#Is this a power move against Merc

[totowlff]

After seeing that video that you qrted of Lewis and Toto in the paddock I realized I can't focus on anything else when his ARMS are just there. so i was thinking if you could write smth where reader works for merc/a job that puts her close to toto everyday and they often have team meetings but reader can't focus on anything else other than his arms. HANDS. and maybe his big ass watch 🤭 thx nat 🥰

the mind is a very strong thing, huh?

filthy

Dropping the material on the table, you let out a long sigh. You had already lost count of how many times you had sat in that room in the last two years, especially to talk about problems. And they were not few.

Slowly, the seats around the table were occupied, the sound of metal scraping on the floor of the room along with the mumbled greetings without much enthusiasm. There was no reason to be excited, not when another year had been thrown in the trash. Looking at your phone, you no longer remembered the topic you were talking about with your friend, the message you had started typing completely losing its meaning.

Then, a voice made you look up, a shy smile on your lips.

— Good morning, everyone — your boss said, as he went to the chair he usually occupied, near the flat screen on which the silver star shone. His eyes took in the way he greeted one of the employees with a smile and a hand on the shoulder.

However, as he sat down, a hiss escaped his lips.

— Is there a problem, Mr. Wolff? — you asked, almost without realizing it.

— Oh, no, it's just the knee that's still bothering me a little.

— The surgery didn't work?

— Yes, it worked, you just need to move it a little to strengthen it and it's a little painful, actually — he replied, smiling — But I appreciate your concern, Y/N. It's very kind of you.

You felt your face heat up, as you returned the smile.

The meeting began shortly after that short exchange of words between you, but your mind was still at that moment, on the sweet words, on his smile. That was the power Toto Wolff had over you. And you couldn't help but feel that way, especially when he was around.

He had enchanted you since the first time those brown eyes had met yours. His smile lit up any room, almost like the sun coming out from behind the clouds. His playful, almost boyish personality made something warm inside your chest, making you feel something you hadn't felt in a long time.

It was completely wrong, you knew. But, you couldn't help it.

You desired your boss.

— This is our chance to consolidate Lewis and the team in second place in the constructors — Toto said, gesturing with his hands in order to emphasize his own words — We couldn't do much in Japan, but this is the time to fight.

You weren't absorbing anything from that meeting. With one hand on your chin, you only had eyes for him and the way he moved his hands, as well as his serious tone, which made his skin tingle in a delicious way. You would do anything to be touched by those fingers, to feel them slide across your skin, leaving a trail of flames and desire along the way.

— The circuit was resurfaced, we're still not sure about the wear and tear — someone said next to you, but you didn't make a point of looking in its direction. Not when your mind drew a racy, not to say indecent, image involving the man scribbling something on the notepad in front of him.

It could be anywhere, even there. Toto wouldn't need to say much to have you in his hands, literally. Sitting on the conference table, it wouldn't take long for him to realize what you needed. And he would give it willingly, his breath hot against your ear.

His hand would slide up your black dress until it found the spot between your legs, hot and pulsing for attention, for stimulation, for him. Brushing his fingers lightly against your clit, still covered by your panties, making you moan softly.

— So needy — Toto would murmur, before pulling away the fabric and slowly inserting two fingers into your pussy, moving them slowly, as if he was discovering what you liked.

Just by looking in his eyes, you would make it clear that that rhythm was not enough, nor that the position of the fingers was correct. You needed him to bend them slightly, to brush against the spot you couldn't reach when you were alone, but that you were sure he was capable of.

— Toto — his name would escape your lips like a plea.

— More? — he would ask quietly, with a provocative smile. By nodding positively, the smile would grow — Ask me, schatz. Ask me and I'll give it to you.

— Please — you would murmur — Faster.

— Good girl…

The pace would go from something slow and almost torturous to something relentless, the wet sound that escaped your pussy would fill the room, along with your moans. Using the base of his hand, he would massage your clitoris without much delicacy, trying to take you to the place you wanted so much and had already reached so many times with those brown eyes in mind.

— Fuck, yes, yes, yes, yes — you would whimper, your fingers squeezing his shoulders tightly, as if that were possible to keep you there, savoring that pleasure you had waited so long for.

— Yes, let me feel your pussy squeezing my fingers, schatz — Toto would growl, as his hand continued to move against you, causing your legs to shake and your eyes to roll back.

The explosion was so close, so close. There was little left, just a few seconds.

And then…

— Y/N, how are the updated parts for Austin? — Toto asked.

Blinking, you came back to reality, feeling your skin too hot and your cheeks red. You had definitely gone too far.

— Ah, yes, the parts — you stuttered, looking for that information in your notes, feeling like a complete idiot for having let yourself be carried away by your own imagination — Yeah, so, they were...

— You know what, we'll talk about this after the meeting in my office, okay?

Your heart skipped a beat.

— Perfect.

#wlffflashes #toto wolff #f1 fic #formula 1 fic #toto wolff x reader #formula 1 x reader #f1 x reader #toto wolff smut

[erelavent]

My bestie and I have been parsing out what Lewis' move to Ferrari means for the future of both Mercedes and Ferrari and we have come up with some thoughts.

Lewis moving to Ferrari has made it open season at Mercedes. Not only does his move signal a lack of confidence in the team, but it also splits allegiances. Employees may be on the fence about what direction Merc is moving in and may be inclined to jump ship. Other employees may just straight up be Lewis loyalists and move to Ferrari. This is a perfect opportunity for other teams to poach Merc staff.

This leads to point #2. Toto has got to take stock of who is staying and who is leaving Mercedes. Not only to prevent them taking info about the development of the car with them, but also to ensure that the team can still effectively function and produce a decent car in the following years. The last thing he wants, is to have gaping holes in his team that will shoot them back down to a back marker team.

Speaking of holes, Toto needs to lock down an experienced driver to fill that 2nd Mercedes seat ASAP. Like yesterday. So many teams are concerned that they're going to lose their drivers and are announcing early contract renewals without divulging their end dates. Even Redbull is reportedly trying to sign Alex Albon. If Toto waits too long, he's going to be caught with his pants down without an experienced driver to fill the 2nd seat and boost team morale.

If possible, Toto needs to get Lewis on actual video saying that there's no bad blood between them. As it stands, Mercedes' image has taken a major hit. The longer Lewis stays silent, the longer the rumors fester, and the more fans turn against Mercedes. Idk if what Toto claims is true, but if it is, he needs Lewis to verbally and physically confirm it.

As for Ferrari, I think signing Lewis is part of a really big rebrand for them. I think Fred Vasseur and John Elkann have decided to stop riding the wings of legacy and revamp Ferrari's image. The first part of that is looking (who knows if they actually will be) more progressive. The image that has historically accompanied Ferrari has been rich, old, white, cis, heterosexual, male. But that isn't cutting it anymore. The sport is expanding and the buying power of young women and POC is gaining larger market share. Ferrari has to adapt or die. What better way to do this than to sign on Lewis, a biracial man from humble beginnings who champions DEI and environmental initiatives and happens to have a young core audience? I mean, Ferrari stock literally skyrocketed with the announcement yesterday (and no, you will not convince me that stock gap came from Ferrari publishing their annual report). The proof is in the pudding.

The rebrand also includes their internal operations. Both Fred and John need someone who can inspire devotion and reinvigorate the team. They've been flopping since 2008 and desperately need to recenter. They need to convince new blood to join the team and signing Lewis does that. I'm guessing they're also hoping Lewis can steer development into the right direction and launch them into the stratosphere like he did with Merc.

These moves are all very calculated, and honestly, I'm impressed that Lewis and the Ferrari team kept it all under wraps. We'll see if it pans out like they hope.

#f1 #formula 1 #lewis hamilton #fred vasseur #john elkann #ferrari #mercedes amg petronas

[valyrfia]

The big loser in all of this is Daniel. He came into Alphatauri thinking he had a good shot at the RB seat. But now with the Lewis move, opening up a seat at Merc and filling Ferrari with an extremely strong pairing - RB might not be able to give Daniel that seat anymore, because they need to sign someone better, before Merc does.

And sadly there's always the what if Daniel hadn't broken his hand last year? Because if he had performed very well last year he might have gotten the RB seat for 2024 with Checo out a year early. But now it looks like he may never get the RB seat he wanted. On one hand, at least he has a seat in F1 at all, so not much to complain about there. But he really better hope VCARB are going to be fast because it's a dead end for him otherwise.

Honestly I think he's on his way out of F1 anyway in the next few years. But I do feel for him that if not for the Lewis move, he would have been almost guaranteed the RB seat.

I'll be honest anon, I agree with every point you said, but I don't feel so sorry for Daniel Ricciardo. It's the nature of the sport, and while what happened at McLaren garners sympathy, he made some bad overall decisions in the management of his career. I think the team-jumping also seriously damaged Daniel's form, and I'm a little scared that everyone is overestimating his abilities by having these crazy high expectations for him being able to challenge Max for a title in a Red Bull when realistically he will be able to perform as a good second driver, but not be able to match a Max Verstappen in the prime of his career.

Red Bull will also be shitting themselves over this Lewis to Ferrari move. Max is likely to retire in 2028 and Red Bull put all their eggs so strongly in Max's basket that they have NO real fightback against the Charles/Lewis line up, and the subsequent Charles Leclerc in his career prime in what will likely be the strongest team in the sport. Red Bull need to be looking to the future, and I see them being more likely trying to bring on another driver in their career prime (like Alex Albon, even though I don't think he'll sign a contract with them again, or they might even try and buy Oscar out of his McLaren contract) than bet on the Daniel/Max line-up. If all else fails, I think they will bring Daniel up for a couple of years to make space at Alpha Tauri for Liam Lawson and also with it being written very clearly in Daniel's contract that he is the clear n2 who is there to help Max win championships against Charles/Lewis, and then I think they'll invest in Liam Lawson, and/or maybe try and bring in Oscar Piastri. But yeah, I honestly don't see Daniel's career in the Red Bull family lasting past 2026, whatever the outcome. The shake-up of Lewis to Ferrari has just thrown everyone's medium-term plans out of the window and Red Bull have to stop resting on their laurels of the insane Max dominance if they want any chance of beating what's starting to look like an extremely powerful Scuderia Ferrari.

#asks #anon #red bull racing #lewis to ferrari #daniel ricciardo #i just don't think the maxiel line up can match the 1644 one #and CH knows this #he's defo freaking out albeit doing it a bit quieter than toto

[vro0m]

2016 season summary

Alright let’s get the general stuff out the way first because we all know this is mainly gonna be about brocedes anyway.

General stuff :

First of all F1 really fucked up with trying to change quali and with the incredibly stupid radio ban. Also they’ve been sold to Liberty media so you know things are gonna change.

At the start of the season Ferrari looks pretty good but they’re not winning the development war. For RedBull : there’s the controversial swap with Max making it into the A-Team after just 4 races. The relationship between Daniel and Max is interesting. There’s a clear time when you can tell Ricciardo starts feeling threatened by the kid. They’re getting closer and closer to Mercedes as well. And of course there’s literally a whole rule added by Charlie because of how Max drives, i.e. dangerously.

Okay now let’s get to the main topic, brocedes :

Look. It’s gonna be difficult to write this because what hasn’t been written about it already? I’m not gonna have a smarter or original thing to say, so I guess all I can do is give my own outlook on things.

First of all, I do agree Nico probably would not have won a title if it wasn’t for Lewis’ bad luck. But it doesn’t actually matter. Luck is part of the sport. In 2015, Nico was the unlucky one out of the two. That’s just how it is : you need a good driver in a good car with a good strategy but if your driver is unlucky none of it counts.

Reliability is also not the only problem Lewis faces that season. Because of it and because of the mechanics swap (which imo was a very poor managerial decision btw, way too radical), he gets very very deep in his head. Adaptability is truly not his best trait, to this day. He’s very unhappy about the swap, and then he gets paranoid with the reliability issues, even suggesting some conspiracy theory at some point (Malaysia - and yeah I absolutely do not believe the official Merc version that he was alluding to a higher power rather than someone sabotaging him). He just can’t get over himself, not that it would have changed much of anything to his engine repeatedly failing.

Thus, Lewis’ self-narration progressively goes from “I’m heroically battling the odds and not giving up” to “he’s only winning because I had reliability issues” when it becomes clear he’s only gonna beat Nico through actual divine intervention. He’s absolutely unable to recognize Nico’s work. Even after Nico has won, he keeps saying “I don’t wanna take anything away from him, he did everything he had to this year BUT”. And he just can’t let go of that “but”. He says it every single time. He can’t accept that he lost, or maybe he can’t accept that Nico won. I know I keep saying it but once again : Nico won against someone he saw as better than him, and Lewis lost to someone who he saw as not as good as he is. And he can’t accept it. And that’s why to this day, Nico is able to talk freely about their rivalry and about Lewis, and Lewis can’t. 

And – sorry for this personal vendetta but yes, I’m gonna mention it – the funny thing about this is, Lewis early on in the season (Bahrain GP) said in an interview that the issue with racing now is that drivers get coaches when psychologists just mess with your mind and they don’t need all that. Meanwhile Nico credited part of what allowed him to win that year to working “extremely intensely” with a sport psychologist. So. Yeah. Just saying. Maybe if he worked with a psychologist he wouldn’t have gotten that paranoid but who knows. Anyway, moving on. This really isn’t Lewis’ best year. That’s probably the least likeable I’ve seen him. And I understand why some people saw him as arrogant. Because he fucking is. (Doesn’t matter btw, I love a cocky asshole, but it’s honest to mention it I think.)

I’m absolutely fascinated with Nico’s departure as well. We’ve talked about it a bit in the last review but of course I’m gonna talk about it again. Right when I started watching the brocedes era for this rewatch (which, again, up to this point isn’t really a rewatch but a watch), I mentioned that being in this fandom without actually having seen it with my own two eyes gave me the very wrong picture of what it was like. Nico has been demonised a lot by Lewis’ fans, and I don’t think most of it was justified. I also think a lot of newer fans interpret the story with the current Lewis in mind (i.e. generally extremely clean racer, very good at media com, very good at portraying himself as good and above petty disputes – whether he truly is above them remains to be proven) but Lewis was an asshole much more outwardly at the time it happened, and he still had a lot of maturing to do, and his com was pretty bad (think of the Japanese GP snapchat scandal stupidity, I mean… the whole thing was ridiculous to being with, but he unfortunately handled it very poorly as well – if such a thing happened today he would react very differently). Anyway, I will forever wonder whether it could have been possible for them to have such a rivalry in a mature way later on, or if the fact that it’s THEM makes it impossible for them to be mature about it, in the way siblings can never fight without all the weight of their childhood on their backs.

Similarly, I feel like when you don’t know the actual story, like I mentioned in the Abu Dhabi review, it seems like Lewis won the war as Nico gave up on F1. But that’s not true. And look. You know I don’t really do fanfiction but I want to say that the first person who opened my eyes to it even before I got to the end of the season and saw it for myself was Akira (@effervescentdragon) in this ficlet. Credit where it’s due, what she wrote really stayed with me while watching the end of this season. Anyway, forgive me for quoting myself from the last race review, but there’s no use paraphrasing something I already wrote :

And I think it’s an important thing to finish on. Because a lot of people have said (I mean I’ve just read it in one of the articles I’ve read for this conclusion) that Nico won the battle but Lewis won the war because Nico basically gave up. I myself have alluded to this in the “Lewis breaks his teammates essay”. Lewis did break Nico. I mean Nico said pretty plainly that he was unable (but maybe more importantly unwilling) to keep putting so much effort into beating Lewis. But Lewis didn’t win the war, Nico did. Because Lewis never got to beat him again. [...] And Nico robbed him of a chance to set things right in his mind. In the story of their rivalry, the last thing that happened is, and will forever be : Nico won. And that’s Nico’s everlasting victory.

Let’s talk numbers : so far, I’ve completed 56.6% of my rewatch. In total, I’ve made 1,862 GIFs to illustrate it.

Here’s a list of the 2016 GPs with a quick summary and the link to the actual recap if you wanna read it or take a look at the GIFs I made :

Australian GP : season context, quali fiasco, Lewis pole, interviews, bad start, horrible crash with a redflag, slight Toro Rosso drama, Lewis P2

Bahrain GP : quali fiasco still being revised, Lewis pole, Alonso is NOT back, another interview, Angela, got overtaken by nico then contact with val, pretty good racing but not at the front, Lewis P3

Chinese GP : absolute disaster of a weekend, first PU failure, chaotic start, three pit stops in the first ten laps???, lots of overtakes, Lewis p7

Russian GP : abysmally stupid halo conversation, second PU failure + issues during the race, messy messy start, mechanics swap, lewis P2, bonus

Spanish GP : lewis pole, Max promoted to RedBull, obviously well. Double DNF.

Monaco GP : not on pole, mixed conditions, but still 44th win!

Canadian GP : controversial start incident, battle with Seb, nice podium, the seagull incident, Ted being very partial, Lewis wins!

European GP : bad quali and another engine problem, stupid radio ban, Lewis P5

Austrian GP : pole!, complicated race, shocking plot twist, lots of post race debrief, Lewis wins

British GP : Lewis pole, karting interview, wet start, loads of cars losing it, radio ban issue for Nico, Lewis wins

Hungarian GP : huge quali controversy, the radio ban gets even stupider, possibly some shady backing up and brake issues?, Lewis wins, championship lead! Raikkonen doesn’t like Max’s driving

German GP : Nico interview, strategy group meeting, pretty boring race, Lewis wins

Belgian GP : engine penalty, terrible Brundle opinions on the halo, incredibly chaotic race, Lewis P3 after an extreme recovery

Italian GP : extremely boring race, nothing to say, Lewis P2

Singapore GP : chaotic start, very very weird strategy calls, Lewis P3

Malaysian GP : fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck (but more seriously : turning point moment?, tragic ending, hurt no comfort, conspiracy theories, etc.)

Japanese GP : Snapchat controversy, another bad start, many overtakes early on, suspenseful ending, WCC decider

US GP : Lewis interview, Lewis pole, but more reliability problems, Lewis’ 50th win! Adorable podium.

Mexican GP : Lewis pole Lewis win, but nobody cares because there’s incredible drama between Max and Seb, none of your business

Brazilian GP : very very chaotic wet race, Massa’s last home race, lovely radio, baby Charles is in love, Lewis win

Abu Dhabi GP : obvious title decider, some stuff about Nico’s decision to leave F1

#f1 #lewis hamilton #vro0m's race reviews #2016 #2016 season summary

[petit-papillion]

As a follow-up to some previous discussions regarding whether Charles was on board with Lewis coming to Ferarri or not:

I firmly believe Fred is at Ferrari because Charles wanted him there. And I think (again, all my opinion) Fred was asked to not only turn things around for Ferrari, but to build a team around Charles. Ferrari wants that dream of their homegrown, immensely likeable driver becoming their next WDC. Think Monza 2019 to the power of 100.

So Charles needs a teammate who will be able to help him get there, and it was clear that was not going to be Carlos. Different driving styles and setups, different comfort levels (when Carlos felt comfortable, the car did not perform well. When Charles felt comfortable, Carlos struggled to keep up.), and different attitudes (for Charles the team result always comes first, Carlos often wants to best his teammate).

I'm not sure who else Fred may have had his eye on to replace Carlos, but with John Elkann pursuing Lewis, I'm sure both Fred and Charles were in the know. And to have Lewis at Ferrari, I mean, come on! Look at the excitement it's created this week. It's a massive move by Ferrari to have two star drivers.

And yes, we know Lewis is (was?) hungry for that elusive 8 wdc, but he also dreamed of driving for Ferrari since he was a kid. So to be able to make that dream come true at the end of his career no doubt means the world to him.

Thinking about what this means for future (potential) championships: I think Ferrari has more to gain from Charles becoming the next WDC than Lewis getting his 8th. Yes, it would be another notch in Lewis's more-than-impressive belt, but it would mean so much more if it was their FDA-graduate, pseudo-Italian, lovable talent. Now they would have 2 WDCs to boast of. The boost in confidence it would give Charles would be huge. And his reputation at Ferrari would be cemented in history.

This doesn't mean I see Lewis as a number 2 driver. Absolutely not. More as equal partners with the common goal to lead Ferrari back to WCC, and eventually WDC. Ferrari will need two solid title contenders to steal enough points from alien-level Max.

Which also reminds me about how this move has put so much pressure on both Mercedes and Red Bull who now find themselves up against a team with a power duo of drivers. Red Bull only having 1 strong driver who's been single-handedly carrying their championships, and Merc is in an even bigger bind having lost their star driver. I'm sure George will be excited to be out of Lewis's shadow, but I think he still had a lot to learn from him. I guess he can still do so this year, but it won't be the same.

I firmly believe that, long term, Ferrari will be betting on Charles to lead the team, with Lewis having an important role as Ferrari's ambassador after he retires. Short term, they need two drivers who are on the same page with car development, driving capabilities, and team focus. I think that is exactly what they will have with Charles and Lewis.

#my ramblings #i could be so wrong about this #but i am hopeful #and maybe a little delulu as well #anyway i was right before so counting on being right again #charles leclerc #lewis hamilton #scuderia ferrari #lewis to ferrari #silly season 2024

[as8bakwthesage]

Andante, Andante

Medic realises he's developing some feelings for the Witch...

Also on AO3

*

“Aw come on! I could run circles around that guy!” Scout exclaimed, throwing his arms up and accidentally spilling his popcorn all over, which he scrambled to save. The mercs were sitting around in their living room, eyes locked on the TV which was playing some old horror flick. Most of the mercs were invested in the movie at least while others downright gave commentary. 

It was here where Medic found himself in a rather curious position. He had been swayed to watch the movie after some light convincing from Heavy, who promised the macabre doctor violence and gore in it. While this turned out to be the case, what he was not expecting was to be seated beside the only woman in the base – Witch. 

Thus far, the Witch and himself had a rather… scrupulous relationship to say the least. She wanted him dead, he wanted to dissect her, it was a rather straightforward arrangement. However, between their bickering and near constant threats of mutual violence, Medic couldn’t help but admit that he found the woman enticing to be around. She radiated power and confidence, traits he found extremely appealing. 

At first, Witch almost got up and moved away from him, but Engie had been quick to stop her and start some small talk. She was forced to stay where she was as Medic sat down beside her and retained some distance. While he was a madman, he was certainly no creep. If she wanted nothing to do with him in terms of physical proximity, that he could respect for the time being.

So it was midway through the movie when Witch started chuckling at Scout’s antics that alerted the Medic to her. He had previously been ignoring her and focusing strictly on the film. But hearing her laugh was a surprise. He had never really heard her laugh, and quite frankly, it was a pleasant sound. He didn’t focus too much on it, nor on the feeling of his heart skipping a beat. 

However, it didn’t stop there.

A few days later, during one of the team’s game nights, Medic found himself in a karaoke battle with Witch. They had gotten to that point because Demo had bluntly pointed out that Witch was a very good singer (much to her evident modesty), only for Heavy to defend Medic’s honour as the best singer on the team. Even as Medic and Witch protested heavily against it, the team forced them into their places. Everyone was curious to see who took that honour as Medic and Witch waited with bated breaths for the song to come on.

As the melody came on, both parties' eyes widened in recognition as Witch took to be the one to start.

Take it easy with me, please Touch me gently like a summer evening breeze Take your time, make it slow Andante, Andante Just let the feeling grow

Medic’s eyes widened in surprise to hear her sing. And dear God, she could sing. She practically had perfect pitch! He was enchanted by her singing as she met his eyes as she sang some of her lines, and he could almost swear she was singing it to him. However, he knew it would be his turn soon.

There's a shimmer in your eyes Like the feelin' of a thousand butterflies Please don't talk, go on, play Andante, Andante And let me float away

He could tell she was equally surprised by his own voice as he continued singing. His range was higher but he liked that. And it seemed Witch did too as he caught her smiling with fondness up at him. His heart skipped yet again as the conclusion of their duet was coming to an end.

Make me sing, make me sound (You make me sing and you make me) Andante, Andante Tread lightly on my ground Andante, Andante Oh please, don't let me down Andante, Andante Oh please, don't let me down

They sang the last chorus together, and by the time they were done the others burst into applause. As Medic and Witch scanned the room, they were both equally surprised and more than a little flustered at their teammates’ praise. Medic found himself rubbing the back of his neck as Witch tried to hide her blush. And the feeling of seeing her so open was… wonderful. 

When he finally asked himself the question he had been avoiding since he first saw her smile, Medic was in the infirmary with Witch. She had gotten hurt and was bleeding from a knife slice. She accidentally cut herself it would seem. And while Medic could have used his Medigun to just heal her up quickly, for some reason he felt compelled to keep her there longer. So he opted to instead sew up her wound before healing it.

“There! All done,” he cheered when he was finished. Witch stood up and flexed her hand to see if everything was truly all good. When she found no fault in it, she nodded approvingly.

“Thank you,” she replied. Medic smiled without a care in the world as he stepped away to clean some of his supplies.

“Not at all,” he said. “Now, obviously you should be fine, but please do try to avoid cutting yourself in the future.”

His tone was lighthearted as he was genuinely in a rather jovial mood. However, when Witch didn’t respond, he grew curious. He assumed she had simply left, but when he turned around, he was greeted by the most heartwarming sight.

There was Witch sitting on a cot and cooing at his doves. They all had gathered around her and were peering up at her curiously. She was the pinnacle of an adoring mother as she carefully lifted one of them up and nuzzled it, gently murmuring as she did so. The bird cooed in her hold as she relaxed fully. The other birds found spots to sit on her where they could while the others rested against her or sat by. 

Medic was positively delighted by the sight, having never seen his birds be so openly affectionate with another human before. She was so happy and at peace around his doves and it made his stomach flutter. Seeing her so vulnerable and happy was a sight he was sure he’d never get tired of. Sure, it was fun to tease her and watch her get all frustrated and angry at him, but that didn’t top this. It didn’t help that he wondered what she’d be like as a mother if she was this gentle and loving towards mere birds. 

He shooed the thoughts away as he carefully approached her, making sure she wasn’t surprised by him as he smiled down at her. “You seem to have made some friends,” he teased, but made sure to convey no ill intent in it. She turned to face him and in that moment, her expression turned cold and neutral. 

“Birds are beautiful creatures, as I’m sure you know.” Witch replied, not conveying any emotion. However, despite Medic’s own pride and need to have control, he figured he’d give a bit away to allow himself to get closer to the illusive woman. 

“That they are. They’re quite taken with you, and it seems for good reason.” He commented, allowing himself to fall into that lull of vulnerability. Witch’s eyes met his with surprise and intrigue. He continued. “They must see something special within you.”

“Perhaps so,” Witch replied, her own voice softer than before as she looked away and down at the birds. After a moment, her eyes returned to him. “When… When did you start raising them?”

“Oh, I’ve had doves since I could remember. I suppose you could blame my mother for that.” He recounted with a wistful chuckle. “She taught me how to take care of them. Archimedes himself is a descendant of my mother’s first dove, in fact.” 

“She taught you very well,” Witch praised with an emerging smile. Medic stared at her, as blush creeped up on him. Her smile was one he treasured dearly and it seemed the story about his past touched her. He often hated feeling vulnerable, but at this moment, it felt right.

“Thank you,” Medic thanked, feeling his own smile appear. And not one of his smug and evil smiles, no, this one was genuine. Soft. The two fell into a comfortable silence as Witch continued to tend to his birds. 

As his heart beat in his chest, his stomach tied itself into pleasant knots, and his eyes lingered on her a touch too long, he couldn’t help but wonder ‘what is this feeling?’ Even as Witch reluctantly forced herself to retire for the evening, wishing Medic a goodnight with a warm smile, he wondered. It was such a lovely and floaty feeling, intense and heavenly. He couldn’t believe how he felt so utterly soft and warm for that woman. 

He exhaled heavily, having realised he had been staring at the door for a few minutes as he turned away. Archimedes cooed in response as Medic composed himself. The doctor chuckled. 

“Yes, Archimedes,” he replied, “She’s giving me a lot to think about.”

#tf2 #team fortress 2 #medic #tf2 medic #erich ludwig #witch #tf2 witch #celia adalias #my writing #medic x witch #medic x reader #falling in love #realization of feelings

[charles-leclerc-official]

will you make any predictions about 2026? im sure u saw the driver standings? it is the same 5 teams in the same order... do u think 2026 will save our beloathed sport?

I can take a stab at this, but there are a lot of pieces still moving, so this is just based on vibes more than anything:

So I think that the cost cap kinda made it so that the top teams stay on top simply because before the cost cap they were able to build up state of the art facilities and throw money around for their setup. That does carry over beyond the cost cap. Having control over the production of a car and the quality facilities plays a role. For example Ferrari would probably not be as good of a team if they didn't have all of the facilities and years of experience building high quality engines.

So predicting ahead to 2026 there is no reason to really expect the top five not to remain the top 5(unless someone really messes up, like catastrophically messes up the development of their car) Top teams are usually their own worst enemy more than anyone else.

However the order I do think will be different. With the way Red Bull is looking like they are losing personnel there is a very good chance that we see them in 2026 with a weaker car. Not out of the top 5 but also not the clear number 1. Red Bull also is getting an engine from a brand new operation at Ford, the chances that engine is competitive with Ferrari and Merc the first year is extremely low. The simple fact Red Bull doesn't have their own in house engine facilities is potentially going to be an issue for them. Starting from scratch with a new supplier is a big disadvantage to a team that has been building engines that are great for decades specifically tuned to their cars.

I can also say that Mercedes might be a wild card. While the engine thing is in their favor, the dynamic aero might not be. They have been struggling to understand aero since the last change and these regulations are evolving this aero so I am unsure of exactly where they will land. Who knows maybe they will really find a good footing with the new aero.

Since the regulations are also going to allow for more engine power we are likely looking at the top two teams that make their own engines starting out on top, or at least close (Ferrari and Mercedes) The engine regulations alone put Red Bull at a disadvantage against Merc and Ferrari.

So I guess TL:DR the top 5 teams will probably stay the top 5, but the 2026 regs have a good chance of breaking the Red Bull dominance.

I will say I do think we are going to see the driver standings change a lot more this year(and next year the field will be even closer, there won't be big car evolutions like this year). I don't think at the very least Checo is the easy number two. We will probably see the standings shuffle more. It's only 4 races in, there are still a lot of points on the board. I am not going to predict concrete placement for this season because I am not going to be the one who jinxes it. I have my secret predictions but I ain't writing them down to curse the rest of the season. I'll just say that I think might get some surprises.

#luci answers #SF-24 beautiful creature

[heroofshield]

Whumpcember Day 24- Bullet (Mass Effect Shakarian)

@whumpcember

Rose Shepard didn't know who this 'Archangel' was, but was willing to admit they were one hell of a shot. She watched as two more Blue Sun's went down and was impressed.

"I can see why the Illusive Man wants them on the team." she thought as she made sure no one was looking before sabotaging the mech that was going to be used later on. Slipping back out, she saw that more mercenaries had fallen and her curiosity as to who Archangel was grew.

"Russo, you and your team are up." the head of the Blue Sun's said in his gruff voice.

It took a second for Rose to remember the fake name she'd given when trying to get recruited but then she nodded and nodded to Mordin and Miranda, pulling out her Avenger and wishing she had her usual N7 armor on, but knew it would have given her away. "And I'm supposed to be keeping a low profile as it is."

Running towards the concrete cover, she paused to make sure Archangel wasn't going for her. When it remained silent, she risked a glance over the barrier but nothing happened. Signalling her team, they leapt out of cover and started to run towards the hideout's entrance.

They were halfway there when the sniper rifle firing sounded and Rose automatically pushed her biotics out, creating a shield around her and the others. It lasted for only a few seconds, she wasn't that powerful of a biotic, but it was long enough to stop the bullet from hitting anyone. Continuing onward, they entered the hideout and up the stairs to finally see who Archangel was.

"Garrus!?" Rose the surprise in her voice clear as she stopped short when Archangel turned around and got a good look.

--

"What's this?" Garrus asked, looking at the all but flattened bullet that was displayed behind the plexiglass in Shepard's quarters.

Rose looked up to see what Garrus was looking at. "That? It's the bullet from when you took a potshot shot at me on Omega."

"I remember that, but do you have the bullet? I thought you destroyed it with your biotics."

Rose let out a laugh and set the datapad on the table before standing and moving towards Garrus. "I'm not that strong of a biotic. I just flattened it enough."

"And how did you find it? Once the mech showed up it got kind of hectic."

"I went back on one of our stops there. The merc's had long cleared out by that time and no one had really cleaned up. Found it and figured it'd bring me some luck since you clearly missed."

Garrus let out a chuckle and gently ran his talon's through Shepard's hair. "Well hopefully it'll bring us all luck once we go through the Omega Relay."

"With you here, I'm sure it will." Rose smiled and leaned against Garrus, wrapping her arms around him and feeling that comforting warmth spread through her body as he did the same.

#whumpcember2023 #mass effect #shakarian #commander shepard #garrus vakarian #rose shepard #fanfic #my writing

[inchidentally]

(not gonna post the link you sent bc I don't wanna tread on other people's stuff since we're all out here in the tumblr wild to talk about these rich men and their problematic silly sport in any way we want to. I'll reply with my thoughts but remember that they're my own and I am NOT telling someone else how to feel)

okay so fully removing the ship lenses and assuming they're not wishing any hostility towards Oscar or any future teammate of Lando's at McLaren: holy SHIT no. fuckballs NOOOO.

ok from a purely practical/realism standpoint Carlos will not be taking any steps backward. based purely on Ferrari's overall performance and the fact that Charles is a damn good match as a teammate (hi Singapore) Carlos is exactly where he should be for WDC contention. McLaren are out there competing hard with them and with the Mercs but to see them outpacing those cars would be solely down to the youth and combined competitiveness of Lando and Oscar they've invested in - so still no dice for Carlos in the foreseeable. I'm not F1 smart enough to know how likely it would be that he'd go to RBR but even there I'm not sure how he and Max would work together again with Max's dominance and ummmm Carlos' least favorite thing being following team orders to concede to his teammate. followed by what would become Carlos' first least favorite thing which would be to drive Max's car since development only works one way at RBR. and that's all assuming that Lando stays with McLaren and that Oscar chooses to leave. the first being reasonably likely and the second is too soon to tell. then there's the fact that by that point Lando would not be considered McLaren youth anymore and they'd be highly unlikely to bring on someone even older to partner him. ((add to that the fact that Carlos will never be an Alonso and will definitely get married early in his thirties and move on to different types of racing or maybe even a different field in racing)) Lando will be a Lewis and stick with F1 competitively chasing wins and WDCs (especially if he can outlast Max's boredom threshold) and he won't be interested in nostalgia hires unless they can help him with that goal.

but moving on to the more parasocial fandom side of it…

honestly the biggest surprise to me is seeing people think that they were equals ??? during their season together?? Lando was a tiny baby who has talked about how being partnered with Carlos fed his anxieties and insecurities! he saw this seasoned driver learning the car faster than him, knowing the circuits better than him and speaking to the team with more confidence than him. lbr when his "trophy" was Carlos' champagne while Carlos celebrated his podium, Lando did NOT look completely happy being forced into that celebration (and I seem to recall later on him even ruefully saying "it wasn't my celebration but anyway"). Carlos literally saw Lando as a baby brother and treated him as such but he also had no clue what to do with Lando's darker moods besides try to cheer him up (and sometimes fail).

I am someone who likes to keep the streams of real life and rpf totally crystal clear and separate and I also like to keep the reality of who these drivers are free of anything I imagine about them for fantasy. when Carlos isn't winning or at least happy with his result, he isn't remotely a team player (and with a team like Ferrari it's hard to blame him sometimes lol). I guess for some people? it's easy to think that Carlos would become a totally different driver when on a team with Lando from ~the power of love~… but that would also have to hand-wave when he actually was Lando's teammate. (it would also hand-wave that Carlos and Charles are also good friends and much more flirty and lovey dovey but Carlos still fights against Charles like a beast when he's in the car)

this man is in it to win it. if you called him soft for a teammate or said that the foremost reason he gave Lando DRS in Singapore was for Lando's benefit he would laugh in your face. at no point in the incredibly stressful final laps was Carlos going "aw shucks I hope my lil buddy can be up there with me let me rig this to make it happen" bc by that point in a race they are thinking in nothing but driving binary and /how do I cement my win against all the bastards behind me/. Carlos does NOT revolve even a small part of his racing career around Lando or any other driver. he doesn't even regard much of his team's input (again, probably for the best with Ferrari). even when he gets direct help from Charles following Ferrari strategy (see Singapore) I still can't really recall that he was overly effusive in acknowledging that fact. he's modeled himself much more on the F1 generations of more like two generations back. and why shouldn't he? so I do not get how people can still think that drivers - especially Carlos' type - are remotely friendly with anyone when they're on the circuit. sure they might get even more pissed off at a driver they aren't keen on but literally /everyone/ is their enemy and their own result is their one goal. that's literally their job.

and as Lando says himself, no one in F1 including him wants to beat anyone more than their own teammate. again. how do people think that Lando would take this entire career he's worked so incredibly hard for and make it about a guy he golfs with (in groups, folks) and occasionally goes to dinner with (which he also does with Daniel) and talks to during the drivers parade (he also consistently seeks out Max, George and Yuki) but has a thriving professional and social life that has nothing to do with Carlos? yuk|erre, maxie| and ga|ex are out there doing far more shippy type things than car|ando all the damn time but when have they ever let that affect their desire to win or beat each other??

nothing about little unseasoned raw lamb cutlet Lando with hairy alpha Carlos at McLaren at all resembles what their dynamic would be as teammates. and the fact that Lando is really liking this new feeling of being the superior favored driver bodes horribly for how he'd react to Carlos swinging his huge sexy cojones back into McLaren expecting to be the number one again by age and experience. folks should enjoy getting to see them during the drivers parade and out golfing as non teammates bc the adorable content of 2019 would curdle into something grotesque if they now had to do goofy challenges while slowly learning to hate the sight of each other during briefings as they sought to supplant the other in the standings.

in no way on this or any other earthly planes can I be convinced that having them compete on the same team again would be anything other than a trainwreck and result in them not even speaking for the next 10-15 years.

#inchreplies

[romancomicsnews]

5 Non-MCU Characters I'd love to see in Deadpool & Wolverine

Superbowl Sunday saw the return of everyones favorite Merc with a Mouth Deadpool in the trailer for his upcoming new movie Deadpool & Wolverine.

And as usual, Marvel hooked me.

Some fans have seen it as a return to form for the MCU, others as business as usual for Ryan Reynolds, and some just couldn't get over the little bit of Wolverine we got.

Myself, I was mainly focused on one thing. Aaron Stanford.

For those not in the know, this clip from the trailer shows Aaron Stanford returning as minor villain and asshole Pyro from the original X-Men Films. He was a sidekick to Magneto, and has a rivalry with Iceman in those movies.

The return of Pyro from the X-Men films confirms what most fans expected: we will see old heroes and villains from the Fox era, not just Wolverine.

And while a few have been already revealed through casting news or set photos, there are plenty more in store for us, I'm sure.

This got my head gears turning, so I decided I'd look back on the old Fox films to see who I want to return, even for the briefest moment or cameo.

None of these have been confirmed officially, so you are spoiler free from here on out. But I must warn, once I put this ideas in your head, you may be mad if they don't show up.

5. Animated Deadpool Voiced by Donald Glover

*sigh* The project I wish existed.

In 2017, Donald Glover was in development and given the green light on an animated Deadpool show. The show was to premiere on FX in 2018. However, for unknown reasons it was cancelled, and never debuted, leaving fans and Donald Glover displeased.

After the success of films like Spider-Verse, and Glovers involvement with Marvel, having him come in for a scene where he fights with or against Ryan Reynolds Deadpool could be a fun nod to the fans and maybe give the project the boost it needs to somehow come back.

But alas, I'm still hoping Spider-Verse will bring back Spectacular Spider-Man, so what do I know?

4. X-23

If there is a character ripe for a spin-off from the old X-Men universe, it was definitely X-23.

It's surprising to me she hasn't been revealed as a main member of the cast. She's a character I think few people talk about anymore, but was a crucial part of the film. I'd say Logan is up there and one of the best superhero movies.

Dafne Keen and Hugh Jackman made Logan such an impactful moving film. I'd love to see where the character has gone since Logan, and see how them reuniting effects the film.

Not to mention if she fought Deadpool, it would be one hell of a good (and kind of funny ) fight.

3. Apocalypse

Do I like this character? Absolutely not.

Do I want him here just for the Moon Knight jokes? Yes.

I actually think theres a good Apocalypse in Oscar Isaac somewhere. Having Deadpool and Wolverine at one point face the X-Men's Thanos sounds pretty cool, and Isaac is a great comedic and dramatic performer who deserves another shot.

I wouldn't mind a CGI version that looks more comic accurate, like Beast in the Marvels.

But again. I really just want Deadpool to say "So are you Steven or Marc?"

2. The Human Torch

Similarly, I want the Captain America jokes.

But if there's one thing we can all agree on, it's that Human Torch was by far the best part of those Fantastic Four movies.

There's just so many things you can do with it!

We can have him in the frosted tips, in a new Fantastic Four uniform. Maybe even have him fight Pyro, stop a fire guy with a fire guy. Or have him come out from behind a train like Captain America in Infinity War, but it's Johnny.

Having Evans play across Reynolds even for a bit would make so many fans happy and get more cheers then No Way Home.

Besides Evans has done a cameo in a Shawn Levy film starring Ryan Reynolds once. He can do it again.

1. Legion

The rumored main villain of this film tends to have a very particular vendetta with Charles Xavier. So why not use his son to acquire power?

Legion is the acclaimed show from Noah Hawley starring Dan Stevens as David Haller, a mutant with schizophrenia and basically unlimited power.

Dan Stevens is incredible in this show, and I think bringing in such a powerful X-Men character would make for some fun interactions and extreme stakes. Not to mention the insane visuals, all while delving deep into the psyche of both are protagonists.

While I doubt all of these characters show up, if one or two do, I'd be extremely happy. We'll just have to wait and see.

Thank you so much for reading! Please consider following, and check out my socials and other sites here! And let me know: Who do you want to see in Deadpool and Wolverine?

#deadpool #wolverine #deadpool and wolverine #wade wilson #MCU #marvel #marvel comics #x men 97 #marvel studios #marvel cinematic universe #donald glover #dafne keen #x 23 #laura kinney #apocalypse #x men apocalypse #chris evans #human torch #fantastic four #the fantastic four #legion #legion fx #david haller #shadow king #ryan reynolds #hugh jackman

[hellhound5925]

Welcome to the next Chapter ☺️ I have decided to post once a week and I’m going to try to stick to Tuesdays so mark it on your calendars! Also, I will like the previous and following chapters in each of these posts to make life easier for those of you who might just be joining us. I hope you enjoy!

Cyare Verd

*OC Raven x Hunter

Previous: Chapter One

Chapter Two: Spoils of War

Sleep has never come easy for me. Every time I close my eyes - even for a few minutes - the image of the surface of my home world, left to be nothing but ash. Followed by the night I thought Aspen and I would die…

After hearing news of the bombardment Aspen and I were at one of the many cantinas of Ord Mantell drowning our sorrows. After everything, we needed some time to mourn and think through our next move. It was too risky to make the trip to Mandalore with everyone looking for me and my family.

Since others had found out about what we were doing, a bounty had been placed on our heads. Most people weren’t dumb enough to mess with a mandalorian let alone two so Aspen and I stuck together.

Only after Aspen mouthed off - like she tends to do when she's drunk - to the bartender did some di’kutla (fool/idiot) try to make a move. He came for me first and even though my body didn’t do exactly what I wanted it to, he went down with little fight.

I knew we had quite a bit to drink but I can hold my liquor. Nothing was adding up.

It wasn’t until the rest of the merc’s filed in did I realize it was bad. My vision began to blur and patrons were running out screaming. My head spun at the chaos. Sober, we could have made it out. But it almost seemed like we had been drugged.

Before I had time to process, I was shoved to the ground and hands bound behind me as the same was done to Aspen. The familiar click of a blaster safety as the barrel was pushed against my temple. The cold metal biting my skin. If there was ever a moment I needed my beskar it would have been this one. Too little too late.

Hunter

Raven woke with a startle, smacking her head on the bunk above her. The sound echoed through my bones and up through the walkway where the others took notice. Her breathing was so ragged, it pounded in my head. The horrors of whatever she was dreaming were all over her face.

"Everything okay?" I asked, preparing for a snarky response.

"Yeah, fine" She snaps, brushing it off.

Echo and I exchange a look. We’ve both seen that before, the days after Echo was rescued from Skakko minor.

Our eyes meet briefly before she stands and moves toward the fresher. The haunted look in her eyes causes my chest to tighten. Only when the door clicks shut do I let out a breath and run a hand through my hair.

Something broke her between Kamino and here. I resist the urge to comfort her but what would I say? She’s practically a stranger.

“What is it?” Echo asks as if he’s the one with enhanced senses.

Sighing heavily, and tear my eyes away from the door.

“We uh, we spoke on Kamino a few times. She trained some of the other Commandos.”

Echo smiles at me like he knows something I don’t.

“I knew it was her.”

He laughs at the confusion written on my face.

”No offense Hunter but even back then we knew something was up.”

”What do you mean?”

”You never could take your eyes off her.”

The thing about Echo is he has always called things as he sees them. This time I’m not sure I’m happy to be the one he calls out.

As on cue, the console alarm goes off for the jump out of hyperspace. Mentally I thank whatever powers at be for coming to my aid.

“We’re coming out of hyperspace.”

Raven

Mumbling to myself I place both hands on either side of the sink.

“I don’t need their sympathies.”

Splashing some water on my face and trying to shake off the images from my dream, I collect myself. There is a slight rattle in the ship indicating we’ve likely excited hyper space. I quickly rebraid my hair and secure it in a bun at the back of my neck.

Opening the door to the fresher Hunter is there as if he was about to knock.

"We're here" is all he says.

Understanding. His expression was one of understanding. Not pity like I’d expected. The walls I’ve built around myself threaten to come down.

To avoid further conversation, I quickly exit the fresher, grabbing my helmet on the way and join the others as we prepare for landing.

————

Serenno - as much as I almost hate to admit it - is beautiful, the lush grass and forest that seems mostly undisturbed. I can almost imagine myself camping out under the stars.

In the background the boys are arguing about how they should be doing 'more' to fight against the Empire. I can't say I blame them, with a group like this they could do enough damage and tell the Empire to nar'sheb (shove it).

Yet I roll my eyes at brothers fighting. Mine have done this time and time again. Sometimes I’d take bets on who would throw the first punch if it was bad enough - it was usually Ordo.

Sliding my helmet on, I turn back to the boys with hands on my hips.

“Are we going or what?”

They all stop and look at me like something important was interrupted. But let's face it…they were getting nowhere.

Hunter is the one who gives me a sidelong glance. A challenging smirk tugs at my lips and I tip my visor up to meet his gaze. One eyebrow raises and a shadow of an amused smile hides under the skull tattoo. For whatever reason that has my stomach doing a flip. I spin on my heel and strut towards the woods. His eyes were no doubt on me the whole time.

“She’s right we need to get moving.” I hear him say behind me.

We make our way up a large mountain in silence to get a good vantage point. The trees provide enough cover from the sun I mentally thank whatever powers that be its not unbearably hot.

"That's the city?" I scoff seeing all the imperial ships.

"What happened to it?" Asks Wrecker.

"Imperial orbital bombardment. Same as Kamino." explains Echo.

"They bombed Kamino too?" I guess I was so caught up on my own stuff to hear about it. A chill rakes down my spine. Unable to suppress it, their attention is drawn to me. Echo’s helmeted head tilts from me to Hunter whose eyes are still on the city below. The latter is the one who speaks.

“Mandalorian’s aren't the only ones who lost their home.” His words strike deep, the tone meant to be of understanding.

Once again, I find myself turning my attention towards him. It’s anyone’s guess what he’s looking at but there’s no doubt he can see me staring. The half skull painted on the same side of his helmet as his face. For once I don’t think my visor is the most intimidating one here. There’s something quite attractive about it.

Tech looks through his binoculars and speaks, getting us back on track. "It appears that they are beginning to transport the war chest off-world."

I drag my attention away from Hunter and flip through my HUD to see what he's looking at.

"Our window of opportunity then” Hunter speaks like maybe he was too busy paying attention to notice me.

"It's quickly closing" Tech continues.

A moment of silence washes over the group as we continue to observe.

Hunter shifts "There's over 40 troopers down there."

I scan around making note of where they are and their patrol patterns. Scoffing, I stand and brush the dirt off my knees. “And?”

"That's nothing!" Wrecker says, enthusiastically slamming his fists together.

Three visors snap his direction as if he isn’t taking it seriously. “I agree with Wrecker” I add flipping my thumb over my shoulder at him.

"Stealth, Wrecker. Remember?" Echo says, causing me to chuckle - I’m not sure how someone so large can be stealthy.

"Imperial escort ships” Tech continues. My attention drifting towards them.

"That's standard protocol for when high-level cargo is being transported." I say matter of factly. My turn to have all visors on me. I throw my hands to surrender. "At one point we were all a part of their army, remember.”

"Get to the nearest container and grab what you can" Hunter barks at us. His tone sparks something in my blood. "I'll be eyes on the ground. If things go sideways, I'll divert their forces and buy you some time."

I tilt my visor in his direction, "that’s too much for one person. I can help." If he thinks he can order me, he’s wrong. He shakes his helmet covered head.

"No, I'll be fine, now go.”

I huff an annoyed sigh and glare daggers at him - not that he can see through my visor - hoping he feels the sharpness of them.

The rest of us all head down the hill in silence before - other than Wreckers thunderous steps - taking cover behind some trees.

"In position. And the second transport's launching" Echo’s voice comes over our com channel.

"We've got roving patrols. Stay alert." Hunter commands.

A figure - I now realize is Hunter's - darts onto the landing pad. I watch as he tactfully places detonators on a few of their escort ships. As if he didn’t trust me to do that.

“I coulda done that” I sass.

His winded voice comes back over coms. “We need as many as we can to get the crates.”

Echo interrupts "Let's go.”

I follow reluctantly, rolling my eyes.

When we approach one of the chests, Wrecker takes out one of the troopers with one swift movement which earns a look from the others.

"What? I did it quietly" he throws his hands up in defense.

"Yeah, but they will definitely notice when he doesn't report in" Tech scolds him climbing into the first container and the rest of them follow.

"Well, let's be gone by then” I hesitate for a moment before continuing, “I'm going to head to the next container over, I'll catch up with you guys."

"You shouldn't go alone" Tech says to me.

"I'll be fine" is a poor attempt to dismiss him.

If I can go alone Cid won't know what I have and don't show her. Tech turns to Echo like he’ll back him up. Only he doesn’t say anything.

“You don’t trust me.”

“We simply do not know you.”

I sigh in annoyance standing my ground. “Don’t think that I’m not capable of loyalty just because I have no one left to be loyal to.”

A few tense seconds past and I realize we are just wasting time. “Fine” I climb in behind them.

————

"Woah so this is what a war chest looks like" Wrecker says in awe.

Sliding the door mostly shut behind me, I glance around the room. Floor to ceiling boxes that are full of what I can only imagine. Personally, I've never been much of a thief. Honest work is much more satisfying - another reason why Cid was never my favorite - but again, here we are.

Tech speaks as we begin to look around "Our priority is anything of high value.”

"Like what?" Wrecker asks. I now realize that Wrecker is basically a large child at times.

"Well I suppose anything shiny or heavy is probably a good start.”

Together we work for a while to determine what is worth taking and put it into one of the emptier crates.

There's enough in here I'd never have to take another Osik (crap) job again. I could even disappear.

Tech speaks breaking the silence, “How did you come to know Cid?”

Halting my movements, realizing he’s talking to me. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

”You want us to trust you. Yet you won’t tell us about you.”

My temper starts to flare, ”I’m not worth knowing. Okay?”

Echo cocks his head in confusion. Yes, he opened up to me but that doesn’t mean I’m just willing to talk about me.

“What I’ve heard about you on Kamino says otherwise.” He says carefully.

I turn back to picking through crates. Their eyes feel heavy on my back, turning my head slightly. The three are standing there staring at me. They really aren’t going to let it go.

“Everyone that gets to know me either gets hurt or dies” My voice is so soft it doesn’t even sound like my own. No one comments and they go back to work in silence.

Aspen's face being shoved into the carpet with a blaster also pointed at her head flashes in my mind. Even though she was smirking, I could see the real fear in her eyes. We thought that was it.

Taking a breather, I head towards the door and peek out to look for patrols. The trooper Wrecker knocked out is still out cold on the floor next to me.

Conversation seems to pick up and I listen while staying on look out.

"Woah" Wreckers voice echoes in the container. "How could all of this belong to one person?".

A sigh, "A lot of this probably came from the worlds Dooku and the Separatists controlled."

"Grab as much as you can.”

The unconscious trooper’s com goes off as another one tries to get ahold of him.

”Osik (shit)” I mumble. Just as two troopers around the corner. Fumbling to quiet the troopers link, I open ours to Hunter.

"Hunter, I think we're about to have some company."

Next thing I know, there's an explosion. Jumping up I help the others finish getting the crates around. “That’s our distraction. Oya!”

An alarm sounds shortly thereafter, even through my helmet is ear piercing. As if on cue, Hunter's voice fills my ears “I'm on my way to you.”

"Let's speed this up. Wrecker, that one goes first" I take charge not really meaning to, but no one objects.

Wrecker picks up the container and heads out to meet Hunter. Just as he makes it out the door begins to shut. I grab onto the sides and pull, trying to keep it open.

“A little help would be great!” I grunt out, straining against the door.

Echo rushes over to the port and connects his socket to it. Our comms buzz.

"The ship's taking off. Get out of there" Hunter sounds worried.

"Hurry Echo!” I yell, my fingers getting closer to being crushed.

“Let it go. There’s nothing I can do from here.”

Once I let go, the door shuts sealing us in. We all look to Echo for any kind of update but it's like he’s in a trance. I can honestly say I’ve never seen anything like it.

After a few moments he speaks, voice strained "It's externally sealed. I can't open it."

I comm Hunter, "Hunter we're trapped in the container. We can't get out."

"On our way" Hunter replies.

I take a few hurried moments to look around to see if there's another way out. Tapping at the walls to see if there's a hollow one we can cut through I continue my search but it's taking too long.

"Hunter, where are you?" The question comes over the comms.

"Sorry, we Got a little sidetracked. You need to get off that ship before it jumps to hyperspace" he continues sounding winded.

Tech puts a hand to his chin thinking for a moment, "If we gain access to the ship's main hold, we could commandeer an escape pod—“

“—Do it. We'll get to the Marauder and recover you.”

After moving some containers my search finally produces some results, "There! We should be able to get into the rest of the ship from there" I yell towards the others and point at the hatch to the maintenance panel.

Tech comes over, and gives his assessment before nodding.

"Are you sure this hatch will lead into the ship?" Echo asks.

Tech looks at his datapad. "If I am incorrect, we will instantly be sucked out and perish. I am seldom wrong."

I roll my eyes. "Ba'gedet'ye (you're welcome)" comes out under my breath. Echo must have heard me because he lets out a light laugh.

The door slides open.

"Congratulate yourself after we escape". Echo's sass makes me giggle and Tech tips his helmet towards me, probably giving me a look. He looks back down at his datapad.

"The closest escape pod is five corridors away."

I peer around the corner down the hall. "Let's get going then.”

Drawing a blaster (my westar-35) from my hip and head out with the others behind me. Tech and Echo carrying another container. We make our way down a few different hallways per Techs directions.

Once we get closer to the escape pods a door slides open and troopers step out "Freeze" one of them yells. Echo and Tech drop the container. The three of us duck behind it as a barrier.

With a quick glance between the three of us I make a split-second decision. My armor will hold up against blaster bolts. There's will not. Decision made.

I nod to myself for a brief pep talk.

“What are you going to do?” Echo asks.

Whipping around to peek over, I tell him, “Cover me.”

In one smooth motion, I slide over the top of the container landing on two feet. Bolts of blaster fire begin to fly past me, forcing my HUD to adjust to their brightness.

Crossing my arms in front of my body, I use my vambraces to block the shots coming for my visor as I move closer to the troopers. Even through my beskar, the shock of them sting - But far less than it would for the two in plastoid. I can feel bruises already forming under my skin.

Tech and Echo return fire from behind me, taking out a few of them. I swore to myself I would never harm clone troopers, only stun if it came to it. Once I’m close enough I can tell they aren’t. So death it is then.

I eject my blade from my vambrace with a skunk that's barely audible over the sound of blaster fire, and plant in just above the collar bone one trooper. He goes down with little struggle once the blade is gone. His body now becomes a shield taking the brunt of the bolts for me. I drag him with me for as long as I can while shooting my way through the others.

Fighting my way through them seems to be never ending. With that being said, I can hold them off long enough for the others to escape.

"Find another way to the escape pods!" I yell over the comms. Even though my helmet I can already smell the scoring left behind by the blasters.

"They just ejected all the escape pods!" Echo yells back.

Cursing under my breath in Mando’a, I drop the body of the trooper I’ve been dragging. Two of them take the opportunity to lunge at me - fortunately I’m able to get a shot off as the three of us hit the floor.

"Go- Get out of here!" I yell, trying to shove the now limp trooper off me. Just as I do, the other one crawls over me towards his blaster. It landed out of reach further above my head. Rolling onto my stomach I reach for the knife in my boot and cram it into his calf. His pained cry echoes through the all too quiet hallway.

With a quick glance behind me the other troopers are now incapacitated in a heap of limbs. Electricity arcing between them. By the time I swing my attention back to the trooper in front of me, his blaster is aimed at my helmet.

Using my arms I block the front of my head for the impact. A lone shot echoes through the space but the impact never comes. As I lift my eyes slowly from behind my arms, the trooper is face down on the ground unmoving. A hole through the side of his helmet. Tech is standing over him with a hand outstretched holding a smoking blaster. Plastoid. What a joke.

I take the opportunity to catch my breath and roll onto my back. "Do you trust me now?" I grunt.

”I suppose.” Tech’s matter of fact reply.

“Vor’e (thanks)” my tone is quite sarcastic.

"Ba'gedet'ye (you're welcome)" Echo hollers back. Then it clicks, ah me must have been the one in Cid's Parlor who laughed at what I said to her.

————

We take a few moments to catch our breath and come up with a plan. "There has to be another way off this ship" Tech says which has Echo simmering with irritation.

"Other than over taking this vessel, what do you suggest?" He sasses.

Wait a second. Idea. "Hey, aren’t these containers equipped with reentry thrusters?” Both Echo and Tech shift their visors towards me. I shrug. Tech goes back to his datapad.

"You are correct. I am impressed. However, the containers must be ejected before leaving the atmosphere, which means our window is rapidly closing.”

"Great, this just keeps getting worse" I sigh.

"Come on, we need to hurry," Echo says, taking the lead.

We carefully make our way back to the container we came from, taking out any troopers we cross paths with.

"How much time do we have?" Echo checks in.

"Very little" Tech says in his usual tone.

Finally making it into the container, Tech immediately goes to work on the panel on the wall "initialing cargo release".

I steady myself, cursing in mando’a as my stomach drops and the cargo starts to free fall. After a few very long moments - and a lot more cursing - nothing happens. We’re still in a free fall.

"When are the reentry thrusters supposed to fire?" Echo asks.

Tech thinks for a moment. "They should have by now."

“Great. Suddenly I’m wishing the troopers had just finished the job!” My irritation is boiling over.

I make my way to the cargo net on unsteady feet, with Echo and Tech in tow. Echo and I make it first and just as we turn to help Tech but the container turns over. Thankfully he holds on but his feet are hanging in the air, "that is going to be a problem" he voices.

“Thanks Captain Obvious!”

Next Chapter

Taglist: @cloneloverrrrr @lune-de-miel-au-paradis @idoubleswearimawriter @techs-goggles9902 @clonethirstingisreal

#the clones #star wars clone wars #the bad batch #tbb hunter #hunter bad batch #starwars the bad batch #tbb hunter x reader #clone force 99 #tbb hunter x you #hunter #hunter the bad batch #the bad batch hunter #bad batch hunter #hunter x reader #clone trooper hunter #mandalorian oc #Raven Skirata

[occatorcreator]

how do you think the mercenaries would react if one of them was hurt/injured while chasing chosen

like if say, pixelated got hurt by seconds shark (ngl that’d be funny), what do you think would the other mercs- and second and chosen, for that matter- would do

I’m not too sure, tbh, but I do have a few ideas given the nature of the fight.

If any of them were seriously injured during capture of Chosen or Orange, I think they would be outwardly enraged but secretly frightened. Despite Chosen’s show of power, the mercenaries were the ones on top of the situation the whole time. The closest opportunity Chosen had to seriously injuring one of them was when he nearly encased Sunglasses in ice (a move that is fatal given what happened to Firefox)

So if Chosen had little restraint and say, iced Sunglasses’s legs and severely injured them, then I feel like the mercenaries might be angry enough to go after Chosen in Alan’s computer or kick the crap out of him when he came down.

As for Second, they were ready to severely injure if not kill Second for fighting against and only stopped because Sunglasses got an order to capture, instead of beat up. So again, if anyone was severely injured, Second might be toast or hit by their equipment like Chosen was.

I do need to rewatch, but I do think the only reason Chosen and Second didn’t die was because Victim wanted them both captured, alive.

(Tho the shark injuring Pix is funny to me and I bet if the wounds weren’t too bad, he’d get teased by the other mercs for sure)

#occator headcanons #occator talks about stick figures at length

[agbpaints]

Played an attack/defend game against my normal clan Jade Falcon opponent today. We do a thing where we make 10k bv lists and then pair them down to 5k forces based on the scenario so I brought the fire support/street fighting elements of my Mercs list (consisting of an Awesome 9Q, Panther 9R, Venom 9KC and a Hunchback 5S) going up against a Storm Crow Prime, Incubus 3, and a Fire Falcon E. His objective was to break into a bunker on my side of the field and carry a flag from it to his home edge. My objective was to keep him from doing that.

Both our battle plans were pretty simple- his was to make a mad dash for my bunker, break it open with the fire chicken's ATM, and then snag the capture objective with the Incubus and get back to his side of the board under the cover of the Storm Crow. Mine was to secure all the good approaches with the Panther/Awesome combo at range and the Hunchback as a close-in brawler, and then use the Venom to jump into vulnerable flanks and rear arcs, or else pursue his fast movers if they got the flag.

The game lasted a total of 3 turns. Turn 1 was mostly just maneuvering and approaching each other. I put my Venom and Hunchback in positions to cause problems T2 and the Awesome and Panther in sniping positions where they could cover each other. The Falcons moved up closer into positions behind cover where I couldn't reach them.

Turn 2 the clan mechs decided to put the hurt on my Hunchie- lots of ranging shots into it as my Panther fell back away from the Incubus's pulse lasers and my Venom managed to strip the armor off of the ammo-bearing torso of the Fire Falcon with some lucky lot shots.

Turn 3 was a mix of luck and my opponent misplaying into my guys. The Fire Falcon closed to break the bunker with its missile weapon while the Incubus and Storm Crow closed to engage my Hunchback, with the Incubus outflanking the Hunchie into its rear arc. Meanwhile my Venom managed to jump straight into the Incubus's rear arc for a a pair of engine crits backed up by the Awesome while the Panther ripped off the Fire Falcon's side torso and the Hunchback's LBX20 delivered a killing engine crit with its cluster munitions. My opponent conceded when I won initiative at the top of turn 4, as I'd be able to jump my Venom into the back of whatever I wanted, he had yet to secure the flag, and I still had my entire force at full fighting strength while he was down a mech and most of his Incubus's heat mitigation.

Lessons learned:

Running into an IS prepared defense line without a plan is a really bad idea. My Awesome didn't really pull its weight in direct damage, but I think its commanding view of one of the two approaches forced the Jade Falcon mechs into contending with the Hunchback at danger close, which isn't really a position light or middleweight mechs want to be in, clantech or no.

Cover (or lack thereof) is really important to defending your points. My opponent got to choose which side of the map he'd deploy to, and stuck me defending the side with fewer trees. There was enough foliage for him to get crazy good TMMs as he ran in and I had bad shots from range and movement, but by the time he reached my side of the field the trees had run out and my heavy hitters had found good positions to stand and cover what few forests there were.

Holy shit the Venom is an annoying little piece of shit light hunter. I know I just wrote an entire rant about the Venom but the SDR-9KC did extremely serious work for me in this fight. Spheroid MPLs might be kinda crap compared to the ungodly power of their Clanner counterparts, but a body with the armor to survive skirmishing and approaches and the sheer jumping speed to land three of them danger close in flanking positions makes them pretty decent. While it wasn't the only factor in killing the Fire Falcon or crippling the Incubus, 842 bv of crazy spheroid scout/striker mech took on close to triple its BV and not only lived but won. Once my proliferation cycle gets painted, the printed Venom I have is next on the block to celebrate and keep my forces looking spiffy

#hobby #battletech #battlemech #battle report #wargaming

[sapphire-weapon]

i cannot remember cvx well so can’t comment but wesker did easily beat jill and chris in LIN he only ‘lost’ because jill snuck up on him when he was about to KO chris. i wouldn’t really consider that him loosing to them as Chris didn’t do anything & Jill won by element of surprise not pure strength/skill. if wesker wasn’t so butthurt over chris and jill and didn’t want to play with them/taunt them like he did he probably would’ve ko’d them in seconds. idk how leon would have a chance.

like even just look at mercenaries weskers moves compared to leons.

Yeah and when you lose a football game by one point because of a field goal that the other team kicked as the clock hit 0:00, you still lose the game. There's no "technically, but..." A win is a win. A loss is a loss.

Neither Chris nor Jill were as physically capable in 2006 as Leon was in 2004, and they still won against Wesker. Period. They won. Wesker wasn't butthurt about either of them; he was high on the smell of his own farts. His hubris got in the way. And it would get in the way again if he was up against Leon.

And your mercenaries comment is funny, because Krauser is more OP than both of them in mercs, and Leon still killed his ass, too.

There's even that memo in RE4make about how Krauser is the most biologically impressive/powerful thing the scientists have ever seen.

And Leon still won.

Super powers don't mean jack shit without the skill to use them. That's like the whole point of Leon beating Krauser in the first place. Krauser started chasing brute strength and raw power and forgot the practical applications of fighting techniques because he no longer had anything left to fight for.

And Wesker doesn't have the combat training of someone like Krauser and Leon. At the very most, he went through police academy. That's it. He's a nerdy scientist who never really learned practical combat skills.

So, sure. He's got crazy virus powers. So did Saddler. So did Krauser. Leon would still kill Wesker's ass in 04. He just would.

[timaeusterrored]

(More Space Station angst)

‘I need you.’

V has said those exact words to Kerry nearly a year ago, his misery written on his face being trapped in space. Kerry had wanted nothing more than to reach through his holo and drag him home. To kiss him and promise him everything would be okay. Then the terrifying voice mail six months later of V in tears begging Kerry to save him before he was dragged away by doctors, the thing that kicked Kerry into gear.

V’s face twisted into a wince, clutching onto Kerry’s hoodie. He moved and buried his face into his neck, Kerry holding him closer. Why couldn’t he just rest? What evil power was making him suffer even in his sleep? V was exhausted, please let him rest.

“Shhhh… I’m here, baby. You’re home…” His words were useless, V whimpering through a nightmare. Kerry was useless to do anything except hope he’d wake up. To try and chase away his nightmares.

Kerry had never felt more helpless in his life, watching V suffer in his own head. He thought he’d be more angry with the merc, that after he came down, Kerry wouldn’t want to be with anymore. But as soon as he saw V the first time being loaded into Trauma Team carrier, he needed to be right next to him. He needed to see him immediately and not leave his side. Seeing V start to cry the first time he opened his eyes and saw Kerry broke his heart, and he wanted to take him home immediately.

He was alive, they had saved him up there, but at what cost. His beautiful merc was gone, and Vik wasn’t sure if he’d ever fully recover. Kerry could only pray he would.

He felt V’s hand relax on his chest, his body relax against Kerry’s side. Kerry rubbed his side and head, sighing. He hoped V knew he was home, and safe. That Kerry would be damned if someone took him away again.

“You’re home… you’re safe, V. I promise.”

#goooooood morning Night City #angst time #post Arasaka ending #cyberpunk 2077 #kerry eurodyne #cyberpunk kerry #cyberpunk v #male v #kerry x v #kerry eurodyne x v #kerry #ker x v #male v cyberpunk #vax eurodyne #kerry eurodyne x male v #kerry x male v #v x kerry #kerry x masc v #male v x kerry #v x kerry eurodyne

[dizzyduck44]

Daniel Ricciardo’s blessing is his curse 🍯🦡🇦🇺

Daniel is in his 14th season of Formula 1. He has had a long career in the highest tier of motorsport. However the questions that surrounded him at McLaren seem to have followed him to Visa CashApp FFS this is seriously what you called the team!

The thing is every driver seems to reach for the F1 seat, but Daniel’s seemingly lack of ability to adapt driving style is being compounded by the grid he currently drives on. You see, either competitively or for fun most of the drivers have had to adapt to a different style of driving. Some at a stupidly young age.

Let’s look into it

Max Verstappen - spends his days off driving any kind of race car Red Bull will let him. Seeing him take his Dad round the Nordschliefe says it all really.

Sergio Perez - drove just about every form of junior open wheel car on his way to F1.

Charles LeClerc - like Daniel seems to be all F1. Do we question he’d be a beast in a Ferrari sportscar though?

Carlos Sainz - again seems to be all F1 but remember Dad has a track on the family farm. He has been driving allsorts, on dirt, since he could sit in a car seat

Lewis Hamilton - never competitively but again over the year Mercedes has given him opportunities to drive all sorts of high powered sports cars for promotion. Even a superbike.

George Russell - says he tested a DTM car, again gets to play with the Merc sports cars

Lando Norris - went from karting to Ginetta then to open wheel. Add a go at the Daytona 500, all competitively. Embarrassed himself at the Race of Champions. Now seems to love ice karting (weirdo).

Oscar Piastri - another one straight through to F1, however only ever driven one F1 car but I don’t worry he wouldn’t adapt

Fernando Alonso - Nando has the full set right? F1, Indycar, WEC, Daytona, Dakar. Won Le Mans. Next!

Lance Stroll - has done a couple of races in IMSA.

Esteban Ocon - drove in DTM prior to F1

Pierre Gasly - drive in Formula E prior to F1

Alex Albon - has done a season of DTM

Logan Sargeant - straight through to F1. Again only driven one F1 car.

Kevin Magnussen - various stints in sportscar series throughout the years inbetween F1.

Nico Hulkenberg - Le Mans champion, Indycar test.

Yuki Tsunoda - straight through to F1. Only ever driven 1 F1 car.

Valtteri Bottas - ice rallying. Need I say more!

Zhou Guanyu - another open wheel all the way to F1. I’m gonna give him the credit of having driven the Renault a number of times before moving to Sauber.

So you see what Daniel is up against.

Not a winter break goes by when you don’t see half the grid in a go kart. Shout out to Lando and Fernando who seem to do it midseason and all the drivers who happily jump in for promotion days. (80% of the grid). One of the biggest shocks for me was when Daniel went karting with Jenson Button in 2021 and admitted he “hasn’t done this is years” 😬

So we are getting to the core of the problem. With a grid of drivers who turn their hand to anything, sometimes for a laugh, Daniel has never really pushed himself out of what he knows. And it’s biting him.

What is of further concern for him, is Liam Lawson is hovering (he should already be in a seat but I digress). A driver who went for F2 to DTM and nearly won the championship in the first season (I’m still bitter). Then into an F1 seat and was up to speed almost immediately.

The trouble is now it’s too late to throw him into a sportscar to give him the experience, because I’m not sure he would get back into F1. If Daniel thinks the Max and Lando’s were a handful to deal with, who needed a bit of maturing to hit their stride, the Oscar Piastri’s and Ollie Bearman’s of the world are terrifying.

Daniel needs to find the solution on his own. Before it eats away at his mental health and confidence. 6 laps in a NASCAR round COTA is not gonna cut it.

I think I know what’s happened and I and he are afraid to admit it. Ask Jenson Button about the point you sit behind the wheel and no longer want to take the risk or push the limit. I worry he has hit the mental block of I can’t learn another way and the idea of taking a high powered sportscar out terrifies him.

And who’s going to let him lose in the Red Bull if that is going on in his head?

Fingers crossed he shows up and shows out in Melbourne

#daniel ricciardo