#franz is such a good team boss

[mschievousx]

i wish you love | a.h.

pairing: aaron hotchner x ofc

summary: francesca sainz knows her interests. she likes the dark, crime, profiling, medicine, military, guns, and suits. imagine her surprise when these things come as a person... granted, a "fourty-something unit chief" person, but a person nonetheless.

series masterlist

prologue

penelope garcia, despite loving her womancave, cannot resist spending time at the bullpen where her family is. yes, her office is her place of comfort, but the bullpen has always been more fun—fun in terms of the banter of her friends, their plans of vacations that never really happen because of the nature of their job, and of course, her chocolate thunder, derek morgan.

she loves morgan dearly—as dear as colleagues can love each other without ruining their respective romantic relationships. however, for the past ten months, morgan's life has been nearing hell-like. reid, he can manage. but, the arrival of another proved to be challenging. and garcia should really not love the way her chocolate thunder is outnumbered as much as she does.

but hey, what can she possibly do when the enemy comes in the form of a young trainee who she equally loves?

"i am not a kid."

francesca sainz playfully glared at morgan, crossing her arms as she sat on a desk across reid's. the three, along with jj and penelope, gathering for their daily banter.

derek chuckles at that, gesturing to the resident genius who was sitting on his seat with an amused smile, "reid's 34 and he's a kid, kid."

"i do not have an iq of 187." she retorted plainly.

he scoffed as he tossed his baseball and caught it again repeatedly, sporting his incredulous look with everyone before settling to her.

"what does that have to do with it?"

she slowly stood up and smirked as she presented her case, "false equivalence, like you did. you compared reid and i. while your point in age could be taken, comparing spencer and i is not acceptable at all since our nature is not the same. hence, your point, as a matter of fact, does not have a point."

they all looked at her in silence for a good couple of seconds before jj crossed her arms, as if in thinking as she voiced an observation.

"there's no false equivalence at all."

"my point stands." morgan pushed with a smug grin.

franz narrowed her eyes to each one of them before glaring to morgan once again, "just so you know, this is my annoyed face, derek."

he leaned forward as if to observe her closely before speaking in a sarcastic tone.

"really? looks pretty much the same, kid."

she rolled her eyes at him before grinning herself, fixing her hair to tease him, "what did you say? i look pretty? thanks."

the older agent scoffed once again as he leaned back with a smirk, "deaf."

"you being this chaotic tells me the boss-man is not yet around."

emily's voice made them turn towards the entrance at her arrival, rossi following closely behind as they chuckled.

"where is he?"

 · • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

"where is he?"

aaron hotchner, more known as hotch and the unit chief of the behavioral analysis unit or bau, asked as he gestured the paper to the course professor of the class they just lectured.

she looked at the paper to see who the agent is referring to.

"this student? oh," she raised her head to the entire room, scanning the area for any sign of the girl, "she left already."

he tried to hide the look of slight surprise in his face. after all, franz sainz is a very misleading name. it has certainly nothing to do with what emily has previously said before during her first cases with the team when he asked what is his worst quality. he does not trust women as much as men.

hotch neared rossi, giving the paper to him as the latter read the contents.

"what do you think?"

the italian man read her answer for the situational case they gave earlier. his brows slowly raised inquisitively as he reached the middle and commented, "quite perceptive."

"so?" he asked monotonely. dave already knew what he meant and nodded in agreement.

he turned to where penelope was, chatting with the rest of the team before looking at him.

"garcia, i need you to run details as soon as we get back in quantico."

and with that, it was imperative that they returned the next day, having learned more about the student.

francesca was calmly walking down the hallway, having just finished taking a special exam after she missed her written exam yesterday by attending the bau's lecture. chewing on her gum with earpods in, she disregarded the bandage on her left wrist and hand which served as her 'valid reason' for missing yesterday.

however, she could not miss the the contrast of that bright blonde hair and imposing suits against the figure of twenty-year-olds in the hallway just meters away. she immediately slowed down her steps as she lightly chatted up another student, who she does not know, and casually turned away to walk back where she came from.

only to find the italian already closing in on her too. she shrugged resignedly at that as he finally reaches her, sarcastically smiling as he placed an arm around her shoulders, guiding her to walk where she was originally going to.

"walk with me, kid."

she smiled sheepishly at him, removing her earpods and looking at him, "sir, great to see you. i'm a huge fan."

rossi lightly chuckled in amusement, "i don't have the best experiences with 'huge fans'."

she looked ahead at that, exhaling impassively as she remembered his book about a fan-turned-serial killer, "evidently."

as hotch and jj accompanied their sides, francesca tightly smiled in acknowledgement as the lady smiled back, "sir, ma'am."

"do you have anywhere to be right now?" hotch monotonely asked as they all continue to walk towards the exit.

she looked at him on her left with a sarcastic grin, to which he only returned with a look as if trying to figure her out, "i have a really good feeling you already know the answer to that."

dave interjected with his usual playful tone, "good, because you're going to be at quantico in a few minutes."

with her in the middle of fbi agents, francesca sainz could do nothing but look at him with wide eyes and mouth agape in shock.

"is this about my search history? i promise i did not kill anyone. i write books."

 · • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

"ask and he shall appear."

the trainee commented as the unit chief passed the doors just after emily and dave did. however, when hotch came into full view, she could not stop herself from gaping once again.

"oh my, sir! that is illegal."

he paused at the bottom of the staircase at that, turning to the group as the others slowly distanced themselves from the girl.

"excuse me?"

she grinned at him, her voice full of exaggeration, "you took my breath away with your usual white long sleeves, but now, you're simply killing me with that dark one."

"sainz," hotch pointedly called, trying to contain his exasperation even though the day has just begun.

"i'm serious," she opened her arms on chest level, feigning ignorance before grinning widely once again, "are you looking for wife number two? i volunteer as tribute!"

he narrowed his eyes at her, almost glaringly, before closing them. regaining his composure, he continued to walk upstairs, "i'll pretend i didn't hear that."

noticing the team's amused looks at her as dave and jj shook their heads with small smiles, franz raised her eyebrows at them.

"what? dave's already working with number four."

"what is wrong with you?" derek said in a higher pitch than his normal, seemingly unbelieving of the girl's antics.

penelope grins at the exchange, jabbing to her jokingly as well, "you know he hates you, right?"

before entering his office, he looked back at the team downstairs, voice strict as usual but without serious intensity.

"and refrain from saying phrases like taking your breath away."

as they all hear his door closing, she turns to garcia with confidence and a bright grin, nodding reassuringly.

"he likes me."

[distantlaughter]

Formula BMW engineer in interview: What makes Nico Rosberg tick

By Christian Nimmervoll, originally written 27 June 2015 for motorsport-total.com (x)

Between VIVA and Keke: Peter Sieber worked with Nico Rosberg when he wasn't yet a Formula 1 star and remembers the 2002 season in Formula BMW.

Many people have the wrong impression of Nico Rosberg. He comes across as effeminate, pseudo-intellectual, aloof. But envy is something you have to fight for - and level only looks like arrogance from below (to quote some Facebook wisdom). In fact, the Wiesbaden native, who grew up as the son of Finnish Formula 1 champion Keke Rosberg and a German mother, is a well-bred, smart young man who speaks five languages, happens to be an excellent racer, and earns millions doing it.

What's still missing is the world championship title. With his victory at the Austrian Grand Prix last weekend, Rosberg proved that he shouldn't be written off even when his back is supposedly against the wall - there's life in the old dog yet. And in doing so, he gave himself an early birthday present: Today, June 27, the Mercedes driver turns 30 - and is presumably in the prime of his Formula 1 career.

Reason enough for us to talk to a man who not only knows the superstar Nico Rosberg, but also worked with the up-and-coming driver Nico Rosberg when he first came to Formula BMW from karting - and won it outright, as the very first champion of the then new series in 2002. Peter Sieber was hired as race engineer for the world champion's son - and taught him the basics of racing.

Getting to know about Arno Zensen

Question: "Mr. Sieber, how did you meet Keke and Nico Rosberg?"

Peter Sieber: "That went through Arno Zensen, now head of the Rosberg team in the DTM. Arno used to work for Walter Lechner, and we've known each other ever since. Franz Tost was also involved at the time, who is now the boss of Toro Rosso. At the time, they had a South African race engineer at Team Rosberg in Formula BMW who had to go back home. So they asked me if I would like to be Nico's race engineer."

Question: "Can you still remember the very first time you met Nico?"

Sieber: "I had seen him at tests before, when we hadn't worked together yet. My first impression was of a very likeable and well-mannered young guy. In all my years in motorsport, I've noticed one thing: Drivers who have what it takes, who have the potential to make it to the top, don't say anything loud, don't argue, but are professional even at a young age. That was the case with Nico from the very first moment."

"I was a bit scared with him: father Keke Rosberg, Formula 1 world champion, enough money. There are always these father-son stories when the father wants the career more than the son. But that wasn't the case. In terms of people skills, I learned a lot from Keke, namely from the way he dealt with his own son. Nico was always very interested, especially in technology. That's where he always wanted to know what was going on, everywhere."

Question: "They say that Nico was an intelligent student who, if racing hadn't worked out, would have studied aerodynamics or mechanical engineering. When they worked with him, he was still at school."

Sieber: "That's true. The others always said: 'Sure, that's Rosberg's boy, he can test the most and has the best material'. But in truth that wasn't quite the case, because dear Nico had just graduated from high school. So he skipped some tests, which I then had to drive with Kimmo Liimatainen, now team manager at the Rosberg team in the DTM. Because Nico didn't have time."

"Nico didn't have it easy. When he was good, everyone said, 'Sure, I can do it with these prerequisites. And when he wasn't good, they said: 'He's just Rosberg's son, he doesn't have his dad's talent. But Nico didn't want anything as a gift, he wanted to fight for everything. He worked his ass off to achieve that. I was captivated by him right from the start. I always tried to create the best conditions for him."

Spoiled millionaire's son my ass

Question: "Lewis Hamilton said in the 2014 World Championship battle that Nico has always been a spoiled millionaire's boy, while he himself had to work hard for everything. If I'm interpreting you correctly, you don't agree with that at all?"

Sieber: "No. Keke and Nico's mother, Sina, have a very special attitude; they're not aloof people. When we had stopped working together, and Nico later won his first Formula 3 race, Sina still came up to me afterwards and gave me a hug."

"I say to her, 'Sina, I had nothing to do with that, it was Erich.' Erich Baumgärtner, a friend of mine who was Nico's race engineer in Formula 3. But Sina to me: 'No, Peter, I mean it, because you did the dirty work.' That was a statement for me! The first year is always the most difficult - that's when you have to teach a driver style, technique, work ethic. It wasn't easy, but with Nico it was really fun."

Question: "What does learning style and technique mean? You're hardly going to have ridden in front of Nico like an instructor…"

Sieber: "A young driver makes his first statements at the beginning, and as a race engineer I have to filter out the most important ones right away. Many say eight to ten problems at once, from which I then filter out the main problem. Because when the main problem is solved, the smaller problems usually dissolve as well. Then I see on the data: 'You need to brake earlier, but come out of the curve with more momentum.' Those are the first fundamentals you work on with a young driver."

"A young driver can only tell you about the car if you explain to him beforehand what's important. Nico soaked it all up like a sponge, he fought every second. From home he had the opportunity to race, car, engine, team - others may not be able to afford that. But his driving skills and assertiveness, he fought hard for all of that. Whether it was dry or wet, he was always really good."

Like Father, Like Son

Question: "Nico's former kart team boss Dino Chiesa once said that Nico didn't get a PlayStation game from Keke that he really wanted, and that he also got relatively little pocket money. Which suggests that he felt relatively little of his family's wealth at the time, and was also just a young racer like any other."

Sieber: "I've known Keke for a long time. I can still remember that back then, as a junior driver, he always came to the race track with a trailer and bus. Keke learned to work his way up from the bottom. And he passed that on to Nico for his development."

"I remember the Formula BMW race at the Sachsenring. Officially, testing was banned, but others tested anyway. Our weekend went really poorly. The engineer was not good, the car was not good, the driver was not good. It was a pitch-black weekend, with spins and everything."

"Then Keke arrives, with a cigar in his mouth - and grins at me, who has such a blood pressure you can see my carotid artery: 'Peter, it's going to be all right.' And I: 'Were you in the wrong movie? What I saw was a disaster.' And Keke: 'What I saw is going to be fine.' Because you two are determined to make it together, and it's going to bear fruit.' At first I couldn't do anything with that, but then we improved from race to race."

"At the beginning, it was difficult to work together because I hadn't done all the official tests and first had to get to know the car and Nico. But then we worked our way up and became champions in the end. That season we had a test day at the Nürburgring before the race. I changed the gear ratio then, which is normally done by the mechanic. But there was no time for that because of the rain. And I mistakenly swapped fifth and sixth gear. In other words, where fifth gear should have been, sixth was - and vice versa."

"Nico drove out, came back to the pits very slowly and said with a smile on his face - with a smile, not kind of angry like others would be: 'Master, how do you actually count? One, two, three, four, five, six.' And I said to him: 'But you're doing your school-leaving exams right now, you'll manage that!' So he had to change gears stupidly, skip a gear with the clutch in the sequential gearbox, but he didn't care. The next morning I found a note on the transmission: 'Love from Nico, please put the gears in the right order!' That was Nico. That's the kind of person you live motorsport for."

Criticism always constructive

Question: "Were there also situations in which Nico could get loud?"

Sieber: "No, and that was the nice thing about working with him. If something wasn't okay, it was discussed, but not loudly or in an argument, but positively. He asked questions, contributed good ideas, and the collaboration got better and better. He worked hard for his success."

Question: "Nico already had the sponsor VIVA in 2002, in Formula BMW - and therefore had a lot of media presence earlier than other drivers. Was that an advantage or a disadvantage?"

Sieber: "People were already very attentive: son of Keke Rosberg, VIVA, very well-known among the youth. The hype was sometimes too much."

Question: "Girls, too?"

Sieber: "The girls raved about him anyway. But he didn't care. Nico did his stuff."

Question: "You can't tell me that Nico didn't have a girl at the start now and then…"

Sieber: "No, not at all, really! He wasn't the typical girl hero. Sometimes they are, and then they usually forget that racing should be the most important thing. That wasn't the case with Nico. He was focused and really never had a girl with him. It wasn't until the end of 2002 that I remember there being one - and I think that was his current wife Vivian."

Question: "In 2003, Nico met Lewis Hamilton again in Formula 3. Was it already foreseeable for you back then that this duel would continue into Formula 1?"

Sieber: "In Formula 3, Nico had a different race engineer, but that was a good acquaintance of mine, so I always knew what was going on with him. When we met at the race track, we always chatted. By the way, the contact hasn't completely broken off to this day."

"And yes, for me it was already foreseeable that this could go into Formula 1, because Nico simply has a very special way. He didn't have it as easy as Hamilton claims, as a spoiled boy who gets everything dumped in his lap. Our last race in Formula BMW in 2002 was at Hockenheim. Nico won, both races, in the rain and in the dry. Afterwards, there was the award ceremony for ADAC and BMW. Keke didn't go at all, but his mom, a few mechanics and I did."

Tears at Formula BMW victory ceremony 2002

"Nico had a knitted cap on, I remember it like yesterday. Then they called him up and said they had another 'little' present for him. I wonder what that will be? A Formula 1 test drive at Williams! That's when he really broke down, sat down, put his hands in front of his eyes and cried. He was so happy at that moment because he was so disciplined, he did without so much. That's very difficult for a young lad."

"And: He himself had done it - not because he was Keke Rosberg's son, but because he was the first Formula BMW champion. That's when I realized what racing meant to him. I still remember that day today as if it were yesterday - it has stuck in my heart. He said: 'It was always my dream to drive Formula 1 one day. That's what I've worked for.' That was an honest moment. As honest as Nico is."

Question: "Do you think it sometimes hurt Nico to be reduced to Keke Rosberg's son? Did that get to him?"

Sieber: "I think it was close to him. As I said before, if he was good, then it was the good material, but if not, then he's just Rosberg's son, but not as good as Keke. But Keke always stood behind him and told him: 'Nico, you have the greatest job in the world, you are a racing driver. People are all coming here to see your race. Enjoy it and have fun.'"

"And so he took all the pressure off the kid. That was awesome. That was Keke. People were brutal to Nico sometimes. When all he ever wanted was for them to just respect that he was doing his job, that he was doing everything he could to get into Formula One, and that he had talent. The Rosberg name was very positive for Nico, but on the other hand it didn't make it easy for him either.

Question: "It doesn't sound like Keke interfered much with Nico.

Sieber: "No. He left us alone. If he saw something that the competition was doing, for example, he told me, but without interfering. He would say, 'You can worry about that.' That was it, but then he was gone again."

Always looked up to father Keke

Question: "Nico's former karting team boss Dino Chiesa says that it was always important for Nico to once be as good as or better than Keke. Is that true in your opinion?"

Sieber: "He always looked up to his father, because Keke achieved a lot and was a driving force for Nico. But Nico was self-motivated enough to go this way and achieve something himself. He was looking in the right direction, he fought for it. Nico was an intelligent young man for his age. Of course, he sometimes took his cue from his father."

Question: "Were there ever moments when Nico cried to you about Keke?"

Sieber: "No, never. I admire the way Keke handled his boy. Keke always managed to motivate us all. In a positive sense, he was a gangster! It's okay to write that, I mean it in a positive way. Once he came to see me at the Nürburgring, Formula 1 weekend, and Nico had finished third in Formula BMW on Saturday. The conditions were difficult, race started in the rain, then it dried up."

"Keke comes up to me afterwards and is really happy about third place, but in the same breath says, 'We're not good enough, the others are better!' Inside I was boiling. That's when he lit a spark in me, so that even in the hotel I was still thinking about the car. And then we won on Sunday. Grins Keke: 'Oh, did it work?' Motivating his people, Keke always understood that."

Question: "Mr. Sieber, is there anything else you would like to add?"

Sieber: "Yes, two things. First, my son has a problem with his spine. I told Nico about it once in passing, and he said to me, 'Hey, my physio Daniel, he also had a back operation. I'll put you in touch with him, I'm sure he can recommend a good specialist. And that's what he did. He wouldn't have to do something like that - others don't."

"And another story: For the 2002 championship title, he got the Formula 1 test that Keke and Nico wanted to take me to. Unfortunately, my son was ill and I had to stay at home with a heavy heart. So they sent me a video after the test and talked to me live on the phone during the test. And Nico gave me his helmet, with which he became Formula BMW champion and tested Formula 1 for the first time, as a small consolation. That's just the way Nico is.

Question: "Will you wish him a happy 30th birthday?"

Sieber: "Yes, for sure. I'll think of something! We still see each other from time to time. Last year, for example, he invited me to the German Grand Prix."

[gonnaupdatethisrandomly]

Mick Schumacher to Alpha Tauri? Tost: "Was already a topic"

Formula 1: Alpha Tauri team boss Tost confirms thoughts on Mick Schumacher. Without a cockpit, but as a Mercedes replacement driver, Mick Schumacher will start the upcoming Formula 1 season. According to team boss Franz Tost, the German was also a topic at Alpha Tauri.

"For me personally, he was already a topic," Tost said in an interview with RTL/ntv. Actually, he would have liked to have the German in the car, the Austrian continued, saying he was "convinced that Mick is talented and that he also has what it takes to drive Formula 1 successfully."

Mick still under contract at the Ferrari Academy in 2022

According to Tost, there were also "political reasons" why the 23-year-old was ultimately not signed. Schumacher was still under contract to the Ferrari Driver Academy last season, and the Italians would have had to release the 23-year-old for a transfer.

At the end of August, Ferrari and Schumacher announced that they would not extend their expiring contract, but Alpha Tauri signed Nyck de Vries as the second driver for the coming season. A month later, Haas announced its separation from Mick, who was then signed by Mercedes as a replacement driver.

Tost sees this move as a great opportunity for Schumacher: Mercedes is a "very, very good team," says the Austrian, "one of the best in Formula 1, so of course he can learn a lot there."

og source

[f1]

Tsunoda really surprised by news of Tosts impending AlphaTauri departure as De Vries pays tribute to very passionate team boss

Yuki Tsunoda has admitted the news that Franz Tost will leave his role as AlphaTauri Team Principal at the end of the 2023 Formula 1 season took him by surprise – and he is now determined to help the Austrian veteran finish his reign “in a positive way”. Ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, it was communicated that Tost is to step aside and take on a consultancy role for 2024, with current Ferrari Assistant Team Principal and Race Director Laurent Mekies moving over to take his place. READ MORE: Ferrari’s Mekies to replace Tost as AlphaTauri Team Principal as Peter Bayer named new CEO Further changes at the Faenza-based team – who have been led by Tost since the 2006 season – will see former FIA F1 Executive Director Peter Bayer become their new CEO. Asked about Tost’s exit, Tsunoda said: “It was really surprising news for me. I had lunch with him like five days before that news, or something like that, and actually he didn’t mention about those things. Tost has played a key role in Tsunoda’s development during his early seasons in F1 “I was surprised… At the same time, there were already kind of rumours from the beginning of the season, and it actually came kind of true that he is stepping down. Still, there are [20] races to go to make him happy! Hopefully we can end the season in a positive way for him. To do that, obviously we need lots of development, but we have an aggressive plan to do it. “I’m looking forward to it and at the same time feeling really kind of appreciative to him that he trusted my speed in the last three years and he was always supportive next to me. I’ll try to make it up for him in the next races.” ANALYSIS: The big moves at AlphaTauri explained as Mekies prepares to replace Tost Tsunoda’s team mate, rookie Nyck de Vries, also expressed his appreciation to Tost for helping him make his full-time F1 debut in 2023 off the back of an impressive stand-in performance with Williams at last year’s Italian Grand Prix. “I’m very grateful to Franz for his role in giving me the opportunity here in Formula 1,” said De Vries. “I think we have a really good relationship. We all really appreciate all the work he has done over the past 18 years. He really lives for the team, for his people and for the sport. He’s very passionate and we all value that very much in Franz. Tost’s place at AlphaTauri will be taken by current Ferrari man Mekies “Apart from that, obviously I haven’t been part of this, so I don’t know any of the details, but I guess after 18 years there is always a beginning and an end to everything. Each time is defined in an era and maybe a new era is about to start.” As for that new era, De Vries added that he would be excited to work with Mekies and work together to push the team back up the F1 standings after the fall to ninth out of 10 teams in the constructors’ standings last year. EXPLAINED: Everything you need to know about the 2023 F1 Sprint format “Laurent and I know each other a little bit from the FIA, he used to be at Toro Rosso as a race engineer, then worked at the FIA, and we have a bit of a relationship,” the Dutchman commented. “I welcome him very much and I would love to work together with him. “He will bring knowledge from his current employer, which is obviously interesting, and he has a very good, technical understanding of the sport. I think that will bring us very valuable assets for the team to hopefully become more competitive.” via Formula 1 News https://www.formula1.com

[racing-is-passion]

Changes for Alpha Tauri! Name will disappear in 2024.

We already know that Franz Tost will retire as team boss of Alpha Tauri at the end of the season and will be replaced by Laurent Mekies and Peter Bayer. We also know that Alpha Tauri and Red Bull aren't very pleased with the performance of their driver Nyck de Vries and are probably expecting changes on this position too. At the beginning of the year there were also rumours about Alpha Tauri getting closed or sold by Red Bull. Here's the good news, Red Bull will keep the team running, but it won't be called Alpha Tauri anymore in the next season. Dr. Helmut Marko confirmed this now in an interview. However, he didn't tell how the team will be called, he just said there will be new sponsors and a new name. Also the team will use as many parts from Red Bull as the rules allow. Maybe the team will start under his former name Scuderia Toro Rosso again? No one really knows, but it's definitely an option.

[gratisdiamanten]

Specific dark scene request you say? Indy car AU, Jos introduces Max to his first team boss and Max not getting it until he gets it

One gray panel of light lays across Max's legs as he sits in the waiting room, stretched out so he's half-slumped in the chair. His father taps his lip like he's asking for a smoke. Or maybe he's bored.

The light is lukewarm and dry.

"Raymond isn't coming?" Max asks, because it's now five minutes until their appointment and it feels appropriate to ask. Contract, they're gonna maybe sign the fucking contract today, and he chews on his thumb because it's actually happening and—

"He's done what he had to," his father says. "So did I." Then he clams up and Max just has to listen to the reedy whine of the electricity in the room. "I would do anything to get you into F1, Max," he says, fixing his eyes on him. His blue eyes—plastic bottlecaps. His featureless gaze grates over Max's face.

"I know," he says, quiet now. Breath tickling his throat.

"I hope you would do the same, Max," he says, his voice going all corrosive. Soapy, like lye. All over him. And he has done everything, right? Anything. Gave up everything, his mom, his sister. Playing soccer. Sleepovers with Stan and the guys, when he was young. Twelve year old shit, anyway. "Would you?"

"I mean, yeah," Max says, twisting his fingers in his lap. "I have, I would."

"You'll give more, in F1. You'll understand."

"Yes," he says quieter. It'll be his job, of course. He knows these things. He'll have a better trainer, and more money. The car will be better. His engineer will be at least as hungry as him, for wins. He sits up straighter now. Only a couple minutes on the clock.

"You need this contract," his father says suddenly. Outside, a cloud merges with the weak light. The secretary flips a switch on. It's a tone that he—it's not often, but—. Max feels like curving his shoulders together until they touch. Minimizing the footprint of his gangly body. All of his skin prickles so hard he thinks he is about to sprout feathers everywhere.

"Mr. Tost will see you now," the woman says primly. She has a pink manicure, Max notices, as he walks in. He's looking everywhere but the desk until his father says "Hello, Franz" and Max is confronted with the papers on the table again.

He knows Franz, he saw him once, at a race earlier that year. Second round? at Hockenheim, back in May, he thinks. He's a stern looking man. He looks kind of like a Star Wars character, Max thinks absurdly. Then he smiles and Max holds his breath, hoping it means something good.

The desk is wide and black. It doesn't have a nameplate but there are calendars, a Rolodex, family pictures taken on a beach twenty years ago. Two mugs full of pens.

"He is a brilliant boy, I saw him," he says. Clicks his tongue. "I have never seen anything like it, with his age, in all the years I have been doing this."

Silence passes.

"Max," his father says, his smile opening like a snakestongue unfolds. "Say thank you."

"Thank you," he says, suddenly meek. Fuck. His whole future, on the table. It's—he's here? Finally? His father shuts the door behind them.

"I heard you're a sweet boy, your father said." Max blinks, these aren't thinks he talks about, not with racing. No. His father, he wants him to be bloodthirsty. There were things he unlearned, to do this all so well.

"Very sweet," his father says with an unfamiliar voice. He squeezes his waist.

Franz pushes back in his chair. "We are down to business, I think. You understand." No, Max thinks, his heart hammering. I don't fucking understand. His father's hand, it won't move from his waist. Squeezes here and there. Moves to his hip. Oh, he was nervous about the contract, it was the contract. He's supposed to be signing—it's the best day of his life, he tries to swallow down. He thinks he's going to throw up.

"Of course. Show him, Maxje."

He turns to his father, tries to find any twitch of anything in his face. Is this what's happening, he thinks to himself. He thought he'd—thought he was good enough. Without. The hand moves to his back pushes him to step forward. Well he said he wanted this. He said he would do anything. Right. There's the space, between the desk and where Franz sits, where he's going to kneel. He wants to retch. He hasn't even really—didn't want to see this thing in porn, yet, even. Didn't want to think about how he had ever.

He steps outside of himself. He's motionless. If he kneels wrong his kneecaps slip out of place.

"Maxje," his father tries.

"Max." he tries again.

"Max, do you need me to fucking stand here and watch?"

[sacred-stanning]

Chapter 15 Part 6: He's coming right at us!

So just when I thought I was out of the woods because the Pegasus Knights had stopped appearing, now some mages begin to appear up top!

There are two over here too.

I equip a bow on Gerik and have him wait in range of one.

Eirika moves up and tries to take out a mage, but she would've needed a 4% crit to do it, so she leaves him at 1 lousy HP instead.

Ephraim moves up here and gets rid of the Shaman.

Tana helps out her friend, Eirika, and finishes off the mage.

Down below, there are a bunch of enemies, though most of them aren't that dangerous. I leave Lute here in range of a mage. I also put Vanessa next to Lute, and Franz stands...somewhere? I don't remember where, and it appears I didn't take a photo, but he's not in any immediate danger.

On enemy phase, things mostly go as expected. Gerik makes a pincushion out of this mage...

Eirika is in range of a Shaman, but she's fine...

And then...

HOLY JESUS WHAT!?!?

Caellach moves!?!?

After a whole game of bosses never moving, I didn't even think to check his range, but apparently Ephraim, A LOSS CONDITION IF HE DIES, was in Tomahawk range.

Yeah...he does some big damage too. This was NOT part of the plan.

So we end up like this. Another mage has appeared right next to Eirika. The Shaman who attacked her is next to Ephraim, unhurt. Caellach is unhurt and up in our faces. And anyone who attacks the Shaman or Caellach will need to keep the Axe Fighters in mind.

I check out a bunch of options, and honestly Innes is pretty much the best. Eirika has swords, so her hit and avoid rates are boosted, but she does very little damage. Cormag and Tana only have lances, so they suffer from weapon triangle disadvantage. (Ironically, I forgot to even consider giving Cormag a sword, despite his promotion opening that up as an option.) I think Ross's hit rate was bad, and he probably got doubled. And I think Moulder also suffered from getting doubled too.

Innes's hit rate still isn't great, but at least he can double and do pretty good damage.

There will be no critting though thanks to Caellach's Hoplon Guard item.

Innes hits both shots, but also gets hit.

But a heal from Moulder and a dance from Tethys give Innes two more shots at finishing off Caellach, and he only needs one.

Got it! That's one boss down!

Ross can't double either of these Axe Fighters, but he has a Killer Axe and the built-in crit skill from his class, so I I do this and hope for a crit.

I have him attack the Axe Fighter who doesn't have a hammer, because I figure the one with a hammer will have a much worse hit rate.

Since Ephraim is still really hurt, Cormag attacks this mage, which removes that threat, and blocks off the last Axe Fighter from getting to Ephraim.

In the upper right, Marisa, Gerik, and Saleh team up to take out these three mages.

And at the bottom, Lute, Vanessa, and Franz take out three enemies. I have Vanessa throw a Javelin at the mage so that Lute can attack the Mercenary from behind Vanessa and not expose herself to the physical attackers further down. Again, Vanessa is protecting Lute. :)

Next time: "Fun" side objectives

[silver-crowned-riders]

🔍

The main inspiration for Team Riders was the Franz Ferdinand album You Could Have It So Much Better, it's literally the perfect variety of atmosphere and attitude to capture every part of them. PARTICULARLY, the whole idea for the first character of them I made, their boss Casey, came from the song The Fallen.

Walk Away also captures their more mellow, naturalistic but still dramatic side. It's also just super good. jay easy voice LISTEN ‼️

[mistressemmedi]

When the wraps came off Toro Rosso’s 2017 car, its looks and livery drew near universal praise. Sadly it then completed fewer laps than any rival in the first pre-season test. So are the new F1 regulations really a chance for the Italian team to jump clear of the midfield? And is the STR13 the car to make it happen? We spoke exclusively with team principal Franz Tost about this year’s changes, what they mean for those at the wheel, and for those watching on…                    

Q: Franz, is this a return to ‘the good old days’: roaring engines, massive tyres and superfast cars? And will fans appreciate it?

Franz Tost: I can imagine so, as the new cars look super cool - very aggressive with the wider tyres and the much bigger front and rear wings. And the higher speed in the corners... I think fans will love it. Now we have to see how the racing is going to be - how the overtaking will work with these kinds of cars. Fans want to see fights between the drivers - that’s why they are coming to the races and watch TV.

Q: The wider cars might be an issue at some tracks…

FT: Probably it will be even trickier in Monaco and Singapore - and qualifying will become even more important there. Fact is that the cars are much faster and that is good news. We are back on track to demonstrate again that we are the peak of motorsports. Q: And will 2017 be the start of a golden age for Toro Rosso? The opinion is that your car has what it takes to make a splash…

FT: Yes, we look super aggressive - partly also because our livery looks really sharp. When you look at the overall picture we should have all the ingredients to have a great season. I assume our car is competitive - with Renault we have a good engine; we have competitive drivers; and the team has had stability in recent years. But in the end nobody really knows their position in the pecking order at this very moment. Four days’ running are simply not enough to have a final judgement. Q: It’s now the third season in a row that you have raced with a different engine. How difficult is it for a smaller team to deal with such a situation?

FT: It is very difficult, as you are permanently confronted with new parameters. The advantage for this season was that we knew about the change early in 2016, so we could react in time and the level of grief was much lower than in the previous years, as we had to design a new car anyway. (Laughs)

Q: On the personnel side, we have seen significant changes at many other teams, but Red Bull Racing and Toro Rosso have remained constant. Is that a plus - and down to good management or watertight contracts?

FT: Both! (Laughs) Overall I would say that people like to work for Toro Rosso, as well as Red Bull Racing. But, of course, we also have contracts. Stability is one of the keys to being successful in the longer term. In Formula One, solutions are never black or white - there are many shades in between. So it is quite important that the engineers know each other well, so as to understand what shade of grey his colleague means. Q: On the engine side it’s Renault for Toro Rosso again. They also power their own team and Red Bull Racing. Whereabouts in the supply chain are you?

FT: I hope we are all equals. We should receive the same parts and the same software. I am sure Renault will be fair enough to provide us with the same material the two other teams are using. Q: You had suggested freezing the Mercedes engine. Do you fear that they will again be untouchable?

FT: Yes, it’s true that I have said that the power unit that is on top should be frozen - in this case it is Mercedes. With the current regulations the development is totally free, which means that the costs for the power units will increase, because what makes it so costly is research and development. Currently we pay a high percentage of our budget for the power unit - and I think this should change in the future. I can imagine that we could go the same route as we did with the V8.

But, of course, if there is a difference between the suppliers, those who are behind should be given the opportunity to close the gap. And if there is relative harmony, the whole development should be frozen. Right now we are on high level on the cost side and we should never forget that the cars and power units are just fabricated for a race on Sunday afternoon. So we should stay in reasonable limits on the cost side and work on the show, with sizzling fights among many different teams and great overtaking. In the long term it is not healthy if one team is so far ahead of the others.

Q: When Nico Rosberg called it quits your driver Carlos Sainz was among the names mentioned as a potential replacement. What were your thoughts on that?

FT: Ha, I was not worried because he has a Red Bull contract. Do I think he would be good enough to survive alongside Hamilton? Yes. Carlos is a very skilled driver who on a couple of occasions was faster than Max (Verstappen). Carlos has a very high natural speed. He will shine if we are able to give him the right car. Q: You are renowned for nurturing young driver talent. This year three drivers start their first full F1 season: Lance Stroll, Esteban Ocon and Stoffel Vandoorne. Who will be top among them?

FT: Vandoorne and Ocon are very highly skilled drivers. And Lance did a great job in Formula Three. I would say that all three deserve to be in F1. Q: How will your two drivers show this year?

FT: I want them to compete well. And it is up to us to make it happen because Carlos and Daniil (Kvyat) have huge potential.

[nadjas-cat-ears]

I have a lot of fun reading what people outside f1blr think about us, but it's time for my In defence of f1blr manifesto, because tbh we are just going with what's given.

Let's take a look at the team principals.

First of all we have Toto and Christian, the real life representations of the girls are fighting meme. I don't know if it's trophy husbands thing, but they're constantly bickering. Calling the other one attention seeking windbag: ✅ Saying that the other one can't even manage his team: ✅ Their drivers joking that they should just have a boxing match: ✅. AND IT ALL HAPPENED IN THE LAST THREE DAYS.

Then we have McLaren that apparently has two team principals and both of them read way too many books on creating a good workplace environment and how to be a bro-boss.

We also have Günther "I use curse words as commas" Steiner and tbh we have to be thankful for all the iconic quotes he gave us.

I can't say a lot about Marcin Budkowski, apart from the fact that he's a funky Polish men and that I'm sorry he probably introduced the whole team to "Szklanki". Also, he has my respect for shooting his shot with George, would do the same.

Ooooohhhh and Franz Tost who a few days ago got a promotion and now is also a babysitter to one of his drivers.

Otmar, Frederik, and Simon are just chilling tbh (although I hope Otmar's blood pressure is normal because after the last race I'm worried about him)

Honorable mention goes to Cyril, who had his heart broken by one of the driver's and talked about their brakeup in dts (for legal reasons I feel that I should add that said driver just changed the teams)

I don't want to talk about Mattia, please don't make me talk about Mattia, I don't even know how to make fun of him and be merely nice .

Soooo, the moral of the story is that we will never be as dramatic as F1 team principals.

[guigz1-coldwar]

Feeling better (Fem!BellxGreta Keller)

Just after returning at the E9 Safehouse after capturing Volkov, Greta Keller is somehow worried about Bell's state and ask Adler if it's possible to take her out for a night !

Warning : Little Smut !

----------------------- A long night was finished for Adler's team !

They succeeded in their mission in East-Berlin to get their hands on Anton Volkov, a Russian mobster working for Perseus. The guy was maybe an dick but capturing him was going to give the MI6 a good & comfortable undercover positions in the other side of the Iron Curtain & and on Perseus's various operations. Adler wanted him dead but Bell decided otherwise as she was with the MI6 and with Park on the idea to capture him. Of course, they also succeed on getting their hands on the infos that Franz Kraus was going to give him but now, it was time to get out of East-Berlin to return to the E9 safehouse in the other side of the city.

During that mission, the team were helped by Greta Keller, Hudson's contact inside the BND, that helped them to have some intels about Kraus. Her help was just limited to giving the team these intels and that was it but nothing could have predict that she was going to be captured by Kraus himself as she has tried to follow him back to this apartment and found herself tied up in his secret dark room hidden in his office. She was pleading for her life when Bell somehow entered the apartment to find his briefcase. Bell was just supposed to plant a tracker in it and get away but noices coming from a cupboard brought her attention and finally found Keller but it was too late to free her as Bell was knocked out by behind by Kraus. Now, they were in the same situation !

Founding them tied up in Volkov's warehouse was for them, the end of it but like guardians angels, the team arrived in time to save them from their deaths. They were both relieved to be saved and now they could finally breathe without being tied up with a rope. The mission was done and everyone were going to come back to the safehouse. But there were something that were preoccupying Keller for a reason...something about Bell. Even if Bell was smiling, Keller saw that there were something wrong about her and that she wasn't feeling good at all. Keller knew of the true identiy of Bell like everyone else but she saw that Bell was not feeling comfortable around the team.....something was bothering her. It all begins when she met Bell back in that bar, the discussion was nice but Bell's voice during it put questions inside Keller's mind.

What's wrong with her ?

She was asking to herself that question during the way back to the E9 Safehouse as she was obliged to follow the team because her position in East-Berlin was compromised by a double agent in the BND. During the way inside the van drived by Lawrence Sims, Keller was looking sometimes Bell to see how she was feeling. Bell was either avoiding contact with the others or trying to be silent when she was asked about something like if her state didn't want her to talk and that's the thing Keller was concerned. Park tried sometimes to talk with Bell but Bell was very evasive in her voice. The others tried to put her in the discussion they were having but each time, she was withdrawing herself from it. It was strange, very strange !

After dropping Volkov to the MI6 as a 'little gift', the team was finally back at the safehouse, it was time for everyone to get some rest....a well-deserved rest but not for everyone for the moment. As Lazar and Sims decided to leave the others to be the firsts to have some sleeps, Adler stayed at his desk to make some writing, especially to make reports of their mission they just had. Park was accompanying Bell to the medical room to treat the wounds she received during the fight in the warehouse but also those she had got by Volkov. Keller was.....well.....this place wasn't somewhere she wanted to stay any longer but as her position in East-Berlin was compromised, she had no choice but to stay here until her superiors call her to relocate her in a new mission.

She was still in the same place as everyone went on their own ways, she still has her question in mind about Bell but not having her answer was....stressing her out, she couldn't explain how, the only thing now was to ask. As Bell was occupied with Park, Keller's only way to have something concrete was to see Adler himself. She decide after thinking for a few minutes, to see him. She moved at his desk when he had just finished to write his report when he saw her walking to him

"Miss Keller." He said as he put his head up

"Sir." She stopped just near the desk, not wanting to be too close to this man

"Please, call me Adler." He put his hand on a cigarette pack where he go out a cigarette before looking back to her "Smoke ?"

"Sorry, I have my own, Adler." She replied, gesturing her refusal "And I only smoke german ones."

"You want something ?" He light up his cigarette

"Well, I wanted to know about my status because I've been compromised back in East-Berlin and....I don't know where to go right now." She scratched the back of her head with her left hand as she rolled her eyes. That was one of the things she wanted to know but not the most important. "I suppose I had to wait here ?" She added "Right ?"

"Right now, it's too late to call your bosses." He raised his eyebrow with a little smile "So yeah, you will have to stay here for the moment."

"Am I supposed to sleep on the ground ?" She joked

"Haha, funny" He laughed "We got free beds in the back, so feel yourself at home."

And then, it was the silence between the two,only the sound of the rain was heard outside in the whole room, they both looked away from each other avoiding after Adler's little reply. Then, after two minutes of complete silence, Greta decided to ask....what she wanted to know. Let's hope she will have her answer. It's all she wanted to know.

"So, Adler" She started "About Bell...." She didn't have time to finish that Adler at hearing this name, turned around to look at her

"What do you want to know about Bell ?" He asked, concerned and slightly raising his eyebrow again, this time without a smile

"I know the truth about her but there's something that is preoccupying me right now." She looked at the door of the medical room, hoping that Bell will not come out by surprise

"You....you worried about her ?" He smirked

"Why ? I shouldn't be worried ?" She looked back at him with naworred eyes

"We all know who is she, so-" He cut himself out before looking Greta in the eyes "Anyway, why are you worried about her ?"

"I think that she's not feeling well. During my discussion back in that bar 2 hours ago, she wasn't at 100% of her moral like if something was disturbing her." Her words was some sort of making Adler realize that what she was saying was right.

"Yeah, you're right." He put his cigarette on the desk "Bell was dizzy before we left here to get to the U-Bahn."

"Is this...linked to the fact she was drugged ?" Greta knew that Bell was brainwashed, she knew that Bell was needed to be drugged to be sure that she stay well but she wasn't approving that sort of things on her. But if Bell still feel weird, it is because of the meds the others gave her ?

"I don't know." He said honestely "I tried to ask what she had and that we had a job to do but she told me....to go fuck myself ! Hopefully, Park was here to get her back on tracks." He added, using a sarcastic tone at the end

"Maybe something according to her personal life ?"

"I don't know, miss Keller."

Keller wasn't sure to ask the thing she wanted to tell right now but it was too late and fuck it, it's better to tell it than keep it for herself. She breathe a little and then, she was ready !

"Can I take her out for....a drink ?"

Hearing this make Adler cough all the smoke of his cigarette out of his mouth. He patted himself on the chest to take back his breath and when it was done, he looked Greta back with incomprehesion on his face. He never though that she will ask something like that.

"What ?" He simply said

"You heard me good enough, Adler" She crossed her arms, she know that he heard her well "I want, if it's possible, to take Bell for a little drink."

"You're asking me to let my asset with you for a night ?"

"Your asset, like you said, is a human being" She put her hands on his desk at listening at this "If you want her to be fully operational, give me the night to make her feeling good."

"And where do you want to go with her ?"

"I know a place, that will be just me & her."

"Well, if you want that...." He stopped himself at the sound of a door opening started to be heard "Ask her by yourself."

Greta looked behind her : it was the medical room door that was opening. Bell was the first one to get out of the room, she has some dressings on her face, covering the multiple cuts she received. She was smiling but Greta could see that this smile was a fake one as her face been all white betrayed her true state. Greta was the only one to see it. Park was following Bell and then closed the door behind her. Greta turned her back to see Adler and to faint a discussion but she realize that he left his desk without having her to notice it. She was now alone.

"See ? Told you that I'm the girl to heal you !" Park exclaimed to Bell

"Thanks, Park." Bell replied, looking at her "Appreciated it."

"Hey, Greta, still here ?" Park said, having spotted Greta near Adler's office

"Yeah, need to stay here until tomorrow." Greta responded

"Ok." Park looked back at Bell "We're going to sleep now, we all tired."

"I.....I"m not tired, Park." Bell said "I maybe going to check things on my desk."

"Bell, what did I told you ?" Park rolled her eyes, in a lovely voice "You need to rest, it's been two days you didn't sleep."

"I'm okay." Bell muttered "No need to worry." Park was looking at her worried but anyway, since Bell doesn't want to sleep, she couldn't argue more with her. It was better for Park to let her alone

"Well." Greta was surprised when Park landed a little kiss on Bell's cheek that wasn't wounded and then walked away to the dorm. "Good night, Bell....and you too, Greta." Bell was also surprised by her gesture but that didn't change her state and she wasn't feeling better.

Now, Greta was alone with Bell....just with Bell. The two didn't move from their positions and no one talked. After a few moments, Bell decided to move to her desk while Greta stayed near Adler's desk, leaned against it, arms crossed. Her gaze fall on Bell when she arrived at her desk and start to write on some papers. Greta was seeing someone that was too much focused on work....maybe that was the thing that was disturbing her ? But as Greta was looking at her, Bell was kinda feeling weird to be observed by an woman she didn't really know. Finally, after 5 minutes, Bell called her out.

"You....you want something ?" Bell asked, confused in her voice as she was still working and not looking away

"I....uh....no...I mean, yes." Greta couldn't find her words, troubled to find out that Bell knew she was watched "It's about you." Bell look at her slowly

"About me ?" She said as she raised an eyebrow

"Yes, about you, Bell." She walked a little, away from Adler's desk "I'm worried about you."

"Why ?" Bell told her

"I saw through you.....you're not feeling well....more bad than good."

"How did you see that ?"

"You tried to hide it multiples times but I could see it : your face...your eyes were betraying you. Our discussion in that bar showed it to me....and Adler told me."

"What did he told you ?" Bell got up from her chair and faced Keller, she clenches her fists and jaw putting some scares to Greta who step backwards but too late as Bell grabbed Greta by her coat collar and put her against the wall "Don't tell me that he said it to you."

"He said...." She tried to find her words but having someone who grabbed her and looking threatening wasn't helping at all "He said that you told him to go fuck himself" She joked, hoping to calm the situation down "He saw you were not well but you pushed him away."

"So he didn't tell you everything." Bell finally released Greta, relieving her

"Everything ?" Greta asked "What do you mean ?"

"You don't want to know." Bell turned her back around but she didn't walk away. Greta hesitated but she put her hand on Bell's shoulder.

"Bell, I'm asking because I want to help you." Bell, feeling Greta's hand on her shoulder removed it delicately without been brutal to her

"It's not something I want to talk here." Bell moved to get to Adler's desk, she grabbed a key from his desk and then turned back to Greta "Let's go somewhere else, we'll talk about it."

"You changed your mind ?" Greta was very surprised that Bell agreed to talk

"Just follow me, okay ?"

And then, without hesitating, Greta started to follow Bell outside where the rain was still falling down but having see her grabbing keys meaned that Bell wanted to go somewhere else, away from that place. Bell walked out to the same van they used to get out of East-Berlin where she ordered Greta to get in. If Greta wanted responses, she will have them. But Greta was still suspicious about what Bell wanted to do with her. She was the one who planned to take her out for a drink and now, Bell was the one to do it. She, of course, tried to know where Bell wanted to go but the only response that came in was 'somewhere quiet'.

After starting the van, Bell drove away from the safehouse with Greta at her side. What she has in mind was too precious to be told in the safehouse and she wanted to go somewhere else to clean up her mind. The drive didn't last long in fact. Bell stopped the van in a forest, still in West-Berlin, they were near the Havel river in a secluded place, away from the eyes of everyone else. Bell even stopped the van backward against the river to make sure to have a beautiful view on it and by luck, the rain stopped dropping in the sector. After that, Bell walked away from the driver seat and got behind when she opened the backdoors and then, sit on the edge of the van.

Greta was a little worried that Bell brought her to that place but anyway, she will have her answers there. She joined Bell by sitting next to her.

"So....what are we doing here ?" Greta asked

"You said you wanted to know why I'm feeling weird." Bell rolled her eyes, it was obvious...very obvious that she wanted to say it "You'll know."

"It's okay, I'm...ready to hear it." Greta said. Bell looked at her for a few instants and then back at looking at the horizon, she took a deep breath before starting.

"All these years inside the MI6, we've been told that....love is the worst thing to do because that got you attached to things." She started "I never fall in love because of that advice. I was never loved in my life."

"I'm sorry to hear that, that's very hard for you." Greta put her hand on Bell's shoulder again but this time, Bell didn't remove it.

"I felt so stupid to have listened to this advice but I'm not feeling well since I.....uhm.....fell in love." Bell crossed her arms

"You don't need to feel weird, Bell." Greta said with a smile, trying to reconfort her "Love is a normal thing to have."

"I don't know if I should consider it as a compliment but thanks."

"And.....sorry to be indiscreet but....who's the lucky guy ?"

"It's Park !"

Wow....Greta was quite surprised to hear that.....Bell was not loving a guy, it was about a women all along and it was about Park. Bell was feeling weak and dizzy because of the feelings she catch for the British spy.

"Wait, you're talking about Helen Park, right ?" Greta removed her hand, her eyes went wide "THE Helen A. Park ?"

"Of course, who do you think I was talking about ?

"But why are you not feeling okay ?"

"Because I don't know if she's feeling the same right like me." Bell started to have some tears from her eyes. Greta just saw the hidden side of Bell : a woman troubled by her choices and the opinions of the others. "I'm different."

"Bell, don't say that."

"I'm a woman loving another woman and people around me said that that's not how it works." Her voice was cracking just by saying that "I'm a lesbian, that's why I'm not okay."

'I'm sorry."

"Adler always put out jokes about me and how I'm feeling. It's....starting to be too much for me. It all started back in Vietnam....and it all begin again when he came back."

"So, that's why you told him to go fuck himself ?" Greta tried to make her laugh a little and that worked

"Yeah, I had enough of him." Bell sighed, she cleaned up her mind but she didn't want to leave that place "Why I'm so different, Keller ?"

"Bell, you don't need to give a fuck about what the others say about that." Greta exclaimed "The only thing that count is that how you see things." She wrapped her hands around Bell's ones "That's how I feeling right now."

"What do you mean ?" Bell asked, confused of Greta's moves

"I'm like you, Bell. It's hard to tell the others how you're really feel about them....I also love women." She smile "I also faced the same things.....just like you."

"But, I don't know how I can say that and what can I do."

"Meaning ?"

"I was never loved, I never kissed a girl.....I never had sex." Bell sighed again in desperation "I'm not made for love."

"Bell." Greta moved her hands to put them on Bell's shoulders "Look at me." Bell complied and they both looked at each other. They were both looking troubled but then, without hesitation, Greta leaned forward and put her lips on top of Bell's ones. She didn't know she was going to do it but seeing Bell like that, she knew she had to do it anyway. Bell was very surprised at this. She didn't close her eyes or even moved her lips away. Her heart was pounding faster at this moment : it was her first kiss in her entire life....and the one who was kissing wasn't the one she loved. At this realization, Bell withdrawed from the kiss.

"What....what did you do ?" She asked, trembling

"I kissed you, Bell."

"But why ? You know that...I love Park."

"I want you to feel better, Bell." Greta looked away, ashamed "I'm sorry if that did disturbed you." She started to move away from Bell "We should get back to the others."

"No, wait" Bell take Greta's arm with her hands stopping her "I want to feel better."

"What do you mean ?"

"You know it well.....please."

"Bell, I don't know if it's a good idea to be sure."

"Just....please, I want to know how that happens." Greta wasn't so sure to do that but finally, she resigned herself and let Bell make her sit back again next to her. Bell wanted to know it but she didn't have the strengh to do it by herself "Please....kiss me again."

Greta could only give a little smile before she moved again and their lips met again. This time, Bell indeed moved to kiss her too. This wasn't a simple kiss on the lips now, their tongues were now intertwined each other. Bell put her hands around Greta's waist as Greta put her hands on Bell's face. She wanted to give her the best kiss to make sure she remember a good memory of it and to make sure for her to know that they were both alike. The kiss were so intense that the two fall back inside the van, Greta finding herself on top of Bell. The two stopped the kiss to take a breath and the two were happy....mostly Bell.

Greta removed her jacket on the side and closed the back doors of the van, Bell was looking at her with lovely eyes, she was discovering more about the German spy and the fact that this woman, in front of her, who became her first experience in kissing, was making her proud but Bell didn't want to stop now, there were so much to know about. As Greta was going to go for another kiss, Bell stopped her.

"Greta, I....I....I want to do this." Bell said, her voice sounding exhausted

"You want to have sex ?" Greta asked

"Yes, show me." Bell took Greta's left hand and put it just on her scrotch "Show me how I can really feel in love."

"Bell, I don't know....and Park ?" Greta didn't wanted to make Bell fall in love with her, she knew that she will not see Bell again after this night, only kissing for her was the thing to do. She wanted to reconfort her, nothing else but as Greta told her that Bell start to have some tears coming out of her eyes. "Please, don't cry....please." Greta was really touched by Bell right now, she cleaned up the tears with her other hand....and also her start to have some tears too. For the first time, Greta was helping someone to feel better and she was refusing her proposal to go further and after seeing Bell's reaction, she knew that she will not be at 100% for the future and that she will never tell her feelings to Park.

"Greta, help me." Bell's voice was cracking under the weight of the emotions

"Bell, I..." Greta voice's too, she couldn't refuse anymore. "Ok, I will but...."

"But ?"

"I will be the only one to do it, okay ? I don't want you to fall in love with me." Greta pass her hand through Bell's hair

"Why ?"

"Because after that night, we will not see each other again and I can't afford it." Greta was telling the truth. "You're not loving me, you're loving Park, not me."

"I just want to know, Greta."

"Bell, If I let you do this to me, you're risking to catch feelings for me and I don't want it. I don't want to take that risk." Greta's hand after passing through Bell's hair, get on Bell's cheek, slowly stroking it "You don't deserve me."

"Just do it, please." Bell finally resigned to Greta's proposition, she didn't want to take that risk too after what Greta told her. When Greta kissed her, Bell first thought that she was the one to love but now that Greta will never return to the safehouse again, she realize that she was threatening her own feelings for Park. She is always there for Bell and Bell didn't want to lose her. "I promise."

"You promise ?"

"I do."

"Ok, I need you to relax now." Greta moved away to get at the same level of Bell's pants "Relax, let me take care of you." She started to remove them slowly, being giving a little help from Bell and after a few seconds, the pants were removed, Bell decided to kept her shoes because of the cold floor of the van. Greta was giving a look at Bell's face, not wanting to hurt her. "Tell me if you want me to stop." Greta could discover Bell's underwear and it was lovely....too lovely to remove, she decided to put the underwear part covering Bell's clit to the side. Before starting, Greta took a last look to Bell, she was panicking. "Bell, don't panick, I'm here."

"Please." Bell breathed

Greta started before to blow some air onto Bell's clit, teasing her a little bit and then, she begins. She leaned forward and start to lick her clit from up to bottom. Feeling Greta's tongue alongside her pussy was giving Bell some chills inside her body. Her hands was holding the floor firmly as she was taken away by Greta. Wow....the only thing Bell was thinking right now. Everything was amazing right now for her, she couldn't think straight but she's sure as hell to love this moment.

"Bloody hell." Bell moaned in pleasure as Greta started to lick more faster

"Don't panick." Greta stopped herself but she wasn't stopping to take a breath but in fact, she told her that because as soon she finished, she started to brought her index finger inside Bell's clit, making Bell jump a little but she calmed herself as Greta ordered.

Everything Greta was doing was filling Bell with more pleasure and more lust than she never had before. The moanings were becoming loud as Greta licked faster and was fingering her at the same time, it was amazing. She never thought that she will be doing her first time with someone she only met hours ago and she realize that she was like her. She wouldn't wanted this to stop, the moment were too beautiful to stop, her heart pounding faster.

"Fuck, Greta..." Bell exclaimed, filled with all the pleasure she wanted but then, she was starting to get more close to something she never had before : orgasm. "Greta, I...I'm feeling...." Bell never felt such thing and when she said that, Greta stopped and get back at her level

"It's okay." Greta smiled before getting her lips back into the top of Bell's one while she was still stroking Bell's clit with her hand, rapidly. Getting kissed and stroked at the same time....well that was giving the best from Bell and finally after at least 30 seconds, Bell finally released everything she had and squirt on the van floor. Greta withdrawed from the kiss to let Bell see what was happening. Bell was taking back her breath, relieved to finally enjoy herself with a woman. She waited all of her life for this moment.

As they were finally finished, Greta give Bell a last little kiss on her lips.

"Greta...thanks you." Bell put her hand on Greta's cheek but then, she started crying again

"Bell, what's wrong ?" Greta asked, worried

"I shouldn't ask you, I'm sorry." Bell was feeling sorry because even she was finally able to have a little bit of sex, something inside of her hoped to have waited

"Don't say that." Greta could only lay down next to Bell. Bell, seeing her, moved her arms to hug Greta, still crying and putting her head on her chest "Why are you crying ?"

"I....I wanted to do this with Park, I shouldn't do it now."

"Bell, it's okay, you don't need to worry about her" She wrapped her arm around Bell "I'm sure that Park loves you."

"What can make you think that ?"

"I know Park very well to know when she's in love with someone. Why do you think she's still with you since you arrived ?"

"That doesn't-"

"Everything was here : that kiss she gave you on the cheek, the fact that she's worried about you. Park....love you." Greta was right, she know Park enough to tell the truth to Bell "She's like you, she doesn't know if you're like her too."

"You're sure ?"

"Of course, Bell. I saw it the first time I saw you two together !"

"Thanks you....thank you !" Bell was a little bit of disoriented right now, she just wanted to have sleep now, she didn't sleep for 2 days. "Greta, can we....can we sleep here ?" Bell asked, not sure "I don't want to return back to the safehouse for the moment."

"Bell, it's okay." Greta put her arms around Bell "We have the night for both of us to talk about anything you want."

"I just want to sleep." Bell closed her eyes "I want to think about Park."

"It's okay !"

Bell closed her eyes, she spent 2 two days non-stop to decrypt files, to kill bad guys and to capture a Perseus agent and finally finished these 2 days by discovering what was love with Greta Keller, something she never had the pleasure in her life but thanks to her, that pleasure was given. Greta showed her that her feelings with Park were real and just helped to make her feel better. Bell couldn't be more thankful than with anyone else. Greta was pleased to have help Bell in a difficult moment. Even if Adler was considering Bell as an asset, Greta saw her like just any human being with a heart....a heart that wanted to shout her true feelings about herself. Both women were happy and could finally slept in each other arms. It was just a way for both women to say to each other that this night means a lot for them.

Bell could finally feel better !

[pwnyta]

Nobody ASKED for any of my shitty Pokemon character doodles... BUT IM IN A MOOD.

SO yall have to deal with it.

This is under a read more so dont come at me about it being annoyingly long. Blame Dumblr. Theres a SHIT TON OF DOODLES UNDER THE CUT.

First off I wanted to give Holly a whole classroom of friends... it wasnt GONNA be an all girls school... but I kept crankin of little girly Mons....

I dont actually have a shiny Darumaka or Eevee... but theyre two of my favorite shinies...

I drew these four after so theyre a bit different in style. Shiny Swirlex has the same excuse as the other two shinies... I just love the shiny colors

They also needed a teacher so I repurposed one of my older characters because I thought itd be funny to have a swan teacher... cuz swans are so scary but they care for their babies well.

Darla and Delilah can be bothered with threats because theyre safe with Mr Shandra.

Mikhail only takes classes that are small enough to fit under his wingspan so he can keep them all safe. And Eva and Tiffany learn from the best and just get pissed off like their teacher.

((Hes more bark than bite though... hes not a great fighter and a double weakness to Electric? Garbo. But he puts up a convincing enough front.))

And because he was a swan I gave him a life mate. The only other being that gets any softness from him.

He was an ex pirate.

Mikhail has no interest in criminals!!! So the captain gave up the pirate life and married a very short tempered bird and gained a lot of weight...because I wanted him chubby.

---

‘’Spider’’, Esi, and dear ol Dad. Despite Reds best efforts to keep Esi out of Osborns hands he still ended up an immensely shady bastard but at least hes not as broken as ‘’Spider’’.

I didnt finish their moms because I couldnt settle on a design for Spiders mum....

Now Spider works for Caedere his beloved boss who would never ever lie to him ever. (Hint: Spiders nature is ‘naive’)

---

I tried revamping Ray and Hebanon...  but Ray still gay as hell for his boy.

I bullied Sparky a little. He’ll probably be fine even if Rays got a Mega evo. Its the name of the game Ray... hes supposed to knock his opponent out... you cant get pissed when ever Hebanon gets fucked up in battle.

---

Did I post these? Am I ever gonna finish these character sheets? No. And look I forgot the most pressing detail of Zippos and thats his fuckin Arbok mark on his back. IM A FOOL.

Kreetan and his mum and dad.

So many little comic things I’ll never finish because theres too many and instead of just stopping and finishing something I keep adding to my unfinished doodles instead. This is why I dont take requests or anything.

I time where Leif and Cyndy actually grow up?

THEY ALL HAVE CAT EARS.

Zippo is curious.

.....AS A CAT.

Polly is here too!! And shes ready to punch someone RIGHT IN THE NOODLE.

I also thought itd be nice to draw out some other Chars of Zippo and Crizs generation.

Theyre.. as you may have guessed are not finished yet.

Clem is a timid lad, Mira... not so much. Very brave

Addy is a modest princess type

Jubilee is a sassy lass.

And Criz. A sweet bashful boy whos never done anything wrong and certainly will not die because no one would be cruel enough to let that happen.

((EYES EMOJI))

Babby Clem, Addy, and Jubilee.

WHO’RE THESE ASSHOLES?!

---

Updated Mistletoe. One spooky righteous(in his own mind) lad.

She only looks stoic to start... but shes quite the weirdo.

She just got here and shes ready to go home. What a mood.

Now for some less polished individuals....

Meh meh meh lookit me IM OMI. Im gonna put three of the exact same Pokemon in the same group so Pwnyta has to suffer tryna come up with different designs.

...But I do like them. I imagine that they remain Ekans because they wont need the mark of their tribe so no one will no where they come from. So spooky.

I was torn between the codename ‘Sundown‘ and ‘Daybreak‘ for Crobat.

By day hes a wholesome trustworthy priest... by night he tortures people for a shady shady bug man. He’ll determine if youre truly innocent.

Doc has to deal with all these fuckin weirdos... he just wants to be a doctor... BUT AT WHAT COST DOC?!

This is a sequel to the doodle comic I was makin in a previous post... Kop and Doc develop an interesting friendship (In Kops mind. Its more a ‘stalker with a crush’ situation) But hey if Kops not being paid then hes got no reason to hurt Doc.

...Docs a fun character to bully because hes so smarmy and small.

---

AND NOW FOR SOME SCIENCE BITCHES.

A man of few words and an intense curiosity with mortal beings and his own existence.

A spooky lad who doesnt quite mean to torment his subordinates... its just his Pressure.

Id imagine his form changes are a bit like Iron Man in IW when hes fighting Thanos.

I drew some more science bitches...

Some casual clothes for the original three stooges.

Shes deaf Franz! She cant hear you.

Ya know IDK if itd be ‘canon‘ that they all met as kids... I just thought itd be cute. Little psychic babies all doofin off together... the most troublesome one being asleep 90% of the time due to being an Abra.... and narcoleptic. Abra sleep so much naturally... Geller sleeps even MORE... thats why hes so incredibly smart even for an Alakazam.

I had a whole little redo sketch comic idea of Mewtwo breakin loose and fuckin shit up.... (its never been finished)

Franz tries to put him to sleep. (it doesnt work. He needs Emanuel and Nola to save him and he gets his arm broken for bein such a cheeky lad.)

Mewtwo doesnt have too much of a problem with Geller due to his soft spot for kids and pure desire for knowledge... but if hes gonna protect the other assholes then PERISH.

Dont worry though big boss Deo wont let his subordinates die let alone the second smartest after him... and saves them all pretty easy. A sharp tentacle arm through the chest will stop even Mewtwo.

Some booboos happen tho...

But hes fine eventually and finds his ex wife home watchin the kids.

Shes promptly expelled.

Geller also goes back for Dilla and steals him. Lifes too short not to adopt an ancient fossil baby.

Emanuel isnt delighted... but he doesnt have the heart to call the authorities on a man who risked his life to save him.

Fossil Mons come in two types-- Resurrected fossils which have the skin color of the primary coloring of their Pokemon form so they can be solid black or blue or red or w/e... Ancestors of ancient Pokemon have normal skin tones.

And another comic sketch idea... where Geller and Roswell are gifted with some fancy new Mega stones... Ros? Not too keen on the idea hes seen what can happen to a bitch when they Mega Evo... he aint got time for that. Geller goes HARD for SCIENCE.

Ros: Geller I know your a spoon guy but stick a fork in that bastard cuz hes done. COOKED. If he thinks im riskin my ass for his bullshit. Lets go tell him off together (im scared to go without you...)

Geller: We experiment on living things all the time for the sake of scientific progress.... are we really too good to be subject to our own studies?

Ros: YES. ABSOLUTELY.

After seeing Geller use his without hesitation, putting his body through a world of hurt for the sake of SCIENCE!!! Ros couldnt pussy out on his boy...

His Mega is just FABULOUS and now he loves it.

--

I was also makin a team with the Pokemon that have the highest stats (non Legends/Psudos/Megas) but I got bored after Blissey. She has a Togekiss wife I didnt finish either... Oh well.

Shes a bold lass and prefers double battles with her support wife. She doesnt like using dangerous moves as its in her nature as a Blissey to heal.

---

(I forgot his whiskers... OH WELL)

I wanted to give Flaminio some people who missed him after he got spirited away by his Ghosts.

After he disappeared people looked for him but he was never found and years and years went by and people stopped looking. Even Clove and Ceto had to move on.

Koban is a loyal bitch though and he never let it go. He still wants his friend back. Hes an old boy now... so old people probably call him ‘Nekomata‘ and wonder when his tail is gonna split.

[fake-f1-news]

Toro Rosso Sings “Nothing Compares 2 U” to Daniil Kvyat

Toro Rosso personnel were seen with now Ferrari Development Driver Daniil Kvyat, singing Sinead O’Connor’s “Nothing Compares 2 U” to their former driver, with team principal Franz Tost on his hands and knees, begging the Russian driver to return.

“It was a great ensemble performance by the mechanics, engineers, and team bosses. We can only hope that we have convinced Daniil to return!” claimed the head of Red Bull’s driver development programme Helmut Marko.

“In a twist of separation, Toro Rosso excelled at being free. Until they found that their driver pool was dry!” stated Kvyat, in a terrible attempt to parody “Back for Good” by Take That.

In a desperate bid to find drivers for 2019, Toro Rosso are now resorting to contacting their former drivers to return to the team, including several attempts to re-sign Sebastian Vettel, and are believed to be so driver starved that they even contacted Alain Prost about driving for them in 2019.

Verstappen is understood to be against Kvyat’s return to the grid, fearing that the Kvyat Curse will return with him.

[f1]

He knows how to win races AlphaTauri boss Tost backs De Vries to recover after point-less start to 2023

Nyck de Vries hasn’t enjoyed the start to his F1 career proper that he would have wanted. But his out-going AlphaTauri Team Principal Franz Tost has publicly backed his Dutch charge, saying that De Vries’s experience in winning races and titles in other categories will stand him in good stead going forward. De Vries came into F1 on a wave of hype following a stunning stand-in performance for Williams at the 2022 Italian Grand Prix in place of the ill Alex Albon – De Vries beating regular Williams driver Nicholas Latifi and taking P9, marking one of only five times the team would score points that season. DRIVER MARKET: De Vries is under pressure at AlphaTauri, but is he really in danger of losing his seat already? After that astounding debut, however, the going has been harder at AlphaTauri in 2023, De Vries with a best finish of 12th so far – while team mate Yuki Tsunoda has scored both of the team’s points, out-qualified De Vries 6-2, and finished ahead of the Dutchman seven times out of eight. This feature is currently not available because you need to provide consent to functional cookies. Please update your cookie preferences ‘It’s really difficult for rookies now’ – Tost defends De Vries after tricky start to first season However, asked about the performance of De Vries, Tost – who’s also mentored the likes of Sebastian Vettel, Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz – said: “I always say, it’s really difficult for rookies to come into Formula 1 nowadays. READ MORE: Tost names the fastest drivers he has worked with in F1 as he prepares for retirement “Why? Because especially at the beginning of the season, they don’t know all the racetracks. Nyck didn’t know Melbourne, nor Saudi Arabia, nor Miami, and in Baku [where De Vries crashed out] we had the Sprint race, which means that after FP1 there was already qualifying. This makes it, for a young driver who is… new to Formula 1, really difficult.” Asked what he’d been saying to De Vries to keep his spirits up Tost – who is set to step down from his role as AlphaTauri Team Principal at the end of the season, with Ferrari Racing Director Laurent Mekies due to replace him – replied: “I said to him he should stay concentrated, he should stay confident, because we all know he can do a good job. De Vries is yet to score in 2023 “He won races in Formula 3 and Formula 2, he won championships – he won the Formula E World Championship. That means he knows how to win races and win championships. “He just needs to get the confidence – and we have to provide him with a good car.” READ MORE: Alonso reveals what 'outstanding' Stroll needs to do to be 'fighting for the top 5' AlphaTauri are currently bottom of the constructors’ standings, with just Tsunoda’s pair of points to their name – Williams the next best team in P9 on seven points, six of which were earned by Albon at last weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix, as Tsunoda and De Vries took 14th and 18th respectively. via Formula 1 News https://www.formula1.com

[formationlapsz]

Honestly most of the team bosses need to go except maybe Zak and Guenther.

Zak is doing a good job as a team boss at mclaren just like Guenther is doing a good job at Haas. But tbh both Franz Tost and Jost Capito are doing good at their respective teams.

But h*rner seriously needs to go just like helmut marko. As I've said they do nothing but cause drama in the paddock and they're not even ashamed of half the things that comes out of their mouths.

[your-lady-star]

Star's Sacred Stones Adventure Part 2

A lot has happened since the last one, so let's get through it.

For starters, I made that fog of war chapter my b*tch! The grinding I did helped to make my units more than prepared and Vanessa showed that spider who's boss! OK, yeah, I did have to restart once because Eirika got blindsided and killed, but that's more of her fault for not dodging low percentage hits.

Nothing really to report until chapter 8, which, by the way, I love that the chapters name is "It's a Trap!". Looks like the FE developers were referencing memes long before Heroes. But back to chapter, the only really noteworthy thing that happened is when the thief that spawned ran up to Artur and stole the guiding ring I was having him hold! I tried to get Colm to steal it back but to no avail. I would've restarted the chapter, but I was only about 4 turns away from the end and I didn't want to repeat the whole thing all over again. So there's one guiding ring right down the drain. Hopefully this doesn't come to bite me in the a** later.

Anyway, I decided to go with Eirika's path since I'm more familiar with the characters on her side and I wanted to take the easier rout first (and I made a second save state so that once I beat this game I can go back and check out Ephraim's path). But brother was chapter 9 annoying! I had restart not only because the pirates made a b-line for the villages and destroyed them, but because of rng, Tana, while trying to stop the pirates, got killed. Thankfully this knowledge encouraged me to play through the second run a bit more aggressively so that my units can get across the bridge faster and I wouldn't have to put my two pegasus knights in danger. And I was able to more properly train up Tana this time around since I could always use a second flyer. Though, just gonna say this up front, I'm not using Amelia. Ross is the only trainee unit I need since I've been able to train him up from the beginning, and there's no way I'm gonna do the same for Amelia. Maybe on my second play through I'll invest the time in her for a different team composition, but right now I'm just not interested.

Well, thankfully the next chapter gave me a lot if units to talk about. I'm gonna have a lot of fun using Innes and him being a prepromoted sniper is just glorious! I don't see myself using Gerik or Marisa since I already have more than enough sword units and I want to maintain variety. Definetely going to keep Tethys since I could always use a dancer, though I gotta make sure I remember to leave her out of enemy line since, unlike Azura, she can't fight back.

With this map containing an arena, once more I proceeded to grind all over that thing, this time with the goal to get all my current mainstay units to level 15. And with Tethys there to help, I was able to get this done much faster then I thought, though my turn count was still ridiculous, but I got a f*ck ton of gold now.

And with my units at level 15, I thought this would be a good time to promote those whose items I have. So Franz, Joshua, Colm and Vanessa got their promotions. And with me getting a guiding ring from the boss, Artur will soon get the same (I'll likely promote him in a skirmish just to save time).

Also, I think at this point I'm going to stop deploying Moulder. It just doesn't feel like he's contributing much and I often find myself forgetting about him. Plus, now that I have Tethys, I can get Natasha to do double healing if needed. Plus, I just like Natasha more in terms of design and character, and I'm already kinding liking her bond with Joshua.

And that's everything that happened. I think I'm starting to get the hang of this game and how everything works, though let's just hope my luck doesn't run out soon.

I'll let you know how that goes in the next part!