#alright I'm done with the press conference

[umlewis]

lewis hamilton, p3, during the post-race press conference, spain - june 23, 2024 (transcript under the cut)

Interviewer: "Lewis, coming to you now. Many congratulations. Great to see you back on the podium for the first time this year. How much of a boost is this result for you and for the team?" Lewis: "Yeah, it's a big boost to finally get a good result. It's been a minute since I've been up here in the race, so a huge, huge thank you to the team, who have done an amazing job just with all the processes through the race weekend, but particularly everyone back at the factory for working so hard; the extra long hours to bring components to the car. And we're slowly, slowly getting closer. I mean, last year we were very fast here, so you have to take it with a pinch of salt, but obviously the last couple of races we've also been relatively competitive. So I think we have closed the gap a little bit, but we still have a good couple of tenths to try and find, so we just got to have all hands on deck and keep pushing." Interviewer: "Are you still fine-tuning this new package, or do you need more upgrades to close the gap to these two guys?" Lewis: "No. I think that's the maximum it's got, at the moment, and so… But, I mean, we're always fine-tuning it with subtle changes that we make, so we are always fine-tuning it when we continue to tune it through the year. But we need to bolt some stuff on, some extra bits to be able to compete with these guys." Interviewer: "Now, you had to overtake Carlos Sainz twice today. He was unhappy about the first of those moves, saying that you should have given the place back. Can we just get your take on what happened at turn one, there?" Lewis: "I mean, look, it's not a good feeling when you do get overtaken, and I think we had a nice, tight battle into turn one. I left him some room, so I think he was still on the track. But ultimately he left the door open on the inside, didn't fully close it, and so I went for the inside and tried to make the corner. I think he came around. I think we touched wheels equally and nothing major. It was like a small scrub. Gave him some room on the exit, and yeah…" [laughs] Interviewer: "Alright. Let's throw it forward now. Do you feel Mercedes are building some momentum now?" Lewis: "We definitely are. We definitely are. We're definitely getting more consistent, and if I can just get my qualifying to be like this weekend then it makes the Sunday so much easier. Also if you get a good start, but my Saturdays have been so bad for the last, like, fifteen races, so it's good to have a clean weekend, and hopefully this puts us in a good position to challenge in the next few races." Interviewer: "Thank you, Lewis. Thanks to all three of you. Let's open this to the floor. Name and publication, please."

[time jump] NOT SHOWN: Journalist: "Kevin Scheuren, Motorsport-Total.com. A question is to Lewis and Lando: Of course, I don't want to discredit you becoming driver of the day today, but Max is bringing in victory after victory, and there were slight boos at the podium, as well. So would you say that there is a lack of appreciation for the accomplishments that Max has in the general public from time to time?" Lewis: "Well, I mean, honestly, I'm not really a lot on social media or reading the news, so in terms of being, like… [phone pings, journalists laugh, Lewis laughs] Yeah. I don't really… I'm not tapped into that to know, exactly, but on the race weekends, he always has a huge crowd, always, so he's always got amazing support and, at the end of the day, he does a fantastic job. Every weekend he delivers, and he's got a great team and obviously a great car, but you can't fault him."

[time jump] Journalist: "Phil Duncan, PA. Lewis, you've obviously said that Mercedes are building a bit of momentum. Do you think that that victory is on the horizon, and how important is it to you to sign off your Mercedes career with a win before the year's out?" Lewis: "I mean, it's not the… It'd be /nice/, but I think, considering where we've come from, I think… Yeah, I think just having consistency and seeing if we can put the team further up in the points, I think it's got to be the target, but I think right now let's just try and have more consistent weekends like this and then we'll see. But we aren't yet currently in a position to be able to fight them for wins. You would say that maybe Montreal… I mean, George probably should have won that one, but if I'd qualified where I feel I should have, there was potential also there, too. So we'll see in the next few races. I think we've got these high-speed circuits. You know, the McLaren's always been quick and the Red Bull has been quick in A1 Ring. Silverstone… They'll also be very fast there, but I'm hoping that we are able to eek a little bit closer to them and give them a bit more trouble in the next four or five races. And then we’ve just got to keep bringing upgrades. We've got to keep improving the car. There's a clear improvement and there's just clear areas where we need to bolt on performance so that we can be in the fight with them."

Interviewer: "Thank you. Yep! Another one." Journalist: "Don Kennedy, HB Today, New Zealand Herald. Question for Lewis: Great drive today. Obviously you'll be pleased Mercedes is moving closer to the front, but how does that sit with you in terms of your decision to move to Ferrari next year, and does that give you some second thoughts, given that Ferrari now seems to be falling behind the car you're currently driving?" Lewis: "No, not at all. I mean, firstly, I love Mercedes. I've been with Mercedes since I was thirteen and I'll always be a fan and supporter of Mercedes, and my job this year, right now, is to work as hard as I can with the crew that I have, with the people back at the factory, to try and move and develop the car in the right direction. And so ultimately, whatever course and trajectory the team is on… For next year, for example, there are things that I've hopefully been a part of and be proud of being a part of. My job will start next year at the other team, who I think are doing a great job. I think they've had a couple of difficult races, but let's not forget they had a race win in Monaco. I can't tell you what is wrong with their car and why they are in the position they're in today, but they did bring an upgrade here and I think they are definitely progressing, so yeah… But it doesn't make me second-guess my decision at all."

Interviewer: "Thank you. Yes, more, more questions." Journalist: "Pilar from Paddock Magazine. Question for Lewis: You have mentioned that you are struggling a little bit on qualifying. Where do you think is the key to start improving the results? Is because of the set-up, or more about the pace of the car?" Lewis: "I mean, our pace is where we were, basically-third and fourth to this weekend-but I think our car has generally been very… It's quite peaky, and that means that it's often out of balance. It's very rarely that it's in balance and it's nice and smooth through a corner, and so set-up has been… I've obviously experimented a lot with the set-up over the last couple of years, but the car doesn't really like any of the set-ups but one, and it's slowly starting to just become nicer to drive. And then, ultimately, tires. Tires have been a huge issue for me, so I think we got it half-decent this weekend. If I can make some improvements over the course of the next races, I think there's more performance there."

[kingofthering]

INDIA 2023 | Marc Marquez, Aleix Espargaro and Fabio Quartararo having a chat at the end of the press conference.

[cutieleclerc]

Matchmaker | LN4

lando norris x fem!reader, background lestappen

summary: you try getting involved in max and charles' love lives, and it turns out they're also trying to get involved in yours

At the age of 21 years old, you joined McLaren after becoming a champion in all the junior categories. This made you the first woman in modern F1, and the first woman in several decades. And if people thought that Lando had a lot of energy, they had not met you yet.

Now that your rookie season was halfway done with, you've learned two important things. 1) Lando was very easy to get along with and 2) Max and Charles were certainly in love. 

There were a couple times when you had been on the podium with them, and of course you loved being on the podium, but having to third wheel that pair would drive anyone insane. 

So, when you got back from the summer break, you decided to make it your mission to get them together. Step 1 was telling Lando about your plans.

"Landooo!" you called out as you saw him walking in the paddock up ahead, running to catch up with him. 

"Hey, Y/n/n," he greeted you with a handshake. 

"I have a plan," you said devilishly. 

"Shit, that can never be good."

"Hey! Hear me out. So, Charles and Max, you know?"

"Who? I've never heard of those people in my life," he said sarcastically. 

"Ooookay, I could do without the attitude, thanks. Anyways, I'm sure you've noticed how in love with each other they are. Like hello? They literally scream 'enemies to lovers' trope. You know what I mean? I just need to find a way to get them to confess their undying love for each other." 

Lando's eyes widened and he looked around, making sure that no one was listening before pulling you to the side.

"Oh—jeez, so, you in?"

"The entire grid has been trying to get them together for years, you think that you'll be able to do it?"

"Yeah, obviously, but I'll need a sidekick that's why I'm telling you, so...?" 

He sighed. "Alright, tell me your ideas."

"Yes!"

"But I'm not your sidekick, we're partners in crime, okay?"

"Sure, sure. Anyways, step 1 of 'el plan' is to just subtly start mentioning Max or Charles when in conversation with the other. Get them in each others brains, you know? Like 'Oh Max was saying how he hopes for rain.'

Then, step 2, we start mentioning things that they've said about each other. 'Hey Max, Charles was saying how he always loves his on track battles with you the most,' stuff like that. Then we have to start interrogating them about their love life so they can hopefully admit their feelings. That's all I got so far."

Lando nodded, deep in thought. "Okay, this could work, this could work."

~~~~~~~~~~

Charles won in Monza, with Max and yourself completing the podium. While you were getting your interview done, the two of them seemed to be locked in their "debrief".

"Am I the only one who's noticed all the chemistry between her and Lando?" Max asked.

"You're definitely not the only one, mate. Being in a press conference with those two is unbearable."

"Ugh, yes, like just kiss already. I'm glad I'm not going crazy. We need to do something about it, get them to confess their feelings."

"I agree," Charles replied, staring into Max's eyes. 

~~~~~~~~~~

Later, they were in the press conference room, waiting for it to start, and Max and Charles were chatting away.

Y/n: MATE

Y/n: HELP

Y/n: I CAN'T TAKE THIS THIRD WHEELING

Landhoe: you can't complain you got a podium

Y/n: i actually can complain, i've suffered too much

Landhoe: you like seeing them together, don't lie. 

You grinned at that, then glanced up from your phone to see Max and Charles looking at you. 

"Who you texting?" Max asked.

"Just Lando," you shrugged, confused as Charles and Max gave each other a look.

"You guys seem to be getting along well, no?" Charles asked. 

"Uh yeah, I guess. It helps that we're both pretty similar."

"Yes, yes, very similar," Max nodded, and you raised your eyebrow, side-eyeing them. 

"Anyway, you guys have anyone special in your life, yet?" you asked.

The smirk on Max's face faltered as he glanced at Charles for a millisecond before looking back to her. 

"No, not yet, mate."

"Me neither," Charles added. 

You hummed. "Hm, okay."

~~~~~~~~~~

In Suzuka, Lando and you were talking while walking towards the driver's parade. 

"So I'm going to talk to Charles and you're going to talk to Max, sounds good?"

"Yup, I know the plan," Lando confirmed. 

"Great, we'll debrief after the race."

You spotted Charles and quickly ran up next to him before someone else could start a conversation with him. 

"Hey, Charlie! Congrats on your podium in Singapore!"

"Thanks, mate."

"Man, it's crazy how fast the season flew by, it seems like just yesterday I was a scared little rookie rolling up in Bahrain. Anyway, I was hoping to get your advice on something," you said, trying not to bring up the topic too suddenly. 

"Yeah, of course, go ahead."

"Okay, well, let's say hypothetically in a situation where you like someone, but you're not sure if they like you back, and you don't want to say anything because it could ruin your friendship and it would be awkward because you have to see them for the majority of the year, what would you do?" you asked, trying to gauge his feelings about potentially confessing his feelings. 

Charles glanced somewhere behind you, and you didn't want to look but you would've bet a million bucks that it was at Max.

"Well, if you're feeling like that person even just maybe likes you back, I say go for it. You wouldn't want to waste precious time that you could be spending together because you were too scared."

"So you're saying that if you like someone, you should just go for it?" you confirmed. 

"Yeah."

"Interesting..." you rubbed your chin, then turned to look at Max behind you. 

Meanwhile, Lando and Max were deep in conversation. 

"What would you think if two of the drivers started dating? Cause some of these people have some real chemistry," Lando asked, trying to seem nonchalant. 

Max shrugged. "I mean, yeah, some of us have known each other since our childhoods. I wouldn't be surprised if some crushes have developed. It's not my business, but I don't mind. It would be interesting, though."

"What about Charles and Pierre?" Lando egged on, waiting for a reaction. 

He watched in satisfaction as Max's eyes turned a shade darker and his jaw clenched. "Nah, I don't see it. But you and Y/n seem to be getting awfully close."

Lando couldn't help the blush that painted his cheeks. He tried to say something but was at a loss for words, mouth gaping like a fish. Max started snickering.

"We're just friends," he finally stuttered out.

"Alright, if you say so."

Lando sighed, turning away in disappointment. That did not go according to plan. 

~~~~~~~~~~

Max won the race, and because the McLaren was good in the high speed corners, Lando finished 2nd and yourself 3rd. 

You and Lando hugged as soon as you got out of your cars.

"Wohoooo! Let's go!" you cheered as you both ran to the fence of McLaren workers. 

You got done with the interview and was the first one in the cooldown room. You had put your helmet down on the platform and was drinking your water. You heard the others entering and turned around, bumping into Lando. 

"Oh, shit!" you exclaimed as you dropped your water bottle. 

You both bent down to grab it, causing your hands to touch and both of you to pause. Lando then grabbed you bottle and you both stood up, staring into each others' eyes for a couple seconds before you snapped out of it and moved to grab your water bottle. 

"Thanks," you said quietly. 

Lando was still looking at you, before quickly saying, "You're welcome."

You noticed Max watching you and the camera on you, so you cleared your throat and moved around Lando to sit on one of the chairs. 

"That was a good overtake, in the beginning," you commented to Max, trying to diffuse the awkwardness. 

Before the conference, Max was quick to get on his phone.

Max: Holy shit, I have so much to tell you about Lando and Y/n

Max: You should come to my hotel room tonight

Max: I think we're in the same hotel

Charles: I have stuff to tell you too. What time?

Max: Does after dinner, 9:00 work? 

Charles: That's perfect

Max: Great, my room is 1633

Charles: See you then ;)

And for some reason Max felt like a giddy schoolgirl at the thought of Charles coming to his hotel room.

You and Lando kept stealing glances at each other whenever the other wasn't looking, and it was so frustrating.

Later, when it was just around 9:00, Max waited (im)patiently for Charles to knock on his door, and he jumped when he finally heard the noise, getting up to let him in. Charles walked in nervously. 

"We can sit on the couch," Max commented, and Charles quickly situated himself on one end, and Max on the other. 

"Ok, you go first," Max urged. 

"Well Y/n came up to me during the driver's parade and she was talking about 'hypothetically' liking something but not doing anything about it because it could ruin their friendship. So of course I told her she should just go for it, and then she looked at Lando."

"Oh my God. Lando came up to me during the driver's parade and asked what I would think if two drivers started dating each other, and I said something about how close him and Y/n were, and he blushed. And then in the cool down room, they bumped into each other which made Y/n drop her water bottle, and when they both reached down to pick it up they touched hands. Then they just stared at each other for like 5 fucking seconds."

"Jesus, what is going on with them."

"I know right, like holy fuck just make out already! I'm sick of their pining."

Max shifted on the couch, causing his foot to touch Charles' leg. 

"Anyway, want to watch a movie?" Max asked, and Charles nodded eagerly. 

And that's how they ended up in the pitch dark, a bowl of microwaved popcorn in between them, some racing movie on the television. 

They both reached for the popcorn at the same time, causing their hands to touch, and both of them snapped their heads to look at each other. 

They stared at each other, eyes flickering down to each other's lips...until the sound of Max's phone ringing caused them both to jump apart. 

"Jesus!" Max exclaimed, quickly silencing his phone, and they reluctantly turned back to the movie, moment ruined. 

~~~~~~~~~~

A couple weeks passed until they were in Qatar. Max and Charles hadn't spoken to each other, and there was minimal communication between you and Lando. 

Max would be starting the race on pole, then Lando, you, and Charles. 

As the race went on, it seemed like that would be the finishing order, until halfway through Max started having braking issues. Lando caught up, overtaking Max for the lead, and you did the same a few laps later. 

The rest of the race, Max had adapted to the issue but still had slow pace because of it, which left him defending against Charles. 

The race ended in that order, Lando taking his first win.

"YEAHHH!!! LET'S FUCKING GO BABY! WOOHOOOOOO!!!" Lando cheered. 

They parked up in front of the podium boards. Lando opened his visor, got out of his car and stood on it, holding up his pointer finger and pumped his fist in celebration, fireworks going off in the background in the dark sky. 

You quickly got out of your car and removed your helmet, going straight to Lando. 

"You did it! You fucking did it! I'm so proud of you!" you told him as you pulled him in for a hug. 

He stared at you for a second when you let go, then immediately removed his helmet, putting a hand on your waist, pulling you closer and connecting your lips together. 

You were stunned for a second, before placing your hand on his cheek and deepening the kiss. Everything around you guys went still, like only the two of you existed. You eventually pulled away and could hear the booming of fireworks, the cheers from the crowd, and the whistles from the McLaren team a few feet away. You both blushed as you came to your senses. 

"I really fucking like you," Lando breathed out, slightly winded from the kiss. 

"I would hope so, after that," you teased, before pulling him in for another kiss. 

Max stood by his team, watching the pair from a far, his jaw dropped. 

"Fucking finally," Max sighed. 

But then he glanced behind him and spotted Charles walking to the FIA garage to get weighed, and an irresistible urge overcame him.

He followed Charles into the garage and grabbed his arm, dragging him behind one of the curtains.

"Did you see that! They finally—"

Charles was cut off as Max crashed their lips together.

"I think I've been wanting to do that for a long time," Max admitted when they pulled away. 

"I've been wanting to do that since I pushed you off the track in karting," Charles smiled, and Max smiled back, kissing him again.

—••—••—••—••—••—••—••—••—••—

a/n: i never intended to publish this anywhere but here i am. i literally never write written romance like this so this is really cringe and i cringed while writing it but enjoy ig. if you have any suggestions though please tell me!!

[eemcintyre]

Good Morning (Tom Cruise)

TW- none. Less than none.

Summary- Trying to make up for how busy he's been lately, Tom takes your daughter off your hands for the morning and obv cuteness ensues.

I stumbled randomly upon this picture on ye olde Pinterest and was immediately overtaken by my creative whims. I'm always a sucker for dad!Tom, and if you are too, then hopefully this will be an enjoyable read.

Children were the only thing that could have made Tom Cruise’s life more action-packed than it already was. He had discovered this firsthand a couple of years ago, when his and Y/N’s daughter, Indie, was born. Even though they had gotten past the initial stages of sleepless nights and teething by this point, Indie was now four and getting to the age where she needed a lot more stimulation and activity.

Over the last several days, Tom had practically lived in his home office. Due to an abundance of conference calls and other business negotiations, he was sorry to admit that he’d hardly been able to spend time with Y/N or his daughter. Though Y/N understood his obligations, he could tell that she was pretty exhausted. Even during breaks from her job, taking care of Indie on her own could be a lot to handle. Unsurprisingly, she had been born with her father’s daring, as well as his seemingly boundless energy, which was a deadly combination in a four-year-old.

But, this weekend, Tom had made certain that his schedule was clear. It was early Saturday morning, and he had decided to take Indie off of Y/N’s hands for a while so that she could sleep late. Being as quiet as possible, he jotted down a note explaining where they had gone. Placing the note on Y/N’s bedside table and pressing a soft kiss to her head, he took Indie out for a morning on the town. Strapping her into her car seat and cranking up some blues rock, they set off in the cherry-red Buick Roadmaster that he liked to break out on weekends.

Tom was pleased with how the morning had gone. First, they’d made a foray into one of the local parks where, between chasing her down when she tried to run off, Indie enjoyed being pushed on the swings and going down the tunnel slides. Then, after she had burned off a sufficient amount of energy, they ventured downtown for some breakfast items to take home. Gripping her little hand in his, Tom and Indie wandered the sun-drenched sidewalks past various brightly painted storefronts with lettering on the windows. Their main objective was to stop at a combination café and bakery where he and Y/N were known as regulars.

Nearing the counter, Tom had Indie in his arms so that she could see the full expanse of available pastries in the display case.

“Alright, darlin, what looks good?”

“Wan’ that one,” Indie replied, pointing to the iced donuts covered in rainbow sprinkles.

“And what do we say?” Tom glanced at her meaningfully.

“Please, can I have that one?”

“Yes ma’am, you may,” he grinned at Indie as the employee tending the counter approached.

“Mr. Cruise, hi there, what’ll it be this morning?”

“Hey, how are ya? The usual for my wife and I, and one of those rainbow donuts for the little lady,” he replied, glancing at Indie and bouncing her in his arms.

“You’ve got it. I’ll have the donut right out for you and those drinks will be done in a moment.”

“Thanks.”

A few minutes later, they exited the café and continued on their journey while Indie munched on her donut. Her attention was soon captured by a flower stand outside one of the buildings, and with icing smudged across her fingers and face, she pulled away from Tom and ran toward it.

“Hey, sweetheart, c’mere,” he sighed as he quickly caught up with her. Kneeling so that he was at her level, he attempted to clean some of the icing off of her face and hands. “You look like a wild woman.” He shook his head, and she giggled.

As Indie admired the bouquets, sticking her face in to smell them, Tom thought it would be a fun idea to get some for Y/N. 

“Why don’t you pick out some flowers for Mom?” he suggested. “Which ones do you think she would like?”

Indie was quickly drawn to one of the bouquets with pink and purple flowers in it. It was a wildflower mix of cosmos, chamomile, hyacinth, lavender, and a single large sunflower.

“All right, good choice,” he nodded.

After they had paid, they made their way back to where his car was parked.

“Daddy, can I please hold them? Pleeeeeeaaaase,” Indie insisted, making grabby hands up at the flowers as he carried them. 

“Okay, but you have to be careful, sweetheart,” he cautioned her, watching out of the corner of his eye as they walked to make sure that the bouquet didn’t end up scraped and scattered across the sidewalk. Thankfully, it made it to the car intact.

They returned home in the Roadmaster, this time with Indie’s choice of The Wiggles playing. The second she was freed from the confines of the car seat, she was eager to run inside and pounce on Y/N.

“Ok, now Mom might still be asleep…” Tom warned her, placing a hand on her shoulder as they entered the house.

“Hello?” Just then, Y/N’s drowsy voice sounded from the kitchen.

“Mama!” Indie exclaimed, catapulting herself in that direction. Y/N, who was wearing a baggy, vintage university sweatshirt and pajama shorts, kneeled down to scoop her into a hug. Tom grinned at them from the kitchen entryway, and Y/N greeted him, glancing at the bouquet and tray of cups he held, her face lighting up.

“Is that what I think it is?” she asked, standing up and reaching toward the cups, recognizing the café logo. “Mm, love you.” She bestowed a peck on Tom’s cheek. “What’s this?” she focused in on the flowers.

“Indie picked them out for you,” he gestured to their daughter, who was already becoming preoccupied by the cat and how she might go about picking him up.

“Thank you, honey,” Y/N said, playfully tousling Indie’s hair.

“She did a nice job. She already has your artistic sensibilities,” Tom chuckled. “Or at least your obsession with pink.”

“Then I’m doing something right,” Y/N laughed.

“She thinks my cars are ugly and told me I should get a ‘Barbie pink’ one.”

Y/N shook from laughter. “Y’know, this kid has a lot of good ideas.”

“No. Absolutely not.”

[thedeviltohisangel]

omg maybe some soft angst bcs evelyn overworks herself and callum is so worried

For A Fortnight There We Were:

A LITTLE ONE SHOT SINCE YOU ALL SEEM FERAL FOR THEM AND I LOVE IT AND ENCOURAGE IT

tw: mentions of drug use/addiction

"Hi everyone, I'm Evelyn Shaw, and I'm so happy to finally be introducing you to the new Dior Addict Lip Glow Oil." She held the tube to her lips and pressed a cheeky kiss to the side. "It's infused with cherry oil which nourishes my lips after long days on set and even longer nights on the romantic streets of Paris."

"Cut! Let's reset and run again." Evelyn yawned as the camera turned off then looked up as her makeup artist approached with an eye pencil.

"Do I look as shitty as I feel?" Now in London, she had been in Paris this morning, finishing fittings for fashion week, The Hague three days ago for an engagement on behalf of the United Nations Women's Conference and she was due back on set for House of the Dragon by the end of the week.

"No. You look glossy and juicy," Nicole teased.

"Let me get some spray on the fly aways." Ev closed her eyes as her hair stylist spritzed a toothbrush and brushed it over her hair.

"Have we heard anything from Callum yet?" She was headed straight to a meet and greet at the Dior store in Mayfair after this before she had just enough time to change for the launch dinner she was hosting as the newly minted Global Ambassador for Dior Beauty.

"Mark was on the phone finalizing your filming schedule for next week so it didn't conflict with your brother's graduation so I'll flag him when he gets back," Nicole offered.

She hadn't seen Callum in almost a week. There were unanswered texts and calls and a red circle on her FaceTime app.

Evelyn felt awful about it but her first trip for work since the pandemic was proving to have more of a strain on her relationship than she thought it would. She was used to using work to distract herself from her ex-husband and saying yes to everything so she didn't have to be at home. Now, with Callum, that was all she wanted to do. And she knew it was perfectly in her control to change it but she couldn't find the right way to convince her brain this man was different.

"Alright, Evelyn, let's do more sultry than cute this time." She shook the fog from her mind and stared down the camera.

"Hi everyone, I'm Evelyn Shaw, and I'm going to let you on my secret for endlessly kissable lips..."

----

She kept her sunglasses on as she stepped out of the car and let the screams and camera clicks wash over her. She blew kisses and waved as her security ushered her into the store and the door closed behind her with a sigh. Evelyn made an extra effort to shake the hand of all the staff that were in the store and hugged the handful of Dior executives that she had gotten to know during the process of launching the lip oil.

"Ev, let's get some candids of you looking at the new collection over here." Bleary eyed, she slowly rifled through the racks as her stylist took a few photos.

"Hey, Mark?" she called for her assistant as everyone made final preparations before opening the doors. "Do we have any..." she brushed her finger over the tip of her nose, asking for a hit.

"I do, but you were going to stop now that you got out of that relationship, right?"

"Yeah but I'm about to fall over and just need to get through tonight and I'll be fine." They had done this song and dance with her and cocaine before. The habit stopped and started in fits. "A pinky nail. That's all I'm asking for."

"Not here, Ev. Go to the dressing room and I'll bring it back." She kissed his cheek and headed to the back, reapplying her lipstick and fluffing her hair before pacing around the room for a few laps. Finally, there was a knock at the door.

"Fucking finally, Mark, I'm-" She opened the door and it wasn't Mark. "Cal."

"It's been a minute, Ev. You pick up on old habits while you were gone?" He wasn't sure if she had read his message or listened to his voicemails since she'd left. They had gotten increasingly desperate so he hoped she hadn't. But if she was using again, it was no wonder she wasn't responsive.

"No." Her lip quivered. "I'm just exhausted, Callum." Hiding away with him wasn't an option anymore. The safety of his bed wasn't an option anymore.

"There's other ways for us to fix that. Ways that don't involve you pushing me away and letting those vultures back into your life." She fell into a chair and dropped her head into her hands.

"Everyone wants a piece of me and I don't have enough to go around." There were legal battles over dividing assets. Magazines and podcasts that spent their time speculating on the true reason behind her failed marriage and spending hours and pages devoted to convincing someone, anyone, that Callum was a controlling manipulator who had tricked her into cheating with him for status. Photographers who lined every street she walked and yelled obscenities and tried to snag a shard of her broken soul. "You're my drug, Callum. You make the voices stop when I'm with you. But I can't always be with you."

"But that's why we learn how we communicate best. We call or we text or send each other dumb photos to make it feel like we are always with each other." He sat down on the floor in front of her and put her hands on his cheeks. "I'm right here, Ev. And I'm not going anywhere. I'm not him."

"I'm sorry I didn't call. I wanted to. I just didn't know what to say." For all the benefits quarantining together had offered for their relationship, it had also introduced certain complexities. Introduced reliance and dependencies and they hadn't learned how to be apart. Let alone how to be successful at it. "I'm still getting used to things being normal. To having you as part of my normal."

"I'm sorry I didn't come find you sooner."

"Promise you'll always find me? Even when I'm just lost in my own head?" He kissed her forehead.

"Especially then, Evvie."

[vbecker10]

The Blind Date? (Part 2 of 4)

Part 1 / Part 3 / Part 4 in progress

Pairing: Loki x female reader

Warnings: none...? I know I promised fluff but I lied haha sorry also... I don't know why I made Tony such an ass but I did lol

Summary: Your friend sets you up on a blind date with someone she works with at SHIELD but you accidentally end up on a mission with Loki. Unfortunately your date isn't going nearly as well as Loki's mission... which could also be going better.

A/N: Once again life really got in the way... I'm sorry it took so long to post the second part. Hopefully the third part will be up much easier. This got away from me a little but trust the process lol

Dividers by: @harlequin-hangout

(Y/N POV)

"Would it be possible to get a table closer to the back, where it's quieter?" Loki asks and the woman nods in response, barely looking up at him.

She motions for a waiter to lead you to a table for two in the farthest corner of the space. As you walk through the restaurant, you think it's a bit odd that no one takes notice of Loki. None of wait staff or the other diners even so much as glance at the tall, raven haired prince as he follows you closely. You wonder if Tony Stark or Thor are able to go out as unnoticed as he seemed to be.

You're also more then a little surprised by how content Loki appears to be with the lack of attention from everyone. Although you don't know him quite yet, what little you had seen of him in press conferences would have made you assume he enjoyed being recognized. He almost never attended the interviews with the team but when he did, he always managed to steal the spot light from the other Avengers. You even joked with your friends about how much it appeared to annoy Captain Rogers when Loki was the center of attention.

You reach the table and Loki pulls out your chair, something none of your other blind dates had ever done for you. You smile, looking down to hide a slight blush as he brushes your back lightly. He places his black suit jacket over the back of his chair and you find yourself trying not to stare at how well his dark green dress shirt hugs his chest and arms. He straightens his tie a bit and takes both menus from the waiter, handing you one. You open the menu then close it, feeling confused as you read the cursive writing on the cover.

"Is everything alright with your menu?" Loki asks, looking curiously at you.

"Oh, yes. It's fine, sorry," you answer quickly with a nervous laugh and he nods, thankfully not interested enough to ask any further questions. You don't want to start the night off by telling him you didn't even know the correct name for the restaurant you were in. You were so sure Michelle said it was called the Red Peak but you don't remember seeing a sign out front, there was just a red logo of a mountain on the door. Apparently you should have written it on your note. You open the menu again and sigh at the thought of your friends making fun of you for not realizing you were at the Crimson Hill. So close, you think to yourself.

(LOKI POV)

You nod at Y/N's response and use the menu to hide the fact that you are looking around the room for your targets. You hear Rogers chattering away in your ear as you observe the two Hydra targets walk behind Y/N to their table. Both men hand their coats to a young woman then take their seats at one end. The taller man places a black briefcase on the floor between their chairs and they begin the talk quietly. One of the doors to the kitchen swings open and the waiters quickly clear a path. Two men in dark suits and three women in brightly colored dresses exit the kitchen followed a moment later by a much older man. The Hydra agents stand to greet their hosts with handshakes and hugs, clearly this wasn't a first meeting as the team had assumed.

As soon as all the targets are settled at their table, you take your phone out of your pocket and act as if you've just received a message. "I'm sorry, would you excuse me for a moment. I have to make a call," you say, standing up without waiting for her to respond.

You check the bathroom to ensure it is completely empty then lock the door to the room before angrily responding to Rogers, "You talk far too much Captain. How am I supposed to think if you are never quiet for more then five seconds at a time?"

"You aren't there to think, you're there to watch the targets," he replies in your ear and you roll your eyes.

Stark adds, "While we are on the subject of you thinking, what the hell were you thinking letting that woman know who you really are? That wasn't part of the plan."

"I adjusted the plan. I saw no reason to waste a perfectly good date," you tell them.

"No reason-," Stark says obviously frustrated, "No reason? You're on a recon mission, not an actual date."

"Laufeyson, you need to fix this now," Rogers says, only slightly calmer than Stark sounds.

You smirk at your reflection as you run your fingers through your hair. "Unfortunately, I simply cannot do that," you say.

"And why is that?" Rogers asks, his patience clearly wearing thin.

"How am I to explain my sudden change in appearance when I sit across from her again? Even if she believes I am the same person, I doubt very much you would like me to explain to her that I am here on a mission and only using her as part of my disguise," you wait for them to respond, you can hear Stark sigh deeply. "Or perhaps, you would rather it appear as if Loki walked out on her before we even order appetizers? That really is quite rude, even for me don't you think Captain?" Again, you pause for a moment before adding, "Perhaps it would be best if I were to create an entirely new form since several members of the wait staff have seen this version of me with her already. It might seem a bit peculiar if I suddenly go back to the bar in search of another date while she waits for me to return."

"I can't believe this..." Stark mumbles then after a short pause finally says, "Fine." You try not to wince at how loud he yells that one word in your ear. "Don't screw this up any more than you already have, Laufeyson," he warns you.

"Don't forget, you're still on probation and I will make sure all of this goes in my report for Fury," Rogers adds.

(Y/N POV)

You bite your nails as you look around the restaurant then back at the empty seat across from you. You still can't believe Michelle would really set you up with Loki and not tell you. Normally she was so bad at keeping her own secrets she would tell what she bought you for your birthday the minute she left the store.

How did she even manage to set this up, you wonder. She never told you she had even met him and you had asked several times about the Avengers, more specifically about Loki. The God of Mischief might not be everyone's favorite but your friends knew he was your celebrity crush. Michelle even joked that you two were destined to be sister-in-laws since she thought Thor was the best looking. Neither of you were surprised when Jess said she preferred the former Winter Soldier, he did look oddly similar to her fiancé Sebastian, although she claimed she didn't see it.

"I'm sorry about that," you hear Loki say from behind you, brushing your shoulder lightly as he passes.

"Its ok. Is everything alright?" you ask, noticing how unhappy he seems.

"Yes," he answers, barely making eye contact with you. "Just a small issue with work," he vaguely explains.

You don't respond, unsure if you are able to ask him anything specific about work. You sit in silence for a few moments until the waiter appears and takes your order, then the two of you are alone again.

"So..." you start slowly, trying to think of something to talk about. "How do you like the city so far?"

"What?" he asks.

You can tell his attention isn't on you, but on the beautifully dressed women at the table behind you. You shrug before asking him again, "I was wondering if you like the city?"

"Yes," he responds in a less then believable tone.

"Well quiet was an understatement," you mumble, looking away from him across the room.

"What do you mean?" he asks, his attention finally shifting to you.

You look back at him quickly, of course that he heard. "I guess I was looking for more than a one word answer," you tell him. "Its kind of hard to have a conversation like that."

He's quiet for a minute and you start to grow nervous that you've offended him. He takes a sip of his water then says, "The city has its moments... It still doesn't feel like home and I'm not convinced it ever will but I think I'm getting used to being here. I will admit I do enjoy the libraries and the different types of museums but I don't often get to spend as much time in them as I would like."

"Have you been to the Museum of Natural History?" you ask, a bit more excited than you hoped.

"I have once," he smiles for a moment then pauses, covering one of his ears briefly as if it's too loud in the restaurant. He continues, "Stark called me back to the Tower for a ridiculous meeting about not filling out some paperwork properly and I had to leave fairly soon after I arrived."

"Oh no, you have to go back. It's one of my favorites," you tell him.

"I can see why you like it so much," he says, his enthusiasm almost matching yours. "I'm hoping to go back soon to visit the rest of it."

"Did you at least get to see the planetarium?" you ask hopefully.

"Unfortunately not," he shakes his head.

"That's horrible, it's the best part," you say then without thinking you add, "Maybe I could go with you next time. I can show you the really cool exhibits first just in case you have to leave for another boring meeting."

(LOKI POV)

You can't help but smile at her offer but it vanishes quickly when you hear Stark in your ear again. "You need to start planting the listening devices," he orders. "You've wasted enough time on her and this pretend date of yours."

You practically bite your tongue to keep from responding to him harshly. Instead you take your phone out of your pocket again, hearing her sigh softly as she sits back in her chair. "I'm sorry, it's my brother. He needs me to call him," you lie and she nods. "When I get back you can tell me more about the planetarium or which parts you liked the best," you suggest, feeling a bit surprised by how interested you are in her opinion of the museum.

"Sure," she says, giving you a half hearted attempt at a smile.

"Get a move on, reindeer games," Stark tells you.

You turn away from the table and when you are out of earshot from Y/N you reply, "You will not speak to me that way Stark. I am not someone you can simply order about."

"That's not what the deal we have with Thor says," he reminds you. "You work for SHIELD which means you do what we want when we want. Is that clear?"

You grind your teeth then force yourself to take a breath before speaking. "Understood," you tell him in a low tone, knowing it truly is this or the dungeons on Asgard.

You continue your way towards the kitchen and carefully mimic the appearance of a waiter who passes you with a tray of food. You walk through the kitchen, keeping your head down and avoiding attention from the other staff. You reach the two tall metal freezer doors in the rear of the kitchen and look over your shoulder.

"Its the door on the left," Rogers reminds you unnecessarily just as you grab the handle. You open the metal door and step into a hallway, closing it as quietly as possible. You look down the hall, there are two doors on one side and three on the other. "Second one on the right side-" Rogers again informs you where to go.

"I am aware of where I need to go Captain," you cut him off. "I did read the file you gave me."

He doesn't respond but you can hear Stark mumble something under his breath as you stand in front of the door that had been marked on the floor plan. You use your magic to unlock the door then take a moment to look around the office before deciding to place the listening device on a shelf behind a stack of slightly dusty books. After testing the device to ensure it is recoding and transmitting to SHIELD, you leave the room and go back to the kitchen.

As you are about to go back into the restaurant, you stop and pick up a pitcher of water and a towel, draping the towel over your arm like the other waiters. You carry the pitcher directly to the table with the targets and begin to refill their glasses, starting with the head of the mob family.

"Oh good, if the mission fails maybe you can get a job here waiting table," Stark says sarcastically and you try not to roll your eyes.

You continue down the table, filling each glass until you get to the two Hydra agents. After pouring water into the shorter man's glass you turn to the taller one who brought the briefcase. Just as you start to refill his glass your eyes wander to Y/N at the next table. Her chin is resting on her palm with her elbow propped up on the table as she pushes her food around with her fork while she waits for you to return.

"Stop!" a deep voice cuts through your thoughts. "What's wrong with you?" You look up at the man stands quickly, the water having overflowed from his glass onto the table and finally his pants.

"I'm so sorry sir," you say, drying off the table with your towel. He grabs his napkin and wipes off his pants while you reach under the table and place the second listening device. He takes a step away from the table and you kneel down, cleaning off his seat with one hand as you place the third device inside one of the pockets on his briefcase. You get up and quickly head back towards the kitchen, knowing the waiter you impersonated is only moments away from being fired.

"Very smooth, Laufeyson," Stark says with a laugh while you transform back into your original disguise.

(Y/N POV)

"Oh good, I was hoping you would get back before it got too cold," you say as Loki takes his seat again.

"I'm sorry that took so long," he says and you feel as if he means it more then the last time he stepped away. "You didn't need to wait for me," he gestures towards your full plate.

You shrug, "It would have been rude not to." He smiles a bit and you ask, "Is everything ok with your brother?"

He pauses for a moment then says, "Yes, nothing that couldn't have waited until I returned to the Tower."

"Brothers really are the worst aren't they?" you joke and he laughs in agreement. "To be fair though, I think younger brothers can be just as annoying as older brothers," you tell him.

"I have a feeling Thor would agree with you about that," he says. The two of you continue to talk while you eat but at you finish the appetizers, he goes quiet while he checks his phone again. He puts it back in his pocket and apologizes.

"So I think it might be time for a small wager," you tell him and he looks at you curiously.

"What kind of wager?" he asks, leaning towards you slightly.

"When my friends and I go out, we put all our phones in the middle of the table, face down and whoever touches their phone first hag to pay for everything," you explain.

"Well it would seem I've lost several times tonight," he says.

"How about we start now?" you suggest, hoping this will help you keep his attention for more then a few minutes at a time.

"That seems fair," he smiles, placing his phone next to yours.

(LOKI POV)

Well, this will be the shortest amount of time it has ever taken you to lose a bet, you think to yourself. She asks you another question and as you start to answer her, Rogers begins talking in your ear again. You manage to ignore him for a few more minutes while you continue your conversation with Y/N but then he becomes harder to block out. Finally you sigh and reach for your phone, your magic making it appear as if someone is calling you.

"I promise, this will be the last time," you tell her. "I really am sorry, darling."

She looks up at you, "I guess you lost the bet."

"It would appear so," you say as you stand up.

"If I didn't know any better, I would think you are actually starting to like her," Stark says.

You ignore his comment as you walk towards the coat check room, taking on the appearance of another random waiter who passed you. You knock on the door to the small room and say, "The manager asked to see you on the kitchen."

"Peter?" she asks and you nod. "Sure, can you start here until I get back?" As soon as she leaves you close the door and begin looking through the tracks until you find the coats belonging to the two Hydra agents. Creating a small hole in the lining, you and the last device to the coat of the shorter man and seal it just as the young woman returns.

"He said he didn't need me for anything," she tells you and you shrug.

"I just do what they tell me," you reply and leave the room quickly.

As you are about to reach your table Rogers says, "Great, this whole thing has taken long enough. Just get out of there before anything can go wrong. We can monitor the rest of their meeting from-"

You take the small earpiece out and place it in your pocket.

(Y/N POV)

You look up as Loki walks back towards your table, he places his phone on the table face down under yours. "I'm sorry I've been so rude this evening," he says.

"Its ok," you tell him. "I'm sure it was important."

"It was but it was still wasn't fair of me to keep leaving you like that. It won't happen again," he promises with a smile.

"I hope not," you tell him, feeling a bit better. "Its no fun to be on a blind date by yourself."

"Blind date?" he asks.

You nod, "That reminds me, I wanted to ask how you know Michelle?" you finally ask him.

He looks at you confused and asks, "Who's Michelle?"

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[miyuhpapayuh]

𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

"Over here, Simone!"

A woman with bright blue eyes, standing near the left of the black podium raises her tape recorder up towards the beaming redhead.

"Yes?" She fiddles with the golden charm bracelet on her arm. One of the many small gifts that she'd received, this morning, from Anthony. All of the charms were specially made with real diamonds, including her favorite one; 'Imani' written in a signature font.

"What does it mean to you, to be recognized by Allura?" The woman asks.

"I personally feel like it's long overdue, but I also feel like everything happens in its own time. I put my all into these magazines and I'm really grateful that my talent is being recognized. It means a lot to me."

"How long have you been with the company, Ms. Carson?" An older man asks.

"It's been a wonderful three years." She smiles.

"At your age, I'm positive that this is a milestone for you," Simone nods, "what advice would you give to your following or anybody that wants to be an entrepreneur?"

"That might be the best question I've ever gotten." The room fills with slight laughter. "Well, this definitely is a big accomplishment for me and I have nobody to thank, but God. The only advice that I have would be to just believe in yourself. You'll get knocked down and rejected, but that's inevitable. You have to have faith that whatever your plan is, is worth it. Someone's gonna recognize that fire in your eyes and give you a chance to show your capabilities. It's a process, but it's worth it."

"One last question, do you ever wanna retire and settle down or are you gonna keep this up and running?"

"I don't see myself as the 'settling down' type of woman, right now. As long as I'm in the right mind for this job, I wanna keep at it. Who knows what the future holds, though! I guess, we'll wait and see." She taps the podium and moves her hair away from her neck.

"Anything you wanna say to the people, Simone?" Her boss, Rose, asks.

"I just wanna say thank you to everybody that believes in me. I try my hardest to create a space for all women, especially my women of color and my creatives. Don't wait for a spot to be created for you, go out there and make it yourself. You got this."

"Thank you, Simone." She nods and makes her way down the side steps and out of the room.

Heading back to her office, Rose calls out for her. She turns on her heels and waits for her boss to close in the space between them.

"You're getting better at handling these press conferences. I'm very proud."

"Well, thank you. It can still be kinda nerve wracking, but I'm managing. Thanks again for the accolade. It was definitely a confidence booster." They begin to walk down the hall.

"Ah, you deserved it. You really do work hard, and I wanted to make sure that you know how much I appreciate you. You're one of a kind, dear." She pats her shoulder, before heading towards the elevator.

"Keep up the good work."

"Will do!" Simone heads further down the hall and into her office, closing the door behind her. The twenty-four red roses littering her side-table, makes her laugh.

"Alright," she sits down at her desk and opens her candy red, custom painted MacBook and checks off everything she's gotten done, so far.

"One hour, until this meeting— God, don't let it be boring!" She clasps her hands together and stares at the ceiling.

"Simone, you've got a call on line one." Logan buzzes through.

"Thank you, Lo."

Grabbing the phone off the hook, she holds it up to her ear, not even getting a word in before her mother's voice comes through.

"Congratulations, babygirl! I tried calling you yesterday, but I couldn't get through. Anyway, I'm so proud of you— your name is in bold, big letters!" Simone laughs.

"Thank you, mama. You're too much!"

"You had to get it from somebody, right?"

"This is true."

"Exactly. Now, tell me.... where's that man of yours?" Simone sucks her teeth. 

Ever since her mother met Anthony, she'd treated him like her one and only son- in law. Which is far from the case, but she wasn't too fond of Simone's sisters' husband, which Simone didn't blame her for.

"He's not my man and he's out of town."

"Have you talked to him?"

"We talked yesterday."

"You know... you're gonna wanna do more than just spend his money, one day."

"That's not all I keep him around for, thank you."

"He's just a piece of meat, huh?" The laugh comes before she can stop it, causing her mother to scoff on the other end.

"Can we please talk about something else?"

"Fine. Your sister's coming down in a week."

"For what?"

"She's my plus one for Jasmine's wedding. I thought I told you this."

"You didn't, but alright. Why's Will not coming? Not that I care, but where's he gonna be?"

"Apparently, he has to work and can't get out of it. That's what she told me."

Simone scoffs. "I'm surprised he showed up to his own wedding."

"Now, Simone."

"Am I lying? You know he's a dick— excuse my language."

Her mother sighs. "You're not wrong. But, at least, April won't be influenced by his nonsense."

"The fact she's ever on his side is beyond me, but that's a marriage, I guess."

"No, that's foolishness."

"Well, she's never been that smart, so—"

"Anyway, let me know when you girls have found the dress. I wanna see it." Simone sighs, heavily.

"I will, ma. I've got a meeting about the redesign of Allura, and then we'll head out that way after work."

"Alright, I'll let you get back to it."

"I'll call you when we get there. I love you."

"I l you too, sweets."

Hanging up, she buzzes Logan. "I'm out to lunch."

"Actually, your lunch just arrived. Would you like me to bring it to you?" Simone's brows furrowed in confusion.

"No, I'll come and get it."

Heading out of her own office, she heads down the adjacent hallway and walks into the black and crème colored office that belongs to her beloved assistant.

"Hey, sunshine. Here's your lunch." Logan grabs the white bag with South City Kitchen written in black letters on it, handing it to Simone.

"Thank you... who sent this?"

"It had a note attached to it," she grabs it off the desk and squints down at the cursive writing, "it's from an Anthony."

Simone's eye roll comes out playful, causing Logan to giggle. "Oh, that's why you're so cheery, today! Boyfriend?"

"Not even close. He's just a friend."

"Friends send each other two dozen roses and the sparkliest charm bracelet I've ever seen up close??"

Simone laughs, staring down at it., "it is blingin', huh?"

"Definitely. I need a friend like that."

"Do I have any more surprise packages comin' in?" She asks, side stepping her comment.

"That's all that's come through here. I'm sure you'll find more, when you leave here." They both share a small laugh.

"Dear God," she heads back to her office and calls Anthony, laughing as he immediately answers.

"What's so funny?"

"You are. How'd you know I was craving fried chicken?"

"Because, I know you." She rolls her eyes and pulls the styrofoam box out and opens it, sighing as the savory smell hits her nose.

"A year and some change ain't enough time for you to know me." He chuckles on the other end.

Pulling the cover off her plastic ware, she goes straight for the red-skinned potatoes, almost moaning at the taste.

"Sounds like you're enjoying it."

"I am! I haven't had these in forever," she sticks another forkful into her mouth. "We're still gonna fight."

"Why, princess?"

"Because, you're still not back. Thanks for the gifts, by the way."

"You're welcome and I'm closer to coming back than you think."

"That's not a time frame that I like. I've gotta go to this wedding alone. Not that I'm pressed about that sort of thing, but still... it'd be nice if you were in attendance." He laughs.

"I thought we didn't beat around this bush, baby girl. Just say you want me there."

"It wouldn't make a difference, Tony. You're not gonna be here, in time. The wedding is Saturday."

"How do you know that I won't finish all of this up, before then? Don't count me out. I could come through for you."

"We'll just have to wait and see, then."

"Keep those pretty brown eyes open, then."

"You're annoying," she snorted, sticking her fork into her chicken.

"That must be why you're still on the phone. When's the meeting?"

"For the building redesign?" she asks, quickly chewing her mouthful of food.

He chuckles an 'mhm'. She stares at her phone and sighs. "I've got like, thirty minutes. I know it's gonna be boring and I'm already kicking myself in the ass for agreeing to be a part of this shit."

"It may not be as bad as you think, Simone. Don't go in there with an attitude like that."

"Sorry, it just comes out naturally."

"Don't I know it." He mumbles, snickering as she sucks her teeth.

"I'm seriously smacking you up, when you get back. You've been gettin' too many jokes off."

"Aight, like your attitude ain't been super salty, lately."

"I need some dick! This always happens, when you leave.... you better not be fucking them bitches, out there." She frowns.

"Don't start that. You know this dick is exclusively yours."

"Yeah, it better be."

“As spoiled as you are, I wouldn’t even have time to give it to somebody else.” He says, making her cackle.

“Shut up!”

˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇ෆ.₊̣̇.ෆ˟ෆ.₊̣̇ෆ.₊̣̇.ෆ˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇ෆ.₊̣̇.ෆ˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇ෆ.₊̣̇.ෆ˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇ෆ.₊̣̇.ෆ˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇ෆ.₊̣̇.̑ෆ₊̣̇˟̑ෆ

"Thank you all for attending this meeting." Rose's voice echoes throughout the spacious black marble conference room. "This is the first time that we've seen so many new faces, and we've got you to thank for that." She nods at Simone, who smiles in return.

"I'm glad to help."

"That's always a good thing. Now, the first step to redesigning this building is a theme. An aesthetic, if you will. I need colors, elements... all of it."

"I really like the mint theme we were discussing earlier." Brittany says, tapping her pen against the table.

"Is that really an everyday thing, though?" Lisa asks.

"It could be. What about an all black theme?"

"We don't wanna look dead!" Mark adds.

Simone laughs at the exchanges, feeling an idea brew in her own mind.

"I've got an idea."

"Let's hear it." Rose gestures towards her.

"How about the outside of the building being matte black and Allura being written in white calligraphy. The lobby could use something— say, you stay inside the marble theme, but splash some gray on the countertops and do a polished cherry wood for the walls by the elevators. The offices could stay customized, but the walls could stay black. The conference rooms could stay the way they are, maybe add a chandelier or some lights. The cubicles could use some sprucing up. I mean, just because you work in a confined space, doesn't mean it has to be bland. You could use cherrywood for those, too!"

"How long did it take you to come up with all of that?" Brittany asks.

"I literally just came up with everything. My mind was runnin' while y'all were talking." She laughs.

"Well, should we put you in charge of this whole thing? I love all of those ideas." Rose says, sitting down in her chair.

"You want me to be in charge?" Simone points to herself, "I don't know.... that's a huge responsibility, Rose."

"There'd be no pressure on you. All you'd have to do is make sure that everything is the way you like it. You'd be the boss," she smirks, "I know that's exciting to you. It's in your nature."

Simone can't help the widespread grin from showing up on her face.

"Well... in that case, I guess we got some work to do."

"Then, it's settled. I'll have a crew ready for you in a week, tops."

"Wow... am I really about to do this?" She asks herself out loud, making a couple of her colleagues laugh.

˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇ෆ.₊̣̇.ෆ˟ෆ.₊̣̇ෆ.₊̣̇.ෆ˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇ෆ.₊̣̇.ෆ˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇ෆ.₊̣̇.ෆ˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇ෆ.₊̣̇.ෆ˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇ෆ.₊̣̇.̑ෆ₊̣̇˟̑ෆ

Walking inside of Goddess Bride, Jada and Simone are greeted by an umber toned woman with jade eyes.

"Welcome, ladies. Champagne?" Both hands grab the diamond flutes off the tray in response, causing the woman to laugh.

"Thank you," they say in unison, before heading towards the back, where Jasmine is waiting.

"Hey sis!," Jada pokes Jasmine's shoulder.

"Hey girls." She turns around and hugs her sister, doing the same to Simone. "I'm so glad you're here."

"Did you find the dress?"

"I've narrowed it down to two! Come look," Jasmine leads the way to her dressing room, which is ten times bigger than any 'dressing room' Simone's ever seen, on TV and in person.

"There's this one, which is probably the one I'll end up choosing. Let me try it on for y’all." Jasmine pulls the dress off the hanger and shoos them out of the dressing room.

"Your sister better be glad I love her," her and Jada walk over to the emerald loveseat across from the rooms., "cause, she got one more time to stick her hand in my face."

Jada laughs. "Don't kill her. She's just a little antsy, at the moment. She's been looking for dresses, ever since he proposed! The literal day he proposed, Simone." Jada emphasizes with a laugh, causing Simone to do the same.

"It's okay to be excited! I would be, too— did you see the size of that ring?!" Simone exclaims.

"It's a beauty, no doubt."

"Okay, close your eyes!" Jasmine yells from across the way. The pair do as they’re told.

"They're closed!"

Jasmine's dainty footsteps carry her across the floor as she flattens her hands against the soft crème material.

"Okay," she smiles, "you guys can open them up, now."

Removing their hands, they collectively gasp at the blushing almost bride, in all her glory.

From the body-hugging, silk silhouette with the back out, to the lace train that stops just below her behind, to the egg shell hue, gleaming over the entire dress.

"Well," with a teary-eyed smile, Jasmine asks, "what do you think?"

"You look," Jada starts.

"You look— wow, you look gorgeous!" Simone finishes.

"Breathtaking!," Jada sits her champagne down and hops up from her seat, smoothing her hand down the side of the dress.

“I’m mad it took me so long to find it! My wedding’s in less than a day, y’all!” Jasmine frowns.

“The important part is that you found it!” Smone says, heading toward the honey hued sisters. “It was made for you, seriously. You look beautiful.”

“Ugh. y’all love making me cry!” she whines and covers her face, making them laugh.

˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇ෆ.₊̣̇.ෆ˟ෆ.₊̣̇ෆ.₊̣̇.ෆ˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇ෆ.₊̣̇.ෆ˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇ෆ.₊̣̇.ෆ˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇ෆ.₊̣̇.ෆ˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇ෆ.₊̣̇.̑ෆ₊̣̇˟̑ෆ

“Oh man, it’s been so long since I’ve sat in one of these!’ Jada sighs, her voice shaking slightly due to the vibration of the chair.

“I would say the same but I came here a couple months ago.” Simone says, fixing the cucumbers over her eyes.

Jada sucks her teeth and sits up in her chair, removing her cucumbers altogether. “Why don’t you just marry the man, already? He flies you out to these expensive ass countries, pampers you to no end, pays your bills!! Worships the literal ground you walk on!”

“Jada, relax!” Jasmine says, pulling hers away as well. “Are you jealous or something?”

“No, it's more of a, “call coming from inside the house” kinda thing. She could have that with Derek if she’d stop running from him, and she wants to project it on me.” Simone says, still laid in her relaxed position. She pulls a cucumber from her eye and eats its, meeting the gaze of a red-faced Jada.

“Suck my dick, Imani.”

“I’ve already got one of those to suck.” She winks.

Jasmine laughs and lays back in her chair. “You two are too much.”

“She started it.” Jada grumbles, before swinging her legs over the side and carefully placing them in the white slides that the hotel provides, avoiding chipping her freshly done baby pink toes.

“Where are you going?” Simone asks, just as her phone goes off.

“I gotta pee. Answer your phone. It might be your husband.” she cheekily responds, before sharply turning the corner.

“Ugh,’ grabbing her phone off the side table, she slides her finger across the screen and holds it up to her ear.

“Hey, beautiful.” His voice cuts through before hers, making her stop and laugh.

“You must have some bad news.” She responds, staring at her freshly done candy red acrylics.

“I’ve got good and bad news, actually.”

“Oh boy.. lay it on it.”

“I won’t be able to make it to the wedding, but I’ll be home the day after.” He says, causing her frown to deepen.

“I’m glad you’re coming back soon.” She says. Sighing anyway.

“But,” he trails off, knowing that wasn’t it.

“I really wanted you to be there. My mama’s been asking about you, I even talked you up to a couple cousins, cause those nosy heffas wouldn’t leave me alone! And, I know I’m just a bridesmaid and it doesn’t matter if I have a damn date or not, but weddings are always different.. They’re—”

“-special,” he ends, nodding like she could see him. “I know baby, I’m really sorry. I’ll make it up to you, I promise.’

Jada came back to her chair, taking in her friend’s red face, looking to her sister. “What happened?”

“He can’t make it to the wedding.” She responds.

“It’s fine, I’m sure you did everything you could. I’ll see you when you get back.”

“Alright, princess. I’ll see you later.”  He sighs, already formulating a plan in his mind.

Sitting her phone back down, a sad sigh leaves her. “This is why him being my man would be a disaster.”

“Why?” Jada and Jasmine ask.

“Cause! Look at how sad I am. I’m not getting married and he’s not even my boyfriend, and I’m near tears cause he can’t make your wedding. Too much is going on.”

“Maybe you like him a little more than you’re leading on,” Jada shrugs.

“Ugh,” she responds, having nothing else to say.

˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇ෆ.₊̣̇.ෆ˟ෆ.₊̣̇ෆ.₊̣̇.ෆ˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇ෆ.₊̣̇.ෆ˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇ෆ.₊̣̇.ෆ˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇ෆ.₊̣̇.ෆ˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇ෆ.₊̣̇.̑ෆ₊̣̇˟̑ෆ

Rolling over on the queen size mattress, Simone smacks her hand down on her phone, forcing her stiffened joints to wake up and cut her blaring alarm off.

“Jesus Christ, that could wake up a dead person.” She sits up and rolls her eyes, already feeling the headache coming on for today’s events.

Before she can even process, Jasmine, Jada and their mom rush into her hotel room to wake her up, followed by a loud chatter as they pull her up from the bed.

“I’m glad you’re awake, we gotta get ready!” Their mama singsongs, latching her arm onto a half-sleep Simone.

“Get ready for what? The wedding isn’t until three. It’s… what time is it?” She asks, realizing that she didn’t have her phone on her.

“It’s a little after eleven,” Jada responds, handing it to her. “We let Jasmine sleep in a little, but it’s seriously time to get ready.”

“Okay, okay. I’m up.”

“Don’t worry, you’re not the only one hanging on by a thread.” She snickers as they move to the bridal suite, revealing five more sleep deprived women.

“You better be glad we love you.” One of them says, tossing the empty bottle of tequila in the trash.

Needless to say, their bachelorette party was a success.

“Trust me, I know I’ve been a bit much.”

“Dear god, cover us all.” Her mama mumbles, drawing an invisible cross and kisses her hand.

"You're so dramatic.... but amen."

"Alright, sit down so we can get started." Their cousin, Fiona, rolls out her pink suitcase and opens it up, pulling out her essentials for today's hairdo.

Jasmine had decided on the infamous half up, half down style with a swoop bang.

Taking her seat in one of the comfiest chairs known to man, Fiona gets to work, running her fingers through her newly pressed hair.

"I'm getting married today..." a smile spreads across her face like wildfire, causing everybody in the room to join in a chorus of 'awe's.

She covers her face as the heat rushes to her cheek.

"Seriously, it's finally happening! I get to marry the man of my absolute dreams. God, he's so perfect."

“He's gotta have a flaw, somewhere!” Jada argues.

"He really doesn't. I mean, nobody's perfect, but he is to me. He's human, just like the rest of us, but everything is so sunshine-y and real, at the same time. We get into it, but we talk through it. We let each other know what's on our minds at all times. There's no dark moments. No solitude in anger. Respect. So much trust, I'm tearing up just thinking about it- whew."

"You make me feel so mushy, I hate you." Simone playfully states.

"I love you too, sweets."

"I always thought Jada would get married, first.” Sierra, another cousin, admits.

"Why?" Jada asks.

"Because, you used to be so boy crazy, and you swore you were in love with what's-his-name...What's his name?"

"Who?" Fiona stops curling the top half of Jasmine's hair and squints in Sierra's direction.

"He was tall, pretty brown skin and he had the whitest teeth I've ever seen on a human being."

She snaps her fingers, trying to conjure up a name.

“Girl, Derek?!” Simone stares at Jada with wide eyes.

"Yes!” Sierra and Fiona confirm, while Jada tucks her bottom lip in and puts her attention on her sister, who's also giving her a puzzled glance.

"Jada... what? You were in love with him?" Simone asks.

"Maybe, it was something else that she was in love with." Their mama adds, shocking everybody.

"Ma!" Jada groans and covers her ears, while Jasmine laughs.

"Well, I'm probably right on the money, but I'll head out and let you speak your truth.” She says as she kisses her forehead and slides outside of the door.

"So, when did we start keeping secrets?"

Jada turns back towards Simone, whose glare could kill.

"It wasn't a secret. Derek took me out one day and we ran into Sierra. I can never lie to her, so I told her how I felt about him at the time.”

"You still feel that way? Honestly."

"I don't know. Let's talk about something else. Please.”

Simone could sense that she was lying, but she didn't know whether to press further.

"I didn't mean to make it tense in here." Sierra clears up.

"Yeah, I know." Jada stands up and heads out on the balcony, Simone quickly walking after her.

"Jada, what's going on?" She turns around and unties the curtains, letting them cover the door.

"I'm not trying to make this day about me, man. We can talk about this, later.”

"I'm just trying to understand why you never ran this by me? You don't have to, but I figured that you would. I'm your best friend, Jada. What, you thought I was gonna judge you or something?"

"I don't know, maybe!"

"Why would I do that? I encouraged you to say something to him, in the first place! I would've loved to hear about you being in love."

They both frown.

"I'm sorry.”

"Don't be. I just wanna be in the know, next time."

"You will be. I promise."

They turn towards the golden railing and gaze at the orange sun that's slowly coming up.

"How long ago was this? I'm just wondering."

"Back in September. I had just got back from vacation and he took me out to dinner. It was then, that I realized that I may have liked him... a little more than I had originally planned to." Jada explains with a laugh.

"I knew it.” Simone bumps her shoulder, "the chemistry is undeniable. You can front all you want, but I always knew it."

"Okay, do you want a cookie?" Jada playfully rolls her eyes.

"If your sister wasn't getting married, I'd push you over this balcony." Jada's mouth drops open.

"You'd kill me??"

"Of course, not…so, I got another question."

"Ugh. I already know what you're gonna ask and yes... I'm still in love with him.”

"Is that why you're keeping him at a distance?”

Jada shamefully nods.

"We talked about it. I couldn't avoid him for too long, so I told him about this not being a part of our situation, and that I'm seriously not ready for that."

"That's a lot for you, I know,” she rubs Jada's back, "sorry I acted like that. You're not obligated to share any of this with me.”

"I'm not, but it wouldn't be any fun if I kept it to myself!" They share a laugh.

"I just want it to be when I'm ready to tell you. Some things I try and keep to myself. It's nothing personal."

"I'm not offended, boo. I understand."

Since she'd been keeping something to herself for quite a while.

˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇ෆ.₊̣̇.ෆ˟ෆ.₊̣̇ෆ.₊̣̇.ෆ˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇ෆ.₊̣̇.ෆ˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇ෆ.₊̣̇.ෆ˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇ෆ.₊̣̇.ෆ˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇ෆ.₊̣̇.̑ෆ₊̣̇˟̑ෆ

Watching Jasmine, basically, float down the aisle was definitely a sight for everyone who laid their eyes on her.

"God, she's beautiful." Simone says as she wipes away her seventh batch of tears.

"Isn't she?!" Jada adds, wiping her own tears away.

Jada, Simone, Sierra, Fiona and three more of Jasmine's favorite cousins stand to the left, in their handmade mustard colored dresses, as she finally makes her way up the crisp periwinkle steps.

Her soon-to-be husband, Jason, just about breaks down as he pulls her veil away from her face, taking in her natural beauty.

If it was one thing Jasmine hated, it was makeup.

Her skin was flawless and she didn't feel the need to add anything extra to it, besides a little highlight that Fiona practically threatened her life with.

"You look so beautiful." Their lips meet for a sweet kiss, before they turn towards their family and friends with their fingers intertwined.

The beloved pastor from their mother's childhood, Reid, was ecstatic when he was chosen to marry her oldest child and the love of her life.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to unite Jasmine Woods and Jason Tyler in holy matrimony. If anyone has any objections as to why these two should not be lawfully joined together, speak now or forever hold your peace."

The entire congregation silences, giving room for laughter, shortly after.

"Alright, alright. Let's do the vows." Reid looks over his glasses at Jason, "you first, son."

Jason blows out a breath and locks his eyes with her gleaming, green ones.

"I'm so lucky. I've never cried this much, in my entire life.," he laughs as she squeezes his hands. "We met back in college and I'll admit that I definitely couldn't handle all the woman that you are, back then. You'd shoot me down. Give me the cold shoulder. You bruised my ego, baby girl--but, I needed that. It humbled me. It made me find my common sense, because my mama always told me, no good woman is gonna wait around for someone to be good for her. And, she was right. You slipped out of my grasp and I had to prove myself worthy, if it was the last thing I did. I fell in love with you, that day we went to Carowinds, back in 2016. It was right after your family reunion. We'd taken a trip down to North Carolina and decided to make a stop, cause you kept reminding me that you hadn't been there since you were a kid. We probably went on every ride they had to offer. I remember we were sitting on the bench and you were gushing about how much fun you had..." his voice cracks, "it was then that I knew that I wanted to keep that smile on your face, every day that God allowed me to. I love you so much, Jasmine." He kisses her forehead.

A couple of awe's and an abundance of sniffles carry throughout the building. Jasmine turns towards the pastor and whispers, "I have to follow that?!"

Laughter rings out, again. Jason swings their linked fingers back and forth, whispering an encouraging “you got this, babe."

"Okay, okay... where do I even start? We've been at this since we were teenagers. I've spent a good majority of my twenties with you and I don't regret a single moment, I swear. It may sound selfish, but you're the only boyfriend that I count–- they just can't compare, I'm sorry!" She turns towards her family, who wholeheartedly agrees.

"You never put me through any pain or trauma and for that, I'm forever indebted to you. I love you more than any word could ever describe. It hurts my chest, when I think about it. I'm safe with you. You're safe with me. I'm so glad that I get to spend the rest of my life with you, cause it wouldn't be this much fun with anybody else. We've seen so much together," she giggles to herself, "I guess you really are the Aladdin to my Jasmine."

"Oh, brother." Jada nudges Simone.

"Shh!" Fiona pinches Jada.

"Beautiful, beautiful. I need the rings." Jason's brother, Jordan, hands over the rings. Reid places them in Jason and Jasmine's hands.

"Do you, Jason, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, in good times and in woe, for rich or poor, keeping yourself unto her for as long as you both shall live?"

"I do." He answers, without hesitation, sliding the gold band onto her finger.

"Do you, Jasmine, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, in good times and woe, for rich or poor, keeping yourself unto him for as long as you both shall live?"

"I do." She slides the gold band onto his finger.

"By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride, son."

Cupping her face into his hands, he captures her lips in a kiss that makes everyone blush and loudly cheer.

˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇ෆ.₊̣̇.ෆ˟ෆ.₊̣̇ෆ.₊̣̇.ෆ˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇ෆ.₊̣̇.ෆ˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇ෆ.₊̣̇.ෆ˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇ෆ.₊̣̇.ෆ˟̑ෆ.₊̣̇ෆ.₊̣̇.̑ෆ₊̣̇˟̑ෆ

The inside of Whitehead Manor was the best place for a reception. From the golden drapes hung from the ceiling to the tea lights and white roses used for centerpieces.

The simplicity of it all is just so beautiful.

Simone's on her third glass of champagne, when a tall figure looms over her.

She quickly turns her head, finding Anthony in an all black suit with a yellow handkerchief in the pocket, almost the same color as her dress.

"Hey, gorgeous."

"Took you long enough,” she grabs her half empty glass off the cherrywood island and walks away.

He chuckles and strides after her, his eyes glued to her ass with every step she takes.

@ghostfacekill-monger @honestpreference @sheabuttahwrites @thegifstories @blackerthings @planetblaque @twistedcharismaaa @mauvecherie-writes @abeautifulmindexposed @tchallasbabymama @starcrossedxwriter @cecereads209

Lmk if you wanna be added to the tag list! 💜

[umgeorge]

george russell is interviewed during the press conference, saudi arabia - march 6, 2024 (transcript under the cut)

Interviewer: "George, why don't we start with you? Mercedes were difficult to read at the pre-season test, and it feels they were a little bit difficult to read at the first race weekend, as well. What conclusions did you draw from the Bahrain Grand Prix?" George: "I think the conclusions we drew were the car has potential. I think when we saw the pace on FP2, that was genuine. Lewis and I had P1 and P2. I think probably not everybody turned up, but we were genuinely fast. And then in the race we had some really big cooling issues that caught us by surprise, and we know there's at least a fifteen second loss just in the battery and the power, and probably more after you consider the effect it had on the tires. And just an extra couple of seconds in stint one, when I had Checo beind me, would have been pretty handy, so I think we'd have been in the fight for P2, for the podium, with Checo and Carlos, but definitely we didn't show our true potential." Interviewer: "Were those cooling issues a simple miscalculation, or something that actually needs a fix?" George: "I think it was definitely a miscalculation. It would have been quite straightforward to just open the bodywork very slightly and make things much easier, but we don't know how we fell into that place… Sorry, I'm just distracted by Charles walking in." [laughs] Interviewer: "Charles. Welcome!" Leclerc: "Sorry." George: "Yeah, lost my groove now. [laughs] No, but we don't really understand why, because we didn't change anything from testing-in FP2, as well-and it suddenly caught us out on Saturday, so I'm sure it'll be better this weekend." Interviewer: "I was gonna say, are you worried about it this weekend? George: "We need to get on top of it, and we've got some tests tomorrow to try and understand further what happened." Interviewer: "Alright. Thank you, George." [time jump] Journalist: "Nelson Valkenburg, Viaplay, for George: F1 media, everybody, is obsessed with the possibility of is Max going to Mercedes. How would you feel if a driver who had some choice words for you a year ago would join the team?" George: [laughs] "Yeah, I think… As I said last week in Bahrain, this is my third season now alongside Lewis, greatest driver of all time, and I feel like I've done a pretty good job alongside him, so whoever were to line up alongside me next year or the years to come, I welcome anybody, welcome the challenge. You always wanna go against the best, but ultimately, for me, just focused on myself. I believe in myself, I believe I can beat anybody on the grid, and you just got to have that mentality, so as I said, having Lewis as my benchmark for the last couple of years has been a pretty good benchmark, for sure." [time jump]

Journalist: "But what chance, George? What chance is Max Verstappen really going to Mercedes? From the inside, could you see it happening? 'Cause it would be perobably the biggest story since your current teammate signed for Ferrari." George: "I think any team want to have the best driver line-up possible and right now Max is the best driver on the grid, so if any team had a chance to sign Max they would 100% be taking it. So I think the question's more on the other side, on his side, and on Red Bull's side. Obviously so much going on there. We don't know what truly's going on behind closed doors and ultimately it's none of our business right now. Yeah, I guess it would be exciting." [time jump] (NOT SHOWN:) Journalist: "David Croft, Sky Sports F1. You all did 57 laps. Everyone did 57 laps, apart from those that were lapped, on Saturday in Bahrain. You all went into the race optimistic, I'm sure, because it was the first race of the season. How was your optimism levels at the checkered flag? That's to all of you." George: "I think after three days of testing everybody knows Bahrain pretty well. It all panned out as we probably expected, but obviously we all hope that the field tightens up a little bit right at the front. But the fight behind Max, I think, is really, really tight and it's gonna be quite exciting, between ourselves, Ferrari, Aston, and McLaren." [time jump] (NOT SHOWN:) Journalist: "Diego Mejia, Fox Sports Mexico. Both Charles and George, about the issues you had with the cooling, with the brakes and the power unit, is that a worry here? Was it probably the changing conditions in Bahrain that caused that, that we had probably the lowest temperature before the race started and then it was increasing over the race weekend?" George: "Yeah, similar to Charles, it was definitely a bit of an odd one for us, but we're confident we're on top of it and won't face the same issue this weekend."

[grits-galraisedinthesouth]

Biden: non compos mentis

Joe Biden Gives an Impromptu Presser, and No One Can Figure Out What He's Talking About

Gives an Impromptu Presser, and No One Can Figure Out What He's Talking About

By Bonchie 6:08 PM on October 18, 2023

CNN

President Joe Biden flew to Israel to meet with PM Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday. Whether he should have is another question. 

During a joint appearance, the American president appeared extremely fatigued, almost unable to keep his eyes open at times. He slowly read his notes, head hung low, sometimes barely audible. Things didn't get any better later when Biden decided to tell an already debunked story about being in Israel during the 1967 war. After returning to the podium to speak again, the president then announced $100 million for Gaza, money that will no doubt end up in the hands of Hamas. 

Mercifully, this was a short trip, but Biden wasn't quite done. After boarding Air Force One, he decided to give an impromptu presser. Things did not go well. 

WATCH: Pres. Biden unexpectedly addresses reporters aboard Air Force One pic.twitter.com/CxeiNEcDR3

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) October 18, 2023

I'd try to transcribe that, but I just don't have the patience. He keeps freezing up, staring blankly for uncomfortably long periods of time, and I have no idea what he is trying to say. In the beginning, he seems to be talking about school shootings but then starts talking about people who have been victimized and are seeking hope. Is he drawing some kind of comparison to the current situation between Israel and Hamas? 

In the background, you can see Secretary of State Antony Blinken looking down at the floor the entire time. I can only imagine what was going through his mind. 

I will give the president credit for one thing, though. This reporter's snotty question probably deserved this response.

"Do you think it was necessary for you to come here?"

BIDEN: "What do you think? I'll let you answer that." pic.twitter.com/c9XvKCeZ70

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) October 18, 2023

When asked about the Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket that fell short and struck a hospital parking lot in Gaza, Biden attempted to say the right thing, but he just couldn't quite get it out. Instead, he went to his old mainstay of stopping mid-explanation to say "well, anyway." 

REPORTER: "People ... don't necessarily believe you or the Israelis ... didn't have anything to do with" the Gaza hospital blast

BIDEN: "I can understand that" pic.twitter.com/OgNbm1UpM3

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) October 18, 2023

Even though the reporter's question was biased, it was a softball ready to be hit out of the park. A competent president would have rattled off the litany of evidence that has been reviewed while citing the U.S. intelligence assessment that it was not Israel. Instead, Biden stumbles with his words, seeming unsure of anything that he's saying. The lack of confidence shown will only fuel conspiracy theories to the point that I'd imagine Israeli officials were thinking "Please stop helping." 

Twice, Karine Jean-Pierre jumped into the middle of Biden's answers, appearing to try to get him to end the press conference.

REPORTER: "You said you were very blunt with the Israelis on the need to get humanitarian aid to Gaza or what exactly?"

BIDEN: "On everything. Ha ha ha" pic.twitter.com/WvCHZ4VVWf

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) October 18, 2023

REPORTER: "What about getting people out?"

BIDEN: "The answer is we're gonna get people out, but I'm not going into any detail with you now—"

KARINE JEAN-PIERRE: "Alright we gotta wrap up" pic.twitter.com/zlx5eMjqW2

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) October 18, 2023

Finally, Biden did decide to end things. Unfortunately, he did it at the worst possible moment.

"Are Israelis operating within the rules of war that you talked about last week?"

BIDEN: "Good talking to you all"

*walks away* pic.twitter.com/yVlUN0ljdL

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) October 18, 2023

If Biden were trying to whip up the pro-Hamas crowd, what would he have done differently in that situation? Once he was asked that question, he needed to answer it immediately and with conviction. To not do so was a gift to those who are attacking Israel with disinformation about how they are propagating their war against Hamas The fact that he chose that moment to walk away is just terrible optics.  

Pay close attention Biden's warning:

Israel will pay a heavy price

I was VERY blunt with Israel

they will be held accountable in ways that may seem unfair

you will lose credibility worldwide

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Forbidden Lessons XII

Masterlist

Well, shit.

Warnings: noncon, age gap, abuse of power, coercion, unhealthy self-think, depression. Y'all know I do it dark and spicy. You have warnings, use them.

Thots, comments, screaming, and feedback are welcome and highly encouraged. Thank you!

You shudder as you wait outside the closed door. The knock issued from your knuckles only seconds ago echoes in your head. You step back, bouncing on your feet nervously as you resist the urge to pace. You can't remember the last time you were still.

The answer comes in the form of Professor Barnes. He lets the door fall open as he greets you with a chipper expression, his sleeve rolled to his elbow as his hair tufts out awkwardly at his crown. As if he was playing with it in some trance of focus.

"Hi," he greets, "nice to see you."

"Um, mhmm," you nod and cross your arms protectively.

"So, uh, you want to come in? I assume you're here to chat... about the exam?"

"Uh, not... really," you swallow and squeeze your upper arm, "I can't... come in."

You try to hide how the thought scares you. How his invitation reminds you of Professor Laufeyson and his insidious trap. An innocent meeting behind closed doors.

You pull your arms apart and press your palms to your cheeks as you keep your teeth from chattering.

"That's fine," his confusion wrinkles above his brow but his tone remains even, "how can I help you?"

"Well, I..." your hand wanders down your neck and you tug at your turtleneck anxiously before scratching along your nape. You didn't know what to say, you came with a purpose and no plan. "Why did you ask Professor Laufeyson about me?"

His eyes widen in recognition, "ah, alright, I... suppose I could've been more discreet."

"Why?" You repeat and clasp your hands to keep them from fidgeting, swaying as you find it hard to stay in place.

"I was worried. Am, still. I know it's not my place so that's why I gave you that card. It is still my job to make sure my students are able to be successful--"

"You shouldn't worry about me," you say as you look down the hall, "it isn't right."

"I... I'm sorry if came across as anything more than what it was. Really, I'll give it up, okay? You know yourself. If you need help, I'm sure you'll ask."

You sniff and tap your toe as you face him. Your eyes glisten, "thanks."

"So you came to tell me to leave you alone? I think an email would've done the job," he chuckles thinly.

"Maybe," you nibble your lip, "bye."

You turn awkwardly, dragging your feet down the salt-stained carpet.

"What did Laufeyson say exactly?" his voice stops you short.

"He just said you asked about me," you murmur.

"And why would he tell you that?"

You shrug. "Maybe he's worried too."

"Maybe..." he drawls, "did you enjoy the conference?"

"What?" you spin to face him, chest thumping loudly.

"I was there. I saw you wandering around during lunch. I blinked and you were gone--"

"It was fine. I'm fine." You insist and turn on your heel, "I'll see you at the exam."

"Yeah, good luck," he calls after you with a sigh, "be safe."

You shake your head as you storm away. You feel shaky like you might split in two. You're scared. You don't know what to do. You don't know why you can't stop feeling this way. Ashamed, filthy, rotten.

You hate that he cares. You hate that Laufeyson doesn't. And you hate how you can't care about anything at all. Not your exams, not the hunger pitting in your stomach or the pain pinging in your skull. You just want it to end.

💚

You sit in the back of the classroom, deaf to the soft shuffle of paper as Professor Laufeyson walks between the desks, handing out the stapled sheets. You stare at the blonde head in front of you. The curled hair, fragrant with hairspray. You feel grimy, you look it. You feel yourself festering from the inside.

He lays down the exam in front of you and you don't react. He strides away without notice of your desolation. You wait and he declares the start of the three hours. You don't move at first, not until your tears drip onto the bold font along the front page.

You open the booklet and take your pen. Wiggly lines from your quaking hand, thoughts not quite coherent across each line. You read the question back and cross out what you've written, starting over.

Three short answer, you should do four but you skip the last. You don't know the answer, you don't know what he expects. You never knew what he wanted, not until it was too late.

You hunch over the essay portion. You press the ink into the paper so deep in nearly tears. You're stuck in a bubble of silence, undisturbed by the figures around you, the blur of reality drowning you. Tick, tick, tick... the noise of the clock dulls to a drone.

The door shuts heavily and a tut draws you up. You look at Professor Laufeyson as his long fingers rest on the corner of your exam. He wears a blank expression, no mask to hide his sinister truth. You let him take your half-finished test.

"Time's up," he announces.

You peer around. It's just you. Everyone else is gone. You're left undone. You nod and say nothing.

You roll the pens off the desk and take your student card. You bend to lift your bag onto the top as he watches you, squinting down at your sloppy writing. You drop the flap over the top of the knapsack and shoulder it.

You dare to glance at him. A surge flows through you and you can't stop yourself. You rush around the chair and shove him with all your strength.

"I hate you!" you shout, "I hate you! I hate you!" You hit his chest as he drops the paper and catches your wrists to still the onslaught of your rage. You're sobbing as you scream at him.

"Would you quit? This is inappropriate--"

"Isn't it inappropriate to fuck your student? To lie to them? To destroy them and just walk away?" You blubber, unable to hold back, "do you know what you've done?"

He scoffs as he squeezes your wrists, "I did what you let me do."

"Fuck you!" You cry out.

"It wasn't that good," he remarks slyly and flings you away from him, "leave before I report you. Any student that assaults an instructor faces expulsion."

"Assault?" you whimper as you grasp your tender wrist, "what about what you did?"

He snickers and bends to retrieve the paper. He walks away without concern and adds it to the pile on the table along the front. You huff and stomp towards him. He faces you, unafraid.

"You are ridiculous. Do you think I fear you?" he mocks.

You sniff and shake your head, "is there another? Someone else? Before?"

He exhales and drags his bag towards him, putting the exams inside. He is unimpressed by your interrogation.

"I'm about to meet her," he crooks a brow and peeks at you smugly, "you didn't truly think you're that special?"

You snarl as your lip quivers. The tears spill down your cheeks and dampen the collar of your jacket. You dip your chin down and wipe your face with your rough wool cuffs. You turn and walk numbly to the door.

"No," you whisper as you stop and look back at his indifferent shoulders, "but I wanted to be."

[umlewis]

lewis hamilton is interviewed during the press conference on media day, canada - june 6, 2024 (transcript under the cut)

Interviewer: "Lewis, let's come to you now. Back to the scene of your first Forula 1 victory and six subsequent ones, as well. You've always gone well here. What is it about this place?" Lewis: "I don't know. Hi, everyone. I think it's probably just kind of a street circuit, and a bit like a go kart track-long straights-so it's a track that bodes well for late brakers, and someone that's aggressive, I guess; aggressive driving style." Interviewer: "And is that you?" Lewis: "I think I've had an aggressive driving style for a long time, yeah." Interviewer: "Look, tell us about the car and your chances this weekend. The team is telling us that you're making a lot of progress in recent races. Are you feeling that in the cockpit?" Lewis: "Yes. Yeah, the car's continuing to improve. I think everyone's obviously taking that step hopefully closer to the Red Bulls, and I think that's been really positive. But incredibly proud of everyone back at the factory, just how hard everyone's working and how resilient everyone is, and everyone's just staying very focused, head down, and the morale's really great in the team, so I'm hoping that we can get closer to these guys and start actually competing at the front with these." Interviewer: "Do you think that's actually possible this weekend? Is a podium on the horizon?" Lewis: "I don't think it's far away, and so we've got the upgrade. Both cars have the upgrade this weekend, so I'm looking forward to seeing how that feels actually on track." Interviewer: "You've got the new front wing. Gonna out-qualify George this weekend?" Lewis: "I'm gonna try." Interviewer: [laughs] "Alright. Well done, Lewis. Good luck." [time jump] Journalist [Nelson Valkenburg, Viaplay]: "Question for Lewis. Lewis, you already spoke about the improved potential of the car and the way that it's heading. What aspect of the car is improving, and what is then needed more to be able to fight for the podium?" Lewis: "The biggest improvement, I think, coming into this year has been ride quality and being able to get the car lower, which is what others have been able to do, and then stability on entry of corners. The car's far more predictable than it ever was, particularly the last couple of years, and particularly this year it's a lot more stable, so we can be a lot more committed into the corners. But then through-corner balance is where we've been lacking, as where some of the others have really taken a big step, so that's what we're trying to work on." Interviewer: "Thanks, Lewis. Any more? Yep." Journalist [Roldán Rodriguez, DAZN Spain]: "To Lewis, as well: In the contract with Ferrari for next year, the question is, was Frederic Vasseur, a man you know pretty well, directly involved in your contract?" Lewis: "Yes." Journalist: "Yeah. Good." Lewis: "Yeah, he's the boss, and really a huge amount of support from John Elkann, who I've got a great relationship with, and so with those two together, Fred and John, we worked really closely."

[enchanted-lightning-aes]

Tent Set-Ups Going Wrong

[ID: a green badge of a tent with text that reads ‘Sambucky Summer Camp Bingo, Stuck in a Tent, ESTD. 2023 / finish ID]

Title: Tent Set-Ups Gone Wrong

Square Filled: Stuck in a Tent

A/N: just a light-hearted cracky entry for @sambuckylibrary. where sam tries filming a Cap P.S.A, only for it to go in shambles.^^

Word Count: 873

T.W: None-ish

***

Part of being Captain America was having to maintain one's presence in the media. And while Sam tended to be exhausted from handling press conferences and interviews, he did what he could.

Sure, he couldn't dodge inappropriate or racist questions regarding his position, he knew how to deal with them. He knew how to be composed, not allowing any initial frustration get the best of him. Aware it wouldn't do him any good.

Although, it would be nice to talk back, sometimes. Even Bucky wanted to slam some reporter's head against wall at how he got a question that he disliked. Immensely.

Unfortunately, it also included some certain things that he didn't think of. . .

"You want me to star in those P.S.As?" Sam asked in disbelief.

He had been summoned to a small studio in D.C, where he had to discuss of his schedule. They all decided to meet at Rock Creek Park, where they would be filming. Since summer was approaching, they needed to have commercials featuring Sam, front and center.

"Well, Steve did it and you might as well too," the producer explained, plastering a smile that looked more of a wince. "All part of the job, I guess."

Sam huffed a sigh. "Alright. Let's get this over with."

"Do you have to?" Bucky asked.

"I mean we can do something else," Joaquin added, sounding dismayed.

"Like I said, guys." Sam adjusted his cowl. "We should finish this."

Both Bucky and Joaquin exchanged a glance of chagrin.

They gathered at a small grassy field as the crew prepared the mini set. Just some bundles of wood, tents, and sleeping bags.

The director lifted a megaphone, adjusted in her seat.

"Lights. . . Camera. . . Action!"

Someone slammed the clapperboard and Sam propped his hands on his sides, facing the camera. And while Bucky and Torres stood by his sides, waving.

"So, you wanna learn how to arrange a tent, huh?" Sam asked, flashing his signature megawatt smile. "Well, lemme show you how it's done. With the help of my team, anything is possible!"

The wind howled, moving past him in a heavy current.

"Wow, you sure are pulling this off, Samuel," Bucky whispered wryly.

Repressing any urge to roll his eyes, Sam beckoned Bucky and Joaquin at the tent supplies strewn on the grass.

"First you gotta set it up," Sam said into the camera, sweeping an arm over at them. "Then put your components on the tarp. Connect your tent poles together. Insert those poles into where they ought to be and raise the tent up. Now watch as my good friends, Sergeant Bucky Barnes and Lieutenant Joaquin Torres, take this step by step."

Yeah, Sam had to memorize an entire instruction manual for this. So, if any of them noticed how he sounded automatic, maybe he could change it for another take.

Who knew how long would this go on? He had sternly informed those two to be on their best behavior. Although, that approach didn't work by eighty percent.

Bucky and Joaquin adjusted the tent's equipment, setting up the poles. They started raising the tent up slowly yet diligently. The breeze smacked a flap against Bucky and his fingers trembled upon adjusting the hook.

Whoa, it was such a big tent, he thought, refraining from gaping.

Just as Sam could have peered into the camera, the wind's heavy strength shook the poles. Yanking them off their positions. Bucky froze and flung an arm around, only for the tent to collapse down on him.

"Sam! Sam! Help! I think. . . I'm trapped!" Bucky sounded panicked.

Oh yikes, Sam thought. He tried maintaining his smile.

He should have known even filming a damn P.S.A wouldn't go peacefully. Most things in his line of work didn't.

The director and filming crew chattered in hushed tones containing concern. Joaquin winced, bowing his head while scratching his forehead.

"Okay, Cap to the rescue, everyone!" Sam sprinted towards the fallen tent.

He tried pushing it upwards and Bucky moved, crawling out of it. He scrambled to his feet, pressing his hands against the tent. The wind howled again, growing louder and denser. Streaks of grey scattered within the sky as clouds gathered.

The tent collapsed on both of them, sending them flat against the ground.

Both of them let out a grunt and a yelp, their shoulders budging and nudging. Bucky squeezed his eyes shut and Sam tried kicking the tent.

If the weather was gonna be this concerning, he would have rescheduled the entire damn thing. However, he had to be in this predicament.

Yep. Sam was so not cut out for this shit. He should be a hell lot selective if he had to take up this gig. Ever again. Simple P.S.As filmed in a studio? Doable. Something he could manage, at the very least.

". . . you're going to cut this out of the finished footage, aren't you?" Joaquin asked, sounding hesitant.

"Cut! Cut!" the director yelled, her voice amplified by her megaphone's speakers. "Okay, can. . . Can someone get Cap and his sidekick out of there?"

Bucky sighed. "Maybe if we filmed indoors instead of outdoors, we wouldn't be in this tricky situation."

"Shoulda known this was a bad idea," Sam mumbled, clutching onto the tent's edge.

***

[f1-birb]

little foxy lando sleeping under a bunch of blankets in the pack room and daniel inadvertently sits on him

lando letting out a yelp scurrying away in search of pierre leaving daniel feeling bad for accidently hurting him

Anon I'm so sorry, I made the mistake fantastic decision of showing this to @f1-disaster-bi and it rapidly spiralled into angst.... so keep an eye out for that at some point, but in the mean time something a little fluffier

Daniel is grateful for the quiet reprieve of the pack room. As much as he enjoys the spotlight and the interviews, the fans excitedly stopping him for photos and autographs, especially after the good result of the previous weekend, he needs a break. The pack room is unusually empty, and he frowns for a moment, but his favourite spot is available and he shuffles across the room to get to it.

His teammate is suspiciously missing, though he knows Lando had been in the conference and not the pen, so it's possible he's still stuck. He's sure it ended up slightly out of hand, with Lando sandwiched between Max and Alex, with a wonderfully direct Kevin and a despairing Sebastian there as what he assumed the interviewer would hope to be a babysitter. If they think Seb has any real control over the rest of them they're sorely mistaken.

He flops down onto the pile of blankets in his usual spot. He's back on his feet barely a second later after a wounded little yelp comes from underneath the fluffy blue material. Daniel pulls it to the side, seeing shiny, dark eyes peering back up at him with the saddest expression.

"Lando! Oh I'm so sorry buddy, did I sit on you?"

The little fox blinks at him from the nest of blankets, doing his best attempt at a pout. He whines, jutting his chin up and glancing between Daniel and his paw which he holds up.

"Ah mate, I'm sorry, I didn't even see you."

He feels awful, the guilt only getting worse when Lando hops off the sofa and scampers out the door, a slight imbalance noticeable from the foot he held up before. Lando truly is tiny, the top of his head still a few inches short of a foot, and his weight is barely even noticeable if you hold him. He's not surprised he accidentally sat on him, the fox is a burrower after all, but it doesn't make him feel any better to know it's something that could happen to anyone, and has done.

Daniel doesn't have time to dwell on it, a smile plastering itself back on his face as the rest of the pack start to filter in, and he's soon mostly distracted by George and Alex bickering, but the guilt still gnaws at him.

More and more of the pack shuffle in, some animal, some human, and spread themselves around the room, and he keeps glancing towards the door. He would feel bad about the disappointment that fills him whenever someone who isn't his teammate walks in, but he just wants to make sure Lando is alright.

Just when he's about to give into the urge and go searching, Pierre and Charles walk in, a flurry of French interspersed with laughter, and in Pierre's arms is Lando looking extremely content to be held by his boyfriend. The fox wriggles, licking Pierre's cheek and jawline until he's put down, and then Lando makes a beeline for a sleeping Max.

A discontent chuff leaves the lion, the big cat rolling over and almost crushing Lando who darts out of the way. Daniel's pleased to note the slight limp from earlier is gone, and even more pleased when Max growls playfully and Lando squeaks and runs to hide. His teammate comes to him, taking a leap up onto his lap, and Daniel cuddles him close as Max gets closer. Lando licks his chin, nosing at his jaw and neck, and then yelps when Max headbutts him gently. The lion does it again before settling on the floor by Daniel's feet with a huge yawn.

"Am I forgiven for sitting on you earlier?" He asks softly, stroking between Lando's ears. He takes it as a yes when Lando presses another fox kiss to his cheek.

[marvelouslycaptivating]

Saving an Old Flame: Part One

Pairing: Steve Rogers X Reader

Summary: This is based off of a request by @imlolxd.

Authors Note: This wasn't really meant to be a series, but I got way too into it. So, I hope you guys enjoy part one! Please don't forget to like and re-blog so others can read!! My requests are open. If you have an idea, send it in! It may take me some time to get it done, but it'll get finished eventually. I'm currently writing for Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes, Loki, Chris Evans, Ransom Drysdale, Sebastian Stan, Tom Hiddleston, and Austin Butler.

"Y/N" a deep voice whispered in your ear. It sent chills down your spine in the most delightful way and pulled you from the depths of sleep.

Your heavy eyelids drifted open, and the first thing you saw was Steve Rogers hovering over you. His hair was a tousled mess, sweat clinging to the golden strands from his morning run. His eyes were bright, and a soft smile pulled at his pillowy lips. His biceps bulged as he easily held himself up above you.

The two of you had been dating for just over two years. You'd moved into his cozy, Brooklyn apartment six months ago, but you still weren't quite used to how beautiful he was first thing in the morning.

"Morning sweetheart." he cooed, leaning down to press a delicate kiss to your nose.

"Hi." you murmured with a sleepy smile. You sat up slowly letting the sheets pool around your waist, exposing your completely bare torso to the man before you.

The look in his eyes was feral and sent heat surging to your core.

He groaned as his eyes drifted down to your chest. He leaned in to press a kiss to your lips.

"You know I'd love to stay tangled up in bed with you all day, but we gotta get to the compound." He sighed as he pulled away from the kiss.

Your brows furrowed. It was the third Saturday of the month. You and Steve always had the third weekend of the month off.

"Why?" you asked, reaching up to brush your tangled hair from your eyes.

Steve huffed as he stood from the bed and made his way over to the bathroom.

"Some kind of emergency." he stated as he started the shower.

You slung your legs over the side of the king-sized bed and stood, stretching your arms overhead. You watched as Steve stripped off his shirt, the muscles in his back rippling as he tossed the sweaty fabric into the laundry hamper. Goosebumps erupted on your arms at the sight.

"It must be a big deal if they're calling us in on our day off." You stated as you stalked toward the bathroom.

"I guess." he shrugged as he stepped beneath the stream of hot water, leaving the glass shower door open for you.

You stepped in behind him, your mind swirling with ideas of what could possibly be so urgent.

-

The two of you arrived at the compound an hour later after a steamy shower and a cup of coffee. Steve was sporting a large, purple hickey right beneath his ear and you couldn't wipe the grin from your face.

You marched toward Conference Room A hand in hand. The hallways were silent and most of the lights were still off. As you approached your destination you spied Bucky walking from the opposite direction.

His hair was tied back away from his face and dark stubble covered his chin. His expression was as stern as always as he sipped coffee from his favorite mug.

"Mornin' lovebirds." he sighed as you grew nearer.

"Morning Barnes," you chirped, "Chipper as always, I see." you teased.

Steve chuckled beside you, his blue eyes crinkling at the corners. Bucky glared at him over his mug.

"Yeah well, not all of us are so disgustingly jovial all the time." he explained as he lowered the mug. His signature smirk on his lips.

You rolled your eyes and reached for the heavy, wooden door to the conference room.

"You're annoyingly broody." you quipped over your shoulder and the dark haired super solider shrugged in response.

"Alright, alright. That's enough you two." Steve playfully chastised as the three of you entered the conference room. He knew you and Bucky had developed a fondness of teasing each other.

The rest of the team was already gathered in the spacious room. Natasha, Thor, and Bruce were engaged in conversation off to the side of the room. Wanda, Vision, and Sam were munching on the bagels that were displayed in the center of the large, round table. Tony stood alone at the front of the room arranging papers. He was dressed in a crisp, designer suit as always.

Steve pulled out a chair for you and you slid into it immediately reaching for a poppy seed bagel and Strawberry cream cheese. Steve took his seat beside you and Bucky sat across from the two of you.

"Good morning, guys." Steve smiled, reaching for a bagel of his own. He selected a plain one with blueberry cream cheese.

Three sets of eyes turned his way. Sam, Wanda, and Vision all offering their Captain a warm smile.

"Mornin' Cap." Sam chirped, his mouth full of food. Wanda's nose crinkled in disdain at the action. Vision offered him a napkin.

"Anybody know what this is about?" Steve asked, eyes flickering around the room, observing his team.

"Not a clue." Wanda stated, "We just received word from Friday this morning that we were needed for an urgent matter." She swept her red hair over her shoulder as Bruce, Thor, and Nat joined the rest of you at the table.

"Hmm." Steve's brows furrowed in thought. Absolutely no one knew why this meeting was called.

You reached over and patted his knee. You knew how anxious he became when he wasn't immediately presented with all of the information he needed for an "emergency situation".

"We'll find out soon enough, baby." You assured with a small smile.

-

Forty-five minutes later Nick Fury waltzed into the conference room. He made a beeline to the front of the room to stand next to Tony.

Tony cleared his throat and straightened his purple, paisley tie.

"Morning, Losers." Tony smiled, "I'm sorry to bother you all on a Saturday..." he continued shooting a glare at the side of Fury's head. "But apparently this was an urgent matter. So, without further ado I'll let Nicky here hijack this meeting."

"Thank you, Stark." Fury growled as Tony walked over to the table and took a seat with his team.

Fury took a few deep breaths before beginning his debrief.

"Two days ago, we received a distress signal from an agent that was deployed on an undercover mission. Hydra had uncovered her identity and she was deemed in imminent danger. They attempted to abduct the agent at our safehouse in Italy, that's when she sent the signal. We sent a team immediately to extract her." Fury explained.

"She has been recovered safely, but she holds valuable information. Information that could bring us closer to disbanding Hydra for good. They have already attempted a second abduction." Fury continued.

"So, what? You want us to baby sit a trained agent?" Tony scoffed, leaning back to throw his feet up onto the marble tabletop.

"Don't be ridiculous," Fury rolled his eyes, "I want you to work with her to eliminate the threat and take Hydra down. She has the information you need."

You looked over at Steve with furrowed brows. His eyes were filled with questions. Just as you opened your mouth to speak to him the door to conference room opened behind you.

The sound caused every head to swivel in that direction. Maria Hill stepped into the room first. Her hair was slicked back into a bun, and she carried a gun on her hip.

A woman entered behind her. Her head was cast down toward the floor, blonde hair falling around her face. She wore tactical gear that was covered in mud and blood spatters.

You could feel your heart rate rise as she looked up, her eyes immediately searching the room for your boyfriend.

The agent you'd be working with was none other than Sharon Carter.

-

[jareaulover]

Hi there, could you maybe write a JJ/Will one shot based on Josh Stewart’s cardiac arrest? I think it could be interesting ☺️

Don't go breaking my heart (Willifer OneShot)

Summary: Will has a heart attack after an argument with his wife.

Warnings: Heart attack, marital spat, not a huge fight though.

I couldn't find a ton of information on his heart attack but it seems like his wife at the time saved him. I'm gonna differ from that though. Also side note, when I was reading his roles on wikipedia, I seen Criminal Minds on there and I was so shocked for a whole 3 seconds before I realized I was literally looking for information for a criminal minds oneshot... Like my brain is lagging.

Anywayyyy here it goes

Read on AO3

or full story below cut

The morning had been cold, JJ had insisted that both boys put on jackets before they left for school and even though Henry had groaned and argued, he wore a jacket to school. JJ stood against the counter, a plate of Will's amazing scrambled eggs in one hand and a fork in the other.

"Since its your day off, I was thinking that we could get to some of the yardwork that-" Will was cut off by his own groan and his hand went to his chest. JJ stood up straight in alert,

"Will? You okay?" She asked, quickly setting the plate down, Will took a couple of deep breaths.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm alright." He said, "It was just a little pain." Will brushed it off, JJ stared at him for a few seconds before nodding,

"Let me know if it happens again, alright?" She said, he nodded. JJ picked her eggs back up and continued to eat,

"Anyway, we have a lot of work to do if we want to get the fire pit done by Henry's birthday .I assume he still wants a bonfire birthday." Will said, starting to wash the dishes from breakfast. JJ nodded and added her plate to the sink,

"Yeah, he's dead set on it." She said with a smile, "I can't believe that he's going to be 14 already." She sighed, glancing at a baby picture of him that hung on the fridge. Will smiled sadly,

"Seems like just yesterday he was so small..." Will said, looking at the same photo. JJ smiled as well. The two were pulled from the moment by a familiar sound, JJ's phone pinging with a text. They stared in the direction of the phone for a few seconds before Will let out a sigh. JJ pursed her lips and grabbed the phone from the counter,

"Will, I'm sorry... Its an emergency." She said, reading the text. A girl was missing in Minnesota and her parents had waited nearly 24 hours to report it. Will just shook his head,

"Isn't it always?" He said. JJ sighed and touched his shoulder,

"Come on, Will, I can't help it." She tried, she knew it sounded lame but this was the same fight they'd had a million times before,

"It seems like every time you get a day off there suddenly an emergency and you're carted off to Mississippi or Iowa." Will said, sounding more than slightly annoyed. JJ rolled her eyes,

"Its my job, Will... What do you want me to do? Have a press conference and tell all the bad guys that they need to take a day off so I can have a day off?" She said, it was Will's turn to roll his eyes,

"I just don't understand why your team can't just go without you. I mean, they've obviously worked shorthanded before." Will pointed out,

"Yeah, but they shouldn't have to." JJ said, "Its a little girl..." JJ told him, "What if-"

"Don't say it. Just go." He said, turning back to the dishes. JJ sighed and turned to leave the kitchen.

Once his wife was out of the room, Will allowed himself to lean against the counter. His chest was hurting again, but this time he felt all the air leave his body as well. He grasped the edge of the sink, but pretty soon he felt his knees give out and he was on the floor. his hands were shaking as he pulled his phone from his pocket. He heard the front door open and shut. He wanted to shout for JJ, but it was too late. Will could barely keep his eyes open as he dialed 911 on his phone. He was able to utter 'Help' before losing all consciousness.

---

As soon as JJ stepped off of the elevator, Garcia was standing there with a worried look on her face.

"JJ, is your phone on?" She asked, JJ furrowed her eyebrows.

"No, I had it off while I was driving." She said, "Why what's wrong?" Garcia bit her lip,

"I got a call from the hospital, they said they couldn't get ahold of you but my line was also listed as an emergency contact for Will and-"

"Garcia, what happened?" JJ asked, her heart had started racing as soon as the tech genius said 'hospital'

"Will had a heart attack." She said, finally, "I guess he was able to dial 911 and they traced his call and the paramedics got him stabilized, but he's in the hospital now." Garcia said. JJ gripped the bag in her hand tighter,

"Let Emily know that I had to go. She'll understand." JJ said as she turned around and went right back into the elevator.

---

Will's eyes blinked open and he was met with a dim, white room. He knew right away he was in the hospital. He tried to sit up, but a hand on his chest pushed him to lay down. He blinked a couple more times before he could see who it was,

"Jennifer-" He murmured, she squeezed his hand.

"I'm right here, but you need to stay down. The doctors don't want you to get too active..." She said, her eyes were read and he could see the trails where the tears diluted her makeup.

"Oh, JJ..." He murmured, he wanted to pull her into a hug, but his whole body felt so weak,

"I'm so sorry, Will." She whispered, he could tell she was about to start crying again, "I-I didn't- I should have stayed... You- oh god- you needed me and I wasn't-"

"Sh, sh, Its alright, hun." He murmured, squeezing her hand back. She began wiping at her eyes,

"I should have seen the signs." She said, Will let out a huff,

"So should I. Its not your fault, JJ." He said,

"But the last thing we did was argue..." She murmured, "What if they hadn't gotten there in time and-"

"Well, they did get there in time." Will said sternly, "And I'm alright. In the future, we can work on not leaving our arguments unsettled. But right now I just want to be with you." JJ gave him a soft smile and nodded slowly,

"Sounds like a plan." 

[loveforlandonorris]

🎤 Lando at the post-Sprint press conference in Qatar:

Interviewer: Lando, a hard race for you out there, down to 6th at the start, you fought your way through. How tough was it?

Lando: It was very tough. Yeah, any chance to go backwards I pretty much took (laughs). But yeah, just from the right-side of the grid, which was a lot worse than the left, on the Medium, was just always going to be very, very tough. But yeah, I hung on, the first few laps and then just as soon as you got in the rhythm, we had the Safety Cars and so on, the same as the others.

As soon as I caught the Ferrari then he had DRS, so I couldn't get him the first lap, so I was just a little bit like out of rhythm in a way, to get past and keep up with what Max was doing. And then I caught the wet patch in Turn 2, where the guys crashed, so I went backwards again.

Yeah, it’s just not been my weekend in a way, and just made some mistakes here and there, but still fought well and I didn't think I would get George, to be honest, but the DRS was pretty significant. So I managed to get him into Turn 1 from a long way back and yeah, finished with another double podium from McLaren, which is great. But obviously a big congrats to Oscar and Max. I feel like Max has stolen Oscar’s limelight a little bit, but both deserved it today.

Interviewer: As you say it's a double podium for McLaren but are you feeling a little bit frustrated at the moment?

Lando: It depends what with. With myself, I don't think I've ever been so frustrated. Yeah, but with the team, less than ever, you know? The team have done an amazing job. We should've... I don't know, it's always a ‘shoulda, woulda, coulda’, and I'll probably [be] down for a bit, it's... you know?

But I should have been on pole today. I should have at least had a good chance to go for it yesterday against Max, but I just made too many mistakes which have just cost me. Cost me positions today, cost me positions for tomorrow. Now I have to start P10 when we have a good enough car to finish in the top three easily.

So I've just made my life tough, the team's life tough, when it should be the complete opposite and we should be going from the front. But I guess everyone has those weekends.  This is the weekend for me. It's just a shame I'm doing it when the car’s as quick as it is. So that's what makes it more frustrating.

 Interviewer: What is it about the car that is proving so tricky for you?

Lando: Nothing. Just a lack of talent. 

 Interviewer: Alright, let's throw it forward to tomorrow's grand prix, Lando. You're starting, as you say, P10. What can you do from there?

Lando: I hope a lot (smiles). I just need to stay out of carnage. You know, the first couple of corners are pretty sketchy. Depending on what tyres we start on, and so on, but the main thing is staying out of harm's way the first few laps. We have the pace, I think we have reasonable degradation, maybe not the best, compared to the Red Bulls, but reasonable degradation.

So yeah, we want to score good points. I think we have pace to be on the podium but whether we can do it or not from P10 is going to be the question. So, it's a long race, we don't know what rules and stuff Pirelli are going to make us do with the tyres and things like that yet, but we'll find out soon.