#jack thompson shenanigans

[space-helen]

Shenanigans

Words: 812

Pairing: Jack Thompson x Reader

A/N: I FORGOT HOW MUCH I LOVE THIS MAN OMG!

Request: Hey! Can I send in a request? Maybe Jack Thompson or Captain Kirk with the prompt "Of course we're best friends. No one else would put up with our shenanigans."? No worries if you're not feeling it! Hope you're doing wonderful! - @captainsophiestark

______________________

“Remind me why we’re here again?” Jack’s voice came from beside you.

“To work?” you replied as you shifted in the car seat.

“This is the most boring stakeout I’ve ever been on.”

“Are you calling me boring?” you joked, turning towards him.

“The company isn’t boring but the stakeout is.” he re-phrased “Happy now?”

“You know me. Of course I am.” you fixed your eyes back on the building in front of you “How about we just go inside?”

“Y/N, no.”

“Why? We’re clearly getting so much information from here.” you said sarcastically.

“And how would we go inside? What would we even do?”

“We could pretend to be looking for directions. Look.” you pulled out a map from the glove compartment “We can just say we’re looking for somewhere random on the map and hope they give us directions.”

“You forget they’ve seen me before.”

“Just shove some sunglasses on and take off your jacket. Perfect disguise.”

The man rolled his eyes “How the hell are we best friends?”

“No one else would put up with our shenanigans so we have each other.”

“Our shenanigans huh? Please as if I contribute-”

“Remember when it was your idea to prank the whole office with the out of date milk-”

“Alright, alright.” he tried to shush you with a smile on his face “but you agreed to help me.” he pointed his finger at you playfully.

“That’s what I mean, our shenanigans. We couldn’t really do it without each other.”

“How did we even end up friends in the first place?” he questioned how it all started but soon remembered. “That’s right, you hated me.”

“No, I’m pretty sure that you hated me. You couldn’t stand to be in the same room as me. Saw me as dirt, the same way you first reacted to Peggy.”

“I’ve never seen you as dirt. It just took me way longer than it should have to realise that women can work just as well, or even better than men in this sort of work.”

“Thanks Jack, you’re a real charmer there.”

“At least I’m admitting I was wrong.” he nudged you slightly “That’s a big one for me.”

“I suppose.” you laughed remembering the early days “then we worked together a bunch and practically became inseparable.” 

“I wouldn’t change it for the world. I think you’re probably one of the best colleagues I’ve worked with.”

“Alright, no need to go that far Chief Thompson. That’d be favoritism in the workplace.”

“I think they already know we're friends Y/N.God some of them even think we’re something more.”

You genuinely laughed “I knew it was only a matter of time. Hey why can’t a man and woman be friends without people assuming they’re dating each other? If it were two men or two women they wouldn’t bat an eyelid.”

“I suppose it’s because they can’t see themselves being friends with the opposite sex without anything else happening.”

“Gross.” you huffed.

There was a silence as the two of you watched the building but Jack was the first to break it. “How about we grab dinner?”

“Are you asking me on a date!”

“Y/N, god no. I’m just hungry alright? Would it even be that bad if I did?”

“Did you not just hear our last conversation?” 

“I did alright. I like you Y/N but we’re friends.” he was panicking, he did like you slightly more than a friend sometimes but to him your friendship was more important and he’d never want to do anything to jeopardize it. 

“Best friends I think you’d find.” you smiled at the man sincerely, you liked the man, of course you how could you not? There had been nights the two of you had been in the office late and you’d fallen asleep and he’d tucked you up. He’d saved your life on multiple occasions and you’d saved his. He’d also been very protective of you when other men had made seedy moves on you. Honestly, you’d love to be in a relationship with him and it was probably the reason none of your relationships had worked out so far.

“We can go for food, or a date or whatever if we get this stakeout over and done with sooner rather than later.” you offered.

His heart bounced out of his chest. What did you just say? “How about we just go inside then? Get this over with?”

“I love the change of heart.” you passed the man his sunglasses and gave him a tap on the shoulder before getting out of the car. 

He scrambled out and flung his jacket from his body frantically before popping the glasses on and linking his arm with yours. “Let's go ask for directions darling.”

You laughed, you had to admit you did love undercover work with him “Sure thing.”

Tag List: (open)

Marvel: @coffeeandcrimeshows @spunky-89 @heyitsaloy @captainsophiestark

[vanillawhiskeyflavoredkisses]

I can't even...

"Why did Depp, who had already lost a similar case in Britain, insist on going back to court? A public trial, during which allegations of physical, sexual, emotional and substance abuse against him were sure to be repeated, couldn’t be counted on to restore his reputation. Heard, his ex-wife, was counting on the opposite: that the world would hear, in detail, about the physical torments that led her to describe herself, in the Washington Post op-ed that led to the suit, as “a public figure representing domestic abuse.”

Even before the verdict came in, Depp had already won. What had looked to many like a clear-cut case of domestic violence had devolved into a “both sides” melodrama. The fact that Heard’s partial victory, which involved not Depp’s words but those spoken in 2020 by Adam Waldman, his lawyer at the time, can be spun in that direction shows how such ambiguity served Depp all along. As one commenter on The New York Times site put it, “Every relationship has its troubles.” Life is complicated. Maybe they were both abusive. Who really knows what happened? The convention of courtroom journalism is to make a scruple of indeterminacy. And so we found ourselves in the familiar land of he said/she said.

We should know by now that the symmetry implied by that phrase is an ideological fiction, that women who are victims of domestic violence and sexual assault have a much harder time being listened to than their assailants. I don’t mean that women always tell the truth, that men are always guilty as charged, or that due process isn’t the bedrock of justice. But Depp-Heard wasn’t a criminal trial; it was a civil action intended to measure the reputational harm each one claimed the other had done. Which means that it rested less on facts than on sympathies.

In that regard, Depp possessed distinct advantages. He isn’t a better actor than Heard, but her conduct on the stand was more harshly criticized in no small part because he’s a more familiar performer, a bigger star who has dwelled for much longer in the glow of public approbation. He brought with him into the courtroom the well-known characters he has played, a virtual entourage of lovable rogues, misunderstood artists and gonzo rebels. He’s Edward Scissorhands, Jack Sparrow, Hunter S. Thompson, Gilbert Grape.

We’ve seen him mischievous and mercurial, but never truly menacing. He’s someone we’ve watched grow up, from juvenile heartthrob on “21 Jump Street” to crusty old salt in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise. His offscreen peccadilloes (the drinking, the drugs, the “Winona Forever” tattoo) have been part of the pop-cultural background noise for much of that time, classified along with the scandals and shenanigans that have been a Hollywood sideshow since the silent era.

In his testimony, Depp copped to some bad stuff, but this too was a play for sympathy, of a piece with the charm and courtliness he was at pains to display. That he came off as a guy unable to control his temper or his appetites was seen, by many of the most vocal social media users, to enhance his credibility, while Heard’s every tear or gesture was taken to undermine hers. The audience was primed to accept him as flawed, vulnerable, human, and to view her as monstrous.

Because he’s a man. Celebrity and masculinity confer mutually reinforcing advantages. Famous men — athletes, actors, musicians, politicians — get to be that way partly because they represent what other men aspire to be. Defending their prerogatives is a way of protecting, and asserting, our own. We want them to be bad boys, to break the rules and get away with it. Their seigneurial right to sexual gratification is something the rest of us might resent, envy or disapprove of, but we rarely challenge it. These guys are cool. They do what they want, including to women. Anyone who objects is guilty of wokeness, or gender treason, or actual malice.

Of course there are exceptions. In the #MeToo era there are men who have gone to jail, lost their jobs or suffered disgrace because of the way they’ve treated women. The fall of certain prominent men — Harvey Weinstein, Leslie Moonves, Matt Lauer — was often welcomed as a sign that a status quo that sheltered, enabled and celebrated predators, rapists and harassers was at last changing.

A few years later, it seems more likely that they were sacrificed not to end that system of entitlement but rather to preserve it. Almost as soon as the supposed reckoning began there were complaints that it had gone too far, that nuances were being neglected and too-harsh punishments meted out.

This backlash has been folded into a larger discourse about “cancel culture,” which is often less about actions than words. “Cancellation” is now synonymous with any criticism that invokes racial insensitivity, sexual misbehavior or controversial opinions. Creeps are treated as martyrs, and every loudmouth is a free-speech warrior. Famous men with lucrative sinecures on cable news, streaming platforms and legacy print publications can proclaim themselves victims.

Which is just what Depp did. And while he accused Heard of doing terrible things to him in the course of their relationship and breakup, the lawsuit wasn’t about those things. It was about words published under her name, none of which were “Johnny Depp.” In a sentence the jury found false and malicious, after describing herself as “representing domestic abuse” Heard wrote that she “felt the full force of our culture’s wrath for women who speak out.” This time she surely has.

Misogyny isn’t the subtext of American political rage and social dysfunction; all too often, it’s the plain text. The links between domestic violence and mass shootings are chilling and well documented, though rarely cited in arguments about policy and prevention. The mobs of social media mobilize against women with special frequency and ferocity, often using the language of righteous grievance. Gamergate, a campaign of harassment directed at women who wrote about video game culture, pretended to be about “ethics in journalism.” The alt-right in the months before the 2016 election and its post-Trump progeny specialize in targeted misogyny. The TikTok hordes that went after Amber Heard over the past few months took a page from that book.

Depp’s victory is also theirs. The rage of men whose grievances are inchoate and inexhaustible found expression in a 58-year-old movie star’s humiliation of his 36-year-old former wife. I have to wonder: Are men OK? That’s a sincere question. Does the blend of self-pity, vanity, petulance and bombast that Depp displayed on the stand represent how we want to see ourselves or our sons? That’s a rhetorical question. The answer is yes.

Not all men, though. Right? Now that the trial is over, we’ll find new things to be ambiguous about, new venues where indeterminacy can serve as an alibi for the same old cruelty, and for its newer iterations. Johnny Depp is being embraced as a hero in some quarters, but his victory extends even to those who will allow themselves to feel troubled by the outcome of the trial and then move on. Some of us may wince a little when we watch “Pirates of the Caribbean” or “Donnie Brasco,” but we’ll probably still watch. They’re pretty good movies, and it’s not as if they can be expunged from the collective memory. That hasn’t happened to Louis C.K., or Woody Allen, or Michael Jackson, or Mel Gibson, or even Bill Cosby. Some of them have gone to court, some have faced public censure and disgrace, but they all remain woven into the fabric of the culture, and their behavior is too. We may not entirely forget, but we mostly forgive.

Let’s at least be clear about what that means. It means that we value the comfort and self-regard of men, especially famous ones, more than we value the safety and dignity of women, even famous ones."

(x)

This was written by a man. Which honestly kills me because all it does is prove that misandry is alive and well when it comes to the subject of domestic abuse. Just like that age old view of the patriarchy unable to see women as equals, women as anything other than damsels in distress, fragile little creatures that must be protected at all costs, here we have proof that society is still unable to accept the fact that a woman can abuse a man. And because said abuser is a woman, then society demands that we absolutely believe everything they've claimed despite evidence that was entered into a court of law that was reviewed by legal experts and jurors alike proving the contrary. It demands that not only are we to circle her wagons and defend her due to her anatomy but also turn a blind eye to her abuses of not only a man but other human beings that it has been documented by law enforcement and in a court of law that she actually did.

I am just...astonished. This is the NY Times. They approved this piece. And rather than talk to actual abuse experts and psychological experts, even law enforcement, they choose to continue to be part of the problem.

Let me say this, had I heard JD making the statements on the audio recordings that AH did instead, I absolutely would be just as passionate in supporting her. Because I support ALL survivors, regardless of their gender.

And because of my experience in this arena, because I am a survivor, I can tell you that within seconds of hearing AH speaking that I knew right then, other evidence sight unseen, who was really abusing who. It's a special club that not one of us ever wants to be a part of.

[captainsophiestark]

September Fic Recs

I read almost nothing this month, largely because I was grinding on writing fics for Fictober, BUT what little I did get to read was absolutely wonderful! Check out the fics below the cut and send these wonderful authors some love! Y'all gave me much needed mental breaks in the midst of my writing madness

If you want to see what else I've read, you can find my fic rec masterlist here

Marvel

Peggy Carter x Reader

Not Admitting Anything by @ghostofskywalker

SUCH an adorable and soft fic where the reader is neighbors with Peggy and helps patch her up after she comes back hurt. So so so sweet and fluffy.

Jack Thompson x Reader

Shenanigans by @space-helen

A cute and funny fic with the beginnings of friends to lovers! Very fluffy and fun to read, we love a chaos besties pairing

Bridgerton

Anthony Bridgerton x Reader

The Ruse by @writeroutoftime

This is SUCH a fun and well-written fic with my favorite trope, meddling best friend/brother doing the matchmaking. Everyone is so in character in the literal best way, and it’s the perfect mix of fluffy and funny.

[roboticonography]

Hi this is the Agent Carter asker, thank you for being so nice about my headcanons, I love your writing so much! I don't want to bother you by talking your ear off so promise this is my last ask. Based off Markus and McFeely saying that Peggy's two children from her TWS pictures would have Super soldier DNA (because they support the closed loop theory, but this could work for alternate timelines too) Mr. Carter and the little Carters could be doing things that are life-threatening for normal folks but are cakewalks for them as part of Steve's "offscreen sitcom husband" shenanigans:

Director Peggy: Oh, Grant took the children cliff-diving off Niagara Falls for the weekend. I've got the house to myself, I can finally catch up with the latest Agatha Christie

Jack Thompson, who's been gaslit about Peggy's marriage since 1949: That doesn't sound right, but I don't know enough about Marge's weird-ass personal life to dispute it

And even Daniel Sousa could pop by for the occasional cameo after he "dies" in 1955, like his and Daisy's spaceship lands in the Carter backyard and Daniel casually walks out like "Oh hey Peg, hey Steve" because of course he knows what's up. Maybe he brings Steve some modern album vinyls (God bless 21st century Brooklyn hipsters for giving mid-century Steve the means to listen to Carly Rae Jepsen), Steve makes them all a nice dinner then Daniel and Daisy fly off again

Well, hello again! Welcome back 😁

I haven't given a lot of thought to the possibility of superpowered kiddos, but I enjoy the incredibly wholesome idea of Steve taking the kids on fun little athletic adventures while Peggy is at home in a hot bath with a whiskey and a good book.

I also like the idea of Peggy and Daniel reuniting on friendly terms - however they ended their relationship, it seemed sad that she would spend the rest of her life thinking he died in 1955.

Thanks for sharing!

[mccarthawrites]

A Small Favor

Relationships: Peggy Carter & Howard Stark

Rating: General Audiences

Summary: Howard asks Peggy to play the role of his girlfriend for a dinner with his parents.

Words: 2,709

Marvel Masterlist

Peggy sat in Jack’s office. He asked her to be interim Director of the New York office while he was recovering in LA. She had wanted to stay back and help them find the bastard that shot him, but he insisted there was no one else he’d trust more to keep the other agents in check. But also because she didn’t want to leave Daniel. The phone rang, pulling her from her thoughts.

“Director Thompson’s office. Agent Carter speaking.” She picked up.

“Agent Carter, Howard Stark is on the line.” One of the operators informed her.

“Thank you, Emilia. I’ll take the call.” She leaned back in the chair. It better be a good reason for the call.

“Peg?” Howard’s voice came over the line.

“Hello, Howard. Why are you calling? What’s wrong?” She asked.

“How are you doing, Howard? Oh, I’m doing well. How are you, Peg?” The sass made Peggy roll her eyes.

“Why are you calling the office?” She asked. “Is everything alright?”

“Do you remember when you said you owed me a favor?” Those words never left her lips. At least not to Howard.

“No.”

“Are you sure? Because I remember it quite clearly.”

“What do you want, Howard? Jack left me quite a load.” She told him, having no patience for his shenanigans.

“Are you free tomorrow night? Please say yes, because I need you.”

“Tomorrow? Why?” She asked.

“I am having dinner with my parents. I need you to pretend to be my girlfriend.” He explained.

“You have got to be kidding me, Howard.”

“I need someone who will impress them so they can stop asking me when I’m going to settle down.”

“You’re a grown man, Howard.” She rubbed her forehead, already done with him.

“A grown man who doesn’t want to disappoint his mother.” He replied.

“So you want to lie to her?” Peggy asked.

“It’s easier than telling her the truth.”

“That you’re a whore? Why don’t you ask one of your many paramours?” She asked. “Why me?”

“Because I want to impress them. Some broad with just a pretty face won’t cut it. Please, Peggy. When do I ask you for anything?” He asked.

“Do you want me to start listing off everything you’ve asked of me since we met?” She asked.

“It was rhetorical. Please, Peg. I wouldn’t be asking if I didn’t need you. It’s just a small favor.”

“I’m not flying to LA just for one night.”

“No! I’m flying to New York tonight. My mother doesn’t like planes. She’s staying in the east.” He explained.

“I guess it would be interesting to meet your parents. Find out why you are the way you are.” She took a deep breath. “Fine.”

“Thank you! You won’t regret it.”

“I hope not. Are you flying alone or are you coming with Edwin and Ana?” She asked.

“No, I’m flying to New York alone. Would you like me to bring them? I figured I’d give Edwin some time off.”

“No. He deserves time to be with just Ana and not have to be at your beck and call. I have to get back to work, Howard.”

“Okay. How about when I fly in tonight, I treat you to dinner?” He asked. “We can talk about tomorrow.”

“If it’s your treat, how can I say no?”

“Great! Then I’ll see you tonight. Thanks, Peggy.”

“You’re welcome. Goodbye” She hung up, having no idea what she agreed to.

Howard and Peggy sat at dinner. She carefully looked over the menu.

“So how was work?” He asked. She looked at him over the menu. “What?”

“So tell me about your parents.” She returned her gaze to the menu.

“Howard Sr. and Ethel Stark are- simple. My father sold fruit and my mother was a seamstress. They’ve been madly in love for as long as I can remember. You will be the first woman I introduce to them as my girlfriend.” He explained.

“Really?” She asked, putting the menu down.

“Why do you sound so surprised? I don’t do serious relationships.”

“Of course not. You whore yourself around the world.” Her comment made his jaw drop. “What? Has no one said it so plainly?”

“Is that what you see me as? Just a whore?” He asked. “You’ve said it twice today.”

“You don’t want me to answer that honestly. So what have you told your parents about your made up relationship?” She asked.

“Mostly the truth. We met during the war. You served. You work at a call center now.” He explained. “Didn’t tell them you were British, though. That’ll take them by surprise.”

“How long have we been dating?”

“Three years.”

“So we started dating during the war?”

“Told them I fell head over heels for you as soon as we met, which isn’t a complete lie.”

“What do you mean?” She asked.

“When I met you, I was hoping I could seduce you over some fondue.” He teased, getting an eye roll in response.

“What happened to ‘fondue is just cheese and bread’?”

“Who told you- how do you-”

“Steve told me.” She laughed.

“Fair enough. Don’t you think we’d be a good couple?” He asked.

“No.”

“Come on. We’re great friends.”

“If we were a couple I’d hate you because I’d never know who you were with when you weren’t with me. I’d go mad with jealousy because you-”

“I’m a whore. Yeah I get it.”

“Good. If we’re going to make it believable that we’re a couple,  I think it best if I lay down some boundaries.” She sighed. “You are not allowed to kiss me.”

“Wasn’t even a thought in my head.”

“Sure it wasn’t. You may touch the small of my back, but if you touch me anywhere below my waist I will not hesitate to punch you in the throat.”

“That’s fair.” He nodded.

“Please no stupid pet names.”

“What about baby and honey?” He asked. Her look was the only response he needed. “Peg it is. I guess I can work with that. We’ll just say you have an issue with public displays of affection. They’ll get it.”

“I think that just about covers it.” She replied.

“Where are you on holding hands?” He asked.

“If you must.” She was less than enthusiastic.

“Thank you, Peggy. I do appreciate you doing this for me.”

“I’m not doing this for you. I’m doing this to quell my curiosity of your upbringing.” She admitted, making him laugh.

“My parents are great. I am nothing like them though, so I don’t think you’ll get the answers you're looking for.”

“It’ll still be interesting to meet them. How formal is this dinner?” Peggy asked.

“I mean it’s not evening gown formal, but- I like that red dress you have.” Howard told her. She hadn’t worn it since the war ended.

“Can’t promise that dress, but the message is clear. Remind me of their names.”

“Howard senior and Ethel . They’ve been happily married for thirty two years and they’ve been madly in love since the day they met.” He explained, making her smile. “They can be quite adorable sometimes.”

“I look forward to meeting them.”

Peggy wasn’t surprised when she left the New York Bell Company building and found Howard leaning on his bright blue Cadillac convertible parked outside. Of course he was flirting with a woman. When is he not? Peggy cleared her throat, grabbing their attention.

“Hi, Peggy. Do you know Amanda?” He asked.

“Yes.” Peggy greeted the blonde.

“Hi. Sorry. I-” Amanda stumbled on her words. “It was great to meet you, Howard.” She quickly left them.

“I thought you weren’t going to wear the red dress. Howard commented as he opened the car door. “So how was your day? What’s it like filling Thompson’s shoes?”

“Today was actually the easiest it’s been since I took over.” She replied.

“That’s good. Maybe you should take over his job officially.”

“They’d never allow it. A few of those at the top in Washington threw a tantrum when Jack first made the decision. They’d never allow a woman to be director while they’re in charge.”

“Well they’re allowing it now.”

“Only because Jack is coming back once he’s recovered.”

“He’s been driving Sousa nuts.” Howard laughed. “They’re both dying for him to go home.

“I can imagine. I would want to go home too. Is there anything else I should know about your parents before meeting them?” She asked.

“No. I don’t think so. They’re going to like you and all I’ll have to deal with for the next year at least is them asking about you, which I can deal with.” Howard replied. Peggy was oddly nervous to meet his parents. She didn’t know why, but she sure as hell wasn’t going to let him know that. “My father calls me junior and my mother calls me Howie.” He explained, making her smile.

“Howie?”

“Unfortunately. I hate it, but I tolerate it for her. They are very affectionate people, so they might hug you. My mother might kiss your cheek.”

“I can deal with that. How many favors do you owe me now?” She asked teasingly.

Howard and Peggy walked into Del Cuore. The hostess greeted them.

“Good evening, Mr. Stark.”

“Has anyone in my party arrived?” Howard asked.

“Not yet. You’re the first. I can show you to your table.”

“Thank you, Noelia.” She led them to the second floor terrace, overlooking the park.

“Would you like to order wine while you wait for your guests?” She asked.

“Uh-” Howard looked at Peggy. “Would you like wine?”

“No, but can I get some water?” Peggy asked.

“Of course.”

“I’ll take a whiskey on the rocks to start.” Howard told her. Noelia nodded and left them. “They should be here any minute.” He checked his watch. “Have you met Sousa’s parents yet?”

“Daniel and I are- it’s complicated so no. I haven’t.”

“Complicated? That’s not what I understand.”

“Why do you seem so interested in my relationship with Daniel?” Peggy asked.

“As one of your best friends-”

“What’s that?” She asked.

“I am one of your best friends, aren’t I?” He asked. She tried stifling a laugh. “Am I not?” The fact that Howard seemed genuinely wounded delighted her.

“Do you care that much?”

“I do!”

“Then yes, I do consider you one of my closest friends.”

“Good. I think I’ve earned it.”

“Oh, have you?” Peggy asked.

“I can’t believe you right now. After everything we’ve been through?” He asked.

“Your parents are going to think we’re having a fight.” Peggy told him, catching a glimpse of the hostess leading a couple towards them. “Is that them?” Howard turned and stood up.

“Hi.” He greeted his mother with a hug. Peggy wasn’t expecting his mother to look so much like him. “Mom, Pop, this is Peggy.”

“It’s great to finally meet you. Howie’s told us so much about you.” Ethel explained.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you as well, Mr. and Mrs. Stark.” Peggy replied.

“You’re not from New York, are ya?” Howard Sr. asked.

“No. I’m English.”

“How’d you forget to mention that?” Howard Sr. asked, playfully elbowing Howard. “You know you’re the first woman Junior’s introduced to us.” Howard Sr. and Edith sat down.  A waiter approached their table, placing down Howard’s whiskey and Peggy’s water. Howard ordered wine for the table and the waiter left them to look over the menu.

“Howie’s told us you work as a telephone operator. I’ve seen one of those boards you use and it looks so complicated.” Ethel explained, putting her menu down. “How do you keep up with it?”

“It was complicated at the beginning, but once you learn your way around it, it becomes second nature.” Peggy replied.

“Do you get to listen in on people’s conversations?” Howard Sr. asked.

“No. I suppose some of the other girls do, but I do not. No one’s conversation is interesting enough for me to risk losing my job over.”

“Good that you have a strong work ethic.” Howard Sr. told her. “Howard’s told us that you two met during the war. Thank you for your service.”

“It was an honor.”

“So what made you move to the United States?” Edith asked.

“After the war, I was given a job opportunity and I had Howard.” Peggy replied, making Edith and Howard Sr. smile.

“Was it love at first sight?”

“Something like that.” Howard looked at Peggy.

As the night winded down, Edith and Howard Sr. shared stories about Howard as a child. Telling Peggy about how he’d take things apart to learn how they worked and how they went through three radios before he learned how to put it back together successfully.

“He was so curious about everything! It was adorable at first.” Edith explained.

“Until he got curious about my car.” Howard Sr. added, laughing. “And look at him now. Making flying automobiles.”

“Not successfully.” Howard replied.

“I heard that it was in the air for a minute at the expo.”

“And then it crashed.”

“That just means you have to keep working on it.”

“How do you keep up a relationship on opposite sides of the country?” Edith asked. “I imagine the distance takes a toll on you.”

“We’ve been able to manage.” Peggy replied.

“Are you planning on moving out west anytime soon?” Howard Sr. asked.

“We’ve talked about it, but right now we like how things are.” Howard explained.

“Have you planned for a future together? Maybe a wedding? Having a family?” Edith asked.

“Of course we’ve talked about it, but- like I said we like how things are now.” Howard wrapped his arm around Peggy.

“Plus, I very much enjoy my job and if I get married, I’ll get fired.” Peggy added. Howard looked at her. “The call center has strict rules for us.”

“If you married Howard, you wouldn’t have to worry about working.” Howard Sr. pointed out.

“That is true, but I enjoy my independence.” Peggy told them.

“As do I, I don’t think either of us need the ol’ ball and chain just yet.” Howard added.

“I promise you it’s not as bad as some people make it seem. I have no clue how I lived my life before your mother.” Howard Sr. kissed Edith’s cheek.

“Stop it. You’re embarrassing him.” Edith laughed, pushing her husband away.

“I can’t help it. I’m in love with you.”

“What time is it?” Edith asked. Howard Sr. checked his watch, making a face.

“What is it?” Howard asked.

“Didn’t know it had gotten that late, but time flies when you’re having fun. I think it’s time your mother and I get started back home.”

“It was so fun meeting you. I loved hearing about Howard as a kid.” Peggy told them. Edith smiled.

“Since you’re in the city, we’re going to have to get lunch sometimes. Just us girls.” Edith suggested. “There are so many more stories about him.”

“I’d love to.” Peggy replied, getting a look from Howard. All four stood up to say goodbye. Edith hugged Peggy.

“I am so glad he’s got you to keep him out of trouble.” She told the younger woman. Peggy smiled.

“Yes. My boy has good taste.” Howard Sr. nodded.

“Thank you.”

“Have a good night, Pop.” Howard hugged his father. “Bye, mom. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“You better. When are you going back to California?” Edith asked.

“Tomorrow night, but I’ve got some business here in the city in the morning.” Howard replied.

“Alright. Goodnight, Howie.” Edith kissed her son’s cheek. The senior Starks said final goodbyes before leaving the table.

“They’re so sweet.” Peggy commented, sitting back down.

“They really like you. So thank you.” Howard looked at her. “But why did you say yes to having lunch with her?”

“To get more embarrassing stories about you. Why else?”

“You know you’ll still have to play the role of my girlfriend, then.”

“I’m fine with that.” She shrugged.

“Fair enough. Let me pay the bill and I’ll drive you home. You know we make a good team. Might have to ask you as my date more often.”

“In your dreams, Howard.” Peggy teased. The night had gone much more smooth than she had expected.

[recentlyheardcom]

Young and the Restless Spoilers July 1-5: Chelsea & Adam Kiss and Jack’s Miserable

The Younger and the Stressed spoilers reveal company shenanigans involving Chancellor Winters take middle stage as Lily Winters, performed by Christel Khalil, and her brother Devon Hamilton, acted by Bryton James, play a crafty recreation in entrance of Billy Abbott (Jason Thompson). It appears Lily is perhaps planning one thing towards Billy, with Devon and their cousin, Nate Hastings (Sean…

[singswan-springswan]

Mama mia, here I go again!

It was a woeful day for the New York Bell Company. Not for any particularly disastrous reason, really, but Peggy was on sick leave. Which meant no one was taking lunch orders. Jack knew Peggy wasn’t really sick—he knew she was actually out shopping—but he wasn’t a snitch, so he said nothing when the wave of complaints washed through the office at eleven-thirty sharp. SSR agents were a punctual bunch, if not the most organized. They probably could have assigned the classic Marge-Duty to some green recruit, but no one thought to do it until the desks had been wholly vacated.

Everyone went off in their own way, hunting down whatever lunch option they fancied most. A good majority of the agents filtered out to delis, cafés, or other quick orders they could carry back to work, but Jack had a lengthy break, since he’d be working a late shift. So he had time to decide.

After a brisk lap around the block, and a leisurely taxi ride, Jack eventually plopped himself in a foamy-green booth at the local automat. Looking around, he found he remembered the place. Peggy slugged him unconscious in the back alley here. Quaint. 

In any case, this joint had an offensive color scheme—which meant the service was bound to be sub-par, and the food either divine or poor at best. It was worth a try. Jack had time to kill, anyway. He didn’t look forward to returning to his cases yet. They’d reached a dreadfully boresome stage. 

Tossing his jacket on the booth beside him, Jack settled in and propped a menu between his hands. This was a very basic automat, it seemed. Nothing here had surprised him yet. He’d been made uncomfortable, yes (these booths were not decent lounge material), and disenchanted (he could count the water marks on the ceiling with both hands), but nothing had yet caught his eye in an especially positive way.

“By gosh! Agent Seal Man!”

Jack jumped in surprise. He may or may not have banged his knee against the bottom of the table. But men don’t feel pain, so he pretended nothing happened haha. “Ah!” The menu fell flat with a crisp slap.

A young woman had materialized at the end of the booth. Her simple uniform matched the horrid colors of the furniture around the diner, and her honeyed hair was pulled into smart curls away from her fair face. She had a bright sparkle in her skylight eyes.

Jack was tempted to groan. “Angie?” He ground out instead. Of course it was just luck that she worked here, of all the possible places in New York for a girl like her to work.

She flashed him a winning smile, clearly pleased. “That’s my name, sugar! What brings you to this part of town?”

Was she serious? Why was she being so amiable? So chipper? They weren’t old friends. Sure, they’d come to a very personal and mutual agreement that one time on the beach, but it didn’t mean they had a special bond. Jack would like to avoid her if he could, despite maybe possibly finding her to be fun company. Would it be rude to get up and walk out now? He still had plenty of time to find a new place to eat.

But the thought of Angie’s crestfallen expression made him hesitate. For whatever reason, she did express genuine warmth towards him, and he sensed that she’d take it to heart if he behaved boorishly. Then she would no doubt act callous in any future encounters, and though her promise ensured her physical incapacity to spill his secret, there were certainly other ways for her to spite him. She’d probably tattle to Peggy. Then Jack would be in for a long-haul of suffering.

So his arse stayed planted in the booth. But he wasn’t happy about it. With a resigned wince, he scooped up the menu again and tapped it against the tabletop. “Lunch break.” He sighed, closing his eyes to gather what meager patience he had.

“Well fancy that!” She whipped out a pad and pen. “Can I get’cha started with something to drink?”

“A tall glass of peace and quiet.” He grumbled.

She scribbled a quick note. “Large black coffee, sure thing. Ready to order yet?”

At least she was to-the-point. Jack wasn’t sure he had the energy to handle a lengthy conversation with her. By the time he’d finished his delicious reuben sandwich, she’d wasted no time mincing her words with him, giving his booth the space he’d requested. It was a gesture he hadn’t expected, but immensely appreciated nonetheless. Maybe this place wasn’t so bad after all—even if Angie was here.

“All finished, darling?” She swooped out of the blue to collect his empty plate.

“Sure.” He frowned. “Don’t call me that.”

Pausing for once, Angie gave him a curious look, raising one brow in a high arch. “Well, I’ve gotta call you something. Would you prefer ‘sir’? Or ‘mister’?”

Jack couldn’t help making a face. She was patronizing him on purpose, he was certain. “Please don’t.”

Her lips quickly twitched into an easy smile. “How about ‘sailor’? You served in the navy, isn’t that right?”

“I’d really rather you didn’t.”

“I think it suits you.”

“Angie…”

“Say, this is quite a lengthy lunch break you’re on. Got time for dessert?”

Jack was very tempted to say no. He didn’t really want to spend longer in this automat than what could be considered strictly polite. But he didn’t have to be back at the office for another half hour. And he was craving something sweet. If this place’s pastries were half as good as the rest of their food, he wouldn’t mind suffering Angie’s presence for a little while longer.

“...I guess it couldn’t hurt.”

She brightened. “Right on!” Without warning, she looped her free arm through his and pulled him to his feet. “Choose from the wall over here. We’ve got the best pies.”

Jack made a mild noise of protest at being towed around. He really shouldn’t be surprised by it, at this point. Angie was one spontaneous soul.

“Do seals like pie?”

Jack made a point of scowling at the glass instead of Angie, though he doubted the attention would deter her. “I’m not a seal.” He gruffed.

“Right, right.” She cleared her throat and shuffled his dishes off to a nearby busser. 

The key-lime slice looked decent, but Jack wasn’t in the mood for merengue. Maybe an apple? Did they have apple pie? Yes, there. The top right. A nickel for the apple pie. Angie snuck a coin in the slot before Jack could even think to dig through his pockets.

“But you are a fair swimmer.” She popped the drawer open and pulled the dessert out. “My treat.” Was her simple explanation when he looked at her confused. “You must go swimming often, right?”

“Thanks.” Jack curtly accepted the plate. “No.”

“Oh no?”

“I’m busy.” He said shortly.

“Oh.” Was that pity on her pretty face? Disgusting. “What a shame. I figured… you enjoy it.”

“Yes.” He swiveled on his heels and wandered back towards his booth.

“Aw gee!” That was definitely pity. “Come on over, sailor.” She took his arm again and pulled him to the counter. Jack had resigned himself to her attentiveness.

Under her dotage, he plopped onto a bar stool and set his pie down. Angie procured a hefty tub of whipped cream. She proceeded to generously dollop his plate with the heavenly white fluff, disregarding the frowns from her coworkers. “You tell me when to quit.” Was her mandate.

Just to spite her, Jack stayed silent until his pie was buried. She soon stopped and gave him a questioning look.

“Dear me, sailor. Lighten up! Don’t you like pie?”

“Sure, when I’m not being pampered.” To be honest, he enjoyed the attention. He just didn’t like why he was getting it. Angie was only acting this way because of her fascination with his selkie nature—there could be no other explanation. And even though she couldn’t tell anyone about it, the scrutiny was still a little unnerving.

She frowned. For a moment, she said nothing, then, “You need more friends.”

Jack lurched back with a sputter. “Excuse me?”

“I’m only trying to be nice, and you’ve got no idea how to handle it.” 

“Now hang on—”

An unimpressed look was all he got.

“If you’re just going to insult me, I’ll take this back to my booth.” Why did she have to say that? Jack had plenty of friends, though most were fair-weather and shallow at best. Besides, even if he didn’t, her criticism wasn’t the least bit convincing him to change that. He scooped up his plate of whipped cream and spun on his heel.

And his gut bottomed out.

For a lengthened period of time, he stood there frozen, frowning at the booth he’d previously occupied, trying to recall with a furious alarm whether he’d actually been sitting somewhere else…

“Forgot where you were?” Angie drawled helpfully.

Jack stepped back, elbow bumping the counter, slowly setting his plate down with the steadiest hands he could manage. Surely he was mistaken. Surely he wasn’t looking hard enough. But his memory was crystal clear, and he knew that that was his spot, but it was empty and his deep, slow breaths were losing more of their effect the longer he blinked and clenched his jaw.

“My jacket’s gone.”

“Hmm?”

Jack turned to her perhaps a little too urgently. He noted her perplexion, then whipped back around in hopes of freshening his view. It didn’t work. There was no jacket at the table where he’d been sitting. It wasn’t on the ground, it wasn’t in any of the adjacent booths, it wasn’t in the arms of another customer lingering about the room. It was gone. Along with the man who’d been eating behind Jack. He’d had a shifty air about him.

“My jacket—” Jack crossed the distance with long strides, placing a fast grip on the seatback for emphasis. “Wasn’t I sitting here?”

When he looked, Angie was then sporting concern upon her pretty brow. She drifted around the bar to pace closer. “Yes, that’s right. Did you leave it in the booth?”

He had, only leaving it alone to get up for the pie… “I didn’t move it.” He insisted.

Angie propped her hands on her hips. “Huh.”

Jack tried to even out his breathing. How could he be so inattentive? How could he not have noticed suspicious personnel in the diner? Why did he have to turn his back for even a moment? Why did he indulge Angie? He should have known better than that! Now his jacket could be on its way miles from him, with a person he didn’t know, and he might never see it again! This was horrible!

“Someone must have taken it.” Angie said regretfully. 

The unmistakable pinching pressure in Jack’s chest affirmed her statement. Already, his whole body itched with a compelling desire to comply, and submit, and relegate himself to freaking servitude—and he was very much not a fan.

“I hope you didn’t have any valuables in there.”

Jack scrambled to pull his wallet out. He tossed a ten on the table. “I have to find it. That jacket is priceless.”

“Family heirloom?”

He had his keys, his hat, yes. Everything was in order. The pie would have to be left behind. “No. It’s a little more important than that.”

Angie jolted out to grab his arm before he could run for the door. “Hang on, sailor. Just wait a minute. You’re about to have a heart attack.” She squinted at his pallor. “Try breathing.”

Jack scowled at her. Forget manners; he’d much rather risk the wrath of Peggy than lose his skin for good. “Let go!” He hissed. “This is serious!”

“It’s only a coat.”

“It’s my coat.” He managed to jerk free. She tailed him straight out the door.

“I know that! But surely panicking won’t solve the issue.”

“I’m not panicking.” He huffed through gritted teeth. It was halfway a lie. 

“You’re not likely to find it. Anyone could have it now.”

“Too bad. I’m trying anyway.”

“Why?”

Jack shot a glare over his shoulder. She was still following him, right down the street in her turquoise uniform and low black heels. Concern and confusion shone clear on her dollish face.

“It’s my skin.” He snapped. “My seal skin. The only one I have.”

His answer didn’t change her expression much, but she didn’t hesitate. “I’ll help you look.”

The immediacy of her reply caught Jack off guard. Arguably, he didn’t need her help. Whoever had his jacket must be close—close enough for him to sense a pull from the bottom of his sternum—and if he was quick, he should be able to track them down. Besides, wasn’t Angie in the middle of a shift? She’d walked out of work like it was nothing.

“I don’t need your help.”

“But you could use it.” She insisted. “Listen, I don’t know much about selkies, so just fill me in. It’ll be more efficient if there are two of us.”

There were many holes in her claim, starting primarily with the fact that she was a woman and therefore not intimidating to a gutsy thief. She was also a civilian and had no formal training when it came to street sweeps. She had no idea how important this coat was. She had no idea what sort of effect it had on Jack. How could she possibly help him?

But she wasn’t going to leave him. Some small, shriveled, and pathetically neglected shadowy recess of his mind took comfort in that thought.

With a reluctant swallow, he pushed the bitter comments on his tongue further down and acknowledged Angie with a small nod.

“It changes shape.” He muttered. “It might not be a jacket anymore.”

Angie took it in stride. Once again, she looped their arms together and marched along the sidewalk. “Alright, will any part of it look the same?”

“The color. And the texture. It’ll still be glossy, like a skin.”

“Is it really seal skin?”

“Yes. I can’t shift without it.”

That earned him a cynical side-eye. “You’re stuck as a human without it?”

“Unfortunately.” 

She cringed in sympathy, which surprised Jack a little bit. “How long can you go without it?”

“Technically forever, but it’s not pleasant. Especially if it’s in someone else’s possession.”

“Why does that make a difference?”

He hesitated to tell her. A good deal of people who knew anything about selkies knew this key tidbit of information, and finding someone ignorant was a little bit refreshing. At the same time, Angie seemed like the stubborn type. If he didn’t tell her, she’d find out. Besides. She’d treated him well. There was a good chance she wouldn’t use the knowledge against him in any truly harmful manner—and even if she did, Jack liked to think Peggy’s vengeance worked both ways. (Neither of his assertions were solid in the least bit. But that was nothing new).

“I have a compelling urge to obey whoever has it.”

“What do you mean?” She fired back quickly, not missing a beat. “Don’t you have a choice?”

“It’s kinda hard to resist.”

“Then we’d better find it quickly.”

Her cool temperament impressed him, though he’d never admit as much out loud. Jack sincerely appreciated the readiness she exuded.

“Do you have any sort of connection to it?” She thought to wonder.

“A little. I have a sense of when it’s close.”

“And?”

“I think it’s still close.”

“I’m sorry I waltzed you around the automat. That man probably wouldn’t have taken it if I didn’t keep you for so long.”

In truth, Angie was nowhere near at fault. Jack had allowed himself to be distracted by her. He’d let his guard down, he’d turned his back, and now he was dealing with the consequences. “Don’t worry about it.” He muttered. 

“How close are we talking here? Three blocks? Two?”

“Probably five. If he was smart, he’ll hail a cab and book it. Let’s hope he left his brains at home today.”

They ended up parting halfway down the street. Jack had doubts about Angie’s ability to identify his skin—and even more about the contingent scenario in which she acquired it but refused to give it up—but he knew he was in a tight spot, and he had to cut his losses. She could still potentially be useful. He couldn’t afford to become further distracted by his loyal anxieties. If he didn’t find his skin soon—well, he’d rather not think about it. The minimal fear of losing his real form forever was enough motivation to hone his focus.

It seemed close to hours passing as he combed the streets, scanning every alley, every window, every open door. He felt like a looney and looked like one too, but he didn’t care. He knew his skin was close. The steady pressure in his chest confirmed it. But he had very little sense of direction, and every second that passed only added to his growing panic, until he was skipping every other step, almost at a broken run.

By some miracle, the pounding of his heart didn’t ruin his hearing. It was Angie’s voice, down an adjacent alleyway, loud and agitated. Jack scrambled towards the sound. The twinge in his chest tweaked.

“I’m not messing around! Hand it over!”

A thickly accented voice gruffed back. “What the heck is wrong with you, lady?”

“That doesn’t belong to you.”

“It don’t belong to you either!”

“Give it!”

“You’re out of your mind!”

Jack turned the corner just in time to appreciate the scene. The man from the booth behind him at lunch was enclosed there, pink in the face and scowling (Angie had that effect on people, it seemed). And there, draped over one arm, Jack’s skin hung limp and lifeless—still a jacket by some wonder. 

Angie had boxed the man in with unapologetic authority. Jack skidded to a halt behind her.

Without warning, she swooped down and snatched an empty Smirnoff bottle off the ground. She smashed it on the wall, not hesitating a second to jab her new weapon at the thief with fire in her eyes.

“Listen here, mister! I’m not playing games! Either you give me the jacket now or I—”

“Woah woah, easy!” Jack decided to make his presence known with a firm hand to Angie’s shoulder. Not the smartest move, since she almost cut him in the face before she saw it was him. But Jack wasn’t notorious for restraint. “I’m sure there’s no need for violence.”

“You!” The man spat angrily.

“Yes, me.” Hopefully projecting a laid-back, collected ease on top of his volatile anxiety would give Jack the upper hand in this situation. In any case, he wasn’t trusting Angie to remain calm. She still looked like she’d commit battery at the drop of a hat. Jack kept a solid grip on her. “Sorry for the trouble, but I believe you have something of mine.”

The man jabbed a finger at Jack. “You back off!” He ordered.

A profound urge to cease speaking to the perp and walk away washed through Jack’s bloodstream, much to his annoyance. He held his ground with clenched teeth.

“Don’t tell him what to do!” Angie barked right back, brandishing her glass. She strained against Jack’s hold. “You dirty piece of scum! Just give him his coat!”

Boldly (stupidly), the man raised his chin. “And what if I don’t?”

“I’ll mess you up!”

Jack squeezed hard. “Alright, angel, let’s take it easy.”

She made a cute, indignant noise.

“This poor chap doesn’t know what he’s getting himself into.”

“What are you talking about?” The thief demanded.

But Jack still found himself unable to speak in his direction, so he continued with Angie. “Jail time for grand larceny is five years.” He explained. “And we’ve got two witnesses to a redhanded culprit—”

“What!” The man broke out. “Ain’t no way this jacket’s worth that much!”

Angie caught on quickly. “Oh really? Well then I guess you'll have no problem giving it up. Or should he just arrest you and settle this in court?”

“Him? Arrest—” A nervous scoff. “You can’t arrest me.You’re not an officer.”

“No,” Angie reached around Jack’s hips and unclipped his badge with her free hand. She shoved it forward with a sneer. “He’s a federal agent!”

The evidence, at least, was enough to make him balk. Between a shiny badge, and Angie’s unhinged malice, the thief finally swallowed his pride and conceded.

“Alright! Alright!” He stuttered. “For pete’s sake, just tone it down.” Hands shaking, he flung the jacket away towards them, taking off without a second to spare.

Relief was immediate. Jack snagged his coat from the air and tangibly relaxed, almost slumping forward when the tension of the bond dissolved. He felt like he could breathe again. The familiar silky soothe of his skin in his hands was an unparalleled comfort.

“Hey!” He yelled down the street when he came to his senses. “I see you again, you won’t be so lucky!” Hopefully the weasel’s face would stay fresh in Jack’s mind so he could uphold that threat. He meant it.

Angie tossed her bottle aside with a frown. “Not going to arrest him?” She sounded disappointed.

Jack snorted out the front half of a laugh. After the whole ordeal, he was exhausted, and his lunch break was ten minutes expired. “No. He ain’t worth the time. I have better things to do.”

“Like what?” She clipped his badge back in place. Wow. Brazen woman.

Some twisted, tired kind of smile made its way to his lips. “If I recall, there’s still a pie I need to eat.”

Dooley would be annoyed, but he wouldn’t be surprised. Jack would make it up to him with an extra hour tonight. In the meantime, he felt in dire need of some decompression—so it was back to the automat with Angie on his arm.

After a near scare with her boss—yelling at her for ditching in the middle of a shift—Jack intervened with another flash of his badge and got her off the hook. The plate of whipped cream was only a little melted in the tepid springtime warmth, and he sincerely enjoyed his soggy slice of apple pie beneath it. 

Jack was just finishing at the bar when the door chimed and a familiar dame strode in. She looked the picture of health, as he’d suspected. Three paper bags hung on each arm, a red pair of glasses perched high on her upheld nose, and each coiffe of her shiny brunette hair was positively immaculate despite the middle-aged day. Jack was not surprised. He waved with his fork.

She gave him a stern look and flicked her shades down an inch. “Thompson.” Was the curt acknowledgement.

“Hiya Marge.”

“Your lunch break is long over.”

“Well I couldn’t find a place to eat. We had no one to take the orders.”

She paused a second, just to emphasize how hard she was judging him, then decided: “That is pathetic.” And took the seat beside him.

No doubt her current visit had been carefully timed with the end of the allotted lunch shift, on the off chance that anyone from the office might go out to dine and see her here. Most likely Jack had ruined her planning. Oh well. He wasn’t crying about it—not after all the recent stress he’d been under.

“Oh hey, English!” Angie strolled by to take Jack’s empty dish, waving cheerfully. She set an easy hand on Jack’s shoulder, which he—surprisingly—didn’t shrug off. “Don’t worry about the ‘ole sailor boy. We had an adventure just now.”

Peggy wasn’t impressed very often, but when she was, she was subtle about it. Jack had learned to recognize the look (as a basic survival skill). It caught him off guard every time.

“Is that so?”

Angie recounted the story. Somehow, she kept Jack’s secret safe through it all. Just like she promised.

[legowolas]

"Okay, kids, that's enough. Peggy, apologise for hitting Jack."

"Hoe"

>:O!!!!!

[ginger-canary]

Freckles watches Starstruck Odyssey #1 thoughts

oh babey we are feeling the love in the dome tonight

"the author of ME"

"what are his weaknesses" here we see ms Axford channeling Siobhan Thompson

Brennan u can use all the words u want but that's a hot dog ship also we love throwing curveballs

Em don't be disappointed i'm laughing

Zac's playing scar from the lion king we've waited for this for so long

"Brennan, bad baby" crying 

Is Riva the young one they clearly are inexperienced 

SWIFTY VOICE SOUND THE ALARM

"the most perfect beautiful thing he can imagine; a full military" we've relocated the American dream

Todd Moonbounce is the coolest name ever

"I attack Lou" "me the person right" listen Lou u know Murph has also been getting jacked do u think that heightens ur chances at least ur character can fly

"i just want everyone to know Brennan gave us the busted hot dog" of course he did

oh no babey Riva they're in for a bad surprise

don't say multipurpose we know what you were made for babe

U gotta wonder if Em and Murph yelled that around the house until their cats started a riot

Handy Annie like,,, like Handy Andy from NADDPOD right

u cant hate shenanigans here

can we talk about how the enemy is the nine and he's the six

the wildest canon here is that someone's good at maths now

he's rich again and he’s got dads, multiple

I'LL SEE WHAT I CAN DO

margaret doing a full power move and just fix everything. MARGARET THE HACKER I FEEL IT I'M LOVING IT

the first ally i love it babey

the ability to fire a monarch is a dream imagine that

she really said imma marry rich huh

YOUNG HIP PPL DON'T HAVE TO SAY THEY'RE YOUNG AND HIP

Riva being able to hear everyone's thoughts is gonna help immensely

Riva inside this man's mind: ok now keysmash

the first crit of the season is an Axford crit hell yea

THE BOX OF DOOM HAS CURSED US

zac that's so mean

SELL THE PARASITE

i wanna say i hope Siobhan continuously wears only bluegreen shirts to be in theme with Riva

[redvanillabee]

July 22

Fandom: Agent Carter (TV), Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)

Relationship: Peggy Carter/Daniel Sousa/Jack Thompson

Characters: Jack Thompson, Daniel Sousa, Peggy Carter, Phil Coulson, Daisy Johnson, Jemma Simmons 

Additional Tags:  Alternate Universe—Canon Divergence, Episode: s02e10 Hollywood Ending, Episode: s07e04 Out of the Past, Established Relationship, Domestic Fluff, Timeline Shenanigans, Light Angst

Chapters: 1/3

Summary:

They say history doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.

On July 22, 1947, there was an attempt on the life of Jack Thompson, Chief of SSR New York.

Today is July 22, 1955.

Read on AO3

[captainsophiestarkreading]

August Fic Recs!

With Peggysous Week going strong, I’m going to try to keep the momentum up and do a lot more fic reading for at least this month! We’ll see if it keeps up once school starts again lol.

Technically I read the first Peggysous fic in July but it was the very last day so we’re counting it as August

None of these fics are mine! They’re recommendations of other people’s work I’ve read throughout the month. Recs are below the cut

Top Gun

Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw:

Just a Chance by @callsignhoney

Really sweet, heartfelt, angsty and fluffy and funny fic with Rooster. He’s written so well and so sweet in this, it was VERY fun to read

What It’s Like Dating Him by @youlightmeupfinn

Literally PERFECT headcanons for dating Rooster. They are so cute and wonderful and the characterization is dead on

Marvel

Peggysous:

10:01 is Too Late by @tiredmoonlight

Daniel Sousa is Popular With Old Ladies and he uses it to help Peggy get out of trouble. 10/10 adorable shenanigans.

Tokens of a Life by @tiredmoonlight

Tori literally had me sobbing, and you probs will be too, but in a good way. Modern times after a storied life for Peggy, very good fic

Just Across the Hall by @tiredmoonlight

Legit one of my favorite fics I’ve read this year. College AU Peggysous (immaculate) told in 100-word blurbs throughout the course of their freshman year. Incredibly well written, especially while sticking to the 100 word limit for each blurb

Secret’s Out by @tiredmoonlight

Some Jack and Daniel shenanigans as Jack tries to figure out what the hell Peggy and Daniel are to each other. Very fun read

House Sitters by @tiredmoonlight

An adorable, peaceful moment shared between Peggy and Daniel. *Literally* had me melting

Jack’s Rejected Wedding Toast by @tiredmoonlight

Y’ALL I cannot express to you how adorable this fic is. The interactions between all the characters and so sweet and funny, it’s SO good

Best Not Friends by @everyhazyday

This focuses as much on Jack and Daniel’s friendship as the Peggysous stuff, and it is literally SO. SWEET. Top tier fic with excellent characterizations and a really fun exploration of those relationships

April Fool’s Revenge by @tiredmoonlight

Building off a fic from last year, this is a HILARIOUS fic of Peggysous absolutely dunking on Jack Thompson for April Fool’s Day. If you haven’t already read the first one, you should check it out too! You don’t technically need it for context but it’s also very good and funny

Star Wars

Poe Dameron:

Time to Improvise by @ghostofskywalker

A really sweet fic with Poe and reader being undercover together. One of my absolute favorite tropes written SO well and truly adorable!

Untitled by @disabledameron

A really sweet, short fic with Poe and reader having a moment in between the chaos of the Resistance

Anakin Skywalker:

Underestimated by @ghostofskywalker

A great fic with Anakin and reader showing off their lightsaber skills. Extra bonus points for some cute, pushing Younglings in the mix

Better Together by @ghostofskywalker

501st prank war! What more is there to say?? This fic is adorable and funny and SUCH a good vibe

Padmé Amidala:

Winter Wonderland by @ghostofskywalker

Literally SUCH an adorable fluffy fic with Padme’s first time seeing snow! My heart was melting as I was reading this

Obi-Wan Kenobi:

For The Sake Of The Mission by @ghostofskywalker

Y’all this fic is so good! Tori does a fantastic job of writing Obi-Wan and the relationship is written so well. She’s got all kinds of Star Wars stuff but this is one of my favorites!

Grease

Kenickie Murdoch:

One Locker Down by @jusvibbbin

Legit forgot I had a crush on Kenickie until I randomly rewatched Grease, and then all I wanted to do was read fic for him. This one is EXCELLENT, and actually really sweet. Definitely read it and the part two linked at the bottom of this first part

Bridgerton

Benedict Bridgerton:

Thin Ice by @starryeyedstories

A tense, stressful rescue situation bookended by absolutely ADORABLE fluff and interactions with the Bridgerton siblings. Set at Christmas time and now all I want to do is curl up with a cup of hot coco (even in August) and reread this fic

[space-helen]

Hey! Can I send in a request? Maybe Jack Thompson or Captain Kirk with the prompt "Of course we're best friends. No one else would put up with our shenanigans."? No worries if you're not feeling it! Hope you're doing wonderful!

Of course you can! OOooo I really don't know which one I'd rather do this request for, I love them both so much and the prompt is perfect for them both. Maybe I'll write for Jack since I haven't in forever?

[ao3feed-danielsousa]

(all i can say is) i was enchanted to meet you

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/zkUFbS6

by nerdyprude

angie is a lesbian plant mom. jackdaniels are wholesome gays. and peggy is six feet tall and super strong. series of one-shots(?) about what shenanigans the agent carter gang gets up to in the owl house universe.

Words: 1931, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Agent Carter (TV), The Owl House (Cartoon)

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/F, M/M

Characters: Peggy Carter, Angie Martinelli, Jack Thompson (Marvel), Daniel Sousa, Dottie Underwood

Relationships: Peggy Carter/Angie Martinelli, Daniel Sousa/Jack Thompson, Peggy Carter & Angie Martinelli, Peggy Carter & Daniel Sousa, Angie Martinelli & Jack Thompson, Peggy Carter/Dottie Underwood

Additional Tags: JackDaniels if you squint, Alternate Universe - The Owl House Fusion, There's cursing, even tho this is a toh media i wouldn't rec it for children??, no smut tho they're in high school, Alternate Universe - High School, no toh characters in here it's just the agent carter cast, carterwood if you squint harder

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/zkUFbS6

[swingsetindecember]

@noxelementalist​ asked: what are your 5 favorite rare pairs, and why should folks join you in faving them?

my fav rare pairs, gosh there are so many...

jango fett/obi-wan kenobi

LIKE single dads in space and just so many misunderstandings

spider-man/the human torch

just all the banter, the sweet banter and the secret identity and the polar opposites yet will also be down for shenanigans and god there is so much identity porn 

james rhodes/tony stark

ALL I WANT IS RHODEY AND TONY. MIT flashbacks. bsns shenanigans. like they are best friends!! and so much banter, you can tell i love banter but also they depend on each other

dorian/john kennex

angry sad man and snarky robot. like literally all i want in life is them to take down corrupt robo world. 

daniel sousa/jack thompson

1940s sad bois that are repressed but also full of feels????

bruce wayne/hal jordan

spooky and lantern is just so perfect i want it everywhere. also so much identity porn and mistaken identity and just kills me gl never met bruce in the dceu 

thor/bruce banner

here me out, thor is smarter than everyone gives them credit and calls hulk out on his bullshit. also, 7 phds and not one clue? 

i think i gave seven so oops. and then there are even more so >.>

[popculturebuffet]

Top 10 Sealab 2021 Episodes (Comission)

Happy 2021 Everyone! After an utterly AWFUL fucking year, it’s nice to be in a brand new year with brand new possiblities, new projects you’ll see soon, finsihing the old.. and all that good stuff. And good friend of the blog and only patron and contributer kev had a great suggestion to comission to kick off the year. Since it’s 2021 it’s only fair ot honor one of the very first adult swim shows, one taking place in the same year and still one of it’s funniest and fucking weirdest, and as we’ve seen that threshold is vast: Sealab 2021 Sealab was created by the wonder twins of Adam Reed and Matt Thomspon, and if those names sound familiar.. that’s because their the guys who created Frisky Dingo, a cult classic i’ll defintely have to write about someday soon, and more famously and in Matt’s case still to this day, Archer. Yup, after adult swim jerking them around lead to the closing of their initial studio, the two moved to FX and here they are. So yeah this is where the roots of a lot of archers workplace shenanigans and petty dickery come from.  But even ignoring what it’d lead to, Sealab on it’s own is pretty damn good and holds up pretty well. Some jokes.. have not aged well, especially the treatment of Debbie as the villiage bicycle, but on the whole most of the humor is just really funny, really weird and really insane and I still love it after this revisit even if some episodes didn’t hold up so good, most of them held up good or even better than I remembered.  The show was THE first abriged series, taking bits of old forgotten and seemingl really damn boring hannah barbara show sealab 2021, and using the footage to tell the tale of a bunch of assholes, weirdos and what have you running an underwater research station.. and being so bad at it or getting into such other insane bollocks it often blew up. Continuity was loose, jokes were the priority, and dialouge was key since the animation was not great in any way shape or form, but the cheapness was enough of a charm and improved enough with time that it didn’t really matter. The show was good and set the bar for adult swim shows for better or worse alongside other greats like Home Movies, Aqua Teen Hunger Force and others. It also had a unique cast of mostly small time actors, and bafflingly one respected news pundit as local asshole idiot head Stormy, and broadway legend Henry Goz as series MVP Captain Murphy. It was good, it was part of my childhood and teen years, and I love it so. I bought the dvds, quoted it decently and will again now Kev’s brought my fire for the series back.  So naturally for a series like this since regular reviews just don’t.. work on something this insane sometimes, i’m instead counting down my top. 10 . episodes. Yes top 10 lists are comissionable, 5 bucks a pop. As long as I know the series well enough i’d be glad to and here I ws more than honored to. I also uped my game this time and rewatched every cantidate and thus I feel this may be one of my best lists yet. So without further adeu... grab your grizzlbees oninon burst , your bebop cola and your pitcher of whale cancer. this is the top 10 episodes of sealab 2021!

10. Tinfins  This one’s a classsic just for it’s uniquness, taking the piss out of glitzy and vapid hollywood insider shows and their annoying hosts, while also being delightfully weird, from mocking the show’s own animation by having detailed cgi used to map the limited animation, to Erik Estrada’s interview where his fictional self is clearly having none of toni and is also clearly getting wasted, to the utter bizzarity of Kid N Play being the films directors.. it’s just a good time. 

But what REALLY makes the episode are two things: The first is a series of increasingly bizzare commericals for Grizzlebees, a fictional restraunt that would become a staple of the show: From a simple commerical showing off their onion bursts, to their kids meals with tonic water, to Henry Goz’s utterly bizzare farm based commerical for it, to finally a commerical about depression being okay because grizzlebee delivers that’s pitch black as it is utterly hilarious, it’s just one hit after the other.  The crown jewel of the episode of course is the trailer ofr tinfins itself, which is insane and includes great bit after great bit, the best being the titular mecha shark cutting the power “How the hell can it cut the power? It’s a shark. “ Holy Crap indeed. 

9. In the Closet A bottle episode, which Sealab really excelled at and not the last on this list by a mile, as the show’s key was it’s dialouge the episode had a simple premise it quickly managed to have make some pretty insane turns. Marco, played by the glorious Eric Estrada and Muprhy, played by the late and very game Harry Goz, have been trapped in the suply closet for a few days, with Muprhy, being muprhy, having already married a bucket who has a history as a “Hookermop” named wendy. Soon other sealabians get caught inside too, and it results in plenty of hilarious gags, From muprhy sucker punching the hell out of everyone, to Sparks panicking under claustrophiba, to the repair guy getting sucker punched and no one caring much about his well being. This one lives off of Muprhy as while the others are good, Goz as he usually did during his time on this earh and on this series before his untimely passing, steals the whole damn show, and the ending, where it turns out Muprhy adopted and starved a bunch of fighting dogs, is a nice twist on everything. And the punchilne to it is utterly fantastic “It could be worse” “How in the hell could it possibly worse?!” “We could be out there.. with Stormy”. 

8. The Legend of Baggy Pants Speaking of Bottle Episodes and Captain Murphy being awesome.... this one narrowly beat out the episode it’s a spirtual sequel too, the classsic all that jazz, but this one is easily better. Like that one it’s a bottle episode that’s almost entirely just Captain Muprhy on some sort of shenanigan, with only abit of other cast, in this case Hesh, Eggers, and an unfortunate phone operator. In this case the premise is simple, kind of nuts, and utterly hilarious and utterly captian murphy: Captain Muprhy is having a round of Golf in Sealab, which is weird but fits the character but what ratchets it up to funny is apparently this underwater research station, for no reason, has a pro shop. So after loosing his last ball in a reactor, and sending poor hesh in to get it leading to the advent of the glorious Monster Hesh, Muprhy spends the entire episode tooling around in his “Muprh Mobile” trying to find the pro shop. As a result it’s basically 11 glorious minutes of Harry Goz going absolutely mental as muprhy, and it is as great as that sounds. From Muprhy’s sudden hatred of pod 6, to his bullying of Eggers, a hapless sealabian he runs into and then tries to run over, his bullying of dolphin boy and then trying to run him over, to his compuance as eggers steals his stuff and then his muprh mobile, it’s just glorious riffing from one of the best in the buisness and Harry is still deeply fucking missed by yours truly. RIP you magificent stalion. 

7. Cavemen One of the series final episodes, and easily one of it’s best. While the later Seasons get some flack. While season 3 is a bit weak,a s Goz’ tragic passing left them stumbling, Season 4/5... it’s complicated, is REALLY damn good and has some of the series finest episodes which many probably never saw. Case in point, Cavemen.  Cavemen is another spirtual sequel this time to lost in time, which also didn’t make the list, but this one is also better. Like LIT, it focuses on one of the series best dynamics: Brainy super scientest and often only sane man Dr. Quinn and all around idiot, moron and bane of everyone’s existance, Stormy, played by Brett Butler and Ellis Henican, both of who nail the two and this episode. The two are trapped in a cave after Stormy’s stupidity blew up sealab, and his trail of dead rabbits lead a shark to him and quinn. The result is a TON of great back and forth as Stormy tries to make Quinn see him as his best friend, Quinn rightfully shouts at Stormy for... everything, and Stormy tries to show off some ancient cave painting she himself made, that quinn quickly figures out because he left his paint around, and shows that off in a very clever gag I can’t convey correctly here. We also get knife fights and Quinn beating stormy over the head with a dead rabbit, an da surprisingly solem ending where the two hold hands as they die before heading up to heaven for a happy and weird ending. Overall an episode that’s really hard to dive into as it’s just relaly damn good and all in the performances, gags and pacing, as it’s done entirely in real time. Easily worth a watch. 

6. Shrabster Another great late season episode and another really experimental one. This one’s told from back to front, then we’re given the ending. It ends up working really well as it not only jacks up interest but the story itself is great. Asj it ends up turning out over the episode Dr. Quinn’s created the solution to world hunger: The shrabster, a hybrid of crab, shrimp and lobster. Grizzlebees, naturally wants it and after finding out Sparks didn’t actually own the rights, have Shanks, muprhy’s replacement, try and steal it, only for him to fall in love with the creature and spirit it away to give it a better life.. before shooting it in the end and eating it himself. We also get some good runners as Sparks starts speaking in slang and gets his neck rightfully snapped for it by Quinn, Stormy keeps eating shellfish despite being allergic, and we get the glory that is dan and don, two grizzlebees reperceives played by reed and thompson who are just an utter delight. I also ALMOST forgot the fucking announcer whose just fucking hilaroius the whole damn time with his various segways. 

5. HappyCake An early classic and damn worthy with a simple, batshit premise, which as should be clear by now was Sealab’s Bread and Butter. Muprhy’s happycake oven has been stolen, so he sends Stormy (who knows about the captain’s bedwetting and thus must be silenced) Quinn and a fishman out to find it in the ocean. Turns out it’s Sparks, in a character defining episode, fault as he’s working on world domination, and thus is working on driving murphy insane and thus stole it. He and marco discuss Marco becoming his henchman and getting metal teeth, Muprhy goes nuts, it’s a damn good time. Also a lot of talk of Michael Cain so that’s always a plus now I know who he is. And of course it has one of the series best lines period “Pudding can’t help the void inside” but it’ll help. Only this low because i’ts a bit structually messy compared to what’s to come and given it beat out two really damn good structurally episodes for this slot, that should say something. 

4. Hail Squishface! No best of list would be complete without this one. Once again the show banks itself on a simple premise: Captain Muprhy buys a white blob, a gloop, from a vendor and gives it liquor and gremlins style his little buddy multiplies and he soon gives them out to the crew. Everyon’es on board except Quinn.. whos naturally proven right ot be suspicious as the gloops methane output will doom them all and only muprhy, whose gone insane and is wearing squishface like a fez as you’d expect, wants them alive leading to what you’d expect: a flamethrower battle between muprhy and the crew with murphy decked out like a transformer.  This one’s just endlessly creative, from the various glooptransformations to the finale to the gags, i’ts just great. The fart gags are also.. actually pretty funny, which given i’m not a fart gag guy most of the ttime, speaks to how well executed they are and use the gags of htem being fart machines. Also we get muprhy in a fez and that alone cements it as top 5 matieral.. but as for the top 3. 

3. Moby Sick

Our last late season entry and the third to last episode of the show ever, this is top 3 for a reason, even above a classic like Hail Squishface. This one just has so many insane jokes packed in I forget quite a few despite them all being pretty damn great.  The premise is dour: A whale named Avalard shows up in Sealab wanting to die, as he has whale cancer. Stormy recognizes him as the star of the show “Gotta Have that Dick”, even saying “I gotta have that dick!”.. which of course they have a loop of ellis saying in the credits he correctly assumes will haunt him for the rest of his days. And if a whale starring in a cheesy 90′s tgif sitcom wasn’t enough we get the best gag of the episode as Marco eats some of avalard’s whale cancer leading to an insnae kool aid style add

And of course Marco later puts on a Mayor F Whale outfit and eats the cancer.. and his way out of avalard. But before that we get fights over wether the whale should die or not, including the guy on the pro whale side stabbing him, Debby’s rambling nosense and Shanks, who first builds a wooden whale to put his brain in .. that promptly sinks “and all my puppies were in there!” and then goes on a far right pundit show and gets into a giant robot phsyical challenge.. which frankly we need more of. Tucker Carlson would be .0001 percent more tolerbale if he were getting his ass kicked in a gundam is what i’m saying. 

2. Feast of Alvis I’ll be brief here, which in an article where i’m already trying to be brief says a lot but since I JUST covered this one a few weeks ago for my best holiday special lists: Feast of Alvis is, like most of sealab, deeply creative, deeply batshit and deply fun as Muprhy pushes his violent frontier version of jesus on everyone, with predicably great results. I watch it every year for damn good reason, it has some of the series best gags, including “Cram a penny o nthere” And great satire about the supposed “War on christmas”. I’m only being so breif as I said pretty much all I had to say last time. Exxcept this: Adam Reed is a DAMN talented voice actor both as virjay (though in hindishgt he REALLY shoudln’t of been playing a hindu man, especially since otherwise the series actually cast poc), and in various rolls and kills it as alvis here. So what could top one of my faviorites? Wellll.

1. Chickmate Another early one and as should be clear the best. It incapsulates the series the best, has the funniest jokes packed into it’s 11 minutes and in general is just an outstanding episode that throughly defined the cast and their rolls and chemistry.  Debbie’s biological clock is ticking and she wants to have a baby, and after mothering a dolphin dosen’t help decides one of the sealab men will be the father and auditions them. It goes as well as you’d expect: Muprhy thought she’d become his mommy, and not in a kinky way, Sparks provides one of the series best gags by giving her a modest proposal by jonathan twist and giving us the utter black comedy joy of him describing “ribs dripping off the bone”, Stormy’s tape gets interrupted by Hesh who clasically screams “Hesh wants some sex”, Marco freaks her out with his muscles and quinn seems sucessful before ultimately botching it and Debbie decides none of htem are worth it. We also get stormy’s untieontally racist and throughly stupid use of the term “Black debbie” to describe the other debbie, which he gets rightfully called out on. We also get this exchange as a result Quinn: What if everyone started calling you white stormy? Stormy: You mean there’s a .. black stormy Quinn: (Beat to take in the stupidity) no. 

It’s funny, it’s clever, and it’s just damn fun. Easily the series best outing and the reason it became what it became. And overall.. the series is just really good. it’s on HBO Max if your curious, and if you haven’t vistied that lab underneath the sea. maybe i’ts time to. Goodbye, Goodbye, goodbye for now, until then.. play us out marco and debbie. 

[wayward-wren]

My goodness. That episode was far more stressful than I thought it was going to be. I Did Not expect that much time line changing so soon. 

I liked Deke shooting Maleck. Not sure if it was a good thing or not yet, but from a story telling perspective I love it. 

And Daniel!! HHhh my boy! He’s out of his depth and missing home. “I just wish I got to say some goodbyes” be still my beating HEART. and the way he said “peggy carter” when talking about the targets of project insight. Gah I love it. Also him and the phone was adorable I need more of Daniel Sousa interacting with modern technology. Somewhat disappointed his limp is practically gone now but hey, I guess 9ish years will get you used to missing a leg. I do hope it’s brought up at some point

Also i’m still waiting on answers about Jack Thompson. don’t let me down SHIELD writers you never have

My theories for who the chrinocoms had as leverage ranged from Peggy to a Fitz they had managed to find, I didn’t even consider someone’s parents but it was brillaint. 

Jemma is a LMD theory is back on the table, significant amount of time could be anywhere from a year to 100 now. I also really enjoyed her and Deke’s little moment, it made me MISS FITZ SO MUCH, and I love the Fitzsimmons family. 

AND WHITEHALL. WHITEHALL OH BOY OH BOY. (Also I know Nathaniel is probably going to want to get Daisy’s powers for himself but a small part of me was like ‘Sousa with quake powers’ when I saw the stinger.) 

MAN I have no idea where this is going to go. They’ve messed up the timeline already, I’m interested to see where they’re going after all this is over. My brain is hurting because of time travel, because the SHIELD time travel is bad enough, but then you thrown in Endgame and OH BOY I’m never going to make sense of it. 

Still think they’re going to somehow end up in 2012 and have to kill Coulson tho. And still going to be super disappointed if we don’t see Ward. (plot twist all the time shenanigans means Ward isn’t a Hydra agent and is actually a good guy by the time they get to that point in time.)

(actually that’s a thought worth thinking what if all these time shenanigans result in not much actually being changed by the time they reach 2012/2013 except Ward is a good guy wouldn’t that be wild)