re like “okay we’re going to do better for Ninth Life”.

Enter HBomb, winner of two Life series so far (Second and Seventh Life) and beloved leader. He has a meta of blessing his allies and propelling them to great heights. He is also a renowned prophet. H is present in a lot of final showdowns, losing Sixth Life to Fruit’s faction and is crushed by the “rivals to teammates” meta in Eighth Life. H has never really talked to False before, but the power of ✨prophecy✨ befalls upon him and he predicts False will do really well in a final showdown given that she’s on a faction that gives her what she needs.

Fruitberries is a winner of Sixth Life but his performance was not as expected in Seventh Life, leading people to think he’s not that skilled. However, this is the kind of thing that allows the Faction Mechanic at the beginning of the session (controlled by a mysterious being called Scott) to team up two skilled players while keeping it balanced.

Team B.A.T.S form and they get matching jerseys with letters on the back. They undergo a training arc. H famously claims, “It's kinda crazy how 86% of people sleep on their belly, I sleep on my side and the entire Life Series community sleep on Team BATS.” People predict they’ll be the fifth faction eliminated out of ten factions. They invoke the power of the Underdog meta to keep them safe and hidden. They have a brilliant session one and got their comms sorted by then, and while they did well, they weren’t the biggest threats. False and Ren comment this is the longest they’ve lasted before going down to yellow.

In session seven, a freak TNT explosion gets all of them down to red and they claim it’s the worst thing ever and start dooming themselves. But they raise morale and push forward and start killing everyone else instead. They are aided by Grian, who has turned red and his faction is mostly dead. Grian eliminates 3/4 of a major powerful faction. Team BATS continue slaying everyone in sight and in the end they reduce everyone to their red lives and even claim a few permakills. They break a kill record. Fruit rises up to the peak.

Naturally this makes them a big target and everyone comes in for them. Things initially don’t look good at the final showdown— BATS keeps on being knocked down, the public doesn’t want them to win, like 75% of people believe they’ll lose, it’s the year 2020, Hermitcraft fandom is in the trenches, but they miraculously reverse sweep and in the end Fruit gets the final kill. Ren gets a crown and his role playing is irreversibly changed. Fruit is pushed to S Tier status (an even higher rank than your average Life series winner).

This is the first time hermits win so it’s very exciting. The major consequences of this is that 1) H gets invited to Vault Hunters 2) Hermitttwt rallys around this victory (and that of Tenth Life) and becomes “officially recognised” 3) Ren takes this crown and does a royalty roleplay which irreversibly changed a bunch of people and helped to normalise non canon shipping.

Tldr: the BATS significantly impacted fandom landscape as we know now.

H’s prophecy gets fulfilled in Tenth Life when False permakills four people in a row (an ace) at the final showdown :)

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Radley Balko at The Watch:

Here’s a sentence I never imagined I’d need to write: It would be a bad idea for the U.S. to go to war with Mexico. And yet here we are. The thing about a candidate as historically dangerous, impulsive, and incompetent as Trump is that he routinely proposes stuff so off the wall that it would tank virtually any other campaign. But because of this, some of his nuttier ideas are overshadowed by everything else he does. In a previous post, I looked at one of these under-the-radar ideas — Trump’s catastrophic promise to deny federal funding to any school that requires kids to be vaccinated. Today, we’ll look at another — the Trump/Republican vow to bomb or invade Mexico. Trump has repeatedly threatened that, if elected again, he will bomb drug cartels and fentanyl manufacturing facilities in Mexico. He has also proposed sending assassination teams or special forces units into the country. He vowed to take these actions with or without the consent of the Mexican government. The Mexican government has been pretty clear about where it stands on this: They would not consent. So let’s be clear about what Trump is proposing: He’s proposing an invasion of Mexico. Which means he’s a proposing a war with Mexico.

Trump’s history with this threat suggests we should take it more seriously than the typical bluster he spouts during one of his campaign rally monoglogues. Rolling Stone reported last year that even then he had already asked his advisors to assemble a “battle plan” to enact shortly after he’s elected. He also reiterated his promise in an interview he and running mate JD Vance did with Fox News last month (Vance is also all for it). The origin of the war with Mexico idea dates back to the end of Trump’s first term, when, in response to rising fentanyl overdoses, he attempted to designate drug cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, despite the fact that they don’t fit any reasonable definition of a terrorist. He apparently thought this would allow him to bomb the cartels as if they were ISIS cells. It turns out that it isn’t that simple. You can’t simply call people “terrorists” and immediately start bombing the countries where said “terrorists” are operating without first consulting with the leaders of those countries. Mexico’s president promptly and resoundingly dismissed the idea. This apparently irked Trump enough to take the position he advocates today: Just bomb them, anyway.

[...] Destructive, counterproductive policy that treats foreign lives as disposable has long been the hallmark of U.S. overseas drug interdiction. We’ve funded the extra-judicial execution of drug offenders in Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines. We partnered with South American governments to shoot down suspect drug running planes without regard to the possible loss of innocent life — that is, until the policy claimed the lives of a U.S. missionary and her daughter. In Panama, the CIA (specifically, George H.W. Bush) propped up and facilitated the drug-running operation of brutal dictator Manuel Noriega. When Noriega was no longer useful for fighting communism, the U.S. then indicted him for said drug running, then (specifically, George H.W. Bush) invaded and bombed his country. We killed hundreds of Panamanian citizens in the process.

As for Mexico itself, in the mid-2000s the U.S. incentivized the country’s government to enlist its own military in the drug war. That policy toppled some cartels, but also spawned destabilizing turf wars and violence as rival factions vied to replace them. The winners then and the military have since been fighting for nearly two decades. The death toll is now approaching half a million people. When asked about the carnage, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton basically said in 2011 that tens of thousands of dead Mexicans was a price the U.S. was willing to pay to keep harmful drugs away from Americans. (It did not keep illicit drugs away from Americans.) The arguably most destructive U.S. overseas anti-drug program was Plan Colombia, Bill Clinton’s drug eradication program that poisoned farmland, fostered rampant corruption, and pushed that country into a civil war that has killed tens of thousands of people. This too did not keep illicit drugs away from Americans.

[...]

It will backfire

Even drug cartels have a code. They go out of their way to avoid harming U.S. law enforcement, and they don’t target U.S. citizens. When underlings have violated this code, or when U.S. citizens have suffered collateral harm, the cartels have bent over backwards to make amends. The last thing they want is to bring the full force and weight of the U.S. government upon themselves. This of course doesn’t excuse the times drug violence has harmed American citizens. We should naturally seek justice in those cases. But while what Trump is proposing won’t end the illicit drug trade, it will create an existential threat to the current cartels. It will back them into a corner. Cartels avoid U.S. casualties because they want to remain in operation. If they know the United States is sending its military to kill them, there’s no incentive to adhere to the code. They’re likely to lash out — against U.S. law enforcement, U.S. citizens, possibly U.S. politicians.

[...]

Mexico isn’t our enemy

Depending on how you measure it, Mexico is either our first, second, or third biggest trade partner. Any military action taken without consent of the Mexican government would bring most of that trade to a screeching halt. That risks about $855 billion in annual commerce. It would threaten millions of jobs, particularly in California, Texas, Louisiana, and the industrial Midwest. When Trump threatened to completely shut down the border during his first term, economists warned it would result in a shortage the goods from Mexico, including computers, cars and car parts, gas, chemicals, and produce (goodbye avocados!). Mexico is also a big consumer for U.S. agriculture. So corn, soybeans, poultry, pork, and dairy farmers would also take a hit. We’d also see major interruptions in supply chains that flow through Mexico. When the Border Patrol shut down just one official crossing in San Diego for just a few hours in 2019, businesses in that city lost $5.3 million. All of this economic damage would come in addition to the calamitous economic effects of Trump’s other disastrous campaign promises, like across-the-board tariffs and mass deportations.

Radley Balko perfectly describes why going to war with Mexico is a reckless and costly idea.

[fizzigigsimmer]

Roy Tillman needs to catch a bullet. I think he’s going to, and that Gator is going to be the one to serve it to him. Warnings ahead for spoilers through episode 9.

First let me just get my initial reaction out of the way: SCREAAAAAAAAMS. Y’all when I tell you I had my tv paused at the two minute mark trying to gird my loins to get through what I knew was coming. 😆 I mean I knew it was coming but I didn’t expect them to just throw us in like that. So it seems they were not overstating the parallels between Gator and Oedipus. There was lots of talk this episode about choosing paths and digging ditches when it would be wiser to change course - and for his failure to change course, for his sins, Munch has taken Gator’s eyesight.

He has made Gator useless in the eyes of his father (who although worried about him in some distant fashion when he goes missing) abandons him in the mist after delivering the parting message that ‘if he ever had a point’, it is surely gone now. Gator is blind, orphaned and exiled. On the other end of the spectrum there is Dot, who has been in exile since she was a child, running from wolves. She tried to carve out her own space and build the family she wanted, but the wolves came back. She’s at her wits end, back against the wall - but she’s finding that she is no longer alone. Her husband and child are waiting for her and thanks to Indira, Lorraine has finally looked past her own bias and seen her for who she is. With Witt and a swat team rallying to save her and Munch arriving just in time to save her from the grave she’s been fleeing all these years it is reinforced over and over: Dorthy Lyon has finally been seen. And with that support she is finally able to stop running.

This was such beautiful storytelling and I cannot 🥹 say enough how much I love this show for telling it. I am even fairly confident now that Gator is going to survive the series, and here is why. Firstly, if there was ever a moment for him to pay for his sins through death the moment feels past us. At this point his death would just be superfluous. This narrative is really big on themes and when certain seeds are planted we know they’ll be paid off in some fashion or another.

Thematically Gator has been likened to both Jack Skellington and Oedipus Rex, and as I’ve said before these are both tragic hereos who make selfish, reckless impulsive decisions that bring about destruction. They both however survive their enlightenment and seek to right their wrongs.

Dot has three times now plead with a fellow victim to stand with her against Roy. First Linda in her dream, then Gator in the shed, and finally Karen in her old bedroom. Linda was just a dream and is already dead, so there can be no taking back there. Gator initially refused and told Dot he wasn’t going anywhere - that he was staying on the path he was on. Karen didn’t say it so explicitly but she chose the same. But by leaving Gator alive and opening his eyes to the depth of his father’s disregard, Munch has left Gator with the opportunity to change his course - one last opportunity.

Dot has already planted the seed of doubt in Gator’s mind that Roy never loved him and that he may have taken away the one person who did (Linda). And now that Roy has abandoned him and proven her point, I think that in the end Gator will choose to protect Dot end up being the one who kills Roy.

He has devoted his entire life to measuring up to trying to make Roy proud. But Roy never was. For all the times that Gator has told himself and Roy that he’s a “winner” Roy has only ever rejected the notion that he is. He once asked Gator how he’s supposed to teach him to be a winner if he keeps losing all the time, the implication therein that Roy is waiting on evidence that Gator has the right stuff to win at all.

Gator frequently swears up and down to Roy that he does have the right stuff, reminding him of his skills specifically as a marksman. He once told Roy he could have smoked Munch like in High Noon, but the conversation that really resonates with me is the one they had after the botched Wayne kidnapping.

Because when Roy starts in on him about his “bad luck problem” aka his inability to win, Gator straight up tells him the reasons why he thinks Roy should be proud of him. The point of Gator = All state QB, crack shot, knocking pins down every time. “That’s your boy”.

I’ve lost track of the amount of times Gator has bragged and or threatened to shoot someone between the eyes or whatever, lol, but we know he likes his guns and apparently he’s good with them. When he attempted to murder Munch he did so with a sharp shooters toolbox.

But Roy has never been impressed by Gator’s skills. Every time Gator reminds him of his success in this area Roy dismisses him. First by telling Gator life is not like the movies - which, fair enough - and secondly by outright saying he didn’t care and was ready to take luck out of the equation. Aka, he’s taking Gator out of the equation. Which was a big ouch for Gator’s pride and led him to try and prove his point, killing “Munch” with a single shot.

Dorthy Lyon has finally been seen and is ready to take down Roy, and running parallel to that is Gator who maybe finally sees himself and his father clearly. I’m not sure if it will come down to a gunshot, but I definitely think Gator is going to play a role in how Roy dies. 😆 Time will tell!

**Edit to add that Dot is also the only one to ever see Gator clearly.

[hirocimacruiser]

Telefonica Dakar Rally 2004

Nissan's second year in the Dakar Rally was a "challenge to return." Led by Ari Vatanen (Finland), a four-time Dakar Rally winner, the team also added Giniel de Villiers (South Africa) and Colin McRae (Great Britain), a top athlete in the World Rally Championship (WRC), and pushed the Nissan pickup to its limits. Vatanen achieved 50 wins in the Dakar Rally's SS (special stage). Both de Villiers and McRae completed the race, and Nissan's challenge continued into 2005.

Nissan's Dakar project enters its second year

Former WRC champion McRae was welcomed to the team. This showed that this year's rally was a challenge in terms of "speed". In addition, there was the stable Vatanen, Loupe, and the rising star De Villiers. In order to develop Japanese drivers, Yoshio Ikemachi and Atsushi Mitsuhashi were welcomed from the two-wheel team and competed in the T1 (production car) class. Yves Roubaix (France, Nissan Pickup) was forced to withdraw for the first time due to electrical problems.

Although there was unexpected trouble that forced them to retire on the 1st, the efforts of each team member to fulfill their assigned role to the best of their ability were inspiring. Just as the nightmare of the desert and the joy of reaching the finish line at Lac Rose seemed to be fading away, McRae, who had competed in the Dakar Rally for the first time and had many hardships, spoke again about the following.

"I will challenge the Dakar again next year with a Nissan Pickup.

This year's rally gave me confidence. I can win the Dakar with Nissan! I believe that without a doubt.

I’m here.”

Nissan Works' 2004 Dakar Rally started on an exciting note. In the European stage at Castellon (Spain), De Villier took the top time in the 9km 35 (race section), demonstrating his speed to the passionate Spanish fans. After crossing the Straits of Gibraltar, in the first African stage, Vatanen, who has won the Dakar Rally four times, achieved his long-cherished dream of winning 50 special stage races in total. In his second year back in the desert with Nissan, De Villier set a new personal record.

Nissan Pickup Runs Hot as Records are Breaking

"I had wanted to achieve this feat in the Dakar, but I'm happy to achieve my 50th victory at the start of the African stage."

Vatanen is, of course, the most successful driver in the Dakar Rally. Next is F1 and Le Mans winner Jacky Ickx (Belgium), who has 29 wins. The record he achieved in a Nissan Pickup is unlikely to be broken anytime soon.

Since Nissan decided to challenge the Dakar Rally in 2003, Ari Vatanen has become a symbol of Nissan. He has always been a figure of attention, and still shows top-class driving. In 2004, Colin McRae's participation in the Dakar Rally increased the attention of the British media. The Nissan Pick Up attracted attention from all over the world. The trio of Vatanen, McRae, and de Villiers fought a high-speed battle in the desert against Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution, BMW X5, Volkswagen Race Touareg, and Schlesser Buggy. They attacked boldly. Vatanen lost a lot of time after getting splashed while crossing a river in Morocco, but the next day he started from 90th place and finished 7th in the stage. He overtook more than 80 slower cars with the speed of a veteran to complete the stage.

PIC CAPTIONS opening page

Taking advantage of last year's success, the Nissan team's top-flight teammate, G. de Villiers, took the lead on the 7th. This South African challenger held off the unreasonable Bush and drove the car to the finish line.

Ikemachi won his class in his first attempt at a four-wheeled vehicle. He brought a ray of hope to the Nissan team, who were generally forced to make difficult decisions. He demonstrated the durability of the machine and the effectiveness of the training program. And he showed Ikemachi's own potential.

____________________________________________________

It surprised everyone.

McRae also mastered the dune running and became a "Peterran"

"There were times when we were catching up with Sel and Masuoka," he said. But the "three days of hell" were about to begin for the Nissan Works team. After troubles occurred in succession in the eighth and ninth stages, Vatanen and McRae were still stuck in the desert by the evening of the 9th. The team was worried. If things continued like this, both would have to retire. However, the rally was being watched by a gang of bandits (the Malian anti-government group).

The team was warned by intelligence sources that the Mobuchi stage was likely to be occupied by the French army, and decided to move on to the next stage via Bamako. It's not over yet. The deadline is 6pm on the 12th, the rest day.

At the time the announcement was made, the two Nissan Pick Ups, excluding de Villiers, were still stranded in the desert.

Two Nissan cars, two big names in particular, won

Whether or not you can wear it within the time limit. That is the maximum for rest days.

It became a hot topic. Two days passed, and the 12th came.

The team believed in them and waited patiently. McRae arrived around 3pm, and Vatanen arrived after 4pm, welcomed by the press as if they had won. Their rally wasn't over yet. The two started the next morning without a rest day. However... Vatanen was driving too hard and was bounced over a gap and crashed into a tree. He was finally out of the race.

McRae, who remained, never gave up on his "challenge for speed" until the very end, setting the fastest time on the final day.

He was able to demonstrate his ability.

Speed in the Moroccan desert, perseverance, teamwork and excitement from Mali to Burkina Faso. The second year of the Dakar has taught us many things. And it has fired up our enthusiasm for the next step. Nissan's challenge in the desert continues.

PIC CAPTIONS 2nd page

What did former WRC champion C. McRae think of the Dakar Rally? Despite struggling with problems, he quickly adapted to the machine and the environment, and finished in 20th place.

The team staff supported the intense race from behind the scenes. Including the support truck, more than 60 crew members assisted the driver with a perfect backup system.

The 2004 car has undergone significant evolution, including in terms of aerodynamics. Japan's NISMO also assisted in its development, and the car is equipped with a 3.5-liter V6 VQ35 engine, and its appearance racing through the sand dunes is truly that of a "desert GT car."

For the four-time champion desert hero, his seventh place finish last year was just the beginning. But just as he was coming off a record 50 Special Stage wins, this disappointing result came.

___________________________________________________

NISSAN DAKAR RALLY CHALLENGE

Japanese rookie entry record

● Yoshio Ikemachi

A patient drive leads to class victory

Born in 1971, he is 32 years old. In the 2000 motorcycle race, he achieved the highest ranking of any Japanese rider, finishing 10th overall. He made his first appearance in the T1 class with a Nissan Patrol (known as the Safari in Japan) and led the team to a splendid victory.

Rather than being happy about winning the class,

I felt like I had completed the race. The commercially available T1 class Patrol (known as the Safari in Japan) that I drove was durable but heavy, and the regulations required a small intake restrictor, so it was a tough situation. I had to endure throughout the race. Supporting the Nissan team's T2 machine, a higher class, was also an important part of my job, so I aimed to finish the race trouble-free and come third in the class. I could have actually driven faster, but I had to endure being overtaken and was patient even when there was a car a little slower than me in front of me.

But on a rest day, I was suddenly told, "I'm going to give you another task. Aim to win."

This was my first time in the Paris-Dakar Rally on a four-wheeled vehicle, and I learned that mental strength is more important with four-wheeled vehicles than with two-wheeled vehicles. I was taught a lot by an experienced navigator, and we started out as teacher and student relationships, but once we were able to communicate well, I was able to concentrate on driving.

To me, the navigator was like a reliable older brother.

Of course, my goal is not to be satisfied with winning the T1 class, but to compete in the T2 class and achieve good results. I want to participate in the actual race again as soon as possible and try to improve myself again.

I would like to test the power of the T2

Jun Mitsuhashi: I found possibilities in the midst of hardships

Born in 1970, he is 33 years old. With the experience of participating in the Dakar Rally for three consecutive years, he participated in his first four-wheeled vehicle race in a Nissan Pathfinder (known as the Terrano in Japan). Although he was confused by the difference with two-wheeled vehicles, he showed outstanding speed in every scene.

The two-wheeled race was held on an individual basis, but

The team is incomparably larger.

Especially the Dossudo Chi that I joined.

The team (France) was the largest team participating in the Rally-Dakar, so I really felt that. My impression of my first time participating in a four-wheeled vehicle was that I had to use my brain a lot while driving. My mind was always working at full speed while driving. Since I was always with the navigator in the car, it felt strange to say the least in the pre-drive tests. It may sound strange, but it felt like two people were in the same bathroom. But as I got used to it and our communication improved, I was able to look at the road in front of me and concentrate only on driving fast. In the end, the clutch wouldn't disengage before I crossed the sand dunes, and I couldn't change gears and had to retire. Since I didn't finish the race, this year's Rally-Dakar ended in an incomplete way for me. Still, I was able to drive as I had aimed and improve my position, and I also gained some benefits, such as being able to drive on an equal footing with the top group on the high-speed stages in Morocco.

I was able to test all of my strategies in real combat.

I wanted to make a move in the next marathon stage, but I flipped my car over and damaged the radiator, so I couldn't run as I wanted. My goal is to win the overall championship, so I want to practice with a fast T2 class car soon.

[tumblrisweird]

Operation: REDLINE, a Lancer Campaign

The group I play Lancer with recently finished Dustgrave, and we've decided to swap around who's GMing. I'm up now, so I'm dusting off my worldbuilding skills and making a custom campaign for my group to play.

Last time I made a custom campaign for a TTRPG was one for D&D 5e, like, 8 years ago. I was running it in person, but never finished it. (Side note, I do still wanna go back to it some day.) What I'm saying is that I'm gonna be pretty rusty.

Anyway, I'm gonna go over the details (I've worked out so far) below the cut. If my players somehow find this, beware of spoilers.

<BROADCAST BEGINS>

LOC: "Good morning, racing fans. Welcome to LOC & LOU, your number one source for mech racing. Today we've got something very special for you."

LOU: "Very special is an understatement! This is nothing less than the greatest spectacle you’ve ever seen! I’m talking of course about The Grand Carina Race."

LOC: "While mech races are by no means unusual, this one is special for two reasons. First, instead of being a sprint, it is a marathon across multiple systems throughout the Carina nebula, requiring multiple near-light jumps."

LOU: "That's right! It will be a test not only of speed, but of endurance and teamwork as well. Teams of 2-6 Lancers will accompany an experienced ship pilot on a journey to a far off system and back, encountering all manner of threats and challenges!"

LOC: "The second reason this race is so special is the hosts. The race was created by the elusive and mysterious Voladores of the trade ship Sientelo. They have promised that the winners will have access to all manner of unknown and unique treasures. While there’d be good reason to doubt this claim from anyone else, the Voladores have more than earned their reputation as merchants of the rare and powerful."

LOU: "Slots for racing teams have rapidly filled up, but there is still one open: the hotly contested Wildcard slot! Does your team have what it takes to win the race? Will you even be able to make it in? Gather your team, find a ship, and enter today!"

<BROADCAST ENDS>

Operation: REDLINE (working title) is a two-mission campaign for Lancer. Players (beginning at LL2) will be part of a team hired to be the crew on a ship competing in the biggest race in this arm of the galaxy. They will be riding aboard a a ship with a near-light drive trying to beat several other teams and their ships. As all the ships max out at 0.995 c, the actions the team takes during encounters and narrative scenes will be important to winning the race!

Main inspirations for tone and content are the movie Redline (which the title references) and real life distance races like the Cannonball Run and the Dakar Rally. I will make another post in the future with the session breakdown, as I have it worked out so far.

[duckprintspress]

Rallying the DPP Vote!

Ever wondered how we pick the themes for our anthologies? It’s actually pretty simple. As a team, the people who help run Duck Prints Press decide “the next project will be X type,” where X is general imprint, or explicit imprint, or Queer Fanworks Inspired By…, etc. Then, we brainstorm some potential themes, sometimes with input from other people involved in the Press, sometimes not.

And then?

Why, we have the backers on our Patreon decide!

That’s right – every single backer, from $3/month on up, gets a vote!

And they’re exercising that voting might right now. Yesterday, the poll went up to decide the theme of our next anthology, the third in our Queer Fanworks Inspired By… series. What will our authors and artists be inspired by? The choices are…

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

the Women of the Homeric Epics (the Illiad and the Odyssey)

the works of the Brontë Sisters (Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, etc.)

Which will be the winner? I honestly couldn’t tell you. The vote’s open until next Sunday, and it’s far too soon to call. We haven’t even counted the dangling chads yet!

What I CAN tell you is that almost 40% of our 62 current backers have voted since the poll went up yesterday, and that if I ended the poll right now, we’d have to have a run-off – because there’s a dead-even tie between the two most popular choices!

So become a Duck Prints Press Patron now, vote for our next inspiration, and influence the future of publishing! YOU HAVE THE POWEEEEER!

[yeastinfectionvale]

adora. bites you. i think im finally gonna stick my paw in the water. how would u suggest. getting into f1 and associated stuff.

COYOTE!!!! BITES YOU BITES YOU BITES YOU

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH YAY!!

Okay so this will be a long one

Streaming Website

Formula One:

We have had 2 out of the 24 races planned in for the season. We have a week break until racing continues in Australia. My top three previous races to watch are Singapore 2023 (the year's only non-red bull winner), USA 2005 (tyre drama, only 6 cars on the grid) and Spa 1998 (its a miracle anyone finished the race).

Formula One also has four 'support series' that have drivers feed into each other until they join F1; Formula 2, Formula 3, Formula E (the electric car series) and Formula One Academy (the all women's series!).

The lovely @lina-touro has made a f1 primer that can help you get into the series!

F1 also has a netflix series called Drive to Survive, which is not accurate but has it's moments.

Indycar:

Another 'single seater' racing series like f1, it is America based, with less races, more drivers and its own charm. IndyCar liveries are bright and colourful (cough cough F1, no more carbon fibre please.), but can be confusing as sometimes drivers don't share liveries in the same team. The IndyCar season has just started with one race passed, the next race is also less than two weeks away.

IndyCar has a feeder series called IndyNXT, a bunch of new and upcoming talent competing including Jamie Chadwick.

I don't really have many races for IndyCar to recommend as i got into the series only last year, but each race is memorable with something going on.

The wonderful @mcpodium has an indycar primer if you are interested.

Indycar does have a series called the 100 days to Indy which is a good watch.

MotoGP:

MotoGP, the beloved, has just started it's series with one race passed and around 9 days until we race in Portugal. MotoGP is different to the other series on this list as it is motorcycle based and fundamentally more dangerous (or adrenaline pumping, your choice).

MotoGP has it's own feeder series, MotoE (Electric bikes) Moto2 and Moto3 (actual children), there is so much happening in all three series, it's crazy.

I recommend races like Sepang 2015 (DIVORCE RACE), India 2023 (Bez Podium heheheh), Argentina 2018 (BATSHIT) and Phillip Island (always gives interesting races.)

Also the brilliant @dressfortheslide-nottheride has made this intro primer for motogp and the amazing @moonshynecybin has made this primer about Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez.

MotoGP does have a series called There can only be one if you want to have a watch.

WRC:

You know when you have the urge to put on 'white girl music™' and driver at high speeds? Yeah that is what Rally feels like. We've had two rallys, and are going to Kenya in two weeks. For Rally i just recommend putting it on whenever, no need for past races. Just put the onboard on and listen.

Unfortunately there is no primer for WRC (yet) and I don't think it has a tv series like the others do (yet).

[skyplayssplatoon3]

And the winner is...

Team Ghost!

NOT GONNA LIE....The votes surprised me on this one??? There was so much rallying support for Team Skeleton all over social medias, and I even ran into a mirror match or two, but apparently WE were the least popular??

I saw Team Zombie a grand total of -3 times- the entire fest, and I played a LOT.

At any rate, congratulations Team Ghost all the same!! We snagged Open and Pro so we can take that as a personal win, Skeles! I'm so sorry Frye keeps being saddled with the lowest popularity though 😭

[buckingham-truther]

Just came in mind with a Buckingham scenario.

In a previous ask, you explored an AU where Robin is the one who approach Chrissy in the bathroom.

What if the two bond there?

What if Chrissy gets calmed by Robin's presence, and decides to spend more time with her?

She would probably decline Eddie's offer of drugs in this AU, maybe because she confided about her affair with Eddie to Robin, and Robin told her something like she should not resolve her problems with drugs, because drugs are bad.

And after school, Robin does not want to leave Chrissy either, so she ask her for a date, and Chrissy accepts (she's in no hurry to go back home, in any case)

And so they go, and they relax and have fun with each other, until Chrissy gets taken by Vecna like canon.

Only, in this AU, Robin is able to save her in some way (I don't know how, maybe Chrissy confided her her favorite song too), but Chrissy still gets hurt, like she gets a broken arm or something.

The two then decide to run away and hide, because if the police saw the wounded state where Chrissy is, they would immediately blame Robin, who is a well known lesbian by a lot of people at school, for "hurting" her.

The two stay together, hidden in some dark place, both traumatized, hugging each other tide because they have only each other right now.

And then, Robin is able to call Steve or some other of her friends, or maybe Steve and the others finds her and Chrissy, like they found Eddie in canon, I don't know.

(Also, Jason would still search for Chrissy here, convinced that she got kidnapped by some disgusting lesbian raper, so he would still go mad, and would want to kill Robin like he wanted to kill Eddie in canon.)

Sorry if all of this is really messy, like I said, it just came to my mind.

What do you think?

Nonnie I have been obsessed with this since I first read it last night. I've been thinking about it none stop.

I can see them bonding because I can see Robin not letting Chrissy leave her side until she knows that Chrissy is okay.

I too agree that she wouldn't approach Eddie in this AU mostly because Robin says its not a good idea at all.

I don't think Robin would use the word 'date' She want's to keep her sexuality a secret for as long as possible but she does suggest that they head to hers and hang out for longer until they can work out what's happening.

It's actually a total accident that they save Chrissy. She'd already told Robin her favourite song and Robin was in the middle of changing the tape to put it on when Chrissy gets taken. They'd had the music blasting pretty loud and Robin singing along and then speaking to Chrissy (when she noticed the cheerleader was starting to float!!!!) that brought Chrissy back. It takes 20 minutes to calm Chrissy down enough to actually Robin what happened and the cheerleader wants out of the house (understandably).

Both are super freaked out and have no idea how the police could help, plus Chrissy being hurt, so they decide not to call them. Instead they head to Steve's. Good old reliable Steve. He in turn calls everyone and rallies the troops to start to work out wth is going on.

Later that night Jason does turn up at Steve's looking for Robin, who was the last person seen with Chrissy. He starts ranting and raving about the devil and how Robin is disgusting (even though nothings confirmed he's convinced she one of those) He get's a punch in the jaw for his trouble and told to not bother Steve again if he want's to keep playing basket ball (bitchy Steve is 100% not beyond using the blackmail he has on the coach of the team to get Jason kicked off if needed)

I like to think in this AU Eddie still gets brought into it but that everyone is all okay at the end because they got a jump on Vecna. His tentacle ass gets fried. Chrissy is actually the one to ask Robin on a date after this and thus begins a very long and happy relationship.

And is Steddie also happens to happen because of this then everyone's a winner really.

[akihabaradivision]

Division Battle Anthem+ (Otaku Corps & Oculus Ver.)

Bring the Beat!

[Keiko:]

Grown beyond the nest, I fly solo, no jest

Like Bulma's genius, I've passed every test

Mother's guidance? No longer the best

I'm the rising sun, outshining the west

Ash without Pikachu, I've started my quest

My intellect's sharp, no need to be pressed

In this anime of life, I'm not a side quest

I'm the hero, smarter, no longer oppressed!

[Nadya:]

The scientist they feared, intellect they couldn't mirror

Ousted from the group, their motives couldn't be clearer

Like a serpent in the grass, I've been lying in wait

Plotting my return, to seal their fate

They thought they could stop me, but my mind's too slick

Concocting a comeback, I'm ready to strike quick

With every experiment, my legend grows

Foolish spider, you chose the wrong foe!

— [All:] —

Rise up, gladiator!

Back off, wussy hater!

The Hypnosis Mic is mightier than the sword

The punchline decides winners and losers

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Adrenaline!

PUMP! PUMP! PUMP!

You have no choice, it's kill or get killed

Don't look back!

Welcome to the division

Welcome to the division (Oh yeah)

Welcome to the division

Hypnosis busting out this masterpiece!

Remember, don't look back!

[Criss:]

Call me Paradox, in the unknown I trust

Parents vanished, left a void, a must to adjust

In every shadow, every lore, I thrust

Seeking answers, in the paranormal I'm robust!

Through the veil of night, my quest unfurls

Chasing whispers of the otherworld

Otaku Corps, allies in the spectral twirl

Arcane's dance, our flag's proudly furled!

[Meari:]

I'm Bloody Mary, in 86's light!

Metal's my rally, my voice takes flight!

Preaching self-reliance, in the roaring crowd's sight

Life's a riff, so I'll play all fucking night!

From the stage I scream, "Be your own damn might,"

Living my dream, in the mosh pit's delight

No more shadows, I'm in the bright

Life's a concert, and I'm the fucking highlight!

— [All:] —

Rise up, gladiator!

Back off, wussy hater!

The Hypnosis Mic is mightier than the sword

The punchline decides winners and losers

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Adrenaline!

PUMP! PUMP! PUMP!

You have no choice, it's kill or get killed

Don't look back!

Welcome to the division

Welcome to the division (Oh yeah)

Welcome to the division

Hypnosis busting out this masterpiece!

Remember, don't look back!

[Nikki:]

Pixel queen, the real world's a snore

Life's a game, so I got the high score

Real's too small, in the digital I soar

In the land of code, my spirit's never sore

Battling dragons, while reality's a chore

I dodge the mundane, it's the fantasy I adore

From Zelda to Halo, my adventures pour

In this game of life, I always crave more

[Aika:]

Vivian Vixen, living life fast

Fuck the law, yeah, I'm breaking the past

Hit the party, got your thing in my hand

Sparks fly, got the whole place in a trance

Sippin', trippin', feelin' like a queen

Oculus, the baddest team on the scene

Fuck the haters, they just weaklings

Live it up, yeah, that's the only meaning!

[Keiko:]

You're the only one that I will not lose to!

[Criss:]

Prepare yourself for a hard lesson!

[Nadya:]

My lovelies, it's dinner time

[Meari:]

Victory is ours, and that's no question!

[Keiko:]

I'm ready for you!

[Nikki:]

Let's hurry and do this

[Criss:]

I won't hold back!

[Aika:]

How disappointing

[Nadya:]

Your end is near

[Nikki:]

I never lose!

[Meari:]

You're now departed!

[Aika:]

Let's get this started!

[Otaku Corps:]

Roar, my Hypnosis Mic!

[Oculus:]

Kneel down and beg for forgiveness!

— [All:] —

Rise up, Gladiator!

Back off, wussy hater!

The Hypnosis Mic is mightier than the sword

The punchline decides winners and losers

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Adrenaline!

PUMP! PUMP! PUMP!

You have no choice, it's kill or get killed

Don't look back!

We've got major beef, now we settle it

Roar, my Hypnosis Mic

Customized to reach your mind directly

Rhymes to stir up your brain fluids

We're the Trinity, it's showtime

We'll rock you with our vibes

Hypnosis busting out this masterpiece!

Remember, don't look back

It's kill or get killed

So don't look back!

[bestepisode]

The top 8 episodes from each season will move on to the next round.

Vote on the second half of the season here!

Episode descriptions are under the cut.

Welcome to Republic City

Seventy years after the events concluding Avatar: The Last Airbender, Aang has died and the Order of the White Lotus discovers the new Avatar, Korra, in the Southern Water Tribe. By the age of 17, Korra has mastered the elements of water, earth, and fire, but has not yet been able to airbend. Kept under lock and key by White Lotus for her own protection, she is frustrated by her isolation from the rest of the world, and eagerly anticipates completing her training with Master Tenzin, the son of Katara and Aang, and the only airbending master. However Tenzin also serves on the council of the United Republic (a new fifth nation created by Avatar Aang and Firelord Zuko in the period between the two series) and civil unrest in the capital, Republic City, forces him to postpone her training. Unwilling to live under the strict confines of her life with the White Lotus anymore, Korra absconds from her compound on her massive polar bear-dog Naga and stows away on a vessel bound for Republic City, a bustling and rapidly modernizing capital of world affairs. After a clash with local triads, she is arrested by Lin Beifong, head of Republic City's metalbending police force and the daughter of Toph, until Tenzin bails her out and allows her to stay with him. Meanwhile, antagonist 'Amon' is identified as the leader of the anti-bender "Equalist" movement--the movement's numbers are swiftly swelling due to inequities between benders and non-benders and its extremist militant arm is beginning to kidnap benders whose fates are initially unknown.

A Leaf in the Wind

Frustrated by her continued inability to bend air, Korra visits Republic City's pro-bending arena against Tenzin's wishes. There, she befriends Bolin and Mako, two brothers on the "Fire Ferrets" pro-bending team. Filling in for their absent third member Korra initially suffers due to her inexperience, but wins the match using airbending principles. Tenzin, impressed, allows Korra to stay on the team.

The Revelation

Trying to collect money for their pro-bending fees, Bolin is recruited by the Triple Threat Triads, but they are all abducted by the Equalists. At an Equalist rally, Amon demonstrates his ability to permanently remove the bending powers of the captive gangsters, but Mako and Korra rescue Bolin before Amon can do the same to him.

The Voice in the Night

Republic City Councilman Tarrlok creates a task force to capture Amon, and eventually recruits the reluctant Korra. Mako gains a paramour in Asami Sato, the daughter of industrialist Hiroshi Sato, who sponsors the Fire Ferrets in the competition. After some success on the task force, Korra challenges Amon to a duel. She is ambushed and captured by Equalists, but Amon, not wishing to make her a martyr, does not take away her bending but implies that he will eventually do so. Shortly after, Tenzin finds her, deeply traumatized and terrified as a consequence of the attack.

The Spirit of Competition

Mako courts Hiroshi's daughter, Asami, much to the annoyance of Korra, who spends an evening with Bolin instead. Later, she kisses Mako, upsetting Bolin and the Fire Ferrets' chances in the championship. By the end of the episode, the Fire Ferrets forgive each other and advance to the championship match against the three-time defending champions, the popular and highly arrogant Wolfbats.

And the Winner Is...

Amon threatens to attack the pro-bending arena if the Council does not cancel the championship, but Chief Lin Beifong promises to protect the stadium. The Wolfbats win the match by bribing the referees to ignore foul play. After the match is over, the Equalists, having infiltrated the arena in force, neutralize Chief Beifong's metalbenders using electric gloves, and Amon strips the Wolfbats of their bending abilities before a shocked crowd. Korra and Beifong free themselves and fight the Equalists, but the Equalists escape in an airship and the arena is heavily damaged in the fray.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Angelique Chrisafis at The Guardian:

A leftwing alliance has become the biggest force in the French parliament after tactical voting held back the far right, but the shape of the future government remained uncertain after no group won an absolute majority. The surprise result for the leftwing New Popular Front – which won 182 seats, followed by president Emmanuel Macron’s centrist Together alliance on 163 and the far right in third with 143 seats – showed the strength of tactical voting against Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (RN). The far right and its allies had forged a commanding lead in the first round but were ultimately held back by massive tactical voting to prevent them winning enough seats to form a government.

Although the left alliance won the most seats, it was more than 100 seats short of an absolute majority. Amid a high turnout estimated at about 67%, no single group won an absolute majority of 289 seats and the ability to form a government. The parliament was likely to be divided into three blocs: the left, centrists and the far right. France now enters a period of unprecedented uncertainty over the shape of its future government and its likely prime minister. Macron has promised to remain as president, but he did not speak publicly on Sunday night, privately calling after exit polls were released for people to be “prudent” until the final results were clear on Monday morning. It could now take weeks to establish a government and it was unclear what shape that government could take with the Olympic Games due to begin in Paris in less than three weeks.

The prime minister, Gabriel Attal, announced that he would hand his resignation to president Macron on Monday morning. But he also said he could stay in place for the short term, if required, while a new government was formed. “Tonight, a new era begins,” he said, adding that France’s destiny would play out “more than ever in parliament”. Attal said: “I know that, in the light of tonight’s results, a lot of French people feel uncertainty about the future because no majority has emerged. Our country is in an unprecedented political situation and is preparing to welcome the world [at the Olympics] in a few weeks. I will stay in my role as long as duty requires.”

Jockeying for position in the new parliament began instantly. Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the leftwing La France Insoumise party, said: “The president must invite the New Popular Front [left alliance] to govern.” The outgoing interior minister, Gérald Darmanin, said: “I note that today, no one can say they have won this legislative election, especially not Mr Mélenchon.”

Raphaël Glucksmann of Place Publique and the Socialist party, part of the left alliance, said: “We’re ahead, but we’re in a divided parliament … so we’re going to have to act like grownups. We’re going to have to talk, to discuss, to engage in dialogue.” Despite placing third, the results were historic for the RN – representing its biggest ever score in a parliamentary election, and an increase from the 88 seats it had when parliament was dissolved last month. But it was much lower than the party had expected after it topped the vote in the first round last week. Jordan Bardella, the RN president, said the parties who had teamed up to stop the far right were a “disgraceful alliance”. Le Pen, who intends to run for president for the far right in 2027, said the far right’s rise to power would continue. She said: “The tide is rising. It did not rise high enough this time, but it continues to rise and our victory has simply been deferred.”

In France, the far-right led by Jordan Bardella and Marine Le Pen have been dealt a big defeat, as the left and center wisely teamed up to prevent that from happening. The winner with the most seats will be the left-wing Nouveau Front populaire (New Popular Front) and Emmanuel Macron’s centrist Ensemble (Together) will be 2nd.