#Cabinet of John Adams

[deadpresidents]

“(Alexander) Hamilton is an intriguant -- the greatest intriguant in the World -- a man devoid of every moral principle -- a Bastard, and as much a foreigner as Gallatin [Albert Gallatin, a Founding Father born in Switzerland]. Mr. Jefferson is an infinitely better man; a wiser one, I am sure, and, if President, will act wisely. I know it, and would rather be Vice President under him, or even Minister Resident at the Hague, than indebted to such a being as Hamilton for the Presidency.”

-- President John Adams to his Secretary of War James McHenry, during a tense meeting after the President forced McHenry and other Hamilton loyalists in his Cabinet to resign for allegedly scheming against him, May 5, 1800.

#History #John Adams #President Adams #Founding Fathers #Alexander Hamilton #Thomas Jefferson #1800 Election #Feuding Founders #James McHenry #Cabinet of John Adams #Presidency #Politics #Federalist Party #Albert Gallatin #Team Burr #I'm An Aaron Burr Guy

[ghosts-bandwagon]

I can feel myself getting sick! And I hit my head super hard today and I’ve had a crazy headache ever since! So here’s the 141 taking care of their sick idiot s/o!

Simon ‘Ghost’ Riley:

He heard it the moment you spoke for the first time that day, you sounded congested and nasally

He made you some tea and heated up some soup, you laughed and asked about occasion

You knew you were getting sick but you’re a stubborn bitch so that means that you’re not sick and everything is fine

He knows you so he just shrugs and asks what’s wrong with soup for breakfast

He lets you go about the day, only stepping in when he sees you’re getting fatigued, discreetly suggesting you two lay down and watch a movie in bed

You’re getting the snacks ready when you drop the unopened bag of popcorn, as you’re straightening up you slammed your head on the granite countertop

It was so loud, Simon sprinted across the living room to make sure you were ok

He looked at your head and made sure you weren’t bleeding, when he didn’t see any surface damage he rushed to the freezer and pressed an ice pack on the back of your head

It was a little embarrassing and it took a lot to resist the urge to cry, he saw how much you were laughing to and playing it up and knew you felt worse than you let on

He guided you to bed, ice pack still pressed o your head, he ushered you under the covers, checking to make sure you weren’t concussed

Simon brewed a fresh cup of tea with a generous amount of honey and a light squeeze of lemon

He put on the movie and had a handful of throat lozenges in his pocket at the ready, fingers running through your hair, checking in on you and monitoring your symptoms

He blames himself for not interfering sooner but hearing your small cough and feeling you nuzzle into his chest made him feel needed, it was nice taking care of you, and a refreshing new way of being relied on

John ‘Soap’ MacTavish:

You kinda have to tell him if you’re feeling unwell

Not to say he doesn’t notice it when he sees you a little more fatigued and glassy eyed than usual

But as soon as you tell him you’re throat’s hurting, he’s up and making you some tea, while it’s brewing, he’s getting some cold medicine together and queuing your favorite movie

While he’s doing that he hears a loud ‘thunk’ and immediately runs over to check on you, he sees the cabinet door open and he sees you bent over and cradling your head

He can’t help the chuckle that comes out but he immediately shuts his mouth the moment he catches your glare

He fishes in the freezer for the ice pack and presses it against your head, he sends you to lay down on the couch but he catches you wobbling as you’re walking

He was at your side in a second, he hurried back to the kitchen and got some water for you

He sat beside you and rubbed your back, careful of his volume and careful not to move you too much

Needless to say, you didn’t lift a finger the rest of the day

John Price:

Like Ghost, he heard it in your voice when you first said ‘good morning’

Except he was more adamant on catching it sooner rather than later, he made you some Theraflu and didn’t move an inch until you finished it

If he heard you cough throughout the day, he’d magically appear with a cough drop ready for you to eat

Your water bottle doesn’t have a chance to be empty, same thing with your tea cup, it always managed to stay filled

You were loading up the laundry machine when you smacked your head hard against the rim, it was so loud John was at your side in a heartbeat

He cradled your head and checked your scalp for a cut or any blood, when he didn’t see any he gently applied pressure and walked you both to the kitchen where he grabbed the ice pack

He guided you to the bedroom where he instructed you to sit on the bed, he noticed your walking was a little uneven and all his training came to him in a split second

He walked you to the bed and knelt down in front of you, asked you to follow his fingers, took out his phone and turned on his flashlight, checking your pupils and asking you to follow it

He held the ice pack firmly against your head and ran down the list of symptoms, asking you and making sure you were ok

He didn’t leave your side for the rest of the day unfortunately for your partially loaded laundry

Kyle ‘Gaz’ Garrick:

You told him that morning that you were feeling congested and he went to pharmacy as soon as you mentioned it

When he came back, he saw you doubled over and clutching your head, he sets the bags down and hurried to your side

“Sweetheart, what happened?” He asked, you explained that you dropped your phone under the table and didn’t realize how close you were to it when you hit your head on the edge

“Babe if you missed me that much, you could’ve called, I would’ve come back sooner.” He teased, you punched him in the arm as hard as you could,

When your punch was lighter than usual, he got worried and had you sit down on the couch

He handed you the bag full of snacks and pulled out a bottle of Gatorade for you to slowly drink

While you were doing that he went to the kitchen to grab an ice pack and wrap a towel around it

He sat beside you and handed it to you to press to the area, in the meantime he opened a package of cough lozenges and handed you one

He got up and started making your favorite ramen flavor and brewing a cup of lemon ginger tea with a generous helping of honey

He sat beside you and held the ice pack against your head while you ate, he turned the tv on to your favorite show and kissed your head and your cheek

He made sure all your needs were tended to for the day and spoiled you rotten

#simon riley x reader #simon ghost riley x reader #ghost x reader #john mactavish x reader #john soap mactavish x reader #soap x reader #john price x reader #captain john price x reader #kyle gaz garrick x reader #kyle garrick x reader #gaz x reader

[charlesoberonn]

A quick alternate history scenario I made for the r/AlternateHistory subreddit:

In 1796, George Washington reluctantly runs for a third term as president to prevent Jefferson and the Democratic-Republicans from taking hold of government. His third and final term is more rocky than the first two, with the south being especially unhappy with some of his reforms, though they associate them with his vice-president John Adams and Secretary of State Alexander Hamilton. On December 14th, 1799, George Washington dies in office. The nation is in turmoil and mourning. The Democratic-Republicans call for a special election, but vice-president John Adams is declared president instead. On Christmas 1799 a protest march on DC turns violent when federal forces clash with protestors and revolutionary war veterans. Jefferson declares Adams an illegitimate usurper. Adams calls off next year's election. Several state legislatures , especially in the South, declare Jefferson as a provisional emergency leader for the purpose of ousting the Federalist regime. The American Civil War has begun. On January 15, with DC about to be overtaken, an internal vote within the Federalist war cabinet decide to oust Adams and appoint his vice president and war hero Alexander Hamilton as president instead. The tide of the war turns, with the Federalist forces able to protect the north and much of their territory, but it is short lived. The Federalist are forced to abandon DC on April and retreat to New York City as a provisional capital. Hamilton himself refuses to go. He is captured by the Democratic-Republicans along with Adams. Jefferson is appointed president on April 19th. In July, Senator Gouverneur Morris is appointed as temporary leader of the Federalist forces in New York. The war stalls for several months as the Democratic-Republican forces fail to make inroads into the north. Meanwhile Jefferson's administration is poorly received and he is compared poorly to the Reign of Terror in France, especially after the public executions of Adams and Hamilton, and after the French Revolutionary government acknowledges him as the legitimate president. The British back Morris and the Federalists and provide military assistance in return for territorial concessions out west. Despite the Democratic-Republicans trying to paint Morris as a traitor for his British support, the public hates Jefferson more, compounded by a series of military defeats. On December 14th, during a public memorial service for the 1 year anniversary of Washington's death, Jefferson presents himself as the true heir to the venerated general. This creates outrage and leads to a 6 days siege of the White House, at the end of which Jefferson is dragged out and beaten to death by the public and some of his own soldiers. The Democratic-Republican forces subsequently surrender and the capital is captured by Federalist and British forces. Morris is appointed president and his first act is to call in a new Constitutional Convention in order to draft a new constitution, one with the primary aim of preventing another civil war.

#alternate history #american history #inspired by the Roman Empire's 'year of four emperors'

[dragoninahumancostume]

I'm bored so

All years referenced in Hamilton:

(directly from the songs)

1776, Aaron Burr, Sir

1780, Winter's Ball

1781, Yorktown (The World Turned Upside-Down)

1785, I Know Him

1789, What'd I Miss

1791, We Know

1800, The Election of 1800

(by event/lyric, assuming Alexander was born in 1757, in order of events. This might be a bit confusing so feel free to ask clarification)

1754, I was given my first command I led my men straight into a massacre

1766, when he was ten his father split

1768, his mother went quick

1768-1835, Philip Jeremiah Schuyler (Angelica's brother, son of Philip Schuyler. Philip had like 15 children apparently, including the sisters and Philip)

1769, the cousin committed suicide

1769, as a kid in the Caribbean I wished for a war ("I wish there was a war", letter to Edward Stevens)

1771, they placed him in charge of a trading charter

1772, a hurricane destroyed Hamilton's town

1772, ship is in the harbor now see if you can spot him

1773, I am Hercules Mulligan

1773, your tea which you hurl in the sea (Boston Tea Party)

1775, Farmer Refuted

1775, yo let's steal their cannons

1775, I was a captain under general Montgomery until he caught a bullet in the neck in Quebec

1776, British Admiral Howe's got 32000 troops in New York harbor

1776, he promotes Charles Lee makes him second-in-command

1777, I need someone like you to lighten the load (Alex becomes Washington's right hand man)

1777, I'm John Laurens in the place to be

1777, je m'apelle Lafayette

1778, Theodosia meets Burr

1778, Battle of Monmouth

1778, duel between Laurens and Lee

1779, Laurens i like you a lot (letter from Alex to John, "I wish, my dear Laurens, it might be in my power, by actions rather than words, to convince you that I love you")

1780, give it up for the maid of honor (Alexander and Eliza's wedding)

1781, Hamilton leaves Washington (due to his lack of command)

1781, we fought with him

1782, Philip's birth

1782, me I died for him

1783, Theodosia's birth

1785, I am sailing off to London

1787, at the constitutional convention, goes and proposes his own form of government

(October-August) 1787-1788, write a series of essays titled The Federalist Papers

1789, Hamilton runs the state department

1789-1792, life without the monarchy

1790, Cabinet Battle #1

1791, Burr becomes senator

1791, Hamilton meets Ms. Reynolds

1793, Cabinet Battle #2

1793, Thomas Jefferson resings

1797, Washington's presidency ends

1797-1801, Adams' administration

1797, The Reynolds Pamphlets

1799, George Washington's death

1800, the first murder trial of our brand new nation (Levi Weeks' trial)

(March) 1801, death of Peggy Schuyler

(July) 1801, George Eacker's 4th of July speech

(23th November) 1801, George and Philip's duel

(24th November) 1801, Philip's death

1804, Alexander Hamilton's death

1810, You're making me mad (King George III actually goes mad)

1820, I'll love you til my dying days (King George dies)

I tried my best to get most of the dates, but tell me if I missed any! :)

#hamilton #hamilton musical #I really want to do a “every part that's historically inaccurate in Hamilton and everything that's a direct quote” #For funsies

[yomawari]

Sketches from the President/Vice President Jefferson era of my modern Jamilton AU, featuring John Adams and my attempts to give Alexander a modern hairstyle without just copying LMM.

I spent some time thinking about Jamilton and Adams while sketching, which I put under the cut because I tend to be very long-winded and my mind went to some odd places.

I find Hamilton's portrayal of Thomas Jefferson's friendship with John Adams interesting when it is examined purely in the confines of the musical and outside any historical context.

I think there are only two references to Thomas Jefferson and John Adams' personal relationship in the entirety of Hamilton:

In the cut version of the The Adams Administration, Hamilton tells Adams to "Say, 'Hi', to the Jeffersons!"

In the Election of 1800, which was historically near the height of the Jefferson-Adams feud, Jefferson says that, "John Adams shat the bed. I love the guy, but he's in traction."

Both lines imply a close, positive relationship between the two characters (and the latter line also informs the audience that Adam's will not be running for re-election because his political career crashed and burned). That's it. There is no clear evidence of the historic Jefferson-Adams feud and broken friendship within the musical, which makes sense since Hamilton is telling the story of Alexander Hamilton but has an interesting consequence: in Hamilton cannon, given the positive statements in the two songs, one can argue that Thomas and John's friendship survives the Washington and Adams administrations.

I mean this was clearly not intended, and I am definitely reading too much into things, but I find the idea really interesting--especially how it impacts any romantic relationship between Alexander and Thomas.

Alexander and John are the two leaders of the Federalist Party; yet, Thomas likes John in spite of their differences while initially being antagonistic towards Alexander. I absolutely believe that Alexander would be jealous of John and his friendship with Thomas. Especially during the early stages of his and Thomas' romantic relationship, Alexander's inferiority complex would arguably give him yet another reason to hate John Adams and cause some unnecessary relationship drama. Meanwhile, Thomas' friendship with John would help Thomas move past his political differences with Alexander in order to pursue a relationship and cause some tension given the John-Alexander feud.

The possibilities for conflict are further fed in a modern political Jamilton AU. It's been a long time since I studied the era, but I remember that one reason why Adams' vice presidency went so poorly is that Adams was not part of Washington's inner circle and the Vice President's authority was pretty limited at the time, so it certainly seemed like Adams didn't "have a real job anyway."

In a modern AU, however, that is not the case. George would have chosen John as his running mate. The Vice President is a vital part of the Presidential administration and has far more authority than in the late 1700s. The Vice President is now constitutionally part of the Cabinet and, in fact, presides over the Cabinet in the President's absence. George couldn't sideline John as much as he historically did, even if he (or Alexander) tried. Given the Thomas-John friendship and John-Alexander enmity, I think John's increased authority and participation in the Washington Administration would have very interesting consequences on the Jamilton rivalry/relationship.

#fanart #jamilton #alexander hamilton #thomas jefferson #hamilton musical #hamilton #john adams #modern!au #musings #hamilton fanart #poli #political!au

[platonic-soulmates-gencest]

I read about crossdressing Sam so now I'm bringing you crossdressing Dean! (kinda nonbinary actually)

It's already canon that Dean has tried out lingerie and liked it. So my take is that it goes downhill from there. He's hiding it ofc. How could he not? But those years when Sam is at Stanford and John ditches him, Dean gets a bit bolder about his habit.

At first, he starts wearing skirts and dresses inside his motel room. He's alone. Nobody's seeing him. It's fine.

Then he gets greedy.

He knows he has a pretty face. It's not hard to put on a wig and some make up.

It's easy actually. Dean loves the feeling of it.

Making his body look more female is a big hurdle though. He would intentionally get skirts with tight waistbands and he would tie all his dresses with belts as far as they could go. He tries corsets. He finds scarfs to hide his adam's apple. He wears jackets with long baggy sleeves so his biceps won't stand out. He wears long dresses and skirts to hide his thighs. But there's no way to fully hide his legs under the knee so he shaves. And he LOVES the smoothness there.

He knows that he's playing with fire. John might ask him on a job any minute. What if Dean got hurt? What if John had to take his pants off and he show his shaved legs?

But Dean is addicted. He doesn't stop.

Then he gets Sam back and he has to hide it. His shaved legs, all the girly clothes he has collected. And it's hard to part with this part of him but he does. Because he can't have Sam leave him again. He wouldn't survive that.

So the clothes get tossed aside. He stops shaving. He even stops wearing lingerie. It's not safe with Sam there.

Then, many years later, in the safety of the bunker, Dean tries on the lingerie again. It's easier to hide now that they have a whole hideout as their home base. Sam doesn't notice.

Until Dean messes up on a hunt and Sam has to undress him and he SEES and Dean wants to find a hole and crawl and never come back.

Sam would have teased him if he hadn't already seen the lingerie collection in the bottom of Dean's closet, if he hadn't found the makeup supplies in the back of the bathroom cabinet, if he hadn't seen Dean stare at shops with female clothing with fire in his eyes.

"Dude, we've saved the world how many times now? I think you are entitled to wear whatever you want."

And Dean knows its genuine but he still feels disgusting doing something like this. He doesn't buy clothes still.

Not until Sam shows up with a red dress that has Dean pretty much salivating and practically forcing Dean in it.

Dean cries because it's been so long.

Sam keeps buying him clothes and slowly Dean is back on his routine.

It doesn't stop at shaving his legs this time though.

He lets his hair grow out. It gets longer than Sam's and it looks so good with his new clothes.

So it might have taken him some years, but Dean is finally letting himself dress as he wants, all thanks to Sammy's support.

#gencest #spn #samdean #weirdcest #wincest #nonbinary dean winchester #transfem dean winchester #this got out of hand #im sorry #i should write a fic lol

[sawtastic-sideblog]

DnD night at the Kramer residence:

Jill: provides snacks and ambiant music, helps make the props and costumes, acts like she's not listening but if secretly taking notes as she does embroidery or something idk, secretly has a high elf druid character called Aria

John: DM, has these elaborate plots planned out for the campaign, tries to be annoyed when things go off the rails, can't because it's actually funny, "it's a team building, strategy game. Work together or perish in the bog of perpetual sadness," if he actually plays he's a tortle cleric called Gideon

Lawrence: secretly stoked that he gets to play again, played as a kid but mom put a stop because its witchcraft and the devil will consume his soul, played in secret, bro is an orc paladin called Sedgewick, he heals people irl and in game, once a doctor always a doctor

Mark: lizardfolk barbarian called Marco, he's very creative, he fights anything he comes into contact with, literally no stopping him when he gets angry, once punched a tree over and killed Amanda's first character, she still hasn't forgive him

Amanda: half elf bard called Lorna, she constantly makes fun of and pranks Marco, has a satchel full of flowers, once helped everyone escape a dungeon by singing lullabys to the guards

Adam: fairy warlock called Thomas, constantly casts fireball, in a great amount of debt to a powerful wizard for a house fire he certainly has no idea how it started don't ask him, on the run from said wizard

Peter: bugbear rogue called Thornax, once has a love spell cast on him by a fey and now everyone calls him Horny Thorny, high stealth level, once killed a high priestess while she was giving a speech to her cult

Logan: sea elf paladin called Ronin, excellent mimic, aided Strahm in his quest to end the high priestess by continuing to address her people while dressed in her robes, married a homeless Tabaxi begger man and runs a nice little farm and bed and breakfast on the banks of a river, swims daily, kinda a siren

William: has had many characters, he doesn't really understand how to play but he's happy to be included, all of his characters die, he has notoriously bad luck with rolls, longest character run was 3 sessions, normally dies early in sessions so he just play npcs and takes half ass notes

Billy: the God of the game, watches from his tower (China cabinet), Jill dresses him up, greatly worshipped throughout the land

#adam talks #dnd #dungeons and dragons #saw franchise #saw 2004 #leigh whannell #adam stanheight #mark hoffman #lawrence gordon #john kramer #amanda young #tobin bell

[good-old-gossip]

US President Joe Biden unveiled a detailed plan to end the war in Gaza from the White House last week, but four days later, neither Israel nor Hamas have signed the plan.

The plan appears nearly identical to the CIA-mediated one Hamas said it was offered in early May.

Israel rejected the plan by launching an invasion of Rafah. While US officials have been adamant that the newest proposal is from Israel, the Israelis have not roundly endorsed it.

“We’re confident that [Biden’s description] accurately reflects that [Israeli] proposal - a proposal that we worked with the Israelis on,” White House spokesperson John Kirby said.

The problem for the US is that it appears Hamas, Israel and the US’s Arab partners do not believe the White House’s assertion that this plan originated from Netanyahu’s government.

Qatar’s foreign ministry on Tuesday labelled the ceasefire plan it delivered to Hamas “the US’s Gaza proposal”.

Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson went even further, suggesting that the proposal doesn’t have the complete backing of Israel’s government.

For its part, Israel has wobbled over whether the proposal Biden announced represents the position of its government.

At least two ministers in Netanyahu’s government have said they would leave his cabinet if Israel follows through with the plan.

“The war will be stopped for the purpose of returning hostages and then we will proceed with further discussions. There are other details that the US President did not present to the public,” Netanyahu’s spokesperson said.

Biden on Friday said Hamas was sufficiently degraded enough to end the war.

“At this point, Hamas is no longer capable of carrying out another October 7,” Biden said.

Biden and the administration have now said, on more than one occasion, that eliminating Hamas is not possible.

But the Biden administration is now putting the onus on Hamas to publicly sign the proposal Biden outlined.

The group responded positively to the proposal but as Israeli officials chipped into the plan Biden outlined, they have grown more cautious.

If Israel can restart its war after pulling out the hostages, Hamas officials likely see little upside to signing a deal.

#free Palestine #free gaza #I stand with Palestine #Gaza #Palestine #Gazaunderattack #Palestinian Genocide #Gaza Genocide #end the occupation #Israel is an illegal occupier #Israel is committing genocide #Israel is committing war crimes #Israel is a terrorist state #Israel is a war criminal #Israel is an apartheid state #Israel is evil #Israeli war crimes #Israeli terrorism #IOF Terrorism #Israel kills babies #Israel kills children #Israel kills innocents #Israel is a murder state #Israeli Terrorists #Israeli war criminals #Boycott Israel #Israel kills journalists #Israel kills kids #Israel murders innocents #Israel murders children

[lady-of-the-upside-down]

Notes on Hamilton International Tour (Manila, Nov 9, 2023 evening)

Act 1

- This Burr is more proud than jealous during his introductions

- Same Angelica!

- Angelica pushes Burr when he tries to flirt during Schuyler Sisters

- This Washington’s voice is so deep and powerful, even more so than the last one I watched. His voice type makes me think he could be Hades when Hadestown comes here

- The Hamilton seems to be heavily inspired by Lin’s vocal style, and it actually works out well!

- I love Eliza’s voice so much, she’s always so ethereal. How do I marry a voice

- The King’s songs for Act 1 have such an angry feel to them, and yes the “I’m so blue” gag will always be funny.

- I will always repeat this in every notes but the lighting is just so *chefs kiss*

- This Lafayette had so much fun doing Guns and Ships

Act 2

- The actor as Jefferson was so good! Loved the cockiness

- Philip was so adorable as always, his voice was perfect

- Jefferson’s energy at both Cabinet Battles was amazing

- Burr is changing tone, the tone slowly shifts to feeling betrayed

- Washington’s voice definitely dominates the same way Angelica does, They’re such beautiful voices.

- WCN aka King George makes fun of John Adams the whole song

- Jefferson sounded AGHAST at “that was my wife you decided to—- WHAT?!”

- There were gasps when Philip dies

- Its Quiet Uptown never fails to make me cry, especially when the “Forgiveness…can you imagine?” part comes in.

- Burr was HURT and angry at Y.O.S, like he’s just Pissed Off

- At the end of TWWWE, Burr sounded rather regretful of what he did.

Overall, was a great second trip to the Room Where It Happens, and super worth it. I was in the back most possible row, at the edge of the theatre but the view was still great, no obstructions save for not seeing much of one side of the set’s terrace.

Side note: I finally got to stagedoor and I met Rachelle Ann Go, as well as the other cast members!

#hamilton #hamilton tour #hamilton international tour #musicals #musical theatre #theatre #Broadway #Manila #alexander hamilton #aaron burr #thomas jefferson #james madison #john laurens #marquis de lafayette #hercules mulligan #elizabeth schuyler #eliza hamilton #angelica schuyler #peggy schuyler #maria lewis #james reynolds #king george iii #rachelle ann go

[deadpresidents]

As quite a few Presidents were Secretaries of State and so many politicians vied for the position, when and why did that stop being the "gateway" to the Presidency?

That is a really good question.

You're correct that being Secretary of State was seemingly a stepping-stone to the Presidency at one point early in American history. Five of the first eight Presidents were Secretary of State prior to being elected President (Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, J.Q. Adams, and Van Buren). Madison, Monroe, and John Quincy Adams were elected President directly from the State Department. But James Buchanan was the last President who had served as Secretary of State.

I think that one of the reasons that being Secretary of State was, as you said, a "gateway" to the Presidency in the early years of the republic was because it was one of the few positions in government that built obvious foreign policy experience for the holders of that job at a time when the country was still a pretty isolated, insular nation. The Secretary of State is basically the American version of a foreign minister, of course, but because it was the premiere Cabinet post (and still is), the Secretary of State often had higher name recognition nationally than anyone in government other than the President at a time when the Vice Presidency was an afterthought with very little influence. From the beginning of the federal government, the State Department was a very important part of the Executive Branch, so the early Secretaries of State also gained valuable administrative experience which only helped their cause when it came to running for President.

I think the reason that Secretaries of State stopped being viable candidates for President is because the the growth of the country meant that their were more-and-more qualified candidates who had gained the foreign policy or administrative experience through other means. The country started turning to military leaders and Governors, as well as candidates with more significant Congressional experience than was possible at the early stage of American history when Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, and J.Q. Adams were going from the State Department to the White House. After Buchanan's election, not only were there no other Secretaries of State elected President, but very few were even nominated. James G. Blaine briefly served as Secretary of State in 1881 until a few months after President Garfield died in office and was the Republican Presidential nominee in 1884 (he served as Secretary of State again from 1889-1892), but since then, the only major party Presidential nominee who had previously served as Secretary of State was Hillary Clinton (Secretary of State from 2009-2013) in 2016.

In fact, the reverse has been true more frequently in recent history. Since 1884, four major party nominees for President have served as Secretary of State AFTER losing Presidential elections. Blaine lost the 1884 election and served as President Harrison's Secretary of State from 1889-1892 (again, that was his second stint at the State Department after his brief 1881 service). William Jennings Bryan was the unsuccessful Democratic nominee for President in 1896, 1900, and 1908, and went on to serve as President Wilson's first Secretary of State (1913-1915). Charles Evans Hughes was the Democratic nominee in 1916 and lost to Wilson, but went on to serve as Secretary of State under Presidents Harding and Coolidge (1921-1925). And John Kerry was the Democratic nominee in 2004 and later served as President Obama's second Secretary of State (2013-2017).

It's really difficult today for any Cabinet member to be elected directly to the Presidency (or even get close to the nomination -- just ask Julián Castro about his 2020 campaign). While there is no job that can truly prepare someone for the modern Presidency, Governors tend to be in a better position than Cabinet secretaries or members of Congress. Only four incumbent members of Congress have been elected directly to the Presidency -- James Garfield (1880), Warren G. Harding (1920), John F. Kennedy (1960), and Barack Obama (2008). And Garfield is the only sitting member of the House of Representatives to have been elected President. While the position of Secretary of State remains the prime Cabinet post in the United States, the days of the Cabinet being the gateway to the Presidency seem to have gone away with powdered wigs and shoe buckles.

#History #Presidency #Presidents #Cabinet #Secretary of State #Secretaries of State #State Department #Presidential Elections #Presidential Candidates #Presidential Experience #Politics #Political Elections #Thomas Jefferson #James Madison #James Monroe #John Quincy Adams #James Buchanan #Martin Van Buren #Cabinet Secretaries #Presidential Cabinets

[shawolsos]

I've been thinking about Henry and Alex's wedding again

I think that it would be absolutely balls-to-the-walls fucking mental. It'd be a royal wedding that even my parents and I (very much anti-monarchist) would watch and enjoy. I want a royal wedding that would give Piers Morgan cardiac arrest six ways from Sunday.

Like, speakers on every street corner blasting Bowie, Jagger, Queen, Blondie, Gloria Gaynor, Taylor Swift and One Direction.

If they HAVE to sing God Save the Queen, I want it sang by Adam Lambert while Brian May absolutely shreds a guitar solo on the top of Buckingham Palace.

An autumn wedding because Henry told Alex that if a wedding happens during term-time, kids get the day off school and who is he to deny them that.

Mexican food and burgers and hot dogs, curries and fish and chips. None of this pretentious canopies and whatever else it is rich people have at weddings

Cornettos and wedding cake made of red velvet and funfetti.

Elton John singing "Your Song" as a first dance.

Queen Catherine leading Britain's nobility in the Macarena and the Cha Cha Slide and Martha having to drag Philip onto the dancefloor.

Foreign Monarchs and Dignitaries and the fucking Prime Minister's Cabinet becoming wild party animals for one night and one night only.

Jaffa Cake donuts, because they're a thing and they are the best thing ever.

The presenting team has Holly and Phil but also Baga Chipz, Lawrence Chaney, Suzi Ruffell, Tom Alan, Rylan, Nick Grimshaw, Graham Norton, Sue Perkins, Courtney Act, Trixie Mattel, Katya Zamo and the original cast of Horrible Histories (cuz Henry loved that show as a kid and you can't convince me otherwise)

The guest list includes Britain and America's gay icons except for Ellen. The entire Harry Potter cast and NOT JKR every James Bond actor they can get and kids from Henry's shelters.

Traditional CofE readings but also passages from the great FEMALE writers of Britain and classical mythology and Sappho.

Mexican love songs in the middle of the service, that make everyone tear up, regardless of whether they understand Spanish.

Their personally written vows would be exchanged in a private ceremony the day before.

Ellen and Oscar walking Alex down the aisle.

Shaan and Zahra being event coordinators.

St. George's Chapel being decked out in beautiful floral arrangements.

Pez and Nora being the best best man and woman.

Pez, June and Nora getting blackout drunk and ending up in the same hotel room.

Bea and Catherine staying back to help with the clean up and taking loads of left overs back up to the apartment to share with the staff.

Ellen, Oscar, Luna and Leo managing to slip away from their security and going to a nightclub in Soho and sending some very confusing but hysterical voice notes to Alex.

Henry stopping the car to get a donner kebab because he's English and drunk.

Apartment 6F becoming royalists for the first and only time in their lives and setting aside a whole week to watch everything related to it.

Street Parties in London and Washington going from the night before until the night after.

Sweet elderly people who have been in the crowd at every royal wedding for the last sixty years and have become very supportive of the queer community ever since their grandchildren came out to them.

A proper English Bloke™ who looks like he'd be homophobic but isn't and a bi girl with pink hair and a nose ring getting absolutely plastered together.

A sea of Union Jacks and Star-Spangled Banners being waved alongside every variety of Pride Flag.

It'd be a royal wedding that literally no other couple would be capable of planning.

#yeah i think about this way to much #but here ya go #firstprince #firstprince wedding #henry fox mountchristen windsor #alex claremont diaz #alex x henry #red white & royal blue #red white and royal blue #rwarb #rwrb #rw&rb #cerys rambles

[brb-on-a-quest]

Well im back now and I have found my history notebook (debating whether I should throw it away but I did a good job decorating it)

so. @igotthisaccountunderduress let me tell you about Aaron Burr.

Aaron burr was an orphan raised by an uncle, went to lawschool, stopped lawschool to fight under benedict arnold (ha. ha. ha. this really shouldn't be that funny but it is -> benedict arnold was a traitor from US to British ppl). He got appointed to George Washingtons personal military cabinet before both men realized they got a long like stray cats (not very well at all) and Burr was transferred to some other not-as-important dude.

Then him and hamilton got Beef (very famously) but this kind of all started when Burr beat out Hamiltons Father In Law in political stuff and then FIL beat out Burr during the next thing so things are all dandy.

And then he got in as vice president under jefferson. How this worked back then (doesn't now) is that whoever got the Most Votes is now in charge and whoever got second most votes is now VP.

As you can imagine this doesn't lead to really great coworker dynamics especially if you and ur boss/vp are like so opposite. Like when Thomas Jefferson was VP to president John Adams, Adams hated Jefferson so much that he didn't let Jeffy have a say in anything. Like thomas Jefferson did one thing once in all the two terms John Adams was in charge I think, idk, it was something rediculous.

But anyway, all this to say, Aaron Burr is now vp under jefferson. And as you can imagine, they do not get along well (Jefferson accused burr of 'secret dealings'). but their differences are mainly due to opposing beliefs on whether we should support or rewrite the constitution fo the united states.

Anyway, time for reelection, Burr doesn't get enough votes for either presidency or VP and he decides to try and get governership of New York where he was actually really popular.

Remember how hamilton didn't really like him becus of burr's political campaign against his FIL? Hammy decides to send a rediculous amount of irl subtweets (derogatory letters) against Burr to get him to lose.

Burr takes this very personal and challenges Hamilton to a duel, stepping from across New York to New Jersey. This is because, although duels were outlawed in both places, penalties were less severe over the border.

Now take this next part with a grain of salt bc it comes direct from the history prof.

Duels were common; but they were never usually fatal. Essentially it was like lukewarm Christians going through the motions on a sunday in church. A lot of the stereotypes still apply. Two people back to back, walked a x amount of feet, turned around and would usually shoot upward or otherwise shoot to miss the target.

Burr was not one of those people. Alledgedly, he told Hamilton he meant to kill him and he didn't care wether hamilton would try to shoot him or not. No one's sure whether hamilton was like "haha bet" and tried to kill him or whether he was like shooting up in the air as the practice usually went. Either way sum of that was Burr: 1 (unharmed), Hamilton: 0 (very much shot due to Burr's word, and died the following day).

Aaron Burr... idk if he didn't think this through but he's now considered a murderer for challenging Hamilton to an agreed-upon duel. So he runs to join his new BFF who is secretly in the pay of pain and wants to take over the US napoleonic style. Burr gets *to into it* to the point BFF turns him into Jefferson. He gets cleared.

he then gets involved with the Essex Junto, an organization in New England, tries to help the secede from the entire country (New England hated US before it was cool to) and then he did the same thing again somewhere in the middle west (I forgot where, sorry Dr. W). He gets away both times because even though Jefferson hates Burr's stupid guts, John Marshall is head of the supreme court (John Marshall also hates Jefferson sees this as a very innocent way to undermine him) and Marshall creates the definition of reason that we still have today that basically says Burr gets off scot free twice because we're not at war so there's no enemy for Burr to be helping.

Burr finally accepts that he is now a persona non grata and fucks back off to NY where he marries a second widow for money (again) and she divorces him on the grounds of adultery. This divorce finally is finalized on the day Aaron Burr dies.

#he's a charater #brb and iggy talk about history #i should probably add that tag to the other history posts huh #aaron burr #this is questionably accurate: source is my prof and my notebook and my foggy memory #but it funny!

[stenka-razin]

in 2023 I watched some movies

I was gonna catch up on all those best picture nominees from the last 5 years, but watched crap like Caligula 2 instead

The 1989 World Tour - Live (2015, dir. Jonas Åkerlund) Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022, dir. Rian Johnson) Flight 666 (2008, dir. Scot McFayden and Sam Dunn) Dracula (1931, dir. Todd Browning) Moonraker (1979, dir. Lewis Gilbert) The Pez Outlaw (2022, dir. Bryan Storkel and Amy Bandlien Storkel) Encino Man (1992, dir. Les Mayfield) Star Trek: Insurrection (1998, dir. Jonathan Frakes) Once Upon a Time in… Hollywood (2019, dir. Quentin Tarantino) Cleopatra (1963, dir. Joseph L. Mankiewicz) The Alligator People (1959, dir. Roy Del Ruth) The Silence of the Lambs (1991, dir. Thomas Demme) Godzilla vs. Megalon (“ゴジラ対メガロ” 1973, dir. Jun Fukuda) Invasion of Astro-Monster (“怪獣大戦争” 1965, dir. Ishirō Honda) Breaking a Monster (2015, dir. Luke Meyer) Terror at Orgy Castle (1971, dir. Zoltan G. Spencer) Wake in Fright ("Outback" 1971, dir. Ted Kotcheff) m.A.A.d. (2014, dir. Khalil Joseph) Reservoir Dogs (1992, dir. Quentin Tarantino) Kung Pow! Enter the Fist (2002, dir. Steve Oedekerk) House (1977, dir. Nobuhiko Obayashi) Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981, dir. Steven Spielberg) Dunkirk (2017, dir. Christopher Nolan) Final Destination (2000, dir. James Wong) Glitch: The Rise & Fall of HQ Trivia (2023, dir. Salima Koroma) Basic Instinct (1992, dir. Paul Verhoeven) Pee Wee’s Big Adventure (1985, dir. Tim Burton) Caligula 2: The Untold Story (“Caligola: La storia mai raccontata” 1982, dir. Joe D’Amato) La noche del terror ciego (1972, dir. Amando de Ossorio) Rocky IV (1985, dir. Sylvester Stallone) Saw IV (2007, dir. Darren Lynn Bousman) House of Wax (1953, dir. Andre DeToth) Thir13en Ghosts (2001, dir. Steve Beck) Kashchey the Immortal (“Кащей Бессмертный” 1944, dir. Aleksandr Rou) Ghost Ship (2002, dir. Steve Beck) The Blood on Satan’s Claw (1971, dir. Piers Haggard) The Face of Fu Manchu (1965, dir. Don Sharp) The Brides of Fu Manchu (1966, dir. Don Sharp) The Vengeance of Fu Manchu (1967, dir. Jeremy Summers) The Blood of Fu Manchu (1968, dir. Jesús Franco) April Fool's Day (1986, dir. Fred Walton) It's Pat 1994, dir. Adam Bernstein) The Castle of Fu Manchu (1969, dir. Jesús Franco) Adam and Eve Meet the Cannibals ("Adam ed Eve, la prima storia d'amore" 1983, dir. Enzo Doria & Luigi Rosso) The Mountain of the Cannibal God (“La montagna del dio cannibale” 1978, dir. Sergio Martino) When Harry Met Sally… (1989, dir. Rob Reiner) Beetlejuice (1988, dir. Tim Burton) Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (2001, dir. Peter Jackson, Long as Shit Version) The Hobbit (1977, dir. Arthur Rankin Jr. & Jules Bass) The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920, dir. Robert Wiene) The Wicker Man (1973, dir. Robin Hardy) The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974, dir. Tobe Hooper) House of 1000 Corpses (2003, dir. Rob Zombie) Chopping Mall (1986, dir. Jim Wynorski) Basket Case (1982, dir. Frank Henenlotter) Cube (1997, dir. Vincenzo Natali) Cube 2: Hypercube (2002, dir. Andrzej Sekula) Practical Magic (1998, dir. Griffin Dunne) Tropic Thunder (2008, dir. Ben Stiller) Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015, dir. J.J. Abrams) Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017, dir. Rian Johnson) Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019, dir. J.J. Abrams) Eyes Wide Shut (1999, dir. Stanley Kubrick) Superbad (2007, dir. Greg Mottola) Bruce Almighty (2003, dir. Tom Shadyac) House of Flying Daggers (“十面埋伏” 2004, dir. Zhang Yimou) Saltburn (2023, dir. Emerald Fennell) Grandma’s Boy (2006, dir. Nicholaus Goossen) Five Nights at Freddy's (2023, dir. Emma Tammi) Caligula and Messalina (“Caligula et Messaline” 1981, dir. Bruno Mattei) The Wizard of Oz (1939, dir. Victor Fleming, King Vidor, George Cukor, and Norman Taurog) A Christmas Prince (2017, dir. Alex Zamm) A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding (2018, dir. John Schulz) The Knight Before Christmas (2019, dir. Monika Mitchell) Goldfinger (1964, dir. Guy Hamilton) Total Recall (1990, dir. Paul Verhoeven)

[eric-the-bmo]

The Neighborhood Watch, S3 ep3: Who Is She?

[Summary: Markus hangs out with their sister while Song and Louis head back to the casino only to make a discovery. John meets up with Clara and gets caught up in romance, and we learn new things about Shelby.] (this one feels super long btw! It's very detailed bc im insane over the whole thing Oops) @gr3y-plays-ttrpgs

The rest of the Main Cast approaches Marku's house; they open the door, and it smells like weed and Chinese food. Markus lights some incense for Louis (he Does Not like the smell of weed), and a voice calls out from the hall- Markus introduces the owner of the voice as Analetta, their sister who's going to to school in Japan but stopped by to say hello.

We finally get a description for Analetta: She's very plain-looking, with long straight hair and bangs, neutral clothes, etc- a pink hair clip is the most colorful thing on her.

She greets the Main Cast, shaking hands with the newcomers, but her gaze is stuck on Louis. She swears she's seen him before- he looks so familiar, but she can't remember where she's seen him. Louis is confused because they have met before, and comments it's merely a trick of the trade.

Markus complains about the couple who's doing this week-long tour thing for their bug exhibit, but hey at least they'll get money for it. They thank the rest of the Cast for coming over to meet Analetta; Family should meet friends, and Ana's the only family Markus has got. She's emotional over the fact her sibling has friends, finally.

Markus introduces the Cast to her, and I'm mildly offended on John's behalf that his hair was compared to ramen. Meanwhile, Analetta wonders if Markus has mentioned Shelby before- they deny it. Nope, not at all. They've literally never talked about her what do you mean.

Song and Louis mention they should get back home- they've got, uh, cooking lessons. Analette mentions she'd like to try some of the food they'll make, and the others chime in- Louis is internally panicking because they are not doing any actual cooking tonight, but Song remedies this by saying hey, how about Monday instead? She'd also like to use her new kitchen, since her house finally got rebuilt about the Gnome Incident.

There's a knock at the door- Gerald, the guard sent by Song's father to discreetly watch over her, is at the door asking for a cup of sugar with a very bad attempt at an American accent. Markus gives some to him, shenanigans ensue (i was afk </3, but at one point Louis, detecting Gerald's actual accent, spoke French to the man, and Gerald tried So Hard to pretend he didn't know that language) and Markus ends up slamming the door in his face. Song apologizes about the whole thing; her dad is overprotective. She says she'll talk to her dad about possibly lightening the security around her, since she can take care of herself/she's safe around the rest of the Main Cast.

Analetta mentions she ordered more food, but Song and Louis start to head out. Before the couple leaves, though, they take note of what the others like; Markus, with a cabinet full of instant ramen, lies and says Italian- Louis is hyped over the idea of making pasta from scratch. Song puts $50 somewhere Markus can find it later to pay them back for the sugar (50 bucks?? yo???), and the couple heads off.

Shelby notes that John should be heading to that thing he needed to go to; Does he need a ride? John says he'll be fine walking, and he'll let Shelby knows how it goes- he'll try to be safe! And so he starts the almost-hour-long walk, ruminating over everything that could possibly go wrong with it.

---

Shelby heads off to put on some more casual clothes, since she's still all dressed up from the casino- she'll be back in a moment! As she leaves, Analetta is adamant Markus has mentioned her before. She teases Markus about her, while they deny having ever talked about Shelby, until:

["my bugs are very good at getting rid of bodies," Markus states. It's a threat, but in the typical joking manner one has for a sibling. "If you kill me," Analetta responds, "My body will rise up and annoy you forever." "hm nevermind, i don't want that."]

Kyle, the only Doordash guy in town, finally arrives with the food Analetta ordered. Markus gives him a 40$ tip, and assures Kyle they'll be able to eat all of it; some people are coming over anyway.

Shelby returns, no longer in a dress but in a baggy sweatshirt, and she's hyped over the pizza and tacos they've got- there were only alcoholic drinks at the casino. Shelby tries to pay Markus back.

["How much do I owe you for this?" "nothing. you're a friend." "Markus, I can pay you back. I have money." "so do i!"]

Shelby asks how the bug tours are going- horrible, answers Markus. They dislike the fame but they will keep taking people's money. They offer her a joint, and upon her request they go to make brownies instead.

----

John's been fidgeting with his hands, and his phone starts to lag a little bit as he gets closer to the casino. Eventually he spots Clara leaving the building. Oh god, here we go.

Clara gives John that white person smile as she approaches (fuck). They have a short conversation, agreeing to go to the coffee shop in town since the casino is a bit... Well, it's a lot. Clara offers to drive to the cafe, leading him to a motorcycle. John is impressed! She tells him she decided to use her first paycheck to buy her dream vehicle, and tosses him a spare helmet.

["You're going to have to hold on," She tells him as he gets on. "To what?" "To me," She says. "So you don't fall off." "...oh!" Carefully, he does so, trying to be gentle with his claws.]

---

[The bike pulls into the parking lot of the shop; Grounded In Nature, the cat cafe that's also the only coffee shop in town. "You can let go now, you know." "Ah- sorry."]

As the two of them enter, some of the cats run away from them- John apologizes like it's his fault (it is). They sit down, place their orders, and after talking over each other at first, Clara tries again: It was a blur last time she saw him (she was in the forest??), and then there was a lot going on, she got a new job and didn't know how to contact him, and hadn't seen him in town.

Their drinks are brought over- the only employee had spelled their names wrong. A fluffy white cat, brave to approach them, sits next to Clara.

John apologizes for not seeing or contacting her- he doesn't say how he was nervous she'd see he looked different from last she saw him- and they begin to talk a bit more; Clara jokes about her job, John says he loves to listen to people talk about their interests, etc.

And John swears that the cat near her rolls its eyes, like it's tired of how awkward their chat is, and then it jumps up onto the table and knocks over Clara's drink!!! Hey now! >:-0

John stands up, apologizing like it's his fault the cat did that, grabbing a bunch of napkins for her and being like hey?? are you okay??? She says she's okay, it was iced coffee so it didn't hurt, and she needed to change out of her work uniform anyway. Clara looks like she's struggling to say something else, and her gaze locks onto John's.

[Her eyebrows furrow slightly. "...Have your eyes always been that color?"

He looks away.]

She eventually asks if he and Shelby are dating- he stammers out a refusal, saying that while he cares very much about Shelby, he's not romantically interested in her. He leaves out how important she is to him, worrying that would hurt Clara's feelings.

["Okay, got it." Clara takes a breath, and meets his gaze.

"You know I like you, right?"]

There's about three seconds as John's brain catches up with what she said. There's a bit of war in his head- he's thrilled she likes him, but at the same time... there's no way, right? (Oh, the joys of low self-esteem)

[There's a small smile- a mix of disbelief and joy. "...You like me?"]

Clara apologizes for assuming that he and Shelby were together and for assuming he would know she liked him, and John apologizes for being oblivious, saying that no one's ever been interested in him before like this; he doesn't quite know what to do, but he can try this out.

They exchange numbers, and Clara offers him a ride home.

----

Song and Louis enter Lestat's home, and he greets them with a glass of what might be red wine, and a phone to show them all the social media posts people made about them at the casino; it's clear he wants to go there with them. Song and Louis jokingly make fun of Lestat's age and his language about social media apps.

["Lestat," Song asks, "How old are you anyway?" "Old enough," He turns around. "But we're not here to recount tales of the French Revolution."]

They start to get ready, with Song and Louis picking out new suits and dresses for the night.

Song looks out the window, because she hears an engine- and sees John, getting off a bike with a woman! Clara and John hug, and John is made aware of how easy it would be to hurt her in this moment- his small growl is hidden by the engine of her bike.

They pull away, and she drives off with a goodbye. John stands for a moment, reeling, until he sees Sammy and Heath pull up into their driveway- hey, Heath was taken away by the guards, remember? what's up?

So John goes up to greet the couple, asking what happened- Heath tells him that, well, it got loud in the casino, so Sammy had started using ASL to talk to him. The guards thought it was code or something relating to cheating at the casino games, Heath is saying, so they took him away just to look over the security footage. Other than that, they did pretty good at the casino and won some cash, as well as some compensation for the misunderstanding. They decided to go home right after.

John doesn't believe that because I don't, this casino is sketchy as hell, so he rolls to Investigate a Mystery and infers that Sammy seemed to have been in there way longer than it would've taken to just review footage. Suspicious but not knowing where to go from there, he bids them goodnight and heads over to Markus's.

["do you want a joint?" Markus holds one out to him. "No, thank you," John says as he enters. "I'm fine." Weed wouldn't be good for him, given his tendencies. They shrug, turning away. "okay, that's fine. don't eat the brownies, by the way; they've got weed in them." John slowly puts the brownie in his hand back onto the tray.]

The four of them play board games and chat; Analetta shares embarrassing stories about Markus (though she's still confused over how she can't remember the details of them leaving), and Shelby shares some about her and John, mentioning that they met when she hit him with her car.

["How did you manage to do that?" Markus asks. "It was dark!" She said. "I was in a hurry, and he just ran out into the road!"]

John asks why she had been it a hurry that night- this is new to him. It was an unspoken rule between them that they never talked about their pasts, but...

She explains that she's not originally from Greenville; she's from somewhere up East, but she had to get away, so she got in her car and drove as far as she could until she felt it was good enough to stop.

["And then when I hit John, I thought 'Oh, surely this can't get any worse!'"]

John is sympathetic, and Markus offers support. Shelby says she doesn't need to worry about that anymore- and besides, she's got John! He's tough! He jokingly(?) threatens to fight anyone who hurts her, and she lightly punches him in the arm in response.

Markus makes a comment that maybe if they get a divers license, that's how they can get more friends. John responds that maybe Not having one would increase their chances.

Eventually, Markus and Analetta head off to bed, and John and Shelby start their short walk back home.

["That was fun," Shelby said, walking ahead of John, "But I think I'm just gonna head to bed once we get inside." John hummed, a tiny smile at his lips. "So do you want me to tell you the news tomorrow morning, then...?" Shelby spun around to face him. "No no," she said, walking backwards with a grin. "You can't do that- you're telling me now."]

He reminds her of Clara, his old coworker, and that she confessed that she liked him; They might go on a date.

[Shelby pauses from unlocking the door. "That's..." She turns to him. "John, that's great!" "I know, right!"]

The two of them enter the house as John expresses his amazement at this; he never thought that anyone would ever ask him out?? He asks Shelby for advice- because she's gone on dates before, right?

[She winces. "Yeah, uh- I don't really do the whole dating thing anymore. I haven't had much luck with that."]

She suggests the dinner Song and Louis are planning on Monday- unless John wants a private date, something more intimate? But he thinks back to the hug earlier, and says the dinner would be a better idea. He can call them tomorrow and ask if he can bring a plus-one.

Shelby mentions she's going to go to bed. As she gets up from the couch, she puts a hand on his arm. She tells him she's glad he's happy, and heads off to her room.

Markus goes to get water, but the thing is that their window can actually look directly into the window to Shelby's room; They see her close the door and fall onto her bed, sobbing. They pull out their phone and call her. Shelby stops crying to answer it, and they ask if she's okay. She says she'll be fine.

["You know I'm only a phone call away," Markus offers. They watch as she reaches for a plushie and hugs it tight. "...Thanks." She says nothing else.]

---

Meanwhile, the Trio (comprising of Louis, Song, and Lestat) heads back to the casino, dressed in fabulous outfits. Lestat had fed earlier, and due to the life running through him he's able to show up in photos for a bit. They enjoy themselves, and are invited up to the second floor of the casino. It's grand, full of upper class ambience and elegant people at the tables- the Trio doesn't recognize anyone, but heads over to play one of the card games. There's a well-dressed man making his way to each group of people, chatting before moving on to then next group. Finally, he reaches these three and introduces himself as Mr. Grant, one of the people who helps run the Vault Casino. They compliment it, saying it's lovely.

Then Mr. Grant leans forward, asking Ms. Song O'Sullivan if he can speak to her privately- her eyes immediately go up to the security cameras (They're not looking at her). Louis gets bad vibes from this question and asks why can't all of them be there? Grant says its of a private and serious manner. Louis continues to object, and the man says it's about their.. extracurricular activities. (monster hunting?)

Song sends her boyfriends a telepathic message, telling them that if she's not back in five minutes they can raze this casino to the ground. They let her go; Louis starts a timer on his phone. Mr Grant leads her to the elevator, and they start to head up to the third floor- that's normally off-limits, isnt it?

A telepathic message from Song: "Third floor."

Two security guards approach Lestat and Louis, asking them to please come with them. Louis objects and Lestat tries to be civil, but the guards are firm. Lestat also has telepathy, as he had used it last season, and he sends Louis a message: He's trying real hard to not tear these guards apart, as he's working on being a better person, so it would be in both their best interests to comply. Besides, they've worked together before, he and Louis- they can fight their way out later if needed.

The vampire and Southern gentleman finally comply, and are lead to the elevator- but unlike Song, they start going down. Basement One.

Louis mentions they must be getting special treatment, then, if they're heading to an off-limits area! The security guards make a comment implying they've been bringing the supernatural folk (though they didn't quite use that phrasing, it was heavily implied) in town down to the basements- just for a little chat, is all.

["Well," said Louis, "If you know of those kinds of folk, then you surely know what me and my partner here are capable of?"]

Meanwhile, Song is on the third floor.

It's dark, with the only light source coming from below them; It's built almost like a balcony, with railings and windows that reveal the lower levels of the casino and everyone milling down below. The ceilings must be two-way mirrors.

There's a flick of a lighter from the far side of the room, and a dim glow as a cigarette is lit up. The lamps follow its lead, turning on and lighting up the place. There's a woman on the far end, holding a long cigarette holder. She's got the beauty of an old movie star, with an elegant red dress, a feathered boa, and long black gloves.

"What's wrong, darling?" She asks Song. Their eyes are the same color; a deep blood red.

"...No hug for your mother?"

Notes/Commentary:

SO MUCH HAPPENED THIS SESSION?? I LOVE IT HERE Also cheer for me, this one was almost entirely off memory. I'm so cool lmao

Why doesn't Analetta remember Louis? The way the DM played it seemed to be supernatural in nature... is it because Louis made a deal with the Devil? or is there something else to it?

Sorry, listen, i know i bring it up every time but Song's house getting blown up by gnomes is so wild to me. I love how that's a canonical thing.

Song with the sugar, pretty much:

"Would Shelby smoke weed?" "So fun fact I keep a list of everything we've ever learned about Shelby because I'm Normal about her-"

Shut up i lost it when Kyle finally showed up. He's only been mentioned and never shown, I feel like i met a celebrity /hj

I started YELLING at the white person smile comment i'm !!!!! OUGH i Knew it wouldve been awkward!!!

Those cats are so sentient. I'm calling it. Also do you think Jewel the employee mispells the customer names so they won't be taken by the fae who runs the cafe?? oh shit what if the cats were people-

During the cafe scene Markus's player sent a message in the chat like "Two autistic people flirting. beautiful <3"

I was so in-character!! /pos Not me going into my pockets like i had a flip phone in there aughgh

John never saying he liked Clara back!!! Only that he would like to try out dating!! bc thats what people do!!!! aaaa!!!!

There's some memory manipulation going on in that casino.

John and the hug was wild bc?? The dm was over here describing how she was small and I was all "well. might as well roll for hunger" and you would Not believe how badly I fucked that up lmao. I was going to spend a luck point; since the dm wasn't expecting me to roll for his hunger, though, he let me off the hook. Thanks DM <3

The "markus getting a car to make friends joke" was originally an ooc bit from earlier and then we just??? Acted it out? Love it here

SHUT THE UFKC UP IM GOING TO THROW MY CHAIR. ROOMMATE DUO ALWAYS HAD ANSGT POTENTIAL AND NOW ITS WORSE.

SHE LIKES HIM???? IM IN A LOVE TRIANGLE-

And Louis's player called it too!!! Like right before the scene that revealed Shelby likes John!!! Aaa!!! [Head in hands]

Also sorry that was Such a shock to me. I genuinely thought she was a lesbian

SONG'S MOTHER!?!?!?

That's why Greyson was doing this job thats why he said it was personal!! THATS HIS WIFE RUNNING THE PLACE!!! I thought she was dead!!!!!

We IMMEDIATELY ran to make theories about Song's mom: is she a demon? Is Song a pact child?? What if her mom's a dragon! Song has a fang earring doesn't she? Is the fact her mom's supernatural why she's so good at magic? What's her mother doing gathering all the supernatural folk anyway? Shaking my computer I WANT ASNWERS /lh

Hey. Hey DM. Is Emmett the AI man okay?? Why did you bring up the fact we havent heard from him in a while in the same breath as mentioning the casino's effect on our phones. SIR??? IS HE OKAY???

#eric finally speaks #motw campaign #john doe #the neighborhood watch #the neighborhood watch recap #monster of the week

[fictionadventurer]

Me, constantly: We have books about the presidents at home.

The History Hyperfixation (HH) in my brain, digging in its feet and desperately resisting being dragged away: But you left the McCullough John Adams biography just sitting there at Goodwill. It was only like two bucks!

Me: It was also a jillion pages long.

HH: I know! What a bargain!

Me: You would never actually read it. It would just sit there and stress you out.

HH: You underestimate my obsession.

Me: We can't afford another long book. We've still got Grant's memoirs to finish.

HH: And the Chernow biography of him.

Me: No.

HH: We already read the Kindle preview!

Me: We can't get any other library books until we finish the ones we have.

HH: But Gideon Welles wrote a diary! A primary source right from the center of Lincoln's Cabinet! We can spend more time with our boys!

Me: That library book excerpting Civil War primary sources was a mistake, wasn't it?

HH: What do you mean? Sitting up at 3 am reading the Crittenden Compromise was an excellent life choice!

Me: Interesting, yes. Excellent, no.

HH: Each section only takes a few minutes! You like short things!

Me: All that book will do is inflate our reading list.

HH: I fail to see how that's a problem.

Me, sighing: I need a nap.

#history is awesome #presidential talk #it turns out that gideon welles has at least two books about the cabinet #both in the public domain #and i really really must resist #that excerpt in the book was so good though #he's all 'seward was sticking his nose in everyone's business and convincing all the admirals that we can't reinforce sumter' #and i'm just sitting there wiping away tears like a proud mother sending her child to kindergarten like #'look at my favorite little supervillain go' #'seizing power plotting schemes and making bad decisions' #'they grow up so fast'

[tagsecretsanta]

From @gordonthegreatesttracy

From and by @gordonthegreatesttracy for @soniabigcheese​

Near miss in midair

Chapter One.

Near miss mid-air – wait – was that Santa Claus or Fischler’s new invention?

Gordon and Alan are bored. It is less than a week until Christmas, and they are the only two home.

Scott and Virgil are over at the mainland, using the quiet time to get in some serious Christmas shopping. Their list covered three sides of A4 paper, and included all the good stuff! Celery crunch bars, chocolate, celery crunch bars, mince pies, celery crunch bars, cake, celery crunch bars, vegan turkey, celery crunch bars, gravy, celery crunch bars, potatoes and celery crunch bars!

Grandma is over in England picking up some vital ingredients for the surprise she has planned, Gordon thought it was best not to ask!

John, Kayo and Brains are all up on thunderbird Five, working on a new system that will automate the calls, and filter them through to different departments, leaving them with the only emergencies that no one else can handle, so that they can all spend Christmas together.

Spending Christmas together is something that they have not managed for years. There is always an emergency. Always a crisis that needs to be sorted out. The one Christmas they spent eating cold turkey sandwiches at the local hospital while Gordon had emergency surgery for a broken leg, is the closest that they have gotten. But this year, Grandma put her foot down. She is adamant that they are going to have a family Christmas!

“What are we going to do?” Alan asks his elder brother. He is sitting on the sofa in Gordon’s room, leaning against the arm, with his legs resting on the cushion in front of him as he looks around the room.

How Gordon can sleep in here is beyond his comprehension! The giant squid headboard that Virgil custom designed for him is terrifying! The room is bright and airy, with a large window overlooking the mountains and ocean. Something Gordon insisted on when they designed the island being an ocean view!

“What time is it?” Gordon asks from his spot, leaning up against the door, his feet are on the rug beside his bed.

Alan looks at the clock on the wall above the bedside cabinet, which is next to an overflowing bin. There are empty sweet packets and rolled up bits of scrap paper all over the floor, from where he has aimed and missed the bin. The only thing that surprises him is Gordon made his bed! Squiddie is sitting on the pillow, his prize possession gets the best spot!

“Quarter past twelve” Alan replies.

“Well, Scott and Virgil aren’t going to be back for ages, so we could always go for a ride” Gordon tells him. there is an evil glint in his eyes, one that Alan has still not learned to spot and then run for cover!

“Ride to where?” He asks.

“Well, it is nearly lunch time, and I could use a pizza. Thunderbird One is unlocked, if Scott wanted us to leave it alone then he would have locked the door!” Gordon replies, jumping to his feet and pulling Alan to his. “Come on, let’s go and get some lunch!”

Alan follows Gordon from the room, running down the stairs as the pair squeeze themselves into Scott’s launch shoot, giggling as they happily break one of Scott’s most important safety rules – only one person in the shoot at a time!

“You do know how to fly this thing right?” Alan asks. He is only just starting to work in the simulators, and has never been allowed to help fly yet. Gordon is so lucky that he was born first! He has at least been allowed to tag along on some rescues. Being thirteen really sucks!

“Of course I do, I have seen Scott do this a million times.” Gordon sounds so confident and arrogant about his own abilities that Alan relaxes in the passenger seat and watches intently as Gordon fires up the engines and initiates the launch sequence.

Alan is impressed as the pair shoot up into the air, leaving the Island in their wake and heading towards the north, away from the mainland where Scott and Virgil are, Gordon’s self-preservation skills have been finely tuned by his nearly eighteen years on earth to not getting caught!

Gordon sets a flight path over to England, thinking he could squeeze in a visit to Lady Penelope while he is off the Island. They co-parent her dog, who he helped rescue from an illegal puppy farm over the summer.

“Right, that is on auto-pilot, now what can we do?” Gordon asks, turning to Alan.

“I dunno, sing Christmas songs” Alan replies with a shrug.

Gordon gives his brother his favourite withered stare, sometimes he swears that they are not related!

“What do you want to do then?” Alan demands.

“We could write our own!” Gordon replies, grabbing a notebook and pen from under the dash, grateful that Scott is always well prepared! The book is full of old shopping lists, and draft mission reports. There is even a page of just doodles, which Gordon tears from the book as evidence that even his eldest brother is sometimes unprofessional, and he can use this as blackmail at a later date!

“What about?” Alan asks.

“John” Gordon replies, chewing the pen lid while he thinks. “Flip the Christmas channel on the radio and we will listen to the songs, see if they are inspirational”

Alan does as he is told, and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer starts to blare out over their music system.

Gordon is thinking out loud. “John… Johnny… Red nosed… No… he doesn’t have a red nose. Hair! Johnny has red hair. I have it. JOHNNY THE RED-HAIRED TRACY!”

Alan laughs. “Okay now what? Give me a second and I will look up the lyrics.”

“You can’t look them up, I haven’t even written the song yet!” Gordon replies rolling his eyes.

“Not to that, to Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer” Alan says with a roll of his eyes. “You are so annoying!”

“You need to look the lyrics up?” Gordon asks in shock, he thought everyone knew the words to Rudolph, it is a classic!

Gordon starts to sing. Loudly!

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Had a very shiny nose And if you ever saw it You would even say it glows

All of the other reindeer Used to laugh and call him names They never let poor Rudolph Join in any reindeer games

Then one foggy Christmas Eve Santa came to say "Rudolph, with your nose so bright Won't you guide my sleigh tonight?"

Then how the reindeer loved him As they shouted out with glee "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer You'll go down in history"

“Okay, fine. I get it. Now shut up. You’re hurting my ears! You sing like Sherbet if you accidentally stand on his tail!” Alan tells him.

“Yeah well, you couldn’t carry a tune in a wheelbarrow!” Gordon shoots back. “Now if you are done insulting me little brother, I am going to get back to writing our song.

Gordon is deep in thought, writing and scribbling and counting syllables. “Okay how about this?” he asks.

“Johnny the red-haired Tracy Lives alone in outer space And if you need to call him There will be fear all over your face!”

Alan grins. “That’s a good start. It is true, he is a space hermit, and he is terrifying!”

“What else is there about him?” Gordon asks.

“He is pale, and gets sunburnt easily, can you remember the time we were on vacation, and he forgot the sunscreen. He looked like a lobster for a week! It was hilarious” Alan says.

Gordon does remember that vacation. It was the last one before their father disappeared, and he swallows back a stray tear as he forces his mind back into the present. “Okay, so how about something where we don’t let him out in sunlight. What rhymes with sun?”

“Fun, done, some, stun, pun” Alan replies with a shrug.

“Oh I have it!” Gordon replies.

“Don’t give it to me!” Alan tells him.

Gordon rolls his eyes. “Do you want it or not?”

“Okay fine!” Alan replies.

“All of the other Tracys don’t let him out in sun If his skin gets exposed he goes crispy and that’s not fun”

“That works. But what is going to happen next? Rudolph has to guide Santa’s sleigh using his nose. John can’t do that; he is a Tracy not a reindeer!” Alan says.

“I know he isn’t. So what is he going to do? Go on a rescue? Be rescued. How about he gets kidnapped by the Hood” Gordon asks, throwing ideas around.

“Getting kidnapped would work because we could track him down using his hair as that is bright enough to see from orbit!” Alan replies.

“Okay, so the Hood kidnaps him, and we track him down using his hair. Hair… their… stair… fair… chair… Ooh, chair. How about…”

“Then one foggy afternoon The hood took him away He chained him to a wooden chair We tracked him down by his bright red hair”

“Perfect! Now what? Maybe the Hood gets arrested. This time there is no escape, and the man who took away our father gets smacked in the face with the karma stick!” Alan says.

“The hood, he got arrested Now he’s in a prison cell” Gordon sings.

“Johnny the red-haired Tracy We all think you’re really swell” Alan finishes.

“Nah, we need it to be accurate. How about:

“Johnny the red-haired Tracy We all think you really smell” Gordon tries.

“Ever better!” Alan says!

“Now put to all together!” Gordon says, handing Alan a spare lyric sheet and they both sing.

“Johnny the red-haired Tracy Lives alone in outer space And if you need to call him There’ll be fear all over your face

All of the other Tracys don’t let him out in sun If his skin gets exposed he goes crispy and that’s not fun

Then one foggy afternoon The hood took him away He chained him to a wooden chair We tracked him down by his bright red hair

The hood he got arrested Now he’s in a prison cell Johnny the Red-haired Tracy We all think you really smell

WE ALL THINK YOU REALLY SMELL”

“Okay, I take it back. Christmas songs were a great idea!” Gordon concedes, leaning back in his chair, his hands rested behind his head.

The pair are happy and relaxed, and not paying any attention to what is happening outside the confines of Thunderbird One.

They don’t even see it coming until it is too late…

 *TB*

 Up at the north pole, it is pure chaos, the chaos that Santa has come to love with the last week of Christmas preparation before he can take a nine-month vacation! His workshop is crowded with piles of freshly wrapped gifts and hundreds of elves are running around. The production line starts with elves checking the naughty-nice list, which is on the wall behind them, before handing the assignments to the gift creating department who then pass along the finished presents to the wrapping table before they are added to the sleigh, ready to be delivered. It is chaotic, but it is organised and Santa wouldn’t have it any other way!

He is outside in the stables, grooming the reindeer, feeding them their daily carrot as a treat. They are as vital a piece of his organisation as his elves are, and he loves each and every one of them. Patting Rudolph on the nose, Santa gives him an indulgent smile.

It is almost time for one of his favourite holiday traditions. Taking the sleigh out for a test run, to make sure that everything is in full working order for Christmas Eve. Giving the reindeer one last pat, Santa goes over to the garage at the far side, entering by the door in the stables to where he keeps the sleigh.  

Santa rips off the cover, to reveal a bright red sleigh with golden trimmings and purple runners. The seat is fitted with white cushions, and there is storage space for a million gifts in the back. He spends the next hour washing and polishing the sleigh until it looks brand new once more. Even though it is over two thousand years old.

Deciding on Blitzen and Comet for the test run, Santa gets them harnessed to the sleigh. Years ago he needed eight as a minimum to pull the sleigh but he has invested in new technology that has made that redundant and now only two are really needed. He knows that he could speak to international Rescue and get one that can fly without the reindeer, but he could never abandon his friends. Without a sleigh to pull, they would have nothing to do, and with nothing to do they are more trouble than Gordon and Alan Tracy combined!

The two reindeer start to trot from the stable and out onto the snow-covered runway. There is hardly a cloud in the sky, and it is the perfect day for a flight around the globe, Santa thinks as they lift off, heading south down towards Iceland, then towards England and France, gradually picking up speed as he goes, humming the tune for “Santa Claus is coming to town”, the wind rushing through his long white hair and beard, he has never been happier.

He is jolted back to reality when a warning light starts to flash on the dash in front of him, alerting him to the presence of another vehicle up here. Looking around, he spots Thunderbird One a few miles away, and starts to pull the reindeer out of its path.

Thunderbird One also changes its flight path, as whoever it is piloting, is not paying attention to the sky, forcing a second desperate manoeuvre from Santa to stop a mid-air collision, and they plummet towards the earth. He tugs on the reins, but it is too late as the reindeer hit the ground.

Blitzen hits the hard, ice-covered ground first, her front legs slamming into the frost and crumbling underneath her body as she lets out a painful moan.

Comet crashes into her, landing on top of his friend, his hooves ramming into her back before he leaps off and starts to sniff her, tentatively looking for any injuries.

The sleigh crashes loudly into the ground behind the two reindeer, and it tips onto its side, and Santa falls out onto the snowy ground, his head crashing against the hard ground, knocking him unconscious, and leaving him stranded here with no way of letting the workshop know that he needs their help.

 *TB*

 “What was that?” Alan asks, peering out of the window and seeing the rear of the bright red sleigh sticking up from the ground.

Gordon bites his lip nervously before landing Thunderbird One alongside and letting out a gasp of horror. “Santa?”

They leap down from Thunderbird One without another word and run over to where Santa is lying, slumped over the controls, moaning in pain, as he struggles to sit up.

There is a deep gash across his forehead, and his eyes are glassy and unfocussed as he lifts his fingers to his head and groans. “Wh-what happened?” he asks. “Reindeer. Where are the reindeer?” he starts to remove his safety harness, and struggle free from the wreckage of his sleigh. Alan helps him to his feet, and leads him to the fallen reindeer, where Gordon is running a med scanner across Blitzen’s damaged front legs.

“Now what?” Alan hisses in Gordon’s ear. They are both in so much trouble. Taking Thunderbird One, and now they have ruined Christmas. “Scott is going to kill us”

“No, Scott is going to kill you! He expects this from me” Gordon replies with a shrug. He knows that there is only one way to fix this and it is with a pounding heart he takes his comm device from his pocket and selects Scott’s details from the contact list.

 *TB*

 “There, I am finished for the day!” Virgil announces, closing up the pantry, which is now fully stocked and ready for Grandma’s prescribed family Christmas, which he has been looking forward too since she made the announcement a few weeks back. He got everything on her requests list, even the dozen bottles of wine!

“Me too!” Scott replies, having stocked up the bathrooms and kitchen with supplies. He is ready to collapse on the sofa and sleep the afternoon away. He even makes it to the lounge, his feet almost leaving the floor for his rest time, when his comm device starts to buzz with an incoming call.

Scott groans, he thought Gordon was up in his room working on his college coursework, that is what he told him to do!

“What is it Gordo, and do NOT ask me to bring you up a snack, I know I ordered you to stay upstairs, but I did say you are allowed snack breaks” Scott replies, not realising that the background is not the pale blue of his brother’s bedroom.

“I need you to do me a favour or two.” Gordon replies, choosing his words carefully.

“I’m listening” Scott replies.

“First off, I need you to promise me that you won’t freak out” Gordon requests.

Scott can feel a facepalm coming on, why does he get this feeling deep in the pit of his stomach that this is going to cost him bail money? “Okay, I promise” he replies, breathing deeply, and closing is eyes.

“I need you and Virgil to come and get Alan and I… And Santa!” he trails off.

“Where from?” Scott asks.

“The south of France” Gordon replies, reeling off their location. “You can use Thunderbird Two”

Scott wants to know why they are in France, but on deeper reflection decides that he is much better off not knowing! “Fine. Give us an hour” Scott replies, hanging up and going to fetch Virgil to rescue his irresponsible, dim-witted siblings from yet another disaster!

They are just jetting off when it suddenly dawns on Scott that Gordon mentioned someone else. He calls Gordon back.

“DID YOU SAY SANTA?!” he yells angrily!

“Erm, yeah” Gordon replies, “he crashed the sleigh, think he has a concussion, and Blitzen has a broken leg.” Skipping over his own roll in this disaster.

“Blitzen? Who is Blitzen?” Scott asks confused.

“One of the reindeer Scott. Can you not remember your history lessons. You know from the book YOU used to read to me and Al on Christmas Eve. The Night before Christmas. That names the reindeer. Seriously Scott I know you are old, but surely your memory isn’t going that fast?” Gordon replies, rolling his eyes and stroking the fallen animals nose with his spare hand.

Scott rolls his eyes, not rising to his brother’s obvious attempt to wind him up! “Whatever, I will see you in a while.” Scott hangs up and turns to Virgil, who is flying at full speed to the North and frowning in deep thought.

“Virg?” he asks.

“Yeah?” Virgil replies.

“When are those two going to grow up?” he asks in exasperation.

Virgil doesn’t have an answer for him. All he knows is that his brothers have been causing chaos since the day they were born! Usually deliberately!

A silence falls upon the pair as they fly up into the chilly winter clad northern hemisphere, landing shortly after next to the crashed sleigh.

Virgil jumps down from the cockpit and races over to Santa, gasping in shock at the scene in front of him.

The sleigh is destroyed. The right-hand runner has been torn away completely and is lying on the floor several feet away, the left is hanging off at an angle. The seat fabric has been ripped in several places and there’s stuffing sticking out. The paint is scratched and the screen with the world map has been smashed into a million pieces.

Alan has helped Santa to sit up, and he is leaning against the leg of Thunderbird One, dazed and confused.

Virgil takes over Alan’s clumsy first aid efforts, and running a concussion test. The frown on his face deepens as Santa can’t recite the months of the year, or tell how many fingers he is holding up.

“Scott, what are we going to do? This is Santa Claus, we can’t take him to a regular hospital, no one will believe us!” Virgil asks his elder brother. “Dad told us years ago when we started training with International Rescue that it was more important to keep his identity secret from the world than it was ours.”

“We will take him back to the Island, he can rest up, Brains can get the sleigh fixed, and we can interrogate the gruesome twosome over there to find out what really happened. Then we can murder them!” Scott replies. “Help me get the mangled sleigh into the module on Two”

Virgil doesn’t question his brother’s orders, heaving the main body of the vehicle up onto his shoulders and dumping it on the floor of the module, while Alan leads Comet into the module, guiding her in with the promise of a carrot for a treat, while Scott helps Gordon with Blitzen, who needs to be carried between the pair, as she can’t walk.

Gordon has not left her side, and he feels terribly guilty over what happened. If only he had been paying attention. This would never have happened.

Scott flies Thunderbird One back to the island alone, as Alan and Gordon take refuge with Virgil, knowing that when it comes to yelling, Virgil is a lot less terrifying!

Grandma is waiting for them when they finally arrive back on the island, and she helps Virgil get Santa and Blitzen up from the hangar and over to the infirmary. Gordon close on their heels, determined to make it up to the stricken reindeer.

 *TB*

 Scott is pacing in circles in the lounge. Mumbling under his breath. He does not have all of the facts yet, but he is certain that this is all Gordon and Alan’s fault! there are a million questions buzzing around his brain like bees, and he is struggling to piece together exactly what happened out there.

He is still pacing, large circles, his feet grinding into the pattern of the hard wood floor when he is joined by Gordon, Virgil and Alan.

Virgil forces Alan and Gordon to sit on the sofa with a silent glare.

“What were you two knuckleheads doing out there?” Scott asks, finally stopping his manic pacing and sitting on the sofa opposite him.

“Going to England to get pizza and visit Lady Penelope, it wasn’t out fault Santa got in the way” Alan replies, rolling his eyes.

“Yeah. Not our faults at all” Gordon confirms nodding. “I was fully in control at all times”

They are lying and all four know it.

“It doesn’t matter what happened, what matters now is what is going to happen next. Here are the facts as I see them.” Scott replies.

He is counting them off on his fingers.

“One. You took Thunderbird One without my permission. Two. You took Thunderbird One in a non-emergency on a joyride without my permission. Three. You took Thunderbird One in a non-emergency on a joyride without my permission and caused a near disaster. Four. You took Thunderbird One in a non-emergency on a joyride without my permission and caused a near disaster and ruining Christmas for millions. Brains has told us he is unsure he can get the sleigh fixed in time. You two are grounded until new year. You are not to leave the villa for any reason. Gordon no pool, Alan no surfing. Now both of you, get out of my sight!” Scott tells them.

Virgil stands up, moving to block their exit. “Scott no! You can’t ground them”

Scott gives Virgil a fierce glare. Virgil chooses now to undermine his authority?! “Why not?” he asks in disgust.

“Well. Surely you can be a little bit more creative than that! Grounding is so unimaginative!” Virgil replies with an evil grin.

Alan looks over at Gordon in surprise, just what does Virgil plan to do to them?

TBC

 Chapter 2. Spending time as a volunteer in Santa's workshop. Punishment for being naughty? Any of the villains. Or a good deed. Anyone from International Rescue

“Excuse me?” Scott replies, looking confused.

“You’re excused” Gordon tells him.

“You pipe down. Virgil, explain!” Scott demands.

Gordon rolls his eyes, but doesn’t make any further interruptions.

“Well, you could ground them, but just think you will then have to put up with them complaining that they are bored. All day, every day until you give in and just let them off as you usually do! Or we can give them a punishment that really fits the crime!” Virgil tells him.

“What do you have in mind?” Scott asks, intrigued.

“Send them to the north pole to volunteer in the workshop. That solves two problems. The first one is it will help Santa out while he recovers, as he needs to know that these two dunderheaded fools have not ruined Christmas. Secondly it gets them out of our hair for a few days!” Virgil says. “I can fly them up in Thunderbird Two, leave them with the elves and pick them up when they have worked off their punishment time”

Immediately a million reasons flash before Scott’s eyes as to why this is the worst idea Virgil has ever had! But he can’t deny thinking that the idea of a Gordon and Alan free week is tempting! “Okay. They can go. but they mess this up, then the grounding is back on!” Scott agrees.

“Deal!” Virgil replies.

“Do we get a say in this?” Alan asks.

“No” Scott and Virgil reply in unison.

“Get down to Thunderbird Two, we are leaving in five minutes” Virgil adds, getting him up from the sofa and pulling his two youngest brothers to their feet, and gently guiding them over to the passenger shoot, before Scott has a chance to change his mind.

The flight up to the North Pole only takes an hour and ten minutes, and Virgil lands Thunderbird two on the pathway leading up to the main workshop building, and leaving Gordon and Alan on the path before he flies away, leaving them looking up at the building in awe.

They stand next to a large, overly decorated tree which is three times as tall as they are. There is a giant golden star on top of the tree, and a sign that leads up a snowy path that says Welcome to the North Pole.

Together to twowalk up the path, to a large green and red house with golden trimmings around the windows. The roof is covered in snow, and sitting on the top, next to a smoky chimney is a model of the sleigh they caused to crash just hours before. A sign hanging above the door reads “Santa’s Workshop”

“Look at the snow man!” Alan says in delight, this is definitely the coolest punishment ever! The snowman is wearing a pink had and a stripped scarf, and Alan wants to bring him back to the island!

There is a candy cane knocker on the red door, and Gordon reaches up with his left hand, and raps sharply on the door three times.

The door creaks slowly open, and they step over the threshold and into the warm interior. There is a bright fire burning in the grate and Gordon makes a beeline for it, rubbing his hands together.

“YOU TWO! GET OVER HERE” a voice shouts causing Alan to jump in surprise.

“Mrs Claus?” he asks looking around.

There is a woman standing in the doorway, her hands on her hips looking distinctly unimpressed. She is a clone of her husband minus the beard!

“Follow me” she demands, firmly but not rudely. Gordon shrugs then follows her from the room and down a long corridor where there is a brown door set into the wall, which she opens, revealing a narrow staircase, which leads down to the basement.

Several deep containers are in the room, full of various costume parts, including tights, hats, tops and pointed shoes.

“Get dressed, then meet me upstairs so I can give you your duties” Mrs Claus demands, leaving them to get changed.

Gordon dives in, grabbing everything he needs and pulling on his costume, which to his surprise automatically fits.

“Look at your ears!” Alan says with a giggle.

Gordon runs over to the mirror and sees that his ears are now pointed, just like the other elves. He is going to fit right in, and he loves it!

Once they are both fully dressed, they do as they are told, and go and find Mrs Claus, who organises their official Elf portraits, which come with their official elf names!

“Snowflake Sugar Plum” Gordon announces, looking at the chart. “Cool!”

“What’s mine?” Alan asks, shoving him out the way to get to the chart. “Gingerbread Happy Feet! Could be worse!”

  “Look! Our portraits are on the wall!” Gordon says grinning. “This is going to be the most fun week ever!”

“I doubt that boys. Come with me.” Mrs Claus drops Alan off with the wrapping department, before leading Gordon out to the rear of the workshop and to the reindeer stables, where the remaining seven reindeer are residing.

She hands him a shovel, and a wheelbarrow. “Your first job is to clean out all of the stalls, refill the stalls with fresh hay, and the troughs with water. Then you can feed them.” she demands, turning on her heel and marching from the building.

Ten minutes later and Gordon is cursing everyone and everything that he can think of! Reindeer are filthy! He is covered in reindeer dung and he smells awful. The only thing he wants is a hot shower! Or a nice long swim in his pool. The work is exhausting, and his back is aching as he bends down to shovel piles of manure. He wants to collect it all into an envelope and send it directly to Virgil! This was Virgil’s idea, this is all his fault, and when he gets home he is going to prank him so good!

He looks over at Rudolph, who is eyeing him up suspiciously.

“You are lucky you are adorable buddy” he says to the animal, walking over to the stall and scratching his nose.

It is only then that he spots the sign. Sticking up near the entrance to the stable.

“Do not ride the reindeer”

“What do you think Buddy? Want to go for a spin?” Gordon asks the reindeer with a grin. He takes the tack from the nail in the wall. He has ridden a horse before, something his Mom taught him to do before she died, on their ranch house. He has a million memories of long hot summer days riding horses, swimming in the lake and camping under the stars. Surely a reindeer can’t be that much different!

Rudolph paws the ground nervously as Gordon unlatches the stall door and slips in.

“Come on then Rudolph, lets go! urging the reindeer to trot out of the stable and out into the yard. There is a wide grin on his face as he races towards the icicle covered trees of the forest.

Flying a reindeer is even better than flying thunderbird one and Gordon can’t wait to tell Scott that he no longer has the coolest vehicle, as he is going to adopt Rudolph and move him to Tracy Island!

 They travel until they come to a clearing deep in the heart of the forest, where he pulls up on the reins, causing the pair to stop, and he slides to the ground and just watches and listens to the dastardly plot as it unfolds before his eyes.

A plot by the man who killed his father.

The reason why he has no parents.

The reason Scott cries alone at night in his room when he doesn’t think that anyone can hear him.

The reason Virgil can’t play his own symphony, the Tracy symphony. The one his father encouraged him to write as he healed from the death of his mother.

The reason John spends so much time in space, hiding away from everything.

The reason he himself swims every chance he gets. The Olympics were their dream, himself and his father. He is going to make him proud.

The reason Alan is forgetting what his own father looked like.

The Hood is sitting on a fallen log in front of a roaring hot fire, next to him are two people Gordon does not recognise. But they are obviously deferring to his authority.

They are going to break into the workshop, take everyone hostage and steal the presents for themselves.

“This is like a bad version of that Dr Suess book; How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” Gordon whispers to Rudolph, who he swears snorts with laughter in response. “At least someone appreciates me! We have to warn the others”

A second snort draws the Hood’s attention to where they are hidden.

“What was that? Havoc, go and check it out” The hood demands, and the smaller of his two companions gets to her feet and charges towards the pair.

Gordon hops back up into the saddle and swings Rudolph around, flying through the trees at full speed, leaping over falling tree branches, aware that he is being pursued and not slowing down, until Rudolph stumbles on a log which has been half buried and is invisible to the naked eye and Gordon flies forward, hurtling towards the ground at breakneck speed, sticking his arms out to stop the fall, his right arm snaps in two as his body weight lands on top of it.

He squeals in pain, but gets back to his feet, gingerly flexing his fingers and to his dismay he can’t even wriggle them. “Great” he thinks in disgust. “Another injury I have to hide from my brothers!”

His quick footed friend did at least help him lose his pursuers.

With Rudolph’s help they make it back to the stables without Havoc catching them up.

Which is where the last part of his luck runs out.

“Where have you been Snowflake?” Mrs Claus asks.

Her nostrils are flaring with anger, her eyebrows are knitted together as her eyes flash darkly. “I came out to check on your progress to find that you have only mucked out half a stall in two hours and that you have taken one of my reindeer and gone on a joyride! I only agreed to this after your brother promised me that you would take this assignment seriously. Get back to work! If I catch you doing something so stupid again, I am going to ship you straight back to the island!”

“Mrs Claus, you have to listen to me. This is not a joke. Someone is out there; they’re going to try to take over the workshop and ruin Christmas. That’s why I left, I had to leave, I had no choice, but you are all in grave danger” Gordon tells her.

“What a load of garbage, you are just trying to get out of being punished, but I am telling you now Snowflake that it is not going to work! Get on with cleaning the stalls, then come and find me. Because I have another task for you.” Mrs Claus replies, leaving him on his own. Mrs Claus has been warned by both Scott and Virgil that Gordon will try any excuse to get out of being punished, and this is a little too far fetched for her liking!

“Now what Rudolph?” he asks, wishing that the reindeer could talk. Because he knows that he would have the best plan, but the reindeer remains stoic and silent. The only thing Gordon can think about is the painful throbbing from his broken wrist, as he sits back against a wooden pillar. He is in way over his head, and he knows it. There is only one solution to this problem.

He has to get help from the three people he can always rely on. He flips his comm device and calls Scott.

 *TB*

 Alan is having the best time. Okay, so every present he has wrapped looks like it was wrapped by Sherbet. There is more tape than there is paper on most of the gifts, and some of the more awkward shaped ones have bits sticking out. There is a gift of a toy unicorn whose horn has broken through the paper, but he is trying! As Gordon tells him at least once a week he is very trying!

He has been at this for just over two hours and he has wrapped four gifts. Mrs Claus keeps telling him to work harder and faster, but he is doing his best. He has never been very good at wrapping presents, and he wonders why he was given this task and where Gordon has gone.

He is working on a Lego penguin set when the door bangs open and three people come storming into the building, guns firing indiscriminately as he dives for cover, pushing a younger elf behind him to protect him from harm.

Fuse reaches under the table and pulls Alan and the elf out and drags them to their feet, forcing them back against the wall at gunpoint. Silently threatening them into submission.

“You. What’s your name?” Fuse demands.

“Al…Al… Erm… Er I don’t know” Alan replies, unable to think beyond sheer terror as Fuse hits him in the skull with the butt of his rifle, splitting the skin above Alan’s left eye and causing him to whimper in pain.

“This is fun! Want me to hit you again whatever your name is?” Fuse asks in amusement.

“His name is Gingerbread Happy Feet, and he is my friend” the young elf announces, standing in front of Alan to protect him from further harm.

“Oh my, aren’t you a brave little munchkin” Fuse says with a laugh. It is a cruel high-pitched laugh.

“Yes, and you are a mean bully” The elf replies, poking his tongue out at him.

“He isn’t wrong” Alan adds, finding his voice.

While Fuse is arguing with Alan, Havoc has rounded up the remaining Elves, and the Hood is piling in the gifts that they plan to steal into his own vehicle. “Havoc! Fuse! Let’s go” he commands his underlings before they all flee the shop. With nine months’ worth of gifts and toys, leaving the workshop empty and desolate.

“Now what do we do?” Alan says in despair. Santa is injured, the sleigh is ruined and the toys have been stolen by a megalomaniac with zero conscience.

“We do what we do best” A voice calls from the doorway.

“SCOTTY!” Alan yells running over to his older brothers are throwing his arms about Scott’s waist.

“Save the day!”

“Where is Gordon?” Virgil asks, looking around the room expecting to see his brother, a frown creases his brow when he realises that he isn’t here.

“He called us from out in the stables, he is probably still out there. You two go and see Mrs Claus and see what needs to be done while I go and find him” Scott replies.

John and Virgil too are led down to the basement.

“There is no way I am wearing that!”  John declares. “I have this thing I like too much to agree to this”

“What is that?” Mrs Claus asks, unimpressed.

“My dignity!” John replies.

“Just get changed both of you!” Mrs Claus has been on this earth for thousands of years and she knows just how to get reluctant elves to work!

Virgil pulls on the striped tights, and top, looking at John with a shrug, silently letting him know that he has one other choice, and that choice is letting the Hood destroy Christmas.

John gives in to Virgil’s silent peer pressure and once he too is fully dressed he follows Virgil back up the stairs.

“Looking good Johnny!” Gordon says, having followed Scott in from the stables, subconsciously holding his rapidly swelling wrist.

“Don’t call me Johnny” John growls at him.

“Okay” Gordon replies in a sing song voice that heightens John’s suspicions. “Hey Gingerbread, you are closest to the generator, what are we going to call John?”

“Speedy… Twinkle Toes! Perfect!” Alan replies.

John looks at him in horror. “You can call me Johnny!”

“Nope, too late Speedy!” Gordon replies. “Now, you need to get your official Elf Portrait taken for the wall of fame.”

Alan leads John and Virgil to the area where the camera is set up, and they are both forced to into elf immortalisation.

 “And mine?” Virgil asks with apprehension.

“Tiny Tinsel Pants!” Gordon replies, unable to keep a straight face. He is laughing so hard there are tears streaming down his face.

“No way! I am not answering to that!” Virgil replies.

“Oh stop whinging Tiny!” John tells him.

Virgil doesn’t bother with a reply, as he knows that there is no point, all keeping this conversation going is doing is prolonging his agony!

“What is Scott going to do?” Alan asks, noticing that his eldest brother is still wearing his international rescue uniform.

It is Gordon who answers his question.

“Oh he has the best job! While we were out in the barn, we made a plan. Let the Hood have his toys, we have five days to replace everything, and we are going to work day and night to achieve this, and Scotty Claus is going to be on delivery duty. See he even has his own song. Listen:

You better watch out You better not cry You better not pout I’m telling you why Scotty Claus is coming to town!

He sees you when you’re sleeping He knows if you’re awake And if you say his name out loud He’ll steal your birthday cake!”

Scott glares at Gordon, why his father had to have four more children after he was born he has no idea, but if he were an only child he would not be in this mess! He is sure that Gordon’s song was not a part of their plan!

“Get your outfit on then Scotty Claus” Gordon tells him.

Hanging up on the back of one of the doors is a Santa suit, complete with beard and hat, and Scott knows that he has no choice now, refusing to wear it will give his little brothers pranking ammunition for decades!

The suit, like the elf outfits, magically shrinks to his size, and the soft fleecy lining is warm and comfortable. The beard doesn’t even itch, which is a miracle all on its own and he looks in the mirror and stares at his reflection with pride.

Scotty Claus is indeed coming to town! 

Mrs Claus puts Scott in charge of the list, checking gift requests off against the list before giving the toy making department their orders. Which Virgil and Alan take charge of, while Gordon and John are on wrapping the new gifts.

Then the gifts are piled neatly into the newly repaired sleigh, which was flown up to the north pole in the module of Thunderbird two.

Gordon can barely move his arm, and has to use every bit of his ingenuity to wrap the gifts without arousing suspicion, he is just happy that he has not been assigned to work with Virgil as he can sniff out a brother hiding an injury from a hundred metres away! His teeth gritted against the pain as he attaches ribbons and bows to the gifts John wraps.

Hours pass by in minutes, a blur of making and wrapping and more making and more wrapping. There is coffee on demand, and ten-minute breaks on a rotation system, where they power nap under a table with a wrapping paper blanket.

The work is exhausting but rewarding, as the gifts pile up in the sleigh, ready for delivery as the sun finally begins to set on Christmas Eve, and they realise that they have done it. Working around the clock as one seamless team. Gordon is even convinced that his arm doesn’t even hurt that much anymore, not that he can feel anything below his elbow!

“Good work guys” Scott says appreciatively. “Now, you get back to the Island, I will get the gifts delivered, and then I will be back before breakfast for that family Christmas Grandma promised us!”

“While I patch Gordon up” Virgil adds.

“Huh?” Alan asks, looking over at Gordon.

“Yeah, he has been trying to hide what looks like a broken wrist from me for the last four days!” Virgil tells him with an eye roll. “As if he has ever been able to keep anything from me!”

“Gordon?” Scott questions.

“I have no idea what Virgil is talking about” Gordon replies. “You have gifts to deliver, and I have some sleep to get, preferably in my own bed, with Squid so that you can deliver my gifts, as we all know that my name on the naughty list was just a glitch!”

Scott rolls his eyes. “Whatever, just satisfy Virgil’s curiosity.”

Virgil advances on Gordon, and gently pushes him back into his chair. “Raise your right arm” he demands.

“What’s the magic word?” Gordon replies sarcastically.

“Do as you’re told, or I will give you to Grandma for this exam” Virgil replies just as sarcastically.

Gordon offers no further resistance, and Virgil pulls up the sleeve of his top. The swelling is now various shades of purple as the bruising has developed over the last four days.

“How did you do this anyway?” John asks.

“Fell off Rudolph when I went for a ride” Gordon replies.

“Now you know why there is a sign up in the stables advising you not to ride the reindeer!” Mrs Claus tells him. “You should have told me that you had fallen” She brings Virgil a well-stocked first aid kit.

“Why do you think he did it? Because the lure of the forbidden is his favourite bait. If you didn’t want him to ride the reindeer, you should have told him he could!” John tells her with a grin.

“You are officially an even bigger idiot than I thought!” Virgil tells him, as he uses a bandage he found in the first aid kit to strap up Gordon’s wrist. “That will do until I get you home and can x-ray it. Now go and sit in Thunderbird Two and I will join you in a bit. John, Alan you too please.”

“Yes Sir, Tiny Tinsel Pants, Sir” Gordon replies with a mock salute.

“AND DON’T CALL ME THAT!” Virgil yells at his retreating back as he runs from the building laughing.  

Thunderbird Two is parked near the tree and Gordon climbs up into the co-pilot’s seat and leans back against the headrest. He is asleep before Virgil gets back.

Virgil wraps him up in a blanket before flying his brothers home, and back to their family Christmas, just as they have had planned for the last twelve months.

 *TB*

 Scott is having the best time, flying the sleigh with Rudolph’s help is even more fun than flying Thunderbird One! They travel across the globe, starting off in New Zealand, using the map screen and Santa’s time control compass, which allows him to freeze time while he is in the air. The whole world is still and silent, it is only him and his reindeer, working as one seamless team, to save the Christmas that was so nearly destroyed by the Hood.

When is he ever going to learn that he can never win when he is up against the might of Scotty Claus and his team of elves!

 Chapter three

Plum pudding… Grandma's secret recipe, delicious or a disaster - you decide.

Grandma Tracy has had the house to herself for most of the week, just herself and Santa, and she has spent her alone time wisely. Cooking up a storm for her perfect family Christmas! There are hundreds of blackened cookies chilling on the side, one vegan turkey which is dried out, burned on the outside and frozen in the middle just the way she likes it!, two large bowls of icing sugar ready for the cookies, one green and one red, and finally about to take centre stage is her pride and joy.

This recipe has been in the family for generations, and she snuck over to the mainland to pick up the ingredients as she wanted to surprise the boys with it. it is a recipe for a plum pudding, and it is going to be perfect!

The recipe is stored in an old book that has been passed down through the women in her family, she had hoped one day to give it to Lucile, but the tragic day which took her life and robbed the boys of their mom and her son off his wife has left scars that have still yet to heal. They probably never will, which is why she is determined to do this right this year.

For once.

“Okay” she says aloud looking at the first instruction. “Stir the flour, spice, suet, breadcrumbs and sugar in a large bowl. Tip in the fruit, peel, cherries and carrot, then stir well to mix. Add the remaining ingredients and beat until thoroughly combined.” That is not too hard, she thinks, taking a swig of the brandy as the list of ingredients did say it was “to feed”!

“Spoon the mixture into a buttered 1.2 litre pudding bowl (with a buttered disc of greaseproof paper in the bottom) and press down well, leaving room for the pudding to rise a little during steaming. Cover with a circle of buttered greaseproof paper, then cover with pudding cloth or foil and tie securely with string.”

Grandma sighs, maybe this isn’t going to be as easy as she thought as that made no sense. Taking another swig of her trusty brandy she tries again.

“Spoon the mixture into a buttered 1.2 litre pudding bowl (with a buttered disc of greaseproof paper in the bottom) and press down well, leaving room for the pudding to rise a little during steaming.”

Grandma uses her favourite wooden spoon, the one she uses to threaten the boys with when they’re getting under her feet in the kitchen, and scoops the mixture into the bowl, not bothering with the greaseproof paper, as she isn’t exactly sure what that is!

“Cover with a circle of buttered greaseproof paper, then cover with pudding cloth or foil and tie securely with string. I wonder if I can substitute that with regular paper?” she thinks out lout before taking another swig of the brandy.

She can’t find any string, so uses an elastic band instead!

“Stand the bowl on an upturned saucer in a saucepan and half fill with boiling water. Cover tightly and steam for 8 hours, topping up the water as necessary. Leave to cool in the pan.”

Grandma takes another swig of brandy as the words starts to blend together, unlike the mixture in the bowl!

“At least now I get to leave it for eight hours!” Grandma thinks as goes up to the lounge and sits down on the sofa with the rest of the bottle of her trusted brandy and sets a timer for eight hours’ time and falls asleep.

It isn’t the alarm which wakes her up but the screeching of a fire alarm coming from the kitchen. The empty bottle crashes to the floor as she rushes across the room, down the stairs and into the kitchen where five-foot-high flames are shooting up into the air from the saucepan.

“NO NO NO NO NO NO!” She cries, grabbing the extinguisher and aiming it at the pan, spraying the foam across the flames until they are extinguished.

“I need another drink!” she declares, grabbing her list of ingredients and starting the process again. This time she is determined to keep an eye on it. Getting her second attempt to the same stage, before sitting down and looking at the rest of the brandy, before pouring herself yet another glass.

The eight hours watching the pan drag, but this time she is determined to not fall asleep! She even remembers the bit about topping it up with water while it gently steams.

It is time for the final step. Step four.

“Remove the pudding from the pan and discard the cloth or foil and paper. Then cover with fresh greaseproof paper and cloth. Store your pudding in a cool, dry place until required - you can feed it with a few tablespoons of brandy once in a while. Before serving, steam again for 2-3 hours.”

To Grandma’s surprise the pudding slides from the pan and onto the waiting plate, she pokes it with the end of the spoon and it jiggles slightly… then collapses into a heap!

“Seriously!” She says to the ruined pudding. “I am sure you will be fine!”

She “feeds” more brandy to the pudding, making sure that she gets equal brandy for herself before she covers it with a tea towel just like the instructions advise and then goes to bed with her brandy!

 *TB*

 Grandma wakes the following morning, her head feels like someone has been beating her with a sledgehammer, her temples are throbbing and moving from her bed feels like the world’s worst decision.

The roar of an engine over the villa let her know that the boys are home, and she does not want them to see her this hungover!

A quick shower and a pint glass of water do nothing to help, as she gets dressed into a clean bright purple tracksuit, decorating it with some tinsel before going downstairs.

John, Alan, Gordon and Virgil are emerging from the hangars, still dressed in their elf costumes, when she gets down to the lounge.

“Grandma!” The boys call and run over to give her a big Christmas cuddle. They stay huddled up together for nearly five minutes before Virgil pulls away, bringing Gordon with him.

“Grandma, time to switch into medic mode and help me fix Gordon!” He says with a smile.

Grandma knew this family Christmas was too good to be true! “What happened?”

“He fell off a reindeer” John tells her rolling his eyes.

“Why were you riding a reindeer?” Grandma asks.

“Because the sign told me not too” Gordon tells her, as if it is the most obvious thing in the world!

“Why am I not surprised! Come on let’s get you sorted.” Grandma takes him down to the infirmary, where Santa is recovering. He is sitting up in bed, with a thick white bandage wrapped around head, but he is smiling and happy. Watching an old episode of Into the Unknown with Buddy and Ellie.

Gordon jumps up onto the other bed. “Ooh this is a good one! It is the one with the Lochness Monster, they don’t mind him, but I have heard that is because he is super smart!”

“Spoilers Gordon. Do you want to ever get off the naughty list?” Santa replies with a grin.

The x-ray confirms that Gordon has a fractured wrist, which Grandma sets and puts into a bright yellow cast before releasing him from the infirmary so that he can spend Christmas with his family, as Scott has just returned and they all finally all under one roof and even almost in one piece!

“Bye Santa!” Gordon says with a smile.

“Bye Gordon, be good!” Santa tells him with a laugh.

Gordon pretends to think about it for a few seconds before poking his tongue out and replying: “Nah!”

“I tried!” Santa says with a rueful smile before he turns back to the television and a trip to the dessert to find the elusive sand bear.

Gordon wants to tell him that they didn’t find that either, but decides not to ruin a second episode, even though this was one of his favourite episodes!

 *TB*

 Upstairs Scott is delivering the final gifts from the sleigh. Despite Alan and Gordon topping the naughty list, they seem to have more gifts than anyone else!

Grandma places a bin in the centre of the longue for the wrapping paper, and the boys unwrap their gifts and play wrapping paper basketball.

Gordon loves the shirt he got from Virgil. It is bright pink with an assortment of fish and sea horses and shells. It is the ugliest thing he has ever seen, and he is thrilled! He also gets a new games console from Grandma, the complete works of Buddy and Ellie on DVD from Scott, a book about exploring the depths of the deepest oceans from John and a years supply of celery crunch bars from Scott.

Alan too gets a new games console from Grandma, a slightly less ugly shirt from Virgil with rockets on, a game from Scott and a book about astronomy from John. He opens up his gift from Gordon to find what appears to be something that smells like it died a long time ago!

“Ugh, what is that?!” He asks his brother in disgust.

“Cologne. It is called Eau de Skunk Water. I ordered it from this website called theveryworstthingstobuyyourbrother.com! isn’t it gross?!” Gordon replies. “Open your gifts. I dare you!” He looks at his brothers with an evil grin.

“This is why you are on the naughty list!” Scott tells him, gingerly picking up the gift from Gordon with his name on. He opens it up and reveals a t-shirt. “This isn’t too bad” he says. Then he turns it over and looks at the front. It is covered with a picture of Gordon and the caption on the shirt says: “This is Gordon the Greatest Tracy, my favourite sibling.”

Virg shrugs. “I would wear that!” he says with a smile, opening his own Gordon gift. Which is a bucket with Alan’s face on captioned: Tracy family barf-bucket. “Really?”

“Yeah, I thought that you could put it in Thunderbird Two just in case someone gets air sick on your watch!” Gordon tells him.

Only John is left now. and his gift feels heavy, and he tears of the paper to find a book: Being Gordon Tracy. The full and authorised life story of an Olympic hero turned international rescue operative. “Please don’t tell me you think I am going to read this?” John asks in mock horror.

“Yep, and Scott is going to wear his shirt at dinner!” Gordon replies happily, opening a gift from Lady Penelope to find a large box of chocolates with a smaller wrapped gift inside from Sherbet, which turns out to be more chocolates.

Luckily everyone else got gifts that they actually wanted! Virgil got a book of piano music that he has been asking for from Scott, a drone from John, a new tablet from Grandma and a DVD boxset of his favourite concert from Alan.

John got books. From everyone!

It is nearly lunch time when all the gifts are finally unwrapped, and they slowly move into the kitchen for their traditional burned-out food!

The table has been set with a red and green table cloth. There is a centre piece in the middle, of a miniature Christmas Wreath, complete with pine cones and a large, thick white candle, which Scott lights.

Six places have been set and covered dishes are sitting on the table waiting for them.

Grandma is confused, as she didn’t do any of this. She is so used to eating at the desk, while helping the boys run mission control that she completely forgot that they needed somewhere to eat.

She lifts the lid from the dish nearest to her, and steam starts to rise from a perfectly roasted vegan turkey joint, which is just crispy on the outside and not burned. The other dishes are filled with roast potatoes and vegetables. Peas and carrots and brussels sprouts and broccoli and parsnips and cauliflower. There is a steaming jug of gravy and pots of mint sauce and cranberry sauce. There are vegan pigs in blankets. Several bottles of coke and lemonade are on the table and a bottle of wine for anyone over the age of twenty-one! Even Scott doesn’t think he will be able to eat all this!

But they do! Scott carves up the joint, placing slices on each plate, as they help themselves to vegetables and potatoes. The next few minutes are completely silent as they eat their way though large plates of delicious food. Scott even goes back for a third helping!

Alan lets out a large belch, which breaks the silence as Gordon joins in on the newly created contest.

“Boys, that’s enough!” Grandma tells them before it can get serious.

“Where do you suppose this all came from?” Scott asks once the plates have been cleared away and Grandma is threatening them with dessert, forgetting the final instruction that the plum pudding needs to be steamed for a further two to three hours and just getting it from the pantry where it has been stored overnight.

“Do we have too?” Gordon asks, eyeing up the covered dish in trepidation.

“Yes, I spend two days on this” Grandma tells him, placing it in the middle with a flourish.

She lifts the lid.

Lying on the plate is a perfectly formed plum pudding that is steaming hot.

“That smells amazing” Alan says in awe.

Grandma has absolutely no idea what is happening! This was not the disaster she was planning on serving!

“Hey, look. There is a label!” Gordon calls, reaching over and grabbing it with his good arm and reading it aloud.

“You know, this really has been the best Christmas ever” Alan announces.

“Yeah it has. Can we cause a disaster every year?” Gordon adds.

“NO!” Scott, John, Virgil and Grandma all reply in unison.

Then they all crack up.

Alan laughs so hard he falls from his chair, which causes Gordon to laugh even harder.

It is several minutes before they are able to get their emotions under control, while Grandma serves up the plum pudding with fresh dairy-free cream.

“You know, we really should go and say thank you too Santa” Gordon announces.

They all agree and get up from the table and head down the corridor to the infirmary.

But he has already gone.

Their best Christmas ever is fading into a memory that they will cherish for the rest of their lives.

*TB*

It is New Year’s Eve when John gets the phone call.

“Tell Gordon he is on the naughty list for next year!” is how Santa greets him, not bothering with any pleasantries.

“Do I want to know?” John replies with a facepalm.

“Satan’s workshop!”

John snorts with laughter. “He didn’t?!”

“He did!”

“I will let him know. Happy new Year Santa”

“Happy New Year John!”

#thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds #thunderbirds fanfiction #thunderbirds fanart #tag team secret santa #tag team secret santa 2022