#disclaimer but i do not know that much about Whitney - but that's just my take ... on his dick :)

[laroserie]

Hello dol community, let's me propose you an small headcanon – Whitney has a small dick. He just do, he's a big bad mean bully, he got such an enormous ego and I can't help but think he must be compensating for something else ... his dick, for example.

#disclaimer but i do not know that much about Whitney - but that's just my take ... on his dick :) #the 'pun' was accidental #dol #dol whitney #degrees of lewdity #degrees of lewdity whitney #oh my ... is that an love potion ? #<- not exactly suggestive but heh it make do

[randomfoggytiger]

X-Files IWTB: First Time React (Part III)

Wherein my anger overcomes my will to finish.

Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere we go, Part III. 

*Disclaimers*: I separate art from artist, acting was great, DD and GA did their best, my reaction is exaggerated for comedic purposes, etc. etc. etc.

Whooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo................... 

Scratchy beard is over, and there is only pain, I presume, from here on out. 

I’m going to try to keep this short and sweet because:

I don’t care about the plot much. 

The characters are going to break apart whatever investment I have left in it. 

…There’s nothing really compelling about anyone else but Mulder and Scully. Maaaaaaaaaaaybe? I’ll like Pedo Joe’s stand-off with Scully? Doubt it. 

I am going to finish this movie with LIGHTNING SPEED because I caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan’t stand it, despite DD’s comedic timing and Mulderness (that is butchered by the script) and GA’s balanced grace and angst and Scullyness (that is butchered by the script); and honestly don’t think marinating in the details would be worth my time, despite the glorious opportunity to snark. 

I was trying to get back to where I left off and skipped to this image of Pedo Joe: 

I believe it represents my viewing experience quite accurately. 

Back to it:

This scene’s not so bad: Mulder gets up to shave, working on Scully’s “scratchy beard” hint as an opportunity to free his unconscious mind by doing repetitive movements, eg. moving a razor up and down instead of quoting along to a tv. AND THAT’S A NICE TOUCH: it’s that domestic softening, that hinting at Scully’s lectures (in a good way) about tv being bad for his sleep patterns and Mulder learning to do other odd things with his hands instead. 

And Scully trailing him in and beginning to change her tune when Mulder mentions the tears of blood, etc. It’s nice, it’s them. So far, so very good. 

Nooooooooooooooow she’s gonna get uber jealous of Dakota Whitney 

and reinterpret everything Mulder does through this stupid lens: shaving while thinking about the crime scene, letting (which he didn’t) Dakota take the fluff off his face, hanging around the FBI instead of following her back to a cozy, domestic life (which he CAN’T do because he’s tied to the case for good or ill no matter what-- they know where he lives, after all.) 

Hoooooooooooooooooooooooow does Scully conclude this is about him finding his sister, hooooooooooooooow. She wasn’t even there for the longing gazes he exchanged with Drummond’s? photo, the implication being his behavior is a long-standing pattern of behavior. But as established in the last two parts, it ISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSN’T.

“It hasn’t stopped you from looking for her. …You cannot save her, not now and not ever.” THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS CASE, THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS SITUATION, THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH HIS PAST, THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH HIS FREEDOM THAT IS BOUGHT AND SOLD ON THE FBI’S WHIM, THIS IS NOT ABOUT YOUR PAIN AND TORMENT, THIS IS NOT. ABOUT. YOU. SCULLY. 

“We need those men back!” Mulder yells-- and he is the only person doing the right thing now. And the movie will punish him and his motives for it. 

The movie writers have unironically turned into early seasons' Syndicate that is writing Mulder as an egomaniacal, unbalanced man on a mission… and Scully is giving him less grace and understanding than her own self how many years ago on their first case in Oregon. 

“What are you doing?” asks Scully. 

“Trying to ignore you--” THAT IS NOT MULDER. THAT IS STUPIDLY IMMATURE. WHAT. 

PEDO JOE JUST STOOD THERE FOR HOURS WHILE THE FBI DUG AROUND; AND ONLY STARTED FOLLOWING HIS HUNCHES WHEN MULDER ASKED HIM A FEW QUESTIONS??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

I don’t know why, but that insignificant detail broke me. 

I’m done. Skipping to parts now. 

I skipped to the breakup. 

“You asked for me to get involved, Scully, now I’m asking you to stay involved.”

YEAH, LIKE YOU PROMISED TO DO BECAUSE THAT WAS HIS ONE CONDITION. 

“You helped them already, you broke the case for them, why don’t you let the FBI deal with it?” …Scully, the case isn’t broken. I understand you need support because of Christian and Mulder is completely dropping the ball there; but Scully, your medicine has done what it can (or would if you didn't give up on him as well for some reason) for the boy but there are REAL people whose lives are in danger, right now, and need to be rescued. 

Scully gave up because Mulder wouldn’t let this go. This COULD, COULD have worked if Mulder was pushing her to join him back at the FBI; but that’s not the case here. What’s going on here is the fact that he’s on a high, he’s saving lives, he needs HER help that she promised to give (and hasn’t); and yes, this is hard, yes, this is inconvenient, yes, she feels like Christian is getting second-best; but this is her partner’s freedom, his LIFE (and hers) he is winning back. Just a bit longer and they can breathe freely. THEN they can fight about the FBI, to return or not to return, etc. THEN this fight can and could happen. 

Would Scully still leave then? Apparently she did in the Revival; but here and My Struggle I posits it would have been a permanent rift and not a temporary one that was later written in (or hinted at) to blur the lines of the bad writing choices. 

Here’s why this scene doesn’t work: Scully’s writing is already so thoroughly broken (written about extensively here and here) that her declaration here makes no sense: 

she was off-put by pedo compound but on fire while she and Mulder bounced theories after scratchy beard but off-put firmly after Whitney touched his face and was-- you get the point. On top of that, Mulder-- for as narrow-minded as his focus tends to be-- ALWAYS checks in with Scully’s emotional well-being; and it’s usually her that sets her feelings aside so they can plow forward. If Scully has an objection, Mulder will pause or come at it from another angle that will appeal to her. Scully here cannot be appealed to or reasoned with; and Mulder is only “inconsiderate” in his drive because he’s, again, WINNING HIS FREEDOM. The very thing that's kept them from meeting their son again, etc. 

Mulder is STILL giving her an out: he understands she’s a doctor now, that that isn’t her life anymore (BECAUSE IT’S NOT HIS), and just needs her help ON THIS CASE. 

Scully: “I cannot look into the darkness--” PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFT, get that writing out of my ears, blegh, blegh, UCKCKCKCKKCC, it’s chocking me, eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

“The darkness” is so wattpad, my word. 

“I’m fine with it, Scully, I’m okay, I’m good.” …WHAT sort of response is that? It makes it seem like Mulder’s addicted to this-- and in a way, he can be. But the PROBLEM is he’s now addicted at the expense of Scully???? Even though Scully has ALWAYS been addicted to it, TOO???? But she’s not now (though she still is at times in the script???) because… beeeeeeeeeeeecaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaause????????????????????????????

Mulder: “Where else would you want me to look to find these women alive?”

Scully: “I’m asking you to look at yourself.”

Exactly, Mulder. (Unironically the Windows crashing noise… meme. Whatever.) …Scully, you’re setting yourself up for the “unreasonable little woman at home” jokes and you’re SCULLY, and why are you like this.

Mulder: “Why? I don’t think I’m the one that’s changed.”

Based. Like… you pulled a “based” out of me, wow. 

Scully doesn’t want the darkness (UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK) in her home anymore. Fair. But he’s not bringing it into the home. Also, insert "there are people DYING, Kim" meme. 

Another thing: “This is who I am. This is who I’ve always been” true-ish, Mulder, but not true enough. It implies you cut out her emotional needs-- which you haven’t since SEASON. TWO.-- for your quest… but also, she accepted that about you IN ALL THINGS, WHICH WAS IN SEASON SEVEN. YET. HERE WE ARE. 

GILLIAN REALLY DID HER BEST WITH “PUT IT IN A BOOK” JUST LIKE SHE DID HER BEST WITH SCULLY’S REJECTION OF JACKSON IN THE MY STRUGGLE IV FINALE BUT IT’S STILL JUST. SO. AWFUL. 

Wait, okay, so, this broke them up and Mulder learned from this how much he and Scully needed x/y/z for their relationship (despite how STUPID this is); and she explained how she’s at her limit and she doesn’t know what else to do, etc……………. And history repeated itself in a couple years because Mulder got depressed and gave up on them and just… didn’t… do… things. 

Sidenote: I HAVE THOUGHTS about the Revival breakup that I’ll talk about sometime (that CC blamed Mulder’s depression on Colonization’s failure when, in reality, he went on the run because of other men who feared Colonization and if it DIDN’T come to pass Mulder would have been TRULY free and he and Scully could embrace life and meet William and etc. etc. etc. but instead Mulder just flogged himself becaaaaaaaaaaaaaause reasons despite winning and, yes, William was given up HOWEVER they'd now have the freedom and opportunity to meet him, etc. And yet. And yet. ANYWAY.) 

SCULLY, YOU BROKE MULDER’S HEART-- THAT HURT ME. WOW. 

HE CAN’T CHANGE WHO HE IS AND THIS WASN’T EVEN ABOUT WHO HE WAS BUT YOU BLAMED HIS WANTING TO HELP THOSE WOMEN ON A NONEXISTENT SAMANTHA-COMPLEX, PAINTED HIM AS AN OBSESSIVE NUT WHO THREW YOUR REALTIONSHIP ASIDE FOR THE WORK, AND MOVED OUT WHEN HE NEEDED YOU MOST WHEN YOU PROMISED, FROM THE START, TO BE THERE FOR HIM THROUGHOUT THIS CASE. WOW. WOW. WOW. 

SKIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP--

I will say: IWTB Mulder hair supremacy. My favorite of all his looks. Hands. DOWN. 

Too late for this joke-- this movie’s Scully didn’t earn it. 

“HEY” Scully yells; and waits for the villain to turn around before wacking him in the head with a VERY big and probably VERY heavy axe instead of, I don’t know, shooting him. “But she’s a doctor now” I say to myself-- erecting a strawman just so I can wear off my aggressively angry energy by whacking it do death. I didn’t know that doctors, I counter to myself, who were former SPECIAL AGENTS ANNOUNCE WHEN THEY’RE GOING TO HIT THE BAD GUY WHILE BEING 5’2” AND HEAVING AN AXE OVER THEIR HEAD AT SAID BAD GUY. 

Honestly me at this point:

Scully walks in and sees a woman in the midst of being chopped into sellable body parts; 

and it just… hit home to me that she wanted Mulder to give up on this case, this lady, and the other women, DESPITE being on fire for other cases relating to women in the past, ala Excelsis Dei, Unruhe, Small Potatoes, etc. etc. GOOD GOING, CHUMP. 

Also, Mulder’s still tranked outside in the freezing cold, despite there being a team with Scully and Skinner (I think?) and… why didn’t she yell for the team to come help Mulder? Or someone? Or, I dunno, do that NOW rather than just send Skinner out to cuddle him??

Though that’s a nice moment, to be honest.  

WAIT, IT’S LITERALLY JUST THE TWO OF THEM-- y’know what? Forget. It. Why isn’t there backup? No, NO, I am not rewinding to find out. 

Skinman Cuddles, ™. WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. I'll take it.

I was showing my sis a pic of the house and she had the audacity to say “Oh, how very unremarkable” to my face before making her version of a smug face. 

I’m too amused to be annoyed; but it’s that thin sibling line, y’know? 

I fully support Mulder here: I’d be this annoyed, too. …I’m so tired. 

His sarcastic eyebrow twitch made me bust out laughing. 

Is he still going to take the majority of the blame that should not be his at all. If so, I’m. gonna. riooooooooooooooooooooooooooot. 

Mulder pauses and asks Scully if she’s seen the story: that the FBI blamed Pedo Joe for the case-- and even though the guy was a pedo, this wasn’t on him. And you know what that means?????

THE VERY GROUP THAT PROMISED TO FREE MULDER THEN BACKSTABBED PEDO JOE WHO WAS WORKING IN THEIR BEST INTEREST WHICH MEANS I WAS 100% RIGHT IN MY ASSESSMENT THAT THEY CAN’T BE TRUSTED WHICH MEANS SCULLY WAS 100% WRONG IN TRYING TO SHOVE MULDER OFF THE CASE BECAUSE THEY WOULD HAVE WHOOPED HIM, TOO, IF HE DIDN’T HELP. 

….dEEP breaTHS.

AND SCULLY IMMEDIATELY DENIES THE TRUTH AND HIDES BEHIND “WELL, HE’S DEAD NOW.” 

WELL, I GUESS SHE WOULD HAVE SAID THE SAME IF MULDER HAD LEFT THE CASE ON HER SAYSO AND BEEN THROWN INTO PRISON. GUESS HE’S DEAD NOW. 

Mulder wanted to at least clear that part of Pedo Joe’s name because it is an injustice… buuuuuuuuuuuuuuut Scully doesn’t care about justice now, even though she actively saved the lives of eviler men to later put on trial. Y’know, because they were facing JUSTICE. 

Oh, the pain and the torment of Scully not caring because he was a pedo and then denying that she believed him ‘cuz he’s dead now and she doesn’t have to face the fact she was a SNIVELLING COWARD who had to be motivated to do what’s right BY A PEDO. 

Isn’t this just a beautiful movie. 

FINE. SHE ADMITTED SHE BELIEVED. WE’LL GIVE HER THAT. 

And Mulder is willing to let it all go if she tells him what she believed-- y’know, like they used to do back in the day-- but the movie wants you to think this is new character growth for him when it’s very obviously not for even the most casual of X-Files watchers. 

She has the gall to deny him his request… after she put him through SO MUCH in this movie by… I’m not reiterating, I’m tired, again. 

The movie is trying to say that Scully directly contributes to Mulder’s cavetroll lifestyle by not communicating with him; which would be cool if the Revival didn’t loom over the horizon, or, more precisely, IF THIS MOVIE DIDN’T BUTCHER THIS INTERESTING IDEA. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANYWAY. 

Wait. So, Scully gave up on Mulder to do her job... but was ALSO giving up on her job ala Christian becaussssssssssssssssssssse until the pedo priest told her to keep going and it saved Mulder’s life and Christian’s……………………………………………………..

Please end. PLEASE, please end. 

1:38:00 of 1:48:00 left.

Mulder: “Father Joe’s prayers were answered, after all.”

I’M DONE, I’M OUT, HOW DARE YOU MAKE ME LISTEN TO THE AGNOSTIC SAY THAT HACKED STATEMENT. LET ME RUN OUT INTO THE NONEXISTENT SNOW AND LET ME HURL. 

wOW. Pedo Joe has been made into a saint I guess because he didn’t give up. And I guess that’s supposed to be comforting for Scully because she didn’t give up, either, even though she did. 

WAIT, MULDER DIDN’T KNOW SHE GAVE UP. HE DIDN’T. KNOW. SHE GAVE. UP. 

Okay, see, Mulder was wildly out of character this movie, too; but the above realization is… not even Pilot Mulder because Scully didn’t have to say a word in the Pilot for him to read her moods. He’s always been in-tune with her (despite profiling, yadda yadda yadda); so, to suddenly put on blinders to hide away that "ability" just so the writers can extend that miscommunication over the ONE aspect they “get” about each other is laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazy, and baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad, and INFURIATING. 

I just realized this movie is completely my vibe and that’s why I’m so passionate about this. 

Mulder: “If Father Joe were the Devil, why would he say the opposite of what the Devil might say?”

I. Died. on the spot. 

Look, you don’t have to have a religious background to know that this is the most braindead, stupid, inane take ever: cult leaders and other villainous exploiters have used this to their advantage, masking their motives behind religious speak.

(Sis--I’m fake crying from frustration and she’s nearby-- says: “Because he’s the Devil.”) 

Why does Scully get weepy after Mulder says “Don’t give up” and STILL. INSIST. ON LEAVING HIM??? EITHER PERMANENTLY OR TO DO THE SURGERY OR BOTH????? UNTIL HE GIVES HER A HUG, I GUESS??

i. loathe. this. movie. 

Now Mulder’s sayin’ “hey, ‘bout that kid? If you don’t feel like doin’ the surgery doodad, then we can bounce to vacay and let him deal, yo yo.” Again, Scully wasn’t the only character butchered in this movie. Was this nice of him to say? Yes. Is this a Mulderism? NO. A Mulderism would be to encourage her to do the right thing and promise a vacay AFTER. 

1:40:25. Eight minutes left. 

Okay, you had your pretty romcom moment, can this END NOW????

I can live with the chest pat. It’s fine. But, again, it’s sort of… a moment from a better movie. 

...Credits? CREDITS??? Where's the vacay??????????

(There was a perfectly comedic moment when the music was just kicking up and then POW Chris's face was just THERE while I was trying to figure out what in the world was going on.)

WHAT IS THIS BARBIE DIARIES MUSIC AND WHERE DID I COME FROM AND WHY IS IT OVER MULDER AND SCULLY ON THEIR COOL ISLAND VACAY??????????????????????????????????????????

IT DOESN’T FIT THE VIBES, FAM. 

mOM, PICK ME up, I’M SCARED. 

I’m so, so glad I skipped around. 

I. despise. this movie. 

I knew it was bad; but I thought it would be inane, boring bad. 

No, no, my fellow philes: it’s cold-sores-and-orange-juice bad. 

(Now, to figure out how to write a cool meta from this mess. I have a few ideas, no worries there~.)

I’M OUT. 

Thanks for reading~

Enjoy!

#txf #xf meta #X-Files IWTB: First Time React #meta #mine #IWTB #First Time React #Part III #reacting out of blind frustration #first watch through #Mulder #Scully #xfiles #x-files #the x files #Skinner #Dakota Whitney #Father Joe

[valmare]

**serious post read at your own discretion**

disclaimer–religious triggers, personal opinions

I'm not usually one for celebrity documentaries.

But, a mutual recommended Val Kilmer's documentary, since he's one of my favorite actors and has been since I was a kid and watched Batman Forever, so I decided to give it a go.

It amazes me that the cream of the crop (read: Michael Jackson, Elvis, Whitney Houston, etc.) always seem to rise out of some of the most tragic childhood and life experiences. Michael Jackson came out of domestic abuse and body dysmorphia. Elvis, the loss of his twin and poverty. Whitney, drugs and alcohol.

For Val– the loss of a brother, his parents' divorce, emotional abuse, and later a divorce himself resulting in separation of his children. He's arguably one of Hollywood's most prolific, real method actors, someone who embodies each and every character with heart and soul. He believes in real storytelling, not the modern knock-off we see in shallow blockbusters today.

He's one of the good ones. From Doc Holliday to Batman to the infamous Iceman, I'd argue that nobody is quite as talented as Val. A fact I've overlooked for a good few years now.

All throughout his career Hollywood and "the business" has labeled him difficult and eccentric because of his dedication to storytelling and authenticity, of keeping true to the theme. Because every movie has a theme, a message it communicates, since film is a medium of communication. He documents an experience in Australia, where a film was completely gutted for the sake of a production schedule, which left him baffled and broken.

And his journey with tracheostomy and throat cancer and the inability to speak. Wow. He really bares his soul and the reality of what fame being stripped away is really like. I cried quite a bit over this documentary, because even robbed of the one thing you absolutely need as an actor –your voice–Val is still 100% committed to the field. To the experience of storytelling. He adapted and threw himself into art, a studio, and documentation of his experiences and what it means to be a storyteller. He's passionate and raw, not swept up in fame.

Hollywood cost him everything. He even says he lost himself for awhile, that Hollywood is like stepping into hell. He's right. Fame will take until there's nothing you can give, and Val is one of the few to transcend actually caring.

Who knows how much of this is *actually* true, since Hollywood is infamous for smoke and mirrors and deception (if you know anything about the dark underworld of the industry) but I'll take it at face value.

Regardless of the question of honest truth, this was a refreshing look into acting. While I think it still ignores, or chooses to hide, the ugly and spiritual side of what it takes to make it in Hollywood, I can't think of a better or more raw approach to explaining the journey of fame and the art of visual storytelling. I always knew Kilmer was good–and there's a reason why. Art is in his soul, just as music was in Michael and Elvis'.

Hollywood took Val Kilmer and ran with him, and left him high and dry and hollow at the end. But, he's choosing to rise out of those ashes. I can commend him for that.

Yet another testament to how we don't know the full story of our peers' lives until we come up close and personal to it. God can make anything out of any backstory–a prostitute to anoint Him for burial, a hotheaded fisherman to become the rock of which He built His church, a shepherd to be the greatest king of Israel.

Despite Val not serving the same God or understanding the same Jesus Christ that I do, his life is a picture of just exactly what the world can offer you. Nothing. There is freedom in forsaking the standards of society and pursuing what God has destined for you, unabashedly. I can only pray Val Kilmer, and the host of others like him, can come to knowledge of who he is in Christ, and experience the passionate love of Christ's salvation.

10/10 documentary, and I hardly EVER give full marks. Worth your watch.

See Yas, From a former film reviewer

#val kilmer #movie recs #val documentary #fangirl #christianity #in all seriousness #my thoughts #val kilmer is officially my first stan

[riwooga]

Okay Whitney character dive, I'm just gonna use he/him pronouns for all of this except for PC ✨

I don't know how much of this makes sense but I'm going to ramble and I can already tell this is gonna get quite long

And once again small disclaimer I'm just rambling my personal speculation and thoughts and have no ways of knowing what the creators actually planned/intend for a character!

... Okay I have to add a cut I think it'll clutter the tag too much 👉👈

I actually kind of want to start out with making a comparison of Whitney vs Avery. Because I adore both, yet have actually seen some people interpret them in almost a switcharoo to what I do? Which is super interesting to me, but their character archetypes are definitely similar in several senses, and I find it fun to think about so-

From my point of view, what they have in common, in my opinion, is the "Control and status" mindset.

So when we first meet Whitney, he's obviously not introduced as a good guy, he's a bully, an utter asshole, and for a long time he is just that, he doesn't treat PC nicely until you get pretty high up in love, and still there he's still sometimes an absolute ass. (Just.. A more controlled one that will sometimes semi-respect your boundaries if you enforce them)

Whereas Avery, we meet as this charming, slightly mysterious yet chivalrous older man, helps us out, takes us out for a nice meal and in turn afterwards keeps being quite charmingly chivalrous as long-- as you act the proper way.

But the kind of funny thing it me is, with both of them, once you're in a relationship with you start to see the facade slip sometimes.

With Whitney, you start to see softer moments, it's small things that could be missed or brushed over perhaps, but you start to see moments where he shows he actually cares about the PC, and can actually be sort of sweet if you're in private with him.

Where as with Avery, you see the facade slip too-- but in the opposite way in my opinion? You start to see a colder side of him, start to see that what he cares about is appearance, and see that if you don't act the way he wanted you to, the anger comes through. (I'll definitely go more in depth of Avery if I make a post for him too)

Which again, feels like opposites, yet so similar?

And to touch back on their "control" mindset, there the thing is Whitney seems to be almost desperate for control, and will fight to have it, desperate for something he can actually have his own control over, likely stemming from a home life where he feels stuck and like he has no say in anything (Will touch more on this in just a second)

Where as Avery... Isn't desperate for control, rather he seems to simply expect it. He expects that PC will fall into line and be good, let him make the decisions that make them both look best. Especially at first of you chose the options that provoke him a bit, you can sense he almost starts to consider PC something to be tamed at that point.

Where both of them, highly value their status and other people looking upon them the way they've worked hard to obtain.

And to further explain what I meant with Whitney's home life, let's just say I think there's a reason that Whitney seems to be away from his home for as long as he can, why he prefers to loiter in alleyways and get drunk and cause trouble..

If we, once again, look at psychology, delinquent behaviors USUALLY stem from not feeling seen or heard by your parents, stem from an anger and frustration of either too strict rules or otherwise things like neglect. Same with bullying, usually also stemming from issues in the home life leaving the bully feeling weak and worthless, where bringing others down gives them a high of somewhat power. Especially to people they have a sense of envy toward.

We can also somewhat guess out from certain dialogue that Whitney's family probably isn't the wealthiest, as he describes his own room as a dump and also admits to Bailey that he indeed doesn't have near enough money to afford the PC. Plus if his parents were rich I don't think it'd make as much sense for him to be stealing, other than I guess pure provocation?

So those things combined I feel like I can definitely start to guess why Whitney might feel that lack of control in his life. I'm like... 90% sure I have seen Vrel say that the only thing feels like he has control over is his appearance? (And then the PC)

And while Whitney's relationship with the PC may start as a control thing for him, a simple way to get that itch satisfied and have some humiliation fun as well, well... He does genuinely start to care for the PC. Not that you'd get him to fully admit just how much he does.

Some of my favorite moments is when his brain almost short-wires when the PC not just reciprocates but initiates, especially outside the sexual context. Instantly blushing and trying to play it smooth but often ending up stuttering a bit. Or if you're gone too long and you can see faint tears in his eyes? Yeah good shit.

But also I absolutely have to mention how he is also so oddly soft in encounters, like often saying PC is like an angel, kissing PC'S forehead, praising... Like even in the "embarrassing" scenarios he often has this softness to him.

And to just softly go back to the whole bully psychology thing, a really interesting part of Whitney's character in my opinion is his target on Kylar, especially once he's with the PC.

Whitney in general is quite jealous / possessive, the only way he's sharing the PC is on his own volition, when he's the one controlling the scenario and who touches who. We can see he gets confrontational even in class of people just looking at the PC, or how he gets so frustrated if one of his friends try to help themselves to the PC.

So, to see the PC give someone like Kylar attention? Of course his brain will spiral.

Whitney has probably done so much to build up his position, to be popular, attractive, feared, to be in control, so to see /Kylar/, the freak, the weird little creep everyone actively avoids, who's such an easy target for bullying because of it-- /that's/ someone PC is interested in? Infuriating. A confidence hit probably. From his point of view he has so much more to offer than that pathetic little freak, doesn't he?

And that's where one of Whitney's big flaws come in, because when he feels upset, or even betrayed by the PC, he acts out. He starts to threaten, he starts to humiliate, he forces the PC into dangerous situations. A way to try and snatch that control back.

If pushed far enough, (spoiler warning here!!) we know he's even willing to sell the PC off to the underground brothel because of that loss of respect from everyone else. Because of that loss of control that he so desperately clutches onto.

But I'm gonna try and round it off a bit here--

Whitney seems to have a rather poor handle on emotions, on vulnerability. It's easier to be someone people fear and be having fun with it than it is letting someone even catch a glimpse at the vulnerable parts inside.

... Which is exactly why the moments that he has alone with the PC is something I absolutely melt over, those cracks beginning to show the softness.

So to sum up!

I find Whitney a really interesting character, as much as I roll my eyes at him and think he's a stupid ass, I really hope we in the future keep seeing him develop more and more 🤧

#dol whitney #dol #degrees of lewdity #whitney the bully #I just love complex characters man #Love wondering why characters are the way they are #I might do a post on Avery too eventually but I just wanted to being him up too due to their similarities #I have so many thoughts on so many DOL characters ahhh #Though I feel like these more so just turn into why I love characters.... But alas #I am however really looking forward to when we get Whitney pregnancy content because how a character handles that stuff says a lot #I have my thoughts and predictions but I trust in waiting patiently 🤧 #woogarambles

[nerdzzone]

-More Hearts Than Mine-

Summary: Raising a child is hard. Raising a child with one of Hollywood’s biggest stars is even harder. And raising a child with one of Hollywood’s biggest stars who you’re not actually in a relationship with is even harder still.

Especially when a global pandemic is sweeping the world.

With lockdowns and stay at home orders looming on the horizon, the uncertainty of their situation becomes almost too much for Whitney Taylor to handle. Chris suggests that they quarantine together to avoid any potential separations but, given what happened the last time they spent more than a few brief moments in each other’s company, that could cause more problems than it solves…

Chris Evans x OFC

Sequel to: Once Bitten - Twice Shy

Note: Just a disclaimer that I don’t live in Massachusetts so any info about the covid restrictions or lockdown there are from what I can find online so if you do live there and something is wrong, please suspend disbelief and try to enjoy the story anyway!

____

Part One

Time flies when you're having fun.

That's the saying and while it's usually true, it turns out that time also flies when you're distressed, conflicted and avoiding dealing with your problems like a responsible adult.

Almost three months had passed since Christmas and Chris and I had managed to successfully co-parent without properly discussing what happened between us.

In his defence, Chris had tried.

When he dropped Grayson off at my apartment on New Years Day, it was clear that he expected that I would have thought it over and come to the same conclusion as him - that it absolutely made sense for us to become a family - but I had nothing for him but disappointment.

Despite six days and a few bottles of wine spent trying to find the courage to give Chris a chance, I couldn't do it. I couldn't shake the idea that we would ruin the productive and peaceful co-parenting relationship we had if we gave it a shot and it blew up in our faces.

And I couldn't bear to see what that would do to Grayson.

Chris was annoyed when I broke the news to him. There was no screaming, no swearing, no tears, but the clench of his jaw and the curt way he excused himself told me all I needed to know.

Things were tense between us after that, but all that tension did was solidify my decision. It just proved that I was right, because if one night could almost derail our entire arrangement then the fall out of a full fledged relationship would absolutely ruin it completely.

It took about a month of awkwardness and abrupt drop offs for things to settle down. I tried my best to pretend that nothing had happened, but Chris wasn't so good at burying his head in the sand. It was rough and uncomfortable, but he was a naturally forgiving person so eventually he seemed to accept my decision. Things definitely weren't as open and friendly as they were before, but I was relieved nonetheless when he started greeting me with a smile again.

Luckily, Grayson seemed none the wiser to our suddenly clipped interactions and I was grateful that the entire blunder had wrapped up without him being at all affected.

 -

However, the normality we found again by the end of January was short-lived and I soon found myself wishing that my issues with Chris were our biggest problem.

There was a virus.

At first, it was just something on the news, someone else's problem in another country on the other side of the world. But then it started to spread, getting closer and closer to home until it became clear that this wasn't something that any of us could ignore. It happened fast and suddenly there were outbreaks popping up all over the place with stay at home orders being issued all over the country.

I did my best to shelter Grayson from the chaos, but my anxiety was rising and it reached a boiling point as I was taking him over to Chris' house one day in the middle of March. I'd made the mistake of reading the news before we left and the worsening situation had my imagination running wild. By the time we were saying goodbye on Chris' porch, I was fighting back tears with everything I had.

"I'll see you soon, okay?" I choked out as I squatted down in front of him. "Be good for your dad and remember that I love you."

"I love you too, Mama," Grayson smiled, throwing his arms around my neck. My heart clenched as he hugged me tightly and I did my best to commit the feeling to memory.

He tried to pull away, but I snuck in an extra squeeze before finally relenting and letting him step back.

"Bye, baby. Have fun."

Grayson gave me one last quick wave before running into the house, calling for Dodger as I composed myself and stood up to face Chris who was watching me with suspicion in his eyes.

"I packed him a few extra books, just some of his favourite ones lately, and some extra clothes, just in case." I informed him, crossing my arms as my anxiety raged. "He's had a few accidents lately, but mostly when he's too into whatever he's doing so just maybe remind him to go to the bathroom if he seems fidgety. Oh, and he's decided he doesn't like peanut butter on toast anymore, but he'll eat it if it's on sandwiches with jelly. And-"

"Whitney," Chris cut me off, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion no doubt caused by my rambling. "Are you okay?"

I cracked my knuckles nervously as I looked down and avoided the question.

"Yeah," I lied. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"This is probably the most you've spoken to me since December," he exaggerated. "And you look like you're about to have a panic attack."

"I'm not," I assured him, but as I found myself blinking back tears again, I wasn't entirely sure that he was wrong and I couldn't hold back another admission. "I'm just scared."

Chris stood up a little straighter as concern covered his face. Concern that I wasn't sure I was entitled to after crushing his heart, but when he asked me what was wrong in that soft, genuine voice of his, it all came pouring out.

"This stupid virus is freaking me out," I admitted. "It's getting so bad, Chris. It's spreading like crazy. There's rumours that we'll be going into lockdown soon and I'm just..." I paused as I bit my lip to try and stop the tears from spilling over, my voice much weaker when I managed to speak again. "I'm just worried that I won't be able to pick up Grayson next week. That I won't be allowed to travel this far."

I felt my heart rate pick up as actually voicing my fears made them seem all the more real. I hadn't been able to talk to anyone about how I was feeling until now because it seemed like everyone else in my life was already facing worse problems than I was. Things in California were even worse than Massachusetts so I felt silly complaining to my family and friends back home and my local friend, Allison, was dealing with the recent school closures that had forced her into the daunting task of homeschooling her three children so my issues felt minimal in comparison to that as well. I'd been bottling things up for too long and that became obvious as my chest was starting to tighten and a sob fell from my lips. I lifted my hand to stifle it, but the worry on Chris' face told me that I wasn't fooling anyone.

"Hey, don't cry," he said, his voice gentle and soothing. "I'll make sure he gets back to you. You never have to worry about that, no matter what happens."

"But what if it's not your choice? Have you seen the news? Some countries you can't leave your house at all except to get groceries. The police stop people and ask why they're out and they have to prove it!"

"You don't think that taking my kid back to his mother would be a good enough reason to be out even during a lockdown?"

His tone was mostly disbelief as if that was an absurd suggestion, but there was a hint of curiosity as well because really, none of us knew what could happen.

"I don't know," I admitted, as tears started to slide down cheeks. "It sounds extreme, but it's happening in other places and I'm worried. And what if I get sick? Or you do? Or even just exposed? We'd have to isolate and stay apart then too. I can't imagine going weeks or even months without seeing him."

My voice broke as another sob slipped out, that thought too hard for me to even comprehend. I'd never been apart from Grayson for more than two weeks and I wasn't ready to do so now. I felt dizzy and weak, each breath I took growing shorter and shorter as I fought to control my racing heart and mind, the embarrassment of my current breakdown only adding to my stress.

My vision was blurred by my tears, but I could see Chris' eyes widen as his concern grew. I wanted to reassure him that I was okay, that I just needed a minute to calm down, but I felt like I was falling in a dream, just waiting to hit the ground. I couldn't get any words out.

It didn’t take long for Chris to jump into action, taking me by the hand and leading me to the bench next to his front door. He instructed me to sit down before kneeling in front of me, keeping my hand in his.

"I think you are having a bit of a panic attack, Whitney," he informed me, keeping his voice as calm and gentle as it had been before. "Just follow my breath, okay?"

I nodded, and focused on Chris as he guided me through a few deep breaths in and out. I tried to tune out everything except for him and his soft, sweet voice and after a few minutes of him talking me through it, I felt myself start to calm down. My breathing had steadied thanks to his guidance, my mind felt less foggy and my muscles were less tense. Sensing that I was a bit more levelheaded, Chris stood up and dashed into the house, mumbling a quick 'I'll be right back'. He reappeared a moment later with a glass of water which I happily took, downing half of it quickly.

"Thank you," I squeaked out before finishing the rest of it.

Chris watched me closely for a few minutes as I continued to focus on my breathing. Once he was sure that I was completely calm, he finally spoke again.

"I think you should stay with us."

I blinked at him, so surprised by his suggestion that I was convinced I hadn't heard him right.

"What?"

"Stay with us," he repeated. "Neither of us can end up separated from Grayson if we're in the same place."

His logic made sense, but I was shocked that he would suggest it after what happened the last time that he extended that invitation to me. It was a generous offer, one that almost brought more tears to my eyes, but given our recent history, it wasn't an offer that I could accept.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Chris."

He seemed like he had prepared for that answer as he nodded his head and defended his suggestion.

"I don't think you should go through this alone, Whitney," he informed me. "No one should have to. Even if I get Grayson back to you safely next week, it would be hard to isolate by yourselves if we do go into a lockdown."

He was right. I'd been so busy stressing about being away from Grayson that I hadn't really thought about how hard it would be to be in lockdown with him. Having no social interaction with anyone over the age of three would be taxing and, if at some point we weren't allowed to take Grayson back and forth, he really would be better off with Chris. Our two bedroom apartment with no backyard was not ideal when the other option was a massive house with a huge garden and a pool. But still, I wasn't entirely sure.

"I'm very grateful for the offer and your concern," I assured him. "But I still don't think it's the best idea."

"It's a big house," he persisted. "We could easily share the space without stepping on each other's toes and you could have your own bed this time...We wouldn't have to share."

There was a smirk on his face and I smiled weakly as a wave of relief washed over me at his willingness to joke about what happened between us, but the thought of moving in with him after our lapse in judgment just a few months earlier had me shaking my head. Chris' smirk fell then and a knot formed in my stomach as I felt horrible rejecting him again, but he wasn't one to go down without a fight.

"Scott's here too, he thought this would be the best place to ride it out," Chris admitted. "So, it wouldn't just be the two of us if that makes you more comfortable."

I wanted to point out that Scott was there the last time I stayed over too and it didn't stop us from making a foolish mistake, but I bit my tongue as I knew that he was trying to help and, after what happened, it really was a selfless offer. I took a moment to mull it over before figuring out a way to let him down gently.

"Can we just see how it goes?" I asked. "I'll think about it if things get worse."

"Alright," Chris shrugged. "But I don't think things are going to get better any time soon..."

"I know," I agreed. "I just need some time to think about it."

Chris sighed, his disapproval of my decision becoming very clear.

"Well, the offer is there if you change your mind."

"I really appreciate that, Chris," I assured him, standing from the bench that I was resting on. "And I appreciate you helping me just now. I...That's been building up for a while I think."

"Anytime," he nodded. "I know what that's like, you know that. Do you want me to grab Gray so you can say one last goodbye?"

I did. I wanted to pull him back into my arms and remind him again just how much I loved him, but I knew if I did, it would be even harder to let go.

"That's okay, I don't want to interrupt whatever he's doing. Just give him a hug for me, okay? And tell him I love him."

"As if he would ever forget," Chris smiled. "But I will. And you can call whenever you want to talk to him." He paused for a moment before adding: "Or even if you want to talk to me."

The sincerity in his voice made my heart ache in my chest. How could he be so kind and understanding after I'd led him on and then turned him down? The wave of emotion I felt towards him from such a simple gesture left my head spinning even more and I knew I needed to leave before I made any more rash decisions.

"Thanks," I matched his smile. "That means a lot."

He nodded as we moved towards the stairs of his porch, his concern still lingering.

"Are you good to drive?"

"Yeah, yeah, of course. Thanks."

I felt awkward and embarrassed after my little breakdown and I was eager to get away, but Chris seemed nervous and hesitant to let me go. He knew better than to fight too much though and after a quick goodbye, I headed back to my car, ready to be home.

 -

When I left Chris' house, I felt more clear-headed than I had in days. The relief of talking things over, even briefly, with another adult and the knowledge that I now had options if things ended up getting worse had eased my anxiety to a somewhat manageable point.

But it didn't last long.

I made the mistake of scrolling through Twitter while I ate dinner that evening and almost immediately, the panic came back. We were barrelling towards the worst case scenario faster and faster each day and it felt almost inevitable that everyone I loved was going to get sick.

By the time I convinced myself to close the app, my heart was racing, my chest was tight and I could tell that I was quickly taking myself back to the level of panic that I felt on Chris' porch.

I had no one there to calm me down this time though so I cracked open a bottle of wine hoping to dull the strain of the day and I put my phone down, determined to stay away from the news for the rest of the night. However, almost as soon as it was out of my hand, my phone lit up with an incoming call from my mother. It was the third time in the last couple of hours, but as I had with all the others, I ignored it. I didn't want to worry her with my current state of my mind and I knew that it would be hard to hide how I was feeling right now.

I'd just settled on the couch and taken my first sip of my drink when my phone lit up again, but this time there was a different name on the screen. Uncle Rob. It was odd as he didn't call me very often unless there was a reason so I reluctantly answered.

"Hey, Uncle Rob."

"Hey, sweetheart," he greeted me. "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine," I lied. "How are you?"

"Oh, I'm good, but I'm not convinced that you are," he admitted. "You've got your mom all worried. She says you've been stressed lately and you've not answered her calls all day."

"It's not been all day," I argued with a roll of my eyes, surprised my mother had been concerned enough to set her brother on my case. "But yeah, I'm stressed. Everyone is these days, aren't they?"

"I suppose on some level, yes," he agreed. "But what's going on with you? What's getting you worked up?"

My uncle was a stubborn man and I knew there was no point in trying to beat around the bush or avoid his questions. I took another sip of my drink and savoured the taste as it slid over my tongue before I answered.

"I'm just worried about Gray. How the whole back and forth thing will work if we're put into a strict lockdown," I informed him with a sigh. "I dropped him off at Chris' earlier today and I'm worried that by the time he's supposed to come back, Chris won't be allowed to bring him."

"Honey, he's Captain America," he reminded me as if that meant anything in the real world. "He can get that kid back to you no matter what it takes."

I laughed at his confidence, but regretted the next words as soon as they were out of my mouth.

"Well, he did have another solution..."

"Oh, really? And what was that?"

I hesitated briefly before answering him.

"He wants me to stay with them."

"That's great then. Sounds like you've solved the problem!"

"Except I'm not going to."

"Oh, dear," he sighed. "And why is that?"

"Because it would be weird!"

"Why would it be weird? You spent Christmas together just fine," he pointed out. "Unless something happened that I don't know about."

I was caught off guard by that inference as I wondered for a moment if there was any way that he could have known. There wasn't though, I hadn't told anyone and I was pretty sure Chris wouldn't have been eager to tell him so I answered him quickly before I aroused any suspicion.

"I spent two days with him at Christmas," I reminded him. "That's very different from two weeks, two months or however long this thing goes on for."

"Friends live together all the time and since you keep insisting that's all you and Chris are then I still don't see why it would be weird."

"Because we're friends with history," I huffed. "It's more complicated."

"Oh, do you mean because you're in love with each other and refuse to admit it?"

I groaned at his accusation before taking another sip of wine.

"Don't start with that..."

"I'm just saying, your lives would be a lot easier if you pulled your heads out of your asses and communicated your feelings like adults."

For a moment, I wanted to tell him everything. He knew both of us well and would be a good person to give me some objective guidance whether I wanted to hear what he had to say or not. But deep down I already knew what he would tell me to do and I wasn't ready to disappoint another person by not being brave enough to do it.

"I really don't want to talk about it," I told him, hoping he wouldn't push the conversation even more. "I told him that I would think about his offer if things get worse."

"I think things are going to get much worse before they get better," he insisted, although his tone was less pushy than it had been before. "And I think you should stay with him, all teasing aside, so that you're not going through these 'unprecedented times' all by yourself."

"I know," I sighed. "I really will think about it."

"Call your mother back too while you do, alright?"

"I will," I assured him. "I just didn't want to worry her with my stress."

"I know, but she’s worried anyway," he pointed out. "So, call her and put her mind at ease."

I agreed and we chatted for a bit longer, about happier things, before saying goodbye.

I poured myself another glass of wine after our conversation and settled back on the couch to call my mom and assure her that I was fine. I made it through the conversation without causing her too much concern, but my mind was very much elsewhere, as I seriously considered whether I could stomach living in Chris' house and seeing him with our son every day without my heart absolutely shattering.

 -

Chris: Scott says we're getting stay at home orders tomorrow

Me: How does he know?

Chris: He has a reliable source who's in the know. An old friend.

Me: Fuck

It had been two days since I dropped Grayson off at Chris' house. As predicted, things were getting steadily worse so I wasn't at all surprised by that new information. I had a moment of panic as I knew it was time to make a decision about what Chris had proposed, but when I thought about my options I was surprised to realize that I wasn't at all torn.

I knew that I needed to accept his offer.

This pandemic wasn't going away any time soon, that much had become clear and for my sanity and Grayson's it made the most sense. If I stayed in my apartment then, best case scenario, I would have very minimal adult contact for the foreseeable future - only during the brief drop offs at Chris' house - and Grayson would spend every other week trapped in a tiny apartment with minimal space to play and no where to run around. Worst case scenario, I'd have no adult contact at all and Grayson would be either stuck in our apartment all the time or at Chris' house away from me.

The only benefit to staying at home was that I wouldn't be put in any awkward situations with Chris and even I knew that wasn't a good enough excuse.

That didn't mean I wasn't nervous about it though, my palms were impossibly sweaty as I picked up my phone and hit the little call icon next to Chris' name.

"Hey," he answered, a squeal of Grayson's laughter in the background. It faded and then disappeared as he must have moved into another room. "Are you okay?"

"As okay as anyone," I sighed. "I can't say I'm not disappointed by the news you just shared with me."

"I know, it's kind of a bummer," Chris agreed. "But if it gets things under control then it's probably for the best."

"I know, that's true," I admitted, taking a deep breath to steady my nerves. "But I was wondering if your offer was still on the table? You know, when you said that I could stay with you for a while?"

"Really?" Chris sounded shocked and for a moment I felt my heart sink as I realized that maybe his offer was just a nicety, but he quickly recovered from his surprise. "Of course! We'd love to have you. When were you thinking of coming?"

"Uh, now?" I hadn't really thought that far ahead. "Well, I'll have to pack and clear out the fridge. Does Grayson need any more clothes or anything?"

"Nah, I think he's got enough stuff here unless there's something in particular that you think he'd want."

"I'll have a look around, but nothing comes to mind."

"Okay, cool. Well, text me when you're heading out."

"I will," I assured him. "Thanks for this, Chris."

"Don't worry about it. The more the merrier, we'll make this lockdown fun!"

I couldn't help, but laugh at that because if anyone could make a lockdown enjoyable it was Chris Evans.

"Great," I smiled. "That sounds perfect."

We wrapped up the conversation shortly after that and I got started on packing. It was hard to know what I needed to bring. I had no idea how long the stay at home orders would be in place so I had no idea how many clothes I would need and it was March so while it was still quite chilly out right now, it would be warming up in the next few weeks. I spent ages going through my things - definitely just trying to decide what I needed to take and not using my indecision as a stalling tactic - but eventually I settled on a selection of outfits that would suit various temperatures and a bathing suit in case we were still in lockdown when the weather got really warm.

Once everything was packed and ready, I made sure the apartment was tidy and free of anything that might go bad while I was away and headed out the door, trying to ignore the nerves tying my stomach in knots.

-

The roads were eerily clear as I drove to Chris' house. It seemed that people were being cautious already despite the fact that no stay at home order had been put in place yet. I got to Chris' place in record time and took a moment to gather myself before I got out of the car. As I was just pulling my suitcase out of the trunk, Chris came jogging down the porch steps towards me.

"Hey, you made it," he smiled.

"I did," I nodded. "Thanks again for inviting me."

"It makes the most sense," Chris shrugged as he went to take my suitcase out of my hands. "We've got lots of space and it'll be nice to have more time with Gray."

"Did you tell him that I was coming?"

Chris shook his head and rested my suitcase on the ground.

"No, I haven't really mentioned much about what's going on," he admitted. "I wasn't sure what you'd told him."

"Not much," I sighed. "I don't think he'd really understand it. I just kinda said there's a new, really bad, germ that's making people really sick so we have to try to keep our distance from people we don't know and wash our hands a lot more."

"That's good," he nodded. "I didn't want to freak him out."

"I know," I agreed. "It's been hard. I've been pretty freaked out this past week and I've tried to shelter him from it, but I don't think I've done a very good job."

"You can't have done too badly," Chris flashed me a smirk. "He hasn't mentioned it and he likes to tell me all your secrets."

My jaw dropped slightly as I wondered what kind of things he could have shared. I had no big, dirty secrets, but kids came up with some pretty creative things some times.

"Like what?"

Chris wasn't taking the bait as he shook his head.

"Hey now, I'm no snitch."

"Oh, but you'll encourage our son to be one?"

"It takes no encouragement," Chris insisted with a laugh. "We have a very open relationship, the kid trusts me."

I shot him a playful glare, but I knew really I had nothing to worry about and I was glad that Chris and Grayson were close. I was also glad that so far things between Chris and I had been much more lighthearted than I anticipated.

"It's going to be a long lockdown if you three are going to gang up on me all the time," I joked. "I think we should invite someone else so I have some back-up."

"Well, Carly might be around sometimes," Chris informed me. "We agreed to help out and take the kids some days if we're allowed to when the restrictions come in. Carly and Tom are both working from home and the kids are doing school online so they'll be totally isolated and safe, but it'll be hard for them to work and help the kids with their school stuff too. I hope that's okay?"

"That's actually a really good idea," I smiled. "I was worried about Grayson being away from kids his own age for too long. He's at such an important age for learning how to socialize and interact with people, it'll be good for him to have them around."

"I thought that too," Chris nodded. "I mean, I wanna keep him safe, but I don't want him to be scared of anyone who isn't you, me and Scott."

I couldn't help, but think of my new, two month old nephew back in California. They had stay at home orders already in place and depending on how long this went on, surely the lack of socialization would have a huge effect.

"It's really scary, isn't it?" I sighed as we turned and started walking towards the house. "A few months ago, everything was fine and now no one's supposed to leave their house for anything non-essential and every person you meet is a potential threat."

"It is scary," Chris agreed. "But if everyone just does what they're supposed to do then it'll be over before we know it."

"I hope so, but I have a bad feeling that it's not going to be that easy."

"Well," Chris smirked as he lifted my suitcase up the stairs and reached to open the door. "Leave those bad feelings out here because there's no room for negativity in this house."

"Alright, alright," I laughed as I walked inside. "I'll try to remain cautiously optimistic while I'm here."

"That's all I can ask."

Chris flashed me a smile as he placed my suitcase on the floor of the entryway. I could hear the TV from the living room so I had a pretty good guess about the answer to my next question, but I asked it anyway.

"Where's my boy?"

Dodger came running over, tail wagging a mile a minute at the sight of me. I laughed and squatted down to pet him.

"Awwe, you're a good boy, aren't you?" I asked him as I ruffled the fur around his neck. "But not the boy I was talking about."

"Dodger, come on, leave her alone," Chris chuckled before answering me. "Gray's watching a movie with Scott."

I gave Dodger one last little scratch before standing up again and following Chris towards the living room. Inside Out was on the TV and Scott was sitting back on the couch with his feet resting on the coffee table. Grayson was tucked under his arm with his little bear clutched firmly in one hand and a handful of Scott's shirt in the other, his eyes drooping as if he was about to fall asleep. It was an adorable sight that was hard to interrupt.

"Hey, buddy?" Chris started, catching the attention of both Grayson and Scott. "Look who's here."

Grayson's eyes lit up as he saw me standing there and it melted my heart knowing that he was so excited to see me.

"Mama!" He cheered, sitting up a little taller before a look of confusion came over his face. "Do I have to go home?"

"No, not this time, sweetheart," I assured him as Scott paused the movie. "We're going to stay here for a little while with Daddy and Uncle Scott, is that okay?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "Like at Christmas!"

"Exactly," Chris smiled. "Christmas was fun, wasn't it?"

Grayson nodded again, but he still looked a little puzzled as he asked another question.

"But, why?"

Chris and I looked at each other, neither of us entirely sure how to explain it, but after a moment of thought I squatted down in front of where he was sitting.

"Remember those bad germs that we talked about the other day?" I asked, waiting for him to nod in confirmation before I continued. "Well, to make sure that no more people get sick, everyone has to stay at their homes for a little while. Daddy and I thought that it would be more fun if we all stayed together."

"Okay! That is fun!"

Grayson smiled and nodded eagerly, but a yawn quickly took over his face and he nuzzled back down against his uncle. I stood up and leaned in to kiss the top of his head before moving back over to Chris.

"That was easy," I shrugged. "He seems tired."

"He was up really early this morning," Chris admitted. "I tried to get him to nap, but he wasn't having it."

I rolled my eyes, unsurprised.

"He's been resisting his naps a lot lately, I should've mentioned that."

"I thought he might crash while we watched the movie," Scott chimed in. "But he seems pretty engrossed."

"Inside Out is one of his favourites," Chris informed his brother, looking at Grayson with an affectionate smile. "You should have put The Little Mermaid on, that one always knocks him out."

"That must break your heart," I teased, knowing how much Chris loved that movie. He chuckled and nodded and I couldn't resist reaching out to pat his shoulder in a comforting, but mocking, way. "He does have good taste though, Inside Out is one of my favourites too."

"Well, by all means, make yourself at home," Chris instructed, gesturing to the other couch that wasn't being used. "Do you need anything? Water? A soda?"

I accepted his offer of water and settled on the couch as Scott put the movie back on. Chris reappeared moments later with a glass for each of us before coming to sit next to me.

I was relieved by how things had gone so far. Chris and I were getting along well, things were more friendly between us than they'd been in a while and I was pleased that we were able to be mature about everything given that the general chaos of the world was causing enough problems.

But an itch washed over me as we sat a few inches away from each other on the couch. An itch to move closer and curl up with him, to rest my head on his shoulder and feel his arm slide around me to pull me tight against him. I shoved it from my mind as fast as it appeared, but it was an uncomfortable reminder that this situation wasn't going to be easy just because we'd figured out how to be civil again.

-

Part Two

Tags:  @maggotzombie @moonlacebeam @mizzzpink

#chris evans fanfiction #chris evans fanfic #chris evans fic #once bitten twice shy #the sequel #more hearts than mine

[swan-of-sunrise]

Specs and the Flyboy (Chapter Ten)

Summary: Jack realizes just how convoluted his off-the-books investigation is after compiling all their evidence, but a foiled assassination attempt ends up shedding new light on the case.

Pairing: Jack Thompson X Reader

Word Count: 4k

Warnings/Disclaimers: Brief scene containing talk of drug addictions

A/N: Thank you all so much for reading! I hope that you enjoy!

Chapter Ten Stark Mansion, Los Angeles (Previous Chapter)

Just as Jack pinned the last photograph to the board and stepped back to admire his work, there was a loud knock on the door. “It’s open!”

“Ana went searching through her knitting supplies and found what you…what’s all this?”

“This, Jarvis, is an evidence board; I used to force the boys do ‘em back in New York for certain cases, mostly so they could keep track of evidence and discover new leads.” Jack took the spool of red yarn from Jarvis and grabbed a pair of scissors before measuring and cutting off strings. “We’ve got a lot of evidence that doesn’t match up, so I thought it’d be a good idea to lay it all out and see how everything connects.”

Jarvis made an impressed sound as he examined the board on the wall. “Several months ago, Ana joined a book club and we found that it was easier for her to understand the novels if she read them aloud to me. Why don’t you try the same thing with your evidence?”

Looking up from his work, Jack gave the butler a look of suspicion. “I thought you didn’t approve of our investigation.”

“I never said that, I merely pointed out that keeping your investigation from Miss Carter was morally wrong.” Jarvis retorted as he crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows expectantly. “Go on, then. If it makes you more comfortable, you can always pretend you’re talking to Miss (Y/L/N) instead.”

Something about the butler’s suggestive tone and the knowing gleam in his eyes caused Jack’s face to warm, and he hastily turned back towards the board with his red strings in hand. “Um, okay then. In 1917, Michael Carter was born in Hampstead, England to Harrison and Amanda Carter, and Peggy was born four years later.” Jack wrapped one end of a string around the thumbtack above Michael’s photograph and secured the other end to the one above Peggy’s SSR profile. “He kept his nose clean, made good grades in school and in ‘34, he was accepted into Cambridge University, where he studied Philosophy and Literature. He shared an apartment-sorry, a flat…” He glanced at Jarvis just as the butler gave him an eye-roll. “…with Adam Fieldman and William Attwell, two other students at Cambridge.”

“And this Adam Fieldman is the one with the connection to the orangery Miss (Y/L/N) infiltrated?”

Jack nodded, using another string to connect Michael’s photograph to one of Adam Fieldman. “Yep, his old man owns it. According to one of the codes, the orangery was a front for the manufacturing and distribution of devices based on one of Stark’s stolen blueprints…at least, it was up until the other week. Anyways, I did a little digging and found out that Attwell joined the Royal Air Force in ’39 but was shot down during the Battle of Berlin; since his body was recovered from the wreck and identified by his family, we’ve ruled him out as an associate of Michael’s. Fieldman tried enlisting in the U.S. Army right after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in ’41 but when he was declared 4F on account of his scoliosis, he officially moved back to the States to work for his old man.” He pointed to a sheet of paper pinned beneath Michael’s photograph. “According to both an official British Royal Army report and a copy of an SOE file, Michael was declared missing in action in ’40; there was no body recovered, but it was assumed that he died on the battlefield and was buried in a mass grave.”

Moving forward, Jarvis gestured to a document pinned onto the lower half of the board. “And what’s this?”

“That’s a summary of all the information (Y/N) and I pulled from ‘M. Carter’s’ file. During the whole Zero Matter thing back in July, Vernon Masters sent me to London to get dirt on Peggy; a buddy of mine in MI5 gave me that file documenting her alleged war crimes, but I realized pretty quick that there’s no way Peggy could’ve done those things. I decided I’d take it back to New York with me once the Zero Matter case got closed, but not before making a copy and hiding it at the SSR; good thing I did, too, ‘cause I was shot and the original file was stolen…but anyways, yeah, that’s everything we’ve gotten from the file so far.”

“You haven’t said anything about this man,” The butler pointed to another photograph attached to a handwritten address. “Is he the one who shot you?”

“Nope, that’s Aaron Templeton and his last known address; we think he’s a hired hand who helped carry out the bank robbery downtown a few weeks back.” Jack connected his photograph to Michael’s with another string. “Based on the intel (Y/N) gathered from the orangery, Templeton was bumped off for leaving the device behind after the robbery, so that proves he wasn’t that integral to their plans. They made off with forty thousand dollars in gold, so we’ve theorized that they’re using the gold to fund their operation.” He looked back at Jarvis and frowned at his befuddled expression. “What?”

Jarvis gave him a small shrug and forced smile. “Oh, it’s nothing.” But as Jack continued to stare him down, he hastily added, “Well, this may very well be my inner Agatha Christie fan speaking, but there appears to be quite a few gaps in your investigation. Who was your shooter? What exactly is Mr. Carter’s so-called operation and why does it need funding? And why did Mr. Carter supposedly write down valuable information in the file and risk possible exposure?”

“I can see why Stark keeps you around.” Jack grumbled, his good mood slowly dampening at the butler’s words; their case wasn’t simple as he presumed it was, and it was clearer than ever that if he wanted to return to New York, they had a lot more work to do. And they said life after the war would be easy, Jack thought with an inward eye-roll. “Well, thanks for your honesty, Jarvis. I guess I’ll have to-”

The ringing of the telephone interrupted his words, and he watched as Jarvis strode across the room to answer it. “Mr. Stark’s residence.” His face brightened. “Miss Carter! How are you?” After a moment, his smile fell. “Chief Thompson? He’s, um, he’s sunbathing by the pool, of course; he mentioned this morning that he wished to work on his tan.” Jack rolled his eyes at the lie. “Would you like me to give him a message? Splendid, we shall see you soon.” He set the handset back down on its receiver and turned to face Jack. “That was Miss Carter. She was calling to inform you that she’ll be here shortly with some paperwork for you to sign regarding a routine prisoner transfer.”

“All right, I’m gonna give (Y/L/N) a call to let her know.” Once Jarvis left the room, Jack went over to the phone and picked up the handset before dialing the telephone number he’d unintentionally committed to memory.

“Hello?”

The obvious exhaustion in the codebreaker’s voice caused Jack to frown in concern. “Geez, Specs, you sound like shit. I didn’t wake you up, did I? It’s almost noon!”

He could barely make out (Y/N)’s familiar sigh of exasperation. “You’re a real charmer, you know? And yes, in fact, you did wake me up; I was up late working on a code and finally called it quits around four in the morning.”

“(Y/L/N)...”

“I know, I know, I should get more sleep but that damn code…” She let out frustrated huff. “I take it you didn’t call just to scold me about my terrible sleep patterns, though. What’s up?”

“Peggy’s coming over in a bit with paperwork for me to sign, so we’re not gonna be able to meet up until later. I’ll give you a ring to let you know when it’s okay to come over.”

“Okay, that’ll give me a chance to look over that code with fresh eyes. Oh, and that reminds me, when I come over I want to see what sort of progress you’re making on the code I gave you to practice with the other day.”

“Sure, just as soon as you cough up those two bucks you owe me.”

Jack could practically hear her rolling her eyes, and it took all he had not to laugh out loud. “Excuse me?”

“Yeah, you bet me two bucks that the Dodgers were gonna win the World Series and last I checked, they got their asses handed to ‘em last Monday by the Yankees. Got anything smart to say to that, Specs?”

“…Nope, have a good day!”

There was a soft click before the line went silent, and Jack didn’t even bother suppressing his chuckle of amusement that time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You’re in an uncharacteristically good mood today, Jack; could it be that you’re finally beginning to enjoy Los Angeles?”

Jack shrugged noncommittally as he scribbled his signature on the bottom of a document. “More like beginning to tolerate it.” He glanced up just in time to catch Peggy’s smirk. “What?”

Her smile widened. “Nothing, it’s just that I didn’t think very highly of Los Angeles when I first arrived out here either, but I’ve slowly grown to appreciate the…unique charms that the West Coast has to offer.”

“Unique charms, huh? Is that a new nickname you’ve given to Sousa, and can I start calling him that too?”

“Sod off, Thompson.” Jack chuckled as Peggy shot him a glare; once he finished his work, she gathered up the newly-signed documents and tucked them neatly into her briefcase. “Well, that’s all I have for you. Naturally, I would’ve waited until Monday to have you sign these but the FBI was rather agitated that they hadn’t received them yet. Their charm knows no bounds, doesn’t it?”

“No kidding. They’re probably still pissed off about the whole Vernon Masters thing; it’s not the SSR’s fault he got blown to hell by Whitney Frost, but I guess they don’t see it like that.” Standing up from the dining room table, Jack faked a yawn as he stretched his arms. “Now if you’ll excuse me, Marge, I’ve gotta get some more tanning in before my afternoon nap.”

Rolling her eyes, Peggy stood and put her hat back on before grabbing her briefcase. “Well, don’t let me stop you, I’m just going to have a quick word with Mr. Jarvis before I leave.”

To keep Peggy from becoming suspicious, Jack made his way into Stark’s sprawling backyard and made himself comfortable on one of the chaise lounges beside the pool; he stretched his legs out, crossed his ankles and, with his hands resting behind his head, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Yeah, maybe I could get used to this…”

Although Jack would never publicly admit it, Peggy’s speculation had been correct; the longer he’d stayed in Los Angeles, the more he’d been enjoying himself. The endless sunshine and glitzy Hollywood scene couldn’t take all the credit for his feelings, as that honor belonged to a certain snarky codebreaker. Since the end of the war, he hadn’t exactly had friends. He’d had many great coworkers and a couple of brief romantic flings, sure, but he’d never truly felt comfortable enough around any of them to open up in any sort of meaningful way. With (Y/N), however, it was a different story and he’d found himself appreciating her more and more for that as their partnership grew. You’d better not get too comfortable, he once again warned himself, as soon as you solve this case you’re headed back to New York, hopefully to bigger and better things if you’re lucky, and she’ll still be here…

The nearby sound of a dry leaf being stepped on startled Jack out of his silent contemplation; snapping his eyes open, he looked over just in time to see a large, black-clad man lunging towards him with a knife in hand. Acting on instinct, Jack rolled himself off the lounge chair and sprang to his feet in time to dodge another swipe of his knife. Jack caught the man’s wrist and twisted it sharply so that the knife slipped out of his grasp; he kicked it into the pool just before the man landed a hard punch on his jaw that sent him reeling. The man kicked his stomach and his back hit the wall of the pool house hard; before Jack could react, the man punched him again before wrapping his hands around his neck and squeezing. Struggling for air, Jack slammed his arms down on the man’s and used the distraction to head-butt him before landing a couple of punches to his face, the last one causing the man to drop unconscious to the ground.

Panting, Jack wiped away a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth and took the opportunity to get a good look at his attacker; he was light-haired, muscular and definitely familiar, but Jack couldn’t think of where he might’ve seen him before.

“I’ll see you on Monday, Thompson! Thompson?”

Peggy’s faint call made Jack spring into action; he picked his attacker up in a fireman’s hold and staggered into the pool house, throwing the unconscious man onto the ground and slamming the door closed behind him. He peeked through the curtains just as Peggy came into view; she glanced around the backyard for a moment before shrugging and going back into the house, much to Jack’s relief. He glanced back down at the man on the floor with a deepening frown. “Now, who the hell are you?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Almost as soon as (Y/N) laid eyes on Jack, her easy-going smile was replaced with a look of concern; when she gently touched his chin and moved his head to get a better look at his swollen cheek and neck, Jack was grateful that his blush was masked by the rapidly-forming bruises. “He really did a number on you, Flyboy. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Well, I’m definitely doing better than he is.” Jack tried to grin but only ended up wincing in pain. “Not by much, though. C’mon, I’ve got him tied up in the pool house; let’s wake him up and find out who he is.” He led her into the backyard and to the pool house, holding the door open for (Y/N) to enter. “There’s something about him that seems familiar, but-”

“I know who he is.” Jack turned towards her and watched as she stared down at the unconscious man tied to a chair. “He’s one of the guards from Fieldman Family Orangery; I knocked him out with my compact mirror.” She looked back up at him, her brow furrowed in concern. “It looks like you just foiled another one of their assassination attempts.”

He nodded. “And this time I’m getting a few answers for my troubles.” Striding over to the man, Jack kicked the leg of the chair and stepped back when the man jolted awake. “Had a good nap, Sleeping Beauty? Now, my partner and I are gonna need you to answer a few questions for us, so how ‘bout we start with a name.”

The man spat onto the ground and growled, “Screw you.”

“Well, that’s not very polite.” Jack quipped, grabbing the man’s blonde hair and wrenching his head up before punching him in the face; the man groaned and Jack stepped back to look at the rapidly-swelling welt on his cheek. “How ‘bout we try that again; who are you?”

“You’re gonna…you’re gonna have to try harder than that, Chief Thompson.”

Jack raised his fist to strike him again just as (Y/N) latched onto his arm. “Thompson, wait! We’re never going to get him to talk this way-”

“Sure we are, every suspect I interrogated for the SSR started singin’ like a bird after only five minutes alone in a room with me.” He gave the man a hard glare over (Y/N)’s shoulder before looking back down at her. “This mook won’t be a problem.”

(Y/N) huffed with impatience. “I don’t doubt that you’re a skilled interrogator, Flyboy, but I’m telling you that he’s on a whole other level. If we’re going to get information out of him, we need to try another way and I think I’ve got one.” Her (Y/E/C) eyes pleaded with him to trust her and after a long moment, Jack sighed and took a step back; her gaze softened as she gave him a brief nod. “Thank you.”

The man let out a snort of amusement when (Y/N) approached him, her arms crossed over her chest. “Hey there, sweet-cheeks. What’s a pretty thing like you gonna do to me? Teach me to crochet?”

Jack’s hands clenched into fists but he forced himself to stay calm and let (Y/N) continue the interrogation herself; she smiled easily at the man and began pacing before him. “No, but we can always get to that later on if you’re not feeling too sick.” Both Jack and the man frowned in confusion. “Oh, I recognized it the moment I stepped into this room; you’re an opiate addict. As I’m sure you know, it can be very uncomfortable for an addict to be without their chosen drug for too long and judging by the way you look right now, it’s been quite a while since you’ve had a fix.”

“I…I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about…” The man’s face had lost all color and his hands were twitching against the arms of the chair.

“Right now, you’re experiencing some heavy sweating and anxiety, but you’re most likely used to those symptoms at this point in your addiction.” (Y/N) sighed and shrugged her shoulders. “Unfortunately for you, though, what you’re feeling now is nothing compared to how you’re going to feel later tonight. Abdominal cramping, tremors, vomiting…yes, it’s going to be a very uncomfortable time for you, especially since no one but the two of us knows you’re here.” How the hell does she know so much about dope addictions, Jack silently pondered, adding it to the ever-expanding list of questions he’d been dying to ask his partner. She turned back to face the man, her mouth set in a hard line. “So if you want to avoid all that unpleasantness, then I suggest you answer my partner’s question; who are you?”

The man immediately stammered out, “P-Peter Hanson.”

Jack moved to stand beside (Y/N). “Good, that wasn’t so hard. Why were you trying to kill me?”

“I was hired to, okay? The boss of my boss thought you were onto him so I was hired to bump you off in your hotel room! Once the main boss heard you were still alive, I was hired again and told that if I fail this time, he’d cut off my supply.” Jack and (Y/N) exchanged looks of confusion, and Hanson added impatiently, “My dope supply, he knows that I need it!”

(Y/N) crossed her arms once again. “All right, then. Now, tell us the names of your bosses, what they were up to at Fieldman Family Orangery and where they are now.”

Hanson let out a frustrated growl and bit his lip before answering, “The guy who hired me, his name’s Thomas, Thomas Attwell, but I don’t know the main boss’ name or what they do. I haven’t seen any of ‘em in weeks, either.”

“You hungry, Specs? How ‘bout we go grab a bite to eat and come back later?” Jack suggested. “I’m sure our new friend here wouldn’t mind waiting for us…”

“I’m not lyin’! I’m just a hired hitman, my boss never talked serious business ‘round me!” Hanson frowned, as if he was trying to recall something. “I remember one time, though, Attwell was talkin’ to another guy at the orangery – son of the guy who owned the place, I think – and he kept callin’ their work a ‘Secret Empire’ or somethin’ like that, like it was a code.” (Y/N)’s eyes widened at his words, but before Jack could react, Hanson shakily continued. “Look, these guys are nuts; I saw them torture and kill a guy just ‘cause they said he lost somethin’ important to ‘em, and that’s not even the worst thing I’ve seen. I just wanna get away from ‘em before I get in too deep…”

“Well, we need to verify the information you’ve given us before there’s any talk of what to do with you, so if you’ll excuse us…” (Y/N) ushered Jack out of the pool house and closed the door before hurrying alongside him into the mansion and to his room, where their evidence board was still hanging on the wall; she quickly made a bee-line to the board and, after putting on her reading glasses, looked over the documents and photographs pinned onto it. “Where’s the-ah, here! Yep, Thomas Attwell is the younger brother of William Attwell, Michael’s former roommate in college; I’d bet my Fleetmaster that he’s the mystery man I heard talking in the orangery.”

Standing beside her, Jack pointed to the photograph of Adam Fieldman. “And you were right about what you said the other week, Fieldman’s definitely the second guy you heard in the orangery.” He grabbed his red yarn strings and a pen, working on amending the board as he talked. “From the sound of it, Fieldman’s in charge of the manufacturing and distribution aspect of their little operation while Attwell’s there to keep their guys in check for Michael. But we still don’t know why the hell they’re robbing banks with stolen Stark tech-”

“I do.” With a weary look, (Y/N) took of her reading glasses and set them on the desk beside them. “The Secret Empire isn’t code for anything, it’s the name of an organization that existed within Hydra during the war. Originally, it started out as a criminal enterprise that generated financial support for Hydra after they broke away from Hitler and the Nazis; they also worked to secretly distract the SSR from Hydra’s activities whenever they could so needless to say, they were a massive pain in our asses throughout the war.”

Jack furrowed his brow in confusion. “If they only existed during the war, then why’s there a chucklehead in the pool house saying they’re still around?”

“Before Steve Rogers took down Hydra in ‘45, there were some rumors going around that the Secret Empire wanted to break away and form their own independent group. It was just here-say, though, and when Hydra fell we all assumed that the Secret Empire went down with them; thinking back on it now, it was a little weird that there was complete and total radio-silence on their end…” (Y/N) bit her lip as her gaze danced between Jack and the evidence board. “What if a new iteration of the Secret Empire got a hold of Howard’s blueprints, used them to manufacture weapons and began committing bank robberies as a way to build their organization back up?”

“That explains why the bank robbers ignored the cash and only went after the gold; that’s a universal currency if I’ve ever seen one.” With a sigh, Jack stepped forward and tapped a finger against the photograph of a smiling Michael Carter. “So, I guess Michael really was Hydra the whole time, and now he’s a member of this new Secret Empire. There’s one question Hanson didn’t answer, though: What’s their next move?”

(Y/N) opened her mouth to reply but was interrupted by someone clearing their throat behind them. They both whirled around to see Howard Stark standing in their doorway, his arms crossed over his chest and his signature smirk on his face. “I think I can answer that one for you, Chief Thompson. But first, could you two do somethin’ about the guy in the pool house? I’ve got a pool party scheduled for later tonight and I can’t have him ruining the mood for everyone…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

A/N: Thank you guys so much for reading! If you haven’t checked it out yet, I created a Spotify playlist for this series and I’ll be updating it every time I upload a new chapter. 

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/21pWY7OiMFj8LaYpxhtVtW

Chapter Eleven

“Specs and the Flyboy” Masterlist

Tagging: @nnon-it-up​ @fluffymadamina​ @remmyswritings​ @ourstarsailor​ @darkusangelus​ @josis-teacup @marvel-jackt-loki-buck​ @yeetyeetchickenmeat​ @sameoldbaby​ @theserenityspace​ @seeing-but-not-observing​ @supervoldejaygent​ @momc95​ @brooke0297​ @kinda-c0nfused​ @outoftheregular  @mads-weasley​

#jack thompson x reader #agent carter #jack thompson #edwin jarvis #peggy carter #howard stark #michael carter #marvel cinematic universe #strategic scientific reserve

[softxhariana]

34+35 live stream

description: ariana’s live stream before debut of 34+35 remix music video.

word count: 2.22k

A/N: little piece based off this live stream that ariana did in the countdown to her releasing the 34+35 remix music video with doja and megan. obvs not included every question but just a few fun bits and harry mentions for you x

also disclaimer, this is NOT real, if u don't wanna read about these two then don't, i’m not tryna act like they’re together it is fiction.

❤ anywayz hope u enjoy luvs xox

❖   "HELLO EVERYONE! thank u for coming to this premier,” ariana smiled sweetly at the camera, as the video cut to a shot of her for the beginning of the countdown.

“we had so much fun making this 34+35 remix video for you, and uhh, we hope you love it.” she continued, playing with her hair. no matter how long she did this for she swore she would never cease to get slightly nervous in these situations. where it was her alone, in front of a camera. but her fans made her feel at ease, and she felt she owed them something, as she hadn’t done many quarantine interviews like other celebs have.

“i thought i would come celebrate and join the countdown with you guys. which is something that I've never done before, but i’m very happy to be here and i was very excited to get some questions from you all...” she held up the sheets of twitter questions she had received, “um that i’m gonna be answering while i’m here so, i cant wait to celebrate this together and countdown and answer some of your questions!” she finished with a smile.

and it was genuine. a real smile that her fans were thrilled to see.

ariana was genuinely so happy and content with her life right now. with her family, her music, her friends, harry. harry her FIANCE!! might she add.

everything just felt perfect, and after all the shit the last couple years had thrown her way, she appreciated the break.

 she got her love back, she was making music that she fully loved, and put her whole soul into, and she had fans who had stuck with her and supported her through some of the darkest times in her life, that were now able to experience her happiness and personal growth with her. so truly, little things like this, felt like the least she could do for them.

“ohh this is a good one because its 34 35 related” she tucked her hair behind her ears, “@noirgrande said ‘ummm its just i wanna the end of 34+35 is it awww shit or nooo shit, i just wanna sing the song right”

“umm it is indeed no shit” she confirmed, smiling matter of factly at the camera before reciting the closing line of the song.

~~~~~~~~~~~

“@arianalocks1223 said ‘will we get to see the track list before the songs release?’” she paused for a second to process - which turned into a few more seconds, she was a bit slow today. she had told harry with full sincerity that she thought it was because she was getting old but he had just cracked up at her absurd statement, and told her that if that was the case he’d still think she was a milf

“you will!” she nodded with certainty, “indeed. ummm... i can tell you them now” she blurted, oops.

“i suppose thats not like... is that against the rules? can i do that?” she turned, to question scooter who was supervising off camera, not wanting to get her label mad at her for releasing too much information, something she has a tendency to do. 

after getting the nod of reassurance from him she turned back to the camera, “so out of ‘POV’, you go into, um, an interlude called ‘someone like u’. after that is a song called ‘test drive’, after that is the 34/35 remix with doja and meg” she smiles lightly, “and after that is a song called ‘worst behaviour’, and after worst behaviour is... a song called ‘main thing’...” she finishes, a shy smirk forming on her face, dimples appearing, “so that’s the tracks.” 

continuing with the countdown, ariana felt her heart warm at the love her fans were giving her and this album. she loved interacting with them and making them happy and proud of her so knowing she had done just that, was an amazing feeling.

“umm hesbloodsline... @hesbloodsline ... i’m really fond of this question because its really to the point, ‘where's the pig and where the fuck is harry?’” she smiled, holding in a laugh.

“piggy’s here, she's great, she's really doing so well and life is really good for her right now, she's really thriving and doing her thing” she ranted, a hint of sarcasm in her voice, “um, i make her big salads everyday that she likes, she's doing really great. she asked me to stop posting her as much because she's actually really offended by a lot of your jokes that you make on twitter, she asked me to have a word with you guys” she continued to joke, well aware that she probably found herself more funny than anyone else did right now.

“she doesn't like the jokes about being eaten, they really hurt her, umm yeh, and she asked me to convey that... no she’s great...” she finally decided to answer, “and harry, is on set today, so um, yeh thats where he is... but don't worry i will tell him to keep you in the loop, i’ve got you” 

ariana unconsciously let a small smile take over her glossed lips when talking about harry. he had been so excited about this new project and seeing him passionate and happy about anything he’s doing, always made her happiest.

~~~~~~~~~~~

“nicole! @nastyctrl. nicole said ‘who helped come up with the concept for the positions music video, love u sm ari’ love you so much to, i love you so much more” she paused, she loved this story,

“um this is actually a really funny story, dave and i had been going back and forth on several different concepts, and i couldn't, like... marry one... i couldn't really, like, really commit to one, i wasn't 100% sold. and it was missing a certain element of empowerment. and i kept, you know, trying to think of things that would make it more impactful cause i wasn't loving what we had...”

“anddd then me and harry were on this huge hike, and he just turned to me and was like, ‘what if you were the president?’ which was like, not at all fitting cause i was dying and complaining the whole time. but i was like,” she tried to imitate a shocked face through her smile and laughed 

“and when i called dave he was like ‘oh... kay, ill call you guys back’ and had the whole production team redo everything, and i had mimi pull completely different outfits and we completely started over cause that idea was what i was, craving and missing. and i was like, wow, thats so perfect” she smiled, shrugging her shoulders, “so yeh, honorary directing credit to harry styles, if you liked that”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

“this is from @borderlinevinyl, who said ‘how much of the album was recorded at your little home studio?’ ummm..” she sang, looking off camera in thought, everything in quarantine had honestly just blurred into one so she was struggling to remember what exactly she recorded where,

“um... a lot of it was... i think i did parts of everything here and parts of things at tommy's i know i did, um, the final chorus ad-libs for positions at home” she began listing in her head, “i know i did all of off the table at home... i know i did the final chorus of my hair at home because we- i-” oops. she had to control the laugh threatening to leave her lips at the lack of subtlety in her correction

“-i got out of the shower and he was like ‘oh your whistles are really here right now’, and i was like y’know what... yeahh they are aren’t they” she laughed as she squinted her eyes and recited that part of the conversation, even trying to imitate his deeper accent.

she had been singing in the shower - as she always did - and harry joining her never seemed to stop her from belting out any whitney or old one direction classic she wanted to. he would even join in sometimes and they'd end up with their own mini concert, dancing around naked, shampoo and conditioner bottles in hand singing their hearts out to everything from high school musical to nicki minaj to fleetwood mac.

while it felt like too bold of statement to make as she truly revelled in and enjoyed everything they did together, showering with him was truly one of her favourite’s. whether it was steamy shower sex that had all glass surfaces in the room fogging up or letting loose and dancing and singing under the pouring water, every moment felt so intimate and sacred. it truly made her feel like they were they only people in the world. 

of course he would claim she was out singing him every time she whistled and would jokingly try to replicate the note but he was truly just in awe off the sounds that came from her mouth (in all senses of the word;)

"-and so i opened ‘my hair’ and just randomly did that” she continued, “um what else did i do here, i did the a lot of the backgrounds and ad-libs for 34+35 here, um, obvious was done at home, a lot of six-thirty was done at home”

caught in her own thoughts she only realised she had probably been droning on for too long when she caught scooters eye across the room and with a blush she shook her head as if to clear it, “this is an annoying answer, everything was kind of all over the place but i did a lot, a lot, a lot of the vocals for the album at the house" she finally finished the long answer, moving on quickly as she realised she didn't have long until the premiere and she wanted to answer as many of the questions as possible.

“ok, second last question from hannah, ever- @everdxystxless, im sorry i don't know how to pronounce that” she laughs looking up at the camera with wide eyes, not sure how exactly how she was supposed to go about pronouncing the username, 

“im sorry, um, but anyway she say’s ‘ari baby, how do you feel about harry getting to do a movie with florence pugh, we know your a big fan of hers, ps. i love you so much!’ well hannah, i love you too” she replies, as she thinks back to when harry first introduced the two, after she had gotten over the initial fangirling, the pair became amazing friends. florence struck ariana as such a genuine, loving person and they shared the same dry sense of humour. plus ariana might of been just a little obsessed with her accent - not that she would ever admit that and scare the girl off.

“and... um, yeah, it literally, made me beyond happy, i was fully like, fangirling when i met her the first time” she laughs as she plays with her hair, “she honestly, probably was like, ‘who the fuck is this girl? what is she doing?’”ariana imitated, a faux scared/weirded out look on her face, playing the part of a mildly pissed off florence - which she luckily had never been on the receiving end of, “im sure i was being the opposite of subtle about it but, no, she really truly is the sweetest, kindest, most beautiful, talented human being” she emphasises, the thought of any news outlets of fan’s trying to spin a ‘jealousy’ story about this making her internally role her eyes,

“midsommar is, like, one of my all time favourite movies, and she's amazing in it, and harry’s like so fucking lucky its crazy. so yeah, thats insane”

~~~~~~~~~

"...so yeah... thank you so much! this was so much fun!” ariana exclaimed as she wrapped up the Q&A, smiling wide at the camera, she knew her fans were going to love the music video and she couldn't wait for them to watch it, plus interacting with them in this way always made her happy.

“i love you guys, i miss you” she reminded, “i am so appreciative of everything you've done for this album, for these singles, for this music. i hope that, um, that this makes you super happy, i hope it makes you smile...we had so much fun shooting it and um, the girls are so fantastic, so i hope you love this and i hope you love the deluxe!” 

ariana didn't know how many more ways she could say thank you and express her gratitude but she still had over a minute and a half so she’d have to come up with something, even if it meant she’d sound like a broken record

“i am so thankful for everything and for the love that you've shown this music i cant even begin to articulate it properly so, thank you! i appreciate it so much” she breathed out all in one, “but anyway, the video should be starting soon, so... i hope you like it, don't refresh! it’ll be here soon... i promise... just don't refresh” she urged dramatically, she was really dragging this out, “but yeh” she got out through laughs “the video should be starting anytime now, i love you guys” she blew a kiss to the camera before moving as close to the lens as possible “byee”.

🖤 there u go!! i hope you liked it, and any feedback would always always be welcomed and so so appreciated pls and thanku x 

#3435remix #35+35 #ariana #grande #butera #ag #agb #viral no1 #hiphop #rap #RnB #music #female #woman #trio #livestream #countdown #harrystyles #hs #hariana #dojacat #megan thee stallion

[meetthefatess]

Hi dear! I just finished listening to In the Green and I'm in love, it's so beautiful and the vocals are amazing. However I'm having a hard time understanding it. Would you be willing to do a summary of like each song so that I can figure out what's happening? Totally understand if that's too much work though, I'm happy just listening to it without fully understanding. Love you!

Hi! I wouldn’t mind at all 🥰

Some of these descriptions are going to be longer than others bc I know more about certain songs. Also disclaimer, I haven’t seen the show in person so this is based on reviews & interviews I’ve seen talking about the show & the music itself! If anyone has corrections, pls let me know!

(tw for mentions of rape, I’ll tag accordingly)

O Virga ac Diadema: this is actually a song written by Hildegard von Bingen, who was a brilliant scientist, composer, philosopher (among other things) in the Middle Ages & who this musical is based on! Most, if not all, of the Latin chanting sections are taken from Hildegard’s own work! I’ll probably mention this again when the next one comes up.

Death Ceremony: following the death of her sister (which we will get into later) Hildegard is given away by her mother to Jutta. Hildegard was the youngest of 10 siblings and very shaken by her sister’s death, so this was likely done to lessen the burden on the family. My understanding is that this song is Jutta officially taking over the care of Hildegard. She is excited at the idea of Hildegard being acquainted with death (through the lessons she plans to teach her) because it is what she herself has been pursuing in her search for “the light.” The slam at the end of the song represents the two being locked in the cell together.

If I Had a Knee: in this song we become acquainted with the “pieces” of Hildegard. Because of, as she says, a “life shattering experience” she has broken into the Mouth (Ashley Pérez Flanagan), Eye (Rachael Duddy), and Hand (Hannah Whitney). This is how she has processed her trauma. She believes her mother sent her away because she is broken like this and if she just becomes whole (or one “piece”) again she will be able to return home. We also get a little forshadowing to Confession when she sings “If I had a knee I could climb out the window.”

The Rule: Jutta promises she can help the Hildegards become whole again because she used to be broken & knows what they are going through. She also believes that helping the Hildegards will give her the freedom she has been searching for and show her “the light.” We get a little look into Jutta’s life as a noblewoman here too! Jutta also brushes away the Hildegard’s questions about how she broke (or HER life shattering experience) and insists that the only thing that matters is she was able to get herself under control (by locking herself in the cell) and become whole again.

I Am Hungry: I Am Hungry is centered around Mouth and the desires held by that piece of Hildegard. These solo (ish) piece songs I believe are how Jutta learns about & tries to “fix” Hildegard one piece at a time. Mouth battles with feeling ungrateful, despite this opportunity to become whole thanks to Jutta, being uncomfortable in her own skin, and feeling like a monster. I don’t know as much about this song but it is a Bop and Ashley Pérez Flanagan is SO good.

Eve: this is one of the lessons Jutta teaches (directed at Mouth) on how to make her trauma easier to bear. I believe this lesson is given after Hildegard has her first period? Jutta’s lessons are starting to reveal her own pain and flawed judgement with the line “if you kill your every care, your burden will be less to bear.” Once again, A Bop

Ritual: time is passing in the cell! The Hildegards are still working to become whole, with the help of Jutta (who sings “it takes time to be whole” in response to the Hildegards’ “I’m trying”). They are becoming frustrated because they are still broken and are not sure what they are supposed to be learning.

Little Life: perhaps realizing that the Hildegards are more inclined to believe in light & life than the death-oriented lessons Jutta tries to teach them, Jutta gives another lesson. Jutta further shows she has gone through trauma too in understanding the Hildegards are “hiding the feeling [they’ve] done something wrong.” We also learn the name of Hildegard’s sister (Agathe) and that she has died. Jutta insists that Hildegard can get past her pain by sacrificing parts of herself (“you have nothing to lose if everything’s gone”). This also begins the instruction to dig (in which the Hildegards dig their own grave to help them become whole).

Sun Song: Hand remembers her childhood fondly & running through the woods with her sister Agathe before her death. She is trying to reason with Jutta and show her that the outside world is beautiful and that they don’t have to lock themselves away (literally). Eventually, Jutta recounts her own youth. She was engaged but decided to run away from her family instead of submit to her would be husband. She and Hand sing about the freedom they experienced in the outside world.

In The Green: the talk of the outside world awakens Jutta’s own trauma (her voice overlapping with that of Shadow, the broken piece of her that holds said trauma). When she chose to run away, she was found out and raped by a man (he is familiar to Jutta, so we can assume this is her would be husband) in the garden she was running through. In the end Jutta appears both to be yelling “leave me alone” to the man in her memory and to Shadow, who she has buried away and pretends does not exist anymore. “In The Green” or “The In The Green memory” is how this memory is referred to later in the musical.

Burial: as reasoning with Jutta does not work, the Hildegards turn on her and say they will no longer help her find the light. Jutta yells back “okay, stay broken. Have it your way.” Then the Hildegards turn on each other (mostly on Hand, the one they sing “you don’t belong here” to). They blame their trauma on Eye for having seen “Agathe’s secret,” Mouth for not keeping the secret, and Hand for not helping Agathe. More foreshadowing to Confession with “Agathe’s bleeding, I am not helping.” They all individually begin to break down and, because they feel they can’t focus on Jutta’s tasks: watch, wait, and try, they fully focus on digging until...

Underground: the Hildegards’ digging unearths Shadow, a piece of Jutta that she hid away, insisting she had already become whole. Shadow holds the memory of the day Jutta was raped, and understands that the pieces of Hildegard hold similarly traumatizing memories from the day their sister died. Shadow does not want to be revealed because Jutta does not want that memory to be part of her. (Think back to The Rule when Jutta says “when I see the light, I will erase my history for good” and tell be that doesn’t make you SO SAD)

Confession: the Hildegards tell their story to Shadow. Agathe sneaks out at night to meet with a man. Hildegard is scared Agathe is going to run away with him so tells their mother. Their mother is angry (likely because their family was lower nobility & did not approve of the relationship?). Agathe gets pregnant and has no husband, so wants to get rid of the baby so she isn’t ostracized or reminded of what happened. She convinces Hildegard to come with her to find herbs by the river that will “take the swelling from her belly.” This ends up killing her while Hildegard watches in horror. This also shows us how Hildegard was broken “I shouldn’t have seen (eye), I shouldn’t have said (mouth), I shouldn’t have lead her across the river (hand).”

Sun Song Reprise: after finally talking about their trauma, the Hildegards reflect. They realize that they can’t ever be how they used to be, but they can still be alright and will carry Agathe’s memory within them. They realize they don’t have to become “whole” to fix themselves.

Light Undercover: Shadow is in awe at how they’ve overcome their memory and found “the light.” She wants them to stay with her and share their light. The Hildegards realize hiding their trauma was what truly broke them and try to get Shadow to share the in the green memory with them so they can carry the burden of it together. Shadow is adamantly against this, saying Jutta made her disappear and she is content with the light from the Hildegards. The Hildegards insist that Shadow can find her own light if she just speaks about the memory.

The First Verb: the Hildegards sing about the lessons they’ve learned and the flaws in their previous mindsets. They want to help Shadow overcome her history. Shadow sings “I saw myself inside of a dream, but with your help I can wake up, make myself scream.” Essentially to become part of Jutta again and help her.

O Viridissima Virga: another song of the real Hildegard’s! A lot of her works revolved around nature and the earth mother which is is really cool thematically with the show. In my opinion ig

Light Undercover/ In The Green reprise: The Hildegard’s continue to try and coax the light out of Shadow who finally recounts the memory (voluntarily or involuntarily I do not know).

The Ripening: Jutta, presumably faced with her history once again, is conflicted. She believes she has done everything right but she still isn’t free, the only thing she’s ever wanted. She has sacrificed her whole life to her work and yet, is still trapped in darkness. Existential. Crisis.

Forgiveness: (if I’m interpretting correctly) Jutta has died. The Hildegards feel they were too late but now reflect on the lessons they have learned once again. “You have to be broken to see light in the dark.” Presumably why Jutta could never see the light is because she insisted she was not broken anymore and buried her broken pieces away.

Integration: Hildegard takes over Jutta’s place at the monastery and teaches and helps more women heal. This song is a lot about the rest of her life! If you have a little bit of background knowledge about Saint Hildegard (I don’t have much) this probably makes a good deal more sense.

Exorcism: Hildegard is faced with a member of the family her community helped destroy. Another woman who was silenced (this time by Hildegard’s influence). Story isn’t over?

Helpful timeline & things: Hildegard was 14 when she was locked in the cell with Jutta. Jutta had already been in the cell for 6 years. They remained in it together for 30 years. The only opening was a small window through which they were delivered food.

Some parts of this are my own interpretation so it’s totally cool if you see some lyrics as meaning different things!

Also, if you have questions about any songs in particular, feel free to shoot me another ask! Hopefully this helps!



#tw rape #in the green #long post #it is currently 2 am #so I will rb in the morning #but yeah #glad you like it! #ily!! #it’s an ask!

[extremelybonkers]

What I think about the SMP: PART 2

Wow, we reached that 10 note goal fast. Why do you guys like this garbage content? I don't know, but thanks! So, now we move to part 2!

NOTE: this part is now talking about people more than groups of people. I need more content :)

(Editing Fox here, I meant, I was too lazy to use the rest of the groups on the SMP and thought I'd have more fun writing about characters in general.)

(Editing Editing Fox here. What past me said was I was too lazy to go on google and look something up, but I thought it would be fun to make this. But really, I had a massive headache and wanted to commit die so, I just wrote in my tired state of mind.)

TECHNOBLADE

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE CHARACTER?

I love Techno, C! Techno, and CC! Techno. Both are just monotone murders of the heart. But, more into C! Techno! I do appreciate that when Techno is onscreen, he says something that makes you go "Oh fuck, shit bout to go down". He is so scary and when you see what he does in lore streams, whether it's fighting or poetry, he makes you feel something. (also, I read the whole Sun Tzu: Art of War. Disclaimer: It's long, will give you a headache, and you need to take notes.)

WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT THIS CHARACTER?

I love that Techno is in the morally gray like he will do what he deems right in the situation. For example, he fights alongside Philza and Dream to destroy a country. But then, he starts the Antarctic Empire, which is sorta a monarchy/dictatorship as he tries to get rid of all government opposing him. (I am full of shit so, if I am wrong, please tell me). So, yeah, I like that he is him.

IF YOU WERE TO ASK THIS CHARACTER ANYTHING, WHAT WOULD YOU ASK?

I would most likely ask, "What is the Syndicate planning?". We haven't heard from them in so long, please I will pay for some new Syndicate lore.

QUACKITY

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE CHARACTER?

I love CC! Quackity. He is male wife and he is pretty (not as pretty as Sam, but I digress). Now, I will thoroughly tell you how much I hate his character.

(be warned, I ramble for a bit. you can skip this part if you want)

C! Quackity makes me want to rescue Dream. I hear you saying, "Whitney, he's not that bad, is he? Freeing Dream, come one, Quack's not that bad." But, oh yes, it is.

Now, for content, I was watching Yu-Gi-Oh season 0 (that shit is dark, please make more) and I thought to myself, "Wow, Yami (or Atem, if you're annoying) is really beating these guys up. Like, I get their horrible people, but you literally trapped Kiba in a card and forced him to feel the pain of battling monsters."

I then thought, well that's what Quackity is doing. Dream has already lost and is locked in prison with no chance of parole, no need to torture him.

And, sure, I get Big Q wants the revive book but, is torture the best way to do it? I would literally prefer to say you'll let him out if he gives you the book and when he gives you the book, put him back inside the prison.

I would slap C! Quackity (and give him the more efficient way of getting the book) and hug CC! Quackity.

WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT THIS CHARACTER?

I love how ballsy this guy is. He is like, "Ah yes, I will now torture my husband's former best friend because if he finds out he will totally not be pissed! This is a great idea :]".

He honestly made me laugh when he was torturing Dream. Is this because I am very tolerant to dark jokes? Yes. Do I care what you think, you normie? No.

But, anyway, I love how far he's willing to take things. He tortures people, makes a casino (probably with overpriced food), and eats someone's fucking heart.

I hate this guy, but I love this guy.

IF YOU WERE TO ASK THIS CHARACTER ANYTHING, WHAT WOULD YOU ASK?

I would ask, "Why?". Just, why. Depending on his answer, I will raise/lower the strength of the punting of his face.

Yeah, that's it! Pretty long, huh? Yeeee I've been working on this since 5/10. Well, I'll see you guys next post. Stay fluffy!

DAILY SONG RECOMMENDATION:

#dsmp #dsmpblr #dsmp techno #dsmp quackity #dsmp spoilers #quackity #technoblade #philza #anarachy #why did i even write this #my thoughts

[beatriceweasley1]

Between us (Part 1)

Pairing: Percy Weasley x reader

Summary: Y/N Lockhart is coming to hogwarts in their sixth year with their father, they haven’t been to hogwarts before and when they comes to hogwarts a special person catch their eye

Word count: 888 (satisfying)

Warning: none, I think

Author’s note: I’m going to try to do part 2 so fast as possible but I have muggle school so it’s going to take awhile. And I am not so good at writing, hehe.

Disclaimer: GIF is not mine

Y/N= your name

I thought this song would fit to the story maybe not in this part but later:)

“Good morning, darling”

”Good morning, dad”

”So I have got a job at hogwarts”

“That’s great”

“I’m gonna teach defense against the dark arts, and I have a letter for you” you loved your father, you had a really good relationship with him but sometimes he can be a little annoying and sometimes well...not annoying. And it was also this other thing that he loved and you hated, the fame. He was famous and thanks to him you became famous too...as his kid so most of your life has just been sitting behind desks while he signed his books.

“What is it?”

”Open it”

“A hogwarts letter! Thanks, dad!”

“No problem, darling”

“But how am I going to start I have missed five years”

“You can take that after school”

You have been homeschooled most of your life so you hadn’t learned the magic they had, well you knew some spells but not to much. Your dad went to hogwarts but he didn’t want you to go because he thought he could teach you better then they could, but now when he had got a job at the school he thought you could go. So instead of teaching you at home he could teach you at school, he thought he was really smart.

“But it’s just your books we are going to have”

“I know, isn’t wicked”

“Yeah, sure”

“Next week we are going to Diagon Alley, to sell my books but you can get them for free of course, you just need to get this one” he said while pointing at the name of the book The big book of spells, grade 6 by Miranda Goshawk. You nodded.

—————

Now it was time to go to Diagon Alley, it was early in the morning and you were ready to head of. When you came in to the store every thing was already set up so you went to the desk and sat behind it on a chair and took a book that looked interesting and started reading, your dad went in the back so he could make a good entrance. After a while the shop was already pretty packed with people, then you heard the door open again you thought it would stop coming in people at this point , it was a family. All of them had red hair and freckles. Their was also this boy, he had curly red hair and glasses. You made eye contact when he went in to the store you looked at each other for a couple of seconds before on of his brother (you assumed) started to tease him about something or at least you thought so because the curly red headed boy looked annoyed, then another boy came up to him, he looked exactly the same as the other boy and he began to talk to him as well.

A voice said “Gilderoy Lockhart” you sighed. You continue to read your book then someone said “Excuse me, this is for The Daily Prophet”

“You too, get in the picture” your father took the book you held and dragged you up from the chair and he made you stand besides him, you forced a smile on your face. “It can’t be Harry Potter” your father said, you looked where he was looking and saw a boy with dirt all over his face and the famous scar everybody is talking about on his forehead. The Daily Prophet guy dragged the boy to where you and your dad was standing. And then you dad took Harry so he stood on the other side of him. The guy took a few more pictures and then you dad started talking about his book Magical me. He gave Harry all his books free probably because he wanted him self to look good in front of the camera but who knows.

He started to sign the books and you continue to read your book still having an eye on the red headed boy. You knew he went to hogwarts, most because he wore a robe but also because he was there to buy the new school books he needed for the year.

After a couple of minutes it was a loud noise coming from the other part of the store and books started flying everywhere and two grown up men had stated a fight and they had went in to a bookshelf and that made other people go in to other bookshelf’s, it was chaos. After awhile of them fighting someone stopped them and they went out of the store, you sat there shocked, your dad as well.

“Well that was something you don’t see everyday” you said

“No you don’t, we should get going. Okay everyone we need to go...it’s something important we need to do”

You and your dad went out of the now destroyed store.

“You are just going to walk out like that”

“Yes”

“We don’t even have everything important, do we?”

“We actually do, we need to buy you that book”

“But we just was in the store”

“We can just pretend that we bought it some where else”

“But we need to get in to the store to get it”

Your dad held out the book

“You didn’t...pay”

“I mean, I’m Gilderoy Lockhart I don’t need to pay”

“Oh Merlin”

—————

To be continued...

#percy weasley #percy weasley x y/n #george weasley #fred weasley #weasley twins #gilderoy lockhart #fanfic

[court-of-pokemuses]

Every Eusine ship rated!

I’ve done this over on my main account @/pkmnsdarkqueen, and I think it’s kinda fun. It’s every ship on the muse from this page rated by my personal opinions. For this account I’ve been slowly working on it since January, and since this is a multimuse it took this long. I hope ya’ll enjoy!

Disclaimers directly below and the list under the cut!

strike through=my side commentary, trying to be funny, usually about ship names italicized=if asked I’d be down to rp it mostly just to see how/it it’d work * by name=I just think it’s a wildly random ship bold=ship name and who in it to help you find a certain ship highlights=they are grouped up, again in case you want to find that one ship

Took out category of Eusine and a protagonist/rival/or companion since they’re all children so it’s a hard no. A few other younger characters fit in the other categories though they’ve been judged no as well for the most part. Some shipped but ONLY in the context of the character being grown up.

Took out category of Eusine with pokemon because pokephelia. In multiship some of them have a pokemon and these have been dubbed as being one of the human’s part pokemon.

ships on ‘never ending romance’ website. Before asked yes mun has other ships she likes that aren’t listed, but Im only focusing on those listed.

Eusine w/ a Villain

Top rated ships: Diamondstud, & Uxorious shipping. 

Bottom rated ships: Fanatic, Fixation &  Hoax shipping.

*DiamondstudShipping - Colress & Eusine 5/10 I mean they’re both fabulous dudes who are focused on finding legendaries so I’d give it a fair shot of happening. Then again would Colress be able to put up with Eusine? 

FanaticShipping - Eusine & Saturn 0/10 Hehehe, they’d kill each other. (Saturn would kill Eusine)

FixationShipping - Eusine & Giovanni 0/10 Giovanni would kill him let’s be honest. 

HoaxShipping - Archer & Eusine 1/10 I.........hm.........yeah don’t really see it too much either as a long term thing. Maybe a hook up?

*UnfortunateShipping - Butch & Eusine 4/10 I mean it’s interesting you got 2 folks who like to show others up, and are fancy bois. Could kinda work I suppose. 

UxoriousShipping - Eusine & Hunter J 6/10 And in this corner we have the wild ship that kinda makes sense just make Eusine more crazed. I mean they’re both obsessed with finding legendaries??? So just watch em run around trying to find certain stuff. Not much love there tho

*WorthyShipping - Cyrus & Eusine 4/10 I’m sorry but I do not see Eusine as hitting the ‘worthy’ level on that I mean he’s strictly emotion based tbh. This would be wild though to see. 

Eusine w/ a champion

Top rated ships: Regent shipping

Bottom rated ships: Gnomon shipping

AeonShipping - Eusine & Cynthia 0/10 Oh gosh no, how the f is that gonna work? Like bruh I don’t think she’d put up with him. 

GnomonShipping - Eusine & Steven Stone 4/10 Gnomo means gnome, so this ship is about gnomes???? Anyway moving on from that def another one night stand scenario.

MantleShipping - Eusine & Lance 4/10 Here we have another one night stand! Seriously just very few people can handle Eusine long term.

*RegentShipping - Alder & Eusine 7/10 Eh Alder did casually shoot his shot at Cynthia so if he did with Eusine def would of at least gone a round. Tho hm long term???? Maybe? I mean Alder has more patience???

SplashShipping - Eusine & Wallace 4/10 Both fabulous, but can they handle each other’s extraneous is the real question.

Eusine w/ an elite 

Top rated ships: Ouroboros, and Harker shipping

Bottom rated ships: DarkMagic, MythHunter, and Elitist shipping

DarkMagicShipping - Eusine & Karen -50/10 Hehehehe, no. Yeah no even if Morty wasn’t involved in why Eusine hates her they would soon find a reason to be at each other’s throats.

ElitistShipping - Eusine & Will 1/10 Will would be sick of him pretty soon, or Eusine would be sick of him. If they didn’t chat much before hand maybe 1 night.

HarkerShipping - Eusine & Marshal 7/10 Cuter than some others I will say and I mean Marshal does seem to have more patience than some, and maybe it’d work.

MinaShipping - Eusine & Grimsley 5/10 Oh grims baby boi shipped around. Yeah I could kinda see it running better than some but again 2 dramatic bois, we’ll see how long they can take each other. 

*MythHunterShipping - Drake (Orange) & Eusine 1/10 I just want to see em exploring the world trying to find crazy legends and such. 

OuroborosShipping - Eusine & Flint (elite) 9/10 Kinda want to see this happen. I just imagine it being the refined boyfriend and messy other boy friend who were originally roommates. 

PilgrimageShipping - Bruno & Eusine 3/10 Ye Bruno would have the patience of a saint to handle him but would it be a good relationship?

WellReadShipping - Eusine & Lucian 5/10 Hm, nerd meets fabulous extrovert. Kinda sorta maybe?

(Surprised to see everyone in the Johto league and no Koga)

Eusine w/ a gym leader

Top rated ships: Sacred, Maelstrom, and RagingInferno shipping

Bottom rated ships: Camilla, Sacrosanct, and Broxa shipping

BroxaShipping - Eusine & Winona 0/10 Winona would not put up with this man. 

CamillaShipping - Eusine & Sabrina -10/10 Sabrina WOULD NOT put up with this man.

CeladonShipping - Eusine & Erika 3/10 I kinda want to see this in that Eusine can usually get away with his slightly flirty shiz and expects Erika to fall, but she just outright does not and boom he’s like,”but....hm I am intrigued.”

CorruptShipping - Bugsy & Eusine 0/10 No way in heck would Boy Scout and Eusine get along

DropletShipping - Eusine & Misty 2/10 Huh it’d be interesting but also they’d probably just fight alot.

HereticShipping - Eusine & Falkner 6/10 I think the name is funny, and brings up some interesting possibilities in au, but as the same time I kinda see it in the main timeline and wanna see it. 

IntertidalZoneShipping - Eusine & Jasmine 0/10 Ye they might ship, but would it be a healthy relationship?

JustinShipping - Eusine & Elesa 0/10 Who is Justin. They would be fashionable together but trying to romance would not work.

MaelstromShipping - Eusine & Volkner 8/10 Ok maybe. Tbh Volkner and Morty have somewhat of the same vibe to me, but Volkener has a bit more sad energy. 

MinakaneShipping - Eusine & Whitney 0/10 This is the first time I feel like Eusine would be annoyed and only becasue she’s just a happy ball but like all the time.

*RagingInfernoShipping - Chili & Eusine 7/10 Ok but watch em both get mad and scream like and then like cuddle afterward and both apologize. 

RueShipping - Eusine & Candice 0/10 Eusine is bent on finding legendaries and Candice is all protect them. no.

SacredShipping - Eusine & Morty 1000/10 Top for the boi cause they just have alot of character moments, and also they have the same salty chemistry and I love it.

SacrosanctShipping - Eusine & Clair 0/10 Clair would hurt him first before any sparks flew. 

SiWongShipping - Byron & Eusine 4/10 Eusine is your dad now Roark. So anyway I think it’s kinda interesting I like the contrast they have with each other but Idk how it’d work together. 

TesseractShipping - Brock & Eusine 1/10 Please explain the name to me, are you telling me they’re Avengers now??? So anyway I kinda feel like this wouldn’t happen. Like I mean Brock is a kind soul, and Eusine is kind of a goblin. 

WTFEverShipping - Brawly & Eusine 3/10 The name says it all. They’d have a one night stand, Brawly would think it was more and scream that at Eusine who’s confused why he’s mad. 

Eusine w/ Professor or assistant to

CrossRegionShipping - Bill & Eusine 3/10 Bill I suppose could work but I feel like things would fall apart when Bill realizes ‘oh you don’t just like suicune in a research sense you’re a bit fanatic.”

***ForelockShipping - Eusine & Professor Sycamore 5/10 .....Ok but if Sycamore was evil maybe? Idk why specifically this, but for some reason I feel like that would vibe??? In general tho naw.

*InvestShipping - Eusine & Professor Rowan 4/10 Naw don’t see this long term but I see it going longer than most.

*LifelongDreamShipping - Eusine & Fennel 9/10 There aren’t too many heterosexual ships I see with Eusine but oddly enough I can see this one. Especially after Eusine lost suicune and they get to talk about what they want from life. 

Eusine w/ a minor GAME npc

Top rated ships: Bowtie, and Value shipping

Bottom rated ships: Chaser, and Jinx shipping 

*BowtieShipping - Eusine & Juggler Irwin 6/10 You know what ye, let em both be showy but one has the cool ability to juggle.

ChaserShipping - Eusine & Satsuki 2/10 Satsuki is a kimono girl about protecting the legendaries idk if she’d be down with his goal unless you just want to focus on them enjoying the journey of looking. 

HarangueShipping - Eusine & Thorton 5/10 I can’t tell if Thorton is a child so that’s weird but for this we’re gonna head cannon he’s an adult. I mean kinda cute I guess with crazy pants McGee energy that Eusine has and in control Thorton. SO eh.

*JinxShipping - Eusine & Palmer 2/10 But Palmer making a hologram suicune? Eh Might be cute, but it’d need more depth than my little cute joke. 

MysticPoisonShipping - Eusine & Lucy 3/10 Funny to imagine same energy as Erika, but long term I don’t see it. 

PokeWifeShipping - AZ (XY) & Eusine 4/10 Someone please explain, please. I mean it’s a no from me dog, but like maybe in an alternate timeline???

*ValueShipping - Eusine & Riley 6/10 They just wanna go find legendaries. They both have the slight cool vibe and I like it.

Eusine w/ a minor ANIME/MOVIE npc

Top rated ships: Harrow, Thunder, Jones, and LegendQuestShipping/PursueShipping/RavingShipping

Bottom rated ships: 20Questions, FollowMyLeader, and Legato shipping

*20QuestionsShipping - Eusine & Flint (Kanto) 0/10 Ya’ll this is Brock’s dad. Like wut??? Brock I am your dad now. I guess the fandom just sees Eusine with dads/dad bods. what 20 questions are they asking?

*AncientPossessionShipping - King of Pokelantis & Eusine 5/10 ..........yeah if anyone was gonna end up possessed it’d be Eusine. They both want to find a legendary pokemon, but Eusine still has their heart focused on wanting to help the pokemon. Although hm idk but what if the king corrupted Eusine??? 

FollowMyLeaderShipping - Eusine & Molly Hale 0/10 So this is the child from the movie and I get we see her all grown but still I don’t like this. 

ForeignShipping - Eusine & Harrison 3/10 This guy has a houndoom as his main and has a tie with ho-oh, I’m shocked the fandom didn’t slam him together with Karen. Anyways he doesn’t have too much depth in the way most anime NPCs do but like mayhaps

GoldbergShipping - Eusine & Noland 5/10 Another dad bod type. Anyway I see this one tho since the cold calculations of Noland may mix with Eusine’s craziness. 

*HarrowShipping - Eusine & Harley 10/10 Yes def on this one. Harley is kinda intense, Eusine is intense. I think this makes sense. 

JonesShipping - Eusine & Ian 8/10 There isn’t much on this guy except that he takes care of pokemon. But he has that dad bod which apparently is Eosin’s thing so sure. 

LegatoShipping - Butler & Eusine 0/10 So Butler has a girlfriend for one. I honestly feel like they have the same energy but Eusine is gay. 

LegendQuestShipping/PursueShipping/RavingShipping - Eusine & Lawrence III 8/10 Again this is just crazy Eusine with someone enabling him. 

*MadShipping - Eusine & Tyson (Johto) 6/10 The Tyson they’re talking about it she one that forced the evolution to happen. I mean I guess but also again this would be the crazy Eusine one. 

ThunderShipping - Eusine & Kudou 8/10 One gets Suicune, and one gets Raikou I mean he’s one of those anime characters that doesn’t get much character so let it happen.

WitnessShipping - Eusine & Ritchie 0/10 This guy is a rival to Ash so ya know it’s a kid, and I don’t see anything they’d connect on.

Eusine w/ Orre or Ranger npcs

SuicuneShipping - Eusine & Venus 8/10 So they’re both conceited, and focused on folks liking them? 

Eusine w/ manga characters

UnworthyShipping - Eusine & Walker Guess what folks, it’s another dad-o, specifically Falkner’s. 

Eusine and multiple people: (All are gonna be a no romantically because I don’t see Karen being poly, but I’ll give plot ideas)

Top rated ships: ImaginaryFriend, and Oos shipping

Bottom rated ships: MissSaigon, Erratic and CrystalIntegrity shipping 

4KingsShipping - Eusine, Falkner, Morty & Lyra 3/10 I’m kinda lost on the name here, and I could see them all hanging out I guess. Maybe a couples date thing, Eusine & Morty w/ Lyra and Falkner. Where do the kings come from tho?

BromanceShipping - Eusine, Flint (Elite), Morty & Volkner 7/10 Bromance where nothing is platonic and clearly 2 couples, or heck maybe it is, anyways I like it though! CapeShipping - Eusine & Jackson (Vincent) / Eusine, Jackson (Vincent) & Lance 9/10 Ok but cape awareness club though where they all sit down and make up good reasons to have a cape, and they make PR for it cause they’re tired of getting teased. It’s a funny idea. CrystalBellShipping - Eusine, Morty & Suicune 5/10 Ok this is just Eusine completing his goal in life and morty also being there. I mean I feel like Morty would be the 1 person to support him having the pokemon but I mean it’d eventually just be his fav pokemon on his team.

CrystalIntegrityShipping - Eusine, Paul, Kris & Suicune 1/10 This is just eusine hanging out with children and a legendary pokemon what are they supposed to do?

CrystaltrioShipping - Eusine, Morty & Kris 4/10 Just a gay couple handing out with this child who defeated them both in pokemon combat. Look she just thinks they’re cool ok?

DashingFanboyShipping - Baron Alberto, Eusine & Lawrence III 9/10 3 bad bois all out wanting to catch their pokemon favorite. Please don’t leave them along longer than 5 minutes because bad things can and will happen. 

EastWindShipping - Crystal, Eusine & Suicune 4/10 This is just Eusine being mad that she caught the pokemon. It makes sense tbh, but I think she’d get annoyed with him trying to convince the legendary to be his pokemon.  ErraticShipping - Eusine & Morty + Eugene (Eusine) & Kudo 2/10 Ok so this is just Eusine shipped with one guy and another Eusine shipped with Morty cause Eugene and Eusine are the same person. I am confusion and I feel like Kudo and Morty would be too. 

ImaginaryFriendShipping - Eusine, Lawrence III, Morty, Ho-Oh, Lugia & Suicune 10/10 .........This is just people giving them a hard time about pokemon they will never get/see isn’t it. Heh I feel like you could put more people in this thing, and I think there should just be that as a support group.  IntelligenceShipping - Eusine, Lucian & Will 5/10 Bruh Lucian would lose his mind trying to deal with these two, It’d be funny to watch but poor Lucian.  KarmaShipping - Eusine, Falkner, Morty & Will 5/10 What did Falkner do to deserve bad karma? And yes I say bad cause Will, Morty, and Eusine alone would cause some shiz. This is the above but with one more person and falconer stuck with it.  LovelyangstyfanserviceShipping - Eusine, Falkner, Lawrence III & Morty 5/10 Ah so these are the angsty bois huh? You’re missing a few folks.  Marina'sFondestDreamShipping - Eusine, Jackson (Vincent) & Lance 3/10 I think this is just a 4 way someone wants to happen. Eusine would have a good time talking to Vincent about Raikou cause it could help him find Suicune. Lance is wondering how he got wrapped up in this convo. 

MisledShipping - King of Pokelantis, Ash & Eusine 4/10 So Ash got possessed by the king and Eusine would def fall into the same boat if there. Yeah the king would have 2 minions basically. 

MissSaigonShipping - Brawly, Eusine & Morty 1/10 So many Eusine and Morty with another person. Hm I can’t think of much they’d have in common immediately...

MovingOnShipping - Eusine, Lawrence III & Professor Carolina 5/10 Professor Carolina helps 2 dorks get over the fact that they can’t have the legendary pokemon they want. MysticQuestShipping - Eusine, Jimmy (Kenta) & Marina (Johto) 4/10 This is just them all looking for suicune and only one gets it, spoiler it’s not Eusine

MysticShipping - Eusine, Morty & Will 6/10 Ah yes the clairvoyant, the psychic, and a fanboy. One of the most powerful forces to ever exist. Real talk though I feel like they’d just all cause trouble together. 

MystifyShipping - Eusine, Morty & Whitney 3/10 Is it just me or is anyone that ships with Morty and Eusine feels like a 3rd wheel? I feel like they’d have an ok time together but idk if it’d go long term. OnMyHonorShipping - Eusine, Falkner, Morty & Clair 6/10 Ok yeah they all definitely have that ‘honor’ vibe about them but I fell like their honor systems have various levels of skew to them. It’d be interesting to get them all in a room to talk about it though. 

OosShipping - Brawly, Eusine, Morty & Will 10/10 Please catch them all in some school au where they are the trouble makers of the school. Brawly is the wanna-be intimidating jock, Will is the class clown, Eusine is the dramatic theater kid, and Morty is the introvert they adopted.  SacredDevotionShipping - Eusine, Morty, Ho-Oh & Suicune 9/10 They finally got the pokemon they have fan boy crushes over. Cute but I feel like they’d not realize how much for it takes to care for a legendary. That and be bad at trying to defend them, interesting thing to explore.

SacredFireShipping - Eusine, Morty & Ho-Oh 5/10 Now morty got his pokemon he wants. Kinda cool, maybe it’d show Eusine what he looks lie to other people. 

SacredHonorShipping - Eusine, Falkner & Morty 3/10 Again falconer feels like the third wheel here, and idk what they’d do long term. 

SuitUpShipping - Butler, Darach, Eusine, Lance & Steven Stone 6/10 All the dudes in suits huh (and Lance)? I feel like some are missing. I can see them all going shopping some time though and getting wild new styles. 

TrimurtiShipping - Eusine, Giovanni & Lance 4/10 Huh....ok I mean I just see it as Lance reluctantly keeping Eusine safe from Giovanni cause Eusine would def do something to make him mad trying to act tougher than he is.

Eusine w/ Eusine

RagingEgomaniacShipping - Eusine & Eusine 10/10 He’d band himself in a heart beat, and they’d be wildly annoying to everyone else. 

#muse: eusine #every ship rated

[lemmeoverexplain]

Europe’s Industrial Revolution: AKA Supply and Demand 101

Disclaimer: this is written by a 16 year old with far too much access to wikipedia, so if I got something wrong lemme know and I’ll change it so I don’t look like a complete dunce :)

Scene set? Well, we have to go back a little ways before we actually start talking about the industrial revolution, not too far back though, just to the very early 18th Century, during what was called the “Cottage Industry.” See, Europe was fresh out of its agricultural revolution, where things like seed drills and other tools were being used to make farming a lot more efficient and faster. This is a time where the French Revolution is happening, people like Mozart and Bach are alive and kicking, and the world is kind of in this weird growth period. So anyways, the agricultural revolution happens and suddenly there’s a lot more food everywhere. With more food comes more people and with more people comes the need for clothes, which means more textiles, which means– well, you get it.

So, what was the answer to this newfound demand for clothing and fabric making? Well the AR (agricultural revolution) also made the need for farmers significantly less, so you’ve got a) a sudden need for textiles and b) a bunch of people out in rural 18th Century Europe who need jobs. Basically, some merchant dudes realized “wait, I could make a butt-ton of money if I swing this right” and so the cottage industry was born.

It involved a few things, the first being an “entrepreneur,” or someone who would invest in their system and buy a bunch of raw materials that needed to be processed (wool, stone, wood etc.). Then this entrepreneur would go to different houses (cottages) and drop off the supplies, say he’d be back in like a week, and leave the household to do their part of the chain. When he came back a week later, he’d take the processed supplies and scoot off to the next house, where they would take care of the next step in processing, and he would repeat this until finally he had the stuff he wanted to sell. Then he’d go to the nearest market, sell off all his goods, buy new goods and repeat the cycle while also paying the various cottages a portion of the earnings.

I explain all this because it does eventually lead into– and even directly cause the industrial revolution. In fact, this system lead to the very creation of capitalism.

Ok, so we’ve got people working to make sellable goods, a head honcho selling everything and keeping everyone in line, and a now pretty saturated market. Doesn’t that sound a little familiar? Well, it should, because it’s the beginnings and what would evolve into the factory system. This new burst of income and lack of farmers meant that people could spend time doing something other than just farming, which lead to new markets and industries such as shoemakers, haberdashers (hat makers), sculptures, and so on all became increasingly popular as people began having not only the time, but also the money to invest in their own businesses.

And now, just as someone had before, someone gets the idea “hey, ya know what would make this go a lot faster? Machines.” Inventions like James Hargreaves spinning Jenny, Eli Whitney’s cotton gin and Samuel Crompton’s mule made everything insanely efficient. But bigger is better, right? So far all these machines had fit into the cottages of the workers, but when people started making bigger, better, faster machines they needed places to put them (power loom/ water frame). Thus warehouses were built to hold multiple, huge machines and workers were to come out of their homes and work in the factories.

This all caused a bunch of things, most namely a) new demand for coal, b) housing for all the workers who were traveling from their rural villages, and c) more effective transportation for said works and also for the supplies. This is actually were a bunch of the problems started. For one, these workers were already typically pretty underpaid working in their homes, but they went with it because they liked having the money without having to work in the fields or buy more property to have fields to work in. Then, when people dropped the cottage industry and instead forced people to come in from the rural countryside, they didn’t really have the money to move into the city, which caused a decline in workers until workhouses became popular.

Now, I use the term workhouses lightly, because they really weren’t close to nice enough to be a house. Most of the time it was a big open warehouse where all the workers would sleep on the floor packed tightly together. They were fed the barest minimum the factory owners could get away with and usually suffered from horrible diseases thanks to the close proximity, overworking, and lack of sufficient nutrients. It was really bad.

AND– and, it became a popular practice to sell your children to factories because they needed small bodies to clean out the machines. The children (usually aged 4-10ish) would be forced to work as long (or sometimes longer) as the adults and were fed less. Their jobs also tended to be dangerous, and loss of limbs or death was horrifyingly common. This actually lead to a bunch of child labor laws being instituted to prevent shit like this from happening again. All of this is happening and now Europe is mass producing all these goods that were typically exported out of the country, the biggest problem with this though, was that horse-drawn carriage became much too tedious of a transportation way, and the bumpy roads could even damage the goods and lessen their profit. So, people began to invent alternatives, and the government became involved and implemented road building laws when it started realizing that the random “I’m building a road here because I feel like it” system could become problematic. These new roads were usually made with stones or later on asphalt over stone and were way smoother rides. This wasn’t enough though, and soon people began building canals (dug holes, filled with cement to keep water in, added water, then floated supplies down), and eventually, railroads.

So now we have big rich guys running factories and mass producing goods, actual roads and now trains and railroads, and a bunch of people being worked to the bone and underpaid and capitalism. That’s fun. The industrial revolution created jobs, efficient transportation, less need for farmers, and a brand new, competitive economy. So while it was… well, revolutionary, it also caused a bunch of problems and anger.

(P.S. if you want a good peek into industrial revolution London watch Peaky Blinders on Netflix)

[Sources]

My Western Civics Class

Wikipedia

#industrial revolution #in europe #I say in europe because this was literally just a small portion of the Industrial Revolutions going on #like #there was one in america and ones that happened later in other contries #and even others in europe because this is basically just a british industrial revolution essay #sorry about that #anywyas #history #history facts #I don't know how to tag things #europe #interesting #I think at least #ranting

[smthgavengersassemble]

Spoiler for the last episodes!

Right, here’s my post about the midseason finale, about Steve’s death, Tony’s lack of reaction, and the possible T’Challa arc. (Usual disclaimer of ‘ESL person is writing, sorry for all the grammar mistakes.)

I’ll copy/past what I already said about Steve’s death and why it may not stick:

There’s no body, after all, and Shuri is still searching what other powers the crown has. And it’s weird (unless it’s deliberate) to kill him the same way he was ‘killed’ in the pilot, where it brought the team together. I guess in some way, it did it again, but against T’Challa.

Beside Tony, the reaction of the team at ‘T’Challa killed Steve’ makes sense. The act himself doesn’t, so Kamala wants to know more. Clint, who’s already pissed off at T’Challa for losing someone else (for Wakanda) has no reason to doubt Natasha. No-one has a reason to doubt Natasha, so Carol’s anger makes sense. Just like Thor, who already acted like that when he lost Tony.

Tony being all ‘buddy?’ is just weird. He barely get angry at the end, and it doesn’t even last.

But he was angry in the first part. When he found out about the weapon and the team of bad guys. And Steve asked him to trust him when he said T’Challa couldn’t explain.

Steve: I trust Black Panther with my life.

Tony: That makes one of us.

The ‘buddy’ thing was already gone. Tony didn’t push for more for Steve, not for T’Challa. So maybe he’s like Kamala, it just doesn’t make sense, and Steve wouldn’t trust the wrong person. Maybe he’s thinking the crown is mind-controlling T’Challa. Maybe he’s doing what he thinks Steve would do. Or maybe he’s not letting himself feel anything for now. On the other hand, Steve didn’t react much at Tony’s death either, and we remember the reunion.

Now, everything blew up because Nat lied. And I’m 99 % sure it’s because she’s Zanda. (Clint and Nat got separated when they went after her as a bird, he came back alone, and she show up later with her bike. That’s why Clint react to the ‘move, you idiots’ line.)

I really hope they won’t go ‘aw, sorry T’Challa, we should have listen to you’ when they find out, because he broke their trust all by himself. But I think his arc is to realize that.

Explanation under the read more, because it get longer.

For a big part of the season, T’Challa was running and fighting, mostly alone, with five minutes of plot. It got old fast. His scenes with Shuri, Steve or Hunter were more interesting. The other seasons are full of the Avengers together doing various, mundane things.

But this isolation of T’Challa became a plot point, and not lazy writing. He’s alone, and does things alone, and decides alone, because he’s the king, and the only one who can take all the big and little decisions for Wakanda, and the one responsible of the consequences.

Even Shuri was included in those who don’t get it and don’t get to decide when he ranted about it.

And this, his vision of alone vs the world, took a bigger form in the finale, and end up badly, even if the world didn’t explode.

So why I think the next episodes will show that his philosophy is wrong, and he should talk to people, instead of giving orders:

1) Shuri’s reaction shot during the rant. It was quick and ignored so far. But she doesn’t deserve to be on the same level as Zemo, Hunter, Steve or the Dora Milaje. She’s the princess, and her responsibilities are also high. Which is a fight they actually had, more than once.

She apologized to Carol when she knocked her out, and she wasn’t happy about the weapon for Thor, or that he used the ‘two way trust’ line regarding the jet in the Avenger Tower.  Also, there are more than one scene where someone takes T’Challa’s arm to make him listen, he glares to them, and they take off their hand. When Shuri did it, he glared to her, but she just glared back. If someone can make him notice he’s wrong, it’s her.

2) The way he kept repeating he did nothing wrong, it’s all their fault, and trust goes both way, and why you don’t even listen to your ‘buddy’? When he’s the reason he lost them by doing all that:

- Going to Altantis and create a diplomatic mess, mess which end up being Tony’s problem.

- Using Kamala to get close to the Inhumans. He had a guilty look for a second, and called her a friend at the end, but never admit doing something wrong.

- Not sharing information with Clint and making Steve chose between them, losing Whitney Frost and breaking the links between Steve and his team. T’Challa admit that, but doesn’t change anything.

- When the Avengers joined the fight, they weren’t careful about the crown, because they didn’t know it was a weapon, they assumed it was just expensive and not the priority.

- They weren’t warned about the shape-shifter, so Clint and Nat weren’t ready for that and lost her. (Leading to Nat’s capture. Hopefully, not her death.)

- T’Challa, who mocked the idea of Tony being his ‘buddy’ until he found out the corporate espionage Wakanda was doing was mutual, is offended when Tony doesn’t want to listen to him over Nat’s word. Like if he wouldn’t believe Shuri’s word over Tony if she told him he killed Hunter.

- He created a secret elevator in the Avenger Tower, had his own system installed to take over, and hid a jet in the trophy room! It’s not something done recently. And when Tony point the lack of trust it reveals, T’Challa complains it goes both way, like if they already did something to deserve it.

3) And finally, this line to Tony: Some things are more important than friendship. You should know that.

Maybe he’s pointing the sacrifice a leader must make. Maybe he’s honestly feeling like Tony did break their friendship. Or maybe it’s a reminder of how Tony used to be. That’s how he dealt with Arsenal/Ultron, hiding important information, putting the Avengers in danger, expecting them to do as he say and trust him blindly. And it also cost him Steve.

TPTB said Black Panther’s Quest was about T’Challa searching his place between being an Avenger or the King of Wakanda. The first part was him choosing King and rejecting the Avengers, except the one who tried to mix the two jobs, and he ended up losing all his friends and closing Wakanda again. Maybe the second part will be how he doesn’t have to chose, but need to find a balance between them.

#Avengers Assemble #Spoiler #T'Challa #Shuri #Tony Stark #Steve Rogers #Black Panther #Iron Man #Captain America #Text

[riseandshinelittleblossom]

Cordonian Nights Ch 2.

Next part of my Non- royal TRR AU, Cordonian Nights. This chapter is really just more setting up of the story. You can catch up here. 

Disclaimer: I do not own Drake, Liam, Maxwell or Leo. Everyone else is my creation.

Tags: @fullbeaumonty @leelee10898 @ao719 @cocomaxley @itsstillnotwhatyouthink @blackwidow2721 @bobasheebaby @brightpinkpeppercorn @hopefulmoonobject @katurrade @speedyoperarascalparty @ritachacha @choiceslife

      Leo cracked two eggs over the frying pan, wincing a bit at the sound. His head throbbed with a hangover, to the overbearing edm sounds of club Enigma he was sure.

     “Morning Rhys.” Ember grumbled, open the fridge as she entered the kitchen she shared with Leo and Allison.

    “Mornin. So last night was kinda…”

      He gestured with the spatula in his hand toward the couch where Maxwell was asleep in nothing but his boxer shorts.

    “Why is he here? I thought you were taking him home, Leo.”

   “He lost his keys.” Leo shrugged.

   Ember rolled her eyes, pouring two cups coffee.

   “Thanks, Em.” Allison yawned, reaching for one of the mugs.

    “That was for,Max.” She said and Allison raised her hand defensively.

    “Still making him coffee and breakfast?” Leo laughed.

   “Look, the quicker he's caffeinated the quicker he's out of my hair. It's Sunday which means the Sins is closed. I shouldn't have to deal with him today.”

    “Whatever you say, doll.” Leo quipped flipping the eggs in the pan.

   Allison snaked her arm around his waist, planting a warm kiss to his bare shoulder blade. “I love it when you cook breakfast, baby.” She cooed.

     Ember poured another cup of coffee adding in the cream and sugar that Maxwell preferred before making her way into the living room. She perched on the edge of the couch next to him, setting her mug on the coffee table.

    “Max.” She said to no response.

   “Max!” She yelled this time as he awoke with a startle.

   “Huh- wha…? Oh hey Emmy.”

   She raised an eyebrow and handed him the mug which he accepted gratefully, taking a sip.

     He peered at her, sleep still in the corners of his eyes, over the rim of his coffee mug.

     Once, not so long ago, the sight of her with her sleep-swollen eyes and lopsided sloppy bun had been his favorite part of his future.

    Pulling the mug from his lips he surveyed her better. She wore a black tank top and black cotton boyshort style panties-her go to pjs. Maxwell's heart skipped a beat as he drank in the sight, her milky complexion seeming to glow against the dark fabric.

   Not a day went by that he didn't miss her. Not that he didn't see Ember everyday, but he missed Emmy. His girl, by his side wearing his ring.

    ‘How did I screw things up so badly?’ he wondered, every cell in his body screaming at him to reach out and touch her.

   Always one to act on impulse, for better or worse, he didn't fight the urge. Instead he reached out and gently caressed her bent knee.

   “Thanks for last night. I really owe you one,Emmy.”

   To his surprise, she didn't push him away, or even recoil from his touch. She simply closed her eyes, seeming to savor the feeling of his skin on hers once more the same way that he was.

   “Don't ever ask me to do that again, ass-hat.” She told him, rising from the couch, grabbing her mug and sauntering towards her bedroom.

   Maxwell watched her hips sway as she retreated from him. The slight bounce she always had, even first thing in the morning, causing her cheeks to shake just enough to excite him. Max adjusted himself and laid a throw pillow across his lap, reaching for last night's jeans.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     Liam awoke peacefully, breathing in the smell of citrus and hibiscus as he nuzzled his nose into the crook of Skylar's neck. Her warm, naked body was already pressed against his, but he wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her closer.

    “How did you sleep, sweetheart?” He whispered his lips brushing the smooth sensitive skin ever so slightly.

    “Sssshhhh. Still sleeping.” She grumbled, although she tugged his arm tighter around her.

    “Okay, well I'm going to start some coffee, meet me on the balcony when you're awake.”  he chuckled, kissing her shoulder softly before heading to the kitchen.

     Some time later Skylar emerged onto the balcony, coffee and cell phone in hand.

     “Whitney just texted me and said her and the girls were planning to head over to the bridal boutique. Allison has a fitting and she wants us to look at bridesmaids dresses.”

    “That sounds like fun. I'm supposed to meet Leo, Maxwell and Drake for lunch. I think we're going to shoot some pool.”

    “Where's Ollie today?” Skylar asked, leaning next to Liam against the railing.

     “ He's meeting with the realtor. But don't mention that to Blair. He still wants this to be a surprise.”

     She nodded staring out in the distance.

    Liam held his breath watching as the sunlight danced through her dark hair, the subtle Auburn highlights shimmering. He had never seen a woman so beautiful.

     “Have dinner with me? After the pool hall and the boutique. Just you and I?” He asked, heart racing a mile a minute.

    Skylar smiled. “I'd love too.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

        Allison stood in a pool of lace and tulle, the seamstress pilling here and pinning there.

  The woman staring back at her was barreling full speed into a life as Mrs. Leonard Rhys. Seeing herself in the dress, her best friends cooing and giggling behind made the weight of her reality crash into her in a mixture of emotions she didn't quite know how to name, but my God she was ready for them.

    Allison loved Leo more than her words could ever express. She loved him more than her actions could ever show, and as the seamstress proclaimed, “There. Let's add the veil to complete the look.” she couldn't help but think about how she'd started on this road what seemed like a million years ago.

*****************************

                 *6 years ago*

      “Whitney! You're getting married!!!!” Skylar squealed racing up to their brunette friend outside of club Sapphire. Drake and Whitney had decided to have a combined doe and stag party.

     “I know!!! Come on, I can't wait to introduce you guys to Drake's friends! I mean you already know Liam and Maxwell of course. But we've managed to rustle up a few others willing  to call Drake their friend.” Whitney laughed as she hooked her arm in Skylar's striding into the club.

     “Speaking of Maxwell, didn't Ember say she was riding in with him?” Allison asked scanning the parking lot for Max's car.

     “Oh they're here, and they've already snuck off somewhere to...well they've been gone for quite awhile I'll put it that way.”

   Blair and Allison exchanged glances as they linked arms smirking at one another.

    The VIP booth they'd reserved for the night was on the upper level. At the top of the stairs was a tall man, at least 6’2” athletic build with blonde hair. His back was to them, but he spun abruptly crashing into Blair almost sending her backwards down the staircase. He reached out  and caught her just in time.

   “I'm sorry, doll. Didn't see you there.” He smiled.

    Allison shoved his shoulder with all the force she could muster. “ Back off bub, you almost killed my friend.”

    “Allie, it's okay. I'm fine.” Blair offered, but it was no use, Allison was already started.

   “ You really should watch where you're going.” She barked, pointing at the man as she stepped protectively in front of her friend.

  The man looked Allison up and down as he scoffed impressed with her take no shit demeanor.

   “Hey Blair, hey Allie. I see you've met my brother.” Liam said coming up behind the man running his fingers through his raven locks.

    “You could say that. He tried to throw Blair down the stairs.” Allison fumed.

   “He said he was sorry. I'm Blair.” She began shaking the man's hand. “ My attack dog here is Allison.”

  He released Blair's hand and reached for Allison's, but she didn't accept it. Instead she crossed her arms.

   “I'm Leo Rhys. It's nice to meet you, Allison.”

*******

               After the fitting Allison invited the girls for mimosas.

     They settled onto the airy deck of the bistro, idly chatting while they waited for their drinks.

    “You look like a girl who's got something on her mind.” Allison asked staring at Ember across the table.

   “Yeah, babe. You've been preoccupied all day.” Sky agreed.

   Ember shook her head. “This afternoon is about Allie. I'm fine. I'm sorry if I've seemed... distracted.” She bit her lip then smiled at the girls reassuringly.

    “Just promise us,” Whitney said placing her hand over Ember's. “That you'll tell us when you're ready.”

    “C'mon girl. You're not raining on my parade! We love you, you can tell us.” Allison prodded.

   “Ember, we know you've been hurting, let us in so we can help you.” Blair offered and the girls nodded in agreement.

    The waitress arrived with their drinks, placing a glass in front of each lady.

    Ember's thoughts traveled to Max as she spun her glass, not removing it from the table. Before things had gotten so blurry between them, their wedding had been planned for just two weeks from now. This could've been her dress fitting and her paying for mimosas.

   She missed him, sometimes so much that she allowed herself to think that maybe he missed her too; but the idea was silly. Maxwell had made his choice-was continuing to make it.

   It was  clear to Ember that Maxwell had never been as serious about their relationship as he had. Maybe she had even pressured him into proposing before he was ready without even realizing she had done it. How else could she explain his utter lack of disregard for the years they'd spent together?

   Not even two weeks after the split Max had had another girl in his bed. How could he just let them go so easily?

   Ember bit her lip, willing the tears forming behind her eyes not to fall. He heart ached  with the pain of the truth. She'd loved Maxwell with everything she had, but to him he was just..what had she been to him?

    “I think I'm ready.” She announced, the ladies falling silent turning their attention to her. “I wanna tell you guys what happened between me and Max.”

#cordonian nights AU #trr au #trr non-royal au #trr fan fic #trr leo #trr liam #trr maxwell #trr drake #whitney townes #allison morgan #ember madden #blair sawyer #skylar flores