#The Middleton Files

[world-of-wales]

CATHERINE'S STYLE FILES - 2017

3 MAY 2017 || The Duchess of Cambridge visited Farms for City Children in Arlingham, Gloucestershire.

[walesinspiration]

Countdown to Christmas 2022:

The Wales family’s Christmas cards through the years.

[malkalaila]

I love the color of Kate’s outfit today for the arrival of the South African state visit but it’s too much burgundy for me. I think she should’ve worn a deeper color for the hat and shoes and gloves.

Hey anon!

I kinda agree yet disagree? My issue is the coatdress and hat are a deep magenta--super gorgeous, but totally magenta. While the gloves, bag, and shoes are all a deep maroon. It really clashes in my opinion but I love the way the hat matches the dress. It's really only the shoes, gloves, and bag that I'd change.

I wish she wore the Jimmy Choo bag and shoes she wore when visiting the V&A Museum in 2018--they're deeper like you said and are a more purple based color than red based.

Since I'm a visual person, have some photos so you can see what I'm talking about.

These are today's shoes with the dress in natural light. They're way more red/maroon than purple.

And then this perfect shot in the sunlight really highlights how red the bag and gloves are compared to the dress.

Now for what she could have worn that I think would have matched better:

This Jimmy Choo clutch

And these Jimmy Choo heels

I know I'm being super nitpicky--she looks amazing and no one else is gonna notice this but me but I can't not see these details 🙈

Anyway, thanks for indulging me anon!

[atlaslandia]

❛  、  BASIC

nome: alexander phillip middleton.  ╱  idade: 27 anos  ╱  ocupação: selecionado (casta 04)  ╱  orientação: heterossexual  ╱  origem:  província de columbia  ╱  faceclaim: xavier serrano.

❛  、  TRIVIA

O sobrenome Middleton tornou-se conhecido  através do ramo da culinária, quando o avó de nosso protagonista  mostrou-se um excelente chefe de cozinha, abrindo um restaurante  posteriormente. Mas Phillip   Middleton   era um homem de ambição, que treinou  seu filho William para ser ainda melhor. Para ser perfeito, leal, fiel,  obediente e tomar o controle da família. Fora por isso também que a  família o inscreveu na seleção da princesa  Eadlyn, mas Will nunca fora bom o suficiente para ela. Ou ao menos fora o  que concluiu ao ser dispensado sem sequer chegar no patamar da elite. O  desejo de tornar-se um Schreave, transformou-se em ódio quando fora  frustrado e embora tenha aprendido em sua infância que o amor era a base  de tudo, casou-se com a herdeira de uma rede hoteleira apenas para  acumular poder. Junto dela tiveram dois filhos: Alexander e Masha.

O primogênito recebeu os mesmos ensinamentos do pai a partir do momento  em que o nascimento da herdeira Schreave   fora anunciado, tendo a princesa a mesma idade de sua irmã mais nova.  Mas  Alexander nunca foi uma criança convencional, e nem de longe se parecia  com o pai em suas crenças e ambições. Enquanto as outras crianças  corriam e brincavam, o pequeno menino passava a maior parte do tempo  envolvido pela história de livros, e próximo da mãe. Não queria ser um  príncipe, não precisava de dinheiro, e mesmo sendo impossível tudo o que  desejava era que a irmã se tornasse a herdeira do hotel quando  atingisse a idade adulta, para que ele pudesse se dedicar à seus livros.  Qualquer ideia para o próprio futuro, contudo, desapareceu quando o pai  o inscreveu na seleção, e mais ainda quando fora chamado para fazer  parte dos selecionados.

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

What I don't think I've said before is that my agency is a law enforcement agency and we do similar investigations to this

I work on the side of law firms coming in to do internal investigations - particularly in the UK. You obviously know what you’re talking about, but I just want to reaffirm for the anon and other readers that it’ll take months.

Organisations sometimes unknowingly open Pandoras box when they start an investigation like this, because all kinds of misconduct they had not known about must now also be dealt with. That makes the deadlines even more squishy.

Would love to have your take on the national security aspects to the PoW’s diagnosis and continued treatment. I bet H&M is going to want to find out more information too, which fits in nicely on your recent posts around him being a security risk (I’m the Pegasus anon and highly enjoyed them).

Very old ask from March 22nd.

So now knowing that Kate actually did have cancer, was seriously ill, and was also downplaying her diagnosis and condition, that changes my thinking a little.

I do think one of the reasons they've been very careful with Kate's diagnosis and treatment is because of the national security impact. For instance, if Kate's actual treatment was publicly known - she goes to chemo on these days, she's being treated at this hospital, her drugs are X, Y, Z - then a bad actor or a threat can absolutely do some damage. They can taint the medical supply, they can call paparazzi to the hospital, they can sneak cameras into the treatment center, they can stage an emergency that takes resources away from the oncology unit.

If the type of cancer Kate had or the chemo treatment she was undergoing meant she needed to be a on a specific diet and if that was known, then obviously someone could try to send her a tainted gift basket or they have a spoiled product that they give to a known Wales associate (like a Turnip Toff or a Middleton friend) and they pass it on to Kate (which is how Pippa used to merch sometimes, in early Cambridge days) who doesn't suspect anything because that person is cleared by RPOs. And this is something that the BRF is actually concerned about - I read somewhere once that they don't accept food products or food gifts and if any is given to them on walkabout or engagements, it's immediately tossed.

Now let's think about that hack/unauthorized access to Kate's medical files back in March. What could someone do with that information? Well, aside from her diagnosis, her symptoms, her treatment plan, they could learn who her doctors and care team are and go after them - stalk them, harass them, blackmail them, endanger their families, etc. They might also learn where Kate's pharmacy is or other private medical information like maybe if she had any miscarriages, what other medications she might be on, what her allergies are, her parents' medical history, etc. and all of that is something that a bad actor can exploit to their advantage, everything from exposing Kate to her allergen to killing her doctor and assuming their identity to treat her.

Not to mention the fact that anyone who goes through a major operation like Kate did in January and who goes through chemo becomes incredibly immunocompromised. All they have to do is get someone with COVID or a flu or shingles or some other kind of biotoxin or contagious illness next to Kate and her condition worsens.

(Just a quick aside her to remind everyone that someone who's immunocompromised from chemo the way Kate is isn't going to be frolicking in the woods with people who aren't in her bubble. Michael and Carole are in the video because they're in Kate's health bubble. Charles and Camilla aren't in the video because they aren't in Kate's bubble and they're not in Kate's bubble because Charles has his own bubble because he's also immunocompromised from his own cancer and his own treatment and no one wants to risk Charles or Kate getting worse because of something "crossing over" from one person's treatment into the other's.)

And what happens if you take Kate out of the picture? We're not killing her here - we're just saying she becomes incapacitated or sidelined in some way. But take Kate out of the picture, now all of a sudden you have the entire future of the monarchy at risk. William becomes vulnerable. George becomes vulnerable. Charlotte and Louis become vulnerable. We're not talking about their physical security or their physical well-being here; we're talking about their mental and emotional health and as we've seen in Harry, that -- in the hands of the wrong person -- becomes incredibly dangerous. And since William is the next king and George the future king, that 100% is a matter of national security.

It is all farfetched, it does sound Bondian, but that's what national security is. It's considering every single possibility that could happen, assessing how likely it could happen and what kind of impact would come from it happening, and mitigating as much of that as possible.

So how do you mitigate the threat to national security posed by Kate's health crisis? You don't tell anyone the specifics. You keep it private. You downplay it to the best of your abilities.

Now, specific to the Sussexes, and why William and Kate (or even the RPOs or even the BRF) wouldn't want them to know the whole truth of her condition and health, it's absolutely all the shadiness that the Sussexes are involved with. There's rumors of Russian support. We know they have microphones and Netflix cameras with them all the time. We know that the Sussexes are boundary-stomping privacy invaders who blab about every tiny morsel of information they get - or don't get. We know that the Sussexes want to be King and Queen of people's hearts, King and Queen of culture, and the actual King and Queen of the UK, the realms, and the Commonwealth.

If something happens to Kate, then Harry and Meghan aren't even waiting in the wings; they're already running on stage with their plastic crowns. And I think they know that, because without Kate, William's attention turns 100% to the children, which leaves an opening for Charles to bring Harry back and we know that Harry won't come back without Meghan. So if Harry and Meghan are both back, then they become even bigger red flags to the monarchy and the BRF because they're also bringing the damage of the last 5 years - grudges from 2018/2019, the alleged Russian supporters, Oprah, Netflix cameras, Sussex Squad, all their crony kiss-ass reporters, etc. Bad, bad, bad news all around. You might as well turn the Buckingham Palace throne room into a gift shop now because the second Harry and Meghan are back in, they're selling the monachy to the highest bidder - but will it be Oprah? Will it be Netflix? Will it be any Russians? Will it be Nacho? Will it be QVC and the Home Shopping Network? Will it be Penguin Random House?

So not telling Harry and Meghan anything about what Kate's doing isn't just national security best practices; it's complete and total self-preservation of the monarchy for George. Because if Meghan was able to do that to Harry, imagine what she and Harry can both do to William and George together when William and George's world has been totally rocked and shattered.

Edit: added some clarification. I mention COVID here as an example of someone with an illness who could seriously worsen an immunocompromised person's health. I'm not debating COVID vaccinations, protocols, or precautions and any more comments/replies about COVID will be removed.

[marleneoftheopera]

Holiday Audio/Video Gifts!

For the holiday season, here are some audio gifts from various shows and one Phantom video! The link to them is here and the info is below the cut:

Happy holidays and I hope you are all having time for some rest!

Audios

POTO

Jon Robyns, Paige Blankson, Joe Griffiths-Brown, Kelly Glyptis, Matt Harrop, Adam Linstead, Francesca Ellis, David Kristopher Brown, Maiya Hikasa August 22, 2023; London

Tim Howar, Harriet Jones, Nadim Naaman, Lara Martins, Nicholas Garrett, Arvid Larsen, John Ellis, Valerie Cutko, Kelsi Boyden March 19, 2023; Greece

Josh Piterman, Corinne Cowling (u/s), Danny Whitehead, Katy Hanna (u/s), Ross Dawes, Kris Manuel (u/s), Sophie Caton (u/s), Paul Ettore Tabone, Georgia Ware October 17, 2019; London ​Matinee.

Jeremy Stolle (u/s), Samantha Hill, Greg Mills (u/s), Michele McConnell, Richard Poole (u/s), Tim Jerome, Ellen Harvey, Christian Sebek, Kara Klein, Scott Mikita (u/s) March 9, 2013; Broadway Matinee performance.

John Owen-Jones, Deborah Dutcher, Matthew Cammelle, Bruce Montague, Charles Shirvell, Margaret Mary Kane (u/s), Janet Murphy, Jeremy Secomb, Lucy Middleton January 5, 2002; London

Love Never Dies

Tam Mutu, Celia Graham, David Thaxton, Daniel Dowling August 25, 2011; London Tam Mutu's last performance.

Les Miserables

Christopher Jacobsen (u/s Jean Valjean), Stewart Clarke (Javert), Katie Hall (Fantine), Will Callan (Marius), Lulu-Mae Pears (Cosette), Amena El-Kindy (Eponine), Luke Kempner (Thenardier), Claire Machin (Madame Thenardier), Dejan Van der Flyert (Enjolras), Alex Shaw (Gavroche), Clohe Sullivan (Little Cosette), Tom Hext (Grantaire/Majordomo), Adam Pearce (Bishop/Claquesous), Ellie Ann Lowe (Factory Girl), Jordan Simon Pollard (u/s Foreman/Bujon), Matt Dempsey (Bamatabopis/Lesgles), Annabelle Aquino, Hazel Baldwin, Emily Olive Boyd, Ben Culleton, Matt Hayden, Sam Kipling, Anouk Van Lake, Harry Lake, Ben Oatley, Jonathan Stevens, Phoebe Williams, Ollie Wray September 28, 2023; London 15,000th show in London and the 5th show for the new company.

Sunset Boulevard

Nicole Scherzinger (Norma), Tom Francis (Joe Gillis), David Thaxton (Max von Mayerling), Grace Hodgett Young (Betty Shaefer), Ahmed Hamaad (Artie), Tyler Davis (Sheldrake), Charlotte Jaconelli (Johanna), Jon Tsouras (Cecil B. de Mille) September 28, 2023; London

Rebecca

Laureen Jones (I), Richard Carson (Maxim de Winter), Kara Lane (Mrs Danvers), Sara Harlington (Beatrice), Neil Moor (Giles), Piers Bate (Frank Crewley), David Breeds (Ben), Alex James Ward (Jack Favell), Shrley Jameson (Mrs Van Hopper), Nicholas Lumley (Colonel Julian) September 27, 2023; Off-West End

POTO Video

Ian Jon Bourg, Olivia Safe (u/s), Kyle Gonyea 2001; Hamburg, Germany VOB files. One of the most legendary Phantom's opposite one of the youngest Christine's!

[grits-galraisedinthesouth]

Dear British Royal Family-

Meghan Markle rejected your offer to physically & emotionally equip her with professional medical support & guidance during pregnancy and after childbirth.

You graciously offered Meghan Markle the best geriatric pregnancy and pediatric health care in the world. Health Care that is NOT afforded to employees, but was offered to her as a member of the family.

Meghan Markle rejected your generous offer in favor of GENDER & PRIVACY preferences which she publicly confirmed to Oprah Winfrey.

During weekly medical appointments with her PRIVATE geriatric obstetrics and gynecological team(s), Meghan Markle was asked to provide updates on her mood and psychosocial wellbeing.

EVERY week for five (5)+ months leading up to birth, Meghan Markle told her PRIVATE medical team(s) that she was emotionally and mentally fit and well.

Meghan Markle told her PRIVATE care team(s) that her moods were normal and she was not experiencing thoughts of harming herself or unborn child.

Meghan Markle told her PRIVATE care team(s) that her moods were stable/good and she was NOT experiencing suicidal ideation or thoughts of harming baby (Archie).

File a lawsuit against the daughter-in-law from hell and sue her arse for defamation of character.

The royal household's gynaecologists Alan Farthing and Guy Thorpe-Beeston, who specialises in high-risk childbirth, were present at the births of all three of William and Kate's children.

A royal source told the Mail on Sunday: "Meghan said she doesn’t want the men in suits. She was adamant that she wanted her own people. It did leave a few of us a little baffled."

But, despite being two of the best in the business, the pair have been denied a leading role in the delivery of Prince Harry's baby.

According to royal protocol, the doctors cannot be excluded from the process entirely, and should anything go wrong in the birth they will be present to step in.

Another said: "It is slightly surprising. These people [the Queen’s doctors] are the best of the best and when it comes down to it, their role would actually be very limited in the birth itself, assuming all goes to plan."

The move to shun the royal gynaecologists could be seen by some as unnecessary extravagance, as the Queen's physicians do not charge a fee and taking on a new team of specialists will cost tens of thousands.

A source explained: "Working for the Royal Household is seen as an honour and attracts other high-profile fee-paying patients."

In another break from royal tradition,is not planning to pose with her newborn baby on the hospital steps like Kate Middleton and Diana, it is understood.

[luna-andra]

The Shadows Return | Simon 'Ghost' Riley x OC Retired AU | Chapter 8: Compromise

Summary: Andra wants answers, and Ghost has to choose

Word Count: 6.5k

If this is the first time you're seeing this, Chapter 1 is here. You can find the rest on my masterlist!

Content: slow burn, eventual smut, 18+, fluff, mentions of mental health, mild violence

The clouds on the way home were overcast across the afternoon sky. Johnny left Andra with several things to think over, bringing her back to a familiar train of thought from five years ago.

He gave her the same look that stirred shame in her belly. She didn’t like being on a different level of rationality – or lack thereof – with the people once close to her.

It was declared by the officer that showed up there was no indication of foul play. The possibility of an incompetent and inconvenienced officer being sent to her call was in the forefront of her mind, and also the possibility of any traces of someone’s presence could have been washed away from the thunderstorm by the time they came out to investigate. The whole process of filing the report gave her no peace of mind, but she took the advice of setting up surveillance seriously.

A precautionary that she should have done ages ago.

The quiet, quaint life out on the farm had soothed her troubled worries all of these years, making her forget for a moment what it was like to live looking over her shoulder every moment. She wasn’t naïve, no, she knew how to take care of herself when the seldom case of harassment arose. Andra should have never gotten so comfortable the way she did.

Her foot pressed down heavily on the brake pedal as she waited at a stop light to rub the exhaustion from her eyes. She was just a few more turns from home, she reminded herself. The caffeine she had ingested all throughout the morning was threatening a big crash.

Andra drove slowly down Middleton Lane as she spotted the first right turn to the private dirt road of Ghost’s property. Then her truck came to a full stop. You know what-

Her hand turned the wheel right as her tires skid around the corner.

Andra didn’t know what she was doing, or what she would exactly say to him, but she needed to know what was going through his head.

Andra parked behind his truck and turned the key out of the ignition. She paused for a few seconds to take a breath and gather at least the first sentence that would come out of her mouth.

Her phone vibrated.

I’m in the garage.

Of course Ghost knew Andra had arrived, another sign that she definitely needed to do the same thing to her property. Cameras and motion sensors.

She shut the door behind her as she made her way to the garage off to the right of his house. One of the metal double doors was left cracked open, and she could hear the metal clink of a tool being put down.

The garage was Ghost’s own personal auto shop, with an incomplete classic-looking car taking up majority of the left. The wall was lined with tool boxes, yard tools, and almost a pallet’s worth of army green ammo cans. To the right, a rudimentary gym setup took up another portion of space, with a bench press, a high pull-up bar, seemingly crafted and welded together amateurly, and a rack of assorting dumbbells and plates to complete it all.

Ghost was hunched over the open hood of the car, one hand on the lip of the hood as he kept his attention on whatever he had been working on before Andra’s unannounced arrival.

“Is this your way of letting me know that you’re pushing me away again?” Andra sharply said to the backside of Ghost.

Ghost tossed a tool onto the toolbox on his left side and retrieved a rag, wiping grease from his stained hands. His muscles tensed in his back as he turned to Andra’s direction. “Today has been a really tense day. I wanted to give you some space to come down from last night.”

Andra clenched her jaw. “I don’t need space, I need answers. I feel like I’ve been kept in the dark about something I have no control over.”

“That’s because you don’t.”

She could feel her blood simmering already. Not how she wanted this to go. “I don’t because you never gave me the choice to take control.” Andra couldn’t recognize the person she was talking to. His stare was cold and dark. If his goal was to anger her into cutting her losses with him, it wasn’t going to work. “You didn’t tell me anything because we lost touch the first time, fine, I get it. But you went ahead and told Johnny? That’s what I can’t get passed.”

Ghost trudged out of the garage with Andra following behind him. “He and I had an eye on things. We had it under our thumbs.”

Andra tossed her hands up. “Had what exactly?” Her voice echoed all around them. “What the hell is going on with you?”

He turned back to her, stopping her in her tracks before bumping right into him. Ghost peered down to her, his eyes burning the same heat. “What do you want from me? You want me to take back what I did?”

Her fists clenched hard enough for her nails to dig into her palm. “No, I just want you to stop being such a hard ass and talk to me.” Her carotid artery strained against the muscles in her neck. “Tell me what you think is going on and we’ll deal with it together.”

He flinched as if her hand flew across his face.

“You keep acting like you’re looking for an excuse to push me away, for an excuse to leave.” Andra’s chest rose and fell with a heavy rhythm. “You act as if one morning I’ll wake up and you won’t be here, and you’ll just be a memory for me.”

His eyes squeezed shut as his own breath left him.

“You’ve thought about it, haven’t you? Leaving without another word, taking your shadows with you.” There was a shiver in her voice.

“I have.” Ghost finally answered. “I could leave in a moment’s notice. I’ve done it before.”

Andra didn’t doubt him. She had done it herself, she knew how easy it was to pack a couple of bags and leave. “What’s stopping you this time?”

Ghost opened his eyes to meet hers.

She scoffed and turned away from his silent response. The wind picked up and wisps of her hair flew around her face. She had to squint her eyes at the unbearable overcast sunlight. “I was able to forgive you for cutting me off the first time. I shook it off because there was no expectation for you to keep in contact after fixing my truck. Then you came back, and I thought you wanted me in your life, and maybe we even had something. Cool. Great, even.

“But when you brought up the transpiring events, the person driving up our street and telling me there have been people on my property?” She shook her head. “You think you’re handling this on your own but you’re not. I won’t let you. Either you let me know what’s going on, or you’ve lost my trust.”

His eyes were unreadable when she saw him once more.

Andra reached into her pocket and flipped her keys into her palm, the key ring sitting on her index finger as she clenched them tight. “I’ll see you around, Ghost. If you figure out what you want to do, you know where to find me.”

The screen door smacked the side of the house harder than it should. Andra wasn’t paying attention. Her face still felt hot with anger. Sammy darted outside for her chance to do what she does, leaving her alone in the house.

The air felt thick, charged with energy that wasn’t there when she woke up the morning before. Or maybe it was her mind messing with her. Either way, her house felt compromised.

The tears collected in her eyes out of nowhere, and she quickly wiped them away. This is stupid. She felt ridiculous for letting it get to her. For letting a shattered window re-surface the fear that drove her away to another country.

This was all going to blow over. The tracks in the woods were a random coincidence, the car meant nothing. And the rock flying into her window was just a freakish feat of nature. She’s witnessed some heavy storms in the countryside in her years of living here. It wouldn’t be the first time something has sustained damage on her property, and it was bound to happen again.

“Be kind to yourself.” Andra whispered to herself as she kicked her shoes off, remembering what she was taught in therapy and from self-help reading. However, being kind to herself was proving difficult with the lingering anger from talking to Ghost.

The nerve of him.

But also, the nerve of her. She felt the weight of her corrosive past. An affliction, threatening to dismantle the life she had built. It had to be irrational, she was no one. She wasn’t worth being tracked down, right? That’s the rhetoric she kept force feeding herself. They had succeeded in getting rid of her, she made sure of it. At this point, if anyone wanted to pursue in finishing the job, she would end up burning a hole in their dirty wallets.

And if Ghost was going to play the need-to-know card, two can play that game.

She stopped in her tracks as she walked into the kitchen, catching a glimpse of the black trash bag covering her window. It crinkled and swayed inward and outward with the passing wind. The ever-growing chasm in her chest was making itself comfortable, and she couldn’t stand it.

-----

 Ghost knew Johnny would stop calling after the second time he reached his voicemail. The third call in a row told him that he better answer the phone. His heavy hand reached out to the nightstand for his phone, swiped his thumb across the screen and pressed it against his ear, eyes closed. “Yes, sir.”

“You broken, Simon?”

Price’s gravelly voice came through the speaker on his phone, and it was like a splash of cold water on him. It was a question he was familiar with Price asking, except he’s no longer checking for missing limbs or hemorrhaging blood loss. Ghost sat up on the edge of his mattress and rubbed the exhaustion from his eyes. “M’solid.”

“When’s the last time you got a full eight hours of sleep?” Price asked.

Ghost took a quick glance at the time on his phone before returning the receiver to his ear. “I was getting’ rest before you woke me up.” He was only asleep for two hours, and his pounding head reminded him that it had been a restless 72 hours.

Price doesn’t reach out very often. The captain – along with the other lads – will dedicate an amount of time out of the year to catch up with the former task force in person. It was an annual event of spending the holidays doing anything but celebrating Christmas and New Years. When he hears from Price before November, it’s because he’s been tipped off on Ghost’s concerning behavior.

“Soap tells me you’re acting barmy, you think you’re being followed, son?”

There it was.

Ghost didn’t respond for a few beats, his feet felt like lead against the cold wooden floor. “A couple of events transpired, would put you on edge, too.”

He could hear a deep sigh come from the other end of the line, and it had Ghost clench his jaw. “Get yourself to an appointment or a meeting, or I’ll bring the meeting to you.”

Price’s demand sent a wave of guilt and shame through Ghost. The memories of being pulled up off the living room floor and thrown into his tub flashed behind his heavy eyelids. Price, Johnny and Gaz showed up. Ghost reeked of alcohol and piss. They had him hauling bags of sand back and forth from his backyard to the range on his property for several hours, making him sweat and puke the remains of alcohol in his system.

“I’m still sober.” Ghost gritted his teeth. He made Ghost sound like an addict.

Price clipped his words, “See your doctor, and get out of bed for a sweat.”

Ghost opened his eyes to the void of his darkened room and sighed. “I’ll set up an appointment today.”

“Good lad.” Beep-beep-beep went the line as Price disconnected the call.

Sleep had eluded Ghost once more. He sat there at the edge of his bed and rolled his neck, failing to relax the knotted muscles at the base of his neck. His eyes burned, and his headache pressed down on every surface of his skull. He felt an irritation for Price waking him up, but rationality told him it wasn’t his fault.

Since sleep was out of the question, Ghost stood up and peered out the bedroom window. The sun wasn’t due to come up for another couple of hours, but he insisted to listen to Price’s advice. Get a workout in, then when the office opened, call doc to get that appointment.

His feet were heavy as he shuffled to the bathroom. Ghost always looked down to the basin of the sink before turning on the lights, avoiding the reflection staring back at him. He watched as his hands gripped the edge of the counter. Scars littered his knuckles, the skin over bone splitting open too many times for him to count.

It was when he was sick of looking at the reminders of his violence when he slipped and the person he hated stared back with cold, dead eyes.

You’ve tried killing me so many times, but fail every single time. You need me. You need the mask. You need it to hide so there’s never a chance to hurt again. You don’t deserve her. You try and pretend to be someone worthy of a teaspoon of affection, but you’re not what she needs. You’re filthy. You’re-

The glass shattered against his fist as he struck as quick as an asp. He hissed between clenched teeth, cursing as the reached for a towel and covered his bleeding knuckles.

If one thing was for certain, his reflection was right.

He didn’t deserve her.

-----

Andra flipped closed the back end of the book and placed it on her blanket covered lap to rub her tired eyes. Every night she would read The Operators when it was evident she wouldn’t be getting peaceful rest, or when something had her jolting awake. She had no clue how many hours she had slept in the past couple of days; definitely not enough to keep her from loading up on caffeine and making her debate breaking her years of being nicotine-free.

She could hear the roosting of her birds out in the coop. Andra leaned her head back against the headboard and sighed. There wouldn’t be time to try and fall asleep. Her day had to start.

After the morning chores, Andra headed inside for another cup of coffee. She stared out of her newly replaced window, out into the distance. It was hard not to; it was as if something – or someone – was going to come storming out from the brush and trees. All remained quiescent in those groves, as logic would have it.

The rattling sound of her plastic phone case vibrating against the countertop broke her focus. She swiped her finger across the screen and pressed the speaker button. “What’s up, Johnny?”

“I need to ask a favor.”

His voice was hushed and the words were muddled like he had the phone pressed against his mouth, and she could hear the workings of the auto shop in the background.

“I need you to go check on Ghost for me, he called out of work this morning.”

Andra felt her chest and throat tighten all at the same time. Johnny wasn’t aware of the fallout between her and Ghost from the sound of it. Or if he did, he must be extremely concerned for Ghost’s silence. I figured he would be used to it by now… she thought bitterly. “You need me to go immediately?”

“Take yer time, a mate of ours reached him this mornin’. Just pop over there when you get a chance. Gotta go, text me.”

The line went dead before Andra could say bye. She released a heavy sigh after taking her first sip, her fingers tapped against the countertop as apprehension churned in her gut.

Maybe Ghost took their last conversation as motivation for him to actually leave.

Tears pricked in the corner of her eyes, and she rubbed them away with her thumb and index finger, pushing her fingers together to pinch the bridge of her nose. She didn’t want their relationship – friendship – whatever they had, to end on that note. Fuck, I messed up.

She took a deep breath to regain composure. You don’t know if he’s gone. Andra decided she would go by after her run to the post office to pick up her package. With a quick rinse of her empty coffee mug, she headed to the front door to collect her keys and purse.

The sound of gravel crunching and a vehicle engine made her pause in her tracks. Her heart raced, she could feel her adrenaline dump. Her shaky hand moved aside the curtain to look out the window beside the door, and the sight of Ghost’s truck had her releasing a heavy breath.

It took everything in her not to throw the door open and run to him. She took another grounding breath and unlocked the door, opening it to Ghost preparing to knock.

Andra swore her heart was going to burst. The look in his eyes mirrored the same surprise she displayed. The discernible presence of a bandage wrapped around Ghost’s hand caught her attention in the corner of her eye.

He noticed where her eyes fell to, and shoved it in the pocket of his jacket. “You got a minute to speak?”

His voice sounded like sandpaper. He looked just as sleep deprived as she felt. Andra couldn’t say anything, so she just nodded. She closed the door behind her and opted to sit on the wooden bench, leaving a space for Ghost to sit beside her. He never did, instead he decided to lean against the railing, his ankle crossed over the other.

Seconds passed before anything was said. “I’m not good with words, you’ll have to bear with me.”

Andra folded her legs beneath her and clasped her hands together. Her eyes remained on him as she waited to hear him out.

His head tilted down. “I gave a lot of thought to what you said, about losing your trust.” He rolled his neck, rolling the nerves and giving him a chance to think. “And I realized, taking a bullet is far less painful than that.”

Andra could see his adam’s apple bob in his throat underneath the fabric of his mask as he tilted his head back with closed eyes. She felt her throat tightening, and had to swallow to relieve the ache.

“So, I’ve come to terms with if I want to mend what I had with you, I’m going to have to find a way to tell you what you need to know.” Ghost’s eyes found hers, searching for a response.

She gave him a subtle nod, letting the words sink in. “How are you going to do that?”

Ghost uncrossed his ankles and took the two steps to sit beside her. It was a struggling few seconds for him to begin speaking. “Did you ever pick that book back up?”

Andra was confused by the approach he was taking, but went with it. “Yeah, I finished it actually.”

"Did the author talk about some of his assignments?" Ghost asked patiently.

She recalled what the author was able to talk about and reveal. "Not specifics, but he went in detail with Selection, and then the training thereafter and some events that happened in the 80s in Northern Ireland."

He nodded as he listened. "What did the training entail?"

"Physical training, a lot of sleep deprivation, weapons and vehicle tactics, photography, interrogation..." Andra's words drifted as she continued her recollection. She wouldn't say this out loud, but it was a dry read.

Ghost cut in at the mention of the last topic. "Interrogation, okay." His shoulders rose and fell as he let out a deep breath, and his hands flexed over and over. "I've been on both ends of being interrogated. Not just in training, but out on the field." His red-rimmed eyes aged several decades, and her chest grew heavy. "And there were times the bars and stars – officers that outranked me and my team – had ordered us to let go of the person we had just roughed up.

"They were dangerous people, Andra, do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

Andra was piecing together why Ghost had given her that book to read. It was more than just what was on the surface. The selection process, the training, the assignments, the images in the book illustrating the teams with black lines redacting their eyes. It occurred to her then when she was reading it all, Ghost was another one of the SAS operatives that had an alias, he had paperwork with his name on it that contained redacted information on what he and his team had accomplished, but now discussing it all solidified it for her.

Not only him, but Johnny as well, and Johnny had brought up a few other names. People that were also special forces.

It was sobering. She never took the time to sit with all of this information and come to terms that these men had enemies that went deeper than just being from differing nations. Enemies that may or may not still be alive out there, preying on the downfall of the men she had come to know.

“Has anyone ever found you or Johnny?” Andra asked with a tremble in her throat.

“No.” He answered definitively. “And I would like to keep it that way.”

Andra nodded, as she fully agreed with him.

Ghost leaned back against the bench. “I truly never intended to alarm you and bring you to endless conclusions. I wish I could take it back, my foolishness, everything.”

“You can’t help that, though.” Andra defended. “It was a really messed up chain of events.”

There was a pregnant pause. “I have moments like these when there are too many coincidences happening at once. I’ve been working on how I handle it.”

Andra turned to him. “Do you… talk to someone about it?” She felt hesitant to ask.

Ghost’s eyes slid back to her. “Does that bother you?”

She shook her head swiftly. “No, oh Gods, no I didn’t mean it that way.” Her hands covered her face for a moment. “That was wrong of me to ask.”

Ghost reached for one of her hands. “You have every right to know, doll.” The calloused pad of his thumb brushed the top of her hand. She could feel a tremor in his touch.

It would have warmed her heart had it not been for the churning contrite souring her stomach. He had every right to know, too, but how would she even begin to tell him?

His injured hand was holding hers. She took this opportunity to distract herself from the guilt eating at her. “What happened to your hand?”

“Ridiculous accident with some glass.” He answered too quickly. Andra could feel him wanting to recoil, but he continued to let her hold his hand. Her peripheral vision gave her a peak of Ghost studying her face. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but you look exhausted.”

Andra let go of his hand and rubbed her eyes. “I really haven’t been sleeping. Every little noise wakes me up, and I lay there for hours.”

Ghost’s eyes turned serious. “What can I do to remedy that?” Andra started to shake her head. “No, I’m responsible for this. Name it, I’ll do what I can.”

“I was actually on my way to go pick up a security system I ordered from the post office.” Andra raised her hand with her set of keys jingling.

Ghost stood from the bench, Andra followed in suit. “That I can do.”

Her smile returned. If it was one thing Andra was certain about Ghost, acts of service was how he communicated his apologies. It was easier to demonstrate with his hands than words.

After picking up the hefty box of camera and motion sensor equipment, Andra worked around the farm after her and Ghost discussed where the best places to set up the cameras would be. He got it done in less than a few hours, giving them time to pick up food together.

As they traveled, she remembered Johnny was waiting for an update from her.

Ghost is fine, we’re picking up food.

“So, you read the book in the past three days?” Ghost asked to start up chatter. Look who’s talking more now.

She hummed. “I read when I can’t sleep, and found it sitting there on the table before I locked up for bed.” Andra glanced at him. “What do you do when you can’t sleep?” Her phone vibrated with a response.

Thank you.

Ghost shrugged. “I lay there hoping I fall asleep.”

“I would get so bored.” Andra confessed, tapping her hands on her thighs. “You don’t even scroll through Netflix or something to try and turn your brain off?”

“I don’t have Netflix.” He responded.

Andra shook her head and blinked. “Remind me to give you my login.”

“I don’t watch TV or movies.”

Now she was looking at him like he was crazy. “You’re lying. You’re a liar.”

He rolled his eyes. “I do watch movies, but they’re all old war movies or westerns on DVD.”

Andra narrowed her eyes. “What are you, fifty?”

Ghost chortled. “I have a while before I hit fifty, thank you for that.”

“How long is a while?” Andra smirked. “Five years or six months?” His mouth opened, but she kept going. “Wait, I bet you have M.A.S.H. all on DVD, don’t you?”

“There’s nothing wrong with M.A.S.H.” Ghost defended.

“Yeah, when you’re as old as my dad and watching it on your days off as you doze on the living room couch at eleven in the morning.”

“You’re pushing your luck, doll.” Ghost warned with a grin in his voice. “Let me put it this way, I joined the Royal Air Force after the events of 9/11.”

Andra’s face went slack and her eyes were as wide as saucers. She turned to the passenger window with a hand pretending to scratch the side of her head and wondered if he would be weirded out if she told him she was in grade school during 9/11.

Her silence was loud in the cabin. “We’re not that far apart in age if you know M.A.S.H.” Ghost resumed.

Andra raised an eyebrow at him. “Are you saying I look old?”

“No.” His accent thickened as his voice dropped. “I didn’t say that.”

She was having too much fun busting his chops. “We have a tad bit of an age gap,” she demonstrated with her thumb and index finger with a small gap, “I’m a ninety’s baby.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Three years is a tad of an age gap, not a whole decade.”

Andra rolled her eyes. “Is this what I have to look forward to in my thirties?” She laughed at the flash of astonishment as he panned a look at her. “I’m kidding! Well, kind of, but I’ll be thirty next summer.”

Ghost smoothed his hand over his covered mouth. “You’re killing me, woman.”

“Best stay on top of those heart meds then – ooh!” Andra shot forward and was caught by her seatbelt from Ghost slamming the breaks harder than normal. “You’re gonna cause an accident, sir.”

After a few beats of silence, Ghost changed the subject. “I hope the camera system will give you some peace of mind.”

“I’m sure it will.” She nodded with a hopeful smile.

Ghost ran inside the chip shop they ordered from while Andra sat in the truck to keep it running. Her head tilted back onto the head rest as she stared up at the roof of the truck. The lack of sleep was catching up to her, and now that there was less of a problem with surveillance around the farm, she felt the muscles in her shoulders relaxing.

The sudden sound of the driver door opening had her jerking back awake. She attempted to cover up the fact that she had dozed off in his truck with a little stretch of her legs.

Ghost handed her the bag of food without noticing her brief second of sleep and drove back to her house.

-----

“I get why you go to this place.” Andra spoke in between eating in the living room with him. “It’s not bad.”

“It’s also because Johnny has been getting us discounts from his little girlfriend.” Ghost wiped his mouth with a crumpled napkin.

Andra looked over the app on her phone that connected her to all of the cameras on her property. The feed looked really good, giving her confidence that she could point out important details if she ever had to. She switched to the camera that aimed at the dirt driveway with both trucks sitting outside. Her thumb and index finger spread across the screen to utilize the zoom feature; she was able to read off the license plate numbers from each truck.

“Thank you again for setting up the cameras.” Andra locked her phone and placed it down on the coffee table.

Ghost covered the lower half of his face back up with the balaclava as he finished his own meal. “Thank you for letting me.”

Her heart fluttered at the sudden drop in his voice. His eyes were set on her when she turned to look at him. Despite not being able to see his expression, she could feel a softness in his brown eyes.

“Let me get these out of the way.” Ghost insisted as he began to collect the takeout containers. Andra sucked down the last of her drink in her Styrofoam cup and tossed it into the bag Ghost was using.

Andra slipped a hand in the back pocket of her jeans. “You staying for a little while?”

“I can.”

She felt some relief for having to spend less time by herself for the evening.

While Ghost did his thing, Andra browsed her bookshelf in search of a new read.

“Anything interesting?” Ghost asked as he returned.

Andra chose Dune from the shelf. “Maybe.” She returned to her designated reading lounge chair and curled her legs up. “How far did you get with The Outsiders?”

Ghost scratched the back of his head. “Maybe the first fifty pages.” Then, he tilted his head. “How did you know I had it?”

Andra smirked. “It was gone the following morning after you left.”

Did she have him flustered? The indecisive glance to the couch and back to the front door then back to the kitchen was amusing enough to have her grinning.

“I have it in the truck, actually. Be right back.” Ghost made his way outside, letting in a kissing, chilly breeze.

It must have been the book she chose, or the way she receded back into the cushions, but she felt the wave of sleepiness return back. Or maybe it was Ghost’s presence, knowing he was only a few feet away on the couch with Sammy next to him. He emitted an aura that Andra could only classify as comfort. Safety.

She knew he was safe to fall asleep around, she knew he would keep her safe.

Andra flinched out of the sleep she was slipping into and let out a disappointed sigh. Her book was still in her hand, but the pages were damp from the warmth of her fingers holding them in place. She closed the book, not worried about where she left off because she wasn’t paying attention anyway and softened her movements as she looked to her right.

Ghost’s head lulled to one side from the upright position he fell asleep in, his arms crossed over his chest and his own book sitting on the table with Sammy resting in her own bed by the window. The heavy breath he suck in and released told her he was deeper in that sleep than she was.

How is he sleeping with the mask on? Andra wondered.

With light movement, Andra rose from her chair and padded quietly to the hallway closet to retrieve a blanket. He looked as tired as she felt halfway through the day, and she wasn’t about to wake him up and send him home. She unraveled the blanket and moved to lay it over Ghost just above his arms and below his collarbone.

But his awareness was more keen than Andra had anticipated. Ghost reached out, throwing the blanket off and swiped her wrists single-handed. The room went spinning, and she let out a small yelp as her back met the bottom cushions of the couch, his grasp securing her wrists above her head.

Ghost’s eyes were wild with alert, then widened as he realized who he just wrestled down. It startled her at first, but out of nervousness a chortle escaped. Then a chuckle, and confusion wrinkled Ghost’s eyebrows.

She probably looked insane to him. She was supposed to be frightened, but all she was was dizzy. And too aware of how his body hovered over her. The grip on her wrists eased up but remained there. Her giggles dissipated, along with whatever she was about to say. She was too absorbed by Ghost’s eyes darting all over her face, and she wasn’t too sure, but she was almost certain he kept looking to her mouth.

Before Andra could register what she was doing, she pressed her lips against the teeth of the skull pattern on his mask, hitting her mark as she felt his lips beneath. Ghost pulled away like she had put his hand in an open flame, his eyes widened. Oh shit, what have I done –

His empty hand shoved up the fabric of his balaclava and he smashed his mouth against hers. Heat blazed through her face, molten liquid flooding her core as she took in every sensation overwhelming her. The fierce hunger of his kiss. The friction of their bodies pressed against each other. The solid grip Ghost had on her wrists.

She couldn’t get close enough to him. Her leg attempted to hook around his waist, but only succeeded in wrapping around a thigh that nestled its way between her legs.

He couldn’t pull himself away, and instead fed the part telling him to nudge his knee where she wanted it. Ghost freed her hands to grip the thigh pulling him in, giving her free reign to cradle his stubbled jaw. His fingertips worked divots into the fabric of her jeans, earning a small sound from her tightening throat.  

Andra hoped there would be marks later left where he was squeezing.

Her tongue slipped out between her lips and playfully swiped across his mouth. Oh fuck, the sound that just came from him… Andra had never heard arousal so delicious before.

All of Ghost was crashing through her like a freight train. His taste, his heat, his sounds. Her head felt like it’s been shoved underwater, and she has no intentions surfacing for air. Not when drowning in all of him felt this good.

Ghost reciprocated her invitation and found his tongue pushing through the slit of her lips. She felt her own arousal winding tightly in her warmth. Anything more was likely going to set her off. There’s no way I’m coming just from this, she cursed herself.

Ghost pulled away, hit hot breath fanning over her face. He moved his free hand to his mask, but it remained there. One second, two seconds. His mouth slackened into a frown, lips parted with labored breathing. The trance had been broken between the two. He retreated from where he had Andra pressed into the couch, his hands ran down his face and stayed there as he battled with himself.

Andra adjusted her shirt as she sat up and gave him a nudge of space. “Hey,” she softly said as she brought his hands down, cradling them in her own. “You don’t need to.”

“I want to.” He rasped, breathless from their kiss. “I don’t know why, but I can’t.”

“It’s okay.” She took his hand away from his face and stroked his knuckles with her thumb.

Ghost blinked a few times like he was waking up from a dream. “I shoved my tongue in your mouth.” He stated, a little too forward. His words had heat rushing to her face. “The least I can do I show you who is beneath this.” He gestured to the mask covering half of his face, a bitterness in his words directed to his disguise.

Andra slowly raised her hands to the bottom half of his revealed face. He flinched away from the contact, but settled as she let her thumbs brush against the stubble on his jaw. She made no subtle movements; just exploring the craters and slits across his skin.

Ghost watched her silently, attentively, his eyes flickering back and forth. She can feel the intensity, a man questioning the intentions of the woman touching him, holding the privacy and secrecy he clings to. He sucked in a breath as she took hold of the balaclava and didn’t exhale until Andra had pulled it back down over his face.

“If you’re not ready, then you’re not ready.” She affirmed.

 His bandaged hand brushed Andra’s disheveled hair behind her ear. Ghost leaned in and pressed his covered mouth against her forehead. Andra gave him a meek grin as he pulled away.

Andra felt this moment building up to a goodbye, but she took his hand again. “You can stay here for the night. I don’t want you driving back even if it’s just down the street.”

He reached down on the floor and picked up the blanket. “If that’s alright with you, I’ll take up the couch-”

“Sleep on a bed, for gods’ sake.” Andra nodded her head to the stairs. “I have an extra room upstairs.”

Thankfully, Ghost didn’t argue. Heavy feet dragged themselves up the stairs, Sammy following them both. They took pause as both turned to each other from across the hall. There was so much she wanted to say, but the brief, drowsy goodnight that was exchanged had them retreating into their respective rooms. Andra leaned against the closed door, clouds in her head and lips swollen with the phantom sensation of their catalyst.

:)

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[john-laurens]

I've come across several accounts of Francis Kinloch being described as tall:

"tall & slender with delicate features, black hair & eyes, and a most agreeable expression of countenance" - an account from Kinloch's granddaughter Sarah Lewis Lesesne in the collection "Biographical and genealogical research on Francis J. Kinloch" from the South Carolina Historical Society Archives

"The tall olive-coloured savage [Kinloch] and the young delicate Swiss historian [Johannes von Müller] send their friendly greetings." - Johannes von Müller to his family, in a letter dated June 6, 1775

"it was here, that after a very scrutinizing examination of our persons, they gave us passports in which we saw ourselves very particularly described; me, they represented as tall and thin, with some grey hairs, a pointed nose, and a forked chin" - Francis Kinloch in a letter to his daughter Eliza Nelson, as collected in Letters from Geneva and France

Given that the average male height in the 18th century was somewhere around five and a half feet tall, it's safe to assume Kinloch was taller than that. Given how often people remarked that he was tall, I figured that he must have been noticeably taller than five and a half feet - perhaps closer to six feet tall.

My assumptions have been confirmed. In the "Kinloch family history and genealogy research files" from the South Carolina Historical Society Archives, there is an account from Harriett Middleton (née Kinloch). She was the daughter of Cleland Kinloch and the niece of Francis Kinloch. This account is not directly written by her but was likely collected by someone in the family. Harriet reportedly described her uncle Francis as "tall, six feet, & handsome, dark with the complexion of his French descent."

Bonus fact: In the same account, Cleland Kinloch is described as having "blue eyes & lighter hair."

[world-of-wales]

CATHERINE'S STYLE FILES - 2024

15 JUNE 2024 || The Princess of Wales attended the Trooping the Colour celebrations in London.

Catherine was in -

↬ Bespoke Sheath Dress in White & Black reworked with Ribbons by Jenny Packham

↬ OC 155 Saucer Hat in 'Black & White' by Philip Treacy

↬ 'Cavolfiore' Pearl Stud Earrings from Cassandra Goad

↬ Irish Guards St.Patrick Star Regimental Brooch

↬ 'Bayswater' Clutch in 'Black Suede' by Mulberry

↬ 'Romy 85' Pumps in 'White Leather' by Jimmy Choo

[flowery-laser-blasts]

Emotion sickness but with Ron and Dr. Drakken.

This is my take on how an alternative emotion sickness episode would go. We need to see more emotional boys. It's also long because it's the ENTIRE episode but with changes.

The episode starts off the same but instead of Drakken managing to get on his hover pad, he and Ron end up fighting/bickering and get semi in the way of Kim and Shego's fight. Either Kim or Shego falls back and bumps into the duo causing them to fall against the bookshelf and get the moodulator chips stuck against their necks. Drakken is slightly dazed and gets hit in the face with the EMA (thrown by Shego), but he manages to hold onto it. Then he gets yoinked by Shego by his collar. Ron picks up moodulator remote and they return to Middleton. The episode then continues as follows: KIM AND RON -At Kim's house- Ron: "KP! Those breakfast Nacos aren't gonna eat themselves." Ron leans back but the moodulator remote in his pocket gets activated by the shift in weight. Ron's lip starts trembling and he starts sobbing. Kim runs into the kitchen. Kim: "Ron? What's wrong??" Ron: "I was in your way KP, we ended up losing that invention thingie to Drakken and Shego because of meeee!" Kim sighs and pats his shoulder Kim: "Ron? Uhm, do you know where the Kimmunicator is?" Ron: "Oh, no worries KP" he sniffles and rubs his sleeve against his nose "I got it, it's here." he holds the moodulator controller up to Kim. Kim: "Ron, this is not the Kimmunicator." Ron: "It isn't!? Oh noooo!!  I can't believe I lost the Kimmunicator as well! Waaaahh!" he sobs loudly. SHEGO AND DRAKKEN -At the lair- Shego: "Ey- Oi, Dr. D," Shego snaps her fingers in Drakken's face, "We escaped and got the 'whatchamahooey'. Shouldn't you be overjoyed and start over explaining your newest master plan to me?" Drakken: "Yeah, but... But...but... I broke a nail!" Shego: "Really? You care about your nails?" Drakken starts nodding rapidly with stifled sobs. Shego sighs and hands him her nail file. Drakken takes it and tries to desperately save his manicure.

KIM AND RON -At Kim's house- Rufus: "Oh, there, there." Rufus tries to comfort Ron. Kim: "Look, Ron, It's not big; we've lost the kimmunicator before, right?" Ron: "I know we did! When will the carelessness end?" Ron says as he throws the moodulator controller over his shoulder onto the ground, anger gets activated. Kim: "You know, your breakfast Nacos are getting cold so how about we reheat them in the microwave and get to school? Wade can find the Kimmunicator back." Ron: "I don't want those stupid Nacos anymore!" Ron shoves it away, Kim catches it just in time before it falls onto the floor. Ron: "You just want to go to school early so you can tell Wade that I lost the Kimmunicator, again! And then we can all laugh at Ron's expense while you look like little miss perfect. Yeah right! I'm going to school alone and tell this news to Wade myself!" Ron storms off, Rufus looks worried at Kim. SHEGO AND DRAKKEN -At the lab- Drakken is throwing an anger tantrum, files are spread out around the lab like confetti and cabinets are toppled over. Shego is leaning against a pillar and rolling her eyes. Shego: "Look, I get it, you were obviously upset about your broken nail." Drakken stops in his tracks and looks at Shego over his shoulder. Drakken: "Meaning...?" Shego: "Meaning that you were overreacting." Drakken's face scrunches up and he marches over towards Shego in a rather threatening manner. Even she is slightly taken aback by it. Drakken: "Overreacting? Overreacting?! Me?! I-" Drakken hits his toe hard against one of the fallen cabinets and screams out in pain curling up in a fetal position. Shego isn't sure what to do; help him up or let him be. Shego: "You know what Doc? You go figure it out, I'm going to let you cool down and when I get back, you've better cleaned up the lab and started on our doomsday thing." Shego walks towards the lab exit.

-Jim and Tim find the Moodulator controller and mess around.-

Drakken becomes sad and runs over and stands in between the exit and Shego. Drakken: "W-Wait Shego I'm so sorry, please don't leave me! I don't know what I'd do without you!" his mood gets changed from sad back to anger Drakken: "But you'd like to know, wouldn't you? Wouldn't you?! Wha... Uh... What was I talking about?" Shego cocks her eyebrow and crosses her arms Shego: Did I forget your birthday? Is that what this is about? KIM AND RON -At school at Kim's locker- Kim: "Ron what's wrong with you?! You made Big Mike cry!" Ron: "Oh trust me KP, the guy had it coming! And if I see Drakken and Shego, I'll make them cry too!" Kim: "Right... Speaking of them, I wonder what they are scheming..." Ron's mood rapidly changes to happy. Ron: "I have no idea, but I know that together, you and I, we as a team can stop them!" Ron's mood changes to sad. Ron: "...Unless I let them get away, again." Kim: "Ron, are you okay?" Ron snaps into anger. Ron: "Why? What do you mean by that?" Kim notices Josh and Tara passing by. Kim: "Oh, I see... It's okay Ron." Ron: "What do you mean, 'okay'?" Kim shakes it off because talking about Tara and Josh might be a bit too much for Ron now. Kim: "Nevermind, let's go to class. The Kimmunicator can wait" Kim grabs Ron's hand to drag him away from the 'situation', at this point his emotions shift to 'love' They arrive at their class. Kim: "Uhm, Ron? You can let go of my hand now." Ron: "What, oh- uh, yeah. Well, haha-" Ron stumbles to his seat and sighs keeping his eyes on Kim. Bonnie: "Some things are just too weird to even think about". SHEGO AND DRAKKEN -Back at the lab- Shego returns back to the lab after seemingly going out for some errands. She notices to her horror that Drakken is tinkering with her tanning light. Shego: "Dr. D, I give you 5 seconds to explain what you're doing with my tanning-" Drakken quickly zooms to her side and leads her towards her cozy spot in the lab. Drakken: "I've made modifications to the electron magneto accelerator and with a push of the button, it will super-charge this ordinary lamp to optimize your tanning experience" Drakken presses the button, a huge blinding light flashes and the chair underneath the lamp vaporizes. Shego's hands flare up and she is about to fire but Drakken instantly is next to her with a credit card ready in hand Drakken: "How about I buy you a brand new more luxurious tanning bed AND we go out shopping for new outfits and to an all-inclusive high-end spa?" Shego looks from Drakken to the credit card back to him. A tad weirded out but hey he pays for it. Shego: "You know what, alright." Drakken: "Oh goodie! Let me grab my swimming trunks!" and he sprints off.

The lovey-dovey montage now engages. - Drakken takes Shego to a spa. She's in literal heaven but gets a bit surprised when Drakken suddenly tries feeding her grapes. She -cautiously- accepts it but then seems okay with it. She closes her eyes again and eats the grapes he offers, not noticing that Drakken is sneering and glaring daggers at the very nervous masseur. - Ron takes Kim to an empty Bueno Nacho and sits her down at a booth. He snaps his fingers and a whole mariachi band emerges from behind the counter and joins in with the background music for this part of the scene. Ron rushes into the kitchen and comes back out again revealing an entire DIY Naco platter in the shape of Kim's face surrounded by a heart-shaped border of tortilla chips. Kim blushes hard and is very surprised at this. Rufus licks his mouth and tries to dive into it but Ron stops him and tosses him aside so he can sit close to Kim. Rufus catches himself and grumbles crossing his arms. - Shego and Drakken are now shopping around. Drakken pulls her into a very fancy and expensive-looking store, Shego doesn't mind and actually seems to be enjoying herself. Shego tries on some different outfits and Drakken approves all of them, giving a thumbs up as he takes out his credit card and pays for the clothes. KIM AND RON -At the school's Gym- Kim: "Hey, Monique? Do you have a sec?" Monique: "Yeah Kim, what's up?" Kim looks around carefully before speaking, making Monique cock her eyebrow. Kim: "It's about Ron." Monique: "You're in a pickle, huh?" Monique laughs. Kim: "This is so not funny Monique, I think-- I think Ron's actually crushing on ME." Kim grabs both sides of her hair squeezing it together. She looks distressed. Monique: "Okay, first of all: breathe girl. Secondly, it does explain why all of a sudden he starts taking more care in his appearance. You seen him? I had to make a double take this morning before algebra class to make sure it was him and not some exchange student!" Kim: "Yes, I know... And it's freaking me out! It's not the Ron I know!" Monique: "So, if it were the Ron you knew, you'd be down for dating?" Kim: "Wait, wha--, NO! Of course not! Ron and I are just friends! We've been so since kindergarten!" Monique: "And...that's it? You're sure that there're no other feels?" Kim: "I-- I well" Kim starts blushing harder clearly thinking back of the other day "I don't know. Yesterday he went out of his way to make some kind of romantic dinner in his own Ronny-way." Monique: "Awwww girl! That's cute-- was it cute?" Kim snaps back to reality Kim: "Well, if you consider your face being made up of various meats, cheeses and beans; and then being eaten cute-- then I guess cute." Monique: "You want my advice?" Kim: "I'm all ears." Monique: "Give it a chance, who knows! Maybe you two are meant to be. If he goes out of his way to do all of this, maybe he's the one- in his sort of Ronnish-ways." Kim: "What?! Monique! He's my friend- ugh! This conversation has never happened, he can never know about-- He's standing behind me isn't he?" Kim turns around and almost smacks into Ron who's standing literal inches away from her.

Ron: "Hey KP!" Kim: "Ron! Hi! Uhm- hey, could we? Get somewhere private? I've got something important I want to discuss." Ron: "Wow, I was just about to say the same thing! It's like we are thinking the same-- Wait, no! First me! Hold on, I've been practicing this for twentyten--" Ron takes a second to count on his fingers, "Thirty hours straight! Whatever you want to discuss with me has to wait, because I'm going to ask you first!" Kim: "Ask me what?" Kim looks confused but it quickly turns into nervosity as Ron kneels down on one knee and holds out a little box, it's revealed to be a pickle-shaped brooch. Monique: "Oh...my...gosh." Ron: "Kimberly-Ann Possible, we've known each other ever since we were little and you defeated my bullies -who strangely enough look very familiar to me- and saved me and the world multiple times over and over again from super freaks. You are the light of my life and I want to be with you forever and ever. Tonight's the big Middleton Days festival, and I don't have a date, would you do me the honor of being yours?" Kim gets fidgety and gulps, not expecting this and actually feels herself blush deeply. Kim: "Date? You want to go to the festival as my date?" Ron: "YES! YES I DO! BOOOYAAAH! I'LL PICK YOU UP AT 7!" Ron jumps into the air and runs off before Kim realizes what happened. Kim: "Oh no... what have I done."

KIM AND ANN -At Kim's house- Kim: "OK, so Ron and I have been best friends forever. Maybe dating is the next step. I mean, what's not there to like about Ron? I mean, he's funny, cute, dependable and dating could be-- the next step?." Ann watches as her daughter paces around the place. "Ooo! Why didn't I stop him?! Why didn't I just say it was a misunderstanding!? What if this ruins our friendship, Mom? I don't want to hurt him and end up breaking his heart again!" Kim sighs and drops on her bed. Ann: "Again?" Ann looks surprised. Kim: "Long story..." SHEGO AND DRAKKEN -At some fancy restaurant- Shego and Drakken and seated far apart from the rest of the dinner guests with a view of the city below them. Shego is finishing her dessert when she notices that Drakken has been staring at her this entire time. He still hasn't touched his appetizer, main course, or dessert which is now balancing on the edge of the table. Shego slams her spoon down on the plate and crosses her arms, squinting her eyes at him. Shego: "Okay, spill. You've been acting all-" Drakken cuts her off by holding his hand up in front of her to speak. Drakken: "Shego, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Shego: "Uh- Actually, I'm going to be real with you here Dr. D; after the past days, I'm not really sure what you're thinking anymore." Drakken: "Go on! Guess!" he looks eagerly, making Shego a bit uneasy. Shego: "Uhm... "How am I going to keep a good credit score after all this splurging?"." She gets startled as Drakken lets out a loud laugh. Drakken: "No, silly. Don't worry about that!" Shego: "Right, okay, heh-" Shego gulps, looking around, "then what were you... thinking about?" Drakken: "I was thinking it's time for some evil!" Shego lets out an elated sigh. Shego: "Finally! Phew- for a second there I thought you were about to propose to me-" Drakken's face gets flushed and a big grin appears Drakken: "I mean if you-" Shego pinches Drakken's lips closed. Shego: "No- let's ignore what I just said and focus again: Are we talking about "Take over the world evil"?" Drakken nods his head frantically. Shego lets go of his lips. Drakken: "I know just where to begin... Middleton days." Shego: "Gosh, I feel like I should say something sarcastic, but hey, the night's still young. Let's get you a doggy bag and-" Drakken cuts her off once again. Drakken: "And I'll be your date!" Shego: "Say my what now?" Drakken: "Your date? You know? Evil boy meets evil girl?" The two of them get interrupted by the waiter bringing the dinner bill. Shego takes a glance at it takes in a sharp breath looks back at Drakken with an apologetic smile, sliding the bill across the table towards him. Shego: "Ah, yes, fine. Um, evil date it is!"

KIM AND RON -At Kim's house- Kim finds the Moodulator controller on the table and frowns, Kim: "Ron's been acting strange ever since that mission-" James: "Oh Kimmie-cub, Ronald's here!" Kim puts the moodulator controller in her purse and rushes over to the hallway. Kim: "Hey Ro-, Ro-- Ron?" Kim is flabbergasted by Ron's transformation. His hair is combed neatly. He's wearing an actual not oversized suit and he seems to have a sudden boost of confidence. Ron: "You like it? I wanted to look perfect just for you. But- But not too perfect. 'Cause, ya know; you're perfect. You can do anything so- heh heh." James: "Riiiiiight- Well then, you kids have fun and Ron have Kimmy home by-" Ron: "10 o'clock but on special occasions and rescue missions, it's extended to 11. But no worries Mr Dr. P. We'll be back far before 10 sharp. It's a Ron Stoppable promise!" James blinks in surprise as Ann laughs it off.

-AT THE MIDDLETON DAY'S FAIR- Man: "And the prize goes to our winning rocket ranger." Ron: "Uh, Boo-yah! Here you go KP! It really wasn't that much of a big-dill." Ron giggles at his own joke as he hands Kim the pickle-shaped plush. Kim: "Heh heh. Um, yeah, boo-yah. Look, we need to talk." Ron: "Alright KP, I'm listening!" Kim: "OK, so, Ron... We've known each other for a long time. We're a great team, and..." As kim puts the plush in her purse, she hits the moodulator controller by accident. Ron: "Ha ha, team! Ha ha ha! Yeah, you said team." Kim: "Ron, I'm being serious here! I'm seriously worried about you! About us!" Kim puts her purse down roughly, making the moodulator controller switch once more. Ron: "Oh? And why's that?! Is there something going on I should know about?" Kim: "What? No-- Ron. You're acting so weird and I thought, maybe it's because of the Kimmunicator sitch and, you know; Josh and Tara-" Kim lowers her head in defeat, not knowing what to say. She leans against the purse and thus the moodulator controller. Ron: "Are you- Are you breaking up with me?" Kim: "Yeah Ron... I guess-- I guess I am." Kim can't help but to tear up. Ron: "Oh, I knew it! I knew it, I knew it, I... Oh! You're just using me as a rebound guy" Ron runs away as he cries loudly. As soon as Kim notices, she gets up and runs after until she notices the Kimmunicator flying towards her. She catches it mid-air. Kim: "The Kimmunicator!" Cyrus: "Aha! Spy!" Kim: "Professor Cyrus! There must've been a misunderstanding, you see, during our last mission, we must've accidentally picked this up instead of our Kimmunicator!" Kim shows Cyrus the Moodulator controller. Cyrus: "My moodulator controller!" He grabs it from Kim's hands "This controls my moodulators!" Kim: "Uh- Moodulator? What does the Moodulator controller do, professor Cyrus?" Shego: "Dr. D, come on. Let's concentrate." She snaps her fingers in front of Drakken's face, "Can we just focus on turning that laser into a death ray? Just tell me how to do it and then I'll do it myself so you can go continue- whatever it is you're doing right now." Drakken sobs harder, Shego shields herself from incoming tears. Drakken: "You're leaving in my time of need." He wails, curling up on the ground. Shego grimaces and carefully takes the EMA from his grasp. Shego: "No, no, no, no. I'll be right back! Just stay right here and- uh- figure things out." Drakken: "I'm not gonna forgive you for this... Ever!"

Shego walks over towards the parade but gets bumped into by the crying Ron. The EMA falls and breaks, enraging Shego. She looks over at Ron as she flares up her hands. Shego: "Ugh! Has everyone lost it!?" She notices Ron looking awfully depressed and smirks. "Where there's a sidekick, there's a world-saving cheerleader. I guess this could be fun."

Shego arrives just in time to hear the last bit of information. Kim: "So this device had complete control of Ron all along?" Cyrus: "Precisely. With just the press of a button..." Ron: "KIM!" Ron cries out as Shego has him in her grasp. Kim: "Shego! Let him go!" Shego: "As you wish princess, catch!" Shego throws Ron as hard as she possibly can at Professor Cyrus. Kim tries to catch Ron but both of them bump into Cyrus, who falls over and lets go of the Moodulator. Shego catches it and flips through the different emotions. She instantly sees the changes in Ron. Shego: "So that's why Dr. D has been acting so off lately. But hey, not that he's any less weird without this thing. But total control over him is not such a bad idea-- HEY!" Shego growls as Kim kicks the moodulator controller out of her hands. It falls into a fountain and starts malfunctioning.

Professor Cyrus runs over to the fountain and fishes out the controller. He gasps. Cyrus: "Oh no! The circuits have been fried!" Kim: "So that means everything's back to normal, right?" Cyrus: "I'm afraid your friend is now locked into an irreversible frenzy of rage." Ron: "Grrr." Cyrus: "So I hope he's not angry at anybody because whoosh! That'd be bad." Ron: "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU USED ME AS A REBOUND GUY, KIM!" Kim starts dodging Ron's attacks as he starts using Monkey Kung Fu on her. Shego: "Wow, that sidekick's actually not half that bad..." Shego hears footsteps behind her and manages to jump away in time. Drakken tries attacking her and he seems to be fuming. Drakken: "Shego. After all that I gave to you, you keep on asking for more, and don´t hesitate to toss me aside! You know what that does to a man?!" Shego: "Let me guess, mad?" Shego engages in combat with Drakken. He tries to pull on her hair and retorts to try to bite her. She manages to evade him and ties his hands up behind his back by using his belt. Drakken grits his teeth growling lowly pushing back and trying to undo his hands. Shego: "You know, all of this is the fault of those teens. If it weren't for those two, we would've been rulers over the world already!" Shego smirks as she notices something click inside of Drakken's mind and she steers the enraged man back to Kim and Ron.

Kim: "Ron, Chill out. It's me!" Kim gets worn out and actually starts growing tired of dodging the punches. Ron: "Yeah? Kim the heartbreaker!" As Ron tries to punch again, Kim gets blasted to the side by Shego. She laughs as she holds Drakken in check who's trying to get out of her grasp and towards Kim. Shego: "HA! I can't believe it was that easy!" Seeing Kim struggling to get up makes Ron snap he can't stand the sight of it and his moodulator chip breaks. Ron: "Kim, I... I can't... KIM!" Ron runs over to her and glares at Drakken and Shego. Shego lets go of Drakken and he charges forward, however, Ron manages to get a hold of him, plant his heels into the ground and push him back using his monkey kung fu to make Drakken fly back into Shego, in turn, breaking his moodulator chip upon impact. Drakken is knocked out and Shego cries out in frustration as she lies in an uncomfortable spot that's not easy to get out of. Ron holds out his hand for Kim and she takes it. He carefully helps her back to her feet and wraps her arm around his shoulder so she can lean on him. Ron: "I'm so, so sorry Kim... I just-" Kim hushes him and smiles gently. Kim: "It's okay, Ron. So not the drama." Ron: "So I... I guess the crush and everything was all moodulator, huh?" Kim: "Yeah, I guess so..." both of them look away slightly, a hint of sadness on both their faces. Kim takes a deep breath and is about to say something but then fireworks go off. Both of them stare up at the sky in awe at the display of colors. They catch a glance at each other and smile, leaning a bit into each other's embrace.

Massive thanks to @creatorping for reading parts of it and discussing this! I absolutely loved her idea of Drakken being an enraged biter and it's just GHHH Also entirely grateful to kpfanworld.com for having these transcripts at the ready! This was a lot of fun to rewrite! I hope you liked it! :D

[the-empress-7]

I've always had the suspicion that H's problem w/Kate at 1st by talking and treating her and her family the way he did was bc he saw a change in Will (for the better). I think Kate's presence and her family's influence was in a good way to not cause divide, but to help Will not fall into that "generational trauma" that H describes. He saw that as a threat to his constant emotional blackmail and manipulations, "it's just the two of us since mummy died." So as Will became more reluctant to side/cover for H the Middleton's (Carole, Kate, & Pippa) bc his enemy and then his envy. What was that theory Harkles were hooking at best in 2015 and that was when that ridiculous article came out about H&Pip in 2015 that he had to file an IPSO for to not look guilty.

Didnt they start hooking up in 2016 when she was still living with Corey in what was essentially a common law marriage in Canada

[burningexeter]

Global Justice

Kim Possible & Shego Trivia/Details/Notes:

• Their first introduction to each other is when Kim is on a human-sized roulette wheel back first and the lighting of the lair changes to that of a cheap fun house with her purple cheerleader outfit and orange hair popping out brightly, she looks to her right to see a skeleton-type statue on a mini-throne opens up half-way and a pair of dice come out, hitting Kim in her triangle breasts. She looks up again as a shadow comes over and from Kim's upside down POV, there's a glowing black and green Shego in all her glory, a twisted smile on her face and her hands on her hips then says "Well, well, well, what have we here! Kim Possible huh, ooooo I'm really scared!" and as she says the last part up close, she sprays acid-like spit on a horrified and shocked Kim to her disgust.

• After being let go by a mysterious organization called "GJ" and being scolded by her mother Ann who was worried sick about her daughter's whereabouts, Kim heads up to her room only to her complete and utter shock to find none other than Shego in her room checking it out. Ready for another fight, Kim is immediately asked by Shego to calm down and that she isn't here to fight. Instead she's here to tell Kim to her face that she's the first person to ever do this to her — she impressed Shego, and as payment for letting Kim live and walking away at the top of the Middleton High School Auditorium from her plan, Shego will stay at Kim's home in secret and in-hiding from the Global Justice. A shocked Kim has absolutely no choice in the matter when her mother calls to her to ask if she's okay and she turns to Shego who immediately gets a smug but twisted smirk on her face and has the tip of the finger on fire.

• Whenever Kim's family are out or nowhere to be seen, Kim and Shego along with the Bebes, Bonnie and Tara usually are seen together hanging out in her living room with Kim and Shego sitting together side by side on the couch whether it'd be for their next move on what to do depending on the episode's subject matter or just hanging out and doing teen girl things.

• Since she was a cheerleader before when she was a teenager, Shego at times actually helps Kim, Bonnie and Tara out with their cheerleading skills. In fact, there's an entire episode dedicated to Shego teaching Kim how to be the best cheerleader there is and they both used the lessons they learned to defeat the episode's villain.

• This is the fictional hang-out of Global Justice, this is their version of Bueno Nacho from the Original Series. It's called "Twisters Burger", inspired by Quentin Tarantino's Big Kahuna Burger but made its own to where it can stand on its own. It's located in the lower, "bad" side of Middleton, California where Global Justice is set and is where Shego, Kim, the Bebes etc. usually eat at and it's referenced a fair amount of times throughout the whole series. Heck, it's where Kim and Shego had their first ever fight when the former finally manages to escapes in a throwback to their first ever fight in "Tick-Tick-Tick".

• Speaking of which, that's a perfect segway into what I think is probably one of the most if not the most interesting things about Global Justice that makes it stand out from the rest including its original series is that with most media, anything that's superhero-related, mystical, magical, fantastical and supernatural or otherworldly are always either in secret or hidden. Harry Potter, The X Files, Buffy The Vampire Slayer and many other animated shows as well.

But in Global Justice, it goes the same route that Big Trouble In Little China does where it's all out in the open, for all to see, no hiding or in-secret whatsoever. It's just in these places that everyone else including Kim, Bonnie, Tara etc. before the events of the series all pay absolutely no attention to at all. Literally, the only way to discover this should-be hidden superhero and supervillain world in-universe is to simply just look down an alleyway and that's it.

In the case of Global Justice, it's downtown Middleton, California, specifically down the corner or around the corner. Which is why you can see Shego and the Bebes hanging out at a fast food restaurant like it's nothing and the employees act like it's nothing cause to them it's pretty much nothing.

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

I saw another post on another blog that had a really good point and wanted to share it with everyone here...unfortunately I can't find the comment now!

The anon suggested that perhaps why the wire services may have freaked out about the edits on KP's photo is because of terms and conditions prohibiting agencies from selling post-edited or post-modified images. So someone at the AP or whatever wire service saw the edits and assumed that the usual rules - no selling or purchasing edited photos - applied in this case and overcorrected by issuing the kill notice to rectify their mistake of purchasing an edited photo. And in that panic to correct their "error", no one realized that the photo was sourced from a personal social media account, thus is subject to different rules. More internet chaos and a KP apology later, the photo suddenly gets resurrected and some of the community notes are removed.

It's a good theory, and one that's very plausible. Probably the most plausible explanation of everything that happened.

As to why there was suddenly a resurrection, I'm thinking the lawyers got involved and if the lawyers finally did get pulled in, they probably said either "this is a personal photo accessed on social media, those rules don't apply" (and everyone went "shit-shit-shit") or they talked about the sudden liabilities they're now open to with this precedence of calling out edits that they now have a standard to uphold (and everyone went "shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit"). Again, this is just conjecture. The kneejerking back-and-forth that happened today does seem classically lawyerese to me, though.

A second piece to this, I'm reminded of how KP shares their photos. Which is that the actually aren't selling their photographs. It's an old story from back in 2013, but when KP published the baby George-Kate-William-Lupo photos taken by Michael Middleton, a blogger who wanted to buy the photos for her website contacted Michael or KP to enquire about purchase and usage, and Michael or Michael's people responded that there was no cost for using the photos as long as she properly credited him with the copyright and used them only for a news story. I imagine that's similar to KP's process; if a publication (such as the AP) wants to reproduce a photograph credited to Kate (or William) that has been published on social media, the entity makes a request to the office, and the communications office sends them the source file.

At no point in any of this is there actually any money exchanging hands. I'm pretty confident there's no money being exchanged for KP's personal photographs to be reused, in which case the "we don't buy edited photos" rule is null and void. Different standards apply here. (My confidence comes from the fact that this is part of the "press pact" that Meghan and Harry pushed back against; they wanted to charge copyright and usage fees for their personal photographs rather than make them freely available on request like the then-Cambridges did.)

And then finally, all photographers - amateur and professional alike - edit their images before publishing them or sending them anywhere. What Kate did is no different than what Misan Harriman or Chris Jackson or Samir Hussein do (and have admitted to! Check out those links for their "confessions."). And I suspect that KP's statement where Kate said she had done the editing herself before the photo was posted is what threw the monkey wrench that maybe brought the lawyers in - because if they retract KP's photo on the basis that someone edited it before it was first posted/submitted to the public, then they have to retract thousands and thousands of other photos on the same grounds that someone edited it before it was first posted/submitted to the public. Again, this is all speculation.

At the end of the day, it all seems to be boiling down to one thing: there was a mixup and a miscommunication somewhere. And for me, all the signs point to the cock-up happening on the media's side. The rules/terms and conditions they have in place to use only verified images are good ones to have, but the last 48 hours have made it abundantly clear that there are holes in the rules and gaps in how they vet and verify images they source and distribute.

(Honestly I'm surprised that photographers haven't spoken out in Kate's defense. I'd have thought at least one or two would've said something. I can see why they wouldn't - maybe jobs are on the line or maybe they lose contest/recognition opportunities if they do - but it does strike me as a bit odd.)

(Also, sorry to the anon from earlier this morning to whom I said I probably wasn't going to post on the photo edit drama anymore. Clearly that plan went by the wayside.)

[scotianostra]

July 28th 1746 saw the trials of Jacobite Lords, William Earl of Kilmarnock, George Earl of Cromartie, and Arthur Lord Balmerino began.

The trial of the three Scots peers took place at the House of Lords convened in Westminster Hal, they had been arrested following the collapse of the Jacobite rebellion. William, earl of Kilmarnock, George, earl of Cromartie, and Arthur, Lord Balmerino had all been part of Charles Edward Stuart’s Jacobite uprising.

As was usual, in advance of the proceedings the House authorities wrote to summon all absent peers to hurry to London to be present for the trial. Equally predictably, a flurry of letters then came back from sick and distant members of the House, seeking leave to remain away.

What is particularly striking is that several lords looking to absent themselves all reached for the same excuse. Of 49 members of the Lords who failed to attend the trials, stretching from (the most senior) Frederick Prince of Wales, and his brother, the duke of Cumberland, who was still busy in Scotland stamping out the last traces of rebellion, to the most junior peer Lord Middleton, several wrote in advance to Lord Chancellor Hardwicke, pleading fears of smallpox as their reason for staying away.

Indeed smallpox was an issue in London at this time, but no more so than previous years, although London Smallpox Hospital, established in 1746. A table of diseases for the beginning of July noted the numbers of those suffering certain complaints in London as: consumption 52, convulsion 109, dropsy 15, fever 74 and smallpox 88. By the middle of the month the numbers had declined slightly. Now the table read: consumption 69, convulsion 124, dropsy 22, fever 85 and smallpox 76. Some commentators have said that the Lords not attending were maybe not wanting to be seen to have Jacobite sympathies.

The absence of the 49 lords from the proceedings made no material difference to the progress of the trials. Kilmarnock and Cromartie both pleaded guilty and only Balmerino troubled the House by denying the charges against him. He need not have bothered, as he was found guilty by all lords present in any case.

The following month, Kilmarnock and Balmerino lost their heads on Tower Hill. Cromartie was pardoned, on condition that he never again travelled north of the Trent. The sentence of beheading was, at the time, seen as a privilege of rank, of the ordinary rank and file, the vast majority of 120 convicted to death were executed by hanging, drawing and quartering. Of the remainder, more than six hundred died in prison; 936 were transported to the West Indies to be sold as slaves [which, at that time, meant that they would almost certainly be dead of yellow fever or the like within two years], 121 were banished ‘outside our Dominions’; and 1287 were released or exchanged” Many of those released would have been so due to them joining redcoat army battalions.

[whiskey-bumblebee]

@wearewatcher mystery files kate middleton when???