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lewisinho · 5 months

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✨lewis hamilton’s most underrated mercedes drives ✨🏎️

as promised, part 2 with some mercedes drives (by all means not an exhaustive list, but at the very least i hope, a worthy one); lewis’ mclazza drives collection for those interested: here

fav lil’ guy finally free from the clutches of ron dennis and mclaren, handed some rocketships, reunited with blond guy named nico and entering his domination era; live laugh love achieving zen era comes much later; this is lewis hamilton who is ready to fight god and anyone who stands in his way; there’s a ruthlessness to him and his driving, which he will use and he will use it well, he’s talented and good, you watch lewis in a car that can perform and it’s just such a pleasure to witness what he is capable of doing; he is a racer, first and foremost, and he is obsessed with winning, i mean obsessed, the way he celebrates every single win like it’s his very first; he loves and bleeds this sport, even if it can be incredibly cruel to him (and still is, to this day). and btw still the king of the fucking circus, don’t you forget it. chasing your own destiny and creating a myth out of your legacy, you know when david bowie said i always had a repulsive need to be something more than human… yeah lewis who’s afraid of not doing enough, of not being enough, he cannot remain human, he must be something more, he needs to be the best and he wants it more, and you know for a man who has ‘divine love’ tattooed on his hand, what does a narrative mean? for someone who believes that what he does is an art form and who describes racing as a spiritual experience, one must presume there is some form of divinity he believes he can obtain,,,anyway 🙃, allons-y:

hungary 2014 🇭🇺 aka the usual hamilton hungarian cook sesh’ (he’s a bit insane around this track ngl)

arguably his most underrated non-win drive; pitlane start to p3 and features radio gold such as ✨i’m not slowing down for nico ✨💅 iconique if you ask me; the racing gods decided to plague him with brake issues and a hot seat burning his ass on top of his car already catching on fire during quali (give this guy a break lmao); everything was against him, and he still got a podium. also his overtakes during this race...and specifically THAT overtake on jev *chefs kiss*. i also endorse his criminal behaviour and his last-lap shenanigans with nico as well. 10/10 no notes.

silverstone 2015 🇬🇧 aka cloud watching pays off

lewis at silverstone. yeah. but add a bit of spice in the form of english weather™️. instincts of a man from stevenage and one prescient decision to pit for inters at just the right time before the heavens opened and you get a win by 11 seconds ahead of the next guy and a whole field of cars scrambling in the wet. luck or genius? they asked. 'i can see the clouds over stowe'. he saw the clouds and nico approaching, pulled the trigger on lap 43 and won the race, so you tell me. also features some celebratory donuts (he was so happy after the race, silverstone means a lot to him and you can really tell) and bono soaking wet on the podium 😁

brazil 2016 🇧🇷 aka the interlagos saga continues

whatever max verstappen was doing to nico rosberg in this race is one thing (objectively hilarious), but lewis hamilton, you see he won that race; babes after the race said he was watching the screens around the track while driving in the brazilian downpour, unbothered, incredibly moisturised, happy, very much in his lane, focused and flourishing; and as mentioned in lewis’ underrated mclaren drives post, lewis at interlagos is special, the lore, the myth of it all runs deep, and this is the first time he’s won! in the pouring rain, while trailing in a championship he will eventually lose, he’s finally achieved a dream he’s had: winning in brazil; the red flag period also features baby sharl nervously glancing at lewis in the haas garage (who’d have thought they’d trauma bond over a dsq in austin 7 years later…)

abu dhabi 2016 🇦🇪aka anarchy

yes, i included this race because i stand with my cancelled wife; they were calling for his ass to be fired after the race, paddy lowe was screaming in his ear to speed the hell up, blasphemy, heresy, how dare he disobey his team, how dare he want to win the championship! anyway, like yeah ofc it wasn’t entirely respectful, but it’s racing at the end of the day; a driver will prioritise himself, and lil’ war criminal lewis, i adore you very much (he had horner defending him lmfao while torger was sending him to red bull); the shitstorm in the media afterwards, goodness gracious tho; no wonder lewis and toto needed a sit-down in toto’s kitchen lol; but it’s such a beautifully well-managed race; of course he could go faster, of course he knew exactly what he was doing slowing down and speeding up in just the right places…all in one desperate but masterful attempt at winning the championship; in the end, it wasn’t in his hands, but it is still a great race to watch purely for the mind fuckery and mercedes being absolutely pissed. also, it’s very much an end of an era.

monza 2018 🇮🇹 aka one man and his machine against a nation of ~60 million people

maybe 'underrated' is the wrong word to use for this one in all honesty, people give his ‘18 post-summer break run its due honours, because this is lewis destroying the hopes and dreams of the tifosi, sebastian vettel and the ferrari establishment with maurizio arrivabene at the helm race by race, lap by lap; it’s lewis at arguably, his strongest yet, he danced in that w09, those magnificent quali laps, those races that he dominated from start to finish...but monza, oh monza, maybe there’s something so poetic about that race and starting the run of domination in ferrari land; it’s got lewis vs kimi!!! nostalgia merchants will absolutely adore this one because it’s just like those ‘07 races, also brilliant strategy from merc and lewis and his incredible, jaw-dropping race pace driving like a man possessed

hungary 2019 🇭🇺 aka the infamous one that inspired spain '21

when lewis arrives at the hungaroring, you know the man is about to cook something worthy of a michelin star. add a two-stop strategy masterclass from one james vowles and you get an absolute classic of a race and if you know what happened just a week earlier (the trials and tribulations of hockenheim), it also feels like redemption; two cars fighting for the win, lewis banging in quali lap after quali lap as he hunts down max; clinical, faultless, and brilliant and it’s such a satisfying race to rewatch (bonus: there’s also jv on the podium and lewis looking incredibly proud)

spain 2020 🇪🇸 aka the pure brilliance of lewis and the w11

jallison’s monster, w11. when she first appeared in fp1 on a friday morning in southeastern austria, best believe the first notes of the imperial march already sounded prophetically around the styrian alps. an icon, a legend, she was the moment and we miss her dearly. pair her with one lewis hamilton, a man on a mission both on track and off it, and you will produce sexiness. purple helmet + black w11 legendary combo, the sheer cunt serving, the audacity, THE presence; i could mention any race from 2020 (notably, tuscany and portugal bc they fly under the radar as well in terms of lewis' performances) but i will add spain to this list, mostly because of what lewis said post-race about what he experienced during the race and why it epitomises the brillance of him as a driver: "i was just in a daze out there", "i was in a different zone then, didn't know it was the last lap" ; you don't reach perfection, but you chase it (as he also mentioned in the press-co), but there's something quite sublime in seeing him deliver such a performance, when he himself is left well, stunned; this is the race that could be lewis hamilton's 90 minute masterclass on tyre management.

hope you enjoyed these vroom vroom recs; might still yet do a merc 2.5 post cause there are a few other drives that also deserve a mention 💜🏎️

#lewis hamilton #mercedes lewis has like three different eras #and trying to pick just a few underrated races was a struggle #decided to be a bit creative with it #lewis merc rewatch

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melly-watches-racing · 4 months

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Drive to Survive Episode 3 Thoughts…

He’s like 15- look who’s talking

A lot of hype around how young Lando and Oscar are

Will Don’t point out the obvious challenge… he always fails

Lando taking the senior in the team thing and sounding like a fucking grandpa

I actually forgot how shit the start of the season was for McLaren

Claire Williams comes on I smile…

Lando saying he was gonna steal Redbulls front wing- I dare you

Backwards hat, clean shaven Lando my beloved!

Christian looking at Lando likes he’s prey

It’s a stadium Pierre of course it’s huge

Will Buxton still annoys me

Max smiling at and filming Lando with 😍😍

“Some of our competitors” *cough cough Redbull*

Lando didn’t seem too pleased about that meeting

Golf Buddies…

“It’s quicker than our car this”- while referring to a golf cart

George and Lando travelling together

I need a weekly episode of George and Lando private jet talks please and thank you

BABY LANDO

Lando looking out the window like he’s in a music video

Zak is shaking in his boots during that meeting in the boardroom

Silverstone McLaren I love 🧡

“LANDO NORRIS LEADS THE BRITISH GP”

Lando British GP podium was *chefs kiss*

Shout out to Oscars P4 too… he was severely neglected this episode

Say what you want about how awful Zak was to Daniel last year (cause I agree) but he loves and supports Lando unconditionally and that is also important

The dedication to Gil DeFerran at the end was sweet

#gil de ferran #lando norris #oscar piastri #mclaren formula 1 #f1 #formula one #formula 1 #melly watches racing #drive to survive #dts6 #dt spoilers

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kakumeinoyuuki · 2 months

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That's been my favourite race of the season so far. The different strategies and overtakes in more places than just the DRS straight made this so much more interesting to watch

Charles Leclerc deserves DOTD, that one stop should never have worked yet he made positions and would have lost them on a conventional two-stop. I was hoping he'd get the podium as I felt he deserved it but Ferrari didn't let them race properly.

Shout out to Yuki Tsunoda though, a yoint at his home race and putting himself in a very good place for a seat next season after the shenanigans after Bahrain. (And that RB pitstop when there was five of them in the pits, chef's kiss.)

#Formula 1 #F1 #Japanese Grand Prix #Japanese GP 2024 #Charles Leclerc #Yuki Tsunoda #CL16 #YT22

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safetycar-restart · 9 months

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hiii, you know what absolutely deserves more screentime? what the world definitely needs more of? teammate d/s au with max! i read it and now i can't stop thinking about it, it will live in my head rent free. also! marshall reader with omega!max, the thought of needy omega!max is just *chef's kiss*

YES! YES TO BOTH OF THESE! Honestly we need more max in general. I'm gonna write a bit about each of these to get the conversation going again because you're so right this deserves much more attention.

TEAMMATE D/S AU:

In this au, you're max's teammate who is a dom. Redbull have a team dom for max, but max hates that dom so much. Maybe it's someone he's had for years, who his father chose and who punishes max for anything less than perfection?

My immediate thought with this was what would happen after singapore? After losing his winning streak and not even making it onto the podium, he know he's going to be punished terribly. He's already beating himself up for his performance and the thought of his dom punishing him just... he can't.

So he does something he's never done before, and he asks you to join the scene. Max feels safe with you, maybe you've even given him aftercare before. He won't tell you much about his dom treats him, but you can tell it's not good and you try so hard to help out where you can and make sure he knows he can come to you.

When he asks, you know you have to agree. You can see how scared max is, how he doesn't want to even make eye contact with his dom.

So you stay in the scene, and maybe you end up safe wording because you can't stand to see max punished.

MARSHAL!READER:

Okay this was something we spoke about very briefly but basically: max goes into heat mid race and crashes. You're the first marshal on the scene and the moment max takes of his helmet and sees you, he just zeros in and won't let you go.

Of course he smells amazing to you, but to max you're just... he's never had this reaction to an alpha before, not even when he was in heat before. He throws himself into your arms and refuses to let go, whining and hissing when the medical car arrives to take him away.

In the end you have to go with to the medical tent and max has to be given a sedative before he'll let you go. You sneak off then, and they won't let you go back to your marshalling post so maybe they just send you home? You smell like an omega in heat, covered in max's scent and obviously you can't marshal like that.

You expect that to be the end of it. Sure, he smelled amazing and you can't get him out of your head, but you convince yourself that was because he was in heat and not from some other reason.

Until the sedative wears off and max is still asking for the marshal from the track. They send max multiple different alphas to help him and he turns all of them away, crying out and begging for the alpha who helped him before.

Except... no one even knew your name. There are hundreds of marshals, and max is begging for only one.

#d/s au #teammate d/s au #sub!max #mv #omega!drivers #omega!max #gn!reader

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cheekyoreo · 11 days

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the last three laps from enea are ✨chef’s kiss✨ even though he took marc out of the podium and dropped jorge to p3

#enea bastianini #marc marquez #jorge martin #motogp #italian gp 2024

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lestappenforever · 1 month

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Miami, you were something, I can’t deny it. The race was not the best in terms of racing, but it brought a lot.

Firstly Logan and Williams. Logan was en route to a good race, and he’s been having a pretty decent weekend, with making up 9 places in the sprint, from p19 to p10, and I have a feeling he was en route to something similar during the race. But Kevin just had to go and ruin the most home race of his home races. He is getting comfortable (sort of after Australia). However, that Williams just is not it. They are not doing well, currently bottom of the pack, Alex not even being remotely close to points, actually Logan was closer. But they need to get their shit together, or they’re fucked.

VCARB are a force to be reckoned with in the midfield. Almost constant point finishes, and solid performances with massive overtakes that are just (chef’s kiss). Yuki is extracting everything and more from that car, and Daniel is trying.

ALPINE POINT, I REPEAT ALPINE POINTS. As I said in the previous weeks, its a slow but sure improvement in pace, and Esteban is doing WONDERS in that tractor. He’s outperforming and extracting the most if the car, more than Pierre is doing, and that will help him in the 2025 seat hunt. Also notting, Pierre was better in AT, actually wayy better in a supposedly worse car.

Haas didn’t have the answer yesterday. Nico was close, but not enough, and Kevin just causing terror and the not the type like the sprint. He has to take care as he’s 2 penalties away from a race ban.

Ferrari were STRONG (I’m of course talking about Charles). He extracted everything out of that car, and did the best he could in yesterday’s second fastest car. Carlos is going crazy about the seat, and it’s showing, with the way he raced, and the eay he ruined Oscar’s race. He needs to get his head in the game, focus and not get cocky, because what he’s doing will cost him a seat.

Mercedes and Aston are just away from the top 3, they’re getting better, sure, but still not there. And that is a problem, because there could be climbers and surprises.

Red Bull did not have the answer, and that’s okay. Max was saying that he wasn’t a million percent confident in the car since Friday afternoon, and it showed in his comments post quali. Definitely the team will work so much on that, and Max won’t allow anything to happen in the next double header. He won’t accept ir allow anything other than first. Also that floor damage with the cone removal he decided on and the safety car timing, yeah it was kind if an off weekend. As for Checo, he did the best he could, but God that launch into turn one that could have taken him, Max and Charles out, he needs to stop being irrational in that sense, simply because a Mexico 2023 crash could be detrimental in his position for a seat in 2025. But nonetheless, Red Bull not finishing below 5th this season is impressive and they’ll work tripple as hard for next week.

Finally, the team if the hour who had it right on the day it mattered the most. The upgrades should worry the competition because the car is FAST. Lando extracted everything and fir the first time ever, luck was on his side fir that top step. And I can’t tell you how proud I am of him. Also Oscar was en route to a good race, of course Carlos ruined it.

But yeah, Miami was good, not the best in terms of racing, but rather emotions. Everyone going to congratulate Lando, especially since everyone kn that grid knows its been a long time coming, Max saying that if he had to be beat, he’s glas it was Lando who beat him, that podium with Max first then Charles focusing on Lando. All top teams congratulated him, with Red Bull posting the iconic baby Max and Lando pic. You could tell that he is loved in that paddock and that he has been so hard on himself that when the time came, no one could be upset, even us Max fans, because he deserves it.

Now time to regroup and start the European Leg. (also that black on black outfit Max had with black backwards cap while partying with Lando is just 😮‍💨)

Just going to leave this here in all its glory.

#Asks #agentofchaos001 ❤️#Miami GP 2024

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vroomvroomsposts · 11 months

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I can sleep good tonight.

Oscar, you beauty!!! My rookie of the year!! 🧡🏆

Max you never disappoint my super fast meow meow! 🫶🫶🫶

Got my Max/Oscar podium (not the right one yet, but I can live with it for now) 🧡💙

Charles and Carlos with that overtakes *chef’s kiss* and managed to finish in points. (Not really a win but I’ll take it)

(Ferrari you never fail to disappoint. 5.5seconds pit stop 😒)

Pierre getting P3 in Spa and dedicating it to Anthoine 🫶🥺❤️‍🩹

And now onto tomorrow’s race. The more important one, with Charlie boy on pole. ❤️

#every race weekend is a gamble of how much will ferrari disappoint #the answer is they always do #charles and carlos deserve better #max and oscar my cuties!!#f1 #max verstappen #charles leclerc #carlos sainz jr #oscar piastri #pierre gasly #belgian gp 2023

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thetwelfthcrow · 7 months

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Help I'm scared I'm boarding the 4433 ship. Where do I start?

CHERRY?! welcome aboard.

the most important starting point, for me, is a genuine love for both max and lewis as guys and drivers. this will keep you sane. somewhat.

but welcome to a flawed and quick overview of 4433 (Lewis Hamilton/Max Verstappen)

disclaimer: mostly factual with images/gifs/videos.

it starts where it all starts: when they get into each other's orbit. this is Max's entrance to F1.

as we all know, baby max at age 17 entering the prestigious pinnacle of motorsport caused quite a stir. everyone had their thoughts on it. then max promoted to red bull before the spanish gp of 2016. nico and lewis took each other out in that gp and max cruised (with kimi's hot breath in his neck for the last 18 laps) to his very first victory.

everyone talks about max as if he's already a world champion. he's the next gen, people say, the new ayrton senna. the car is for years nowhere good enough, but he gets better and better.

this comes with: sharing podiums and press conferences with lewis hamilton.

their first one is the austrian gp 2016 - lewis p1, max p2 (after having started p9 and lewis crashing part of nico's fron wing).

in that same season: silverstone (lewis p1, max p2 due to nico's penalty, nico p3); germany (lewis, daniel, max); japan (nico, max, lewis); brazil (lewis, nico, max).

honorable mention to this shot from malaysia, 2016 post-qualifying press conference:

second honorable mention to this gif of brazil 2016 where lewis showed a meme to max during press and then this photo that perfectly summarises the highlights of 2016 for me (abu dhabi, 2016):

SO from this moment on, they get into a sort of constant. a regularity. lewis sets foot on most podiums. max gets to do the same more and more often (we don't speak of 2017). in the beginning, lewis refers to max publicly as 'this guy' or 'this dude'. max wants none of that, so he mentions it to lewis during the chinese gp of 2017.

everyone's on the whole 'maxsplaining' these days but max always had a tendency to do this and lewis was always quite a willing conversational partner (french gp 2018)

also very important mention goes to abu dhabi 2018. podium. lewis just got his back tattooed so he had to show everyone. and max was there, champagne in hand, and thought 'okay then' and sprayed it all under. if that ain't a euphemism, idk what is.

THEN also important mention is to max always always always acknowledging that lewis is 'one of the greatest drivers ever' or something along those lines (compilation) the fist clip is from this interview in 2020.

it all leads up to 2021, of course. but everything that happens before it is so so so important and fundamental to how they handle 2021. max is praised to the gods for his racing talent and lewis is climbing up the ranks and up the records to become the greatest. i've referred to max as a storm before. a storm that's coming, one that the news predicts and everyone's getting their umbrella's out to prepare for it. so was lewis. lewis could feel the wind picking up, could feel the first raindrops. and he waited. and waited.

and in the mean time: he just. gets along with max.

(hungary 2019 / brazil 2019 / abu dhabi 2019)

(germany 2020 / bahrain 2020 / abu dhabi 2020)

until it was time. 2021. i don't think i have to run through 2021, since i know you've been there. but the build up of lewis knowing that max would be one to watch out for, and max knowing that lewis is an incredibly talented driver who doesn't just let go, is chef's kiss to me. max was always just-not there to actually challenge lewis, and suddenly he was. but bahrain-2021-them could not predict what everything would look like by abu dhabi 2021. they started out like any other season, except max proved to be much more competitive than ever before. then in monaco he takes the championship lead (race 5/22). in silverstone the crash (immediately followed by lewis' boardradio 'is max ok?'), then zandvoort where lewis seems happier than ever to be p2 next to max (cue full-orange outfit on thursday) and monza where everything goes sour again. then they're bitter but okay, until saudi arabia and abu dhabi. and lewis was one of the first to say something long the lines of 'yeah i've been fucked over by the fia, but i don't blame max bc if i were in his position i'd have done the same'. and regardless of everything that happened: before and after every single race they greet each other with a fist bump/handshake/hug. okay so i ran through 2021 anyway whoops.

and 2022 started off right with this small moment between them

but beyond that in 2022: lewis is Not there. mentally. and yet in austria they share a podium, in hungary (pics), in austin and in mexico. they always seek each other out. chat. say hi. listen. joke. have fun.

and 2023 is the same, except lewis is on the podium more often, they joke more in the press conferences and they're both just so comfortable around each other. they're both the greatest drivers in the sport ever (lewis having been there longer and with much more titles, but max of equal talent and arguably with a more supportive team) and they just like each other. 13 years age difference? who cares. lewis is wearing a ring with number 33 on it to this race. so like. how much more canon can it get?

and yeah, 2021 was a lot. it was intense. it was controversial. but lewis would very much like to fight max again for the title. lewis thinks he's the only one who could. max thinks lewis is the only one who could.

so they're back to how it started. the news predicted a storm. except now max feels the breeze, the rain. and he's ready, he's waiting.

the fics are pretty good too. if you need a headstart: here's a fic rec list i've made. it's a rollercoaster of a ship, but at the end of the day, we always, always win and thrive.

#strawcars #will u be our angst provider pls cherry my beloved?#4433 #101 in shipping this ship #i missed A BUNCH so if anyone knows anything to add PLEASE hit me up #this quick overview was less quick and less overviewy than i intended anyways #zhalia’s lil chit chat

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sophisticated-creepy · 8 days

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Dessert was brought out to the diners of a rich tiramisu paired with the house version of a Goodnight Kiss cocktail (or mocktail), the specialty nightcap’s colored liqueur glinting almost sinisterly of ruby bloodstone in the tall, fluted glasses. The dining room was filled once more with conversation and laughter, as crooner’s music of days gone by lilted sweet serenades to round out the intimate atmosphere of opulence. Having been served, Lola reached for Stanley, turning off the tape recording feature, and stuffed it with her pen and notepad away back into her purse to fully enjoy the company of her friends.

“Well, no newspaper man,” she said with a slight shrug as she spooned into her dessert. “But still a good play nonetheless. For a moment there, they had me believing the chef was the one who committed the crime.”

“That would have been a neat twist if two people attempted to plot against Fernsby in the same night,” Modesta said with a laugh.

“What if all of them had tried to murder Fernsby?” Jack asked, the group responding in more laughter at the convoluted thought.

“Although I am slightly disappointed none of you got to see Mr. Newspaper Man, maybe Jack got a shot of him at some point during the play,” Lola said, motioning with her spoon at the camcorder.

“I’ll keep an eye out for him when I review the footage for editing,” Jack said, making a mental note of the idea. As the friends continued in their conversation, a woman with soft brown hair and eyes, wearing a gold nameplate secured to her black jacket lapel, approached their table.

“Pardon me for intruding, but who among you is Mr. Glenbrook?” she asked, her smile sweet and charming.

“I am. How may I help you?” Raphael asked.

“My name is Annie, and I’m the Director of Hospitality. There’s no need to rush dessert, but when your party is ready, I’ll be guiding you on your stay tonight at the Manor House,” Annie said. “That includes a tour of the upper levels where you’ll be lodging.”

“That sounds wonderful. Thank you, Annie,” Raphael said.

“My pleasure. Whenever you all are ready, come find me at the hostess stand located where you first walked in.” Annie gave another brilliant smile to the group and then departed.

“Ooh! My stomach just got filled with so many butterflies,” Lola announced with a shiver. “I still can’t believe we’re all staying the night. This is honestly the best thing you guys could have ever done for me. Thank you.”

“The night’s only just getting started,” Modesta reminded.

“Plenty of time and opportunities for you to get your spooky on,” Lazare added.

“I can’t wait!” Lola exclaimed, nearly vibrating in her chair with excitement to explore the old Manor House and its potential spookies. The friends enjoyed the remainder of dessert relaxed in one another’s conversation and company whereupon gathering themselves, agreed it was time to meet up with the Director of Hospitality at the hostess station, eager to get the rest of their night underway. Annie greeted them with her award winning smile as the cluster of five congregated in the main foyer outside the dining room.

“All right, is everyone ready to get started?” she asked, collecting a clipboard of papers and a packet full of specialty room keys from the hostess podium. “Did you enjoy dinner?”

“Everything has been terrific,” Lola said. “We also really enjoyed the play. It was so much fun and so clever. Real quick, could you tell us who the director is? I’d like to tell them how much I enjoyed the show, if I could.”

“Certainly. He’s right over there.” Annie raised her hand to flag down the play’s director who lingered somewhere behind the group of friends. Lola turned, expecting to see Mr. Newspaper Man walk in their direction, however, it was instead Detective Babcock who swaggered forward.

“Oh! Detective Babcock is the director?” Lola asked, her jaw dropping open from surprise.

“He is, as well as the writer of the play,” Annie replied. “Detective Babcock, these guests wished to congratulate you on tonight’s performance,” she said once the actor reached the podium.

“Ah! That’s always nice to hear. Thank you,” Detective Babcock beamed, his eyes bright and smile cheerful as he faced the others.

“Yes,” Lola stammered, recovering from her initial shock. “As I told Annie, it was indeed quite the clever show.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed yourselves,” Detective Babcock said with a slight bow of appreciation.

“I have just one quick question,” Lola began, ignoring the confused stares from eyes she felt penetrating the back of her head from her friends. “All the cast members were in the play tonight, yes?”

“They were,” Babcock answered, a small wrinkle of question forming between his eyebrows as his head canted to the side.

“I mean, not their characters, but the actual actors themselves? How many actors are normally in your plays?”

“We’re a small troupe,” Babcock said. “There’s only just the five of us.”

“So, then, who was the actor waiting in the---.”

“Sweetie, I think you’re confusing your murder mysteries,” Raphael interrupted, placing his hands on Lola’s shoulders. “Remember? There were characters staged in the wings at the show we saw last weekend.”

Lola looked up into her fiancé’s face, his eyes silently pleading for her to read his unspoken thoughts. “Oh…that’s right,” she drawled. “You’re right,” she said again, adding more confidence to her tone as she nodded along with Raphael. “Silly me, last week must have slipped my mind. Sorry, Detective, for getting confused.”

“No need to apologize,” Babcock said. “I’m glad you enjoyed the show. Have a good rest of your night,” and he tipped the brim of his hat in farewell before departing.

“Let’s get started, shall we?” Annie asked, stepping out from behind the podium. “Let me first show you to your rooms. Follow me, please.” With a beckoning wave, Annie led the group to a set of thickly carpeted stairs inside the foyer that ascended towards the upper levels, but as Lola took her place first in line, she felt her arm tugged backwards, and turned to find Modesta holding her sleeve.

“Is there a particular reason why you felt the need to make that man uncomfortable?” Modesta asked, her voice a whisper so their tour guide didn’t overhear.

“He wasn’t uncomfortable,” Lola said, matching her friend’s whisper. “I was trying to find out more information about newspaper man.”

“I’m beginning to think there is no ‘newspaper man’.”

“So am I,” Lola agreed, oblivious to the dripping sarcasm of Modesta’s comment. A gentle tug at her hand had Lola turning once more to the front of the line as Raphael led her up the stairs with him, at which point the friends gathered close on the second level landing so Annie could begin her official tour.

“These rooms were once the dwelling spaces of the Northcott family members. Each room has been curated and furnished to personify each individual’s personality, based on what we know of their lives. Here, is young Edgar’s room, the only child of Cornelius and Lillian.” Annie stopped at a large paneled door of oak halfway down the long hallway as she rounded the banister, using one of the fancy keys from the packet at her clipboard to unlock the room, and swinging the door wide open, she gestured for everyone to enter. Edgar’s room was painted a soft, butter yellow with plush carpet covering the floor, while a full bed plumped with blue brocade and golden damask accents drew the focus as the main focal point of the splendid room. Decorating the walls were oil paintings depicting ocean scenes of large ships in calm seas. A fireplace of white painted brick boasted a sturdy mantle with vintage children’s toys resting on its top, and a toy chest with its contents spilling out of even more toys, was tucked against one side of the hearth. A bookcase displaying child-like trinkets was centered on the opposite wall of the fireplace next to a thick clothes closet and a small en suite.

“Although Edgar followed in his father’s footsteps of the cannery business, we wanted to give his room that essence of youthful wonder, given he was the founders’ only child,” Annie explained as she watched the group “ooh” and “aw” over the space. “Now, this room will be Lazare Pyrite’s for the night,” Annie said, looking at her clipboard to find the guest’s name.

“That’s me,” Lazare spoke, raising his hand, and Annie smiled as she passed along the room keys to him.

“Let’s move on to the next room, shall we?” Annie said, continuing the tour. She led them next to the end of the hallway, where a cozy sitting area was furnished and staged with leather wingback chairs and a table set with items for teatime in the nook of bay windows overlooking the front of the grounds. A door was to the left and right of the setting, and Annie took them to the left, unlocking the paneled oak door with another ring of fancy keys from her clipboard packet.

“This is Mr. Northcott’s room,” Annie declared as the door swung open on silent hinges. The chamber was a vast contrast to that of his son Edgar’s dwellings, for this room had painted walls of deep, hunter green, adorned with cherry accented furniture upholstered in vibrant tapestries. The bed was much larger as well, also dressed in deep, hunter green to match the walls, and dangling overhead was a gold, three-armed chandelier. Three pillows were propped against the sturdy headboard, as well as only three chairs placed in front of the fireplace between a large closet and en suite, and three paintings of hunting scenes decorated the walls. The room was grand, to be sure, and carried a weighty presence despite its minimalistic aesthetic.

“Mr. Northcott was a studious, no nonsense man, especially in his business affairs, so this room reflects the dedication he had for the cannery,” Annie informed. “This will be Jack and Modesta’s room for the night.”

“That’s us, thank you,” Jack said, taking the offered keys.

“Perfect. That leaves Mr. and Mrs. Glenbrook’s room next. This way please,” and Annie ushered the group to the last bedroom available across from Mr. Northcott’s room. “I present to you, Lillian’s Suite,” and Annie held the door open for Lola and Raphael. Lillian Eleanor Northcott’s room was the personified breath of fresh air, with lilac painted walls decorated smartly with gilded framed paintings of delicate ladies with mischief behind their eyes, while antique lace hung from the windows in floor to ceiling curtains. The furnishings were sleek and polished, every detail executed down to the finest touch, including a vase of freshly cut roses sitting in the middle of a table between two chairs in front of the white brick fireplace. The large bed, dressed in a dusty rose duvet and mauve linen sheets, had a chandelier above it, dripping in clear cut crystal and glass beads. A massive armoire, vanity, and chest of drawers lined the walls appropriately, as well as several fully stocked bookcases, the slender tomes locked behind glass panels to preserve the brittle spines and pages. A special detail to the impressive suite, one that did not go unnoticed, was a silver tray on the davenport at the end of the bed with an ice bucket chilling a bottle of champagne, two fluted glasses, and a notecard in gold filigree which read “Happy Birthday” attached to a single long stemmed rose.

“Lillian exemplified love and femininity, which we tried to recreate when furnishing her room. There’s also a claw footed soaker tub in the en suite, original to the home, as well as a delicacy ahead of its time,” Annie shared. “What do you think?”

The moment Lola first walked into the room, she instantly fell in love. It was as if Lillian’s spirit still lingered in the lavish bedchamber, living her days in the routine of her life before tragedy ended too soon her existence. Lola could easily imagine the lady of the house going from one piece of furniture to the next, perhaps humming to herself while pinning her hair at the vanity, or spending countless nights reading while in front of a cozy fire. Little fragments of Lillian’s essence filled the space with warmth and life despite her being cold and dead.

“Well, Lola?” Raphael asked, coming to stand by her side. “Is the room to your liking?”

“It’s absolutely perfect,” Lola breathed. Her eyes continued to roam the walls and tables, unable to stay focused on one particular thing for too long before darting to the next enticing, pretty object, until eventually landing on the amused and handsome face of her beloved. “It’s perfect,” she repeated. “Thank you.”

“Happy Birthday,” and Raphael leaned down to kiss her sweetly.

“Now that everyone has had a chance to see the upper rooms, let’s continue on our tour,” Annie said, and the group of friends assembled in the hallway as the pleasant guide led the party towards the staircase.

“Can you tell us what kinds of spooky things happen up here?” Lola asked. “It’s no secret this place is haunted. Surely there’s some type of paranormal activity happening up here, right?”

“You are correct. From what I’ve learned based off the haunted guided tours, not much ‘ghostly activity’ happens specifically in the bedrooms,” Annie answered, “however, guests do tend to hear footsteps walking above them on the third floor at all ends of the night.”

“What’s on the third floor?” Modesta asked.

“That would be the old servants’ quarters,” Annie replied.

“Are we able to tour the servant quarters?” Lazare asked.

“Unfortunately, no, access to that area is closed to the public at the moment while renovations are taking place.”

“What’s behind this door?” Lola asked, stopping at the top of the landing before following Annie down the stairs.

“Oh, that’s Lillian’s library,” she said.

“A library? Can we go in?” Lola grabbed for the crystal doorknob on instinct, but the knob wouldn’t budge beneath her hand.

“I’m sorry, but the library is closed as well due to renovations, and not open to the public at this time.”

“Come along, Lola, all that means is we have more reasons to come back at a later time,” Raphael said, his tone laced with humor while he twined their fingers together with one of his large hands to gently coax her down the stairs with the rest of the group. She gave a small pout, turning over her shoulder only to watch the door grow further out of reach, not that she was able to enter the library anyway, but thoughts of being free to investigate the door later that night chased away her frown, replacing the downturn of her lips into an upturned quirked smirk, no doubt wrought with mischief, and, consequently, trouble.

“Have you had any personal experiences dealing with the ghosts while working here?” Jack asked.

“I’ve heard the classic knocks and occasional banging every now and again, but I’ve grown so accustomed to it, I hardly even realize it’s happening,” Annie replied with a light laugh. “Though, one time, I believe I saw the Gray Lady.”

“You’ve seen Lillian?” Lola all but shouted in excitement. “Where?”

“I was in the basement getting the event space ready for a large dinner party. I heard footsteps coming down the stairs, and when I turned to see who it was, I saw what looked like a gray cloud move from the bottom step go into the kitchen. It was only brief, but I could distinctly make out a high-neck collared dress, with hair styled in the period of Lillian’s time, and just the briefest glimpse of her profile.”

“That’s so wild,” Lola stated, in awe of Annie’s story.

“What makes it even more startling, is that I was the only one in the Manor House at that time, and no one was due to the house for another three hours. So…do you folks want to see the basement?” A resounding “yes” was made by all, Annie laughing at the obvious exuberance and delight of the group, and took them to the lower level that housed the restaurant’s kitchen as well as the private event space, where a side door led partiers to the outer grounds, opening to the gazebo and carriage house as well as the sprawling landscape of the backyard edged by the Dead Forest.

“Since you all are staying the night, let me go ahead and give you some basic rules,” Annie said, her statement gaining everyone’s attention. “This space, as well as the main level, are open for you to explore. I must insist that you please refrain from taking any bottles from the bars, and if a room is locked, that means it is unavailable to the public, so please don’t force your way into any secured space.”

Lola felt the tingle of eyes turning to her at Annie’s last comment, but she ignored the feeling, contributing the sensation to her zealous imagination and halfway guilty conscience at plotting to revisit the off-limits library.

“An hour after closing time, myself and the rest of the Manor House staff will depart. We will lock the front doors, but you are more than welcome to explore the grounds using this side entrance. Your room keys have an extra key that go to this lock. In the morning, simply lock the door on your way out and drop your keys in the return box against this outer wall.”

“What time is check out?” Raphael asked.

“The cleaning crew comes in at 8:00, so we advise guests to be gone by 7:30,” Annie said. “Are there any questions?” When none were spoken, Annie smiled. “Great! I hope you all enjoy your evening.” She looked to her watch, then back to the others. “It’s closing time now. Happy slumbers, everyone.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

It's my birthday today!!

What a better way to celebrate a birthday than by getting a new chapter? It's my birthday treat to you all! This story is unfolding in so many new layers I hadn't expected, so get ready for a wild ride!

Hopefully everyone is enjoying the story so far, even if there has been quite a bit of a lag in posting. I appreciate everyone out there reading this, so thank you from the bottom of my heart! You're the best!

Have a great day, and until next time, happy reading!

~Melissa

#newberry at night #the third light #adventure #fantasy #romance #love #magic #witches #haunted house #birthday #cozy mystery #paranormal mystery #writblr #writer #writers on tumblr #writing community

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dovakiin273 · 9 months

Text

So, I'm back to review the race:

If you told me after Bahrain that McLaren would be finishing a clear 2-3 on pure pace I would’ve laughed at your face.

Perez was the Driver of the Day for me, I don't care. My man was having more airtime than Max leading the race.

Red Bull winning the WCC with a Perez Double DNF is chef's kiss!

The Max Verstappen podcast experience™️ is back!

Max only won by 19 seconds instead of 30. Washed!

Finally Piastri has a podium. Well deserved.

This is it! I'm gonna crawl back to my bed now! See you guys next race!

#formula one #formula 1 #f1 #japanese gp 2023 #mclaren #sergio perez #max verstappen #red bull racing #oscar piastri

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drawingwithlulu · 4 months

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question 1 for the aot fandom ask game? :D

Hi!

Tough question. One of my favorite things about aot is the abundance of awesome characters. But here goes my my top 3:

3. Levi

Many reasons to love this one, but the main one being that he's the embodiment of one of my favorite character traits: acts like they don't care while deeply caring.

I also love that despite being a badass, scary dude children seem to gravitate towards him. It warms my heart.

His story is great too. He's been doing nothing but lose people since he was born, and you can see it taking a toll on him, but he can't guve up because the burden of making those deaths meaningful has fallen on him *chef kiss*

2. Eren

Eren is one of those characters that made me go through the entire spectrum of human emotion, and therefore he's one of my favorites.

From a little brat, to a teenager who just wants to get revenge and save his friends, to a monster capable of whipping out most of humanity, to a scared boy who doesn't want to die.

He spent his entire life fighting for freedom just to find out his destiny was sealed since the day he was born. Absolute tragedy.

1. Reiner

Just like Eren, he made me feel every emotion known to human kind. From deep burning hatred to love and forgiveness.

The child who was so desperate to become a hero that he became a monster.

I think the greatest thing about him is what he can teach us about redemption. People will often point at characters and say they don't deserve to be redeemed. But redemption is not deserved, it's earned. Reiner himself thought he was beyond forgiveness. And yet he kept fighting, not for redemption, but because it was the right thing to do. And without realizing, he became the hero he always wanted to be. I'm so glad he got his happy ending.

I could talk so much about these three, but this is long enough as it is lol.

Special mention to Hange, Gabi and Jean. They would be higher up on the podium if the competition wasn't so strong.

#attack on titan #aot #reiner braun #eren jaeger #levi ackerman #ask game

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dandylovesturtles · 1 year

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For the emoji ask:

⛔️, ❌️ and 🧠 (Donnie)

⛔ tons, but for ROTTMNT the only one I think is the lair games fic I've talked about on here before. tldr: Donnie and Leo's sibling rivalry boils over, they get mad, they fight, they make up, everything is happy again.

I'll stick what I did write of it under the read more after I answer the other questions.

❌ setting aside the obvious dead dove sorta stuff, I'm at a point where I don't really like writing Major Character Death as the main point of the story (as an incidental plot point is a little different). I'm also not really interested in hurt/no comfort, there's gotta be at least SOMETHING there lol.

I'm also not really interested in "everyone has a normal life" type AUs (like coffee shop or high school)

I'm sure there are more I just can't think of right now lol

🧠 (Donnie) I love the headcanon that when Donnie merged with the technodrome he fell a little in love with it. The implications of that are just *chef's kiss*

Donnie feeling so bad because that thing was used to end the world! But he's also never felt so fully and wholly understood. So accepted. So loved.

He feels the scars on his shell and he wishes he was still connected.

Anyway fic stuff (for the first question) under the cut:

“Welcome, one and all, to the Seventh Annual Lair Games! As is tradition, the first place winner of last year’s competition will now give a rousing speech!”

“Boooo!” Leo jeered as Donnie stepped up beside Splinter, his first place medal swinging around his neck. “Boooo!”

“Silence from the peanut gallery!” Donnie demanded, glaring at him, and Leo smirked back. It was what he deserved for being a sore winner - all he’d done for the last week was recount his victory from the last year, to the point that even Mikey was getting annoyed with him.

(When Leo had said as much, Raph just replied that he was a sore winner too. To which, of course, he said pish posh.)

“Ahem,” Donnie continued, folding his hands behind his back. “Gentlemen, as winner of last year’s Lair Games, I want to start this speech by offering some uplifting words. I want this to be a fun day for all of us, and so I hope you play fair, leave it all out on the field, and prepare to eat nitrogen oxides BECAUSE YOU’RE ALL GETTING SMOKED AGAIN!”

“Oh brother,” Leo heard Mikey mutter under his breath, and he chuckled.

“Now as for the prize, I think I have come up with something that will pique your interest-”

“I’m not switching rooms with you,” Leo called.

“-something that is not my room, random audience member. No, I have something better.” He theatrically cleared his throat again. “The three losing brothers will have to do whatever the winning brother says for exactly one week, starting from the moment the competition ends, and the losing brothers can only say nice things about him.”

“Hey, wait, does that mean we can ask you to build anything we want?”

“What-”

Raph gasped, pumping his arm excitedly in his seat. “I can finally get my skate hawks!”

“That’s not-”

“Pizza oven pizza oven pizza oven!” Mikey cheered, throwing his arms up in elation.

“Hey, stop interrupting, this is my speech!” Donnie folded his arms, glaring down at them. “Why are you all assuming I’ll lose, anyway?”

“Uh, no offense, Donnie,” said Raph, “but you always lose.”

“I’m literally standing on the winner’s podium! Right now!” He waved the medal. “Do you not see this!?”

“Eh, last year was a fluke.” Leo waved his hand as though to erase the past. “Great idea with the prize, though; can’t wait until you guys are all calling me “Master Leo”! Ooo, or maybe I should go with “Your Highness”? Oh, or what about, “The Great and Powerful and Handsome Leonardo”?”

“Why don’t you just go ahead and add “humble” to that, too?”

“Great note, Raph. “The Great and Powerful and Handsome and Humble Leonardo”!”

“Oh no! We will be calling you no such thing, because after I win it is I who you will be calling “The Great Genius Donatello”!”

“If I win, you guys can just call me Mikey.”

“Hey guys, a note from your production crew,” April cut in. “Are you going to spend all day on this, because if so I’m gonna break for lunch.”

#writer ask game #lol forgot my tags

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