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xxblairexxss · 10 months

Text

Doudou

Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 (Charles’s ending)

Pairing : Charles Leclerc x reader

Theme : Fluff / Angst

Not sure if I should do part 2 for this. Sorry for any mistakes I haven’t proofread it yet!

“You two lovebirds need to get a room.” Joris rolled his eyes as he walked inside Charles’s driver room to get his jacket and and immediately headed out. Charles and you were all cuddled up together on the couch with hands around your frame.

“This is literally my room, Joris.”

“Yeah, whatever. It’s time for media activities, Charles. Get up, get up! She’s not going anywhere.”

“She won’t be able to go anywhere I’m not letting her go.” Charles waggled your body that was leaning against him before brushing his lips on your hair.

“You are so silly. Go! Joris will get mad if you don’t get going now.”

“Wait for me, doudou.”

Doudou, the nickname that he would always call you. He came up with the nickname when you guys were kid and stopped calling you by your name. You even forgot what your name sounded like with his voice.

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If you told your 14 years old self that your childhood friend would become the 1st Monegasque driver since Beretta in 1994, of course you would believe it in a second because you knew how talented he was but if you told your younger self that you would be his girlfriend and travelled the world to accompany him for his F1 races, you would have rolled your eyes because that was just impossible. But it happened, and it was like a dream come true. You had always knew you had feelings for him but you never thought it was reciprocated. Your friendship with Charles had turned into something more when he joined F2. A year later, he made his debut in F1. The media coverage, the attention he got was way different. Please started shouting his name when he arrived in the paddock, his social media went from a normal, “I drive fast cars as my part-time job” kid to pictures that were professionally taken but he would sneaked pictures of you whenever he got a chance because he was still the Charles you knew, your Charles.

When people started following Charles on his Instagram, they would happened to find your account as well so your followers started growing, not as much as his, but still a lot for a university student like you, who didn’t qualify to be an influencer. Charles didn’t hide you from the public. Everyone knew who you were though he never put you in any spotlight because you felt uncomfortable. You would never missed any chances to be in the paddock whenever you had a break from your study but there were a few times where you could only wished him good luck through a video call. He didn’t mind, at all. He knew how hard it was to catch up with your law studies and he wanted to support you as much as you did. Your Charles had always be so understanding.

ynusername

Liked by charles_leclerc, katerinaberezhna and 67,554 others

ynusername no books just hot chocolate 🍫

charles_leclerc doudou 🧸

liked by ynusername

username aaaaa so prettyyyyy

ynsername merciii 🫶🏻

username We miss you in the paddock

username where’s the dress from pretty? ❤️

charles_leclerc

Liked by ynusername, pierregasly and 1,100,069 others

charles_leclerc 2 weeks break meaning I am back with my lovely girl

username Imagine getting a podium and come back to the most beautiful girl ugh so lucky

username oh i would be obsessed with myself too if i look like that

username FAV COUPLE EVER

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“Baby, should I wear this one? Or this one?” You took out two piece dress with different colour.

“Are you serious? Doudou, we are just gonna go and get groceries down the street.” Charles looked at you in disbelief and let out a cackle.

“I know.. but I just bought these two and I don’t know which one to wear first.” You heaved a sigh and pout when he didn’t give you the answer you wanted.

“Alright, alright. Try the purple one. It looks pretty.” He scanned on the two outfits on your hand, they looked the same so he didn’t know why you would have difficulty to choose but he didn’t said it out loud because it was the time of the month and you would sulk at almost everything he questioned.

“I think I wanna try the green one first. Can you wait until I do my hair first? Pleaseee.” Well, don’t ask why you were getting ready as if you were invited for Met Gala. You just felt like going extra today, that was it. A very valid reason.

“Go on, doudou. I’ll wait here and maybe, I don’t know, take a nap or something.”

“You are the best. I’ll make it as quick as I can!” It took you 1 hour, but Charles didn’t mind at all. Your Charles had always been so patience.

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charles_leclerc

Manhattan, New York

Liked by pierregasly, joris_trouche and 965,407 others

charles_leclerc I’m a photographer, driver, chef and a boyfriend. Very multitalented.

ynusername I think you are the best at being a boyfriend not sure about chef 🤔

username parentsss

username these two are always having trip together i swear i saw fanpages updated about them being in maranello yesterday

username are they each other’s first love?

username yeupp ❤️

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“No, why is it not as crunchy as the one I saw on Tiktok. Right, baby? You passed the tuna avocado sandwich to your boyfriend and waited for his reaction. You had asked Charles to try Joe & The Juices in New York because you have been seeing people talked high about it and the sandwich had been everything you talked to Charles on your way here to New York.

“Hm? Not bad. It tasted like tuna and avocado….sandwich?” Charles had told you it wasn’t gonna taste anything special and now that he got a taste of it, he would have said I told you so but seeing how disappointed you got, he just let out a silent chuckle.

“It’s not funny! They all made it seemed so good. Did we buy the wrong one?”

“It’s because you had so much expectations on it, doudou. I can make you better one. I’m a good chef, remember?” He pinched your cheeks and hold your hand as you continued walking along the skyscrapers.

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kymillman

Liked by 435,765 others

kymillman Charles’s childhood sweetheart has arrived at the paddock!

username THAT’S MY GIRLFRIEND

username She’s STUNNING

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“I lost focus. It’s my fault. I could have won the podium.”

You could feel his lips against your neck as he had his body flushed against yours. You knew whenever he came up to you in this position, he needed cuddle and he wanted you to massage his head. Your Charles had always been so affectionate, a secret trait of him that no one knew.

“It wasn’t your fault, baby. The car wasn’t the best and despite all the problems it had, you still managed to push until P4 and that was amazing. I don’t think there’s a lot of drivers out there who can drive that bouncy car pass the finish line at all. Podium or not, you did a wonderful job.”

He didn’t reply and you thought he had fallen asleep because of how calm his breathing was against your skin but then you heard him said

“I love you so much, doudou. So, so much.”

But he stopped being everything he had been these past few weeks.

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“Charles, are we okay?” You had realised that he had been different these past few weeks. He didn’t joke around like he usually did, he didn’t annoyed you with back hugs when you cooked and did your makeup like he usually did, he didn’t smile as genuine as he always did, the dimples on his face looked forced.

And he didn’t want to talk. You knew the season had been harsh on him but he always came to you and sought solace in a form of touch but he stopped doing it.

“Yeah, we are fine. Can you stop asking me that?” He stopped the movie from playing to look at your worried face.

“That’s what you said every time I ask the questions but you never told me the truth.”

“What truth do you want, doudou? Please, can we not talk about this?” Charles stood up and began walking into the room.

“You have been so different. The last time we had a proper talk was weeks ago. You didn’t even hold me anymore. Did I do anything wrong? Charles! I’m talking to you!” You raised your voice but you saw him walking away like he always did whenever you brought up this topic.

“I’m tired. We are not talking about this, doudou. Please.” You saw him took his watch and wallet from the dressing table and knew he was going out. He preferred going out.

“You are tired and you are going out? Does that even make any sense? You always avoid talking about this while I’m trying to fix this. I’m trying to fix us!” You trailed behind him and gripped on his arm to stop him from walking away.

“I don’t know what you want me to do. I’m tired of your behaviour, doudou. You are asking for too much. Give me a fucking break!” Charles swayed your arm away and the moment he looked at you, your heart shattered. He’s not your Charles, the person in front of you wasn’t your loving boyfriend. Charles wouldn’t curse at you, he wouldn’t raise his voice at you. The man in front of you was a stranger.

“I—I’m sorry.” Stunned, you pulled your arm away and placed your hand on your chest, as if you could cover the sadness from him.

“I can’t do this anymore. Everything becomes a burden. You become a burden to me and I need a break, we need a break.“

“I’m a burden to you? Charles, I just needed reassurance because—“

“You always think of yourself! I just want to come home and be left alone but you always try to get involved with my life. I can’t even control my own life now, can I? Oh, I’m your boyfriend so I need to update you with everything that happened in my life every second of it. I need to hug you all the time so won’t feel lonely? I need to be with you all the time because you need some fucking reassurance? You are ridiculous, doudou.”

‘I’m afraid of losing you’ was the words you were gonna tell him before he cut you off.

“Fine, go. I won’t be in your way.” You used your arm sleeve from his oversized hoodie to wipe your tears and stormed into the room. You thought he would follow you, your Charles would, but you heard the sound of a door closed but it wasn’t the door to the room.

12 years of friendship, 5 years of relationship but he chose to walk away.

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f1wagsupdate

Liked by 23,657 others

f1wagsupdate One of our followers sent a picture of Charles spotted in Monaco with someone and it wasn’t Y/N 👀

username I knew they broke up when she wasn’t seen in any of the gp at all

username Nooooo 😭

username It’s too early to judge guys let’s wait until monaco gp y/n never missed it

kymillman

Liked by 104,657 others

kymillman Charles arriving at the paddock with someone new!

username It’s the same girl he was spotted with last week

username no more childhood sweetheart

username I MISS DOUDOU 💔😔

charles_leclerc

Liked by charlottesiine, pierregasly and others

charles_leclerc Home race always feel special. 🤍 Had a great time with them. leclerc_pascale lorenzotl charlottesiine

charlottesiine 🤍

username DON’T TALK TO ME

username my heart broke i felt like I was the one who went through a break up 😔

username what happened to y/n 😭

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You didn’t see Charles at all after he walked out of the apartment. He didn’t call, didn’t text. All of a sudden he became a part of your memories. You took a break from social media during your last year of law school so you were completely clueless with whatever had been going on. It was already the 12th race of the season where you found yourself at the grandstand with your best friends because she got free tickets and who would say no to free tickets so you were there because she knew you had always been a fan. You have always loved Formula 1, your break up with Charles didn’t wither down your passion for the sport.

The crowd suddenly went loud and you saw it on the big screen, your first love with a girl. He looked happy, he looked like your old Charles.

“I’m so sorry, Y/N. I really didn’t—“ Your friend exhaled a sign, feeling apologetic at at what just happened.

“Hey, it’s okay. It doesn’t affect me.” You nudged her and smiled.

At first you were sad, you were sad she received the smiles you did. Oh, but it had been so long since he's smiled, you couldn't help but smile too.

f1wags__

Liked by 34,558 others

f1wags__ Y/N spotted at Japan GP! A fan sent this to us saying they bumped into Y/N and her friend at the grandstand area

username No more ferrari tags around her neck 💔

username We missed her sm!! ❤️

username cant imagine what she felt when she saw charles with his new girl

ynusername

Liked by francisca.cgomes and 224,537 others

ynusername horsey and bows 🎀🐴

username you are back!!!

username QUEEN is back

username happiness looks good on you

#f1 imagines #f1 imagine #charles leclerc #charles leclerc x reader #charles leclerc imagine #charles leclerc imagines #f1 x reader

1K notes · View notes

holllandtrash · 6 months

Note

Never ever ever a normal weekend for little leclerc

Little leclerc is me. I am struggling

with love from vegas | lando norris

(part of the 6 to 1 series) because i couldn't stop thinking about whether little leclerc would accompany lando or stay to watch charles warnings: lando's crash :( word count: 3.2k

Your heart sank to your chest. You felt sick or maybe you felt like you were going to pass out. Regardless, one hand went to your mouth to cover your painful gasp as the other hand gripped the ledge in the McLaren garage.

It came out of nowhere, that was the worst part. You couldn’t brace yourself for what was to happen which meant the second you saw Lando spin out, on the straight, your entire body went numb. There was no explanation for it and not a single thought went through your mind as the slowest seconds of your life passed by.

One. Lando lost the back end of his car and had no control through the straight.

Two. He hit the wall and his car spun. You couldn’t imagine what was going through his head as he sat in the car, helpless, backwards. He couldn’t even see what he was heading towards. The sparks coming from the bottom of his car were blinding even just watching it on screen.

Three. Everyone in the garage had the same reaction as the momentum of Lando’s hit had him spinning and sliding until he crashed into the barriers in the run off.

Four. There was no response.

“Lando, are you okay?” You heard the question come in from Will through your headset but it was the silence that followed that caused your world to stop.

Your hands were shaking, your whole body was shaking, tears brimmed at your eyes as you felt a comforting touch on your back. You weren’t able to register who was trying to console you, your eyes were glued to the screen, to the scene of Lando’s car demolished against the barriers.

You thought about how you woke up late this morning with his arms wrapped around you. How he ordered room service while you took a shower so it would be ready to eat by the time you stepped out. He joked about missing the race and mentioned the F1 themed wedding chapel instead, said that it would be a better show than the Grand Prix.

You thought about the quick interview he had with Martin Brundle before the race. How Lando said the track felt dreadful, that he was worried about the temperatures but didn’t elaborate anymore, just tried to be hopeful. Lando draped his arm around your shoulders as you asked him about the upcoming race, asked if he was worried and he only shrugged, not wanting to give you any reason to be concerned for him.

You thought about how moments before he got in the car he kissed you. Not a quick peck, not a last minute thing, but he walked to the back of the garage where you stood and grabbed your face with both hands. You felt lightheaded, not usually a fan of the heavy PDA in such an open area but Lando didn’t care at this race. He kissed you and he told you he loved you and then tilted your head down to kiss the top of your forehead.

You knew that this was out of character for him, but you didn’t question it.

Now, though, it had your mind spinning. Was there a voice in the back of his head telling him that something was going to go wrong? Did he reach for his helmet and feel a sudden dread which prompted him to tell you he loved you one more time? Was he scared it would be last time he’d say it?

“Lando,” Will repeated, doing his best to sound calm for the young driver. “Are you okay?”

You’d never been happier to hear someone so out of breath.

“Yeah, all good,” Lando’s pained voice came through. Rushed and probably a lie, but at least he responded.

You could breathe, but the grunt that followed his words was a dead giveaway something else was wrong. Either he had sustained serious injuries or he was thinking about the race that had just fallen through his fingers, fourth place in the driver standings being kissed goodbye. Truthfully, you were hoping for the latter.

Lando climbed out of the car and you wiped away your tears in time for the F1TV broadcast to capture it. Without waiting to hear what the commentators had to say about your emotions running high, you pulled your headset off and headed out the back of the garage.

As horrible as it was, you made sure you knew where the medical centre was in proximity to both Lando and Charles’ garages during every Grand Prix weekend. In this case, it wasn’t too far down the paddock and you had beat the medical car there, but you were still anxious and you would be until he was cleared.

The back door opened and Lando, still in his race suit, climbed out and found you immediately. You met him halfway and even though he was fine, he was walking, he was in good enough condition to pull his helmet off himself, you cried the second you met his eyes.

Flashes of worst case scenarios flooded your mind. Lando pulled you into his chest, despite being told he had to go get checked out. He held you tightly, hand stroking your hair, both of you trembling. You probably more than him.

“I hate this fucking sport,” you muttered and Lando laughed in response, kissing the top of your head like he had before climbing into the car.

“I know,” he said and the next time he was ushered inside, you went with him. Lando assured the nurse that you’d sit quietly and not disturb them as he went through the standard post-crash procedures.

He seemed fine, so the more time that passed the more you started to let yourself loosen up. Lando spoke quietly to the nurse and you tried to listen in at first, but your attention soon found its way to the broadcast of the race, displayed right in front of the bed.

You were so caught up with Lando that you hadn’t even realised Charles had managed to hold onto second, and not only that but was closing in on Max as much as he could. He was holding his own, something that both Ferrari’s had struggled with this season.

When the nurse walked out, you pulled your chair up as close as you possibly could to the bed, resting your elbow on the mattress as you propped your head on your hand.

“Charles in second still?” Lando asked and you nodded, turning to look at the McLaren driver who was also watching the race at this point.

He reached forward, using his thumb to wipe away some remnants of mascara under your eye. You leaned into his touch and it was safe to say you felt like yourself again, knowing that Lando was okay, physically.

“I’m sorry about the driver standings,” you whispered and Lando offered you a somewhat genuine smile.

“Season’s not over yet,” he pointed out, holding onto the possibility that he could still claim fourth behind Lewis. You nodded in agreement, but if you were being completely honest, you didn’t care about where he was going to end up after Abu Dhabi, just as long as he finished the race.

You stretched your hand across of you to hold onto Lando’s, his thumb rubbing gentle circles over yours, like he was the one consoling you. Neither of you said anything else, both turning your attention to the race.

Lando could see you sit up slightly every time Charles closed the gap a bit more. He could feel the faint squeeze of your fingers every time Charles had a close call with the barriers or attacked a curb a little too hard.

By the time lap 15 came around, Charles was within DRS range of Max. Lando could admit that this race, that battle, was entertaining, but he found you to be even more mesmerising. The excitement you had for your brother, the way you held your breath during every little move, the way your face lit up when the gap was 4 tenths of a second.

I hate this sport, you had told him.

What a bold faced lie. You loved this sport. You loved Formula 1, despite the heartaches, the anxiety, the way it aged you faster than anything else would. You loved the thrill, you loved watching those you loved succeed and quite literally chase after their dreams.

And then the overtake finally happened.

To be fair, Max wasn’t trying too hard to defend with his recent call to box, but it was still the most exciting thing you had seen in a handful of races.

“Charles Leclerc takes the lead of the Las Vegas Grand Prix!”

You shot up instantly, letting go of Lando’s hand to cheer at the screen. Lando laughed at your reaction, at the way you fist bumped the air. There was a glow to you, watching Charles make something of himself, of the car, after struggling race after race.

You turned over your shoulder, grinning from ear to ear at Lando, “He might…win this.”

Lando opened his mouth to respond, maybe he was going to bring you back down to earth, but the door opened at the moment and his nurse returned.

You stepped to the side of Lando’s bed as he sat up a bit, giving the nurse a polite smile, even though he knew exactly what she was going to say.

“I know you don’t want to hear this but it’s procedure,” she started. “We’ve got to transfer you to the hospital, Lando.”

He nodded, a quiet sigh escaping his lips, “I figured that was bound to happen.”

Lando glanced up at you, and as supportive of a girlfriend as you were, half of your focus had gone back to the race. It wasn’t until a few other transport nurses walked into the room did you realise what was going on.

“Oh,” you spoke quietly, pulling your eyes off the screen. “Oh. We’re going now, okay.”

Lando chuckled, “What do you mean we?”

You were both staring at each other in major confusion, but you voiced yours before he could, “I’m coming with you.”

He shook his head, but his eyes squinted as he smiled, like he knew something you didn’t. “No you’re not.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re staying here,” Lando nodded his head towards the race. “You’re going back to the garages and you’re going to watch Charles finish this race.”

“Lando,” you scoffed. “I’m not letting you go to the hospital alone.”

“Well I’m not letting you come with me so where does that leave us?”

You glanced up at the nurses, a little embarrassed that you were having this conversation but if anything they just found the banter amusing. Lando reached for your hand and pulled your attention back to him.

“Charles is leading right now,” he reminded you. “You said it yourself, he might win this. You should be here for him wherever he crosses the finish line. And I love you, but I don’t need you to accompany me to a check-up. Your brother will need you, no matter where he places.”

“Lando don’t make me choose, you know I hate that,” you wanted to be annoyed at him, really. But when he was looking up at you with the kindest smile painted on his lips it was hard to feel anything except love for him.

“That’s why I’m choosing for you,” he laughed before bringing your hand to his lips to press a kiss to your knuckles. “Just because I can’t finish the race doesn’t mean you have to miss it too. Go watch Charles.”

“But-”

“Go!”

You glanced at the tv and then at him and the nurses and back at him. Lando wasn’t the slightest bit hurt that you weren't going with him, but he knew you would have unless he said something. He also knew that if he hadn’t said something and you ended up missing Charles’ best race of the season, you’d be so incredibly upset with yourself.

You hated putting yourself in these positions so Lando, as much as he could, did absolutely anything to avoid it.

“I love you,” you said, leaning down to give him a quick kiss. “Text me any updates- all updates. I mean it.”

“I will,” he assured you, letting you know he was okay one final time before another reminder that he loved you. Lando then watched as you practically sprinted out of the medical centre.

No one was surprised to see you show up in the Ferrari garage. You grabbed a headset and stood near the back, already seeing an array of celebrities standing as close as possible to the mechanics.

Charles kept pulling ahead as other cars went in to pit. Of course you were anxious, hoping the strategy wouldn’t fail him this time but you managed to keep your facial expressions in check when his team pulled off a below average pit-stop. It wasn’t end all-be all but it did give Checo the opportunity to claim first place.

Seeing Lance ahead of Charles for a short while was certainly a little shocking and then seeing a handful of cars coming in following the safety car had your blood pressure rising because Charles stayed out, but you had faith in him. He knew what he was doing and hopefully his team did too.

Charles did what he could to defend against Checo when he reclaimed the first place spot, but come lap 32 there wasn't much he could do and the Mexican driver took the lead. All the while, Max was working his way up through the grid which of course gave you an intense amount of anxiety.

The cheer you let out when Charles passed once more a few laps later was drowned out through the garage as the rest of the team applauded his late move but it was only minutes later when you were wincing at the screen, teeth clenched as Max made his way closer and closer to the Ferrari driver. Your head fell back in disappointment when Max took first place from him and for a while you wondered if this race was going to end up being another Red Bull 1-2.

It certainly looked that way as Checo passed Charles, dropping your brother down to third. The laps kept counting down and while he was doing a damn good job at staying within DRS, he couldn’t make the move on Checo again.

Or at least, that's what you and everyone thought up until the very last lap, more specifically, the last opportunity for an overtake.

Charles, seemingly out of nowhere, dove to the inside at turn 14 when Checo least expected it. Checo tried to fight back but for those last few metres of the track you were jumping and screaming in pure excitement for Charles for having pulled off such a successful move. Your headset fell down around your neck but that didn’t matter, what mattered was this was one of Charles’ best races, best fights, all season and you knew he was going to be proud of it.

You were proud of him.

Carlos had found you during the chaos of the post-race interviews and podium ceremony. You heard something about a limo and you weren’t really sure what was going on, but that gave you a few minutes to collect yourself. Carlos asked how Lando was after giving you a hug, he was happy to see you of course, but he was worried about his friend.

You pulled out your phone to see a few pictures from Lando, one was a selfie with a thumbs up and the other was him physically strapped to a gurney with a cheeky smile on his lips. The text to accompany it read, ‘I joked about making a run for it, no one laughed.’

“He’s fine,” you showed Carlos the images.

“You didn’t want to go with him?” He asked.

“I did,” you nodded, taking another look at the pictures. “But he told me to stay, for Charles.”

“Are you glad you did?”

Hesitantly, you nodded. You wanted to be at Lando’s side more than anything, but he was right. This was a race where you should have been there for Charles.

When the chaos subsided and Charles came back to the garage, you were the first person he engulfed in a hug.

“I’m so proud of you,” you told him, having been wanting to say those words since that last overtake. You swayed for a few seconds, knowing that these moments were far and few between with how unfortunate this season had been for him.

“Merci,” he kissed your cheek and then pulled back, hands going to your shoulder as if he was inspecting you, despite the fact that he was the one who had just spent the last hour and a half in a race car. “Lando va bien?” Is Lando okay?

You didn’t have the words to explain how much that simple question meant to you.

Charles loved seeing you there waiting for him in the garage but he would have also known that meant leaving Lando’s side. He would probably always give you a hard time for dating a driver, but at the end of the day he saw just how much you cared about that driver. He would have known that his crash affected you, would have pained you to watch and he wanted to make sure that he was okay, that you were okay.

“He’s fine,” you nodded. “He’ll probably still want to go out clubbing later.”

Charles was content with that answer. He wrapped an arm around your shoulder and tucked you into his side as you walked through the garage, wanting you to accompany him to his next pre-race obligation.

“So why did you didn’t go with him?” Charles asked you. “After a crash like that I would have understood if you left the race too.”

It was embarrassing the way that the tears started to gloss over your eyes again. But you loved Charles and you loved Lando and you loved that there was finally that mutual respect you had been waiting for.

“He told me to stay,” you weren’t going to lie to Charles and say it was your idea to leave Lando. “He wanted me to be here for you, for your race.”

Charles just nodded to himself at your answer. You saw the sliver of the smile that curled up on his lips though, probably telling himself he’d have to thank Lando later because you were always someone he looked for after a race.

“Are you okay?” Charles asked next, glancing down at you.

“Yeah,” you let out a tired breath. “Yeah I think I’m just ready for the season to be over.”

“One more race.”

“One more race,” you repeated. “And then me and Lando will elope for real.”

Charles yanked on a strand of your hair, “If you do that, don’t even bother coming to any of the races next year.”

There was underlying truth to his words, but you also knew that at the end of it all, Charles was growing supportive of you and Lando. He certainly wasn’t at the point where he’d be fine with a wedding, but he wasn’t going to make a fuss when you weren't in his garage anymore.

You were there when it mattered and if you needed it, Lando would always be there to give you a reminder as to when that was.

#6 to 1 series #6 to 1 #lando norris au #lando norris x reader #lando x reader #ln4 #lando norris x y/n

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lovingperfectionsblog · 7 months

Text

For What It's Worth - Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Plan is formulated.

Max Verstappen x Reader.

Chapter Summary: Max finally sees the flowers that lead to his downfall and reluctantly helps his best friend come up with a plan to find out who sent them.

Warnings: Swearing.

Word Count: 2736.

Author's Note: Please forgive me for this taking so long. Life happens I guess. I have als decided I am probably going to be making the chapters slightly shorter, because yeah, just something fun and silly. Can’t wait to hear your guys thoughts On all of this <3

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“I mean, they’re flowers?” Both you and Max stood above the bunch resting on the table, the note lying just below them, conveniently placed upside down so it couldn’t be read. Max couldn’t help but feel that the florist's logo was taunting him. His hand gripping the back of the chair that he was leaning on, itching to turn the card over to silence its taunts. The only thing worse would be what was on the other side of the card. He couldn’t look at that. His own words, his confession staring back at him.

“They’re my favourite flowers.” Your stance mimicked Max’s, only now you were looking at him. You watched as he slowly nodded his head, not in recognition of being told new information, but instead a nod of confirmation. “So I assume you told him which flowers to get then?”

It was accusatory, you were egging him to confess that he knew who had sent the flowers. “I didn’t tell anyone these were your favourite flowers.” He still hadn’t looked at you, eyes willing the note to catch fire.

“But you knew these were my favourite flowers?” He could feel the sweat starting to drip down the side of his face where you were burning a hole with your eyes.

“In my defence, everyone knows these are your favourite flowers, I didn’t need to tell anyone because you cannot keep any personal information to yourself.” This was the first time he looked at you and he couldn't help but feel a smile tug at his lips as he caught sight of the scandalised look on your face.

“Don’t lie, I am very good at keeping secrets, thank you very much.” You shoved Max’s shoulders, you couldn’t help but notice how his arms tensed under the force, which helped him barely even move from his position.

“You’re good at keeping other people's secrets, your own though? You’re an open book.” It was a matter of fact and he knew you knew he wasn’t wrong, your silence and scowl confirming exactly what he had just said.

“So you didn't tell him?” As he shook his head in response, he was simultaneously confused and slightly insulted that you hadn’t assumed it was him. Had you completely written him off as a viable option considering the fact that you both worked together?

“Have you read the note?” There was absolutely no chance that he was going to read what was on that note, and anyway, he already knew exactly what was written and what was meant to be written, his name.

“I don’t need to read the note.” It sounded childish coming out, even he knew that, but he really really did not need to read that note, especially not in front of you.

“Read the note Max.” You reached forward to turn it over, and there were the words, His words, mocking him even more violently than that logo had.

The WDC means nothing if I don’t have a woman like you by my side.

They could cheer my name in those stands until the end of time, but the only name I’d ever recognize myself having is “yours”.

Even on that podium, in front of a sea of people, only when I see you, do I truly feel like I have something worth celebrating.

You are my calm, my favourite feeling, my safe space, I can only hope that I can be yours as well?

“Do you think he was asking me out?” Your voice pierced through the ringing in his ears, his brain inundated with criticism of why this was the worst love note he could have possibly written. It had seemed cute at the time, the F1 theme and all made sense, he was a WDC, you worked for him in F1, you had met because of F1, kind of, sort of, he didn’t like to dwell on that moment too much, but now, the note seemed awful. It seemed like a cliche.

And worst of all, you didn’t even understand that he was asking you to be his girlfriend. Could he have fucked this up any more than he already had?

Thank God he had forgotten his name.

“I think he was probably asking you out,” he took a quick glance your way before continuing, testing the waters, “I think he might have been asking you to be his girlfriend?”

Why the fuck were you scrunching your face like that?

“He is not asking me to be his girlfriend.” The scoff you added at the end had Max feeling a lot more offended than he was allowed to show in this situation.

“Of course he’s asking you to be his girlfriend. Look at the last line.” Max shoved the note in your direction, making sure to only briefly touch the card.

“Who asks someone to be their girlfriend without signing their name?” You shoved the card back.

“A fucking idiot.” Him.

“Which could be any driver on this grid.” He hated how smug you looked right now, especially because it was him. He was the idiot. No one else on that grid would have done something this stupid. Just him.

“And you want me to help you?” You frantically nodded along, “You want me to find you an idiot to date?” Max felt the entire air of the room shift, and yes, he can admit that maybe he had said that a little harshly, but he wasn't expecting you to look so deflated at the comment.

“Well, yeah, I mean, he clearly either pays attention to me or he went out of his way to make the effort and like, yeah, I know that maybe it’s the bare minimum, but I don’t know if you can tell, but it’s not exactly like I date a lot.” You had stopped looking directly at him and Max, for the first time, had noticed that you were a little embarrassed by the confession.

“You should date more.” Me. You should date me. More. Well, you should start. Is what Max wanted to say.

“Of course, if only it was that easy, you know, all things considered.” You laughed along to your own joke as you began moving around your hotel room, grabbing your jacket which had been previously strewn on the bed, slowly ushering Max out of the room with you so you could leave.

“Considering what?” Max shut the door behind him and quickly fell in step with you, making your way down the hall.

“You know? All the travel? Being the assistant to the big bad Max Verstappen?” You stopped in front of the elevator, waiting for it to reach your floor.

“Big Bad Max Verstappen?” What did your dating life have to do with you being his assistant?

“You do know men will not get near me because of the fact that we are together constantly. There have been a lot of rumours of us dating Max. How do you not know this?”

He hated how proud he felt. He truly hated how good this all made him feel, but yeah, he wanted everyone to know that you were his. Well, not yet, but you were going to be his girlfriend.

Eventually.

Hopefully.

“Hurry up, you’re going to be late!” He had noticed that you were already at the hotel doors, waiting for him to catch up and so he had broken out into a jog to catch up with you.

“Yeah, well, maybe they should stay away.” Wrong this for him to say, but he was proud of it.

“Why? So you can just keep me as your assistant forever?” You laughed as you slid into the car, losing Max;s eyesight.

“You do realise you’re also my best friend right? Like, my best friend in the whole wide world?” He started the car and pulled into traffic.

“You’re the one who hired me Max, and plus, it’s a race weekend. I’m your friend after hours.” He hated that you put your feet on the dash.

“Probably should have never done that.” You let out a laugh that filled the car, but you would never know how serious he actually he was.

Every part of him regretted hiring you. If he hadn’t then maybe he could have you in the paddock with him as his girlfriend instead. A girlfriend he could hug and kiss publically and not be the creepy fucking boss.

“Getting sick of me already?”Max countered, willing himself not to look at you while he was driving. He always found himself having to do exactly this.

“I could never get sick of you Maxie” He knew you were teasing him, but he’d be lying if he said that one sentence didn't mean the world to him too.

“If you’re going to be cheeky, you can always just quit.”

“Fine.”

“No.”

You barked out your laugh and he couldn’t help but mimic it, mostly from relief though. He was embarrassingly reliant on you, and not even as his assistant, although, yeah, as his assistant too, but it was mainly as his friend.

“You saying you need me there Maxie.” More teasing.

“Yes.” He chose to be completely honest with you.

He could feel your eyes on him, his hands gripping the steering wheel just ever so slightly tighter, making the final turn towards the track.

“Yeah, I need you too.” It was a whisper, he was almost certain he wasn’t meant to hear it, but he did. Maybe there was still a chance.

The rest of the ride was silent, comfortable, both of you letting the confessions sit in the air, allowing you both to breathe them in.

The next time either of you speak, you’re making your way into the paddock, the nerves of the season finally seeping in as the first real day of the race weekend begins.

“So, I’ve come with a plan.” You shuffled through the gates, Max following close behind.

“A plan for what?” Max tried to wrack his brain for what could possibly need a plan of action for the weekend, “There's? Wait, that's for PR and my strategist?”

“Max, no, a plan to figure out who sent the flowers.” You shot Mx a confused look, wondering how he had already forgotten about the conversation from this morning.

“Oh.” Fuck, this again.

“So,” You either didn’t notice or just chose to ignore his disinterested reaction as you carried on updating him on what you had come up with, “I’m making a list of each driver on the grid you it could possibly be,” you looked to Max, waiting for his nod before you would continue, “And then kind of, seducing him to maybe,”

“No.”

You looked at Max after the sharp instruction left his mouth. His face was hard set, jaw clenched, eyes forward as he tried to keep his cool.

“Well, how else am I meant to figure out who it was if I don't,”

“If you say the word seduce again, you’re fired.” He’d fire you purely so he could date you, he’d fire you to get you out of this paddock and away from the other drivers immediately, he would do anything to not have to watch you seduce anyone other than him.

“Well what should I do then?” The slap of your arms against your thighs after you dropped them in frustration was enough to finally draw Max’s full attention back to you and what he found was you waiting for an actual idea from him.

He was going to have to help the woman he loves figure out how to seduce other men. His friends.

If anything happens between any of them, he was a little nervous that he was going to take them out on the track.

He was losing his mind.

“Maybe just go up and ask them?” They’d say no, Max would be happy and then he could figure out how to actually get you. Maybe he should seduce you.

No, that’s what the flowers were, and then he’d still be the creepy boss.

“And embarrass myself? No way.”

“And you won’t do that while trying to seduce them?” he faked a laugh as you shoved him away from you.

“Firstly, you’ve never seen me seduce anyone, I'm excellent at it, and secondly, I bet I could have you on your knees with my seduction skills so don’t laugh.” Max felt his entire face heat up at the thought of being on his knees for you. He most certainly wasn’t laughing now.

“Who exactly would you be seducing?” He could get around this. There was always going to be a way for him to get around this. The guys all knew how he felt about you. Surely none of them would fall for any of this, so why not entertain it for a little bit while he figures out what his next move is.

“I knew you’d come around to it! Okay, so I was thinking we should start with Daniel.” Max was going to throw up.

“Daniel?” No, all of this was a bad idea. No.

“Yeah, I don’t know, he was kind of like, looking at me last night, and when we were walking back inside he had his hand on my lower back and like, you know?” If he wasn’t so angry he would have noted how cute the blush looked on your cheeks, but no, he was furious. Daniel knew how he felt and now he was doing all of this? He needed to talk to Daniel, put him in his place when it came to you.

But, he also does all of this to you? Why was he excluded from the potential pool of drivers interested in you?

“So Daniel, then Lando, Carlos,” you continued in lieu of Max responding to your suspicions about Daniel, “then there’s Yuki, George and Lewis.”

“This list is getting pretty long.” God, even Max knew he sounded pathetic with that comment.

“Shut up, there’s a lot of options on that grid.” You grabbed a cup of coffee as you continued rambling on to Max, “and finally, Charles and Pierre.”

“What, not considering me then?” You giggled at his comment, despite how serious he was being, unbeknown to you.

“Probably a little unprofessional to flirt with my boss.” Please, please flirt with me, it’s all Max could think about as you placed the cup of coffee in front of him. “So, what do you think?” You sipped on your cup, waiting for Max to give some decent input.

“It's a list.” The coffee tasted awful.

“Max, please, I just want a shot at love too.” Your voice was too soft, too honest. If Max wasn’t such a coward, this would have been his moment to tell you that you’ve always been loved by him, for too long for him to still be keeping it a secret, but he loved every part of you, in every scenario, in every way. And he was going to love you through this too.

“Okay, so, when do you start seducing Daniel.” Your smile was beaming at him, but he couldn’t help how heartbroken he felt at knowing it was because you were going to try and get another man, one that wasn;t him, one that he considered one of his best friends.

“Well, he’s here this weekend, so why not this Grand Prix?” Your smile had turned from bright to sly and Lord knows Max really really wanted to see that smile in a very different context, where he was the one you were thinking about. Maybe even if you two were alone, in his hotel room, which is exactly what could have happened if the whole thing with the flowers had actually gone how he had planned it. Instead, here you were, thinking about his friend, who he was going to kill and help you flirt with.

In his entire life, out of everything he had ever endured, this was the most defeated he had ever felt, but if it made you happy, well then,

“Yeah, this Grand Prix it is.”

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#f1 fanfic #f1 imagine #f1 x reader #max verstappen #x reader #max verstappen x reader #max verstappen x you #max verstappen imagine #max verstappen fanfic #max verstappen fluff #friends to lovers #forwhatitsworth

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doodles-bi-tea · 6 months

Note

Hey I’m 🌱🫖 Anon the one that asked for that detailed Brad Bakshi fic, and I wanted to ask if you are going to release it or if you don’t feel like writing it anymore (it’s totally fine either way) is mostly just to know.

Also I love how you have decorated your blog with a F1 theme. I’m a fellow F1 fan (since childhood) and I’m also Spanish so seeing that you have a Carlos profile picture always makes my day ☺️

-🌱🫖

crying lightning (unfinished/pt. 1)

Brad Bakshi was by no means a warm person. At least, not that you had thought until now.

pairing: brad bakshi x coworker reader [second person, no y/n]

warnings: a couple of cliches, fear of dark and thunderstorms, power outage, profanity, developing feelings. mostly fluff/comfort. brad is a little bit of an asshole, as expected (and now you’re caught up!), but not the whole time. one mention of c.w.

(unfinished) word count: 2.3k

a/n: based off of this request here! heyyyy 🌱🫖 anon, I really appreciated the request! hope you don’t mind I focused it more so on season one/two brad. sorry this took so long to post and I didn’t even get to finish it, I got caught up in the struggles of daily life smh 😔 but thank you so much for your patience, I might finish it if I get the motivation but at the moment I’m not sure… also yes I’m into f1 now!! I might write for some of the drivers if people really want that but I’m not sure since I’ve been very busy. let me know if you’d be interested in that!

Your keys clinked together as you locked the front door of your apartment. After that was done, you slipped them into your bag and began the ten-minute walk to work. The sounds of Los Angeles were blocked out by the headphones you wore, listening to music and podcasts as you crossed streets and walked along the pavement. People, although no more than faces and outfits, passed you every day on the same route you went to get to Mythic Quest headquarters. It felt like just another day.

“Fuuuuuuuck.” You groaned, slouching down and letting your head hit the desk with a thud. The rain was absolutely pouring outside, you could hear it.

Being on the writing team wasn’t as glamorous as you had hoped it would be. C.W., as much as you initially admired his works, was an incredibly lousy head writer. That was normal, but especially today, he or one of the other slightly psychotic department heads were extra adamant on making sure you couldn’t get any work done. Thus you’d needed to stay a little later than normal.

It was only an extra half hour to revise a rough draft and a couple storyboarding charts, you’d told yourself. That was before the rain started twenty minutes into those extra thirty minutes. If you had left on time, you would have been able to get home – and with time to spare! – without needing to get rained on. Since you’d waited, though, the rain started, and forced you to stay in the building until it dissipated. When you checked your phone that morning, the forecast was only clear and sunny. That was clearly not the case now. Locked in your workplace, you decided to continue working until you either finished or the rain stopped.

Back to the present moment, you had just finished the work you needed to do, but the rain hadn’t let up. It didn’t seem like it was going to any time soon, either. If anything, it sounded like it was getting worse. You sat up, leaning back into the rolling chair you had, and pressing your hands to your closed eyes in frustration.

“What are you still doing here?” It was almost like Brad could smell the despair emanating from your being.

Not expecting his sudden presence, you nearly jumped at the mere sound of his voice.

“Jesus Christ, Brad,” You abruptly pulled your hands away from your face and gripped the armrests of the chair. “Scared the shit out of me.”

He scoffed. “I try. But what are you doing here? Work ended an hour ago.”

“I could say the same for you.”

“Yeah, you could. But I asked first. And you still haven’t answered.”

You inhaled through your teeth before pursing your lips. “Okay, fine, I wanted to just finalize some stuff the writing team and I were working on today. Poppy and Ian wouldn’t leave me alone because they were having one of their little… piss fights and were bothering everyone to see who was ‘right.’ I wasn’t gonna stay for that long, but the rain clearly had other plans.” You halfheartedly gestured to the windows in the main room that showed the overcast sky and harsh rain happening outside.

Brad didn’t even bother looking behind him. “And, what? You don’t have a ride or something?”

You furrowed your brows at his response. “Dude. I literally walk to work every day. It’s easier because it’s not that far and I get to avoid the issues of traffic and having to park in the parking structure, you know? And the gas prices, have you seen that bullsh-”

“Yeah, yeah I get it, whatever. Just shut it. I didn’t come here to listen to you complain.” He waved a hand around aimlessly as he began to roll his eyes.

Neither of you said anything further for a moment, you just sat there watching as he studied the ground. If you hadn’t been looking at him, you wouldn’t have noticed the very subtle twitch of his eye and the little exasperated sigh he let out as he seemed to be weighing his options. He opened his mouth, but paused. Then he went on to speak.

“You don’t even have like a flimsy little umbrella or something? A raincoat? Nothing?” He hung his head slightly lower, talking with an air of disbelief.

“Does it look like it, Bakshi?” You held your hands up and swiveled around in the chair a little, glancing quickly around the room with furrowed brows. “If I had either of those I would have left already.”

“I don’t know what goes through your mind,” He scoffed again. “I’m not a lowly writer. I’m the HOMIE.”

You didn’t really have any words. You wanted to so desperately insult him but you knew he would easily be able to destroy you with less effort. Instead you opted for just biting your tongue.

“Whatever. I’ll probably just wait it out. Even if it means I have to sleep in my office.” You moved your chair closer to the desk and laid your forehead down, quietly groaning in defeat.

Although you couldn’t see him, you could tell Brad was fidgeting slightly from where he stood in the doorway. The rain pattered onto the pavement outside, but you could hear the slight rustle of whatever sweater he was wearing, the tapping of his shoe on the carpeted floor, the liquid he swirled around in his mug. Eventually he spoke.

“Did you…” He trailed off, clearly reluctant. “Did you need a ride?”

Your brows furrowed, again, against the cold desk. “Really?” You were in disbelief as you sat up in your chair. “The infamous Brad Bakshi, greedy, heartless bastard of MQ, offering to give a ‘lowly writer’ a ride? Is this real? Am I on a prank show? Where are the cameras?” You gave him an exaggerated gasp as you quickly whipped your head around the room and spun around in your chair.

“Do you want that car ride or not?” His blank expression said it all. Brad was not amused.

“Fine, fine, just let me get my stuff real quick.”

Brad walked briskly, not waiting for you to catch up as he practically sprinted through the staff parking structure. “Pick up the pace, writer.”

You grumbled little insults under your breath so he wouldn’t hear, and began walking faster to keep up. “Fine, ‘homie.’”

The two of you eventually got to his car. It was nothing too extravagant. Fairly generic, but sleek enough for his taste.

[I’m so sorry I don’t know or remember what car Brad drives/would drive – if anyone has an answer for this please hmu LMAO. I feel like it would be either silver, blue, or black (some of the most generic car colors but with somewhat deeper connection to him as a person/character).]

The inside smells faintly like an air freshener but more like something more comfortable and just there. Somewhat like dust, but not unpleasantly so. You get into the passenger seat as Brad gets into the driver’s. He hands you his phone, already open to a navigation app for you to put your address into. You begin doing so, but a weather advisory appears. At the same time, you can feel your own phone vibrate inside your bag, presumably giving you the same notice. “Harsh rain and possible storms in the general LA area. Staying home is recommended.” it read. Brad leans over a little, just to see the notification.

“Hm. Would have been nice to know before I left for work this morning.” You scoffed, a little weary but continuing to type your address before you gave him his phone back.

He took it and began the route, the two of you leaving the parking structure in silence. It was a little uncomfortable, you had to admit, but not for long.

“If you want music you can put something on. Just connect your phone with bluetooth.” Brad said softly.

It was unexpectedly quiet and gentle, a stark contrast to his normal brash demeanor.

“Oh, okay.”

You pressed some things on the dashboard, before connecting your phone and playing some of your favorite music. It didn’t seem like Brad had much of an opinion on it. Rain continued to patter on the windshield as the car was stagnant.

“Thanks, by the way.” You kind of blurted out, but it was genuine. “I forgot to say it earlier, but it means a lot.”

His response was brief. “It’s whatever.”

The temporary silence returned. Another buzz sounded from your phones. Rather than taking yours out, you just leaned over to look at Brad’s phone. Another notice, but this time a warning. “Expected storms within next twelve hours. Power outages in some areas of LA and southern California. It is advised to stay off the roads during this time frame.”

“Shit.” You murmured, clearly more worried now. “My apartment’s still another ten minutes away because of the traffic…”

“Yep.” Brad was still stoic.

“Hey, by the way, where do you live? Are you far away from here? ‘Cause I don’t want you to have to drive to my apartment and then all the way back if it’s like the opposite direction.”

“It’s like five minutes away from MQ.”

You were silent for a moment, out of disbelief. “What?”

“Yeah. I live five minutes away.”

“And you don’t just walk?”

“Nope.”

“Why not?”

“‘Cause.”

“God, Brad, you’re such a-”

“An environmentally apathetic asshole? Self-centered douchebag? Lazy bum? I’ve heard it all and I really couldn't care less.”

“Okay, but seriously, I don’t want you to, like, hydroplane and-or get into an accident on the way back to your place. You might as well just drop me off here and turn back now.”

Brad turned to you, an eyebrow raised and head cocked slightly to the side. “As ‘on-brand’ that would be for me, that’s an actual asshole move, and I don’t want your death to be on my hands if you get swept up and away by some random gust of wind.”

“Oh, wow, so he does have a heart.” You quipped.

Brad rolled his eyes again, looking out at the cars in front of you. “As much as I hate to admit it, yes, I do. All humans do, because it pumps blood throughout their fucking bodies. I thought you were smarter than this, writer.”

“You know what I mean. I’m not that much of a dumbass.”

“Really? I hadn’t noticed.”

“Oh, my god, just… shut up. Also are you not in any way worried about our current situation? We’re bound to get into an accident at this rate, we need to get to our places as soon as we possibly can.”

“Okay, well, the traffic to get to your apartment is still not clearing up, so if you’re so worried, I’ll drop you back off at MQ and then I’ll head to my house.”

You shook your head at the notion, groaning. “No, no, no, no, I can’t stay at MQ overnight…”

Brad turned back to look at you. A strange hint of a smile graced his lips as he scoffed.

“What happened to ‘I’ll wait the rain out even if it means I have to sleep at my desk?’”

You felt the heat of embarrassment rise up your neck and to your cheeks, turning away from him and facing the window to avoid eye contact. “I don’t know, I didn’t think I’d actually have to do it. Especially after you offered me a ride! And now we’re in the car, it seemed pretty unlikely that it would still be happening.”

For the first time in you ever knowing him (your two years at MQ), Brad Bakshi laughed. It wasn’t one of his sarcastic chuckles, nor a strained noise, but a genuine laugh. You had a puzzled look on your face, and whipped your head around to see him. His eyes were shut, he was slightly hunched over, and his smile was clear as day. He continued to laugh–presumably at you–but for once, you didn’t mind. The sight was a joy to see. Sure, Brad was an asshole, but he had his moments. A smile of your own crept its way onto your face as you watched him laugh for a few seconds longer. As his laughter wound down, a sudden crack of lightning flashed across the sky, a rumble of thunder following immediately after, startling the both of you.

“Shit!” You hissed, jumping in your seat. “Okay, okay, we really need to get to safety, like… now. This shit is actually dangerous, Brad. I don’t want you getting injured or worse because of my lack of preparation. If you really need to drop me off at the office on your way to your place, that’s… fine.”

Although unhappy that the start of your weekend would be ruined by having to sleep over in your office building, you figured it would be better than causing Brad to get stuck in the storm. You awaited his response, once again watching him as he thought for a moment.

Suddenly, he let out a quiet groan, tilting his head down, leaning his forehead lightly against the wheel. “I can’t believe I’m about to offer this to you, of all people, but if you’re so god damn worried about my safety… I have a guest room at my house.”

His sudden generosity confuses and delights you. It’s strange, that’s for sure, but it’s a welcome surprise.

“Really?”

“Why else would I have said it?” It was a question but it came out as more of a statement.

“I don’t know, it’s just… weird. Not to say that I don’t accept, but it’s oddly kind of you. Not something commonly associated with the image of Brad Bakshi.”

He shrugged. “I know. So do you accept or not?”

“I do, thank you so much.” You spoke quickly, hoping he wouldn’t rescind the offer. “I’m sorry to cause you so much inconvenience.”

“I’m sorry too. I’m sorry you’re so dumb that you didn’t prepare a way back home.”

“Oh, my god.”

#tea writes #🌱🫖 anon #brad bakshi x reader #brad bakshi #mythic quest #mq #apple tv #danny pudi #abed nadir #abed nadir x reader #sorry those last two are kind of clickbait but I need reach #x reader #mythic quest fanfiction #mythic quest x reader #mq x reader #fanfiction #fanfic #mythic quest fanfic

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vro0m · 1 year

Note

I thought it was interesting that in free practice he said to Bono that the car didn’t feel safe to drive. I think they maybe ended up improving that slightly through set-up but yeah…. how could he feel any confidence to drive the car at the limit if it genuinely feels unsafe for him.

Imo this year feels different than last in terms of his “mental block” or whatever it may be. Do you think it could have something to do with him feeling that the team didn’t listen to his feedback after all the work he put in to get them helpful feedback? Last year he was really outspoken about how he was telling the team what he wanted in the car for this year and yet they’ve not given him what he “asked for”. I get that teams don’t build cars for a specific driver but I wonder if maybe - even if subconsciously - he’s just pissed about that and almost stubborn about having to make it work anyway? That doesn’t really sound like him at all, that attitude wouldn’t have gotten him to where he is but. I’m also just trying to figure out what’s going on 🙃

All that being said, we haven’t even seen the second race of the season yet 😄 Considering Merc anyway still needs time to sort the car out, he also has time to get used to it more

Oh, did he say that? I could only watch the second half of FP3. That's surprising to hear, I wonder what the issue was. You'd think without all the bouncing the car would feel rather safer to drive than it used to. It's a bit worrying that he feels this way. It's probably down to a lack of downforce?

It's a tricky situation. I'm a bit wary of giving my two cents about it because it's early days and we have very little to form opinions from. On the one hand, I understand that he's frustrated with the team because he told them what he needed and he didn't get it. On the other hand it's not as easy as just saying it to make it happen. I'm not convinced the team didn't try to listen to him. I believe it's more complicated than, say, him saying he needs more downforce and them being like "no, fuck that, no downforce". From what I can piece together, but I might be completely wrong about it, I feel like both drivers told the team they'd rather try to copy the other cars, namely the RedBull, but as we know the team chose to persevere on their current path rather than scrap it and start anew. But it's also not that easy to scrap it and start anew. From what I heard on a broadcast today, the teams are gonna start working on their '24 cars next month. So decisions about the general direction they wanna take takes place very early in the season. Making big changes later on is very very costly and idk how realistic it is.

It's a recurring theme in my rewatch that Lewis needs a lot of control over things (like most drivers, I believe) and yeah, maybe he feels like he doesn't have enough control over things atm (the car itself, maybe the general team's decisions?) and that's throwing him off? I don't think it would be stubborness but maybe rather rejection of the car, if you will? Like he's not liking it and he's struggling to get over it and drive it anyway, maybe? But that's all speculation, who knows.

And yeah, you're absolutely right. In any case, things will definitely evolve and change over the season, that's just how F1 is. I'm impatient to see how it goes!

#vro0m's asks

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footballdaydream · 2 years

Text

Mistletoe Fail

Requested by anon: Lando has a crush on you, he invites you to his Christmas party at his house. His plan is to hang mistletoe on every door, so hopefully at one point he’ll catch you walking underneath one and finally make his move and kiss you.

word count: 1.5k

author's note: I really hope you enjoy this one. let me know what you think. there's also still a bit of time to request a few more Christmas themed imagines.

Max was watching his best friend run frantically around the house, a couple of mistletoe branches in his hands. The young English man couldn’t help but laugh as he watched Lando put up a mistletoe branch in every doorway he could find.

“Don’t you think this is a bit too much?”, Max asked the F1 driver who came to a stop in front of his friend, immediately shaking his head.

“I don’t think so. The possibility of us walking through a door at the same time is quite high, so if there’s mistletoe in every doorway in the house, the chance of getting a kiss from y/n is even higher.”, he stated, proud of his idea before he started checking every doorway again.

It took Lando another five minutes to hang up the rest of the mistletoes until it was finally time for the first guests to arrive. Obviously, he had invited all the members of Team Quadrant as well as a few other friends. After 30 minutes, almost everyone was there except for a few of his other friends and the most important person of the night, you.

The young F1 driver was absentmindedly walking through his house, greeting a few guests here and there when he suddenly saw Max walking to the door. As soon as his friend opened the door, he saw a flash of y/h/c hair entering the house. A bright smile made its way on Lando’s lips as he immediately walked over to the front door, slightly pushing Max out of the way. “Hey, y/n. Thank you for coming.”, he said, the bright smile never leaving his lips.

“Thank you for inviting me. I brought a little gift. I hope it’s okay.”, you told him, handing him a small package that he knew he would open later. Right now, all he wanted to do was to spend some time with you.

“Thank you. Come on in. I’ll show you around.”

For the next few minutes, Lando showed you around his house, seeing as though you had never been there before. You had heard a few stories and had seen a few snippets of it on Twitch or Youtube but you had never seen Lando’s house in real life. Well, now here you were.

“I like your house. It’s very spacious and I love the Christmas tree.”, you mentioned when the two of you walked inside the living room, unfortunately not at the same time. Lando looked up at the mistletoe above him, letting out a quiet sigh before his attention was on you again.

“Thank you. I did it all by myself. Max wasn’t really cooperative.”, he said, making you laugh as you nodded your head, letting your eyes wander around the room and the guests that were in it until you looked at Lando again who, to your surprise, was already watching you with a fond smile on his lips.

“Everything alright?”, you asked him, snapping Lando out of his daydream as he quickly nodded his head, clearing his throat lightly.

“Yes, of course. Would you like anything to drink?”

And without waiting for an answer, Lando turned around and made his way to the kitchen where all the drinks were. You looked at his retreating figure, a confused expression on your face before you shrugged your shoulders. You kept looking around the room, wanting to find someone you knew until you finally spotted a friend of yours sitting on the sofa.

As soon as Lando arrived in the kitchen, he let out a breath that he didn’t know he was holding. He leaned his back against one of the counters while he closed his eyes and brushed his hand through his hair.

“She just arrived. Don’t worry.”, he suddenly heard Max say. Lando quickly opened his eyes and looked at his best friend who was mixing a drink, an understanding smile on his lips. “Yeah, you’re right. But I was just staring at her like a creep.”, Lando explained, walking over to where Max was, grabbing two cups. “But I made her laugh and that was the sweetest sound I’ve ever heard.”, he gushed.

“As I said, don’t worry. She’s the first girl you’ve liked in a while, and I bet she likes you too. I saw the way she looks at you. The night is still young so go out there and talk to her a bit more.”, Max stated, giving his friend a light nudge.

“But promise me, that even if the mistletoes don’t work out, you will still make a move.”, he quickly added before Lando could exit the kitchen again.

For the next few hours, Lando stayed quite close to where you were. He wasn’t always talking to you however, he tried to keep an eye out for you and see what you were doing or who you were talking to. He knew that he looked like a creep but as long as you didn’t notice him staring at you, everything was good, right?!

He had also tried walking through numerous doors with you but failed every single time. He was either pulled away by another guest who really needed to talk to him, or two other people spotted the mistletoe first and started making out right in front of you.

After a few hours of drinking, laughing, eating, and chatting, the guests started to leave. Lando was sitting on the stairs near the door, a drink in his hand. He had given up on trying to get you under a mistletoe. Maybe the universe didn’t want him to kiss you. Maybe there was a higher power who thought it just wasn’t the right time yet.

While Lando was sulking on the stairs, you were walking through the house, looking for him but the only one you were able to find was Max.

“Hey, Max. Have you seen Lando?”, you asked him, letting your gaze wander around again, the Christmas lights still shining bright.

“I thought I saw him near the door, saying goodbye to a few of the guests.”

“Okay, thank you.”, you said, a friendly smile on your face as you quickly walked over to the front door. You swiftly looked around, wanting to see where Lando was when finally, your eyes met his. The smile on your lips got a bit wider as you walked over to where he was, immediately sitting down next to him.

“Why are you here all alone?”, you asked him, looking up into his brown eyes as a guest said his goodbye to you two.

Lando put his cup next to him, shrugging his shoulder before he looked up into your y/e/c eyes. He felt the sides of his mouth twitching slightly. He just couldn’t help himself and smile every time you were close to him.

“Just wanted to say goodbye to everyone.”, he stated nonchalantly, making you furrow your eyebrows.

“And the real reason?”

His eyes went wide as he heard your question. He tried to come up with a good excuse, but the words never left his mouth. Lando knew there was no use in lying to you. He let out a slight sigh before he looked into your eyes again.

“I will be completely honest with you.”, he started, making you nod your head.

“I like you, y/n, a lot. And I’ve been trying to get you under a mistletoe all night. I hung up branches all over the house and I’ve tried to have one above us multiple times tonight, but it never worked out. So, yeah. Mission failed, I guess.”, he explained, laughing without humour, slowly looking away from you.

To say that you were shocked was an understatement. You had seen the mistletoe branches all over the place, yet you didn’t think much of it, thinking it was all just decorations.

You’ve liked Lando for a while now. Ever since the two of you met, he has had a special place in your heart, but you never acted on it as you didn’t want to ruin the friendship you had.

“If you wanted to kiss me so bad ...”, you started, putting a hand on his cheek so you could lift his head up. “… all you had to do was just do it.”

And the next thing he felt, was your soft lips on his. His eyes widened when he finally felt your lips on his, however, they quickly closed as his hands grabbed your waist, pulling you even closer to him until you were slightly sitting on his lap. You wrapped your arms around his neck, deepening the kiss as the butterflies in your stomachs were going crazy. Yes, it was quite uncomfortable on the stairs, but you didn’t mind one bit and neither did Lando.

You didn’t want to pull away from him however you needed air to breathe hence you slightly moved your head back, your lips still hovering over his.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”, was the only thing Lando had to say before his lips found yours again, the two of you smiling into the kiss. A kiss you’ve been dying to have since you first met each other.

#Lando Norris #Lando Norris imagine #Lando Norris blurb #Lando Norris one shot #f1 imagines #f1 blurbs

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landinoandco · 3 years

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|Shutter Speed|

Chapter three : A hunger for comfort and affection

{Lando Norris x reader}

Summary: A photographer. A pair of F1 drivers. Triangles. A sticky situation of morals and fighting fate. What could go wrong?

Warnings: a hint to mature themes but only of you squint

Word count: 2.5 k

A/n: Here is chapter three of Shutter Speed, like last chapter if you would like to be added in the taglist drop me a message or comment :) enjoy

Previous chapters: Chapter one, Chapter two

“Oh Maisie.” Georgie cried, “It was the most embarrassed I think I’ve been in my entire life.” She took a long sip of her wine as she slouched into the sofa, the tv playing the medal ceremony of the England vs Italy game - Italy taking the victory.

Maisie wrapped her arm around Georgie’s shoulders, “I’m sure it wasn’t that bad.” She said softly.

“Not that bad.” Georgie screeched, her wine splashing slightly over Maisie’s legs. Hastily, Georgie tried to wipe it off, Maisie chuckled and pushed her hands away. “What I mean to say is, I’m sure Lando didn’t think anything of it.” Maisie corrected herself, shaking her head at Georgie’s apologetic glance.

“Maisie, I stood there like a fish.” She imitated a fish opening and closing its mouth.

“Take me through what happened again-”

“I’m Lando Norris. I drive for McLaren. As it turns out, you and I are about to attend the same meeting.”

Georgie stopped in her tracks, “You mean to say, we are now colleagues.”

Lando’s face dulled and he furrowed his eyebrows. “I suppose we are. Yes.” The pair stood awkwardly, Lando’s hand placed behind his neck looking up at the sky whilst Georgie had found something very interesting on the floor.

“Well I suppose I should-” Lando started as Georgie braved to look up.

“Yes, yeah, wouldn’t want to be late” She forced a chuckle, going to walk forward when they remembered - they were heading in the same direction.

Maisie cringed as her best friend recounted the story. “So what happened after that?”

“That’s when I bumped into you…”

Lando had given up trying to make small talk about 5 minutes ago - whatever he thought was there was now gone; for some reason he just couldn’t break the awkward air that seemed to be stuck to them. He looked over to her, face furiously red and her expression hardened. He swung his arms by his side and kissed his teeth - she made no reaction. Georgie was trapped in a battle of her own thoughts, she was sure there was a connection between the two of them; something she had wanted to act on but now… She looked behind her, in hopes of finding it strewn on the ground.

“There you are, Georgie.” A voice called out, immediately the girl’s face snapped up and she seemed to let out a sigh of relief. Hurt flashed Lando’s face but she didn’t seem to notice. “I’ve been looking all over for you.” Her words trailed off as she motioned towards Lando.

“Maisie, meet Lando - he drives for McLaren.” Georgie introduced Lando, stepping closer to him. Lando raised his hand up in acknowledgement, smiling warmly at Maisie. “Lando, meet Maisie - she’s my business partner.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” Maisie said, opening up her arms to go to hug him. Lando accepted, wrapping his arms awkwardly around Maisie. Once she had returned to where she was standing before, she said: “Suppose it won’t be the last time we see you either.” She winked at Georgie.

Maisie clicked her fingers, “Oh yes, I remember now. So that’s why it felt so awkward walking up to you.” Maisie set her wine down and moved to face Georgie, a pained expression still painted onto her face. “Did you at least get his number?”

“As a matter of fact-”

Max Fewtrell looked at his watch for the fifth time in the space of 30 seconds. They were going to be late for the football match. He shook his head, scoffing at the irony of Lando priding himself in his punctuality. It wasn’t until he looked up that he realised Lando was only a few feet away from him, ambling slowly and staring at something in his hands. “Lando, mate. We’re going to be late” Max called out, however this wasn’t enough to break Lando out of his trance.

Storming up to him, it was only when Max was about to poke him that Max stopped and stared as well. In Lando’s hand appeared to be a business card.

“Why have you got a-” Max squinted at the cursive name at the top. “The little moments- what-” Confused was one word to describe how Max was feeling, so much so he almost forgot why he was so urgent for them to leave.

“I - uh - I met a girl.” Lando stammered, still staring at the card, his forehead furrowed.

“And that’s why you have a business card? Lando, football!” Max prompted, rolling his eyes and made to move forward when Lando added: “I think this was her trying to give me her number.”

Max turned back to face Lando, his face lit up, “What?” He chortled. Whatever trance Lando was in, he seemed to snap out of it and pocketed the card.

“You’re right, let’s get going.” Lando walked past Max, who was standing staring after Lando, completely dumbfounded.

“But - what!” Max followed hurriedly, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “Was she pretty?”

“Very.” Lando said.

“You gave him your business card?” Maisie doubled over in laughter, Georgie stared at her unamused.

“Well, if it wasn’t for you I would have given it to him like a normal person but you insisted on dragging me out of the Marquee.” Georgie quipped sharply.

“In my defence, we were going to be late for the-”

The pair looked at Georgie’s phone as it lit up and began to shriek the theme tune of ‘Downton Abbey.’ After Maisie’s incredulous look, Georgie went to pick it up, muttering under her breath: “I can’t work out how to change it back - don’t give me that look.”

The number wasn’t one she recognised, she picked up anyway, scrunching up her face. “Hello.”

“Hi.” A breathless voice replied, Georgie recognised the voice but she couldn’t quite place who. She must have stayed silent for longer than she intended because the caller added, “It’s Lando. Lando Norris.”

“Lando? Hey.” She stood up, her voice instantly softening. “How are you?” There was a beat of silence.

“I’m sorry I don’t know why I called-” Lando stuttered apologetically, Georgie felt her heart sink. She repeated herself, trying to hide the disappointment in her voice. “Are you alright?”

“I - no. I just - I needed to - There was an incident and I’m on my own but-” Georgie cut him off, “Lando, where are you.” Her tone was now serious, Maise mouthed ‘what’s wrong.’ She replied by holding up her finger as if to indicate ‘one minute.’

“I’m at my house.” He replied simply, he sounded tired and in shock.

“Do you want me to come over?” Georgie asked, her heart in her throat - it was only a moment ago he apologised for calling her. Maisie stood up, throwing her hands in the air, mouthing: “what are you doing?” There was another beat of silence, she could hear his breathing, he was trying to steady it.

“Yes. Please. I’ll text you the address.” He swallowed thickly, just like Georgie, he wasn’t sure what made him call her or - even more - say yes to her coming over. It was like there was someone speaking for him, controlling all of his actions concerning her. He didn’t understand it. Lando had only learnt her name that afternoon but it felt like he had known her for months - their little coffee shop sighting felt like years ago.

After he hung up, he ran his hands through his hair. His heart was still beating as though he was about to race. He had already called Charlotte and explained everything that had just gone down after the match, he had told her that he wasn’t alone and that he had good company. Technically he wasn’t lying because good company was about to arrive. Lando wasn’t sure how long he sat in that position for, the silence of his house felt deafening until the doorbell broke his thoughts. He opened it to an anxious looking Georgie, holding the unopened bottle that her and Maisie were about to start on. “I brought us a bottle.” Lando cracked a smile, opening the door wider so she could come through.

“I’m not normally allowed but I think Jon will let me off.” He muttered, closing the door behind her. Before he could say another word, she had wrapped her arms around his neck - “You looked like you needed a hug.” He could just about make out. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer into him. In that moment of vulnerability he told her what had happened at Wembley and she responded by placing her hands on either side of his face: “You’re definitely in need of that drink then.”

It was some time later and they were both sitting on the floor, leaning against the sofa in his living room, bottles of different sorts of wine sat empty on the glass table and Georgie was having to hold onto his shoulder to stop herself from falling over. Lando had just recounted a rather funny story - in hindsight it was probably only funny because of the amount of alcohol that they had consumed. Georgie had gotten drunk before, she was the type of drunk that never stopped talking but with Lando, all she wanted was to be close to him; as demonstrated by her holding onto his shoulder as soon as he said anything remotely funny, leaning across his body to reach for the wine. What she wasn’t aware of was the effect this was then having on Lando. He was completely in awe of Georgie, her ability to come in and sweep him off of his feet - he felt as though he could completely relax in her presence, as though nothing else mattered when she was there. He craved the warmth she was offering him, she wasn’t like all of the other girls Jon scolded him for meeting. Georgie was just as nervous and naive as he was - they both loved and craved the idea of comfort and affection from another human that wasn’t platonic but neither of them had any clue how. Perhaps it was more the fact that neither of them had met anyone yet that silently understood the troubles and tribulations that had led them to his point.

They were at peace with their thoughts, the alcohol fogging any sort of rationality. Lando looked over at Georgie, a content and easy smile sat effortlessly on her lips and a tinge of pink flushed on her cheeks. He shuffled closer to her so their shoulders were pressed against each other, “I’m glad I called you.” It was almost like the words shocked him as they came out of his mouth, as though he was airing his thoughts for the first time. The smile on her face only grew, Georgie moved her face closer to his so she could see every freckle and dimple and blemish. It was the first time she realised how beautiful he was - from the way his curls fell lopsided onto his forehead to his constant licking of his lips in an attempt not to shy away. She brought her thumb to his face, brushing it delicately.

“Eyelash.” She explained, his gaze transfixed on hers, he wrapped his hand around her wrist and blew the eyelash away. “Did you make a wish?” She asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

“I did.” Lando answered, his hand still wrapped around her wrist, his touch burning Georgie’s skin. He inched his face closer to hers, his breath fanning across her face. She braved a look at his lips, tearing away from the battle they had once again found themselves in. “What did you wish for?” She asked, her lips brushing his.

“If I told you - ” He began, releasing her wrist from his touch and instead tucking a loose strand of her back behind her ear. “It wouldn’t come true.”

Their lips still hadn’t touched, millimeters separated them, their noses brushing as though they were the first to give in. It was like they were daring each other to make the first move, who was going to be the first one to break. Every nerve in Georgie’s body was telling her to close the distance - it felt right. It would certainly make up for that afternoon’s display. She knew that he had no obligations to kiss her and she knew that the hand now resting on her cheek was inviting her - almost taunting her.

“Lando-” She pulled her head away, his hand falling limply to his side. Georgie squeezed her eyes shut, hating herself instantly.

“I know.” He whispered, looking down at the floor.

There were many reasons why Georgie pulled away. The main fear that both of them had mutually agreed on was that if she had closed the distance and if she had kissed him - all self control on either side was gone and there was no stopping the inevitability of all mature relationships. It was something that - whilst both were desperate for - now wasn’t the time and it would lead to a series of unfortunate events neither of them wanted.

“It’s getting late.” Lando grumbled, getting up from the floor. He wasn’t mad at Georgie because he knew it was the right thing - he felt it himself but he was also aware of the large part of him that wanted to indulge, to forget about any consequences and enjoy the raw connection that they had found.

“Yes, you’re right.” Georgie felt a pang of guilt in her chest, as he refused to meet her eye. She stood there frozen, unsure where to go or what to do. “I’ll go call an uber.” She muttered, excusing herself.

“Wait-” Lando called out to her, “Stay.”

Georgie looked at him, confusion etched on her face. Lando took a step towards her, his jaw tightened. He knew come morning he was probably going to regret what he was about to do, it was like he was teasing himself - setting himself up for another heartbreak. But this time it had to be different. It had to be.

“Please, I don’t think I want to be alone.” It was raw emotion talking and a new side to Lando that Georgie didn’t think she would ever see. She knew come morning she was going to regret what she was about to say, it was like she was leading herself down a hole that in the end she wasn’t going to be able to get out of.

“Ok.” She gave a half smile and reached for Lando’s hand.

That night they stayed in each other's arms. Relishing in the comfort they gave to one another, both wishing that tomorrow would never come.

Taglist:

@mjuikoli @httplayer @phatyak

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firefield · 3 years

Text

David Bowie - Reality (2003)

“The thing, probably, that keeps me writing is this awful feeling that there are no absolutes. That there is no truth. That we are, as I’ve been thinking for so many years now, fully in the swirl of chaos theory.” DB, 2003

I always learn new things about David Bowie whenever I listen through his complete discography chronologically, and this run through is no different. As I get close to the end here, I’m reminded how much less I know about these later works, due simply to the fact that they have existed for a much shorter time, and my experience with them is more limited. “Reality” rocks more than I realized on release day, especially coming off the heels of “Heathen” with all its layers and mystery and subtleties. An empty house afforded the opportunity to really crank this one up, a vinyl pass, and CD pass, and finally the 5.1 surround sound edition - and yeah - DB said he wanted a simpler sound, and wanted a record that could be translated into a live show easily and effectively and he got that in spades.

As with all his post-80’s work, and especially his post-heart attack material, “Reality” embraces the darker and more cynical side of DB’s many characters - from the irony of the album title with album art portraying a very cartoony space-man Bowie looking about as unreal and non-Reality as possible and still be recognizable - to DB’s insistence that he made a “positive!” record despite themes of aging and death, loneliness and anonymity, geopolitical strife, day-in-day-out mundanity and the creeping threat of urbanization to nature. Regarding the subject matter of Reality he told Interview Magazine, “This is probably a period when, more than any other time, the idea that our absolutes are disintegrating is manifest in real terms. Truths that we always thought we could stand by are crumbling before our eyes. It really is quite traumatic.”

I read quotes like that and I think, for a guy that is largely known for (and criticized for) his ability to synthesize the past and his surroundings into something entirely David-Bowieingly unique, he certainly shows skill at synthesizing the future as well. Beyond things like financial chicanery like Bowie Bonds and the impact of the internet on the creation and distribution of music, Bowie often hit at the very essence of what unites as well as divides.

The seeds of this malleablity of truth that DB describes had been planted in my country during the civil rights movement and the tragedy of the Vietnam War, but began to flower and bloom after the 9/11 event - affecting Bowie’s home turf and his family profoundly. Heathen is prescient, Reality is a little angry about things. DB took time to specifically say what Reality was not: it was not an angry album, it was not a response to 9/11, it was not his “New York Album” - but then he’d spend just as much time gently walking back those claims, almost wondering aloud if it was, in fact, all of those things and more. He speaks around this time about how naturally writing music came to him. Unforced, calmly. I think this “flow” is why you can glean so many little contradictions about Reality and it’s intentions and meaning. He’s letting it happen, not dictating the plot; the tensions of that city and that moment in time allowed to mold and shape the work. Polar opposite to the Heathen recording environment at Allaire Studios in the Catskill Mountains, Reality was recorded in the cramped Studio B of Philip Glass’s Looking Glass Studios in NYC and both those disparate studio choices impact their respective products acutely.

Reality is Bowie’s most “hands-on” record since Diamond Dogs, employing all his multi-instrumentalist abilities, and it’s also one of his most thoroughly demoed. Most all of Reality was demoed out in Studio B by DB and Tony Visconti playing all the instruments, with Mario McNulty (the same engineer DB would later trust with the posthumous reimagining/re-recording of Never Let Me Down) as studio assistant. According to Tony, he had a feeling that many of these “demo tracks” would not ever actually be re-recorded, so they were laid down at a useable fidelity. Consequently, much of the demo material survived on the final album. The band brought in for final overdubs was chosen with the live show in mind specifically. This was a smaller, tighter unit of BowieLive veterans and by all accounts recording was smooth and productive.

New Killer Star opens the record, and is also Reality’s debut single (that contained one of his more surprising B-sides, Sigue Sigue Sputnik’s ‘Love Missle F1-11’) and is a spectacular Earl Slick led hazy, woozy guitar statement.

This is followed by The Modern Lovers - Pablo Picasso - recorded in 1972 but delayed until their 1976 debut. This track mimics the space occupied by the Pixies cover Cactus - the second track on Heathen - DB pulling tracks from his past that he enjoys and placing them where they give the record momentum. Quite a different interpretation if you have heard the original - DB took liberties with both the lyric and the arrangement and it’s a cool little track.

Never Get Old follows and addresses the common theme of time and aging in DB compositions…. (Cygnet Committee, Time, Hearts Filthy Lesson, Changes, Fantastic Voyage, and many more) and the composition itself references much of his past in Space Oddities countdown, the elongated guitar strands of Heroes, bits of melody from Crack City, the four-walls-closing-in sense of Low and some of Hunky Dory’s ominous moments. A pounding live favorite.

…and seamlessly right into The Loneliest Guy. Anyone who saw the Reality Tour knows the captivating power of this piece, and it’s honesty and fragility was one of a few reasons why I thought this would be DB’s final album.

Looking For Water. Man, I *love* this song. It’s one of my favorite vocal performances on Reality and would certainly end up on my list of “underrated DB songs” were I compelled to make one. I like repetition in music, and it’s hypnotic and mantra-esque qualities - and this is one that always gets a significant volume boost.

She’ll Drive The Big Car - a supercool stab of Bowie sash and swagger, and a killer vocal performance, masking some seriously sad lyrics. Bowie manages to sound defiant, tired, funky, deferential, sexy and soulful all in the course of a single song. He’s such an effortlessly great singer, that’s it’s easy to become so accustomed to it that you almost miss it. It’s just “him.”

The exceedingly sweet “Days” fits nicely with all of Realities reflections, and has for me become a song I pay much more attention to since we lost the man to cancer.

Fall Dog Bombs The Moon is one of DB’s most overtly political songs, and was apparently written very quickly - under a half and hour - and directly addresses the Iraq War and the profiteering involved. Relatively bleak with murky lyrics, it’s a interesting and unique DB composition.

Try Some, Buy Some is just beautiful and I think one of Bowie’s most interesting and genuinely heart-felt covers (along with Waterloo Sunset, also from these sessions.) The inspiration to do this song comes directly from the 1971 Ronnie Spector version and the impact it had on him personally. DB seems to be absolutely sincere when he claimed that he had completely forgotten that it was a George Harrison composition until he sat down to work on the album credits.

Next up is the sizzling rocker Reality that has one foot in Tin Machine and one foot in The Next Day. Love Earl’s guitar sound here. Like New Killer Star, the guitar layers in this one sound amazing on the 5.1 surround mix.

Ahh yeah. Another in an amazing number of fantastic Bowie album closers. I’ve made it a point in my life to quit ranking art into “good/better/best/sucks categories and hierarchies and see art as an experience, not a competition. My friends know this about me, and consequently tease me and attempt to prod me into breaking this creed. Under unrelenting pressure to name a “favorite David Bowie track” I named Bring Me The Disco King.

I could give many reasons why this would be the one…. The repetition I mentioned earlier, here found in Matt Chamberlain’s drum loop (interestingly snagged from ‘When The Boys Come Marching Home,’) the overwhelming sense I had when I first heard it that this was DB’s final record, the sense that the threat of jazz that had always pounded on David’s door in his chord structures and harmonies had finally broken down the door… the very tangible sense that this was a composition that had already had a long life but stayed tucked into the shadows by its unsatisfied creator, only to be given life and light on this great album after it had been stripped down to almost nothing - simplicity being the sought after key to its finally being allowed to soar. If it’s not already obvious, I think this song is magnificent. Literally. The fact that David knew it was deep inside there, he just had to mine it out over the course of a decade or so is extraordinary.

Couple of thoughts about a track that didn’t fit well on Reality but made it to bonus/B-sides…

How cool is his cover of The Kinks Waterloo Sunset? In the years after his death, when I feel that loss in my heart, it’s Waterloo Sunset I turn up to 11 and allow it to yank me back out of that murk.

“People so busy

makes me feel dizzy

but I don’t feel afraid

as long as I gaze on Waterloo Sunset

I am in paradise.”

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