#and less than half a tenth off charles

[f1-birb]

Lando really said "I'll have about half an hour total of practice and I'll be quickest on mediums and top 3 on the softs, thanks very much"

[charles-leclerc-official]

Monaco Qualifying: Mini Analysis

Just wanted to point out a few things about the field tomorrow with our top 10.

First is that Charles is in a league of his own, pole by more than 2 tenths, fastest qualifying lap of the session. Well deserved pole and he did it with a comfortable gap to P2.

The only other driver to break out of the 1:10.5 range was Oscar, who is a little over 2 tenths off Charles, and almost a tenth ahead of Carlos.

The next 4 drivers are all extremely close, as in they are off by hundredths not tenths. This really could have gone anyone's way. Slight variances and imperfections made the difference. No one is clearly ahead. So it really came down to a little bit of luck and also the skill in the little areas where it mattered.

Of this group of four drivers Carlos was ahead by the most, he was closest to cracking into the 1:10.4 territory, so the Ferrari's really were on top of it for this track.

After that between George and Lando it's a difference of literally 1/100th of a second, that is just down to luck, because it's essentially the same lap time. Like that margin is basically invisible. And Max is only off them by 20/100ths, which again is so small. Those three were basically matched and it was just down to the very little things with the car, the lap, and the conditions.

Lewis also wasn't too far off this group. Less than a tenth separating himself from Carlos, and about half a tenth off his teammate.

After Lewis the rest have a bigger gap to the rest of the pack.

I want to note that while this was an insane showing from Pierre, his best lap was actually his Q2 lap of 1:10.896.

This is certainly the most unusual starting order we've seen so far, for the whole grid and the top 10. Monaco will do that do you.

Quick look at comparing Charles' and Oscar's laps

What I am interested in is the fact that there isn't a clear point where Mclaren has the edge, I knew they'd be more evenly matched against Ferrari here but this is further off than I'd thought. These straights aren't even Mclaren's best sectors, where they were so strong at Imola it seems that significant lead didn't translate as well to the street track format. So good for Ferrari which overall was the strongest car on this track.

Also Charles really did bring it, no one really touched him when it came to that lap. He really did dominate.

Finally remember that Monaco is an extreme outlier of a track. So for drivers/cars that are not strong here it isn't a good metric to try to determine how things will go on other tracks. Yes Red Bull seem to be struggling, but on this track that's not as concerning for them performance wise as it would be at a more typical track. Similarly Alpine are doing well, which may or may not hold true in the future, same with Alex and Williams. An outlier track sometimes makes outlier results. One of the reasons Monaco is so cool.

Now we do know that Ferrari and Mclaren are strong, and these aren't outlier results for them, they've been fast and competitive, and they were here as well. So what this means for those teams is that their cars are very versatile and less track dependent than say some other top teams(Red Bull)

There is a lot more, but those were the things I noticed that were interesting to me from this session. But really all you need to know is that Charles put together a STUNNING lap.

[mariacallous]

Ukraine is in the waiting room to join both NATO and the European Union. NATO leaders meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania, disappointed Kyiv last week with only a vague statement on a future invitation to join the alliance when “conditions are met.”

But at least NATO is being honest in signaling that there are still obstacles to overcome among the allies. That stands in stark contrast to the EU and its messaging on Ukrainian membership. If you think Ukraine’s path to NATO is a struggle, wait until what happens when Ukraine’s EU accession gets serious.

With its grand rhetoric on Ukraine’s future in the EU, Brussels is talking as if Kyiv joining the bloc were a done deal. When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Brussels in February, EU leaders elbowed each other for a photo-op with the wartime leader. European Council President Charles Michel greeted Zelensky with a tweet: “Welcome home, welcome to the EU.”

When EU membership is discussed in detail with Ukraine, the focus is on what Ukraine needs to do to join. Deeply united by the war, Ukrainians are pressing ahead to do their part, adopting new laws and implementing regulations required for EU membership. The Ukrainians are checking more and more boxes on the long EU membership to-do list, from reforming their judiciary to developing a new media law to cracking down on corruption.

Ukraine, together with Moldova, attained EU candidate status in June 2022, drastically shortening a byzantine process that has taken years for other countries on the waiting list. Kyiv  will get the first written progress assessment from the European Commission in October. To keep up the momentum, Ukrainian officials are pushing for the official start of accession negotiations by the end of this year, possibly at a European Council meeting scheduled for December.

But while Ukraine is working at pace to join the EU, Brussels and the bloc’s member states are not doing nearly enough to be ready to absorb Ukraine. EU leaders’ high-flying rhetoric on Ukraine’s membership therefore does not match their actions. To absorb a country with the size, population, low income level, financing, and reconstruction needs of war-torn Ukraine, it would require a major reform of EU institutions, policies, and budget processes. At the very least, this will set off vicious conflicts between current members about the distribution of EU funds.

Therefore, if EU leaders were really serious about membership for Ukraine, efforts to reform the bloc should already be underway. At the heart of the issue is the EU budget, which is dominated by two major elements: agricultural subsidies and development projects in poorer regions, which combined account for roughly 65 percent of the EU’s long-term budget. For both these issues, prospective Ukrainian membership is explosive. Ukraine is one of the poorest countries in Europe, with a per capita income of barely one-tenth of the EU average and less than half that of the EU’s poorest member, Bulgaria. Ukraine also now has vast infrastructure and reconstruction needs. To all of this, add one of the continent’s largest agricultural sectors that would suddenly be eligible for EU subsidies.

Were the EU’s budget and redistribution process to remain unchanged, Kyiv would immediately suck in a vast part of the EU budget, including funds now going to the bloc’s less affluent members in Eastern Europe and elsewhere. Many countries currently benefiting from EU funds would turn into net contributors overnight. If you think any of this will be a smooth process, then you don’t know much about European politics.

Given the current redistribution of funds within the EU, it’s no surprise that the biggest cracks in support for Ukrainian membership have come in Eastern Europe, where the EU’s net recipients are concentrated. In fact, the battle over giving Ukraine access to European agricultural markets has already started, long before a single euro in EU farming subsidies is reallocated: Following the invasion, Brussels supported Ukraine by allowing its grain and other agricultural products to enter the EU’s single market. Cheaper Ukrainian goods undercut farmers in neighboring Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia. Even though Ukraine was desperate for revenue, Poland violated EU rules and unilaterally blocked Ukrainian grain from entering Polish territory. The EU intervened with a compromise, allowing Ukrainian produce to enter the EU but requiring it to bypass five Eastern European countries most affected by the unwelcome competition.

It is also no surprise, then, that some of these Eastern European countries—which count among Ukraine’s biggest military and diplomatic backers—also oppose any serious effort to undertake the EU reforms that are a prerequisite for Ukraine to join. Not only do these countries potentially stand to lose substantial funds, but EU reforms to prepare the way for Ukrainian membership will also likely include streamlining EU decision-making rules, which could reduce individual members’ power, especially countries such as Hungary and Poland that have made liberal use of their veto power to influence EU decisions.

EU enlargement is one of the most successful political, economic, and social policies in history, peacefully expanding the union to incorporate 450 million people in 27 countries. For new members, entering the bloc has often set off an economic miracle—a combination of market access, EU funding, the bloc’s rules on good governance, and the confidence that comes with having a secure future. Yet for the past decade, further enlargement has been on ice, largely because the redistribution involved when new, usually poor, members join has been so politically wrought.

Since Zelensky submitted an official application for EU membership on Feb. 28, 2022, just four days after the start of the Russian invasion, the question of further enlargement has been back on the table. Besides membership for Ukraine and Moldova, EU leaders are increasingly aware that other countries not yet in the EU—specifically, in the Western Balkans—will also have to be brought on board if European security and stability is to be ensured.

The explosive impact of Ukraine’s membership on the EU budget will force a discussion about the EU forging a fiscal union. In essence, that would mean a large increase in contributions by wealthier members, such as Germany, France, and some of the smaller rich countries; EU-wide income and other progressive taxes; a big increase in the EU’s ability to issue its own debt; or all of the above. Obviously, this is no minor discussion.

Further enlargement would also strain the EU’s already handicapped ability to make decisions and adopt new laws and policies. Reaching unanimity—needed in foreign policy, for example—among 27 sovereign member states is already a Herculean task, complicated further by the presence of an illiberal, Russia-friendly state such as Hungary. Adding Ukraine and other countries patiently waiting to join could push the EU to well past 30 members. There is a long history of  members weaponizing their veto power, which explains why other member states hesitate to add more countries to the decision-making mix without changes to the EU’s functioning.

Germany, for example, is pushing for the expansion of qualified majority voting to new policy areas, such as foreign policy. No longer requiring unanimity would significantly streamline the ability of the EU to make foreign-policy decisions. Smaller countries fear that losing their veto would mean losing their voice in the EU—a debate familiar to any student of constitutional history. Other potential concerns relate to the distribution of member of the European Commission—currently one commissioner per member—or seats in the European Parliament. Enlargement would require reform in these areas, too.

Enlargement would also spotlight the unresolved issue of rule of law and democracy. The EU defines itself as a union of democracies and has strict rules on civil rights, and there are deep concerns over democratic decline and the rollback of the rule of law in Hungary and Poland. Western European governments, in particular, are very wary of enlarging without strengthening the EU’s ability to act against democratic erosion. This concern is especially acute since not a single country on the candidate list is rated fully free in Freedom House’s 2023 Freedom in the World index.

Ukraine could be the catalyst to jump-start a new wave of enlargement. The prospect of its membership requires reform, which in turn would remove many of the obstacles that have similarly held up the accession of Western Balkan countries. Russia’s brutal attack on Ukraine has already been a catalyst for the EU in another way—by demonstrating to Europeans that their bloc is indispensable to their security. When it comes to defense, in survey after survey, Europeans want the EU to play a much greater role. Critically, support for Ukraine among EU citizens remains incredibly high. Even after a year of sanction packages, millions of refugees, energy decoupling, and a cost-of-living crisis, 74 percent of EU citizens approve of the bloc’s support for Ukraine, according to a Eurobarometer poll.

Ukrainians are fighting for their European future. EU leaders now need to do their part to be ready to bring in Ukraine. If they pursue the long-overdue reforms of EU institutions and processes that will be required to make Ukrainian membership work, they will not just make the EU larger. They will make it stronger as well.

[onekisstotakewithme]

2022 Masterlist

Hi everyone, and happy new year! I hope your 2023 will be better in every conceivable way 💜✨

I've decided to do another yearly masterlist, to be able to share what I've written this year with my friends and mutuals. New fandoms and old, long fics and short... it was a fun year, and I'm delighted to share the year's work with you! This list will be organized by fandom & length, with ships marked, and there are exactly two WIPs I'm carrying into next year with me (there is also one story not listed here, because I did Yuletide this year!)

M*A*S*H

Finest Kind: The 4077 MASH (WIP) - The 50th anniversary story I wrote for M*A*S*H, about a couple of journalists who want to make a documentary about the 4077. 3 chapters exist thus far, more to come in 2023!

make of our hearts, one heart (WIP) - BJ and Peg renew their vows for their tenth anniversary... and are planning a private wedding for themselves and Hawkeye. Part 5 of the Home series. 2 chapters are up so far, but the whole story is written, it just needs to be edited!

no love less perfect than a life with thee (98k) - In April of 1957, Charles Emerson Winchester III marries Donna Marie Parker (with background BJ/Hawkeye/Peg, Max/Soon-Lee and Sherm/Mildred); 12 chapters long, Part 4 of the Home series.

Not On Your Life (19k) - The missing days between when Donna arrives at the 4077 and her and Charles's unwedding. Charles/Donna, 3 chapters long.

younger in October (than in all the months of spring) (14k) - Charles visits Hawkeye in Maine over Canadian Thanksgiving, in October of 1953. Charles/Hawkeye, 3 chapters long.

etymology (9.4k) - The evolution of language as it pertains to BJ, Hawkeye & Peg. BJ/Hawkeye/Peg, one-shot.

Many a Weary Mile (6k) - BJ's journey home from Korea is marked with reunions and partings. BJ & Hawkeye (romantic if you squint), BJ/Peg, 2 chapters long.

katabasis (5.5k) - What if Hawkeye didn't get off the bus in "The Late Captain Pierce?" (aka Hawkeye journeys to the Underworld). Gen, one-shot.

night and day, you are the one (5.4k) - Hawkeye tries to plan a date night for himself and the Hunnicutts. BJ/Hawkeye/Peg, one-shot.

What Unites Us (4.4k) - Epistolary fic; letters from the attendees of the stateside reunion to their family members in Korea. Tag to "The Party", Gen, one-shot.

Take My Hand (3.8k) - BJ's first day in Korea. Tag to "Welcome to Korea", BJ & Hawkeye, one-shot.

the love that you've looked for (2.9k) - The 1980s personal ads AU, aka "what if the Pina Colada song was poly instead of about infidelity". BJ/Hawkeye/Peg, one-shot.

Well-Oiled Machine (2.8k) - Sheer pornography, aka what if Peg was a mechanic and BJ a sexy man on a motorcycle. Inspired by Tom of Finland, Peg/BJ, one-shot.

Last Requests (2.2k) - Hawkeye, if he's facing the gallows, has one dying wish - and it involves BJ. Tag to "The Novocaine Mutiny", BJ/Hawkeye, one-shot (this fic was four years in the making from idea to execution).

One Small Step (2.1k) - Hawkeye watches the moon landing with his family in 1969 and marvels on the progress he's seen in his lifetime. Post-canon, BJ/Peg/Hawkeye, one-shot.

If Only In My Dreams (1.8k) - Hawkeye and BJ reflect on Christmas Eve. Expansion of the mess tent scene in "Death Takes a Holiday." BJ/Hawkeye, one-shot.

Superman (1.4k) - Tag to Fallen Idol, missing scene between BJ and Hawkeye. BJ/Hawkeye, one-shot.

Star Trek: The Original Series

a wild call and a clear call (that may not be denied) (10k) - Two and a half years on from "Amok Time", Spock's pon farr returns without warning... leaving Jim with no choice but to help. Smut & Feelings, Spirk, 4 chapters long.

a lover's tourniquet (1.5k) - Hurt/comfort where Spock helps Jim clean up after an altercation with the Klingons. Tag to "The Trouble with Tribbles", Spirk, one-shot.

Stranger Things

you spin me right round (1.3k) - Hurt/comfort, Nancy helps Steve with his bandages while they're in the Upside Down. Tag to "The Massacre at Hawkins Lab", Stancy, one-shot.

perfectly paired (like a pb&j) (1.2k) - Robin and Vickie bond over peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Tag to "The Piggyback", Robin/Vickie, one-shot.

The West Wing

The Fall's Gonna Kill Ya (1.4k) - There's only one person CJ wants to call with the news about her new job offer. Tag to "Third-Day Story", CJ/Danny, one-shot.

[f1]

Verstappen leads Perez by seven-tenths as times tumble at revised Catalunya track | 2023 Spanish Grand Prix first practice

Championship leader Max Verstappen led team mate Sergio Perez by seven tenths of a second as drivers familiarised themselves with the revised layout of the Circuit de Catalunya. Verstappen set the pace for Red Bull with a 1’14.606, while Alpine’s Esteban Ocon was the quickest of the team’s rivals. Despite a 30% chance of rain being forecast for the opening hour of running of the race weekend, the teams were treated to clear skies and temperatures in the mid-20s. With so many teams introducing new parts on their cars for this weekend, all were quick to head out on track and get some early data on their upgrades. Aston Martin sent Fernando Alonso out the moment the green light appeared at the end of the pitlane with a large aero rake installed on his AMR22. He performed some slow laps to generate some base data for his team on their new front and rear wings parts before returning to the pit lane. Ocon gave Alpine encouragement with third Teams were also testing the new construction of tyres from Pirelli which are due to be introduced at the British Grand Prix in three rounds’ time. The vast majority of teams opted to run those prototype tyres for their initial laps, although the two Mercedes drivers of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell both decided to complete runs on the revised rubber. Verstappen set the early benchmark time of a 1’16.583 on medium compound tyres, before Perez moved to the top with a 1’16.420. Not to be outdone, Verstappen shaved four tenths of a second off Perez’s time to break into the 1’15s for the first time in the weekend. Many drivers had their first experience of the much faster turn 13 as they bypassed the chicane which was introduced in 2007. However many drivers, including Verstappen and Russell, reported some porpoising in their car as they rounded the final right hander at speeds of 250kph. The Red Bull drivers switched onto the soft tyres and immediately went much quicker. Perez posted a 1’15.374 to move to the top of the times, before Verstappen reclaimed the top spot with a 1’14.606 to go seven-tenths faster than his team mate. That would remain the fastest lap of the session as no one would threaten his time for the remainder of practice. Teams spent the rest of the hour focusing on longer runs, with Alonso complaining about the viability of racing on the soft tyres he had been sent out on. In the closing moments, Pierre Gasly and Logan Sargeant made contact at the left hander of turn 10, but with no major damage done to either car. At the end of the session, Verstappen was comfortably quickest from team mate Perez. Ocon finished the session in third, less than half a tenth behind Perez, with Nyck de Vries fourth-fastest in the AlphaTauri. Pierre Gasly was fifth in the second Alpine, with Alonso sixth and Kevin Magnussen seventh. The two Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jnr were eighth and ninth, though race control noted the latter may have committed an infringement when he performed his practice start. Sainz lined up directly behind Leclerc then pulled away before his team mate. The top 10 was completed by Russell’s Mercedes. Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free 2023 Spanish Grand Prix first practice result Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free 2023 Spanish Grand Prix Browse all 2023 Spanish Grand Prix articles via RaceFans - Independent Motorsport Coverage https://www.racefans.net/

[feuerspirit]

RULES: Post the first lines of your last 10 fics posted to AO3. (Sort by date posted.) If you have less than 10 fics posted, post what you have.

Hah, thanks for tagging me, sweetie! @12romy 💜

Mockingbird

Lewis/Charles, F1 Lewis is behaving strangely, Charles thinks, barely meets him at the 2022 pre-season tests. Charles doesn't know what's going on and is afraid to find out.

2. Portuguese Sun

Pecco/Fabio, Luca/Alex Marquez, Aleix/Pol, MotoGP tiny drabbles inspired by the Portuguese Grand Prix

3. Tenth Symphony

Pierre/Lewis, Kimi/Seb, Valtteri/Guanyu AU: Lewis is a mafia boss, and Pierre is a musician. Drabble collection.

4. Write sins

Pecco/Fabio, Marc/Valentino, MotoGP A collection of small works in demonic-au, where Fabio is a demon, Valentino is Satan, and Pecco is his son.

5. Tell me about the future

Lewis/Charles, F1 They live in a really strange world, in which every child comes with a prediction of their own fate. A small message, a promise of the future, usually appears in early childhood, the first or second year of life, and for everyone it is very special and individual. The prediction can be long, some have convinced that their prophecy is like a poem, or maybe in a few words, but it necessarily has a deep meaning. Lewis gets his prediction in a year and a half, and for the first time he sees about five years and at first he can't believe it himself. Lewis's prediction consists of one tiny ink squiggle and says: "1".

6. this year I wanna be with you

Lewis/Pierre, F1 Lewis was here by accident. Stuck with thousands of other people two days before the new year at airports, while the entire Cote d'Azur is shackled by storms and storms. Lewis didn't feel much stress from the delay of his flight, although it wasn't pleasant. He had already celebrated Christmas with his family and spent the whole week before the new year on trips around Europe, finishing the remaining cases, without any haste thinking that he could have time to fly to his family at the ski resort by the 31st. OR: Lewis and Pierre were stuck together at Monaco airport on New Year's Eve. Lots of flirting.

7. Trust me with your secret

Marc/Vale, MotoGP For racing, they all wear special clothes, ironically nicknamed cases, which covered their wings, tightly pressing them to the body. The rest of the riders took off these cases, barely got off their motorcycles. But Marc never took off the clothes hiding his wings, it seems, and Vale was seriously wondering if this would change when Mark arrived at the ranch. Just a drabble where people have wings. Marc and Valentino are still racers

8. For good luck

Yassine Bounou/Dominik Livacovic, Football Unexpected night meeting of two goalkeepers in the same hotel, talk about semifinals and luck

9. Death's on my doorstep (I won't open the door)

F1 A collection of drabbles about survival in the zombie apocalypse. A zombie-hostel is trying to arrange life in a new world. Characters and parts will be added :)

10. I bet my life

Lewis/Max, F1 It's a terrible cliché that Max would hate, if he had the chance, but the last he remembers before the impact is the pungent smell of burnt tires and gasoline. And then only pain. He’s waiting for the familiar darkness that saves him from acute unbearable pain, waiting for his body to give up and his consciousness to slip away, but for some reason the darkness doesn’t come. Instead, he feels through the pain a soft touch on his shoulder and gentle hands carefully lifting him out of the cockpit with such ease as if he weighed nothing, as if his body was not wrapped in safety belts and tightly clamped by twisted metal.

[sedicisantidote]

Honestly charles had a brilliant race all things considered and I'm tired of people saying it wasn't. I'd even argue it was one of his best performances of all time.

• There was standing water on Charles' spot which caused him to lose the position to perez (despite having the exact same reaction time) and that is where lewis lost the position to carlos too. Even post race charles said he didn't know what happened and when charles makes a mistake, he owns up to it. If he didn't know, it was clearly out of his hands.

• Charles complained about the car being understeer-y and you could literally see him fighting the car at every corner and being snappy. Despite that, on a track which requires precision, he drove brilliantly, putting fast laps after fast laps, somehow finding time anyways. It was a difficult drive and he coped with it very nicely. You could see he put his entire heart and soul into it. He pushed like hell, fighting for every tenth he could get.

• Charles pitted on lap 31 for mediums. He is great at tyre management, one of his most under the radar skills, but he can't pull miracles where there aren't any miracles to pull. He was trying to close the gap to perez at front and pushing like crazy, ofcourse he had to also run out of tyres at some point. I believe the penalties not being announced for perez when his infringements happened also played a part because it made him push even more than what was there in the car or the tyres. It was inevitable.

Charles could have easily had put the car in the wall or spun or had an incident like more than half the grid but he DIDN'T! (Also this is not me taking a dig at anyone, it's just facts) With how snappy the car looked, it gave me heartattacks to even see snippets of his onboards, it was mighty impressive how he managed to wrangle that car to the chequered flag with his average race being being only a couple of tenths off of the fastest car.

Ferrari also made all the right strategy calls today thankfully and we might not have gotten the exact result we wanted (through various circumstances), I am so glad charles was able to have a clean weekend finally. And he was happy with his performance too which is the biggest indicator of how good he was because he never settles for less.

[earnestly-endlessly]

kind of an odd request — do you have fics where erik is grumpy with everyone else but a ray of sunshine with charles?

Hi anon, thank you for the ask. First and foremost, I'm so sorry for how long this took me but I've been searching for all the fics that come to mind that fit your request. Second, this is not an odd request because I love this trope so much. I mean, it's basically canon that he's grumpy with everyone except for his Charles, right? Anyway, I might add to this list later on, but I can't sit on this any longer and hope that you have found some fics that you enjoy!!

Fic Recs Where Erik is grumpy with everyone but a ray of sunshine with Charles

Twice as Blind – Darksknight

Summary: Erik is probably the biggest asshole on the face of the earth, and because of this, he'll probably die alone. Charles is a complete flirt and playboy and, probably, will never commit to anyone ever.

(The lesson here is that when you have two friends who are BOTH secretly seeing someone, well, it's probable that they're seeing each other.)

In the moonlight, on a joy ride – scarlettblush

Summary: Librarian AU. Charles is the young librarian and Erik is the college student who is completely besotted with him.

The Proper Care of Actors – Clear_Liqueur, Clocks, Etherei, afrocurl

Summary: Erik is an A-list action star who is notoriously difficult to work with, until the day he gets cast alongside Charles Xavier, rom-com darling who can charm the pants off movie audiences the world over and apparently even one Erik Lehnsherr. The paparazzi catch them out and about soon enough, and their real-life Hollywood movie romance becomes instant tabloid fodder.

Rumor Mill – ikeracity

Summary: Erik is the grumpiest, most foul tempered worker at Stark industries. His grumpiness is the stuff of legends.

So it's obviously the talk of the office when Erik is being made to go to the company party and he's bringing his husband. There's rumors flying round about how much of a masochist or equally antisocial bastard Erik's husband must be to put up with him. Others think he must be a meek mouse perhaps bullied by Erik.

What they weren't expecting was the confident, charming, adorable and unbelievably nice Charles that turns up on Erik's arm. What they certainly weren't expecting was how much Erik obviously adores his husband and how happy he is to let others see this.

Work/Life Balance – pocky_slash

Summary: Alex is pretty sure his weird, anti-social boss is a robot. Right up until the guy's adorable husband shows up. His adorable husband who happens to be a famous actor. His adorable husband who happens to be the very same famous actor who was the source of many of Alex's teenage fantasies.

Terrifying Domesticity – ishipitsobad

Summary: Erik is the most dangerous and notorious mafia boss around for miles, and yet the strangest things terrify him.

For example: his children, and his very pregnant mate.

Of kittens and teacups and love – Ren

Summary: Modern AU in which Charles and Erik are flatmates. Charles studies psychology and likes tea and chess and keeps bringing home stray kittens, and Erik lets him because he's maybe perhaps a little bit sort of in love with him.

Fools Rush In – LoveSupreme

Summary: Erik owns a cafe on the edge of campus and accidentally starts maybe-stalking a Biology Professor there.

Growing Pains – ikeracity

Summary: Twelve-year-old Erik Lehnsherr is an angry, closed-off foster kid with trust issues and a bad temper. Ten-year-old Charles Xavier is a lonely kid in boarding school who just wants a friend.

Logan pretends he doesn't think they're both fucking adorable.

Series

Home Together (The Finding Our Way Remix) – significantowl

Summary: Erik is not the sort of person other students strike up conversations with. His expression, his posture, every part of his manner say: Don’t talk to me. I don’t want to talk to you. But none of that stops the boy ahead of him in line with the collapsible white cane, and nothing can stop Erik from falling for him, like it or not.

Melted Ice Cream and Macaroni Art – pocky_slash

Summary: Everybody likes Charles. Nobody likes Erik. And that's really the source of Erik's doubts. Also, there's ice cream and a baby. Part of ‘the Daycare’ verse.

Walling in or Walling Out – stlkrchck

Summary: Erik stifles a sigh. Of course this is Mr. C. F. Xavier. Of course.

For the prompt: Charles and Raven are throwing a holiday party. Erik is the grumpy neighbor who is annoyed by how loud they are being. So he goes to complain, and Charles makes it up to him.

(Wise Men Say) Only Fools Rush In – wildelybroken

Summary: After reading a fic where Erik and Charles are super sluts, meet at what is presumably Raven and Emma's engagement party, and end up sleeping together, I made the following comment and just inspired myself.

"They start casually texting each other throughout the day, maybe while they’re bored or frustrated at work, and start out meeting up and sleeping together semi-frequently. And eventually they accidentally start dating without noticing it at first, not until Raven and Emma get them alone and are like “wtf you two super sluts are actually dating??” And at first they deny, but then they’re both like “holy shit, we are!” And they meet back at one of their places and they don’t have to say anything, they just look at each other and come together immediately, kissing passionately and ~making love~. In the middle of it they realise that’s what they’ve been doing for a long time now and they confess their love to each other and they live happily ever after because they deserve all the good in the world."

For Charles – Shigai

Summary: Tired of being told he has to find his 'heart', classical piano graduate Erik Lehnsherr decides to travel to Italy and drink from the famous Italian passion for music. While searching for it, he meets Charles Xavier, a graduate in Fine Arts who is basically travelling around the world perfectioning his technique, and who will turn his world upside down.

Together they will discover that, sometimes, what you thought you didn't need is what you needed the most.

Erik Hates People – Anonymous

Summary: Erik hates people- it's his rule, a way of living.

Sugar – humanitys_cutest

Summary: Erik glances at the clock for what feels like the tenth time in less than half the minutes. It feels like he's been in some meeting or other since the day started almost 10 hours ago, and he's had just about enough of listening to these pompous old men discuss what would be the best design for his building like they know anything about it. He tries as subtly as possible to massage his temples to assuage the building migraine, but he knows it's no use.

He just wants to go home.

Everyone Likes Charles – Rosawyn

Summary: '“Everyone who's met him likes him.” Cain's grin was even stupider than before. “Once you meet him, you'll see.”

It was almost like a challenge then. And damn. Erik hated saying no to a challenge.'

Still Going Strong – JackyJango

Summary: Speaking of forty-eight, Erik hates it. Hates it even more that others are aware of it. While he’s pragmatic enough to know and accept that aging is inexorable, the increase in number gives the people around him the freedom to pounce at him with questions, opinions and advice he'd fought to keep at bay all year.

Besides, Erik believes that youth is a state of mind, not a phase in one’s life.

You have a child’s mind in a man’s body, Charles constantly tells him.

But despite his age, Erik is healthy. He works out daily. His muscles are steel and he can dead-lift four hundred pounds. He can break bones without breaking a sweat. Most importantly, he can still carry Charles to the bedroom and fuck him senseless. And as long as Erik can do that, he’s perfectly happy.

All I know is pouring rain and everything has changed – hllfire

Summary: Charles meets Erik, the man he had heard about many times from his sister and some friends, on a rainy Sunday morning. The stories about Erik paint him as a distant and intimidating man, but Charles finds out that maybe the stories had been wrong.

How to Successfully Ruin Your Life – humanveil

Summary: Seventeen-year-old Charles Xavier accepts a job at his local café, expecting nothing more than a fun, new pastime. What he gets is a mysterious customer and a schoolboy crush.

Stolen – ishipitsobad

Summary: Erik is a miserable, grumpy, cantankerous bastard, and he has every fucking right to be. He drew the short end of the stick when he got the Underworld as his domain, and there isn't very much fun to be had in judging and governing dead souls who would rather be anywhere else but with Erik in the depths of Hell.

So when he meets Charles, brilliant and lovely Charles who is more popularly known amongst the mortals as Persephone, and feels the promise of something wonderful that could make his eternally doomed existence infinitely more bearable... you can bet all your drachmas Erik's not going to let Charles go any fucking time soon.

Erik Lehnsherr's Guide to Saving the Universe By Meeting Your Soul-Mate and Falling in Love in Less than 72 Hours – magneto, pangea

Summary:Army Pilot Erik Lehnsherr is just trying to enjoy his day off when a mostly naked person crashes through the roof of his car. Even more alarming, the strange falling naked person—who goes by Charles Xavier when he's not speaking an ancient dead language—brings tidings of the apparent potential end of the world, and begs Erik to help him put a stop to it.

Well. His mother has been nagging at him to go out and meet new people.

The Theory of Partnership Dynamics – Pangea

Summary: “Detective Lehnsherr, how wonderful to see you out on the job!” The fed in the front greets him as they draw nearer. He’s shorter than the other two by a full head, and he’s beaming at Lehnsherr as if completely undeterred by Lehnsherr’s paint-peeling scowl.

“What do the feds want?” Lehnsherr asks bluntly.

“You know I can’t tell you that,” the fed answers cheerfully. Then his gaze lands on Alex, and, impossibly, his grin gets even brighter. “Did you get a new partner?"

“No,” Lehnsherr says through his teeth while at the same time Alex says, “Yes.”

[danielxricciardo]

Winner

Summary: You met Pierre at the Brazilian Grand Prix and for 3 months you couldn't get in touch.

Warnings: fluff, like 2 swear words

Word count: 2.3k

This one was requested by @jugasly and I know it is not exactly what she wanted but I really tried and I hope you liked it!

Avenida Paulista's Boulevard catches the eye especially through the skyscrapers similar to those in the big North American cities. Brazil's most modern city has much to offer tourists around the world. The most beautiful museums in South America can be found here, the shore is furrowed with lots of sunny beaches. And its nightlife has attracted many tourists.

The largest city in South America makes New York look small. The buses make an unbearable noise and black smoke spreads over the upper floors of the skyscrapers which, through the heat that maintains it during the day, turn the city into a real hell.

I felt myself waking up but I was determined to keep my eyes closed for a little longer but in a few seconds I was awakened violently by the sound of car engines. That's what I deserve for booking the hotel next to the Formula 1 circuit.

You reluctantly got out of bed and went to the window. I saw how the Formula 1 cars are brought on the circuit and I look at my watch. Fuck, it was pre-qualification practice, did I really sleep that much? Honestly, I arrived in the room at 5 o'clock and at 6 I fell asleep so I shouldn't have been so surprised that I slept in.

I was in Brazil with my two best friends to watch a Formula 1 race live and we chose Brazil because we needed a good reason to leave Europe and visit South America for a week, right?

I woke up my friends and in less than half an hour we were leaving the hotel, running, with a big cup of coffee in our hand.

We passed quickly through the front gate, all we needed now was to find our seats.

All around us could be heard the cars speeding on the circuit. My skin was goosebumps and I was looking at my friends who had the same smile on their faces that I think I had.

We find our seats and watch the last 15 minutes of training. We held in our hands the tickets that gave us access to the paddock. We were going to go there after the drivers returned to the garages.

My eyes were searching for Aston Martin Hospitality. I knew that if I returned home from this Grand Prix without an autograph from Sebastian Vettel for my father, I could very well stay in Brazil for the rest of my life.

Being so focused on looking for the green building, I didn't realize that someone was coming in front of me only when I hit a hard chest. I heard my girlfriends gasping. Fuck, I just hope I didn't run into Toto Wolff.

I open my eyes slightly and see a driver's suit, white and blue. Alpha Tauri?

I look up at the driver's face. To be damned. Pierre Gasly. With ruffled hair and a red face, Pierre Gasly was in front of me.

"I'm really, really sorry, I didn't look where I was going. Sorry!" I say and take a step back, stepping out of his personal space.

As I walked away from him, I saw that he was not alone but with Pyry.

"It's okay, I wasn't looking where I was going either," he says, running his hand through his hair, trying to fix it.

I smile at them and then I look at my friends giggling at our embarrassing date.

Pyry motions to Pierre to someone behind me and that makes him take his eyes off me.

"Oh, I have to go," he tells me. "Have fun."

I stood still for a few moments, unable to move. I just met my favorite driver and it couldn't be more embarrassed than that.

"The first meeting with your children's future father was very good." my best friend, Lila, tells me.

"Shut up."

The fact that I found Aston Martin Hospitality and managed to get the autograph for my father and I could take a few pictures with Sebastian Vettel erased the embarrassment caused by the disastrous meeting I had with Pierre Gasly.

For a little time.

As soon as we got out of Aston Martin Hospitality Lila pulled us to McLaren Hospitality, hoping to meet Lando Norris and take some pictures with him, about 100, but who's counting, right?

I was with my head on the phone, sending my father some pictures I took with Sebastian Vettel when I came across someone, this time I lost my balance and I was about to fall but two strong arms caught me. Pierre Gasly, again.

"Honestly, we should stop meeting like this, you could get hurt," he says and laughs. "Are you ok?"

"Yes, yes, I'm fine," I say and bite my lip. "I should really start looking where I'm going."

My friends secretly took pictures of us.

"It's the second time we've met in less than 10 minutes, maybe the universe wants to tell us something, don't you think?" he says and holds out his hand. "Pierre."

I hold out my hand and smile wide. "Y/N."

I turn my gaze to Lila and Erica, presenting them to Pierre as well.

"I hope you feel good in the paddock. So far, the world has been nice to you and your friends?"

"Yes, everything has been good so far. We've only been to Aston Martin and they've all been very nice to us. Except for a few people who don't look where they're going, we haven't had any unexpected events." I say and laugh.

Pierre starts laughing too.

"Yes, I will try to look after you from now on and avoid you. I don't want to be the reason you fall. Although, if something happens, I know the medical team and you don't need medical insurance here."

I asked Pierre if he wanted to take some pictures with me and he accepted immediately. At least that's what I can do after I've run into you twice already.

For the next few hours, Lila and Erica, and I walked from one Hospitality to another, looking for drivers. They were all very nice to us and agreed to pose with us.

When it was time to start qualifying, we went to the room provided by McLaren for guests to watch.

I followed Pierre's position in the standings, Lila followed Lando's position and Erica followed Max's position. All three of us breathed a sigh of relief when the three boys passed into Q3.

Lando will leave from the seventh position tomorrow.

Pierre will start from the fourth position.

Max will start from pole position.

The three of us went to the hotel, ready to rest well for the next day.

If the atmosphere for qualifying had seemed charged to me, then the atmosphere before the race could not be described.

Yesterday everyone was behaving nicely and they were smiling. Now everyone was running past everyone, there were many screams and many curses could be heard. And everyone was frowning, not a smile in sight.

We didn't see any drivers, so we headed to McLaren Hospitality to get comfortable for the race. I unwittingly was disappointed. I wanted to see Pierre before the race to wish him good luck.

Although I hadn't wished him good luck, Pierre was lucky. He finished the race in second place, behind Max Verstappen. I was very happy and I wanted to go and congratulate him as soon as possible.

I watched the award from the window, filming and taking pictures which I was sure I would cherish for a long time to come.

"Congratulations!" I scream when I see him and he looks at me. "It was a very good race, congratulations!"

"Thank you!" he says and smiles at me.

I asked my friends to take some pictures with the trophy and champagne and then Pierre left, being shouted by someone from the team.

"Stay here, I'd like to see you one more time before you have to leave."

I could die then and there when I heard his words. Pierre Gasly wanted to see me again.

It's just that it hasn't happened before. We stayed there for another two hours and Pierre could not be found. It was getting late and everyone was starting to leave, so we left.

Monza is the most important economic, industrial and administrative center of the Brianza sub-region, being the third-largest city in Lombardy, with a population of about 120,000 inhabitants. When people think of Monza, the first thing that comes to mind is the famous Formula 1 Grand Prix that is held here every year.

Although many may think that Milan eclipses this smaller city, Monza should not be dismissed, having an absolutely sublime historical architecture, such as the Cathedral and the Leoni Bridge, but also features the huge Parco di Monza and of course the famous Formula 1 Autodromo.

The historic center of Monza stretches over a large area and in this area, you can find most historical sites and a guided tour of the history of cities.

Three months have passed since the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Three months since I first saw Pierre Gasly.

Although I have pictures of the two of us, I can't help but regret the fact that I didn't see him then; I will probably never see him again.

The exams passed and to relax completely my father and I got tickets to the Italian Grand Prix.

What I didn't know was that my father had taken VIP tickets.

That means we're going to the paddock.

Does that mean I can meet Pierre?

I tried not to have too many hopes, in the end, there are thousands of people there, I can't meet him, can I?

I didn't meet him on Friday. It had been the two practice sessions, everyone was as relaxed as possible, my father took pictures with everyone he saw, but Pierre was nowhere to be seen.

On Saturday we were late and did not catch the practice, but we saw the qualifications. Pierre starts from the tenth position. To be honest, I didn't have high expectations for tomorrow's race for Pierre.

And man I was wrong about that.

The whole race I was speechless. I heard my father from lap 23 and to the end cursing the accident that took Charles Leclerc out of the race.

My eyes were only on car number 10. I had the impression that I was blinking only when the camera moved to another car. I forgot to breathe when I saw the overtaking he was doing.

But he won.

Pierre Gasly won in Monza. His first ever Formula One career win and it was my home race.

Before we went out in the paddock looking for Pierre, after the premiere, I wiped away the tears I didn't know I had.

It wasn't hard for me to find him. Where there were a lot of people screaming and chanting, he must have been there too.

And I was right. He is enjoying his first victory with the whole team. Everyone wanted to hug and congratulate him.

As if he noticed my presence among the hundreds of people who were there, Pierre looked at me. I noticed his face light up and he came towards me.

"Y/N!" he says and hugs me.

I'm sure my father was shocked somewhere in the back. I hadn't told him that I had met Pierre, but after this hug, I will definitely have to explain to him what the situation is.

"Congratulations!" I tell him and I smile broadly. "First victory! Wow!"

He shrugs nonchalantly.

"I was lucky."

I laugh and hit him playfully in the shoulder.

"With Hamilton being penalized? You would have overtaken him without that penalty."

He looked into my eyes.

"I haven't found you after the race in Brazil."

The fact that he remembered had taken me by surprise. I was sure he couldn't remember the fact that he had proposed to me to stay on the circuit so that he could see me one more time.

I was sure that the second he left, he forgot what I looked like and forgot my name.

But no. He still knew me. He still knew my name and knew we had to see each other.

"I haven't seen you there before and I left after about two hours, it was getting late."

"I'm sorry, the teamwork had taken longer than I initially anticipated. When I went to look for you, no one was there. Then I realized I didn't even have your phone number. I tried to look for you on Instagram, but do you know how many girls are there with your name?"

I laughed.

"Well, I could give my phone number to the race winner now, if he wants it, of course. Do you think he would accept it?" you ask laughing.

Pierre blushes and bites his lip.

"I'm sure he would accept."

I take out of my bag the notebook and pen I was carrying with me to receive the drivers' autographs and write my phone number. I hand him the sheet just as Pierre is being taken by some engineers to the garage to celebrate the victory.

I laugh and wave at him.

I was at home with my father, watching a boring movie on Netflix. I've been looking at the phone constantly since last night, waiting for a message from Pierre but I haven't received anything.

"Ugh, this movie is so boring," I say and take my phone off the table. "Let me look for a more interesting one."

That's when I receive a message from a number I didn't save. I received a picture.

It was the picture with the prize Pierre received.

"The winner of the race has received your number and is wondering if you are free to dine with him."

I bit my lip, unable to control the smile on my face.

"If the winner of the race wants to go out on a date with me, who am I to say no?"

"8 o'clock?"

"I'll send you the address right away."

[lightsovermonaco]

A Decent Workout (NSFW Pierre Gasly)

Masterlist

Completely and utterly self indulgent fic inspired by how damn GOOD Pierre looked over preseason testing. Beta read by @acollectionofficsandshit

The buzzing of an alarm woke you not long after the sun had risen over the deserts of Bahrain. You groan, rolling over and smacking the solid shoulder of your boyfriend, startling him awake as well. “Turn it off, Pierre.”

He does as he’s told, then clumsily tucks an arm around you and pulls you to his chest. Voice rough with sleep, he murmurs, “Good morning.”

“Morning,” You echo, nuzzling into his warmth. You curl your frigid hands against his chest, utilizing your personal space heater to the fullest extent. “How long until testing?”

Pierre rests his cheek on your head. His hand traces lazy circles on your shoulder blade like you have all the time in the world. Your eyes slide shut again, sleep beaconing on the horizon. “About an hour.”

You sigh, suddenly awake. “Not much time for lounging around then."

Eagerness mingled with disappointment in his reply. “First day of the new season.”

Pierre's excitement had been palpable the entire week. Buzzing about like a honeybee on the first day of spring, he had prattled on about the specs of the AT02, what changes he was most excited to see, and his predictions on how the car would compare to others in the paddock. You offered your thoughts when prompted, but were just as happy to listen to his happy ramblings and share his enthusiasm. 

It had been his idea to arrive in Bahrain early, allowing the two of you a few precious, uninterrupted days with each other. From now on, his weekends would be packed. No more last minute trips to ski resorts or visits to Charles in Monaco. Starting today, his primary focus became Formula 1. He would travel around the world to compete in a total of 23 grand prix this year, and you would follow faithfully to cheer him on.

You lay tangled in each other for a few minutes, trading sweet kisses. “I have to go,” Pierre murmurs against your lips. You tighten your grip around his bare middle, determined to make him stay a little longer.

“You’ll be gone for so long though,” You whine, pouting. The last few days had spoiled you. He smiles and presses a kiss to your forehead. “Eleven whole hours without a beautiful Frenchman to keep me company.”

“I’ll be back before you know it. And besides, you can watch the entire session from the comfort of our suite.”

“It’s not the same as being in the garage.” Damn the personnel restrictions the FIA had imposed for the upcoming season. You wouldn’t be allowed in the paddock for a single race. You understood and respected the decision, but it bothered you that you couldn't be there when he inevitably made it on the podium this year.

“I know.” Pierre tapped your arm in silent request. Reluctantly, you release your death grip and allow him to slide out of bed. He turns his back to you and stretches, granting you a moment to drink him in. He had packed on a significant amount of muscle during the offseason, filling out in all the right places.

Deciding there was no use trying to go back to sleep, you rise and join him at the dresser. He rummages through it, finally settling on a plain tshirt. As usual, you can’t take your eyes off him as he effortlessly slides the fabric over his head. How did he make an everyday act so inherently sexy?

Catching your stare, he fights the smile playing on his soft lips. “What?”

“Just admiring the view,” You say simply. Going up on your tiptoes, you press a meaningful kiss to his cheek. “Be careful out there, okay?”

He holds out his pinkie to you. You smile, wrapping your own tightly around it. “Promise.” He allows you one more passionate kiss before he slips out the door to make his way to the track.

At least one perk of staying in a suite was the fully stocked kitchenette. You grabbed an apple before brewing a cup of strong coffee, taking in the view off the balcony while it percolated. You could just see the track from here, something you knew Pierre had specifically requested. Although it was early, heat already rippled from the pavement. Hopefully his Alpha Tauri would stay cool and not throw a tantrum in the intense temperatures.

After a quick shower, you threw on one of Pierre’s extra shirts and let the comforting scent envelop you. Settling into bed with your coffee in hand and a laptop humming on your legs, you wait for the testing livestream to begin. In the meantime you scroll through your phone, reading the comments on the pictures of Pierre arriving at the circuit. 

His carefully selected outfit had caused quite a stir and honestly, you understood why. A loose blue shirt, white skinny jeans and sunglasses. On anyone else, it wouldn’t have been impressive in any way, but on him… He somehow always managed to deliver exactly what his fans - and most importantly you - craved.

And when the livestream started and he stepped out on the track with his white and navy Alpha Tauri suit half undone, the moisture-wicking underlayer practically painted on… You damn near lost it.

In the months since last season, you’d forgotten how mouthwateringly attractive he was in a race suit. The underlayer left nothing to the imagination, clinging to the hard lines of his torso. The famous Bahrain heat didn't help your sanity either, the sweat soaked fabric turning slightly translucent in places. Your eyes stay glued to the screen as it flips between cameras, desperately praying for another glimpse of your frenchman. 

How were you supposed to wait nine more agonizing hours for him to return?

As if picking up on your neediness, you didn't see another shot of Pierre for twenty minutes. The camera cut to the Alpha Tauri garage, where Pierre’s car waited in the pit lane. The closeup of him geared up sitting in his Alpha waiting patiently made you slap a hand over your mouth. Those eyes. You knew the little quirk of his brow he threw at the camera was meant solely for you; a way to unravel you when he wasn’t physically there.

You silently cursed him for how well it worked. 

Moments later, the tire blankets are peeled off and his car is lowered to the ground. Gasly was one of the first drivers to head out onto the track, giving him plenty of clean air to lay down fast laps. He completes seventeen laps in the first hour, and by lap twenty he holds the second fastest time, less than a second behind Verstappen. 

You try to focus on the precision and skill Pierre is displaying, but your mind keeps wandering back to the image of him standing on the track in his race suit. The consuming need to strip him out of it is incredibly distracting. It doesn’t help that your social media feeds are flooded with images of it either, offering you no reprieve.

By the end of the second hour, Pierre edges past Verstappen to take the fastest lap and go purple. He nearly holds onto it at the end of the session, just a few tenths slower than Ricciardo and Verstappen. It doesn’t matter; pride and love swell in your chest when he finally pulls back into the garage, his excitement evident before he even pulls his helmet off. The Alpha mechanics share his excitement, the camera showing them congratulating him before cutting to post session interviews.

As much as you tried, nothing could make you focus on Max or Daniel’s interviews. You spun the ring on your pinkie impatiently, waiting for Pierre to make an appearance. Ages later, he finally took a seat at the press conference. He took no mercy on you. Again dressed in crisp white and navy that accented his sun kissed skin, the ring twin to yours back on his finger… 

“Fuck me,” You groaned, throwing your head back. Even with half his face covered, he was still breathtakingly gorgeous. He carried himself with an easy confidence that no one else on the grid could match, on top of the world and determined to make it everyone else’s problem.

The entire time he spoke, you dreamed of running your tongue up the column of his neck, right over his Adam’s apple. You could taste the salt settled in the hollow of his collarbone, hear his breath catching as you worshipped him. 

Only half an hour until he came home to you.

The interview finally ended and you snapped your laptop shut, tossing it to the chair at the bedside. The second he came through that door, you’d pounce on him. Ten hours of straight torture, being forced to endure watching other women on social media drool over him and being unable to congratulate him on his amazing morning session at the garage. 

And fuck, would you congratulate him.

Minutes dragged by as you mindlessly scrolled through your phone, the endless pictures of Pierre not helping your desperation. You started at the sound of a key fitting in a lock. Throwing your phone aside, you scrambled from the bed, launching yourself at the door as it opened.

“Hey baby-”

You cut him off with a feral kiss, your lust boiling over. To his credit, he didn’t hesitate in dropping his bag and kicking the door shut behind him. He caught you when you jumped, broad hands cupping your ass as you wrapped your legs around his waist. 

“I love whoever designed Alpha’s suit,” You mumble between the open-mouthed kisses you pepper along his stubbled jaw. “You look fucking amazing in white.”

“I’ll be sure to pass your thanks along.” Tangling your fingers in his hair, you pull, exposing the thick column of his neck. Your tongue darts across his skin, savoring the softness. He groans, his grip shifting to dig his fingers into your thighs.

You don’t pause when he lays you on the bed, mouth continuing its needy exploration down to his shoulder. He settles over you, his solid body a familiar and welcome weight against you. 

“I couldn’t concentrate on anything once you stepped out onto the track,” You tell him, hands slipping under his polo. “Do you know how many women were talking about you today?”

“There’s only one that I care about,” He murmurs, pulling back to strip off his shirt. You take advantage of the power shift to wriggle out from under him. “Where are you-”

“Lay down,” You say, quiet but firm. The corner of his mouth quirks up but he obeys, taking his sweet time. You don’t mind; watching his shoulders ripple as he settles back against the downy pillows.

“Miss me much?” He taunts, the deep baritone resonating with some primal part within you and sending a shiver down your spine. “Usually our roles are flipped.”

You bracket a bare leg on either side of his with a wicked grin. “Do you really think I’d let you set the pace when you tortured me all day?” You bite your lip and let your gaze wander over the hard planes of his pecs, down his sculpted abdomen, finally coming to rest at the line of muscle disappearing beneath his waistband. You don’t miss the way his attention dips to your thighs, your center barely covered by the hem of his band tee you wore.

Pierre grins, folding an arm behind his head. “Do your worst.”

Your shirt joined his on the floor, piercing blue eyes eating up your newly exposed skin. You sink forward, eye to eye with him. You tip your head to the side, letting your hair slide forward to tickle his shoulder as you lean in to whisper, “I will.”

Lips, teeth and tongue float over his skin, leaving small, easily hidden marks in your wake. You let your hands slide across his abdomen as your mouth makes its way down his sternum, pausing to delight in his rapidly beating heart.

Fingers brushing the waistband of his riot-inducing white jeans, you press a tender kiss just below his belly button. "Why do you always insist on wearing white?"

"D-drives you wild," He gasps out, stumbling over the simple words. You hum against his skin in response, cock twitching against your shoulder. One of his hands flies back to grip the headboard, veins in his forearm bulging. 

Only when his eyes slide shut in anticipation do you finally undo the button, unzipping his fly agonizingly slow. Your name is a breathless plea tumbling from him as you ghost your fingers over his length. He lifts his hips just enough to allow you to slide his jeans down his thighs, followed by his boxers. The tip of your finger runs along the underside of his shaft, causing him to groan. The headboard creaks under his crushing grip as he tries to stop himself from shattering at your barest touch. 

Flicking your tongue over the tip, you spread the bead of precum that had gathered there. Slipping into French, Pierre swears viciously, his free hand tangling in your hair. He may know how to make you squirm from across the city, but you knew how to return the favor tenfold.

"You gonna win for me in two weeks, my love?" You purr, curling your fingers around his cock. 

"I'll w-win every race if it means you'll fuck me," He replies immediately, wholly submitted to the promise of your touch. 

You hum noncommittally before taking the tip of his cock in your mouth, swirling your tongue over the head. His hips buck, but you're already reacting in anticipation of that very movement. He groans in frustration when your mouth leaves him. A welcome change from your normal games, when it was his head between your thighs, his teasing tongue flicking across your center, your hips rocking in frustration. You enjoy his frustration for a few breaths, lazily drawing circles on his hip like he had done to you that morning.

"I think that could be arranged."

Bracing your hands on his chest, you position yourself so your slick folds brush against his cock. Arching your back, you grind your hips against him, your own chest heaving in time with his. The hours of anticipation had left you dripping wet, evidence of the effect he had on you. You silently praised yourself for your restraint; you wanted to drag out his need and tease him like he had done to you all damn day.

 "Mon amour," he murmurs, and you damn near lose your mind. Two words in his native tongue, dripping with honeyed softness but spoken with such rawness, it sets your soul on fire.

You reach a hand back, guiding him into as you sink down. Your pussy stretches to accommodate the thickness of him, and you have to give yourself a moment to adjust to the fullness.

Sweat beads on his golden brow as you begin to ride him in earnest, his hips rolling to meet yours. Panting, you dig your nails into his forearm, leaving angry red crescents behind. No matter how many times you fucked, it always felt like the first. The perfect fit never ceased to amaze you, the angle of your hips putting delicious pressure on that magic spot inside you with every thrust. 

"Pierre," You breathe, head falling back. His own thrusts become more frenzied, the wet sound of skin on skin sending a bolt of ecstasy through you.

His breathy moan of your name guides you over the edge into oblivion, your orgasm slamming white hot over you. Your desperate movements begin to slow, Pierre stilling beneath you as you struggle to regain your senses. Limbs shaking, you roll over, allowing yourself a moment to steady your breathing before turning back to him.

Pierre jerks when you take him in your mouth once more, tasting yourself on his cock. Hollowing your cheeks while taking as much of him as you can, you wrap your hand around the rest of him.

"Fuck," He mumbles, over and over as he thrusts his hips into your mouth a handful of times before his release finds him. His hips jerk as he cums, your tongue coaxing every last drop from him. You let him finish before swallowing the salty liquid, wiping your mouth with the back of your hand. 

Sighing blissfully, you collapse onto the pillow next to your beloved. His arm hooks around you, still sticky with sweat but you don't care.

“I would say that counts as my workout for today,” He jokes, voice shaking in the aftermath. You laugh, wrapping an arm around his chest.

"Tomorrow, I choose your outfit."

Pierre’s laugh rumbles through you, setting your toes curling. "As long as it makes you attack me when I get home, I'll wear anything you ask me to."

[sunsetcurbed]

you showed me faith is not blind (miracles happen)

Pairing: Alex/Willie Words: 3,416  Rating: T  Warnings: none  Chapter: 1/11 read on AO3

Summary: “I don’t suppose you’ve heard of Frederick Alexander Louis Mercer?” his grandmother asks with a deep frown, crossing her ankle behind her other foot carefully. He frowns. Here’s that pub trivia he doesn’t know. “No, I can’t say I have.” “Frederick was Beasiga’s crown prince,” she tells him with a meaningful look, which he doesn’t understand. She leans forward. “And Frederick was your father.” Alex’s mind blanks. “That’s… okay,” he says, bobbing his head in a quick nod as he presses his lips together and bites the insides of them, trying to will some thoughts back into his mind. “I don’t think—I’m not sure you’re quite right on that. Because if you were, then—“ “Then you would be Alexander Charles Taylor Mercer, Prince of Beasiga.”

(*)

(or: the willex princess diaries au that no one asked for but I wrote anyways)

(1)

1 e and a 2 e and a—

"On the edge of great, on the edge of great, on the edge of great," Alex sings into the microphone, listening to the rest of his band around him and hearing the audience of their music class as he performs his midterm with his band. On one hand he's thankful that the four of them only have to perform once for all of their grades instead of four separate performances—less opportunities to mess up. However, on the other hand, he's bummed about it because it means they only get to play in front of their class once rather than four times. Performing music for a live audience is like nothing else—even if it's an audience as simple as a group of thirty high school students. The music their band makes is undeniable, so even while listening to performances is routine in this class, most of the students still end up getting into their music and dancing along.

Alex drums and sings along and watches Julie from behind as she belts out her high note at the beginning of the final chorus. He can't keep the grin off his face as he sees various students dancing in their seats to the song. He makes eye contact with a few and even sends one of them a wink, just as he hits his last cymbal before Julie and Luke go into their duet over the piano. He looks towards his two band mates and friends and smirks at them being just a little too close for a midterm performance, but—glancing at Mrs. Harrison—the teacher doesn't seem to mind, so. The two of them finish and all four of them stand and take a bow, and Alex lets the cheers and clapping wash over him.

"Very impressive," Mrs. Harrison compliments. "Who composed the song?"

"Julie and I wrote the lyrics, all four of us worked on the melody and harmonies, and each of us worked on our individual instrument to compose our piece," Luke answers readily.

"It was very well done," she nods at each of them in turn. "I'm sure you'll be very pleased with your grade. You all may take your seats."

Alex follows behind Reggie to their group of four seats in the back of the music class room, nodding at a few of his class mates as he goes when they offer him praise. When they get back to their seats Mrs. Harrison calls for the classes attention and then next performance goes, and then Flynn goes next, and then music is over for the day.

"We nailed that," Luke bursts as soon as the bell rings to end class.

"Luke, what was that riff at the end of the bridge?" Reggie asks with wide eyes. "It was killer."

"You think so?" Luke asks, bouncing on the balls of his toes. "I didn't mean to improv but it came to me and it sounded so good in my head so I just—"

"Luke," Julie smiles softly, placing a hand on his upper arm, "don't worry. It was incredible. You were right to add it in."

Luke looks between the other three band members and bites his lip. "Yeah?"

Alex laughs. "Yeah, buddy."

"Awesome," he grins, swinging his backpack up onto his shoulder and hopping towards the door. "And now—that's three midterms down and only two to go."

Alex groans. "I only have one left."

Reggie frowns. "Why are you more upset about that then Luke is about two?"

Alex sends a look at Reggie. "It's public speaking."

"Oh no," Julie murmurs from next to him, reaching up to rub a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You'll be okay. Just imagine you're sitting behind your drums."

"Yeah, that's never worked."

"Imagine you're on stage with us," Luke says from Julie's other side, tossing his arm around Julie's shoulder and leaning in her space so far that he's nearly in Alex's space as well.

"That's also never worked."

They reach the cafeteria then and their conversation falls away as they make their way through the lunch line. Alex grabs only an orange, because if he's going to be giving a speech in the next two hours, he doesn't want to give his stomach much ammunition.

They make their way to the back table of the cafeteria where Flynn, Willie, and two of Willie's skateboarder friends, Greg and Shawn, are waiting for them. Alex can count the amount of words he's said to Greg and Shawn over the past two years on both his hands, but they shared Willie nicely, so that was enough for him.

See, Alex had met Willie in elementary school at recess—it had to be at recess because Willie was a grade above him. Alex remembers Willie doing cool tricks on all the playground equipment—flipping off the benches, pin wheeling on the bars, jumping off the parallel bars—exciting things like that. He'd always had Alex's attention. And then in fourth grade Alex jumped off the swing really far (he'd never admit it was on accident). Obviously this started a jumping contest off the swings and the only one who bested him had been Willie, who came over and introduced himself after the recess aides stopped the competition. At the time, Alex didn't know what he was feeling when Willie smiled at him. He'd been told crushes were for girls, so he didn't realize that his crush was on a boy. Over time he'd learn though, and over time it'd develop.

It wouldn't progress much further though until Willie was in tenth grade and Alex was in ninth, both of them at high school. It was Alex's second week at high school and he lost rock, paper, scissors to Luke and had to go up to the concession stand at the beach to get everyone their hot dogs. On his way back to the group, however, Willie skated right into him. After lengthy apologies, Willie took him back to the concession stand and bought him new hot dogs in apology, plus an extra one, and joined them. That day would cement Alex's helpless crush on Willie which—

Has not gone away now that they're half way through fall term in Alex's junior year of high school.

Ask him how he's doing.

"Hey, hot dog!"

(He's doing great.)

"Hey, puka," Alex rolls his eyes back, eying the puka shell necklace around Willie's throat. Willie grins wide at him, bouncing his eyebrows up and down. Alex moves to take his seat next to Willie.

Willie takes a bite of his sandwich and looks at the group. "How'd your music midterm go?"

"So well they left me there," Flynn huffs from where she's picking her lunch out of her lunch box. "I had to put my trumpet away and by the time I was done they were gone!"

"You know what Luke is like after a performance," Julie apologizes to her friend. "I couldn't keep him still if I tried."

"It's for that reason and only that reason that you're forgiven," Flynn says.

"Our midterm was amazing though," Luke jumps in as soon as Flynn finishes speaking. He looks up to the ceiling and shakes his head. "Man, I wish you were in the music program so you could have seen it—but we'll play it for a gig soon, so I guess you didn't miss too much—"

"We did kill it though," Reggie leans forward, around Alex, to see Willie. "So you can be sad about missing that."

"Consider me sad, then," Willie says. "Flynn, how did you do?"

Flynn answers, and the rest of the table is quiet, giving Alex a moment to let his mind wander. Next period is his public speaking class, and his final midterm. His biology midterm had been yesterday, so after public speaking he's technically free to go—well…

Not actually. He's got an obligation after school today, but. He's not exactly sure how he feels about it.

He doesn't need to think about that now, though, because the rest of lunch passes with various conversations ranging from the start of new songs ("where's my notebook—write that down, write that down!"), cats versus dogs ("you can train cats too, you just don't have enough patience"), and the dance team ("there were kazoos and immediately I knew I was in the wrong"). It's a good distraction from his impending doom of public speaking, but when the bell rings to dismiss them from lunch to class, he realizes that it was just that: a distraction.

He feels his hands clam up, his breathing pick up, and his pulse skyrocket. He can't even force himself to get up from his seat.

"Hey," Julie's voice says from across the table. "We'll be here for you after your speech, yeah? I have a free period after next period since we already took our history midterm so I'll meet you here, okay?"

Willie's hand falls on his shoulder and Alex is already tense so it doesn't even matter that he gets even tenser. "Hey, man," he says "I read through your speech like, ten times. It's ace, you've got this. Don't even bother looking at the audience, just read right off the paper, okay? You don't even need public speaking skills, you're gonna be a fucking rock star."

"C'mon," Reggie says, standing behind him. "I'll walk you to class."

Alex looks at each face surrounding him, and each of them are encouraging, each of them believe in him. He closes his eyes then and swings his legs over the bench and stands up. "Yeah, let's go."

"Good luck!" he hears a group chorus behind him, but he doesn't look back to acknowledge them, doesn't think he can because if he looks back then he'll see their faces and he'll want to hold on to them and so he focuses on the feeling of Reggie's arm brushing against his and keeps walking forward. It doesn't even take them two minutes to get to class, and then Reggie is shaking Alex's shoulder and wishing him luck. Alex doesn't look at Reggie's face for the exact same reason he didn't look back at his group of friends. He doesn't think he'd actually go into class if he'd looked at Reggie.

So he doesn't look at Reggie, and instead walks into the classroom where Mr. Kullins is waiting. Alex takes his seat—second row next to the window—and waits while the rest of the class files in. He pulls his speech out of his backpack and stares at it. He mumbles to himself, reciting his speech as students fill their seats.

"You never write a theme for a movie thinking 'this will live forever.'" John Williams, famous composer, said this. He and countless other composers create the accompaniment to films we know and love. Consciously, we hardly pick up on these melodies, but subconsciously, they influence how we consume the media. A good score can cause a tear, while a great score can make you weep. A good score can make you pause while a great score can make you hold your breath. A—

The bell to start class rings and Alex clenches his fist tightly around the edge of his desk, fighting down the wave of nausea that rises up in his throat. Mr. Kullins is speaking in the background, welcoming everyone to class, explaining that they'll be finishing up the last of the midterms today. It's in alphabetical order by last name, and Alex isn't sure if he's glad to have been granted the grace of going on the last day, or if he wishes he had just gotten it over with on the first day.

McConnell, Rebecca goes first and Alex's nausea rises. Then Stenson, Ryan goes, and the nausea is in every part of Alex's body now, from his head to his toes. Then Mr. Kullins calls Taylor, Alex, and Alex really, genuinely thinks he's going to be sick.

Don't even bother looking at the audience, just read right off the paper, okay?

Right—like Willie had said, he could pretend he was just reading it to himself, right? Just read it straight off the paper. Alex stands from his desk and walks to the front of the room, going to stand behind the podium that's set up for their speeches. He sets his speech down on the stand and doesn't lift his head, not once.

"Everyone, give Mr. Taylor your full attention," Mr. Kullins says from where he sits behind his desk, and Alex wants to scream at him. No! Let them—let them go on their phones! Let them talk to each other! Don't make them pay attention to me!

He starts by taking in a deep, quivering breath. "'You never write a theme for a movie thinking 'this will live forever.''" Alex pauses here, swallowing. He can hear people in the audience shuffling. Someone shifts in their chair and he glances up to see who it was. Shit. All of their eyes are on him. Quickly, he looks back down at his paper. The words are blurrier than they were when he started, and there's a pressure in his head that wasn't there at lunch, but he presses on. "John Williams, famous composer, said this. He… and countless other composers… create the accompaniment to films we know and love… Consciously," he glances up again against his better judgment and feels his face flush hot when he connects eyes with one of the students. "Uh. Consciously, we hardly pick up on these melodies, but subconsciously—" Alex cuts off when a large black dot dances in front of the words he's reading. His throat is burning all the way down to his gut. Without thinking, he leans both his arms on to the podium and hides his face between them.

In, 2, 3, 4.

There's murmurings from around him, but he can't lift his head.

Hold, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.

There's a louder murmuring from closer to him this time, but he can't, he can't.

Out, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.

There's a hand on his back.

His head shoots up, and the room spins.

"Mr. Taylor?" Mr. Kullins asks with a cautious voice, and oh, does he have a lot to be cautious about right now.

"Gotta sit," Alex says quickly, moving to the back wall as quickly as he could to slide down it and put his head between his knees to continue his breathing exercise. He might have felt embarrassed, but the alternatives were passing out or throwing up—he'd know, it's happened multiple times before.

He hears footsteps all around him and the shuffling of desks as he assumes students are trying to move to get a better look at him, but he keeps focused on his counts, and lets Mr. Kullins tell them that the next student is going to go. Someone gets up from their desk and shuffles their papers around before settling it on the podium. Alex briefly wonders what happens to his paper.

The rest of class passes with Alex curled up in the back of the class room, listening to his final three class mates give their speeches, and then they're done. There's extra time left before the bell rings, so that means extra time for everyone to stare at him, so he picks his head up, confident that he's not going to pass out or throw up anymore, and looks at Mr. Kullins. His teacher looks back at him and wheels over in his chair to Alex and frowns at him.

"Are you okay?"

"Now I am. I was about to pass out," Alex explains, far beyond feeling embarrassed about it.

"Does… that happen often?"

"With public speaking?" Alex asks. "Yes."

Mr. Kullins frowns. "We'll speak with Principal Lessa, see if we can't get something figured out. You're not the first one. Do you think you'd be able to do your speech for just me?"

"No, yeah, that would be fine, I just… not… crowds."

"Aren't you in a band?"

Alex nods, just as the bell rings. He carries on, anyways. "Yeah. But that's—different. First, I'm not alone when I'm with my band. Second, I'm good at drums. I'm not good at speeches."

His teacher sighs. "Alright. Your midterm grade will be delayed but we'll speak with Principal Lessa next week."

"Thank you, really."

He nods. "Your speech is on the edge of my desk. Don't forget it when you leave. Are you okay to leave?"

"Yeah," Alex nods, pushing himself to his feet. He's a little unsteady at first, but his balance comes back quickly and he's able to make his way to Mr. Kullins desk and grab his speech. He goes to gather his backpack then, stuffing his speech inside of it, and waves goodbye to his teacher, who waves back.

When he leaves the classroom, he makes his way to the cafeteria like he promised Julie he would. She's waiting for him at their usual table, waving and beaming. He offers a small smile back as he sets his bag down.

"You got through it!" she yells. "It's over!"

Alex laughs humorlessly and slips on to the bench. "No, it's not."

The smile drops off of Julie's face. "What?"

"I nearly passed out, so we're talking to Lessa and I'll be giving my speech to just Kullins. Which, is better, I guess, but now I still have to worry about it until next week."

"Oh, Alex," Julie sighs. "I'm sorry. I wish the band could just… be there with you."

"That'd be nice," he says, putting his elbows on the table. "But I still suck at speaking anyways, so I'm not sure how much that would help."

"Alex, that speech you wrote is amazing," Julie says. "You're good at words, which is what speaking is. What you're concerned about is how people perceive you. When you have us with you, you think that people are looking at you similar to how they look at us just by association and you're okay with that because you love us. But when you're alone you think that people are looking at you similar to how you look at you, at that's nitpicking every little thing and criticizing every fault."

Alex blinks, stares at her. He feels his mouth open, ready to defend himself, but he's not sure what he'd actually say, so he forces it shut again. Julie sits, staring at him, unwavering. He leans forward on his elbows and brings his hands together, twining his fingers. "I… okay."

Julie rolls her eyes and huffs a small laugh. "Come on, Alex, you know I'm right."

"Do I?" Alex asks, voice pitching up an octave. Because, really. Does he? He's pretty sure it's more due to what he told Mr. Kullins—he's good at drums, he sucks at speeches. Even if he is good at words like Julie said, speeches are an entirely different brand of words. They're spoken word. And that… that is the kind of word that Alex does not do. See, if his assignment were an informative written paper on the impact of film and television scores, yeah, Alex would ace that. But it's not. And not because he thinks his class is looking at him the same way he looks at himself, Julie, but because he sucks at speeches. He says 'uh' too much, he pauses in weird places, his flow is weird, his thoughts wander, and he could go on. There's no room for any of that in papers—well, yes there is, but they can be edited out, is the point.

Julie reaches a hand across the table and covers Alex's fingers with it. She shakes it and offers a soft smile. "You should. You would kill speech class, Alex. You just have to get out of your head."

"Yeah, the person with anxiety has to get out of their head," Alex says, flipping his hand over so he can grab hold of hers. He shakes her hand so her arm wiggles. "Never heard of that quick fix before."

"Hey, I never called it a quick fix! Just said it needed to happen."

Alex smiles at her and pulls his hands back. "I'll keep that in mind." Julie lets him drop the subject after that and they turn their attention to their home work, settling into silence. 

[f1-writer]

Sakhir GP Race Review

I held off writing this for a while so that I could collect my thoughts and not write out of frustration/anger/sadness/literally any negative emotion one can feel. However, I think I hold the crown as Pettiest Bitch Alive so I will try to be objective in the first half and be very much opinionated in the second half.

The lights went out, and George had a really good start despite being on the worse side of the track. Kimi ended up spinning at the same place Romain had his accident last week, but luckily the new tyre barrier wasn’t needed as Kimi just spun all the way around, not touching the wall. Only a few seconds later, Checo and Charles collided as Checo turned in on him through a corner. Technically Checo did have the right of the racing line, but he also left Charles nowhere to go. Max, who was right behind them, turned left to try and avoid their collision, but lost it a little, leading him straight into the unforgiving hands of the gravel trap as he traveled agonizingly across it and into the wall. Charles, with his front left suspension completely gone, also slid right in front of the wall, just a few feet from Max. These brought out a safety car, which was pretty bad for George as he pulled a Lewis and was gone after the first corner. George’s safety car restart was also very good, and he managed to maintain a gap to Valtteri of about 2 to 3 seconds. The race was fairly uneventful barring a VSC brought out by Nicky until shit hit the fan in the last quarter of the race. Jack managed to lose just the front of his front wing, ducking quickly into the pits, but debris still on the track. A VSC was brought out at first, but quickly turned into a full-on safety car. I don’t exactly remember every event that happened, but basically Mercedes made a bad call on a pit stop and managed to make a “colossal fuck up” in the wise words of Toto by putting Valtteri’s tyres on George’s car and nearly put George’s on Valttteri’s car until a mechanic realized and they switched at the last second, creating about a 27 second pit stop. This gave George no advantage however, as he immediately had to duck back into the pits, once again putting him and Valtteri on the same playing field. At this point, things were looking bad, but not impossible for George to recover from. Our hopes, dreams, and general happiness were all crushed when George got a puncture, meaning a race that could have been a 1-stop had turned into a 4-stop. By this point, there were less than 10 laps left, and George was down near 15th place. The shining moments for him, in my opinion, were those last 10 laps. His spirit must’ve been crushed, and they obviously were as he was crying after the race in parc ferme, yet he showed us what a strong person he is, and did something that no one really expected. He was pulling over a second a lap on Lando (P10), and ended up just over 2 seconds behind Valtteri, even with his additional pit stop. He easily had fastest lap, with his time (I believe) less than a millisecond over 53 seconds flat, an improvement of over three tenths from Bottas’s pole-taking time. Every fastest sector said one word: Russell. Instead of letting the mistake put him down like Valtteri seemingly did, George channeled that negative energy into proving himself, storming to his first, albeit bittersweet, points in Formula 1. After the race, Toto and Bono came on the radio to George, apologizing profusely to him and telling him that he did a great job, an obvious testament to how much they respect him.

Now for my opinions (this is literally just me venting because nothing makes me more upset than George being sad and a victory/podium being stolen from a driver, so feel free to skip because the opinions here prolly aren’t too popular):

Fuck you Checo. I really don’t have a problem with you but come on, man. You ended Charles and Max’s races when they both had incredible qualifyings, and even though it is a first lap incident, I’d say Checo was the one to blame, if anyone (feel free to disagree, again I’m the Pettiest Bitch Ever so I really don’t give a fuck). Yet, Checo was the only one who got away from that incident unscathed, got a free pit stop from the safety car that he created, and ended up winning not because he was the fastest, but because he took out two of the fastest people and the other two fastest people had stuff happen to them completely out of their control. Listen, I’m cool with Checo getting a win and all that shit, but I really don’t care. He’s had his time to prove himself and (unpopular opinion alert) so has Hulk. I love Hulk and don’t particularly care about Checo, but like come on, guys. There’s only so many times we can excuse your performances. They’ve had long enough to prove themselves, and Checo only just got around to it while Hulk still hasn’t fully proved himself. How many more chances can they ask for before people start saying no? They’ve had their chances and they blew it. So open up the seat for new drivers. Also words cannot describe how trash that podium combo was (for me, at least). I just turned off the TV because the sight of RP cheering while George was crying made me too upset, and I didn’t watch any of the podium interviews or even the podium itself (although it probably was nice to hear some different anthems). Also, I hope that this race will never be replayed because damn, it was worse than France 2019 (yes, I went there). At least France was expected to be boring and hit the standards set for it, but Bahrain initially exceeded expectations, then slammed them right into the ground, putting no mercy up for the kindest driver in F1 (he even gave Carlos, who he is not obligated or expected to help at all, a tow in quali! You can’t tell me he’s not a great person and unfortunately if you do, please remember my title and I’m not afraid to use it). 

In summary, I’m very upset and would rather watch the 2019 French GP than have to rewatch this race. At least I could sleep during France.

[humane-surekha]

Thomas Cromwell and Reformation of Church

Thomas Cromwell (c. 1485–1540) was an English statesman, 1st Earl of Essex, and chief minister of King Henry VIII.

Recently I have been watching ‘The Tudors’ The TV series which details the fascinating but despotic rule Of Henry VIII.

King Henry VIII has captured lot of attention amongst the Tudor dynasty as he had six Queens.

Two of them were executed and one Queen after Henry annulled his marriage to her, became his sister.

The historians have focused a lot of attention on King Henry VIII for obvious reasons, but during his reign there were many other powerful but selfish, enigmatic, sycophant personalities

Cardinal Thomas Wolsey the archbishop of York, Thomas More, two clergies who were his confidante.

His intimate friend Charles Brandon Duke of Suffolk

Thomas Howard Duke of Norfolk and uncle to two of Henry’s wives

But the most influential, fast to rise and equally fast to fall from grace was King Henry VIII’s right-hand man, Thomas Cromwell.

Cromwell was the architect of the English Reformation; who secured Henry’s divorce from Catherine of Aragon Henry first wife then plotted the downfall of his second wife, Anne Boleyn and was finally beheaded as he was falsely accused of trying to usurp the king himself.

Rise of Cromwell

King Henry VIII was a staunch catholic, but he wanted to divorce his queen Catherine of Aragon who had failed to sire an heir and marry the conniving but beauteous Anne Boleyn.

The church refused to annul Henry marriage which infuriated the King and he broke ties with the Papal Catholic Church based in Rome. His disagreement with Pope Clement VII about such an annulment led Henry to initiate the English Reformation, separating the Church of England from Papal authority.

Cromwell was one of the strongest and most powerful proponents of the English Reformation and enacted and passed all the necessary legislative laws in the Parliament.

Henry was now the secular and spiritual head of England, and with that title came the power to appoint bishops, control church property, and recognize selected ecclesiastical courts.

Cromwell then began addressing the issue of anticlericalism through the petition of a bill entitled ‘Supplication of the Commons against the Ordinaries’. It was the reformative influence of Cromwell that was seen in the king’s demands to remove any independent ecclesiastic voice from his church for fear of divided loyalties, which was the been the foundation of Cromwell’s bill of Supplication itself.

Cromwell served the aspirations of both the King and himself.

Henry was now head of the Church of England and was thus free to enjoy his new role in ecclesiastical affairs and he annulled his marriage with his first wife Catherine of Aragon.

Cromwell benefitted both spiritually and politically. Within a month, he was rewarded by Henry with the position of Chancellor of the Exchequer.

England had been completely severed from the corruptive element of the Catholic Pope

Henry with shrewd and tactical thinking of Cromwell were now well-positioned to continue the advancement of reform in the Church of England

Cromwell Administrative Success

The decade of 1530 to 1540 proved to be productive and tragic for Cromwell.

In The year 1534, Cromwell firmed up and rendered a plan for creating a procedural mechanism for the appointment of bishops and archbishops under the Acts in ‘Restraint and Submission of the Clergy’, no longer under the auspices of the Pope.

Once a nomination had been made, the clergy had twelve days to elect and choose the individual named. Failure to elect the nominee within twelve days would ensure the election to go forward without ecclesiastic endorsement; failure to do so after twenty days would result in penalty.

This success galvanized Cromwell to introduce the Act in Repeal of Annates, which eliminated the collection of taxes to be sent to Rome.

Papal revues were instead collected by the king now.

The Dispensations and Peter’s pence Act rendered legislation in England impermeable to external influence (Read Papal here), unless unequivocally allowed by the king.

The Act further allowed the Archbishop of Canterbury (who is Primate of All England and first peer of the realm, and plays a leading role in the worldwide Anglican Church) the power to issue dispensations from canonical law in addition to the issuance of licenses necessary for church-approved actions.

. Between 1536 and 1540 over 800 religious houses in England were dissolved and the lands sold off. The proceeds went to the King.

In the mid-1530’s, Cromwell seized on a convenient opportunity to enrich Henry’s treasury.

The Act in Restraint was a stepping stone for Cromwell, who sought to provide the king with the funds he was in dire need of. Cromwell was able to persuade Henry that good governance was itself an acceptable reason for taxation, rather than the historically accepted threat of war.

The passage of the First Fruit and Tenths Act, ensured that all the taxes which were earlier sent to the Pope now remained in henry coffers.

The passage of this bill provided the treasury with a yearly income of £40,000.

The First Fruit and Tenths Act was eventually administered to the hoi polloi, under the title of the Subsidy Act, which accrued the Crown an additional £80,000 annually.

Cromwell was bestowed with the title of Vicegerent of Spirituals in January, 1535.

Tyranny of the King under the guise of Cromwell

Cromwell was entrusted the responsibility of visiting the churches of the realm to assess their wealth.

Cromwell constituted a commission who travelled and surveyed on his behalf during the 1535.

Cromwell drilled into them as to how to prevent underestimation and collusion with local aristocrats.

During the latter half of the 1535, the commission was again instructed, ostensibly to monitor the moral behavior of the monastic inhabitants.

The resultant document created from the compiled data was the ‘Valor Ecclesiasticus’, which estimated the value of church properties to be £800,000, a sum that could place Henry on equal footing with other European monarchs.

Armed with this information Cromwell strode further and began dissolution of smaller religious houses, which were more vulnerable and at risk

The act further dissolved religious houses with an income of less than £200, and provided pensions for the priors, as well as the opportunity for movement. For the lower ranked inhabitants, alternatives had been the acceptance of transfer to another larger house, or remain and be trained to serve as a secular priest.

Henry appointed himself Supreme Head of the Church of England and dissolved convents and monasteries, with the wily tactician Cromwell.

Conclusion

Cromwell was one of the strongest and most powerful proponents of the English Reformation.

Thomas Cromwell is a good subject for fact and fiction. He was and remains somewhat of an enigma both as a visionary for government efficiency and as an ambitious 'new man' rising to perhaps the most powerful man in England during the reign of Henry VIII.

Historians have tried to untangle how much influence Cromwell had over Henry VIII or whether he was the puppet-master or the puppet in the monarch’s affairs of state

Nonetheless there is no doubt that his life was remained dependent on the whims and commands of Henry VIII.

Perhaps the most important aspect of Cromwell’s personality and political outlook is, according to Elton the famous historian is, a belief and reliance in the efficacy of the law and its use to reform and transform England.

Time and again it is proven that Cromwell as adept at manipulating Henry VIII.

Cromwell was a visionary bent on converting ideas into actions that succeed

Cromwell innate work ethic and drive, and his knack of pleasing his master endeared him to the king

In conclusion I think Cromwell had many faces, that of an administrator, church reformer but the everlasting image of him being a sycophant, groveler, bidding to do everything for his master stays with me

[f1]

George Russell takes the fastest lap in Miami Grand Prix first practice over teammate Lewis Hamilton

George Russell takes the fastest lap in Miami Grand Prix first practice as he beats Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton... while Max Verstappen misses out on the top three places Russell beat out teammate Lewis Hamilton on his last full lap in practice  The proceedings were halted with a red flag after Nico Hulkenberg crashed out  DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news  By Jake Fenner For Dailymail.Com Published: 20:59, 5 May 2023 | Updated: 20:59, 5 May 2023 George Russell was able to knock Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton off the top spot by two-tenths of a second to take the fastest lap in the first free practice at the Miami Grand Prix.  Charles Leclerc of Ferrari finished P3 and three-tenths back of the leader. World champion Max Verstappen ran on the hard compound tires this practice, and finished a whole tenth behind Leclerc to finish P4 - just .424 seconds behind the leaders. P5 and P6 went to Carlos Sainz of Ferrari and Pierre Gasly of Alpine - who were the last two drivers to finish less than a second behind Russell. The two Aston Martins of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, Haas' Nico Hulkenberg, and Alpine's Esteban Ocon rounded out the top ten. Mercedes F1 driver George Russell claimed the top spot at the end of the first practice in Miami With a time of 1:30.125, the Mercedes drivers looked to be in fine form on Friday afternoon Behind Russell, Lewis Hamilton (L) took P2 whilst Charles Leclerc (R) took P3 Meanwhile, world champion Max Verstappen missed out on the top three positions A spin at turn three by Hulkenberg brought out the red flag and stopping the proceedings. The Haas driver was enjoying himself just before the wreck - sitting P2 up until he lost control of his vehicle and collided with the wall in a tight part of the track. He spun and sent debris out onto the road - halting the practice and sending cars back to the pitlane. By the end of practice, Hulkenberg was sitting P9 as he was passed by both Aston Martins, both Ferraris and both of the Mercedes drivers. Last week's race winner in Azerbaijan, Sergio Perez, just missed out on the top ten by just over two hundredths of a second. P12 and P13 went to two cars that set their fastest laps on the medium compound tires: McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Hass' Kevin Magnussen. Alfa Romeo's Valtteri Bottas ended FP1 tied with Williams' Logan Sargeant for the most laps completed in the session with five. Bottas finished P14. Williams' Alex Albon and McLaren's Lando Norris finished P15 and P16 respectively and were the final two drivers to finish less than two seconds behind the leader. Red Bull's Sergio Perez - who won in Azerbaijan last week - finished just outside the top-ten It wasn't the best showing for Logan Sargeant, who finished second to last in the first session In P17, Alfa Romeo's Zhou Guanyu was about to join Albon and Norris, but missed out on the under-two minute club by one-hundredth of a second. Behind him finished Alpha Tauri's Yuki Tsunoda in P18 and Sargeant in P19. The American took his first laps at his home circuit in South Florida, putting in five laps but failing to make a crack in the top-ten. In last came Alpha Tauri's Nyck de Vries - who ran one lap on the hard compound tire and finished four-and-a-half seconds behind Russell.  Advertisement Share or comment on this article: George Russell takes the fastest lap in Miami Grand Prix first practice over teammate Lewis Hamilton via Formula One | Mail Online https://www.dailymail.co.uk?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490