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entity-of-the-opera · 4 years

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Hamilton Musical Essay

First off, I want to say that if you like the musical, that’s fine. I’m not trying to tell you not to like it. I’m simply expressing my thoughts about it.

Secondly, this is mostly about things the musical got wrong, but there is definitely going to be some bias and opinions in here. So don’t take anything I say (unless I have provided a source) as fact.

Now, let's go through this show one song at a time.

(quick warning, this post is long. very long. and will take a while to read. i apologize in advance)

ACT I

Alexander Hamilton

I don't have much of a problem with this song, and it is pretty good. However, I do wish that they hadn’t glossed over his early years. I get that they were not that interesting, but they played such a big part in his life, especially in his later years when he was in politics.

“Me? I loved him” haha no. that line should have been said by Eliza and Laurens. Not Eliza, Angelica and Maria/Peggy.

Aaron Burr, Sir

Oh boy, oh boy, I have quite a bit to say about this one.

I strongly dislike the portrayal of Burr throughout the whole show. I get what LMM was going for with the whole “it’s how history sees him” but, you could’ve given him a bit more character.

Burr singing “Fools that run their mouths off wind up dead” and then Laurens walking out immediately after is clever, because Laurens really was a fool who ran his mouth off quite a lot. Like the time he yelled at the king of France, King Louis XVI.

There's the obvious mistake that Hamilton met John Laurens, Hercules Mulligan and the Marquis de Lafayette at completely different times. He didn’t even meet burr in 1776 as we see here. He met burr in 1772-1773 when Hamilton briefly went to Princeton.

Laurens, Mulligan and Lafayette have very little character (which is something a lot of the people in this show struggle with.) for people who were pretty close to Hamilton, (especially Laurens) they don't seem like they were written to be very important characters. Their personality in this show can be summed up in a sentence.

And there's the other obvious mistake that Lafayette (and probably Laurens as well) never met Mulligan.

My Shot

The foreshadowing is good, I'll give it that.

For some reason, the chemistry between Lafayette and Mulligan-- who, again, never actually met-- is better than the chemistry between Hamilton and Laurens. What's up with that, huh?

“Wait ‘til I sally in on a stallion with the first black battalion” Laurens never got his black battalion. Congress approved the plan, but the South Carolina Legislative Assembly did not.

“Laurens, I like you a lot” get outta here with that crap. Either make their relationship a bigger part in the musical or keep it out completely. I hate how subtle and glossed over their relationship is in this show.

I do like Laurens’ little part in this song, it’s a rare part of the show where we see his actual personality instead of just “grr slavery bad alcohol good.” Anthony Ramos is a very good singer.

This song is pretty good story-wise. It is very well written. Hamilton’s monologue is surprisingly accurate to the real Alexander Hamilton and his beliefs.

The Story of Tonight

It has a good vibe, and I think it’s the closest we see Laurens and Hamilton throughout the entire show, which is kinda nice.

Again with the Lafayette-Mulligan thing LMM why???

The Schuyler Sisters

LMM unintentionally created a monster when he wrote that “and Peggy” line. That joke is one of the most overused and unfunny jokes in this show and its fandom.

Having Angelica be the “strong woman” in the show was a good idea on paper, but it’s not all that accurate to the real Angelica Schuyler, and it’s like her only personality trait (aside from the whole Hamilton and Angelica thing but I’ll talk more on that later)

I'm gonna say this a lot but oh my god these people have no character to them. Not even Eliza Schuyler-- Hamilton’s frickin wife.

Listen ok I am strictly attracted to men but Phillipa Soo is an absolutely beautiful and amazing and talented person. She has full permission to step on me.

Farmer Refuted

The farmer refuted was a pamphlet published by Hamilton in 1775 in response to something Samuel Seabury wrote about how the congress in Philadelphia was bad. Not an actual public debate like you see in the show. But I’ll let this one slide because having the actors read pamphlets onstage would be a lot less entertaining.

That’s pretty much it the song isn’t that interesting.

You’ll Be Back

This is probably just me but I don’t like how King George III steaks the show and is the main source of comedy. When I asked family members after their first viewing of the show who their favourite character was, almost all of them said the King.

Mr. Groff, please keep your spit to yourself.

As far as my knowledge of King George III goes-- and I do not know a lot about him so don’t take this too seriously-- this song is a pretty accurate depiction of ‘The Mad King.’

Redcoat Interlude

Just gonna put this here to say The Bullet is a really cool character.

Right Hand Man

Chris Jackson has the voice of an angel.

I don’t like the way Washington is characterized. At some points, he’s over-glorified, but at other parts of the show, he’s downplayed a lot, and it doesn’t at all seem like the real George Washington.

Washington and Hamilton’s relationship in this show is so off from what it would’ve been historically. You don’t see it much in this song so I won’t say much here for the sake of keeping things organized, but I’ll discuss it later when it’s more obvious

Mulligan is shown in a continental uniform, yet he was not in the army. He was a spy. He wouldn’t have worn a uniform.

As with a lot of songs in this show, the music and choreography are amazing. The ensemble is so so talented.

This scene where Burr is meeting with Washington isn’t entirely wrong, but it’s not exactly how it happened. According to Wikipedia, “In the spring of 1776, Burr's stepbrother Matthias Ogden helped him to secure a position with George Washington's staff in Manhattan, but he quit on June 26 to be on the battlefield.”

Hamilton did not meet Washington at the same time as Burr. He joined Washington’s staff in the spring of 1777.

I’m not exactly sure what he’s referring to when he says “I have some friends, Laurens, Mulligan, Marquis de Lafayette” but I do know that Laurens and Lafayette were not his friends at this point. They weren’t even in America at the time. Mulligan was, and he was good friends with Hamilton.

A Winter’s Ball

The formatting here is wild. This happened in 1780, I don’t know why LMM skipped ahead to this.

“We’re reliable with the ladies” ok that is true I’ll admit.

What is Laurens doing here? He was a prisoner of war in Phillidelphia when Hamilton met Eliza.

Helpless

Eliza was not “helpless.” If anything, Hamilton was the one head-over-heels for her.

Hamilton. Was. Not. Into. Angelica. Angelica. Was. Not. Into. Hamilton.

Hamilton’s little speech to Eliza after he gains her father’s blessing is kinda cute and pretty accurate.

A lot of the people shown in this scene were not at Hamilton’s wedding.

Laurens is shown as Hamilton’s best man, but at the time of Hamilton’s wedding, he was travelling north to meet with Washington after finding out he is to be sent on a diplomatic mission to France. James McHenry, a fellow Aide-De-Camp to Washington, was Hamilton’s best man.

Satisfied

I hate how this is such a good song because what it’s about is probably my least favourite part of this show.

There is no evidence of Angelica being romantically attracted to Hamilton. They likely had a brother-sister kind of bond.

Now, having Angelica as the side love interest wouldn’t have been that bad if it was a real thing, but it wasn’t. LMM intentionally re-wrote a part of history to have her in it, when he could’ve kept the same storyline, and have Laurens be the side love interest. If he had given Laurens that role, he could’ve made the show more historically accurate, and it would bring to light a part of history many people try to erase. But in giving Angelica that role, he has not only completely changed a part in history but has also erased the fact that Alexander Hamilton-- nor John Laurens, for that matter-- was straight. LMM had so much power. He was writing a musical about a founding father. He could have brought so many things we didn’t know to light. And yet, we’re stuck with this.

Angelica was not the person who introduced Hamilton to Angelica. It was most likely Cathrine “Kitty” Livingston, a friend and possible love interest to Hamilton that he met before he joined the army.

Angelica had brothers.

The Story of Tonight (Reprise)

“I’ve seen wonders great and small” *gestures down* I’m sorry sir what?

They were all married before Hamilton.

Wait For It

This is a beautiful song and it doesn’t have much wrong with it.

Stay Alive

Sweet lord the timeline is terrible. The battle of Monmouth happened in 1778 before Hamilton got married.

Here is a better example of the strange portrayal of Washington and Hamilton. The real Washington wouldn’t have called Hamilton “son.” He wouldn’t be as friendly with him. Their relationship was professional.

Mulligan was already in new york, so he wouldn’t have to “go back to new york and [his] apprenticeship.”

“Instead of me, he promotes Charles Lee” Hamilton did not ask for a command at Monmouth. What happened was Lee was given a command, declined, and then it was given instead to Lafayette. Later, Lee requested the command be given back to him because Lafayette was very young and didn’t have much experience. Washinton blindly trusted Lee and agreed to give it back to him.

After Lee was court-martialed, he kept running his mouth and slandering Washington. Hamilton originally wanted to duel lee, but Laurens told him not to, and to just let him say what he wants. Later, after Lee kept running his mouth and the insults got worse, Laurens decided to duel him.

Washington didn’t know of the duel. He didn’t even know it happened until the day after.

Ten Duel Commandments

Hamilton was not the one who was super giddy and impatient for the duel to start, he was kinda the opposite. Laurens was the one who challenged Lee and was the trigger happy one.

Burr was not Lee’s second, Evan Edwards was.

Again, Hamilton was not as enthusiastic as shown here. He was the one who tried to call off the duel and actually prevented Laurens and Lee from firing a second time.

Meet Me Inside

Laurens was not satisfied after he shot Lee, and demanded them to shoot again.

Washington saying “these young men don’t speak for me” isn’t that far off from how he reacted, but we can’t be 100% sure because there’s not a lot that was documented about his reaction to the duel.

Washinton was more upset with Laurens for holding a duel in his honour. So he wouldn’t have lectured Hamilton as he does in this scene.

As I said before, Washington would not be calling Hamilton “son”.

I really wish LMM wrote this scene differently because it’s entirely wrong. Hamilton didn’t leave the army until March of 1781, after being so fed up with Washington continuously denying him a command.

“Charles Lee, Thomas Conway, these men take your name and they rake it through the mud” that is true, and he’s referring to the Conway Cabal. More info on the Conway Cabal can be found here if you’re interested.

The timeline is so confusing here. “Your wife needs you alive” technically, at the time of the duel he didn’t have a wife, but by the time he left Washington’s staff he did. But in the show, I'm assuming this scene takes place in 1778, so, historically, no wife yet. But in the show, he also gets married before this scene. So I don’t know what’s going on here.

That Would Be Enough

For the sake of simplicity and not driving myself to insanity, I’m just gonna assume this takes place in 1781. Because I don’t want to try and figure out the timeline.

Eliza was not a month pregnant yet, in fact, she wasn’t pregnant at all at the time. Hamilton went home in march 1781, and their first son Philip was born in January of the next year. Doing the math, Eliza wasn’t pregnant until May 1781.

This song is actually really sweet aww.

Guns and Ships

Ah, the timeline finally smooths out.

Lafayette wasn’t really a “secret weapon,” he was just a General

Nevermind the timeline is messed up again. “I go to France for more funds” he did that in 1779, and he went back to France on leave, apparently missing home. He ended up working with Benjamin Franklin to send more troops and ships to America.

I wish Laurens was mentioned here. He went on a diplomatic mission to France in February and convinced the french congress to gift America 6 million livres.

Lafayette was not the one to tell Washington he needed Hamilton to come back. What happened was in July after he left, Hamilton sent a letter to Washington threatening to resign his commission. Washinton panicked and sent Tench Tilghman-- a fellow Aide-de-Camp beside Hamilton-- to go to the house Hamilton rented with Eliza to tell him to come back to the army and that Washington will give him a command.

You can see in this scene Lafayette running with a letter, but he was not the person who did that. It was Tilghman.

History Has Its Eyes On You

I can’t think of anything wrong with this song, it’s pretty spot-on and sounds beautiful.

Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)

“We’ll be with you when you do,” ehehe no they were not. The Americans did almost nothing to help France during the French Revolution.

“Take the bullets out your gun” was actually something Hamilton did with his battalion when they were sneaking through the trenches on their way to attack Redoubt 10.

Laurens was not in South Carolina, he was at Yorktown-- fighting under Hamilton’s command-- after just returning from his diplomatic mission to France.

Lafayette was not “there waiting in Chesapeake bay,” he was with the other french troops attacking Redoubt 9.

Again, Mulligan would not have been in uniform.

Mulligan might have “taken their measurements, information” but he sure didn’t “smuggle it.” That was done by his slave, Cato. He and Mulligan were working with the Sons of Liberty and with Hamilton’s spy ring-- of which we do not know the name of-- and smuggled intelligence to General Washington.

The instrumentals and the choreography make me very happy. I really enjoy the short little instrumental break.

The siege of Yorktown lasted three weeks, not just one.

They act like this was the end of the war. It most certainly was not. The war didn’t officially end until 1783 with the signing of the Treaty of Paris. Yorktown was the last major battle of the war, but not just the last.

What comes Next

I’m very picky about this but I don’t like the king purely because I feel like he steals the show and is the automatic favourite.

Dear Theodosia

Philip Hamilton was born a year before Theodosia Burr.

I don’t know much about Burr, but I can say that Hamilton really did love his kids and his family, and I'm upset that we don’t see that in the show. At least we see a bit of it in this song.

Laurens Interlude (Tomorrow There’ll Be More of Us)

“It’s from John Laurens. I’ll read it later.” This makes me sad because the last letter sent between these two was sent from Hamilton on August 15th (and most likely never reached Laurens before his death,) so Hamilton was probably expecting the letter Eliza brings him to be a reply.

We don’t know exactly how Hamilton learned of Laurens’ death, but we do know it was not from a letter from Henry Laurens (John Laurens’ Father.) He most likely learned of Laurens’ death from either Washington or General Greene.

I find it a bit odd that Laurens sings the line “and when our children tell our story” because he never met his daughter, he left his pregnant wife in England (she moved to France a few years later) to sail to America to join the revolution, and never visited them (not even when he was in France for his diplomatic mission.) But I get it, it’s a reprise of “The Story of Tonight.”

The war was not over, but it was close.

“His dream of freedom for these men dies with him.” Yep. Unfortunately, he never got the black battalion he worked so hard for.

I hate how fast it moves from this emotional scene, where Hamilton learns of the death of his closest friend-- the man he loved-- to “after the war I went back to new york” like geez, LMM. give the man some time to grieve.

Non-Stop

The trial of Levi Weeks didn’t happen until 1800.

There is no record of this midnight meeting of Burr and Hamilton.

Burr didn’t actually support the constitution.

Angelica was married long before this, so I don’t know why it’s just being brought up now-- oh wait. LMM is back on his hamgelica bullcrap.

John Jay got sick after writing four, came back to write the fifth, then got sick again and ditched Hamilton and James Madison.

Hamilton did not write all 51 essays on his own, he collaborated on a few with Madison.

Hamilton was not immediately offered the position of Treasury Secretary. It was first offered to Madison, who declined, and then it was offered to Hamilton.

Most of the time, Hamilton was upset that he had to leave his family for work and wrote them often when he was away. From this point onward in the show, Hamilton’s character and personality are getting more and more inaccurate. He was not the selfish, self-centred man we see in the show. In reality, he was a kind man who loved his family but oftentimes made bad decisions due to his bad habit of acting without thought or planning.

ACT II

What’d I Miss

Daveed Diggs is cool, but I don’t understand why so many straight girls are so obsessed with him.

“Pissed him off until we had a two-party system” that’s pretty much true and it’s stupid.

He was in Paris for 5 years. It's not that long.

The “Sally be a lamb” line makes me so upset because it is so disrespectful to Sally Hemmings. I wish LMM left her out completely.

“I am to be the secretary of state, great!” Jefferson was not very happy about being appointed to the secretary of state because he wanted to stay at Monticello and do his own thing.

“I can’t believe that we are free” it’s ironic that Jefferson of all people says that line.

Mr. Madison, that’s not very COVID friendly of you.

Jefferson knew Hamilton for a bit before he went to France, and they did get along outside of politics.

Cabinet Battle #1

I hate how cocky and self-centred Jefferson is here because 1) it’s annoying as hell, and 2) the real Thomas Jefferson was not. He was quiet and shy.

“Imagine what gon’ happen when you try to tax our whiskey.” funny you should say that, Mr. Jefferson. Neither Jefferson nor Madison were not involved with the whiskey rebellion. They were silent on the issue because they made a deal with Hamilton (which I will talk more about in a few songs.) However, Hamilton-- the guy Jefferson is talking to in this scene-- was involved in the whiskey rebellion. He doesn’t have to “Imagine what gon’ happen,” he was there. More info on the whiskey tax and rebellion can be found here.

“We almost died in a trench, while you were off getting high with the french” Jefferson wasn’t in France during the war.

I’m glad the topic of slavery is being brought up, but it could’ve done in a different way instead of just a clap back in a rap battle.

“Madison, you mad as a hatter, son take your medicine” Hamilton is such a hypocrite here. Did he forget the time he almost died of a fever when he was 10? Or when he almost died of a fever in Albany in 1778? Or the fact that on multiple occasions he overworked himself so hard that he got sick? Or his kidney problems? Or--

“You’re gonna need congressional approval and you don’t have the votes!” Jefferson and Madison literally helped him get the votes. (again, I’ll explain later.)

“Well, James Madison won’t talk to me.” He used to. A lot. Hamilton and Madison used to be really good friends until Jefferson returned from France and Madison drifted to his side.

Take a Break

I don’t know how long her trip lasted, but I doubt that Angelica was with Eliza and the kids on their trip upstate. She came to visit in 1789, and the Reynolds affair started in 1791. However, I have no concrete evidence that she left before the affair started, so maybe she was there. I don’t know.

Ah yes, Alexander “I Don’t Care About My Family” Hamilton.

“I have a sister but I want a little brother” by 1791 (when this scene takes place using Philip’s age as a reference) Phillip had 2 brothers already.

While the Schuyler Mansion is near a park, there’s no lake. Today, at least. There’s a swimming pool though.

“I noticed a comma in the middle of a phrase,” shut up shut up shut up.

“With a comma after “dearest,” you’ve written: “My dearest, Angelica”” I hate how obsessed LMM is with this stupid comma, yet doesn’t say anything about the multiple suggestive and romantic letter between Laurens and Hamilton.

Speaking of the comma situation, it was meant as a joke. What had happened was Angelica sent a letter to Hamilton with “my dearest, Alexander '' and put the comma by mistake. She just slipped up with her grammar. And in response, Hamilton wrote “my dearest, Angelica” as a joke to tease her about it. It’s not romantic. It was meant. As. A. Joke.

John Adams was vice president. I'd say that’s a real job.

Angelica, stop being all “I came all this way :((“ he doesn’t want to miss out on the trip, but he has to. If he had a choice he would definitely go with his family.

Say No To This

I hate how this song demonizes Mary Lewis (more commonly known as Maria Reynolds) like she was trying to get out of an abusive marriage??? And Hamilton was like “oof that sux wanna bang?”

The heterosexual energy in this scene overwhelms me (/j)

The first letter (that I have found) from James Reynolds to Hamilton was sent on December 15, 1791, so not “a month into this endeavour.”

I will note here that in the letter mentioned above, it sounds nothing like what we hear in the song. Which makes me question if the above letter is even the one Hamilton the musical is talking about.

Because of limited information, I cannot say whether this scene is accurate or not.

“I don’t know about any letter!” she most certainly did. Mary and Reynolds both sent letters to Hamilton concerning the affair.

The Room Where It Happens

This is the song I was talking about when I said I’d talk more about the deal between Jefferson and Madison and Hamilton.

Washington was the one who proposed that this dinner happen.

Clermont street was renamed Mercer street in 1799, the dinner table bargain (what this song is about) was in 1790. Before the Hamilton-Reynolds affair. Yet another wrinkle in the timeline.

“Now how you gonna get your debt plan through?” “I guess I’m gonna finally have to listen to you” well, Hamilton didn’t really “talk less, smile more” his way through the issue. He did-- as he usually does-- quite a lot of talking

“Well, hate the sin, love the sinner” doesn’t sit right with me because it is sometimes used as a homophobic remark.

Jefferson’s account of the bargain on the assumption and residence bills is what this scene is about.

Madison did not hate Hamilton until Jefferson returned from France.

Leslie Odom Jr. is so, so talented.

There is nothing to suggest that Burr wanted to be there. I don’t even think he knew it happened.

Schuyler Defeated

Not much to say here, it's a short and forgettable song.

Cabinet Battle #2

I don’t like how much Jefferson says “we.” He wasn’t there. He wasn’t a soldier.

“Smells like new money, dresses like fake royalty” Hamilton was known for his colourful clothes, while Jefferson was known for dressing sloppily.

“Lafayette’s a smart man, he’ll be fine.” yeah, uh, he was imprisoned in Austria at the time…

“You’re nothing without Washington behind you.” Hamilton was a very powerful man. One of the most powerful, next to Washington. Even with Washington gone, he still held a lot of power and was pretty well-known.

Washington On Your Side

“Thanks to Hamilton, our cabinet’s fractured into factions.” Hamilton is probably one of the biggest reasons the two-party system exists, but Jefferson did play a role as well. To put it simply, Hamilton and the federalists disagreed so much with Jefferson and the democratic-republicans that everything just got split in two.

“And dresses like the pits of fashion” look at the point from the above song.

“Somebody gives me some dirt on this vacuous mass” it really wasn’t that hard to find dirt on Hamilton. He had a controversial past, and could sometimes be a really shady guy. However, it was all for-- at least in his own head-- good reason.

Because of how close Hamilton and Washington were, Hamilton had a lot of power, and Washington backed him up quite a lot.

James Madison gets so little lines in this show, and it makes me kind of upset. Hamilton and Madison were pretty close friends for a few years, so I don’t know why LMM didn’t talk at all about that.

“This immigrant isn’t somebody we chose” yes, but Washington chose him. Don’t like him? take it up with Washington.

One Last Time

Jefferson did not step “down so he can run for president,” he stepped down to go home. To relax at his mansion, to get away from politics. He stepped down in 1793 and didn’t run for president until 1796.

This song is actually really good, and pretty accurate. And good lord Chris Jackson can sing. Gives me chills every time.

I Know Him

Adams did know King George III. and from what I have read, he was very nervous to meet him.

“That’s that little guy who spoke to me” of course he’s little to the king, the king was like 6’6”.

The Adams Administration

The Adams Pamphlet was published in 1800.

The new york post wasn’t founded until 1801, so I find it odd that they’re bringing it up in this song, in 1797.

Adams did not fire Hamilton, he stepped down on his own in 1795.

Hamilton’s response to Adams’ taunts hurt Hamilton’s reputation a lot more than it hurt Adams’.

We Know

This takes place in 1792 before Adams was president.

Jefferson, Madison and Burr were not the people to confront Hamilton. It was James Monroe, Frederick Muhlenberg, and Abraham Venable.

The whole situation with the speculation of embezzled funds is pretty off from what we see here. What happened was James Reynolds embezzled $500 and tried to get his way out of imprisonment by saying he had dirt on Hamilton. Monroe, Muhlenberg, and Venable went to Hamilton and Hamilton explained “no, I didn’t embezzle government money, I just got my dick sucked.”

“Yes, I have reasons for shame,” yeah you think?

Hurricane

The workshop version is better, and it has Laurens in it.

The Reynolds Pamphlet

Gotta give Hamilton credit for not publishing this until after William S. Hamilton was born and then waiting for the stress of a new baby to be gone. Y’know at least he’s considerate.

Eliza was only gone for the summer of ‘91, so I don’t know why everyone’s acting like she was gone the whole time.

Hamilton didn’t even want to be a president, and never showed any interest in the position.

Angelica was already in America at the time, she didn’t just travel because of the affair.

The king has no reason to be here. I get that he’s the comedic relief, but this isn’t a scene where comedic relief is needed. It’s a serious situation.

“His poor wife” yeah, but have you ever stopped to think about what Mary Lewis is going through?

Burn

“You have ruined our lives.” The ‘our’ is referring to Eliza and Mary Lewis.

Blow Us All Away

George Eaker said many bad things about Hamilton in a fourth of July public speech, but Philip Hamilton didn’t meet him and challenge him to the duel until late November of 1801.

Speaking of 1801, this happens way after the Reynolds affair and the election of 1800.

Hamilton didn’t know that the duel happened. Philip lied and told his father that it had been resolved. Hamilton later found out that it happened when John B. Church and a few others told him after it happened that Philip was shot and dying.

“Everything is legal in New Jersey.” duelling was illegal in some form or another in every state, but the punishment was less severe in New Jersey.

The guns Philip (and his father 3 years later) used in the duel belonged to John B. Church. They were not Hamilton’s guns.

Eaker didn’t shoot on 7. They both counted to 10 and stood still for an awkward minute before Philip raised his gun to fire into the air, and Eacker got scared that Philip would shoot him and shot Philip.

Stay Alive (Reprise)

When Hamilton arrived at the home of dr. David Hosack (the doctor treating Philip) he reportedly fainted from anxiety.

Eliza’s scream should have been Angelica Hamilton, as she had a mental breakdown after the death of her brother, and was arguably (out of the rest of her siblings) the most hurt by his death.

It’s Quiet Uptown

Hamilton was really hurt by the death of his son. It was probably what broke him the most out of every death he’s seen in his life-- and he’s seen a lot.

“I take the children to church on Sunday,” after Philip’s death, Hamilton and his family became a lot more religious.

“His hair has gone grey,” there is a portrait of Hamilton shortly after his son’s death, and he looks like he’s aged 10 years. He looks old and sad and in grief. It barely looks like him.

Eliza would have forgiven Hamilton at this point. She forgave him not too long after the Reynolds pamphlet was published.

The Election of 1800

This happened before Philip’s duel, but you already knew that.

“I’m going door-to-door.” “You’re openly campaigning?” “Sure!” Burr was the first presidential candidate to openly campaign and set the standard for modern American politics.

They were tied for a stupidly long time. And when they finally got untied (by Hamilton and the federalists’ promotions and persuasion) it was by just a few votes. Not “in a landslide.”

Burr did end up being Jefferson’s vice-president. Jefferson didn’t change that.

Your Obedient Servant

This is a situation, much like the Reynolds affair, where no one is in the “right” or the “wrong.” Was it wrong for Burr to shoot Hamilton? Yes, absolutely. Was it wrong for Hamilton to say bad things about Burr and constantly keep him away from what he wanted? Yes, absolutely. But on the other side, was it wrong for Burr to be mad about what Hamilton did? No, he had every right to be angry. Was it wrong for Hamilton to speak his mind? No, freedom of speech and all that. It’s a very fuzzy situation and that’s partly why it’s unclear what exactly happened on the duelling ground.

While Burr’s loss of the elections was a reason for his duel with Hamilton, it was not the main reason. There were a bunch of little things that led up to this. A question I’ve been asked before (quite a few times, honestly) is “if Burr won the election/if Hamilton promoted Burr, would the duel still have happened?” and in my opinion, I think it still would have happened, it would have probably just happened later. Because the duel wasn’t the “breaking point” for Burr, it was just one of those little things that led to it.

Also while I’m on the topic of the election, it happened a few years before the duel. The election of 1800 was on March 4, 1801 (yes, 1801. It was tied for a very long time.) The duel was on July 11, 1804. So not directly afterward.

“Just to keep me from winning.” it is true that Hamilton did not trust Burr to be in power, and did everything he could to stop him.

The workshop version is cooler and more accurate. (if LMM had just kept the workshop version and what was in it I probably wouldn’t be writing TBH)

“I am not the reason no one trusts you,” in a way, yes, Hamilton is the reason no one trusts Burr. Hamilton had a lot of power and a lot of people listened to him. A good example of this would be his role during John Adams’ presidency. Hamilton constantly whispered into Adams’ cabinet members’ ears and basically told them what to do. And they believed him, and did what he said.

“Even if I said what you think I said, you would need to cite a more specific grievance. Here’s an itemized list of 30 years of disagreements.” Hamilton and Burr argued so much and Hamilton said so many bad things about him that when Burr asked him to admit to saying these things Hamilton essentially said “yeah well I’ve said a lot about you so you’re gonna have to be a lot more specific because I don’t know which time you’re referring to.”

Best of Wives, Best of Women

The title (and the line in the song) are a reference to this letter.

Hamilton was not with his wife the night before the duel. He was at a house he had rented in new york city that he stayed in sometimes while away for work. A few of his older sons were with him, though, including John C. Hamilton, who was interviewed many years later and gave a retelling of what happened the night before. You can read it here.

The World Was Wide Enough

“A doctor that he knew” was David Hosak, the same doctor who treated Philip after his duel just 3 years earlier.

“Now, I didn’t know this at the time but we were near the same spot your son died,” I’m fairly sure he knew, Philip’s duel was a pretty big thing and a lot of people knew.

“My fellow soldiers tell you I’m a terrible shot.” Burr was actually a very good shot. There’s even an account of him doing target practice a few days before the duel.

“But look it up, Hamilton was wearing his glasses,” Hamilton put on his glasses because he was old, and had bad vision from his years of service in the revolution, and from how hard he worked. Fun fact, he was facing the rising sun, which meant the sun glared off his glasses, rendering him unable to see clearly. He wouldn’t have been able to shoot Burr if he tried.

“This man will not make an orphan of my daughter.” Burr’s daughter, Theodosia, was 22 and married. I’m sure she would be fine. On the other hand, Hamilton’s kids were very young. The oldest, Angelica, was only 19, and the youngest, Philip II, was only 2. These kids all needed a father figure in their life, but apparently, Burr didn’t consider that.

In the lines "Laurens leads a soldiers’ chorus on the other side / My son is on the other side, he's with my mother on the other side / Washington is watching from the other side," it seems like they’re being listed in a very particular order but I’m not sure what it means or why they’re in that order.

Hamilton quotes Laurens’ lines right before he dies and it makes me think of a conversation I had with a friend. She was telling me about how for some time after Laurens’ death, Hamilton didn’t really speak that much in congress and such. At first, I thought “oh it’s because he’s dealing with the death of his closest friend and possible romantic partner,” but then my friend explained that that’s not why he was quiet. It’s because when Laurens was in South Carolina, trying to convince the house of representatives to give him his black battalion, he didn’t talk that much. He waited for everyone else to talk, and then he jumped in and talked. That’s why Hamilton was silent for a lot of the time. He was doing what Laurens did. He was quoting Laurens.

“They row him back across the Hudson, I get a drink.” After shooting Hamilton, Burr went to his cousin’s house as if nothing had happened.

Burr showed seemingly no regret for shooting Hamilton, and even bragged and joked about it for years after.

Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story

“Every other founding father’s story gets told,” it really is kinda sad how little people know about Hamilton. He’s not taught about in school. He wasn’t a president.

I do wish that the musical talked a bit more about Hamilton’s kids and their contribution to keeping Hamilton's story alive. Especially John C. who went through all of his father’s papers and wrote the first biography on him.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I really wish the Laurens-Hamilton relationship was a bigger part of the show.

The actors are amazing, but the people they play have little to no character/personality, and it kinda brings the actors down.

I love Phillipa soo.

There are so many inaccuracies that could have been easily avoided, and I genuinely don’t understand why LMM did some of the things he did. Like there was no reason to make Angelica the love interest. Absolutely no reason. And yet, here we are.

Hamilton, the musical was a great way to make more people interested in history, but unfortunately because of how wrong the show is, a lot of people who gain an interest in history from it think that it’s 100% right and treat it like a documentary. I would know, I became interested in American history because of the musical and I didn’t know how many things were wrong or left out until recently.

The workshop version was better and more accurate.

And that’s it! I’d like to give a big thanks to my friends who helped me, especially my friend Mary.

#gil writes #gil's hamilton musical essay #im actually so proud of this #please dont let this flop

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knockedupstream · 3 years

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We talk about how people often prefer the gay ship because the emotional heart of the story often revolves around two men and the female character often just exists to be the love interest. Sometimes I’ll change the sex of one of the characters to see if we would get a good het ship or if the studio would have likely made those two end game. I also look and see if I make a het ship a gay ship if it is something I would like. I do this to see if I’m just hating on the het ships or if it is just the writing of them I can’t get into.

Gonna only do the Captain America Crew in this post. Putting in the cut because this is long and will not be everyone’s cup of tea.

Stucky is probably the most popular ship in the MCU. Make Steve a woman, Stevie I guess. You’d have to basically rework the plot of The First Avenger because the military isn’t giving super soldier serum to a woman much less a sickly one and we have to find another reason for her to get the serum. I also dont’ think they’d make her the Star Spangled Woman with a plan unless it was to recruit woman to go to work or the Woman’s Army corps, but that’s a very different AU to write. But anyway, we get the woman saving the man. But yeah tomboyish sickly Stevie who wants to be a tough girl, is constantly picking fights, and Bucky having to go put a stop to it? Yeah its cute. Winter Soldier would probably get a lot of complaints if they went to romance route in a later movie because Bucky spends the movie brainwashed and trying to kill her. But as someone that loves angsty ships where the hero and villain (Even though Bucky was brainwashed) fall in love... yeah my emo at heart soul loves this whole thing.

Change Bucky to a woman. (Jamie?) Again some rewriting, but Bucky can be a tomboyish girl who has to always bail her sickly friend Steve out of fights. Joins the women’s army corps and is captured along with many male soldiers. Now this one does become a very bizaar damsel in distress story line and I could see complaints that a badass woman was reduced as such. But I kind of dig this. Maybe it’s all the female Bucky cosplayers out there but I’d be into this one. Hollywood would love it too because they can have their badass woman and the male still gets to ultimately be the hero and save her.

Bring in Sam. Yeah Stevie jogging in the morning and saying “On your left” is totally flirting with him. Sam flirts back and suddenly he’s pulled into this crazy adventure. I think Sam would be far more concerned with her wanting to save Bucky because this is a man trying to murder her. But this is a good ship. Would Hollywood do it? I really want to say yes but I could see the hesitancy because it is an interracial couple. We’d probably need petitions and lots of fan support.

I don’t have to change Sam’s name at all if he were the woman. But same as above, Steve is flirting with her on the jog, roping her into this adventure and the two becoming partners. I mean their interactions at the end fight of Winter Soldier would feel very much like a couple. (Same as above with genders reversed, hell these two would just feel like a super hero couple) Fucking Disney would probably not go for it in the earlier 2010s though.

Stevie and Peggy. Oh hell yes. I’m all for the vintage f/f couple. But I also do love Steve and Peggy in The First Avenger.

Stevie and Sharon. I could never get into these two and even if it was an f/f couple, I’d prefer her with one of the men, which is rare for me to say.

Make Sharon a man (Sean?) and he just gets over shadowed by both Bucky and Sam.

Well move on to Sambucky. If Sam were the woman, is Bucky undermining her too much in Falcon and Winter Soldier? I’m not really sure how I feel about this one. It would really depend on their interactions in Civil War. I think it would have to be reframed as Bucky wanting to protect her and get that shield back and not so much him being mad at her for giving it up? Can someone else give a better perspective than me?

Now, Bucky as the woman, this ship is hilarious and also pretty sexy. Anthony Mackie would be the perfect actor for this and could probably ablib a lot of Sam’s dialogue. First of all, its sweet that Sam would be checking up on her and I think he would do it more in this scenario. I also think he would be a bit more playful with her in Civil War and not as snarky? Sam has this former brainwashed 106 year old murderous assassin insisting on going on his mission with him, jumping out of airplanes and falling on her face, wanting to break out a criminal, insisting on wanting to take the shield from Nu Captain America, being the muscle. Later showing up in Louisana and doing all the heaving lifting while fixing the boat. And then add all the sexual tension between them. This one would be the most fun. Would Marvel make them a couple? I really really hope so. Falcon and the Winter Soldier would become a RomCom.

Bucky and Ayo. Uh yes? Do we even need to ask about this one?

Change Sarah to a male because right now I’m Buckysarah trash. We’ll call him Soren. Hot single dad who immediately smiles when Bucky says hi to him? Sign me up. This is adorable. I think Sam might also have a different reaction. He’d be more accepting because he’d be worry about his brother’s safety but knows he’d be safe with the Winter Soldier. I think it really helps that, even with her limited screen time, Sarah herself is a very interesting character. Single mother supporting her family, knowing how to fix a boat, dealing with bullshit racism, she manages to be far more interesting than other women in the MCU who had bigger roles. It helps that they wrote her as a character.

So Captain America actually has a lot of canon het ships I like. I like Steve and Peggy, Bucky and Sarah, I even liked Steve and Nat, it made more sense than Nat and Hulk. The only one I really wasn’t into was Steve and Sharon and I think that’s a combination of Sharon being Peggy’s niece and Marvel doing Sharon wrong pre TFAWS. But CA also had some good M/M ships that I would also be very much into if they were het ships.

#Stucky #Steve x Sam #Sambucky #samxbucky #Steve x Peggy #I know this post won't be everyone cup of tea #But it's something I do to see if I'm just hating het ships #or if it is just the writing of them I don't like #Maybe CA was the wrong one to choose because there are a lot of het ships I love #Maybe thor was a better choice?#I couldn't get into Thor x Jane but Thor x Valkarie in any combination of gender and yes please give that to me #FemThor and Valkarie might be my favorite thing ever.#The MCU does have a lot of good canon m/f ships. I like Pepper and Tony but I also like Tony and Rhodey.

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howtotrainyouragents · 3 years

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Things I Noticed in the Hamilton Film

Soooo, I was supposed to have posted this last year when the film first dropped, and I forgot...

Anywayyyy, things that were new, from the album, or was obvious to everyone but me. This is literally just me listing details I loved for my own keepsake later on

I hope this film’s success (and the play’s hopeful continued success on stage), shows that Broadway plays can and should be filmed for everyone

Lin Manuel Miranda is a brilliant writer, scriptwriter, musician, rapper, singer, and a genuinely lovely person, but I think my favorite part about him is his acting. He has such a pure naturalness and sincerity in his acting. He nails microexpressions/gestures and sometimes I forget that he’s acting

E.g., Lin’s devastation after Washington kicks him out

There’s some songs I wondered what their purpose was, but watching it I understood. For example, Story of Tonight sets up the purpose of the revolution. Like, My Shot is Hamilton’s ‘I want’ song, but Story of Tonight is all of the revolutionaries ‘I want’ song, and that’s why it comes up again for Laurens and Hamilton at their ends

Samuel Seabury’s acting was gold

In Right Hand Man the way the backup stage/cast lights up as they sing ‘not throwing away my shot” and Hamilton agrees to work for Washington

The fact that Helpless ends with “You’ll be a new man” because Hamilton is still so obsessed with his own ascendency

HOLY FUCK RENEE ELISE GOLDSBERRY

They way they start Satisfied, it’s like Angelica doesn’t know the true extent of her devastation until she gives her toast and says “satisfied”. Like, she knows what she’s done but she’s still thinks this is fine and this is for the best, and it’s not until this moment that the weight of it fully hits her. By the end of it, it’s like she’s barely holding it together for this toast

Towards the end of the song, Eliza kisses her cheek and Renee’s expression is like she’s about fall apart in that very moment from the sheer overwhelming joy and pain

So in Helpless when their talking about letters, Peggy does a cute random shimmy while handing Eliza the letter. But then in Satisfied we see that she’s doing the shimmy to the beat of Satisfied, meaning that she knows how Angelica feels and knows about the love triangle

I’m trying really hard not to scream about the rewind of all the dance and action in Satisfaction but please know I am internally screaming about this forever.

Almost forgot, Burr and Hamilton were friends at one point. Burr shows up for his wedding to wish him well :(

I wasn’t gonna scream that much here, but LESLIE ODOM JR.

Leslie’s smile- amused and scoffing disbelief- when singing about Hamilton in Wait for it

Speaking of Wait for it, the way the whole cast is waiting on stage and the balconies as Burr sings. and the way the dancers shift to Hamilton’s direction when Burr talks about him

Also the lighting creates boxes on the stages, like Burr is trapped. But then this reappears in Your Obedient Servant

I never knew the lyrics were “This is commonplace, 'specially 'tween recruits” and not “’tween corps” in Ten Duel Commandments...makes more sense

I think there’s 10 people in that line up in Ten Commandments

The way Stay Alive conflicts Hamilton’s precious notions of sacrifice, and forces him to shift his focus from dying to legacy

The mimic of the bullet in Stay Alive

The way that Eliza is also so excited about the war and the scholars in The Schuyler Sisters and that excitement goes away after she has the actual risk of losing someone she loves because of the war

Who’s the choreographer because DAMN (btw it’s Andy Blankenbuehler)

Also the dancers lifting up other dancers for whole bars? Incredible

The way women are interwoven into the story of the war, singing the chorus and setting the scene and rejoicing with the soldiers at the end

The fucking red lighting in Yorktown. Also, the shot in the song’s pause is one of the best shots in musical history.

The fact that ‘black and white soldiers wonder alike if this really means freedom’ ‘not yet’ is a commentary on slavery and the line is said by Washington

The brilliant way What Comes Next undercuts the gravitas of Yorktown .

Also, King George loses more and more of his costume and moves around more as the show goes on. Also, blue lighting with “I’m feeling blue” hahaha

Lafayette and Hercules getting the same letter about Laurens + Hamilton’s sobbing. And Laurens’ singing ‘there will be more of us’, referring to the future generations who will fight and win abolition.

Nonstop:

Burr’s disgust while Hamilton rants. Hamilton’s pouting then childish glee at the beginning

Burr stays at the bottom of the staircase after Hamilton climbs it. Also, Jefferson descends the staircase after Hamilton ascends it, indicating their statuses

The refrain of “How does a....” shows up in Nonstop as Burr’s “How do you write...” (other characters sing their own personal refrains but Burr sings this), and it’s like this ongoing, jealous, incredulous questioning of how Hamilton became so successful, and part of the answer of how he did it is that he doesn’t stop writing and working.

Regardless of which sister he ended up with, love was never gonna be enough for Hamilton

The way Daveed Diggs jumps and dances and dives across the stage in just about every song he’s in. The man truly deserved the Emmy

Jefferson’s being surrounded by his slaves because he sucks

Hamilton’s costume goes from white --> brown-->blue-->green-->black and someone with more color scheme expertise needs to dissect this for me please

The fact that even Burr peaces out when it comes to the affair, like, nope, this is too messed up even for me

An in-universe explanation as to why the Ten Duel Commandments and Phillip’s count is the same is that Hamilton’s killing (metaphorically and literally) in order to stay alive is a part of their family’s DNA.

Anthony Ramos is phenomenal at playing 9 years old then having to switch to 19

The fact that Phillip was probably so determined to defend his father is that this is after the Reynolds Pamphlet and everyone was humiliating and scorning Hamilton

The Room Where it Happened

Hamilton is like an apparation to him, and Burr is both scared and begging the ghost to reveal the truth

The fact that this song is a plot song and a ‘i want’ song and a villain song all at once. Also, the song picks up speed to signal the shift from historical recounting to ‘i want’ song

They replay the beginning where Jefferson/Madison call for Hamilton

Jefferson being the one to ask “Don’t you remember Lafayette”, and there’s like a slight change in his demeanor that’s more Lafayette then Jefferson

Burr, Madison, and Jefferson discreetly talking to each other in Washington on Your Side representing their nefarious schedming. Also, Daveed Diggs keeps Jefferson’s limp even without the cane. Also Madison is angry at Hamiilton when he says “the bill of rights, which I wrote!”

One Last Time:

How perfectly the Bible verse reflects Washington’s opinion of legacy. The younger men are obsessed with preserving their own memories in history, but for Washington, his legacy would be that everyone would be safe and at peace.

Washington’s practically crying at the end

Hamilton asking Washington here to teach him how to say goodbye because Hamilton genuinely doesn’t know how: people left him before he could ever say goodbye

We Know: Jefferson’s pure WTF face when he says “my God...”. In this reaidng, Burr definitely threatened him (I didn’t always intepret that way when listening). But Hamilton’s still an idiot.

Hurricane: Once again, Lin’s facial expressions. The way the the chorus stands around and watches him. But also the freaking brilliant way that the dancers mimic the hurricane, and Burr and Maria are the only other people in the hurricane with Hamilton. But at the end, it’s just Hamilton and the desk

Reynolds Pamphlet: The way Washington can’t even look at him, but Angelica gets in his face to yell at him. Also, Jefferson hands a pamphlet to the conductor

This reading, Phillippa Soo sings Burn with so much rage and fury and that is pretty much my favorite part of this entire film

Hamilton’s face at “Alexander, did you know?”

The fact that Angelica narrates Uptown because it’s too intimate for Burr or anyone else to narrate. Eliza’s changing facial expressions as she slowly lets him in. The way Hamilton just completely breaks down and sobs

The Election of 1800:

Jefferson shaking his head when Madison suggests Hamilton

Burr’s falseness is hilarious. He hands Hamilton a pamphlet.

Jefferson’s look of resignation when Hamilton is making his decision, then starts dancing around when he’s won

The close-up of Burr’s face falling when he realizes who Hamilton has voted for

The whole “runner-up becomes VP” thing made me think about if we could have had Hillary Clinton as VP, and I made myself sad.

Your Obedient Servant: I always saw this song as a reflection of the custom, but I never fully appreciated how it reflects their relationship: their relationship has completely disintegrated, but their working to maintain this false appearance of friendship/civility that no longer has a place in their relationship.

Also, Burr’s increasingly incensed and it does not help that Hamilton sends like a 12-page letter and the dancer even teases Burr

The guy who gives Hamilton Burr’s duel challenge plays Charles Lee. Karma

The World Was Wide Enough

Burr’s POV then Hamilton’s POV, like this story has become less and less about Hamilton and he is no longer in control of who’s telling his story

The shot of Eliza walking away and in her wake, it’s Burr shooting

Burr’s alone in the stage, finally realizing the world (aka the stage) was wide enough for the both of them, but it’s too late. Also, in part foreshadowing his own future: that he had the world before him regardless of Hamilton, but he was completely ruined after this duel

I definitely cried at ‘the orphanage’. Also I interpret the gasp at the end as her breaking fourth wall and seeing the audience and realizing that Hamilton’s legacy has continued even to today.

#hamilton #i know it's cool to hate hamilton now #but i dont #so forgive me for putting this on your dash #agent report #agent h

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lyrazehedgieboiii · 4 years

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Sonic AU (One-shot~)

This was inspired by Sonic AU, a story that I wrote before this. The next thing I post (that’s not a reblog or art), will be the first chapter to a story I’m writing.

“You know it, Rouge. While the boys have their little ‘guy time,’ we can go shopping! Oh, Eliza just started crying, see you later!” Amy hung up on her phone call with Rouge. They were going to go shopping, along with Cream. Amy wasn’t really a fan of shopping, but she desperately wanted to hang out with her friends without Sonic acting all fussy. They had seven children, but by the way Sonic acted, you could say she had to take of eight. She walked over to a light pink crib, and looked inside. Curious emerald eyes were looking up at her, little beads of tears lining the bottom of the child’s eyes.

“There’s my gorgeous little hedgie! Oh look at your precious little eyes! They’re so cute! They look just like your daddy’s!” All she got in response to her coos was a squeak, which made Amy fawn even more. “Why are you so cute?! I just want to gobble up your tiny little cheeks!”

“Ames, maybe check what’s wrong first, then fangirl over how cute Sonic the Hedgehog’s children are?” Amy looked up to see her husband leaning against the doorframe. The little shit had a smug look on his face.

“They aren’t just cute because they’re your children, Sonic.” Amy smirked back at him. She picked up her sky-blue baby out of the crib, and placed her on a little quilt on her back. She went to wear the boys’ side was, and looked at whoever was awake. Apparently only Dash and Eric were awake, so she set them on the quilt as well.

“They got my genes. Look, more of them have my eyes then yours. I heard what you said to Eliza~,” Sonic wiggled his eyebrows, and his smirk only grew wider as he saw her blush. He walked over to her, and hugged her from behind, his arms tightening around her waist. “I’m hungry.” After years of knowing Sonic, she could see someone licking a vanilla ice-cream, she could think of dirty scenarios happening all at once.

“W-whoa there! We have children! Some of them are awake!” Amy tried to push him away, but he only held on tighter.

“Come on, a little fun won’t hurt~” Sonic started to gently peck her neck.

“...Why do you want this?” Amy asked, trying to hold her moans in.

“You being the mother to my children turns me on more than you notice, babe.” Sonic was suddenly pushed onto the quilt while Amy straddled him.

“I’m going to the mall today with Rouge and Cream. You can take care of the boys with Tails and Knuckles. I’ll take care of the sisters.” Amy often referred to her daughters as ‘the sisters’ because of their names. She named them after the Schuyler Sisters, seeing Hamilton with her best friends. Their middle names were after Greek Goddesses, one of the names for each sister being from the Three Graces.

“Just be careful, okay? Buy something that’ll make me feel like stripping every ounce of clothing off of you.~” He bit into her neck, leaving a purple spot and a gawking Amy.

“Do not worry, Mr. Hedgehog, we will make sure that Mrs. Hedgehog has a lingerie so beautiful, you’ll faint and nosebleed like you used to back in University.” The pink hedgehog and her latter looked at the door. Rouge was standing there with a camera, while Cream was staring at them with stars in her eyes.

“Thank you, Mrs. Echidna. Ames, you be a good girl. Don’t get into any fights, and if you do, don’t let the Sisters get in, or else you and the girls would be in jail.”

“Actually, Sonikku, I think you should be telling yourself that. You’re gonna be watching the boys. You haven’t properly taken care of them yet. I’m usually the stay-at-home mom, but today, roles are reversed. I wrote instructions on how to take care of them properly and I put their to-” Amy was cut off by a sudden warmth on her lips.

“Don’t worry, Amy. I’ll take good care of my little guys.” As soon as he said that, Rouge and Cream started gushing over how cute they found Sonic calling his sons “Little guys.”

“He loves his children!!! He loves the children Amy made!” (I’m personally fangirling too) Cream squealed. Amy and Sonic sweatdropped at their hardcore shipping.

~~~~~~Time Skip to Once They’re Downstairs~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Okay, I packed Angelica, Eliza, and Peggy’s things. That should be all!” Amy looked at Sonic. “You sure you got them?” Amy asked.

“Ames. You ain’t gotta worry about me. How hard could it be?”

“It’s not hard for you until now, because I usually take care of the kids, while you’re off at the recording studio, or practicing. I’m a housewife!”

“Don’t think I don’t know that Ariana Growle asked you to choreograph her newest music video.” Sonic said, pulling Flash’s foot from reaching the t.v. remote.

“Yeah, Amy. You don’t have to worry, Knuckles and I will make sure that he isn’t going to end up in tears because he has to change the kids’ diapers.” Tails responded, ignoring Sonic as he yelled an insulted “Hey!” at him.

“Thanks Tails, Knuckles. Maybe when you two have children, Sonic and I can take care of them!” Amy said, as she tried to get a two-month old squirming Angelica into her carseat. Angelica whined, wanting to get out of the carseat, until her mother handed her a soft little plush toy. Eliza was smiling at Cream playing peek-a-boo with her. Peggy, however...just...sat there. Amy walked over to Sonic, who was holding Wayne and Dash. She gave them a peck on the forehead, and gave their father a kiss on the lips. Sonic leaned in to let the kiss linger for a little longer, but Amy pulled back.

“I’ll see my little boys later!” Amy exclaimed as she gave kisses to Eric and Flash, who were being held by Tails and Knuckles. “Take good care of them! Or else...” Amy’s motherly instincts kicked in, her glare telling the caretakers that she’d kill them if even if one of the boys get even a tiny scratch.

- ~~~~~~AT THE MALL~~~~~~~

“Oh! This would go well with the skinny jeans I saw, don’tcha think? Amy asked Cream as she examined a grey crop top. She looked over at her daughters, who were sleeping, being lulled into a nap after a long walk in the stroller. Rouge was looking at some off-the-shoulder tops.

“Rouge, looking at your growing stomach, I would avoid looking at these teen tops, and move to the maternity section.” Cream joked. Rouge smiled. Amy smiled too.

“I remember when I was pregnant with these little angels, I dragged Sonic to at least 22 different stores. He went ballistic!” Amy laughed. “But seriously, you should start buying pregnancy clothes. One minute your stomach is barely half an inch, you blink and it looks like you have a basketball under your shirt.”

“How is it that we knew that you’d be the first one to get married and first one to have children?” Rouge smirked. Amy’s face flushed.

“D-don’t look at me! Sonic basically rushed me into this! He was in love with me my whole life! Since we were three!” Amy said, turning redder than the bat’s husband.

“Well, you have a point. Still. You fell for him!” Cream pointed out. They all laughed. Amy started wondering how the boys were doing.

Now, let’s see how the men are doing~

“WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” One of the babies, specifically Eric, started crying. Of course, it started a chain reaction, causing all the babies to cry. Sonic jolted up immediately and scooped up two of them, as they aren’t able to move much. He glared at Knuckles and Tails, who got the memo to pick up the other two.

“What do we do?!” Knuckles yelled at Sonic over the crying.

“Let me look at the list Amy gave me.” Sonic got up and moved to the kitchen counter. He skimmed through the paper. “Let’s try giving them some food.” Sonic started looking through the pantry.

“But they’re too young to have normal food. They can only have milk at this age!” Tails skidded over to Sonic and blocked the pantry. They noticed it wasn’t as loud as before. Knuckles handed them pacifiers.

“Knuckles, you’re a genius!” he gently put the pacifiers into Flash and Dash’s mouths. They started sucking. “Damnit, we don’t have nipples. Amy usually breastfeeds them.”

“Too much information, buddy.” Knuckles shook his head.

“Dude, you’re about to have your own child or children! It’s only natural. Amy occasionally does it because of the brood we have!” Sonic said, rolling his eyes at Knuckles’s immaturity.

“What about baby formula?” Tails asked. Sonic tried to snap his fingers, but failed because of the septuplets. “To the nursery!” And with that, he dashed up the stairs, Tails yelling at him to be careful. He sped back to the kitchen and began reading the directions.

“For infants four months and younger, one tablespoon of formula in 165 ml water. Infants will best like it as lukewarm. Huh, easy enough!” Sonic gives each baby to his friends, and starts taking out baby bottles. “Wait, how much is 100 milliliters are in cups?” Sonic asked. Tails sighed.

“Maybe I should do it, Sonic, you can play with the kids.” Sonic handed Dash and Wayne to him, and started measuring. Sonic walks back to the living room and puts the kids on the quilt from earlier. Knuckles started playing peek-a-boo with them, until Sonic interrupted.

“Dude, they can’t see clearly at this age, give them a few more months. Then again, they’ll be more interested in pulling those red dreads.” Sonic jokes with Knuckles. The echidna makes a disapproving look at him. Tails walks over with four baby bottles. He gave the idiots the bottles, and the kids started to suck on the bottles. After about ten minutes, the boys were done drinking their milk, and Sonic made a disgusted face.

“Ew, Knuckles, what did you eat? It smells like scrambled egg made with rotten eggs.” Knuckles glared at Sonic

“Oh sure, blame the buff guy.”

“Well if it wasn’t you, then who was it?” Sonic asked. Tails pointed to the kids in their arms.

“Well, I just remembered! I have stuff to do! Bye!” As Knuckles tried to get up, he was stopped by Sonic.

“You agreed to help with your nephews, now help.” Knuckles didn’t find Sonic’s face very friendly, so he sat back down. “Chaos, Amy owes me a strip show for this...” Sonic muttered. He looked up to find Tails and Knuckles blushing at what Sonic said. “Can you two imagine your own women doing that? Thank you.” Knuckles thought of Rouge and Tails with Cream.

“Ugh, help me change them.” Sonic said as he took four diapers and baby wipes. They walked to the nursery and put them on the diaper changing tables. (There’s more than one because of the seven hedgies.) “Okay, guys. We’re in unfamiliar territory, so be careful and stay safe.” Sonic said, acting like he was putting on an astronaut helmet.

“Sonic, we’re wiping your sons’ asses, not exploring the moon.” Sonic took a wipe and stuffed it into Tails’s mouth.

“Wash your mouth, dude! I don’t want ‘ass’ being their first word.” Tails spat out the wipe and started acting like he was dying.

“Can we get this over with? Sonic do you know what to do?” Knuckles asked, done with life, and just wanted to go home.

“Take off the diaper. There are those sticky strap things on the side we take those off, and take the diaper off.” Tails explained. They all followed what Tails said, only to find the revolting urine. The boys all ran to the nearest bathroom. They slowly went back to the nursery, the little hedgehogs giggling at not being covered on their rear-side.

“I see where they get those annoying smug faces from.” Knuckles stated, looking at the one who wore the smile first. Sonic’s smirk just got wider.

“I knew Amy would want most of the kids to look like me~, after all, I’m practically the hottest hedgehog alive!” Sonic made a pose, keeping still until he heard giggles at the door.

“No one’s named you ‘The Hottest Hedgehog Alive,’ Sonic.” Amy said, smirking at the doorframe. “Learn to change your kids’ diapers first. You haven’t even completed that.” Amy walked over to her husband, and slid one finger across his cheek, to his shoulder, and down his chest.

“Well then, Ames. I guess you better get to it!” And with that, the boys ran out of the mansion.

“SOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNIIIIIIIIIICCCCCCCC!!!!!!” Amy scoffed at his childish behavior. “WELL, I GUESS I’LL HAVE TO TRASH THIS OUTFIT I GOT FOR YOU!” Sonic immediately came back, picked up Amy and left.

“So, now what do we do?” Rouge asked.

“Finish what our guys couldn’t do.”

THANK YOU, I HOPED YOU ENJOY, PLEASE GIVE ME MORE PROMPTS BECAUSE I AM NOT CREATIVE.

#sonamy #pinky au #lyra ze hedgie boiii #otp #feeeeels #sonic girls #sonic the hedgehog #cream the rabbit #rouge the bat #amy rose #sonamy children #sonamy story #Pinky (AU)#knuxouge #taiream #sonic kids #knuckles the echidna #knuckles the enchilada #tails the fox

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70swonderpoisonstark · 4 years

Text

Love is a Circle (Jack Thompson X Reader)

Nobody knew your past, all anybody knew was that you were the friend Peggy brought along to the annual SSR Christmas party, and that you were too pretty not to dance with. You didn’t notice the lonely man, drinking away his feelings at the bar. How could you? You were finally enjoying a night out. Nothing mattered tonight besides Agent Smith and good music.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

You were dancing to the big band tunes, swaying left and right as your dance partner lead you around the dance floor, it was a fast song so you were twirling a lot, trying not to trip over your own two feet as you laughed the night away with the cute SSR agent Peggy had introduced you to.

“Agent Smith, you’re a wonderful dancer, I don’t think I’ve danced this long without stepping on somebody toes, ever!” You said as he pulled you in closer, he was so handsome, well kept hair, bright blue eyes, strong build, Peggy could really pick ‘em.

“Call me Chris, and you’re not that bad, I haven’t had to dodge a heel. Yet.” He said cheekily. Smiling as spun you, causing your red dress to billow out around you. You weren’t used to having this much attention, but being friends with Peggy seemed to cause quite the stir at the office Christmas party.

**Peggy’s POV**

“Daniel, is there something wrong with Agent Thompson?” She said, staring at the usually social butterfly as he sat at the bar stool, staring into the bottom of a bourbon bottle. He would look up, then a minute later take another shot, stare into the mirror behind the bar, and repeat. Normally he was an ass, but at least a social ass, this was just sad for Peggy to watch. He was a single man, no doubt, and was usually overjoyed to be able to corrupt some poor girl’s mind for a night. Tonight he was different, something was wrong, he wasn’t being himself, the whole thing was off. No dancing, no chatting with the higher ups, not badgering Peggy.

“I don’t know, he seems pretty Thompson-like to me.” Daniel shrugs, not really paying attention, Peggy in her new dark blue dress was enough to make him forget where he was entirely, much less notice anything about Jack.

Peggy looks over at Daniel, rolling her eyes as she notices where his are.

“Daniel I’m serious, he hasn’t moved from that spot since the dancing started.” Peggy wasn’t a big dancer, not after, well, you know. And it’s not like Daniel was all that keen on it either, so they were sitting at a high table, watching all the couples, and you, dance the night away. She was happy to see you smiling and dancing, it had been to long since you written to her of a man or any public outings since your last boyfriend broke your heart. You were so deeply in love, it had devastated you when he broke it off, Peggy had Howard fly you in just to make sure you weren’t completely alone for the first few weeks. Even Howard was welcoming, doing his best to hit on you as little as possible as you grieved your past relationship. If Peggy ever got her hands on that man she’d kill him, no matter how long ago it happened. Seeing the stark contrast between all those years and now gave her a warm feeling inside, she didn’t keep many friends around, but you weren’t somebody she could ignore, practically forcing yourself into her life, and seeing you enjoying yourself meant more to her than anything.

“Oh, yeah.” Daniel looked at his drink, spinning it in his hands as he looked up to speak. “Apparently the love of his life is here, and not with him.” Peggy’s face contorted, shock written in her forehead. The love of his life? If there was one thing Peggy knew about Jack is that he always got what he wanted, by one way or another. So it was very hard to believe that the 'love of his life’ was at this Christmas party and he wasn’t all over her.

“So why isn’t he with her? Seems like a odd thing to do, distance himself from a girl he loves.”

“Have you not heard the story?” Daniel’s not entirely surprised that she hasn’t heard Jack’s famous “love” story.

“About the love of his life? No, I haven’t. Though I have heard of plenty of his one night stands.”

“Gross. Regardless, when he went off to war he was dating this girl, beautiful girl, great cook, cleaned, all that, but what he loved the most about her was her mouth.”

“Daniel!” Peggy slaps him hard on the shoulder. She did NOT want to think about Jack doing anything with another girls mouth.

“Not like that, she was always telling him off, voicing her opinions, bossing him around. He didn’t enjoy it, but apparently he couldn’t get enough of her.”

“That sounds nothing like Jack. Are you sure-”

“Yes, let me finish. He was head over heels for this chick, they’d been together for almost two years when he enlisted. He didn’t think they’d actually call him out, figuring most of the battle was fought on land it would be less likely they’d call for him. But as you know they did. Jack couldn’t handle the thought of her having to bury him so he ended it. He kissed her goodbye the night before he left and ended the whole relationship just like that. Now obviously that’s a crappy thing to do to a girl, but he swears he was trying to do the best for her. So when he comes back a hero with his fancy medal, alive, he rushes to her apartment to find the whole thing empty. He asked the landlord where she went and he had no idea. She up and left the whole city, he called her old number and all he got was static. His old war buddies said he changed after that, ya know into whatever he is now. He wouldn’t talk about her while they were in the trenches, but as soon as they got word they were going home he wouldn’t stop talking about her, and then he came back and she was gone. It killed a piece of him. So now he’s Jack, and apparently she’s here.” Peggy knew this story. Bits and pieces she recognized immediately, not from Jack oh no, from you. You’d told her how your ex-boyfriend had broken up with you the night he left for the Navy, how in love you two were. She was the one who convinced you to move, and to get an entirely new phone.

“Daniel, I think I brought her here.” Peggy looks at you as you and Agent Smith flirt and laugh. You had no idea Jack was here, and Peggy had no idea what to do about it. Obviously Jack knew he shouldn’t talk to you, so he was smarter than she thought. But you’d want to see him, Peggy knew you never quite got over him.

“(Y/N)? I mean sure Peggy she sounds a lot like her, but so do you. I don’t think she’s even in the state much less at the SSR Christmas party.”

“Daniel, six years ago I came stateside for training and met a wonderful girl who sang at the local clubs. She forced herself into my life and we remained best friends ever since. Five years ago she wrote me about how her boyfriend left her on her doorstep to go off to the Navy, I convinced her to move to New York to sing in the larger clubs and to get a new phone. Now I’m here with her and Jack’s crying into a bottle of bourbon. I’m almost positive that he’s him and she’s her.”

“So we should keep them apart right? Make sure they don’t bump into each other?” Daniel asked.

“I don’t know. Jack’s not in any state to handle that, and I don’t think she’d react positively to seeing him after all this time.” Peggy looked up to find you, but couldn’t. You weren’t at the bar, you weren’t dancing, you weren’t at any of the tables. You were gone. And so was Jack.

“Daniel, I can’t find either of them, or Agent Smith.” Peggy and Daniel locked eyes, knowing in their guts something was wrong.

“Maybe she’s in the powder room?” Daniel offered optimistically. Peggy was ready to check when she heard it, right as the songs changed she heard you screaming words that she was unable to make out. She stared at Daniel, knowing he’d heard it too. You and Jack must’ve ran into each other. They both rushed towards you, through the back doors, leaving the music behind and being able to hear you much louder now.

**Your POV**

Agent Smith had lead you out back for a smoke, you’d never been a smoker, but figured you’d accompany him anyways, he had been so darling the whole night, you didn’t want to miss a second with him. This girlish infatuation is what made you miss that he didn’t have cigarettes, or a lighter. That he’d already unbuttoned his coat, and was no longer staring sweetly into your eyes, but lustfully at your full figure. You shivered at the cold, forgetting to grab your jacket as Chris lead you through the back doors, it was just the two of you out there, everybody else must have been too busy drinking to smoke. You smiled at him sheepishly, he wasn’t talking, but he hadn’t lit up yet either. You could feel the atmosphere change, goosebumps on your skin not from the cold, but from the dimly lit alley you were now standing in with a complete stranger. You tried to play it off, maybe he just didn’t want to smoke in front of you.

“Forget your lighter?” You asked, trying to mask your sudden unease with a light hearted question.

“(Y/N), I think we both know why we’re really back here.” You took a deep breath, trying not to look as scared as you felt. You took a step back, nobody would hear you scream inside, and if they did they’d just assume it was the party. Peggy was enjoying her night so she definitely wasn’t paying attention to you, after all you and Chris had been having a very joyful evening,why would she worry.

“N-no, I don’t think I do. Care to enlighten me?” You tried to sound strong, knowing you could throw a punch if need be. This wouldn’t be the first time you’d had to hit a guy for coming on too strong. But instead of words he backs you into the wall, using his body weight to keep you there, sniffing the perfume on your neck as he tries to kiss you. “Get of off me!” You wiggled around, but he was so large, freeing yourself from his brutish weight would be damn near impossible.

“Now, why would I do that, I’ve finally got you all to myself. Why waste such a perfect moment.” He looked you up and down, undressing you with his eyes as you struggled to fight back. You screamed for help, begged him to stop, moving your head so that his tainted lips couldn’t kiss yours. The more you fought the angrier he got. After ten minutes of you fighting he pushed your head into the brick wall as he choked you with his forearm. You inhaled sharply as the cold intensified the pain.

“What, did you think I’d make this easier, you pig.” You spat at him, nothing was more revolting than a man who always thinks he can get what he wants.

“Oh. I was going to play nice, but now you’re going to pay for that one.” Still using his weight he tried to slip an arm around your back, searching for the zipper on your dress, too stupid to realize it was on the side. You were terrified, screaming for help, when you feel the air change. You fall, hitting the hard concrete, while another figure had tackled Chris to the ground. Whoever he was, he wasn’t going easy on Agent Smith. You could see the blood on his hands as he continually punched him, over and over again. You were lightheaded, trying hard to focus on something about the man who’d saved you, but Agent Smith’s chokehold was very lengthy, and breathing was just as hard. You were coughing, trying hard to catch your breath with the icy air, perking up as you heard Peggy yell.

“Daniel, grab Thompson I’ve got (Y/N)!” She yelled as she ran over to you, covering you with her coat as Daniel grabbed the, blonde? off of Agent Smith. You watched as Daniel pulled him to the side, holding him back from killing the now unconscious Agent Smith.

“Jack are you crazy?! You’re gonna kill him.” You could faintly hear him say.

“(Y/N), what happened? Are you okay?” You nodded and explained what happened, trying to listen to Daniel and the blonde, Thompson, conversation.

“You know who she is Daniel, I couldn’t control myself when I heard her scream like that. If he’s dead then that’s what he deserves.” Jack said to Daniel, too quietly for you to hear

“Yes, but you can’t fix things if you’re in jail for manslaughter now can you?”

“I don’t care, she doesn’t love me anymore anyways. I’d rather rot in prison than ever hear her scream like that again.” Jack was severely intoxicated, barely able to keep his head from bobbing side to side as he slurred his emotional sentences to Daniel.

“You’ll never find out drinking yourself to death at the bar. You don’t know everything Jack, stop being an ass.”

Peggy was calling an ambulance for Agent Smith after she lead you inside, instructing the bartender to not let you out of his sight or 'so help me god they’ll never find your body’. The bartender stood straight up as her words chilled his bones. He watched you carefully, you sat there on your stool, trying not to freeze to death when Daniel sat Thompson down right next to you. He turned to the bartender, “He doesn’t go anywhere, got it?” He looked him in the eyes, daggers staring at the bartender until he nodded back. “Good.” He walked out to help Peggy, somebody was going to have to explain what had happened to the police when they got there.

You tried not to look at the man who’d just quite possibly saved your life. You wanted to thank him, but he wouldn’t turn to look at you so you just felt awkward. You wanted him to hear you, but every time you moved he practically jumped. He’d laid his head down onto his crossed arms when you finally saw your moment. You grabbed his hand, feeling the warmth in yours as he froze at your touch. You smiled softly, thankful he didn’t pull away.

“I just wanted to say thank you. I don’t know how far he was going to go, and I really appreciate you showing up when you did.” Silence… “It’s so hard to find decent guys nowadays. Years ago it was much easier but ever since I moved it’s like the guys get worse. No offense.” You were word vomiting. Telling a drunk stranger all about your life. Smart. “Peggy and Daniel seem to think you’re okay. She was real determined that you didn’t go to jail.”

“Peggy hates me, Sousa tolerates me.” He mumbled.

“Oh that can’t be true, what could be so bad about you? Unless you get drunk and fight often, then we might need to discuss that later.” He chuckled at that, still refusing to lift his head up. “Regardless, I’m really thankful. You saved me. I can’t let that go unappreciated. I’d buy you a drink but it seems like you’ve had enough of those.” Another chuckle. Peggy was waving you over, you knew it was time to go home, she wouldn’t stay another minute in this place after all that. “Well, I’ve got to leave, I’ll send something with Peggy on Monday to thank you properly. Thank you so much Agent Thompson, I hope you enjoy the rest of your night.” He had to let go of your hand, he didn’t want to, but this was no way for him to reconnect. He squeezed your hand to let you know he heard you, and off you went.

The next few days went by slowly for Jack. He hoped, begged, prayed that you’d show up in the office to 'thank him properly’ as you’d said. He couldn’t wait to have you in the office, his office, with his medals and his accomplishments plastered on the walls. But you didn’t come. A week went by and Peggy didn’t even make mention of what had happened. Besides Agent Smith’s desk being cleared, everything was the same as always.

It wasn’t uncommon for him to think about you. Even if only for a second, he’d think about you almost daily. He’d smile at the thought of your hair in the wind, or the way you scrunched your nose when you laughed. During briefings he’d think about your inability to sit still, even for a movie you’d move twenty times in the hour and a half showing. He’d sit at his desk, his Chief’s desk, and imagine you walking in for lunch so proud of your man for all he’s done. He couldn’t help but dream of you being on his arm at parties and gatherings just like the one before, smiling and laughing with him as you talked to everybody in the room. He smiled fondly at the memory of your relationship, the picnic dates, the boat rides, which mostly consisted of you looking stunning and him rowing a boat until the two of you decided to jump in. And your voice, oh your voice! How could he ever forget how well you sang? He’d drop by after his shifts at the dock to your clubs and sit there starstruck. They always did you up so well, and you always knew how to draw a crowd. He’d sit there for hours, dirty and sweaty, watching you sing, the club would buzz, or you’d be off backstage and he’d still sit excitedly waiting for you to come back out.

Today was no different, he’d sat down at his desk, finished his paperwork by about 10AM and poured himself a shot of whiskey. He sat there playing with his pen, spinning it in circles waiting for a call, a fax, something to keep him from thinking about you. He could tell the rest of the office knew something was up, their whispers and side glances never far from his eye, but since it didn’t affect his abilities as chief nobody mentioned it. It wasn’t until lunch time that he started to really care about what was going on in the office.

You showed up. You had a huge bag of freshly baked food and sweets, wearing a blue floral dress and relaxed curls as you glided towards Peggy’s desk. He closed his blinds immediately. He sat in his chair, trying to believe his eyes as he focused on his now rapid breathing. You were here, really here, and he, well he would, he was going to.. Pass out if he didn’t start breathing again. He peaked every great once in a while to see what you were doing, he saw all of your baked goods and desperately wanted to run out to you, pick you up and start all over again like nothing had happened.

But a lot had happened. He remembered what he did, how he hurt you. God, how could he be so stupid and believe that after one simple stunt you’d run back into his arms. He argued back and forth about what to do, he could start with a simple hello and reintroduce himself, he could go in bold and kiss you on the spot, he could stay hidden in his office forever. He had plenty of options. Just one last peak and then he’d decide. One last-

Gone. You’d left his sight once again. He’d missed yet another opportunity to talk to you all because he couldn’t get outside of his own head. His anger with himself translated into being extra hard on the office. All leads were to be pursued, all innovations were to be tested rigorously, and if an agent had nothing to do, it was physical training time for them.

Five o'clock finally came, everybody clocked out and ran out the door as the seconds finally came down. He’d heard the comments, he knew he was being a hard ass, but he had to do something, he couldn’t sulk about you for the rest of his life no matter how incredible you were. Maybe it was the timing, maybe you two just weren’t meant to be. Whatever it was, it was clear to Jack that he needed an hour, or two of training to keep his head straight. Maybe if he tired himself out, he wouldn’t dream of you tonight.

Jack walks home in the dark cold night of New York. It’d be faster to take a cab, but the chill of the air soothed his now scraped up hands. He’d been beating a punching bag for the last hour and a half and his hands were practically raw. None of this mattered though, because even after physically beating himself up, you were still at the forefront of his mind. He made his way to his empty house, fumbled around with the lock and went inside. The once bright colors of his living room now dull. Is this my life now? Sulking around because of some girl? That wasn’t who Chief Jack Thompson was. Yet here he was, sitting on his couch, frozen sweat covering almost every inch of his white shirt. He sunk into the cushions, leaning his head back, ready for another night drifting off thinking of you.

KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK

The loud thudding on his door shook him from his half slumber, he grumbled to himself, who the hell would be here at this hour? It was almost midnight. Any decent person should be asleep by now. He grabbed his gun, just in case, and peaked through the door. He could barely make out a shape, just one. He kept his gun on the door as he opened it slowly.

“It’s almost midnight, whatever you’re sellin better be good-” All it took was for him to turn on the porch light and he’d have seen it earlier. You. All dolled up from singing, on his doorstep.

“Oh it’s better than good I tell ya.” You said cheekily back. You knew how awkward this could be. But you had to let him know. You knew. You knew from the moment he tackled that guy it was him, and that he still cared. You knew but the touch of his hand, you just knew. His jaw had hit the floor, he motioned you to come in without a word. Half shocked, and half thrilled to see you he closed the door behind you and stood there. He didn’t move or say anything, half convinced he was dreaming, or dead.

“I got your address from Sousa. He said you wouldn’t mind a late drop by so I figured after I was done with my shift I’d come over and- well, you know.” You shuffled your feet, what did you come by here to do? You’d already said thank you, given sweets to Peggy to give to him. “I didn’t really know what to do, and now I don’t know what to say. I um, I wanted to thank you, obviously, and uh, let you know that I knew that you knew who I was. I’ve heard stories about you from Peggy, some not so great ones, but I never made the connection until the Christmas party incident.” More silence. “It wasn’t the first time I’d watched you fight somebody for me, I knew almost immediately. Just didn’t know how I felt. It’s been a long time, lots has happened..”

“I know.” He said, tears dangerously close to spilling from his eyes. “I didn’t know how you’d react if I came up to you..” Jack thought really hard about his next words. “I didn’t know if you’d punch me in the jaw-”

“Or kick you in the nuts. Trust me I thought about both.” He smiled a little at that, not that it was a comforting thought but at least you thought about him.

“But I wanted to talk to you, so badly (Y/N). I’ve missed you everyday since I left. I tried to find you as soon as we came back. I needed you and you had disappeared. I searched the whole city, asked all our old friends, nobody knew where you went. I’m this entirely new person all because I don’t have you anymore and every since the Christmas party I haven’t been able to stop myself from thinking about you. Everything I do now reminds me of you, and talking to Carter is damn near impossible. She’s just like you ya know?”

“Oh trust me I do, we’ve gotten along very well over the past six-ish years, especially after you dumped me on my doorstep.” Now you were the one about to cry. He looked a mess, and you could tell he was being honest. It hurt seeing him again, but you’d be lying to yourself if you thought you hadn’t been thinking about him too. You were ready to marry him at a moments notice back then. You’d thought of him less and less as time went on, but you still thought of him occasionally.

Neither of you spoke, keeping whatever emotions the two of you had close to heart. You walked past him, sitting on the couch and placing your bag on the living room table.

“I was doing what I thought was best. I was thinking about how if I died you’d be left with nothing but a flag and some metal tags. I was thinking..” He had to stop, thinking about leaving you that night was crushing him. He cleared his throat and began again. “I was thinking leaving you then would have been easier than you having to see me in a wooden box.”

“You know what you didn’t think of in your whole self-righteous break-up scheme?” Your tone sharpened, you were getting angry listening to him defend himself like it wasn’t a cowardly move. “Me. You forgot to include my feelings into that whole idea. You don’t think I would’ve killed to write you every day you were overseas, fighting for our freedom? Updating you on city life, sending you pictures, snacks, anything?” You were standing now, emotionally bent on getting through his thick skull. “Do you know how much it KILLED me not knowing whether you were dead or alive?! It’s not like I could call the Navy and ask how you were doing! You left me, after almost two years with nothing and nobody, I had no information, nobody who knew where you were, nothing. You think you coming back a corpse would’ve been worse? Jack I lived for years without knowing if you’d lived or died, NOW, you’re trying to tell me it was what was easier for ME? I don’t buy that bullshit for a second.”

“I could have DIED, (Y/N)! Actually died, or been captured and tortured, why would I want to put you through something like that if I didn’t have to?! I LOVED you. I couldn’t put you through that pain living or dead.” His pleading tone had no affect on your rage. You’d been holding this in since he left and it was your god given right to let him have it.

“I would’ve rather taken the fucking chance instead of bow out like a priss. You never gave me enough credit for my emotional capabilities. Yes, I would’ve been terrified to lose you, but at least I would know, at least I’d get a letter, at LEAST I’d get a call from your CO. But for YEARS I got nothing, for all I knew you were dead. And me disappearing? How could I stay in a place that was built on memories of you? Every room filled to the brim with thoughts, emotions, inside jokes? I mean come on Jack, did you really think I’d be waiting there like some old spinster for you to maybe one day return from war? I can’t believe you, you took me for some wide eyed girl and broke up with me to ease your OWN conscious and nothing more.” Your words burned as they flew from your tongue, spitting your acid covered words at a trembling Jack Thompson. He was standing now, and had taken two large steps towards you. His voice was harsh, but you could see the tears forming in his eyes, he knew you were right, he knew this was a reasonable thing to be angry about.

“Everything I did was FOR you. You don’t think it killed me not being in your life? You don’t think a piece of me died when I’d realized you’d moved on and left? You don’t think ending our relationship wasn’t the hardest thing I’ve EVER had to do? None of my decisions were easy. They might not have been right, but I did EVERYTHING for your benefit. I’m sorry they weren’t the right choices but I knew it was better than the alternative-”

“ACCORDING TO YOU!” You interrupted him quickly, you emotions bubbling at the surface as your frustration grew. “I would have rather seen you die than have to live seven YEARS without knowing, guessing at what had happened, if you were dead, alive, captured and waiting to be rescued. I wished everyday that I would die by some freak accident than deal with the heartbreak YOU gave me Jack Thompson. God I hated you. Crumbling my heart like you did. And now you’re saying you did it for me? Don’t you dare lie to my face like that. After all these years I at least deserve the truth. God I can’t BELIEVE you would jus-” He cut you off, not by yelling back, but by crashing his lips into yours, filling you with a warmth you hadn’t felt since he left. All your anger left as you moved your lips against his, wrapping your arms around his neck as he wrapped his around your waist. The two of you melted into each other, all bickering forgotten as he tangled his hand in your hair, pulling you closer to him. His heart felt like it was going a million miles a minute, increasing with every second you didn’t pull away. He had nothing left to say, no emotion he could verbally explain. He missed you, needed you back in his life and this was the only way he could think of expressing it. He held onto you, keeping you tightly pressed against him, worried that if he let go he’d lose you forever. Basking in the moment, he lifted you up at your waist, refusing the break the kiss for even a second, and sat himself down on the couch with your legs straddled over his lap. He moved both of his hands to your hair, not caring about the delicate curls he was ruining, he wanted you, ached to feel you again, nothing in his life has been satisfying since you. No completed mission, no promotion, no one night stand had ever filled the hole you left in his heart.

“Need..You..” He managed to break out in between kisses. You couldn’t bare yourself to stop either. No matter how hard you tried not to, you still loved him. His hands, his lips, the feel of his lap under your legs made you feel at ease, you were relaxed, at home with him, nothing made you feel like that, and you’d missed the feeling he gave you. Heart fluttering, you pushed into him, deepening the kiss and further relaxing you wasit onto his lap, you hands shuffled all around his face and body, half trying to convince yourself that this was what was really happening.

You broke away from the kiss for a second, trying to catch your breath and make sense of what was happening when he flipped you on your back, slowly planting kisses along your neck. You could feel him smile each time he hit a particular spot, making you inhale sharply. He was trying to make up for years of lost time in a single night. God he had missed you, just the smell of your perfume was enough to drive him crazy.

He sat up, hovering above you, gazing into your bright beautiful eyes as he spoke. “I think I’m going to take the next few days off. What d'ya think?” He asked before planting another mind blowing kiss onto your lips. Light headed from his affections, you nodded in agreement.

“Me too, mind if I crash here?”

“Doll, you’ll never leave my sight again.” He bit his tongue before finishing his sentence, thinking about what he really wanted to say, if this was the best time, or if he should wait till later. Desperately wanting this night to be perfect. He had to keep you, no running off, no hiding his emotions. If he knew one thing, only one, it’s that he wasn’t the best version of himself without you. Not beside or behind him, but if front of him, guiding him to a better life, a happier world, as long as he had you, nothing and nobody would ever lead him astray. You were his angel, his light that never stopped shining, and he knew from your very first kiss that you would be his forever. The soulmate he never expected to meet. You would be Mrs. Thompson, you would have a complete monopoly over him till the end of time.

“I love you (Y/N), always have, always will.” You smiled softly, kissing his cheek as he poured his love into you. You scanned his face, remembering all the nights you’d ended up just like this. He was it, he was your one and only, always has been, and always will be. Jack Thompson had stolen your heart years ago, and here you were, stealing his right back.

“I love you too, Jack.”

#agent carter #jack thompson #jack X reader #agent jack thompson #peggy carter #jack thompson X reader #daniel sousa #sousa #thompson #marvel #marvel mcu #marvel fanfic #marvel fanfiction #captain america #SSR

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littlereyofsunlight · 4 years

Text

The Fire is So Delightful

Hi @geekynerddemon, I’m your @steggyfanevents secret santa! You chose modern AU from the options I gave you, so I wrote you some firefighter Steve Rogers and a self-rescuing Peggy Carter. There’s a cat in a tree, plus a bunch of the usual suspects from the MCU. Chapter 2 coming shortly!

Read on AO3

ch 1/2 Rating: Gen Relationships: Peggy Carter/Steve Rogers Characters: Peggy Carter, Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanov, Clint Barton, Bucky Barnes, Sam Wilson, Sif, Dum Dum Dugan Additional Tags: Firefighter AU, Modern Day AU, romcom, meet-cute, the gang’s all here Summary: Peggy rescues a cat from a tree. Steve doesn’t help.

“Will you look after Liho for me?” Natasha’s sudden request startled Peggy out of her contemplation of the drink in front of her. They were at their usual place, a dingy little bar down the block from work where the bartenders all knew them and they could hold a conversation without having to shout over music or dodge the advances of the neighborhood suits, who generally avoided the place owing to its distinctly aggressive lack of atmosphere.

“Sorry?”

Natasha kept her eyes on her own drink, fidgeting with the straw. Natasha, normally a beer drinker, or after especially difficult weeks just straight vodka, had ordered one of the bar’s ridiculous cocktails. It was tequila-based, neon orange, came in a Tiki cup and had what looked to Peggy like an entire mint plant sticking out the top. “I’m going out of town for the holiday and I need a cat-sitter.”

Peggy had worked with Natasha on the analyst team for six years now, but she’d only ever been invited to her home once, a few months ago. “I’d be happy to, I have no plans.” As a rule, she saved the trans-Atlantic flights for better weather. Her parents weren’t big on Christmas, anyways.

Natasha gave a quick little half smile, and Peggy noticed her shoulders drop a good inch. “Thank you.” She took a sip of her drink, holding the ostentatious garnish away from her face as she did so. “My, um, ex-girlfriend is also going to be home for the holiday, so I didn’t want to just do a short trip this year. I’ll get you a key next week.” Then she changed the subject back to work, and they strategized about their supervisor’s latest power play—and speculated how their beloved admin Darcy Lewis might undermine it—until much too late for a work night.

Two weeks later, Peggy set her bag down just inside the threshold of Natasha’s bright, clean two-story duplex. “Are you sure you want me to stay?”

Nat waved her hand. “It’s such a long drive between your neighborhood and mine. If you’d be more comfortable at home, of course, Liho will be fine.”

Peggy looked around the downstairs living area, flooded with early afternoon light. “I’m sure I’ll be perfectly comfortable here. I just know how very private you are.”

Nat gave her a shy smile. “I think we’re past all that, aren’t we?”

“I’m glad you feel that way.” Peggy smiled broadly back.

“Okay, bedroom is upstairs and there are fresh sheets and towels and everything. Help yourself to anything in the fridge or pantry, of course. I got some of those yogurts you always eat, plus this—” Nat thrust a nice bottle of red wine into Peggy’s hands, though Peggy wasn’t sure exactly where she’d been hiding it up until then “—Her food is on the counter, please just the listed amounts, because she is a terrible beggar and will try to weasel more food out of you.“

“Noted,” Peggy said.

“And her litter boxes are in the bathrooms, the litter is flushable.”

“Convenient.”

“Also, she sometimes tries to escape out the front door, so look out for that.”

“So to review, your cat is a cat who acts like a cat,” Peggy teased. “I have this handled, I promise. Liho and I will get some quality time on your couch with everyone’s favorite streaming network while you spend the holiday with your sexy ex. Now get out of here. Maria’s waiting for you, isn’t she?”

“Thank you, Peggy,” Natasha said, as she rolled her eyes but pulled her in for a quick hug nonetheless. “Liho’s hiding upstairs, but she’ll probably come down around dinnertime, so like, six, if she doesn’t get curious about you before then.”

“Is she very interested in people?” Peggy’s grandmother kept cats in her little London flat, and they were always all over the place regardless of who was visiting, though she supposed that could have been more out of necessity. The few times she and her brother Michael had tried to play hide-and-seek while visiting Nana had been very anticlimactic: there were only two good child-sized (or even cat-sized) hiding spots in the whole place.

Nat shook her head. “She and I get along because we’re very similar.”

“So if I lose her, I should just put out a saucer of vodka.”

“It might work,” Nat allowed. “Smart-ass.”

“Aren’t you leaving?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Nat looked up the stairs one more time. “Thanks again. Text me if you need anything.”

“We won’t.” Peggy raised her eyebrow. “Text me if you get some this weekend.”

Nat actually blushed at that, to Peggy’s surprise. “You’re sort of wearing on my gratitude, here,” she grumbled fondly. She picked up her bag and took her coat off the hook.

Peggy threw up her hands. “Yes, I’m trying to get you to leave already!”

Laughing over her shoulder, Nat finally opened the door. “See you in a week.”

“Drive safe!” Peggy called after her.

“Oh!” Nat called, stopping beside her car. “My neighbors are all pretty friendly, don’t be surprised if someone pops by.”

Before Peggy could formulate a response (How friendly? Which neighbors? Why aren’t any of them watching your cat?), Nat was in her car and on her way. “Thanks for that advice, I guess,” Peggy said to herself. She closed the door and looked around. At least this Christmas she’d be alone in a new location, she mused. She pulled out her phone and tapped out a quick message to her friend Angie back home, even though Peggy knew she’d be asleep already. She scrolled aimlessly through the apps on her phone, hovering over the ‘dating’ folder she’d shoved Hinge and Bumble and all the rest into after the last in a series of disastrous dates over the summer. Peggy hated to admit it, even to herself, but she was lonely.

True to Natasha’s word, a small, sleek black cat poked her head through the top two spindles of the stairs promptly at six pm and, upon seeing Peggy on the couch but not Natasha, she let out a series of squeaking chirps. Peggy put down the novel she’d borrowed from Nat’s bookshelf—Lauren Beukes’s Broken Monsters, and here Peggy had thought Nat to be more of a nonfiction reader—and got up to see what Liho’s dinner situation was.

Natasha very clearly cared a great deal for the skinny little cat who, according to Nat, had turned up on her doorstep one day and invited herself to stay forever. There was a stainless steel water dish that continuously burbled up a little fountain, and two shallow dishes, one for wet food and one for dry. On the counter above the cat’s dishes, Nat had thoughtfully set out Liho’s food, all fancy brand-name specialty stuff. Liho chirped at her a few more times while Peggy dumped a can of wet into the designated bowl, and she kept making adorable little nomming noises while she chowed down. Peggy stroked her hand down the cat’s back and Liho jumped and shot Peggy an affronted look before she went back to her food.

“No touchy while eating, got it.” Peggy left the cat to her meal and grabbed her phone to see what delivery options were available in Nat’s neighborhood. As she tried to decide between Mexican and an interesting Vietnamese-fusion place, the doorbell rang.

Peggy opened the door to a barefoot, confused-looking man wearing a t-shirt despite the frigid weather. He sketched a brief wave before launching into a query in sign language, but she couldn’t hope to follow. Peggy waved back and gave him a broad “huh” gesture. He nodded and reached up to turn on the hearing aids hidden under his hat.

“Is Nat home?” he asked.

“I’m sorry, she’s not in,” Peggy responded.

“I’m her neighbor, Clint,” he said, pointing his thumb at the other side of the duplex. “I was hoping she’d want to split a takeout order.”

“Oh!” Peggy said, realization dawning. “I’m Peggy, Nat’s friend from work. I’m watching her cat for the week. Did she tell you she was going back for the holiday?”

Clint watched her lips closely and nodded as she spoke. “Right, sorry, I forgot.” He scratched the back of his head under his knit cap and squinted at her. “Do you maybe want to go in on some takeout?”

A grin spread across her face and she opened the door wider. “What do you think of the Vietnamese place?”

Clint gave her both thumbs up. “The báhn bao are freaking amazing.”

When Nat texted later that evening to let Peggy know she’d arrived, Peggy and Clint snapped a quick photo for her with their very impressive spread of food and Liho just barely visible in the background, creeping on the interlopers in her home from the top of the stairs. Nat texted back a laughing with tears emoji and then when you go to bed tonight double check under the covers. she sometimes attacks feet if she’s not expecting them

Noted, Peggy replied. More normal cat behavior.

Nat sent back the eye-roll emoji.

Have you seen Maria yet? Peggy hoped she wasn’t being too nosy. She and Nat had been friendly for years but this new level, with in-home cat-sitting and ex-sex-discussing, was still pretty new for them.

In response, a photo appeared of Nat’s slim fingers around a half-drunk pint glass. she’s meeting me in 30 minutes, got here early for some liquid courage

Peggy sent her a string of crossed fingers and martini glasses, punctuated with a purple heart.

Nat sent back a purple heart and Peggy felt it in her chest, warm and liquid. She didn’t have many good friends, and all of them were back home in the UK. Nat, standoffish, prickly, elusive Nat, was turning out to be her first real friend in the States.

Just then, Liho jumped up into Peggy’s lap and butted her head against the hand holding her phone. Now she was ready for Peggy to pet her.

Clint was good company, and he turned out to unabashedly love Love Island, which Peggy watched to keep up with Angie’s opinions on the subject, so he and Peggy re-started the beginning of the third series together and talked about how Camilla was too good for the rest of the crowd.

While Peggy got ready for bed, she poked her head around the upstairs, looking for Liho as she brushed her teeth and slathered on moisturizer, dipping back into the bathroom to spit and then to dab on a spot treatment.

“Where are you hiding, miss?” She peeked behind the door of Nat’s second bedroom, set up as an office. She spun the desk chair around, but there was no cat curled in a ball in the seat. Peggy went into Nat’s bedroom and threw back the covers, but no luck. She called and called, but Liho didn’t poke her head out, didn’t answer with a chirp. Peggy searched the whole house twice, and then remembered what Nat had said about the front door. Had it been open too long when Clint left? Peggy had said goodnight and gone to put away her leftovers, she hadn’t watched to see if the cat stayed inside. She couldn’t remember seeing her after that.

Feeling out of sorts, Peggy grabbed her phone and Nat’s key, tossed a hoodie on over her sleeping shirt and shoved her feet into her sneakers. She opened the door and stepped onto the stoop, calling softly for Liho as she shut the door firmly behind her, in case the cat was still inside. “If you’re out here, darling, please come back inside.” Peggy shivered as a cold wind blew down the street, throwing the bare branches of the tree in Nat’s yard against each other. A full moon and a cloudless sky, plus the street lamps and the festive lights on many of the houses meant the street was fairly well-lit, even at this hour.

She turned on the flashlight on her phone and swept the light around the walkway, focusing on the spots in shadow. “Liho!” She stepped off the stoop and into the yard. Over the wind, Peggy heard it. An unmistakable chirp. She spun around, trying to see the cat. “Come here, kitty!” Against her better judgement, she made kissy noises and thanked the lord no one else seemed to be out at this hour. Another chirp, and this time Peggy realized where it was coming from. She aimed her light at the tree. Standing in a vee about halfway up the old oak was Liho, shivering in the wind.

“Oh, sweetheart,” Peggy said, “did you get yourself stuck up there?” Liho chirped back at her and stayed put.

Peggy eyed the tree trunk. She’d climbed more difficult ones, to be sure, but not since primary school. She tucked her phone and keys into her pocket and zipped her hoodie up to her chin. “I’m gonna get you down,” she told the cat. “Don’t worry,” she said, mostly to herself.

As Peggy climbed, Liho retreated further up into the branches. “That’s the wrong direction!” Peggy complained. But she could keep going, so she did. The street lamp provided decent illumination, and it was a dry, cold night, so the bark wasn’t slippery against her rubber-soled shoes.

A truck rumbled down the street and stopped at a nearby house and Peggy hoped the occupants wouldn’t notice her, climbing a tree at midnight in her pajamas.

“Uh, ma’am?” A voice called up from below.

“Bugger,” Peggy cursed. No such luck.

She didn’t dare look down, the branches were starting to get thin. Liho watched the man on the street with some interest, though, which might work in Peggy’s favor. “Ma’am I’m with the fire department. Is everything okay up there?”

Peggy had to laugh. “I’m fine, just retrieving a cat. But you seem to be short a hook and ladder, or even a siren. So try again, Mr. Fireman.”

She heard a sigh from down below, but Liho was cautiously creeping towards Peggy along one of the topmost branches. “That’s it, come here.” Peggy reached out her hand and Liho came closer. Peggy braced herself against the trunk of the tree, hugging it with her thighs, and then she grabbed the cat by the scruff of her neck. Liho let out an undignified squawk but didn’t fight her grip, allowing Peggy to drag her close to her chest and hold her there.

“Good job,” the man encouraged.

“No thanks to you,” Peggy muttered. She climbed down. Liho, to her credit, submitted to Peggy’s hold like a kitten in her mama’s jaws. Soon enough, they were both out of the tree.

The supposed firefighter stood several feet away on the sidewalk, watching. “All set?” he asked.

“We’re fine.” She finally got a good look at him then, and well, he did look the part. At least six feet tall, with broad shoulders, fair hair, and a clean-cut All-American sort of look, if the chiseled jawline throwing shadows under the streetlamps were anything to go by. He wasn’t in his gear, of course, just jeans and a short leather jacket. It was still a good look on him.

He looked back up the tree. “You, uh, you’re pretty good at that.” He looked back to her and gave her a small smile.

“It’s not my first tree.” She looked him up and down. “Are you really a firefighter?”

He hooked his thumb back at his truck. “Not on duty. I heard the call on my radio, and I was nearby.” Now Peggy could see the bar of lights on the top of his truck. “I’m guessing you didn’t call this in, though? You definitely had things under control.”

She smiled despite herself. “I did have it under control.”

He nodded. “Well, glad I could be of no help at all.”

“You certainly did get here quickly, so points for that, I suppose.” She shifted the cat against her and took a tentative step closer.

“I live in the neighborhood.” He took a step closer, too. Peggy could see the wry smile on his lush mouth now. “Steve Rogers,” he offered.

“Peggy Carter. I’m just cat-sitting for a friend.” She cut him a look under her lashes, having a bit of fun. “But I’m starting to see why my friend likes this location.” Steve open and shut his mouth a few times, and then his reply was cut off by the wail of a siren. They both turned to look as a fire truck careened down the street. Steve stepped into the center of the road to flag them down. As the siren got louder, Peggy felt Liho tense under her hands, her front claws digging into Peggy’s sweatshirt. She tried to hold her close, but the cat squirmed away and bounded right back up into the tree. “Oh, Bloody Nora!”

He came back to stand beside her, hands on his hips. “Did the cat just run back up the tree?”

Peggy sighed. “The cat just ran back up the tree.”

“Well,” Steve scratched at the back of his head as he looked up to where Liho had perched herself, “I have that ladder now.”

“Captain Rogers!” Someone called from over by the truck. “Fancy meeting you here.”

Steve checked his watch. “Lieutenant Barnes, somehow I made it here a full five minutes before you did.”

“Aw, Steve, it’s a cat in a tree.”

“I told him we should get our hustle on for any call in your neighborhood, Cap,” another firefighter piped up.

“You should hustle for any call anywhere, come on, team” Steve’s voice got more commanding as he spoke with the members of the crew.

“Is that the cat’s owner?” another crew member piped up, gesturing at Peggy as she climbed down from the truck.

“I’m caring for her, yes,” Peggy replied.

The woman looked up at the tree and back at Peggy. “Would she let someone hold her if we got the ladder up there?”

Peggy considered. “She’s not great with new people.”

The firefighter nodded and looked back at Steve. “Cat bag.”

“Cat bag,” Steve agreed. “Ms. Carter here already got her down once, so I don’t think this one’s a jumper.”

The rest of the crew all exchanged looks, disbelief clear on their faces despite the truck’s flashing lights throwing strange shadows over the group. “Uh, what?” The handsome one Steve had called Barnes broke the awkward silence.

“I got her down,” Peggy explained. “Then your siren scared her and she went right back up.”

Another firefighter—also a handsome man, Peggy noticed—looked slowly between Peggy and the tree. “So if you didn’t have any trouble getting up there, then why …?” He squinted back at Peggy.

“She didn’t call this in, it must have been a neighbor.” Steve clapped his hands together. “All right, it’s cold out and I’m sure that cat wants to be warm inside, just like the rest of us. Who’s going up?”

“Not it,” both Barnes and the other one said at the same time.

“Wilson,” Barnes whined, “I got the last one.”

“Allergies, man. You’d have to dose me with Benadryl if you want me within five feet of a cat.” Wilson shrugged. “Sif, can you take this one?’

The female firefighter—yet again a very attractive person, statuesque with dark hair and big, dark eyes, Peggy was starting to wonder if the entire engine company put out a calendar every year—already had a burlap sack, which Peggy assumed was the cat bag, in her hands, along with a length of nylon rope and carabiners. She rolled her eyes at the other two. “Well, it’s not like Cap’s going to send Dum Dum up after her, is it?”

As if on cue, a fourth fire fighter stuck his head out of the truck’s door. “Everything okay out here?”

“Thanks for the help, Dugan!” Steve shouted back.

“Oh! Cap! Didn’t realize you were here!”

Steve waved him off and turned back to Sif. “You don’t want the ladder?”

Sif looked at the tree. “Nah, it’ll go faster and scare the cat less if I climb up. What’s her name?” The last part she addressed to Peggy.

“Liho.”

Sif nodded, put on some thick work gloves she produced from a pocket, clipped the cat bag to her belt and up she went.

“You know,” Peggy said, standing next to Steve as they watched Sif’s ascent, “if you lot hadn’t showed up I’d already be back in the house with the cat I’ve been entrusted to look after.”

She could hear the smile in his voice as he replied. “But then you wouldn’t have met me or my motley crew, and wouldn’t that have been a shame.”

Peggy eyed him speculatively and took a breath. “Jury’s still out. Perhaps you could buy me coffee sometime, Captain, as an apology for keeping me up so late. Give me more time to decide.” She felt brazen, hitting on a man who was there to do his work, but he wasn’t her neighbor, after all. And she was intrigued by this man, his apparent kindness, how he showed up even when his shift was over, not to mention the easy way he had with the people under his command. Captain Steve Rogers was the sort of man she wanted to get to know better. And, not to put too fine a point on it ... he was sexy.

Half his mouth quirked up in a self-conscious smile and he rubbed at the back of his neck. “Coffee, huh?” He looked at her, his ridiculously long eyelashes casting shadows on his face in the strange light. “Could we make it dinner? Tomorrow?” He shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked on the balls of his feet. “With the upcoming holidays, I’m going to be working ten days straight. Better to get it out of the way.”

“Oh.” Peggy’s spirits fell.

“No!” Steve backtracked, eyes wide. “That came out all wrong. That was me trying not to uh, sound too eager? Also, I’m tired, and one of my firefighters is up a tree, and you are a very attractive woman and you just asked me out and my brain might be short-circuiting right now?”

Peggy had to laugh at that. “Okay, okay, stop digging.”

“You have to forgive Cap,” Wilson said from behind them. “We don’t let him out much.”

“This may in fact be the first non-work conversation he’s had with a woman,” Barnes chimed in. “Sorry it was so bad. He’s terrible at flirting.”

Steve took the good-natured teasing in stride. “Watch it, you two,” he warned them, but there was only wry warmth in his tone as he shook his head.

“I agree, it was very lacklustre flirting,” Peggy said. “You’ll need to step up your game for dinner tomorrow.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Steve replied, a broad smile on his face.

“Got her!” Sif called from above. “Coming down. Good job securing a date, Cap.”

Peggy had to agree with that, too.

#steggysecretsanta #steggy fic #geekynerddemon #steve rogers #peggy carter #my fic

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cammi-writes · 5 years

Text

Title; Like a Fella Once Said

Part; part 1 | part 2 |

a / n | warnings; you’re Steve’s little sister. In this au Steve never stayed in the past and Tony had left some evidence of time travel when he had met his father

Fandom; MCU

Pairings; Bucky Barnes x Reader,

Tags; message me if you want to be tagged

There’s an exhibit in the Captain America Museum dedicated to you. The younger sister of the famous Captain America. But it’s often skipped over because, well, there’s no “wow” factor. If only they knew…

You were born in 1921. Your childhood was filled with many memories that you fondly remembered. Like, when you were 4 and Bucky had come over after school for the first time. You thought he was quite cute and every time he would talk to you, your cheeks would burn red. Your mother had always teased you about that. All the late nights Steve and you would stay awake talking about life, love and everything in between. All the new feelings Bucky had been making you feel.

Its safe to say you had a little bit of a crush on your big brother’s best friend. Bucky Barnes was every girls dream. And you spent many nights fantasizing about going steady with him. You never told anybody but in your journal you had even wrote down details about how you would have liked your wedding to be.

You had never expected Bucky to choose you. After all, you had seen the girls he would take out dancing. Oh, how many times you had wished that you had be one of those girls. You wondered about a lot of things. You wondered what he had done on those dates. Would his hands linger? Would he kiss them? Would he go… further… with them? Both of them? You had seen how often Steve and Bucky would go out on double dates and Steve would come home early. But every time, one question would linger. Was this the time he fell in love with one of them?

So when Bucky showed up on your doorstep with a bouquet of flowers, asking you to go steady, you could barely believe it.

“Are those for Steve?” You had giggled when you opened the door to your apartment.

“No, doll” Bucky flashed you a smirk and your insides churned. “They’re for you.”

“I was wondering when you would bring me my birthday gift” You smiled brightly at the man in front of you. “You only turn 18 once”

“Well, I hate to disappoint but these aren’t a birthday gift” Bucky laughed, and you frowned.

“Oh? What are they for then?” You asked, your eyebrows scrunching together.

“I guess persuasion” Bucky laughed again and continued. “I want to ask you something”

“What is it, James?” You were growing impatient. Bucky only smiled at your use of his first name.

“Will you be my girl?”

Your heart nearly exploded that day. It was the best moment of your life. Turns out, Steve had known all about Bucky’s plan. Later that night, Steve had told you that Bucky had always had a thing for you. You didn’t believe it until Bucky had told you on your first date.

The years following were amazing. He was a perfect gentleman and you were the perfect lady. At some point he had moved into you and Steve’s apartment. He claimed he wanted to “help” out but Steve always said it was because he had wanted to be around you more. You would wake up early to make breakfast for the boys, make them lunch to bring to work and cook their dinner. You did everything your mother taught you and you were proud.

Everything was beautiful until Bucky was enlisted. You remember the day like yesterday.

“What’s going on?” You had just came home from the market and both boys looked sullen, but for different reasons.

“We went to the recruiters today” Steve spoke and you already knew what was going on. You had heard from your married girlfriends about how their husbands had been enlisted.

You already knew who had been approved and who had been denied. You had felt the tears well up in your eyes.

“Doll...” Bucky had stood up to come comfort you but you had stopped him.

“It’s okay!” You pushed your fear down. “I mean we don’t know if you’re going to be drafted! There has to be thousands of men enlisting every day”

Bucky had laughed and agreed with you. But you could see the look in his eyes. He didn’t believe it and neither did you.

It all came crashing down around you when Bucky got his pink slip. The same day he had proposed to you.

You had tears of joy running down your face and you had been at your neighbors, showing them the ring when Bucky and Steve got the news.

“I’m shipping out tomorrow morning” You had overheard Bucky say.

“I should be going with you” Steve sounded angry.

“You need to stick around to take care of Y/n, Steve. She needs someone. You know the risks-“

“You’re leaving” Your voice made Bucky’s heart break.

“Doll-“

“Please don’t go, Bucky” You had rushed into his arms, crying out all the tears you had kept bottled up the past few months. “Please don’t leave me.”

“You know I wouldn’t leave you if I didn’t have to, Y/n” Bucky whispered into your hair and your believed him because of the way he held you like he never wanted to leave you.

The last time you had seen James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes, he was getting into a taxi outside of your apartment. He was wearing his uniform hat and he gave you a classic Bucky smile before waving at you through the car window. And that was the last image you had of Bucky in your brain.

You had written each other as much as you could. You loved reading his letters. That’s what you had been doing when Steve had come home, all bulked out after the Super Soldier serum. At first you had thought he was Bucky until you remembered that, that wasn’t possible. So, you tried to beat him with your umbrella.

You remember the shock when the lights turned on and your brother had been turned into… well a man. You remembered scolding him for letting a German scientist experiment on him.

The last time you had seen Steve, he was leaving for an overseas show. It had saddened you because the past few weeks, Bucky had stopped writing you. You were terrified that something bad had happened and Steve promised you that he would make sure to check on him.

You’re still kind of annoyed that your last memory of your brother, he was wearing that stupid costume.

Over the next few months you had learned that Steve had rescued Bucky and now they were part of a group fighting HYDRA.

Anger is what you felt when you found out that Bucky had been presumed dead. You didn’t find out from your brother. You had found out by two soldiers who had shown up at your apartment. You remember the ache in your chest and the pitiful stares you had gotten from your neighbors. They knew.

Not long after that, Howard Stark and Peggy Carter were on your doorstep to let you know that your brother had sacrificed himself for his country. The anger was gone, and the absolute misery had set in.

You were alone in the world. Everyone you had loved was gone.

The public said you went missing three years later. Your neighbors found your apartment ransacked and it was believed that someone and just snatched up the lonely woman that lived in their building. But in reality, Peggy Carter and Howard Stark had showed up at your doorsteps again.

This time with an offer you couldn’t resist. Join SHIELD and continue your brother’s work.

That’s what you had did for the following 7 years. Rising rank. Becoming the best at what you did. Slowly you realized that you were no longer the woman that you once were. No longer did your hands have flour on them, now they had blood.

Did that bother you? Only a little bit. You had wondered what your brother and fiancé would have thought of you. Would they feel disgusted with you? Would they hate you? You didn’t like thinking about that because it got you nowhere. They were dead. You were alive. People change.

When Howard had said that he had harnessed the ability to time travel, you had laughed in his face. And then suddenly you were whisked into a whole new side of SHIELD. You thought it was pretty neat being an agent that was sent on missions throughout time. Sometimes you wished you could tell Steve how amazing it was.

It was neat until an HYDRA agent had snuck into your facility and you had followed after him, all the way to 2024.

Now you were face-to-face with the two men in your life that you mourned for. Alive and young. Staring at you with complete shock. But it had been 10 years and you had a mission.

Eliminate the target. And he was currently slipping away into the crowd.

#cammi-writes #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky barnes #bucky barnes imagine #james buchanan barnes #james buchanan bucky barnes #captain america #steve rogers #marvel #marvel imagine

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welllpthisishappening · 5 years

Note

So the stars lost and I’m very sad... if you could write anything fluffy from blue line I’d be eternally greatful. Maybe something with kissing....lots of kissing and maybe kissing that embarrasses their son Tyler Seguin — I mean Matt, I totally mean matt Anyways I love you

I was very sad for the Stars last night. So, I feel your pain here. Also, I realized after I wrote this that you, probably, were looking for something when Matt was slightly older, but that…didn’t happen. Because is it a prompt if I don’t really follow the prompt?

Anyway. Here is the following: Matt being a lil’ shit about sleeping, quasi-smut, cute kids, and wedding rings. I posted this at work.

(Someday I’ll also post all those one-shots I have where the kids are older and still just as scandalized by their parent’s inability to make out behind closed doors. Someday. Really.)

“Ok, Mattie, c’mon, we’ve got to go.”

He gaped at her – all wide eyes and mouth hanging open,breath coming in something far too close to pants, and Emma did her best tokeep her expression impassive. She’d known this was coming. Dropping gloves, orsomething.

But it had been a very long road trip and the western swingswere always the worst. Which was a very strange adjective to use when thewestern swing had ended in three straight victories and points in every one ofthose victories and Matt had spent the better part of the last week dissectingevery single facet of Killian’s game.

With more than a few interjections from Peggy.

Who had several opinions about angles and screening the netthat were, honestly, pretty goddamn impressive.

“I’m serious,” Emma said, trying to infuse as much honestyinto her face. “You should have been asleep, like, two hours ago.”

“I would have missed the last two periods then!”

Emma hummed, a quick nod and twist of her lips because hewas, as usual with most hockey-related things, very correct. She wasn’t surehow it was possible to be more than just straight-up correct, but Emma alsokind of wished she’d been asleep two hours ago.

She would have missed that goal, though.

It was a very good goal.

Matt was never going to stop talking about that goal.

“Yeah, I know, kid,” Emma mumbled. She reached out to tryand grab the stick out of his hand, but he had impossibly quick reflexes andshe’d never resented genetics more in her life. Peggy had fallen asleepsomewhere. God, she should know where her kids were falling asleep. “But it isvery late and—”

“—I don’t have school tomorrow!”

Emma made another noise – biting back an incrediblysarcastic retort her kid did not deserve because he was a kid and his dad wasridiculously good at playing hockey and she could just make out Peggy’s hair inone of the booths at the other end of the restaurant. She had her head restingon Ariel’s leg.

Ariel waved.

“Give me the stick, Matthew,” Emma said evenly, flutteringher fingers in open air. He sighed, but did as she asked, slumped shoulders anda sneer to his lip that they were going to have to do something about soonerrather than later.

“It is—what time is it?” She glanced around the restaurant,not sure what she was looking for, but maybe a more responsible adult and MaryMargaret held up one finger. There was another kid draped over her shoulder.“Oh my God,” Emma muttered, more hand movements and Matt slid off the stoolwithout much prompting. Maybe they were getting somewhere. “Let’s go.”

It took more time than she would have liked to get out ofthe restaurant, but Emma almost expected it at that point – far too many peopleand trying not wake up Peggy while still holding a stick because Matt woulddefinitely start shooting again if he held the stick again. But that alsodissolved into discussion of that goal because it was a really good goal andshe was going to have remember to ask Killian if he was aiming for the postthat way or if that was just luck and—

She didn’t remember falling asleep.

She had no intention of falling asleep.

She had every intention of sitting on that couch, somethingalmost resembling coy, which felt kind of like a lame word, but he’d been gonefor almost a week and Emma always got a little antsy on the western swings.

Falling asleep felt like snapping the win streak.

He laughed when he stopped in front of the couch, and shehadn’t even heard him drop his equipment bag, which meant several things thatEmma could not be expected to think about while she was still half-asleep, fartoo romantic, even after years and slightly petulant kids and—

“Hey,” she mumbled, one eye cracked open. It was enough tosee Killian’s lips turn up, not quite a full smirk because he was probablypretty exhausted too and the words playoffpush had been thrown around more times than she could count in the last fewweeks.

He crouched down. It was stupid. It was not stupid. So, itwas actually kind of nice, and Emma opened her other eye to find several piecesof hair falling artfully over his forehead and his tie already undone, eitherside hanging around his neck and she refused to be held accountable forwhatever noise she made as soon as his fingers grazed the side of her hip.

“Hey. Do we not own several different beds?”

Emma rolled her eyes, burrowing further into the severalpillows under her head. “You’re very funny.”

“That was a legitimate question.”

“Were you trying to hit the post?”

“You think I banked that shot in on purpose?”

“I mean,” Emma started, and she really could not think whenhe looked at her like that. A little incredulous. A little stunned. A littleoverwhelmed at finding her on the couch. Wearing his number. “Isn’t that acompliment?”

Killian tilted his head, which only made the hair move andthat was not fair and something about offside probably. She was losing her gripon these metaphors. “Ah, depends on the context, I guess,” he shrugged, fingersstill moving like they were following a pattern. Or just making up for a weekof lost time. “Although I think you might be giving me more credit than thatshot deserves.”

“Maybe I’m just very impressed by your clear hockey talent.”

“That so?”

Emma nodded, at least tried, pillows twisting and hearthammering erratically against her chest. Maybe western swings weren’t all that bad.If they ended like this. And only like this.

The win streak was back on.

Or, whatever.

“It was a good goal,” she reasoned, voice dropping low ofits own accord and the two sleeping kids a few feet down the hall. Who had onlyargued slightly about actually going to sleep. Peggy had woken up in the caruptown.

They’d watched the replay of Killian’s goal sixteen times.Emma had counted.

“It does sound like a compliment in this context.”

“Weird.”

“The weirdest,” he muttered, and his calves must have hurt,crouched like that, but he didn’t seem all that inclined to stand back up,particularly when he leaned forward to catch Emma’s lips. She made anotherridiculous noise.

She’d blame the time. And the couch. And that goal. God, itwas a good goal.

Killian grinned against her, whatever he did with his tonguealso pretty impressive in context and Emma hoped she didn’t fall off the couch.That would probably ruin the moment. It was, however, a precarious balancingact, Killian resting most of his weight on his heels with one hand in Emma’shair and the other trying to do something completely unfair to her shirt.

She twisted forward, slinging an arm around his neck and herfingers weren’t actually going for the tie, but they curled around the fabricand one of them probably laughed when she flung it across the room.

It landed on a hockey stick.

They owned so many goddamn hockey sticks.

“That aim, Swan,” Killian laughed, widening his eyes whenEmma clicked her tongue at the overall volume of his voice.

“I’m going to fall on the floor.”

“Less of a compliment, I’ll be honest.”

“Seriously, not that funny. And far too confident in yourown reflexes.”

Killian nodded, a quick quirk of his lips that was finally that stupid smirk and Emmaignored whatever was happening in the pit of her stomach. “I have veryimpressive reflexes that,” he paused to nip at her lower lip, hand finallyfinding its way under her shirt and Emma arched as soon as his palm flattenedagainst her back, “you are very into.”

“Very into?”

“That’s a fact, love.”

“Yuh huh, yuh huh,” Emma grumbled, but it was difficult tocontinue speaking in coherent sentences when his fingers were driftingdangerously close to the back of her bra.

He flicked the clasp.

She could still feel him smiling.

“Oh, shut up.”

“I didn’t actually say anything.”

“You were thinking it.”

“Ah, of course,” Killian said, rolling his shoulder forwarduntil she was on her back and the room felt like it was spinning. He stillcould not be comfortable, twisted over her until it felt like every inch of himwas touching every inch of her and her shirt was a lost cause. “You’ve got totake this off, love.”

“You are in the way.”

He did something absurd with his eyebrows, a flash in hisgaze that made Emma inhale sharply and she barely got her left arm out of thesleeve before his fingers were dragging over her stomach and drifting closer tothe top of her leggings.

“Tease,” Emma accused, just barely able to see Killian’stongue swipe his lower lip. She knocked a pillow on the floor when his teethfound the curve of her hip, barely grazing the skin.

There were goosebumps there now, though.

“Maybe you’re just a little greedy.”

“That is rude.”

“It’s not an insult, love,” he promised, but the words werehardly that when he continued to move further down her side, fingers splayedout on the inside of her leg. They didn’t seem to move with much purpose, justbarely making contact on the fabric there and Emma kept rolling her hips in thehopes of something, anything,happening, some kind of friction or movement or…anything.

Killian laughed again, darker and a little more determined,as if he’d been thinking about this for the last week as well and Emma couldnot be expected to cope with that. Not when he’d started moving his thumb aswell, tiny circles and a little bit of pressure and Emma’s teeth dug into herlower lip tight enough she was worried she was going to hurt herself.

“I hate you,” she muttered, the worst lie she’d told in, atleast, several seasons.

“That so?” Emma nodded, fully intending to respond, but thenhis hand moved again, and Killian glanced up, smiling like several differentclichés and metaphors that did not matter when his fingers pushed under the topof her leggings. Only to pull back out just as quickly.

Emma bit her lip. “Oh, I’m going to kick you.”

“Swan.”

“Right in the side of the leg. Where you blocked that shotin San Jose.”

“It’s actually not that bad anymore, actually. The oneyou’ve got to be worried about is, like, my lower left rib. I got checked therein the first period and it hurt like hell, but the last bruise is apparently agood color now and Red said—”

“—Hey,” Emma interrupted quickly. “Maybe we don’t mentionbruise color and Ariel while I’m actively trying to have sex with you, huh?”

Killian made a noise – not quite an agreement, but somethingthat was a bit more like hope and a week-long road trip and—“You know,” he saidslowly, dropping his head to mouth at the side of her neck and Emma was goingto permanent damage to her spine. If she didn’t fall off the couch. She wasgenuinely worried about that. “We really do own a bed. It’s bigger than this.”

“That a fact?”

“Swan, you’re really not playing along and it’s not as funthen.”

She might have giggled, but that also felt a little lame,all things considered and his eyes fluttered shut when she let her nails grazethe back of his neck. “Right, right, the winning hockey games wasn’t all thatfun, then?”

“What was that you said to me about being funny?”

“That was sarcastic.”

“Yes,” Killian nodded, nipping at the bridge of her nose andletting his thumb brush across the inside of her wrist. “So, thoughts? Bed? Thepresumed lack of clothing?”

Emma bit back a smile, but that was harder than she expectedand that was…wonderful. Really. “Do you usually have to make things so obvious,Cap?”

She wasn’t sure if there was actually a word for whatevernoise Killian made that time – half a growl and a bit of frustration and aneven larger hint of absolute, stupid attraction which was absolutely stupid andthe opposite. He arched an eyebrow, back on his feet with his tongue pressed tothe corner of his mouth.

“Do not make noise,” he muttered, all the warning Emma gotbefore she wasn’t on the couch, but hanging halfway in the air, a soft gruntout of him that might not have been a compliment and entirely his fault. Shegasped, despite her best efforts, eyes going wide and arms clinging to him likethere was actually any kind of imminent threat.

“Are you kidding me?”

“Impressed?”

“You are an idiot. How many minutes did you play tonight?”

“Ok, but do you not know that?” She did. Always. Or forever.Or whatever. She tightened her arms. “Swan, this isn’t actually going to workif you choke me before we get to the fun part.”

“Oh, my God.”

“You’re charmed, love, you can admit it.”

“If you strain something I refuse to be held accountable forany of it,” Emma said, but they both knew it was a ridiculous lie and it wasn’tall that far too their bedroom.

At least, usually.

At least when there wasn’t a kid standing there.

“Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad,” Matt chanted, running forward beforehis whole expression changed and Emma had to bury her face in Killian’s neck.Mostly so her kid could not see her blushing. Her shirt was yanked halfway upher body. “What are you guys doing?”

Emma’s whole body shook when Killian started to laugh, notquite parental, but it was the middleof the night and they’d agreed. Sixteen replays and then sleep. “What are youdoing out here, kid?” Killian asked, voice still shaking just a bit and Emmatried to move her shirt. “Swan,” he hissed, and Matt’s eyes should not havebeen that wide.

Matt shook his head slowly, mouth hanging open for a totallydifferent reason than it had in the restaurant. And it wasn’t really the firsttime it had happened. There’d been close calls and they were exceptionally badat not making out in a variety of NHLarenas, but Matt was older now and probably understood a few more things andEmma’s face felt like it had burst into flames at some point.

“What are you doing up, kid?” Emma asked, desperate to soundlike some kind of authority figure when her bra was barely staying on her body.“We did this already.”

He nodded that time. The movement was still impossibly slow,as if the moment was imprinting itself on his brain and subconscious and Emmaknew she needed to get back on the ground, but she had some dim memories aboutgravity and she assumed none of them were working in her favor right then.

“Yeah,” Matt mumbled, digging his toes into the carpet,“but, well, then I heard you and Dad talking and—hey, Dad.”

“Hey, kid,” Killian said, smile obvious despite theabsurdity of the situation. Because it was absurd. But it was also kind of niceand as expected as taking twenty minutes to get out of the restaurant. “Notcool coming out here when you should be asleep.”

“You just got home, though!”

“Yeah, that’s not how it works.”

Matt opened his mouth to argue, but Emma didn’t actuallyhave to turn to know Killian’s eyes had gone thin and his brows had pulled lowand that always worked. Even when hemoved her, trying to shift herfurther down his chest and towards the legs he kept rocking back and forth on.

And if she thought about the reason for that for too long,Emma was sure, she was never going to stop laughing.

“It was a good goal, though,” Matt added, quieter than he’dbeen all night, like he knew he was breaking the rules. And possibly ruiningthe moment. “Were you trying to hit the post?”

Emma cackled. Honestly, that was the only word for it.Killian barely kept his hold on her, eyes widening in unspoken warning becauseher shirt was in a particularly precarious position at that point, and he’dplayed nearly seventeen minutes that night, it was only a matter of time beforehis forearms gave out.

“I told you,” she muttered, stabbing the middle of hischest. She could feel his wedding ring hanging there. That felt heavy-handed.And nice. Really nice.

They’d totally scandalized Matt.

“I was not trying to hit the post,” Killian answered. “Butthat would have been pretty cool, right?”

Matt’s eyes brightened, the latest head shake a return toenthusiasm and a complete disregard for his parents attempts at romance. “Yeah,yeah, yeah,” he shouted, and it was really only a matter of time. The footstepsraced down the hallway, Emma’s quiet ohmy God barely audible when her head was pressed into Killian’s shoulder andit was much harder to get back on her feet than it should have been.

“Daddy,” Peggy cried, taking off almost immediately and itsounded as if all the air in Killian’s lungs flew out of him as soon as shecrashed into his chest. He wobbled on his feet slightly, but managed to catchher without much threat of injury or further damage to his ribs, hitching herfurther up his side when his arm found its way under her legs. “Hi!”

“Hey little love. You should be asleep.”

“But you’re home! You’ve been gone forever.”

“That’s not entirely true, Pegs, it’s—” He cut himself offwhen he glanced at Emma, whatever reaction her face was staging entirelyunexpected and not at all planned, because this was part of the deal, literallyand metaphorically, but she hated the western swing and—

“Felt a little like forever,” Emma whispered with a shrug.

Killian shook his head, somehow managing to find a bit moreoxygen so he could immediately let out it, a soft sigh and what might have beenpure, unadulterated happiness. Even when Emma tried to rehook her bra.

“Something about all those wins, right?’

“That’s not even clever.”

“You’re into it.”

Emma couldn’t argue. She was stupid into it. “Yeah,” shenodded, moving back into his space and it wasn’t easy to kiss him with a kidhanging off one side and the one kid gagging like his whole life was beingruined, but neither of those kids had wanted to go to sleep without seeingtheir dad first, so Emma figured it was a wash.

“Can we watch the goal again?” Matt asked, already sprintingtowards the coffee table and the team-provided tablet there. He nearly knockedboth things over.

“Oh my God, Mattie,” Emma sighed. “And it’s probably dead.”He spun on the spot, dangerously close to distraught and she was going to beparental. She was going to be an authority. She was really glad neither one ofthem had missed the last two periods. “My phone is on the kitchen counter.”

Matt sprinted across the apartment.

And Peggy was already starting to fade, curling closer toKillian’s side with her fingers gripping the front of his shirt. “How manytimes?” he asked.

“That confident, huh?” Emma asked. He couldn’t shrug with asleeping kid draped across him. She was definitely asleep again. “This willmake seventeen.”

Killian grinned, careful steps back to the couch and theygot through several rewatches of the goal and a few other highlights beforeMatt’s eyelashes started to flutter, head on Emma’s leg and arm flung acrossher middle and—

“I think we may be stuck, Cap,” she muttered, surprisinglyalmost comfortable despite the knee threatening to push into the generalvicinity of her spleen.

“Ah, not the worst thing. Here,” Killian added. It took a momentto twist, muttering quiet words into Peggy’s hair when she started to stiragain, and Emma’s heart flipped and flopped and possibly exploded as soon as hegot the chain over his neck. “You impossibly charmed, yet?”

“Getting there.”

“A work in progress, then.”

Emma rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t bring herself toactually deny it, the ring back on his finger and her head lolling towards hisshoulder, an exhaustion that was almost as deceptively comfortable as the couchand possibly their lives and winning three on the road like that would definitelyhelp the playoff push that season.

#cs ff #captain swan #cs fic #blue line one shots #laura rambles #stealing-vengence #listen #this may be almost close to getting smut from me #honestly

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afictionaladventure16 · 5 years

Text

The Pen Pal Project (Chris Evans x Latina!OC)

Masterlist

Previously on The Pen Pal Project...

Warnings: Cute gif of Chris Evans ahead.

Word Count: Uhhhhh

Chapter 3

Letter #3

October 31th, 2019

Chris’s POV

Chris woke up, doing his usual routine when he was home. Which consisted of him working out and things that kind of included Dodger in the mix. But it was Halloween, Chris seemed to be rushing his usual routine in order to get to his sisters' house to see his young Niece’s and Nephews.

It wasn’t until he was at his sister's house that he had received a phone call, excusing himself to the other room he quickly answered the call, knowing the number all too well.

“Hello?”

“Mr. Evans?” A soft voice said in the other line, “this is Dr. Holts receptionists, I’m assuming you know why I am calling.”

Chris chuckled, “yeah, I do, I can pick up the letter in an hour if that’s alright?”

“Perfectly fine, see you then, Mr. Evans,” with that the girl hung up the phone.

“What was that all about?” He heard his sister ask from behind him, he quickly turned around and smiled at his older sister, Carly.

“Just my therapist, wanting me to pick up a letter.” She looked at him with a raised eyebrow, “she asked me to be a part of this project of hers, in which I get a letter from a stranger and we communicate that way.”

“Sounds interesting,” she said as she sat on the couch, “tell me more.”

“Well, she wants to know if this would make some people feel better, maybe the effect of writing down their problems to a stranger and sending it out only to wait a couple days for a reply would help a person deal with things emotionally. Maybe it’ll help them to wait things out if things turn for the worse,” Chris hoped his sister knew what he was implying. It wasn’t something that had crossed Chris’s mind but he knew that many people out there have thought of it. It saddened him at the thought. At the thought that many fans of his had ever dealt with it.

If he could help prevent that in any way, Chris wouldn’t hesitate to do it.

“Well, what do you know about this person?”

“Well, from what I know, her name is Julie and she’s a waitress in California.... so far that’s it. Also, she loves Star Wars and dogs.”

“sounds like your kind of girl,” Carly mumbled but she didn’t mumble low enough because Chris heard her, easily giving her a small glare.

“No, Carly,” he sighed, “probably isn’t the best idea.”

“Well, you never know!”

“She’s twenty-three anyways, you know how people are with age-gaps.”

“Yeah, and let me tell you that age doesn’t really matter. Well, it does in some cases but not in this one!” Chris sighed, not wanting to hear this from his sister, he already hated the thought of almost being forty and alone. No wife or kids. It felt like if anything were to happen with someone it’d be rushed, “Look, I’m just saying, don’t say no just yet. Just... Just let things happen if it were to happen.”

Chris rolled her eyes, “it’s just a pen pal, Carly, nothing else. Alright?”

Carly sighed, “alright.”

“Look I should get going, I’ll be back later to help the kids with their costumes,” Chris said as gave his sister a kiss on the cheek before leaving the house.

Chris began his drive to his therapist's office. The talk he had with his sister Carly not once leaving his mind. “just a pen pal,” he reminded himself as he focused on the road, “nothing is going to happen, we’ll probably only send each other a handful of letters before one of us gets tired of the other.” Chris didn’t want to think that way if anything he wanted this project to work. He wanted to find sources for people to seek help.

But Chris couldn’t help but think of how much this girl, Julie, made him laugh. The way she wrote her letters, he couldn’t help but wonder if she were the same way in real life. Did the words, the comebacks, slip out of her tongue the way they so easily come into a sentence on a piece of paper? did she write that letter with ease or did she sit down for hours contemplating on what to say?

Chris didn’t know. But he knew that there was some sort of connection.

Chris finally arrived at his therapist's office, he greeted the receptionist as she gave him his letter, “they sure do arrive quickly,” he commented.

“Priority mail,” she said with a small smile. He said his goodbyes and then walked over to his car. He couldn’t wait to get home, so he opened the letter right there in his car, in front of his therapist's office.

Dear Chris,

I feel that after a while, we will stop using ‘Dear’ and end up using ‘wassup, Chris.’ I dunno, just a random thought. But you are right, it is a ‘my bad’ that I did not give you my last name. Although I have to say, I like the mystery of it. No last name, just first names. Keeps us guessing. Like your last name can be Smith. Chris Smith. Nah, now that I wrote it, it doesn’t sound as great as it did in my head. Plus, it’s such a basic last name for such a basic first name. Did I just roast you? Wow.

I guess that just means that you are officially my friend. Congrats. Don’t expect me to lend you any money.

And to answer your question as to if I like waitressing… it’s in between yes and no. There are rude customers and the very nice customers that make me love my job. And career-wise? No clue. I guess I started waitressing while I thought about it what I wanted to do career-wise, but now, I don’t know. I thought it would be photography but now I’m not sure. I thought I was so good at photography, but things happened with family and I just... stopped. It was a dream of mine.

Anyways, these letters are way different than texting and although I do prefer texting, this is nice. Different. I feel like I’m in the fifties, with some Etta James playing in the background, writing to some long-lost relative and wondering when my husband will come back from the war.

Chris chuckled, “sounds something like what Steve would do, or maybe even Peggy?” He shook his head and kept reading.

Thirty-seven? Wow, I imagine you like some old guy that probably is a secret ax murderer. Are you an ax murderer? An ax murderer wouldn’t tell me that. Unless he did just so I wouldn’t believe him, so he’d be off the hook, you know? I say, ‘you know’ a lot.

And what does ‘career in the arts’ mean? Do you make porn? Is that what that means? Is it a fancy way of saying that you a porn artist? Because if it is, I’m cool with it and I have lots of follow up questions. One for example, do you ever get recognized in the streets? Or in the sheets, if you know what I mean? ; )

I’ve been dealing with my anxiety since I could remember. Different triggers now that I am older, though. We will always need help, I guess.

Alright, you are immediately one of my favorite humans. And that’s saying a lot because there isn’t many. Dogs are EVERYTHING. I have one, Boo. Don’t judge on the name. I had him since I was five. He’s my baby and my everything. The poor little guy is on his last days, though. Sad to see him that way, you know? He’s helped me through so much, my anxiety, depression, my parent's divorce. He lives with my dad, my apartment complex doesn’t accept dogs. Rude right? How old is Dodger? And why the name Dodger?

Question: Do you have any siblings?

Thought I should add that since we are getting to know each other we must keep this huge conversation going, you know?

Later Vader.

P.S. If you like ‘Toodles’ then why didn’t you use it? I think you should use it. I better see ‘Toodles’ in my next letter. It’s a good thing you do like Star Wars. Lit? I think so. I’m not sure. I’m no longer up to date with the things kids say nowadays. I’m pretty sure Lit is still cool, though. I’ll have to ask my nephews when I see them.

Chris sat there in his car, rereading the letter over and over, he looked at his therapist's office, noticing they were still open. He got out of his car, quickly making his way over to the office, “Do you have a pen and paper? maybe even an envelope?” The receptionist looked at him confused but handed him the materials he needed, he thanked her and began scribbling some things on the paper, “are you writing back already?” She asked as she watched as he wrote fairly quickly.

he chuckled, “just couldn’t wait... you said you guys send this through priority mail, correct?” She gave him a nod. “Great!”

#chris evans #chris evans fanfic #chris evans imagine #chris evans one shot #Chris Evans fandom #chris evans x latina!reader #chris evans x latina reader #chris evans x latina #chris evans x reader #chris evans x oc #chris evans x latina!oc #chris evans x latina oc #chris evans fanfiction #the pen pal project chris evans #the pen pal project #chris evans x you #chris evans x ofc #chris evans x y/n

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arcticwaters · 5 years

Text

so i normally don’t share my in depth thoughts on movies (idk why, i just prefer to be like, “i saw it, i liked it!”) but since the avengers have been a pretty big part of my life the past seven years i thought i would write out my feelings and views of endgame, this being the end of the era and all. especially since this movie hugely affected the three characters i cared about the most: tony, steve, and my beloved natasha.

it should go without saying but spoilers under the cut, i’ll be going pretty extensively into the ending.

the good

everything about rhodey. don cheadle has amazing comedic timing

carol’s new hair

“who here hasn’t been to space?”

hey a gay/bi man! that’s pretty cool

natasha appears to be the quasi leader, i love that

sob she and steve are so soft. soul mates

ant man is?? so funny??

everyone finally reunited and appear to have made up. it’s great to see them all on screen together.

it’s always nice to see pepper

the scenes where they’re trying to figure out time travel and then trying to remember where all the stones are. (tony and natasha laying next to each other, legs almost touching, is my most blessed moment of 2019.)

nat saying “see you in a minute” then laughing at her own joke. remember when everyone assumed she was a joyless robot?

look i hATE time travel but all those call backs and visits to previous movies, i can’t hate that.

always good to see peggy

the part where the guardian’s opening scene music is playing, and then it cuts to rhodey judging peter.

mjolnir!!

steve is worthy !!

that climax is amazing, absolutely amazing. i was cheering, people around me were cheering, my younger sister was wailing.

girl team up !!

i think i liked carol here more than in her movie?? i came out of captain marvel liking her fine, but there was something about bri larson’s acting (or maybe it was the directing) that was kind of lacking. maybe it was cause i was already familiar with her, but i felt a little more character for her here. which is really odd cause she did this before captain marvel apparently.

queen valkyrie

sam is cap my LAD SAM SAM SAM

bucky was barely in it

hulkwidow appears to be entirely platonic, the evil has been defeated.

plenty of other things that i’m just not remembering right now

the bad

did five years really need to pass???? it didn’t really do much for the story. you could’ve gotten away with just one. now far from home is gonna be weird. (pretty sure they only did this time skip to give tony a child who wasn’t a baby and could actually speak but like... i wouldn’t have been upset if she was a baby?)

a lot of jokes went on too long. this movie was 3 hours long because ant man and thor sometimes talked too much. pretty much anytime thor was on screen i was saying “ok go away, get him out of here.” i wasn’t really upset at what they’d done with his character, they just needed to really reel in some of his rambling. you know something's gone wrong when thor isn’t being extremely charming. editing guys, just a touch more editing. snappy dialogue is always better than overly long.

so bruce’s struggle with hulk, a major plot line from the beginning, something that came to a head in just your last movie, is solved.... off screen. ok.

are bruce and valkyire not friends? :c i loved them, they were so cute in thor 3

carol and okoye were not in it enough. i actually forgot about carol until she showed up for the fight.

as i said, i am not a fan of time travel. it ultimately just makes everything confusing and convoluted. i get that like... ok, so it’s not really time travel, it’s more universe hopping, but the idea of 2014 thanos, gamora, and nebula coming through to the future.... it’s dumb. it’s just.... i was not on board. it just opened up too many questions and also was just too bombastic. the big grand finale should've been something else.

also.... what happened to 2014 gamora? did she disappear? is she just... out there??? what a cop out, that’s not our gamora. that gamora never said “i don’t know what cheers is!”

i’m not mad at tony’s death. i get it. i think it was extremely well done. he made the big sacrifice play, and we all knew tony or steve would be the ones most likely to die. i get it. but i’m putting it under bad because i didn’t want anyone to die. sPEAKING-

the how dare you

natasha deserved better. this is the character who has kept me invested in these movies and now she’s just gone. the first true superheroine of this franchise, who’s been in more movies than anyone else, and they just throw her off a cliff... for clint? who’s barely been here?? look i get it, they’re best friends (i’ve never been a clintasha, actively dislike it actually, but i do enjoy their scenes when they get them.) but what a slap in the face. she deserved to be in that girl team up. i couldn’t even fully enjoy it.

and worst to me personally, they killed her off just because he has a family. i’m sorry?? that makes his life more valuable then her’s??? i get that losing him would be extremely rough on his family, but i do NOT like the message that that makes her more expendable than him. what about natasha’s found family, the lives she touched? the good she could’ve continued to do? that doesn’t matter? and i really can’t stress how much more screentime she’s had them him; from an out of universe character standpoint, she is absolutely more valuable than him.

i do not think it was out of character for her to give her life (and god at least it was her choice, unlike poor gamora,) i see the idea of the beauty in this character “redeeming” herself by giving her life to get one of the stones in the only way possible. they couldn’t have saved the world without her. but why was death her only way to wipe out her red? why couldn’t she have lived to continue on being a hero? maybe be the new fury, connect her to agents of shield.

i’m particularly mad at how little steve seemed to mourn. they shared more movies together than anyone else, making them her best relationship; they’re inseparable in iw. all that on screen, multiple movie long build up, and all we get is some tears. and these are the same people who wrote the majority of that relationship, there’s no excuse.

she doesn’t even get a funeral!! just one last mention from clint. what about fury and maria? did they care? at least give her more respect than that. tony died with his team, wife, and a whole battleground beside him, kind words easing him off. nat died painfully and suddenly, cold and nearly alone. she deserved a better goodbye than that. let the whole world know that two avengers give themselves for the them.

my one solace is that at least she’s with tony in whatever the marvel heaven is and they aren’t alone. brotp to the very end.

(it should’ve been clint. sorry, but i’m mad and that’s how i feel. it would’ve been sad but.... he was always my least favorite anyway. or maybe they could’ve found a way so neither of them had to, i dunno. i’m sure the writers could’ve thought of something. also i don’t buy that hulk’s snap couldn’t’ve have brought her back. would that really have upset anyone? no. it should’ve happened.)

but after thinking about it for a few days now, i think what makes me even more upset, more insulting than natsha’s death, is steve’s ending. i have way more attachment to my beloved widow, but at least, at least i can say that as much as i hated it, her last scene was beautiful in it’s own way, true to her character, brave, extremely well acted, and meaningful. she chose to die thinking about her best friend, his family who was also her own, her team, and the world. while i don’t think it was the culmination of her character arc, it was at least an end that i can believe to some degree. steve? they ruined steve.

steve’s arc from day one was about moving on, looking forward, and making the most in what he had. that he had to let go of the past and accept his new life. this is clearly set up in this very movie when he tells a group of people to move on, but then to natasha claims the two of them don’t. they decided that the climax of this arc was to make it so....he never actually moves on? he just gave up and never tried? look i’m not a film writer, but i’m pretty sure when you set up a conflict like that, you have them subvert it. like first act “we don’t move on” last act “we learned to finally move on.” that’s what character growth is. by making steve run all the way to the 40′s, you undo all the progress he’s been making since 2012.

and not only that but this requires me to believe that the over 10 years he was out of the ice never changed him. he never ever grew to accept his new life? sorry, i don’t buy that. he had sam, nat, the other avengers, even bucky came back to him. he says it himself in aou, a different person came out of the ice than the one who went in, one that didn’t really need the family and dream house and all that. where did that guy go? (plus is this dude really gonna go back to the past knowing all the shit that’s going to go down, both supervillain wise but also real history? does he just ignore everything?? what happens in that universe.)

look i like peggy. she’s amazing. she deserved more seasons for her show. but i just do not believe she was the love of his life. ya’ll are giving marvel wayyy to much credit with that. they knew each other for like two-ish years and had one kiss. never even went on a date. out of universe, we have not seen them romantically since 2011. it’s just not realistic to me that he would still be holding a candle for her, ten years later. a few years? sure, but over ten? nah man. he claims he wants someone with “shared life experience” and i guess we’re supposed to believe that’s peggy. but that’s not true anymore because he’s now had WAY more shared experiences with natasha, sam, and of course bucky, his lifelong friend. you really want me to believe he’s still madly in love with a woman he barely knew (in the long run) and not natasha?? who was by his side for like six years straight, some of the worse years of their lives?? yeah i don’t believe that, no matter how much i like peg. but way to send the message “if you get a first crush, that’s it! that’s all you get! you’ll never move on.”

(”but guys and girls can just be friends!” i hear you say. “romantic capwidow would undermine that.” to which i point to nat’s friendships with: clint, rhodey, tony, thor, bruce post aou, and literally everyone else. her dating one guy she’s known for over ten years would not invalidate all the rest of her platonic m/f friendships. this idea that dating someone you’ve known for a relatively short time is ok, but if you’ve known them for years than it should stay platonic is extremely weird. especially since some of the people i’ve seen say that about capwidow ship winterwidow. who have traded one single line. ya’ll know what’s what made hulkwidow bad right???)

he met with peggy when she was older. she moved on, had a life. he buried her. civil war gave him peggy closure. by just making so they get together anyway, you rob these scenes of their power.

tony and nat both wanted families and normalcy (ugh, i loathe to acknowledge that awful scene in aou, but it is heavily implied in an unfortunately canon movie that nat would be interested in a domestic life were it possible for her. but she also counted all her teammates as her family, and that’s what she wanted most.) they both died after only getting a small taste of that, dying to save the world at the cost of never seeing their families again. steve running off to have an idealistic ol fashioned 50′s life with his wife, and i assume children, kind of spits in the face of their sacrifice imo.

also way to get your dumb bucky (you know, the dude you almost got arrested for and split your superhero family apart for?) back for like a day and then IMMEDIATELY growing old without him. cool move. not like you could’ve navigated the unknown future together.

“but arctic,” i hear you say, “steve deserved to have a normal life!” he sure did. they all did! but that didn’t need to be by going back to be with peggy, ruining his character. you know what actually would’ve made more sense? if they had found a way to bring natasha back (look all steve had to do with give the soul stone back and either 1) “a soul for a soul” counts both ways or 2) bring doctor strange with him, wait until past clint leaves with his soul stone, and then use to time stone to reserve just natasha and bring her back. we know it can revive people because it happened in strange’s movie. easy fucking peasy.) he brings nat back, hugs all around, he gives sam the shield, and then he walks off into the sunset with nat, both of them retiring, but not far away just like thor, clint, and bruce. (it doesn’t have to be romance, but nat IS his closest companion by this point, that is undeniable.) he finally puts his past to rest, and so does nat. maybe the final scene is still him dancing with peggy, but he left that universe right after, giving them both that closure. they got their dance, they can look to the future. that is a much better send off for the end of the phase.

at least i’m glad my ot3 left the franchise together.

overall, i really did like about 80% of this movie. i got so mad at the end there because i care so much about these characters. because i was having a lot of fun and then was left unsatisfied (i would not have believed this was the same team behind winter solider and civil war if i didn’t look it up myself. i know they can do better.) i could forgive the time travel, the weird as FUCK 2014/2023 crossover, if they hadn’t done nat and steve so dirty like that. was this a good movie? yes. but i probably won’t see it again until it’s out on netflix and i can stop watching it right before nat dies.

i’m always going to be a marvel person, i’ll keep watching them. i’ll see far from home. but a light has definitely dimmed. at least there’s always black panther.

#arctic says #endgame #endgame spoilers #romanogers #ugh still not a fan of that shipname but it seems to be the one used the most so fine #ok to reblog

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peggy-faces · 6 years

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Mad Men rewatch: Season 1, episode 2: Ladies Room

We didn’t get much at all of Betty in the first episode. In fact, she allegedly didn’t have any lines at all in the first draft of the script. So this is the first time we really get to meet her. Betty’s mother has recently died and she clearly isn’t coping well. To the point that she’s starting to experience stiff and shaky hands, and ends up crashing her car with the kids inside.

Don and Betty have a new neighbor who is *gasp* D I V O R C E D. I don’t know if it was the intention but I got the feeling that this didn’t help Betty’s anxiety. It’s implied that Betty does know about Don’s philandering and doesn’t want to admit it. The arrival of Helen Bishop makes her consider, perhaps subconsciously, that she too could one day be in the situation and it terrifies her.

From a modern perspective(and as someone who suffers from severe anxiety myself), it really is cringeworthy to watch Don’s dismissal of Betty’s mental health issues, but I guess that was par for the course for the early 1960s.

There is a sweet side to Don and Betty’s relationship. It gets lost in the wayside, but it’s there. The scene at the end where they’re having dinner at a fancy restaurant in the city is actually pretty cute. You can see why they got married.

At Sterling Cooper, Don and the dudebro brigade are having trouble with coming up with an idea for Gillette's new spray on deodorant as Roger and Cooper are trying to persuade Don to work on Nixon’s election campaign. I probably missed something but are they pitching directly to the Nixon campaign? Are they forming a PAC? Did they have PACs back then? It’s been a while since I’ve watched Season 1, don’t judge me.

Meanwhile, Peggy is having trouble fitting in at her work. Pete(who, as you’ll recall, she just had sex with last week) is off on his honeymoon and literally every man in the office is being a weird creep. She thinks she finds an ally in Kinsey, but then it turns out he’s just as much a creep as the rest of them. I love Peggy(obviously), but I generally prefer later series Peggy to early Peggy, but I have so much sympathy for her here, which is why the scene where she goes into the bathroom to cry but then decides that she’s not getting to let those bastards get to her is so satisfying.

The seeds of Peggy’s copywriting career are planted in this episode. While it’s clear he’s just hitting on rather than actually having faith in her abilities, Kinsey is the first person to tell Peggy that there are female copywriters. Then, after rejecting Sal and Kinsey’s astronaut idea(“who is this moron flying around space? He pees in his pants!”), Don says they should be targeting women who buy deodorant for men. Shame they don’t have any female copywriters on staff!

Random Observations

Peggy takes Pete’s postcard and hides it in her desk. NGL Pegs, that’s a tad stalkery.

I have problems with feeling in my hands/arms due to anxiety myself and it is truly terrifying so the scene where Betty’s hand start shaking and she crashes the car brought back some not great memories.

I don’t care how fancy that restaurant is, you couldn’t pay me to eat a raw egg.

We get our first glimpse of the legend that is Creepy Glen Bishop sitting on the steps as his mother struggles to lift a giant cardboard box with a pitchfork sticking out of it.

Francine is simultaneously the best and worst character on the show.

I love Mona. She and Roger have the most incredible chemistry, even when it’s clear that their marriage is unhappy. They are married in real life so of course they’d be great on-screen together.

Roger is apparently young enough to have had a nanny during the Lindbergh Baby debacle in the 1930s, which actually makes him only 2 or 3 years older than Don at the very most. That’s… weird to think about. The show makes him seem so much older. And I believe later events on the show actually contradict this claim so ???.

Don calling Betty “Birdie” is really cute, but hearing him call her “Bets” drives me up the fucking wall.

Peggy earns $35($294.48) minus $6.75($56.79) for FICA. Just a few years later she would be making the equivalent of a six figure salary.

Who is this guy? No really, who is he? Do we ever see him again?

The banana Peggy brings for lunch is the nastiest banana I’ve ever seen holy shit.

I always get a kick out of the scene where Don is doing push ups: “seven, eight, nine, ten *sees Betty get into bed* ninety-nine, a hundred.” Same, Don.

Audio commentary

There are two commentary tracks for this episode. The first is with January Jones and Rosemarie Dewitt and the second is with Michael Gladis and Elisabeth Moss. Jones and Dewitt do their commentary together and have some pretty amusing banter, but Moss and Gladis do theirs separately and the tracks are edited together. This is something that happens a lot on the Season 1 sets(but not on any other season, so at least they learned their lesson). I get that scheduling issues are a problem and there’s a limited amount of space on the DVDs, but it sounds awkward and weird tbh.

Harry Crane was supposed to kill himself, but Weiner ended up liking the character so he lived. I’ve heard this before and I vaguely remember there being more info in future commentaries but I believe this is the first it’s been mentioned so I’ll put it here.

Jones and Dewitt agree with me on the raw egg thing. Ewww.

The restaurant scene was shot in a restaurant/bar called The Prince in Koreatown in Los Angeles.

Despite being married IRL, this is the first time that John Slattery and Talia Balsam have acted together and they were nervous.

January Jones originally auditioned for Peggy and she got pretty close to landing the role, but Matthew Weiner told that she didn’t come across as “innocent” enough whatever the hell that means. Betty was originally supposed to be a very minor character but Jones made Weiner decide to expand her role in the series.

Jones complains that she never gets to see any of the actors besides Don and kids.

Dewitt didn’t want to cut her hair, so they made her wear a wig. But the wig looked so fake that they wrote it into the show.

This episode was shot a full year after they shot the pilot. The actors had no idea whether or not the show was going to be picked up. They also didn’t know if they were going to shoot in New York or Los Angeles(the pilot was shot in New York, but the series of the series in LA). Ultimately it came down to Matthew Weiner not wanting to move his family across the country. Moss argues that it’s actually more practical to shoot in Los Angeles because it’s not like they can make modern day New York look like the New York of 1960 and in LA, they have easier access to sets and such, there are a lot of restaurants and other businesses in Los Angeles(“there are a lot of places that look like they were abandoned in the 60s”) that are very reminiscent of that 1960s aesthetic, and the architecture in LA is apparently more period-appropriate than the architecture in New York.

Weiner told Moss that in every ladies room in every office, at some point you’ll see a female employee in there crying(???). How Matthew Weiner knows so much about what goes on in women’s bathrooms is unexplained.

Gladis says the character he played in the pilot(“Dick”) and Paul are considered to be different characters and he had to re-audition for Paul when the show got picked up. The main difference, he says, is that Dick smokes cigarettes and Paul smokes a pipe.

Moss has extremely high praise for Christina Hendricks, her most frequent scene partner in the earliest episodes, and calls her one of the most wonderful actresses she’s ever seen.

Gladis had bronchitis and was “drugged to the gills” during filming.

Gladis worked on the impersonation of the Rod Serling and watched a lot of the Twilight Zone. He loves that Paul is a sci-fi nerd.

Moss says that the closest thing Peggy has to a friend is Don because he’s only one not trying to fool her or take advantage of her.

Gladis says that his kiss with Peggy was his first on-screen kiss and he was very nervous.

“No one worries about the bomb anymore” says Michael Gladis. Man, I miss 2007 sometimes.

Anyway, pretty good episode. Six and a half bad wigs out of ten.

#tupf mad men rewatch

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