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#source: barbara walters interview
c0smiccom3t · 9 months
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Ryonna: "I'm Dr. Cortex's new right-hand arm... Lady, I'm his everything, i'm his confidant, his best friend, his huntress, his partner in crime, ...His silly rabbit."
N. Brio: "His WHAT-"
Ryonna: "his silly rabbit!" N. Brio: "His 'silly rabbit'???" Ryonna: "Yes!" :D N. Brio: "THAT'S what he calls you???" Ryonna: "...No, but we might get there."
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jilyandbambi · 11 months
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yeah, if 6 teenage girls and 1 teenage boy had emerged from the Canadian wilderness after 19 months with a 1 year old baby in tow, there would've been no escaping the media hellstorm. They would've been on 20/20 within 3 months. One group interview and a few candids of Shauna holding the baby would've been the price they'd all have had to pay in order to be left tf alone because while in 2023 society pretends to care about trauma, PTSD, and teens' mental health, this was the 90s--when Nicole Brown Simpson was blamed for her own murder, Lorena Bobbit was a late-night punchline, R. Kelly marrying 15 y/o Aalyiah was an open secret, grown men were calling into radio stations to speculate on 16 y/o Britney Spears' virginity, and Monica Lewinsky was doxxed and getting death threats for sucking off Bill Clinton.
What I'm saying is:
Seven teens (the girls + Travis) surviving against the odds for 19 months is the epilogue to a tragedy with enough unanswered questions to keep true crime nerds speculating & reporters digging.
But them being found with an infant? Had it come out that one of the girls was pregnant and gave birth during the ordeal? That's mainstream tabloid fodder. The kind that not even "papers of repute" would turn their noses up at. Barbara Walters, Lesley Stahl, and Mike Wallace would be beating each other and TMZ down to get the first interview, the first photo of the baby. NBC would've backed a U-Haul full of money onto the Shipman's, the Martinez', and the Sadecki's front yard (because speculation as to who the actual father really was would be kept going until it came directly from the source). Did she know she was pregnant when she got on the plane? Who else knew? What was it like giving birth? Did any of the other girls get pregnant? How many of the girls did Travis do it with? Weren't any of them afraid of the same thing happening to them? Did doing it help them cope?
And it wouldn't just be the media. Doctors, child development specialists, psychologists, sociologists, and academics would be calling non-stop to get Shauna and the baby to participate in clinical trials and studies.
The only way they'd have been left alone is if they'd done a televised interview and ended it by pleading to be allowed to go on with their lives in peace
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youremyheaven · 2 days
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https://www.tumblr.com/youremyheaven/749096241233903616/dated-a-solar-man-uttara-phalguni-moon-and-let?source=share
Why this low key reminded me of the time Sean Connery said he doesn't like playing golf with women because he likes the company of men at golf. I think it was the infamous interview with Barbara Walters. And I mean ofc you can't force someone. It's his choice after all. He was Uttraphalguni Moon if I'm not wrong.
Sun men never beating the Chad allegations lol
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dankusner · 3 days
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BOOKS For her, success was never enough
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Walter’s outsize ambition may have earned her ‘fame and fortune but not peace,’ new book says
When Walter Cronkite learned in April 1976 that ABC had hired Barbara Walters as co-anchor of its nightly news broadcast, the CBS anchorman experienced what he called a “wave of nausea, the sickening sensation that perhaps we were all going under.”
As Susan Page relates in The Rulebreaker , her compelling, deliciously readable biography of Walters, for Cronkite and the other giants of broadcast journalism, the idea that Walters — a co-host of NBC’s Today show, a morning program that combined hard news with human-interest and entertainment features — would be elevated to TV journalism’s most august position was beyond the pale.
So was her $1 million salary, a much higher sum than Cronkite and his cohort were making.
Left unsaid, at least in public, was arguably the most significant source of their angst over ABC’s announcement:
For the first time, a woman was about to breach their old boys’ anchor club.
Still, the sexism that permeated their reaction, along with that of much of the public and press, was glaringly obvious.
In countless newspaper headlines, this 47-year-old woman who had spent 20 years in the business was referred to as “a million-dollar baby.”
On Capitol Hill, a powerful Democratic congressman declared that the idea of a “little girl” being paid such a fantastic sum was “ridiculous.”
At the end of their first broadcast, Harry Reasoner, Walters’s ABC co-anchor and a self-proclaimed “male chauvinist,” told her on the air:
“I’ve kept time on your stories and mine tonight. You owe me four minutes.”
In the year and a half they worked together, Reasoner often decamped to a nearby bar after the broadcast and loudly disparaged her performance to anyone in hearing range.
ABC’s male-female experiment turned out to be a failure:
Its evening news show remained mired in last place, and its battling anchors were soon replaced.
But Walters would outlast Reasoner, Cronkite and the other male news stars of the day.
A harbinger of the future in broadcast news, she became a three-decade fixture on ABC for her headline-making interviews of major world figures, celebrities and ordinary people who suddenly found themselves in the spotlight.
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Walters’s 1999 interview with Monica Lewinsky, shortly after news broke of Lewinsky’s sexual relationship with President Bill Clinton, scored the largest audience — 74 million people — of any TV interview program in history.
Calling it a master class in effective questioning, a noted Washington trial lawyer advised his colleagues to study it for tips on how to conduct their courtroom examinations.
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But for the most celebrated woman in broadcast journalism, such triumphs were never enough.
Her professional ascent, Page notes, brought Walters “fame and fortune but not peace.”
For all her success, Walters, who died in 2022, had a profoundly disappointing personal life: three broken marriages and a contentious relationship with her only daughter.
Her work was her solace, but even there, she never felt totally secure.
According to Bill Geddie, one of her longtime producers, “She was propelled not by her strength but by her uncertainties.”
These lifelong anxieties could be traced in part to her rootless, unstable childhood.
Her father, Lou Walters — a flamboyant nightclub owner in New York and Miami — made and squandered several fortunes, leaving his wife and two daughters perpetually worried about their future.
Despite the angst he caused her, Walters yearned for her father’s approval and came to share his outsize ambition, and his taste for power and wealth.
Lou had always skated on the edge of propriety, consorting with organized-crime figures and, as Page puts it, other “folk who might have spent some time in prison, or were at risk of going there.”
His daughter had a similar penchant for men with sketchy reputations, including Roy Cohn, Sen. Joseph McCarthy’s right-hand man, with whom she had a hopeless romance, and Donald Trump, whom she interviewed more than a dozen times before he ran for president in 2016.
Her skill at forging connections with powerful men, shady or not, was critical to her success.
Somewhat ironically, that success made her a role model for generations of young women who, inspired by her toughness and resilience, followed her into broadcasting.
“Without Barbara Walters, there wouldn’t have been me — nor any other woman you see on evening, morning and daily news,” Oprah Winfrey observed.
For Walters, however, sisterhood went only so far.
“Barbara was determined to win the game, not change its rules,” Page writes. “The path she ended up clearing for the women who followed her was, first and foremost, one that she was cutting for herself.”
A ruthless competitor, she was “addicted to the chase” for interview subjects, and “woe to anyone, man or woman, who stood in her path.”
Her ferocious rivalry with Diane Sawyer, her younger ABC colleague, in snagging the latest hot newsmaker was the stuff of legend.
Walters’ career was the only thing that kept her going.
At the age of 67, she helped create The View , a hit daytime talk show with an all-female panel, and appeared on it until she was 82.
When failing health forced her to retire, she did so unwillingly.
Shortly before her last appearance on The View , a colleague asked her if there was anything she wanted. “More time,” she replied.
Lynne Olson is the author of nine books of history, including “Madame Fourcade’s Secret War.”
Before becoming a full-time author, she worked as a journalist at the Associated Press and the Baltimore Sun.
The Rulebreaker The Life and Times of Barbara Walters Susan Page Simon & Schuster, $30.99
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ovpwebnetwork · 7 months
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beatlesonline-blog · 1 year
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imissgrantland · 1 year
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Why Barbara Walters’ “Rude” Interviews Made for Such Great TV
Why Barbara Walters’ “Rude” Interviews Made for Such Great TV
She lobbed the questions that no one wanted to answer and that no one else could ask. Source: Why Barbara Walters’ “Rude” Interviews Made for Such Great TV
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dnaamericaapp · 1 year
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Barbara Walters, Iconic News Anchor.
Barbara Walters, the pioneering TV journalist whose interviewing skills made her one of the most prominent figures in broadcasting, has passed away peacefully in her home surrounded by her love ones.
Walters began her national broadcast career in 1961 as a reporter, writer and panel member for NBC’s “Today” show before being promoted to co-hdst in 1974. In 1976, Walters joined ABC News as the first female anchor on an evening news program.
At that network, Walters launched “The Barbara Walters Specials” and “10 Most Fascinating People” before becoming a co-host and correspondent for ABC News’ “20/20” in 1984. Along the way, she interviewed every US president and first lady since Richard and Pat Nixon.
For more than five decades, Walters was a name to reckon with, whether speaking with world leaders on news programs, in celebrities’ homes for her regular “Barbara Walters Specials” or on “The View,” a daytime talk show in which a diverse panel of women discuss the latest headlines.
Sometimes seen as brash, usually by men questioning her forthright demeanor, she could only shrug at the criticism.
“If it’s a woman, it’s caustic; if it’s a man, it’s authoritative. If it’s a woman it’s too pushy, if it’s a man it’s aggressive in the best sense of the word,” she once observed. -(source: cnn)
DNA America
“it’s what we know, not what you want us to believe.”
#dna #dnaamerica #news #politics #barbarawalters #rip #sip
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boricuacherry-blog · 2 years
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Whitney Houston was born in Newark, New Jersey. At the age of four though, she and her family moved to East Orange, where she grew up.
After Houston's second album, fans and critics accused her of selling out to white audiences. Although the album was a success, the criticism wasn't quelled.
It all culminated in a cruel incident at the 1989 Soul Train Awards, where she was up for an award. When the presenter read her name aloud, many in the audience loudly booed her.
It was at this same awards show that she met Bobby Brown, who had a much different and dark past. He'd been involved with gangs, had once been shot, and had already had three kids by the time he was 22.
And Houston didn't know it, but when she was dating Brown, he was still in a relationship. Her name was Kim Ward and she was the mother of one of his children. Ward was two months pregnant with another one of his kids when she looked at the news one day and got the shock of a lifetime -
Brown and Houston were engaged. Ward had no idea. The two broke up soon after, leaving Brown free to continue his relationship with Houston.
Just before she got married to Brown, Eddie Murphy called Houston and begged her not to go through with it - but she ignored him and went ahead with the marriage.
She had a miscarriage during the The Bodyguard World Tour, which she told Barbara Walters was "very painful." She also spoke of how the media was the one to break the news, and how that hurt her.
What Whitney didn't know though, was that her father, John Houston, had leaked the story to the tabloids, which the paper confirmed after Whitney's death.
A year after the miscarriage, she was pregnant with Bobbi Kristina.
It was after the Bodyguard, Whitney said, that she became heavily involved with drugs. She felt her star was overshadowing Brown's, and tension ensued as a result in their marriage.
"Something happens to a man when a woman has that much fame," Whitney said.
Growing up in a deeply religious household and involved with her church growing up, she took her vows of marriage seriously. And she was determined to prove the public wrong about their odd pairing. She fell into trying to please Brown to the point where she lost herself and who she was -
Even while Brown was having affairs throughout their marriage. There was also domestic abuse their daughter Bobbi Kristina witnessed growing up around her dysfunctional parents.
In 1996, Houston became pregnant again, and spoke to People magazine, saying that she dreaded another miscarriage.
"My greatest fear is I'll lose this baby and be told I can never get pregnant again," Whitney said. "I have nightmares about it."
Sadly, just weeks after she gave the interview to People, Houston's darkest fears came true. She had yet another miscarriage.
In 2003, law enforcement responded to a 9-1-1 call where they found Houston with a bruised cheek and cut lip. Brown was charged with misdemeanor battery.
In 2005, Brown shopped for a reality show about him and his life, but execs would only agree to it if Whitney would appear. Although Whitney didn't want to be on camera, she agreed to help her husband. The show however, which critics called a "trainwreck" was not renewed for a second season after Whitney refused to appear for it.
Houston's daughter was witness to some of her mother's worst years of substance abuse.
A family member recalls visiting the family, and having a preteen Bobbi Kristina answer the door, advising that Bobby Brown had to put Whitney to bed. The room was covered in dirty clothes and dishes, and the family source could only describe it as "the bedroom of a junkie."
Whitney talked to Oprah of an incident in which Brown spit in her face, in front of their daughter.
"He spit on me. And my daughter was coming down the stairs and she saw it. I didn't understand why that occurred - why he had such a hate for me, because I loved him so much. Bobbi Kris asked me, 'mommy did he just spit on you?' I said 'yes, baby, but it's ok.' She looked me in my eyes and said, 'no mommy, no its not ok.'"
A turning point came when her mother, Cissy Houston, gave her an ultimatum and practically forced her hand to go to rehab. She eventually found the strength in her to leave the relationship, and not look back.
"He was my drug. I didn't do anything without him. I wasn't getting high by myself. It was me and him together. We were partners," she explained.
Sadly, Whitney's voice was never the same after those years. She was developing emphysema, as her toxicology reports showed at her passing.
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twinsanitycomedy · 2 years
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Funny Quotes That Will Make You LOL!
"There is nothing like a gleam of humor to reassure you that a fellow human being is ticking inside a strange face." –Eva Hoffman The guy who stole my diary just died. My thoughts are with his family. "A good laugh overcomes more difficulties and dissipates more dark clouds than any other one thing." –Laura Ingalls Wilder My parents raised me as an only child, which really annoyed my younger brother. "A sense of humor is part of the art of leadership, of getting along with people, of getting things done" –Dwight D. Eisenhower Did you hear about Pillsbury Doughboy? He died of a yeast infection. "A good laugh makes any interview, or any conversation, so much better." –Barbara Walters
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Image Source: newszii.com Do you know the last thing my grandfather said to me before he kicked the bucket? "Grandson, watch how far I can kick this bucket." "It is a curious fact that people are never so trivial as when they take themselves seriously." –Oscar Wilde I hate double standards. Burn a body at a crematorium, you're "being a respectful friend." Do it at home and you're "destroying evidence." A guy walks with a young boy into the woods. The boy turns to him and says, "Hey mister, it's getting really dark and I'm scared." The man replies, "How do you think I feel? I have to walk back alone." "Where exactly are you taking me, doctor?" the patient asked. "To the morgue," the doctor replied. "What?" The patient panicked. "But I'm not dead yet!" "And we're not there yet," the doctor said. What's worse than biting into an apple and finding a worm? Biting into an apple and finding half a worm. "When humor goes, there goes civilization." –Erma Bombeck A son tells his father, "I have an imaginary girlfriend." The father sighs and says, "You know, you could do better." "Thanks Dad," the son says. The father shakes his head and goes, "I was talking to your girlfriend." I like to spend my weekends playing chess with old men in the park. It's not easy. You try finding thirty-two old guys. "Welcome back to Plastic Surgery Anonymous. Nice to see so many new faces here today!" My friend said that if he went off a cliff, it would be on his own accord. It's a good thing he drives a Civic. "No mind is thoroughly well organized that is deficient in a sense of humor." –Samuel Taylor Coleridge If you donate one kidney, everybody loves you, and you're a total hero. But donate five and suddenly everyone is yelling. Sheesh! "Through humor, you can soften some of the worst blows that life delivers. And once you find laughter, no matter how painful your situation might be, you can survive it." –Bill Cosby Laugh as much as possible, always laugh. It's the sweetest thing one can do for oneself & one's fellow human beings." –Maya Angelou What's the difference between a wizard who raises the undead and a sexy vampire? One is a necromancer and the other is a neck romancer. "A sense of humor... is needed armor. Joy in one's heart and some laughter on one's lips is a sign that the person down deep has a pretty good grasp of life." –Hugh Sidey "He who laughs, lasts." –Mary Pettibone Poole "Comedy is acting out optimism." –Robin Williams "I think the next best thing to solving a problem is finding some humor in it." –Frank A. Clark A kid decided to burn his house down. His dad watched, tears in his eyes. He put his arm around the mom and said, "That's arson." "A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs. It's jolted by every pebble on the road." –Henry Ward Beecher
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m1ng-how · 2 years
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Top 15 Funniest Quotes
1. “My advice to you is get married: If you find a good wife you’ll be happy; if not, you’ll become a philosopher.” —Socrates
2. “If you want to be sure that you never forget your wife’s birthday, just try forgetting it once.” —Aldo Cammarota
3. “Before you marry a person, you should first make them use a computer with slow Internet service to see who they really are.” —Will Ferrell
4. “Never criticize your spouse’s faults; if it weren’t for them, your mate might have found someone better than you.” —Jay Trachman
5. “Never go to bed mad. Stay up and fight.” —Phyllis Diller
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Image Source: newszii.com
6. “Instead of getting married again, I’m going to find a woman I don’t like and give her a house.” —Rod Stewart
7. “Behind every great man is a woman rolling her eyes.” —Jim Carrey
8. “Adults are always asking children what they want to be when they grow up because they’re looking for ideas.” —Paula Poundstone
9. “A perfect parent is a person with excellent child-rearing theories and no actual children.” —Dave Barry
10. “Just be good and kind to your children. Not only are they the future of the world, they’re the ones who can sign you into a home.” —Dennis Miller
11. “When I was a kid my parents moved a lot, but I always found them.” —Rodney Dangerfield
12. "Laugh as much as possible, always laugh. It's the sweetest thing one can do for oneself & one's fellow human beings." –Maya Angelou
13. "A good laugh makes any interview, or any conversation, so much better." –Barbara Walters
14. "He who laughs, lasts." –Mary Pettibone Poole
15. "A good laugh overcomes more difficulties and dissipates more dark clouds than any other one thing." –Laura Ingalls Wilder
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Cyclonus: i'm Galvatron's right-hand man. right-arm man. i'm his best friend. his confidant. his silly rabbit
Rodimus: is that what he calls you?
Cyclonus: no
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sondrawr · 5 years
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Mercy: I just wear pants because they’re comfortable.
Christy: Do you ever wear a skirt?
Mercy: I have one.
Christy: You have one?
Mercy: I’ll wear it to your funeral.
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Allegedly, The First Episode of the Mysterious Benedict Society’s 2nd Season Will be Titled “A Perilous Journey” and Feature 7 New Characters
”According to sources close to The DisInsider, we can confirm that Disney is looking to cast at least 7 brand new roles for the series’ upcoming second season.
The two biggest characters of the bunch, so far, are named Ana De Leon and Marlon.
Ana is described as Oprah or Barbara Walters type in her 50s-60s who is “smart, esteemed, and a no-nonsense interviewer”. She’s expected to be a one-off guest star set to be interviewing Tony Hale’s L.D. Curtain at some point in the season.
Marlon, on the other hand, is expected to be a recurring character in his 20s-30s who will be a right-hand man to Curtain. While he’s mostly positive, he is also a bit overconfident – to the point that he bullies most everyone else.
The studio is also looking to cast two students between the ages of 12-16 who are friends with the character Sticky, two people “anxiously” waiting in line to get onboard a cruise, and an equally impatient travel agent that works for a cruise company called Zephyr.
While it might not make sense how all the characters are connected, we can also confirm that these breakdowns are specifically for the first episode of the series second season, tentatively titled “A Perilous Journey.”
The rest of the principle cast is expected to return including the aforementioned Hale, alongside Kristen Schaal as Number Two, MaameYaa Boafo as Rhonda, Ryan Hurst as Milligan, Gia Sandhu as Ms. Perumal, Mystic Inscho as Reynie Muldoon, Seth B. Carr as Stinky, Emmy DeOliveira as Kate Wetherall, and Marta Kessler as Constance Contraire.
The series, which is based on the best-selling children’s books by Trenton Lee Stewart and revolves around an eccentric man who gathers four children to stop a global emergency, is expected to return later this year.”
https://thedisinsider.com/2022/01/27/exclusive-character-breakdowns-for-season-2-of-the-mysterious-benedict-society-revealed/
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What begins the record of the issue around the late actor and domestic violence happened during an interview with Playboy magazine in 1965. The original 007 was quoted as saying, “I don’t think there is anything particularly wrong in hitting a woman, though I don’t recommend you do it in the same way you hit a man.”
Some of his friends say that this is a misquote, and he actually said, “You can do a woman a lot more harm by moral torture than with a slap.” Which honestly, doesn’t sound much better, but I guess the desire is to say that he didn’t actually advocate for physically harming women.
He is also reported to have told Vanity Fair in 1993: “There are women who take it to the wire. That’s what they are looking for, the ultimate confrontation. They want a smack.”
Adding fuel to this, in 2006, his ex-wife, Australian actress Diane Cilento, released her autobiography, My Nine Lives. In it, she claimed that, during her eleven-year marriage to Connery, he was mentally and physically abusive. When these allegations arose, he canceled an appearance at the Scottish Parliament because of them.
His “friends” put out a statement saying the actor told them, “I don’t believe that any level of abuse of women is ever justified under any circumstances. Full stop.” It’s since been echoed from the original Times story as though the actor himself released a public comment, but the actual phrasing was:
The Edinburgh-born movie star has always maintained he was quoted out of context and last week told friends: “My view is I don’t believe that any level of abuse against women is ever justified under any circumstances. Full stop.” Sources close to Connery said he had been “hurt and annoyed” that alleged comments from 40 years ago were still being dredged up.
Snopes points out that the statements he made are not simply “alleged” because there is even an on the record, on-camera interview with Barbara Walters where he continued these statements. Also, Snopes provides the full passage from the Playboy article that shows Connery made those statements:
“I don’t think there is anything particularly wrong about hitting a woman — although I don’t recommend doing it in the same way that you’d hit a man. An openhanded slap is justified — if all other alternatives fail and there has been plenty of warning. If a woman is a bitch, or hysterical, or bloody-minded continually, then I’d do it.
I think a man has to be slightly advanced, ahead of the woman. I really do — by virtue of the way a man is built, if nothing else. But I wouldn’t call myself sadistic. I think one of the appeals that Bond has for women, however, is that he is decisive, cruel even. By their nature women aren’t decisive — “Shall I wear this? Shall I wear that?” — and along comes a man who is absolutely sure of everything and he’s a godsend. And, of course, Bond is never in love with a girl and that helps. He always does what he wants, and women like that. It explains why so many women are crazy about men who don’t give a rap for them.”
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hopelikethemoon · 4 years
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Proof (Javier x Reader) {MTMF}
Title: Proof  Rating: PG-13 Length: 1600 Warnings: Fluff. Notes: You can find everything about Maybe Today, Maybe Forever here. Set May 4th 1998. Summary: The final article comes out. 
@grapemama​​ @seawhisperer​​ @huliabitch​​ @pedropascalito​​ @rogrsnbarnes​​ @thewallpapergoesorido @twomoonstwosuns​ @gooddaykate​​ @livasaurasrex @ham4arrow​​ @plexflexico​​ @readsalot73​ @hdlynn​​ @lokiaddicted​​ @randomness501​ @fioccodineveautunnale​  @roxypeanut​​ @snivellusim​​ @lukesrighthand​​ @historynerd04 @mrsparknuts​​ @synystersilenceinblacknwhite @behindmyeyes-insidemyhead​ @exrebelshocktrooper​​ @awesomefandomsunited @ah-callie​​ @swhiskeys​​ @lady-tano​​ @beskar-droids​​ @space-floozy​ @cable-kenobi​​ @cool-ultra-nerd @himbopoes​​ @findhimfives​​ @pedrosdoll​​ @frietiemeloen​​ @arrowswithwifi​​ @random066​ @uncomicalhumour​​ @heather-lynn​​ @domino-oh-damn​ @cyarikaaa​ @ahopelessromanticwritersworld​ @im-still-a-pieceofgarbage @ksgeekgirl​  @yabby-girl @xqueenofthecraziesx​ @punkass-potato​ @coredrive​​​ @pascalesque​​ @theduchessofkirkcaldy​​ @queenquazar​ @sabinemorans​ @buckstaposition​​ @holkaskrosnou​ @yespolkadotkitty​​ @fleetwoodmactshirt​​ @seeking-a-great–perhaps
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IRREFUTABLE PROOF — DEA BRIBED COLLEGE STUDENT TO RUIN FORMER AGENT’S CREDIBILITY 
The DEA has maintained that Annette Morley’s termination was related to her perfidious actions, concerning her relationship with Javier Peña. The couple sat down with The Post to clarify why they chose to conceal their relationship.
“It wasn’t an ideal situation,” said Peña when questioned about why he and Morley kept their relationship quiet while working for the DEA. “We were working to take down dangerous organizations, we couldn’t risk something happening to our daughter. We suffered to keep it a secret. Annie gave birth alone, while I filed paperwork at the office. We couldn’t risk anyone knowing that two DEA agents had a child together — our daughter would’ve become a target.”
Could they not trust the DEA with that secret? Morley was quick to clarify why she chose to lie about her daughter’s paternity, “It was hard enough to be a woman working for the government. I was subjected to sexist comments regularly and I feared how I would be treated if they knew that Javier and I were together.”
It should be noted that both Peña and Morley denied that Peña was the father of Morley’s daughter, yet only Morley was disciplined. Documents collected via the Freedom of Information Act suggest that this was an intentional decision meant to minimize Morley’s participation within the agency. Correspondence between high-level authorities, conclude a pattern of suppression targeting women throughout the agency.  
The DEA ardently denies claims of sexual harassment, citing that their agents undergo a seminar about harassment in the workplace during their on boarding. Sources within the DEA have confirmed numerous reports of sexual harassment claims made against all levels of management. 
Evidence provided to The Post by a source close to Peña and Morley, and verified by the University of Miami, concluded that the DEA had orchestrated a scheme to pressure one of Javier Peña’s students to falsely claim that they had been having an affair. The source showed receipts of a sizeable money transfer in return for making the claims to the University. 
Following The Post’s reporting that DEA agent Chris Fiestle had numerous disciplinary claims against him, the DEA has placed him on paid leave. An anonymous source has provided The Post with information and confidently identified Fiestle as the individual who facilitated the DEA’s bribery scheme. A second source, within the agency, provided documentation of the bribery which had been signed off on by two high-level figures. 
Due to the investigative journalism of The Post we are pleased to report that The Office of the Inspector General released a report that a full audit of the DEA’s inter-agency procedures, practices, and correspondences. The Post is working with the OIG to corroborate the reports made in the paper. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has opened a secondary review of misconduct. 
 ———
 It was done. Finally. With today’s issue of The Post, you no longer had to dread the next front page story you’d read. Vickers had exceeded your expectations — not just by addressing what you had endured, but uncovering a whole culture of misconduct. 
“I don’t want to speak to the press,” You told Javier as you sat across from him at the kitchen table. The phone was ringing for the fifth time since you had gotten out of bed and you were certain it was the same type of call you’d already put up with. 
MSNBC, Fox News, and CNN had been hounding you since the first article — but now it seemed to have ramped up. They were all desperate for a sit down interview.
“Not even Barbara Walters or Diane Sawyer?” Javier teased, trying to play off the obvious distress you were in. You were appreciative. 
You laughed, shaking your head. “No, I’m not sitting down for 20/20. I’m humbled, but no. I’ve done what I intended to do.”
Monica sighed heavily as she folded the newspaper in half and sat it on the table beside her coffee. “I’m so glad he respected my request.”
“I told him all along that the article wouldn’t run with your name in it.” You assured her. Monica had spent the night — too anxious about the forthcoming article to spend the night at her own place. “I can’t help if the DEA brings you into it, however.”
She smiled grimly, “I know. I just don’t want my parents…” Monica shook her head, “And what about work? How am I going to work for the government if my name gets black balled?”
Javier cleared his throat, “I won’t let that happen. No daughter of mine is going to be harassed by those fuc—“
You shot him a look.
“Freaks.”
“Mommy, did daddy say a bad word?” Josie questioned as she licked the butter off her toast. 
“Freaks isn’t a bad word.” You shook your head, “Josie, eat your toast right. Please?”
Josie scrunched up her nose as she folded her bread in half and ate the center out of the toast. “But fuck is bad?”
“Josie!” Javier snapped his fingers, “What have we talked about?”
She tried to look as sheepish and adorable as possible, “I sassy daddy.”
Monica stifled a laugh.
“That’s an interesting way to say you’re sorry, Josie.” His brows rose upwards as he stared at Josie. “Josefína Selina Peña—“
“I’m sorry, daddy.” Josie stuck out her bottom lip as she slid herself off her chair and walked around the table to grab at you, pressing her face against your stomach and pretending to cry. 
“Are you hiding with me?” You laughed. “Do I get to play good cop?”
Monica leaned down to Josie’s height, poking her in the side, “What have we talked about bad words?”
“That they’re bad.” Josie offered quietly, before she squirmed out of your hold and dropped onto the floor as she crawled under the table.
Javier rubbed at the back of his neck, giving you a look. “We’ve created a monster.”
“We’ve created a little girl who isn’t acting like she just turned five.” 
Stevie barked, padding through the kitchen and ducking under the table to join Josie. 
“I a baby again!” Josie announced, remaining beneath the table.
Sofía leaned over the side of her high chair, trying to look for Josie. “Sissss!” She made grabby hands, wiggling as she tried to get out.
“Josefína.” Javier said warningly, pinching at the bridge of his nose. 
She popped her head out from under the table, “Daddy are you mad?”
“No.”
“You sound mad.”
“He’s not mad, Josie.” Monica told her with a gentle smile. “But you can’t be saying grown up words.”
“But daddy says them.” Josie said as she crawled out, “I wanna be like daddy.”
“Good lord,” Javier chuckled, grinning at you. “Be like your mother, she’s a far better example.”
“Only because I mind my p’s and q’s.” You teased, nudging Javier’s foot under the table. “Good cop says to go easy.”
“Bad cop is going to eat Miss Josie’s pancakes if she doesn’t get back in her seat and eat them.” He warned and that prompted her to scramble back into her seat. 
Monica started laughing again, “Is this what I miss out on every morning?”
“Every. Morning.” You shook your head. “Josie’s always getting into mischief.”
Javier fixed Monica with a droll expression. “Yesterday she ate Stevie’s kibble.”
Josie clambered back into her seat, picking up her fork and shoveling a mouthful of pancake into her mouth. 
“Josie, please don’t choke.” 
Javier nudged her in the ribs, “Small bites.”
“I’m stress eating.” Josie announced, making dramatic gobbling noises as she mimed eating another bite as she chewed her first. 
“What are you stressed about?” Monica questioned.
“Life.”
The three of you started laughing. Josie had a hell of a sense of humor. You weren’t sure which one of you she got it from, but she could not kill with her dramatics. 
“You know,” You started, looking from Monica to Javier. “That was exactly what I needed.” You rolled your eyes. “From the mouths of babes.”
“Who, me?” Josie questioned, giggling like a mad woman. 
“Yes, you, goober.” You laughed. 
Javier leaned over and kissed the top of her head, “No more bad words, JoJo.”
She tilted her head up towards him, grinning broadly. “But it made mommy laugh.”
He pursed his lips, “Then it’s fine. Just this once.” Javier stood up then, moving around the table to you. He rested his hands on your shoulders, squeezing both of them tightly. “Want more coffee?”
You nodded your head, “I think I may just work for a half a day today.” 
“Do you still want me to stick around?” Monica questioned. 
“If I get home early, you’re welcome to leave.” You assured her as you watched Javier take your cup and head for the coffee pot. “Get a jump start on your weekend.”
“Honestly, I think we may just stay in.” She shrugged, “You guys still on for dinner tomorrow?”
You nodded, moving your pancakes around your plate, dabbing up more syrup. “Javier’s cooking.”
“I hope he’s not grilling.”
“What am I cooking?”
“I don’t know,” You hummed. “What are you cooking for dinner tomorrow?”
Javier sat your coffee cup in front of you, “Wanna help make enchiladas?”
You shrugged, “Sounds good to me.”
“My favorite.” Monica smiled. “I can’t believe the semester’s almost over.”
“I can.” Javier sighed, rubbing at his forehead. “It’s still awkward.”
“We’re not bringing that up.” She offered with a shake of her head. 
“You mean I shouldn’t invite Elena for dinner?”
Monica and Javier both glared at you and offered in unison a firm, “No.” 
“Neither of you are any fun.” You laughed, grinning at them. 
The situation with DEA was finally put behind you and now you could just savor this little family of five you’d created despite everything.   
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