#i certainly give charles more credit than you

[petit-papillion]

"Leclerc is too nice to be a world champion. A Hamilton or a Verstappen, Leclerc does not have that in him. Suppose Ferrari has the best car next year, then Hamilton will gobble him up. Leclerc doesn't strike me as tough when I look at the little mistakes he makes and how he treats his engineers."

Robert Doornbos during Chinese GP weekend broadcast | April 2024

Source: Ziggo Sport

Original Dutch:

"Leclerc is te lief om wereldkampioen te zijn. Een Hamilton of een Verstappen, dat zit er bij Leclerc niet in. Stel Ferrari krijgt de beste auto volgend jaar, dan vreet Hamilton hem op. Leclerc komt op mij niet hard over als ik kijk naar de foutjes die hij maakt en hoe hij met zijn engineers is."

[wi55iams]

i love the carlos theory, but is there evidence??

we must see - for scientific purposes, of course 👀

Apologies at how long it has taken me to prove my theory, but I come bearing proof of Carlos' twinkishness! Firstly, we must consider the definition of twink. This is what wikipedia describes a twink as:

So how does this apply to Carlos? First, let's focus on having a slim physique. Carlos definitely fits this descriptor. I know a lot of you will think I am crazy. 'But Carlos is buff!' You will say. However, this is a misconception. Consider the following;

See how skinny his upper body is compared to his race suit? In the bottom image you can see its like a centimetre or two thick fabric which pads him out a bit. I think the video of him walking to the podium after Miami 2022 really exemplifies this:

I think because we usually see Carlos in a race suit, we perceive him as bulkier. Not convinced by this alone? Lets actually compare him to an F1 driver usually called a twink, Charles.

See how they're actually about the same size and body shape? If anything, Carlos has a slimmer waist than Charles, and both are about the same in terms of muscle. Lets compare him with an F1 driver not considered a twink by the masses, Pierre in terms of muscle:

Carlos is pretty bulky arm wise, but just look at how crazy huge and defined Pierre's muscles are. If you look at more pictures of Pierre he's much bigger than Carlos or Charles in size. Look at this guy!

So if Carlos is closer to Charles, a known twink, than Pierre, i think its safe to say he is much more twinkish than we give him credit for. But i'm not even done. Carlos has in fact been DECEIVING you by being an athlete and having muscles, under all that he is built like a twig. You can see this when he was younger. Look at this. If you're willing to do some digging back to his karting days, you can see before he started lifting he was weirdly long and built fairly skinny.

So that completes the 'slim' part. Next is youthful appearance/age. Carlos is nearly 30, but as Wikipedia states you don't have to be an older teen or in your early twenties to be a twink. It's about the presentation, and Carlos certainly fits that youthful vibe with his always messy hair, toothy smile, and big eyes. He also likes to rough house and push people around as a sign of affection, which just screams young guy to me lol.

Next is body hair. I admit my theory hits a slight snag here, as we all know Carlos is hairy af. However, we also all know he's dedicated to waxing every last piece of chest hair off. It's harder to find a picture of a hairy Carlos compared to the many pictures of him with no body hair at all. So I think we can say he's pushing himself towards a twink vibe with this. (below picture isn't the best to illustrate how much he shaves his chest i just think its funny)

Finally, flamboyancy. Defined as 'tending to attract attention because of their exuberance, confidence, and stylishness.' This is Carlos to a T. He's always confident, perhaps not super 'stylish' but he does have a good dress sense and seems to know what clothes suit him, and he's been proven to be quite excitable and exuberant when hanging out with friends. I think his hypercompetitiveness shows this as well. Is this picture not the epitome of careless confidence and flamboyance?

So. There is my evidence. Agree or disagree as you will. I will say he is probably more a twunk than all out twink, but he for sure has some twink in him. Here's a few last pictures to really try and convince you, but for now, ciao.

[mysadcorner]

HIIIII! Can I PLEASE request Father figure Logan howlett/Wolverine having a daughter who has super speed??

Logan Howlett x SuperSpeed!Daughter!Reader Headcanons

-Credit to the gifs owner - Please be specific about characters wanted in requests

Masterlist Navigation

Logan has dealt with people who have abilities concerning speed before, but having a child or young teen be faster than everyone else and almost impossible to catch is much more complicated to deal with. He'll just have to try and keep a closer eye on you.

He doesn't actually have a lot of experience looking after children if you are a small child, and it may take him a while to get used to you being around so much. He'll try his best, so don't hold it against him if he makes mistakes or seems snappy sometimes when he's stressed.

If he wasn't around or didn't get to see you much as a child then he would try his best to have as much quality time with you as he can to make up for lost time. He hopes that he can compensate for not being around, and he's willing to put extra effort in to make sure you see his attempts, even if he isn't the best at expressing how he feels.

If he isn't able to look after you constantly or suspect either you or himself of being in danger he will definitely leave you with Charles Xavier for a short while. He's one of the few people Logan can trust not to betray him and he's certainly more than capable of looking after children with varying abilities, especially due to experience.

Logan wants you to be able to look after yourself while also being confident in your abilities, and because of this, he will try to teach you things or give you advice about things that he's experienced over the years. He may also go out of his way to get others involved who have similar abilities when he isn't able to help you with something so that you can connect with someone who is quite similar to yourself.

Logan will also try his best to give you independence, so when there isn't any danger he'll give you things to do or suggest ways that you can help out others which would make use of your speed and abilities. He wants you to learn to have responsibility and look after yourself when he isn't around, so over time the tasks and jobs he sends you to do will increase in importance once you've grown up; but for now, he'll just have you do little things that come in handy.

Logan has quite a temper, but he'll always try to hold it back when you're involved. He does make sure to be stern with you still when you've misbehaved or put yourself in danger, though. However, he may not always be able to catch up with you straight away if you're significantly faster than him and are acting out against him rather than behaving and taking the punishment for stepping out of line.

Logan would develop a special bond with you after spending so much time together and getting to know each other so well, especially during relaxed and mundane moments which allow you to get to know him better. In the long run, he has a soft spot for you, and you'll never be able to get rid of him.

[charles-leclerc-official]

What's your opinion on charles in wet. I've noticed that it's his weakest spot by now, but I'm quite new, and maybe it is not up to him, but some outside factors. Overall, I just want to know what you, as the princess of tumblr dot com races analysis, think about him on wet tracks because it most likely gonna rain in Canada.

Charles is actually a lot better in the wet than people usually give him credit for. Is he the best on the grid in the wet? No. There are several others who are much better(Lewis, Max, Fernando) However he does tend to get underestimated in the rain.

One of his best wet weather performances is Turkey 2021. The track is one of the lowest in terms of grip, so very slick already. Then it rained and he was overtaking, also set the fastest lap(at the time) in the rain, and finished P4. Like he wasn't just running in the rain he was putting out some very competitive racecraft in wet conditions. And he stayed ahead of Lewis even after the track was starting to dry(so inter conditions)

The reason he lost the podium place to Checo during that race was because Ferrari strategy decided to see how long he could go on old inters. So the loss of the place wasn't due to the weather.

Again in Monaco 2022(that race had other issues) he was leading the race, on the most technical track, with the most unforgiving margin for error, and was extremely competitive there(the reason he lost places that race was due to Ferrari double stack issue in the pits, you are seeing a pattern here . . .)

Regardless of the result, his racing under wet conditions there was extremely good. His pace and speed were on track to win there. And Monaco is one of the most difficult tracks in the rain.

There are others. But Overall I'd rank him in the top 5-7 drivers in the rain. He isn't as strong in the rain, and he certainly doesn't get stronger. But he is solid and has shown on multiple occasions that he is competitive in wet conditions both in speed and racecraft.

There are other things that work against drivers in the rain. This doesn't just apply to Charles. If a driver has a car that is really unstable in the rain there is only so much they can do.

A lot of lists and analysis just look at final results to determine if someone is "good" under X conditions, but you really have to look at the driving on track to get the real story. A driver coming in P5 who had insane skills in the wet, but then lost the places in the pits is an example where the end results wouldn't reflect the quality of driving.

Most drivers have mixed results in the rain. By results I mean finishing results and overall mistakes(big losses of traction etc) that's normal and doesn't mean any particular driver is bad in the rain. And I think another thing that comes up is his results have been mixed in the wet for other factors that were less to do with the rain and more to do with the car. Just about every driver on the grid has had a big spin or DNF due to rain. So I don't consider that a glaring sign of an issue unless it's happening very frequently.

In conclusion, Charles is solid and can be very competitive in the rain, but there are others on the grid who are better.

In Canada I expect a strong performance from him. The SF-24 is likely better suited for the wet compared to previous Ferraris. We will have to wait and see!

[doggirlbuffysummers]

On Charles Gunn and Community

A large part of why I want to write this meta is that I don’t really see many people talking about Gunn. This is not all my thoughts on Gunn, I am going to write more over time. I have stated before that I personally feel that Gunn is in fact a much more complicated character than many here give him credit for.

I posit that the reason for this lack of credit was a larger trend of people in the fandom accepting the narratives presented by white characters regarding the people of color in the show (this is probably more discussed about at this point regarding Spike and Nikki and Robin Wood). While this essay is not entirely about the racism present in the corpus of Angel the Series, it exists in dialogue with more in depth takes on the racism present in Ats.

Gunn is in many respects unique in the buffyverse. There are no other people of color who achieve the status of main cast member, and certainly not for four consecutive seasons. The lack of discussion regarding him is a huge indignity to his character.

Much more care is taken to fleshing out Gunn in season two than in other seasons. In season two Gunn has a life outside of Angel Investigations. He has roots in the city, a community that he has spent his life dedicated to protecting. In season three, after the events of “That Old Gang of Mine” (3x03), this critical aspect of his character is gone.

It would be inaccurate to say that this happens suddenly, but the way it is handled is different in season three. During most of season two, Gunn exists in two worlds, never fully belonging to either. Both the early stages of the Pylea arc and especially “That Old Gang of Mine” throw into sharp focus that the story the writers want to tell with him is that he cannot live in this state of dual existence. “That Old Gang of Mine” depicts the members of Gunn’s old community as violent and unenlightened, with Gunn being pulled in two highly racialized directions: “black” wanton violence, and “white” enlightened application of reason regarding the use of violence. The way the episode portrays people of color is just downright awful, and Ats’s larger portrayal of race actively upholds existing, current stereotypes surrounding people of color.

I would say that Gunn is someone who cares highly about community. Episodes like 1x20 “War Zone,” 2x03 “First Impressions,” and 2x14 “The Thin Dead Line” contrast Gunn heavily with the other three members of AI. Gunn doesn’t fight for some greater ideal like others, but because it helps protect the people around him, as highlighted by @titsgirlbuffy and @punksouthie here:

Gunn’s decisions in “That Old Gang of Mine” are heavily informed by the idea posed by writers that AI and his old community are ideologically opposed. He is forced to choose between the two. The reason he comes to the decision that he does is largely decided by the dynamics at play in the situation. It is only once he is put in a situation where those who he has bonded with are at risk – the showdown in Caritas – that Gunn fully reflects and decides to turn against those in his old community. Gunn recontextualizes the scenario as being about an “out of town” person stirring up trouble within his community only once Angel and Lorne are put at risk. While he says in this gifset that it is about the mission, he does not necessarily argue against demons as an “other” to humans but more argues in defense of Angel *specifically*:

Anne reflecting the existentialist themes of the show back at Gunn in “Never Fade Away” recontextualizes everything. It parallels Doyle’s conversation with Angel in “City of” around the need to not be cut off. In these short two lines of dialogue, so much is said.

This post contains a similar parallel:

In the larger context of the show, we can see that Gunn starts off a paragon of Doyle’s explicitly stated message of what the show is about. He is incredibly entrenched in his local community. He knows the people he interacts with in “First Impressions” and “The Thin Dead Line.” He fights not for an ideal but for others. Over time, as he interacts with AI, he gets increasingly cut off from those that he is helping, moving further and further away from the actual mission of AI.

In his first appearance Gunn recognizes this, actually:

The conversation with Anne is not just about AI having lost its way but also about Gunn losing Everything. The people he has spent years trying to fit in with look at him and see the reason Fred is dead. He has no one and has so thoroughly internalized the values of his white co-workers that when he goes back to help Anne, he is separated from his old community by a vast ideological language barrier.

Brief aside that I might go into in more depth in a later post but I would like you to think about Fred’s death with regard to Gunn’s words here. A missed opportunity with Gunn’s character is exploring how he is impacted by hypervigilance and his tendency for blaming himself for events out of his control:

One interesting direction a rewrite (from a writer’s room with black writers in it) could go is having Gunn become the leader post 2x11 “Redefinition,” leading to closer interaction with the people of LA. AI becomes a much more high-profile member of the community and there is more focus on how Wolfram and Hart enables material harm in high poverty areas. I will talk about this more in the future because I think it is an interesting road to go down.

This post barely scratches the surface of my thoughts on Gunn. I haven’t even explained the take on valuing community fully. I think to fully present my take on that I need to write up at least another full post on it. There is also so much more to write about other things, like more alternate roles Gunn could have filled in AI as I talk about here:

[heir-less]

Okay I so appreciate that you have nuanced opinions on both William and Kate and Meghan and Harry. But I have to say I think Kate is fully aware about her uncle and what he says. I don't think his interviews or columns were necessarily sanctioned by Carole or Kate but I do not think he was told not to either. I think his opinion appeals to a population of monarchist and old Brits that the Middletons and Kate want to have behind them. I do not think the Gary and Samantha situations are similar because I believe if Gary was really told "no" he would stop. It seems like it's the Middletons MO to be a DM columnist at some point in their royal adjacency. It can be argued about how much autonomy Kate has over things that are said, and I think you've mentioned before that Kate may be more innocent than many think. I would argue that she is very aware of the profile that has been created for her and could have done much more to help her clearly vulnerable sister in law. They did not need to be best friends but it certainly seems that she allowed the powers that be build her up while being very cognizant of the real outcomes of what that could look like for Meghan.

Oh, I think Kate is aware and knows what her uncle says, don't get it twisted. I don't think she wants Gary to stop and he just won't. I just believe that Uncle Gary overstates his closeness to her for his own financial gain. I'm not sure if he's estranged from her, but the nature he writes about her is as if he was her second father which I highly, highly doubt. The fawning obsession he has for her is just . . . not a normal attitude to have towards your niece and I think he's exaggerating a lot of it. That article he wrote would be creepy if a husband or SO wrote it, let alone an uncle:

How Kate manages to spin all those plates simultaneously, with the eyes of the world on her, is almost superhuman.

I think it helps that she has never sought the limelight. She doesn't seek attention, that's not Kate; in fact, she's almost the reverse.

Wikipedia ought to have a picture of her under its entry for the words 'kind' and 'thoughtful'.

That's who she is; it is in her DNA and her bones.

I think the Middletons don't care to silence Gary because he's not saying anything that threatens them, quite the opposite. I have to admit, I do think it's stupid to believe that they're sending him out to push their narratives when they have their own comms team and media connections that are far more effective. That doesn't mean that they don't agree with him or believe he's saying good things, I just feel that he's doing it for himself mainly. He keeps talking about how it's the Middleton family lifestyle that changed William for the better and highlighted the contrasts between him and Harry: the Middletons might think they gain from this type of portrayal, but it's just bizarre and sycophantic. No real professional PR campaign is behind Gary's antics.

I think for Gary it's a total ego trip/masturbation session where he gets to fawn over Kate and credit his/Carole's "Middleton Unbring" as the future of the royal family despite all his firsthand stories of Kate being +20 years old. It gives Thomas Markle vibes where they played an active role in the upbringing and now think they're owed credit for making this person "everything she is."

It feels it's the Middleton family template that William will be using to raise his own family. We should celebrate the Middletons and the impact they have.

William certainly has: he's always ensured that, unlike other Royal in-laws, the Middletons are a non-negotiable inclusion

One thing I can't stress enough (something interesting) is how this narrative puts the Middletons in direct conflict with Charles and Camilla. It wasn't long ago that Charles felt the Middletons had too much influence over William's family life, and felt that they were prioritizing Carole over him. This again makes it crazy that the Middletons are so short-sighted and egotistical that they can't tell that Gary is more trouble than what he's worth.

[ntshastark]

NUlts lb

i am, once again, catching up on the last few weeks (but now it's just the anniversary oneshot, uxm and usm)

==

Ultimate Universe: One Year In

lmao tony is literally the protagonist of this universe, so iconic of him

==

i thought this was some rare southern hemisphere rep (HELL YEAH FOR SUMMER CHRISTMAS) but using fahrenheit??

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that one woman who got arrested for repeating the words on luigi mangione's (allegedly) bullets

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ah nvm just global warming. anyway, happy first day of summer! it means rainy season is finally here and the temperature should start to go down!! that's right bitch, i pulled a double jeopardy (i don't actually know if that's the right way to use this expression)!! yeah it's the southern hemisphere, but it's also the fucking tropics babeyyy

==

oh wow. they finally did it. they made the worst possible nick fury. the ultimate son of a bitch, if you will.

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ROBERTO????????????? WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO MY BOY

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LOL

LMAO EVEN

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i was gonna say that's giving people way too much credit, but popular opinion on the ceo thing apparently proves me wrong so

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is that a falcon suit?? so no sam? :(

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HE KILLED MANTIS AND DUMDUM????????????????

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ah damn, a huge shift on the status quo would be so interesting. well.

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he should be at the club :(

also, thinking of 616 beto and illyana meeting these versions...

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ok what the fuck are these things supposed to be

and why was everyone drawn with their eyes closed so much on this issue?? was it on purpose? does it mean something or is it just a stylistic choice?

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...charles?

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ah so the wolverine/winter soldier is logan. i was kinda expecting a plot twist where it'd be bucky

well, apparently the wolverine comic is gonna be a lot more classic x-men than uxm itself. i can't believe they're putting the x-men behind a paywall, and the pay is having to read one of logan's solo books. and i don't even get scott >:(

well, at least my faves didn't get saddled with the evil russian trope, so i guess it could be worse

==

Ultimate X-Men #10

i didn't even check if i should've read this one before the 'one year in thing' uhhh oops

==

me n the gc

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i'm sorry, this looks so stupid

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i genuinely don't know if i just don't vibe with peach momoko's style or if she's really getting sloppy because of deadlines (which, if it's the case, is totally understandable), but like

this is so ugly, i'm sorry. these are thumbnails.

==

sigh.

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oh. uh.

oops?

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is this hank???

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yeah, i guess this makes a bit more sense coming before the 'one year in' thing, since the oneshot makes christmas references and so does the next comic (usm), but this one doesn't. i have absolutely no idea how big christmas is in japan, but i think it makes for a smoother read? (this is me thinking about my 6160 reading order btw)

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Ultimate Spider-Man #12

they're married at this point

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OOOOOOOOOOOOO EDDIE BROCK REF AND MJ FAMILY DRAMA

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oh my god are the watsons going to be the focus of this issue, would hickman be that nice to me???? i mean, three whole women????

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ma'am you're looking at him with his husband!!!! can't believe mj's mom is a homewrecker

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oh my god

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*banging on the table* WATSON FAMILY DRAMA WATSON FAMILY DRAMA WATSON FAMILY DRAMA

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not posting a lot of screenshots of things i'm enjoying bc it'd just be the whole fucking issue atp

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jjj being richard's cool uncle is certainly Something

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guys i think i love the watson sisters

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oh my god gayle is such an absolute bitch, i love her

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wait, am i actually supposed to believe they're not fucking????? what's this whole thing been about then???????

(like, i didn't think they'd make it canon or anything, but i genuinely thought hickman was writing it with the intention that it'd implied bc like. why the fuck else would you do half of what happened in this run)

==

damn. one of the best spider-man issues i've read in my entire life and i don't think peter's actually said a single word in it.

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oh wait there's more

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OH HOLY SHIT

HOHOHOLY SHIT, EVEN

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OH WAIT THERE'S EVEN MORE

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OH HOLY FUCKING SHIT, JONATHAN HICKMAN THE MAN THAT YOU ARE

[mymistakewriting]

Magnetos trauma needs to be explored more, and idk i dont like how the writers have it be that Charles is his most trusted friend, and yet dont have Charles acknowledge that cause of Magnetos trauma as a holocaust survivor, is why his ideals seem so extreme. The writers need to get their heads out of their asses and just have Magnetos trauma explored and maybe idk have him work through it in therapy? But that could also be said for many Marvel characters tbh.

Honestly, I would love nothing more than for someone to take on the challenge of exploring the trauma that man's endured in his life in a way that humanizes him. I feel like so many references to his trauma are still fraught with the "but he's a bad guy so why would you ever feel sympathy for him" mindset and that's absolutely not the right way to approach a character with Nuances like Magneto's got.

And frankly, I don't even want to TOUCH my opinions on Charles Xavier as a character, never mind as someone who claims to be a friend to Magneto.

I'll give writers credit where it's due, though - Magneto and Charles are certainly two sides of the same coin, which was always the intention, I believe.

[amyalt]

Nobody is saying she is wrong by pointing that oscar lost time behind carlos and carlos defense helped!!!

The only thing people are pointing out is the implication that charles one stop strategy was chose because of carlos radio, (a radio that happened only around lap 38 ), when one look at charles lap times on hard tyres tells you what strategy he was driving the whole stint. So when she writes it that after hearing carlos suggestion, "leclerc imediatelly begins to work on the tyre saving" she is just factually wrong. His lap times over 38 laps are as consistent as they are, because he was driving for a one stop. This incredible analysis made on f1tv, explains exactly how it was such a precise and methodical work, made by the pit wall and charles during all race, to make sure his tyres would last on a one stop strategy.

She's also disregarding what Vasseur, Charles and Carlos themselves have said. Because they made it clear the one stop was always their strategy and they only momentarly thought about a two stop because of the graining on red bull, but as soon as they put the hards they saw it could work.

In fact when they brought the idea of plan c for charles, he said he would have to know because then the tyre management would be very different

But this change never happened... as we saw in that analysis, his tyre management kept consistent the whole stint for a one stop.

And I believe the team explaining what was their plan, the variables, etc hold a bit more true than an outsider perspective. Especially when teams usually say a lot of things on radio to bait other teams, so to take that as the only factor and ignore what the actual team is saying is certainly... a choice.

Also no disrespect to Bernie, but this article seems like it came straight from the social media narrative that was going on twitter. And I'm sure many of you have also disagree with pieces written by f1 experts before!

In conclusion, carlos did a great job by defending from piastri and we should praise him for that, instead of giving him credit for something the team made.

(*)

[a-man-for-hire-and-his-archives]

Black Sails: 13 Facts About The Starz Hit Worth More Than Stolen Treasure

BY ERICH B. ANDERSON/DEC. 31, 2022 1:15 PM EST

With contemporary series like "Vikings" and "Game of Thrones," "Black Sails" may often be overlooked when compared to other epic dramas of the 2010s, which makes it one of the most underrated shows of the decade. Not only is the scale of the pirate adventure immense with many scenes taking place upon impressive naval vessels, but the political intrigue and intimate interactions of the characters make it an entertaining watch for several different audiences.

The show as a whole does a brilliant job of mixing fiction with historical figures like the notorious pirate captains Blackbeard (Ray Stevenson) and Charles Vane (Zach McGowan) whose lives were so legendary that they verge on fantasy. But at its core, the story centers on the complicated friendship between its two main characters, Captain Flint (Toby Stephens) and his deviously clever quartermaster, Long John Silver, in the years before their sagas are continued in the later tale of "Treasure Island." For a series devoted to such larger-than-life individuals, the making of it also had its fair share of epic details and moments as well, which you can enjoy reading below.

The series is an unofficial prequel to Treasure Island

Although "Black Sails" is its own story for the most part, from the very beginning it was always meant to show the events building up to the classic work of fiction "Treasure Island" by Robert Louis Stevenson. More than anything, the creators of the series wanted to tie up loose ends to the famous tale and give their explanation to who the characters were up to in the years before, as showrunner Jonathan Steinberg explained to Entertainment Weekly: "At the end of the book, it's recounted by other people that Captain Flint died in Savannah alone, which begs a lot of questions."

Flint's origin is certainly not the only one covered with both Long John Silver's and Billy Bones' backstories explained thoroughly as well. For Billy especially, his situation in the finale of the series gives all new meaning to what happens to him later in the novel. Steinberg added: "It is clear we are suggesting he is on 'Treasure Island,' which I think has a number of implications if you go back and read the book."

After four seasons, it is clear the showrunner was pleased with how the series handled the continuity, saying: "It felt like we had finished the argument a little bit, in terms of connecting it not just to 'Treasure Island,' but to our contemporary understanding of what piracy was, about what Caribbean piracy was."

2. The opening credits features the hurdy-gurdy

Several aspects of "Black Sails" make it stand out as a particularly fascinating TV series, with one of the top being its unique theme music in the opening credits. Not only is the memorable tune composed by the talented Bear McCreary who is well known for his work on "The Walking Dead" and "Battlestar Galactica," but it also features quite an unusual instrument known as a hurdy-gurdy, according to Entertainment Weekly.

Also known as a wheel fiddle, the hurdy-gurdy is a folk instrument that has existed for around 1,000 years and is played to this day all over Western Europe, from Italy to England. In a 2010 TED Talk, musician Caroline Phillips explained that the complex and bulky device originally required two people to operate it until the design was improved a few centuries later, so it could be used by a single performer. Although a fundamental part of the instrument is the strings, akin to a violin, the sound produced can also be compared to bagpipes.

3. The show was filmed in South Africa

While "Black Sails" takes place predominantly in the Caribbean, that was not the place chosen to film the epic pirate drama. Instead, the Starz network went with the fairly new Cape Town Studios for the production, and needless to say that the South African-based company was ecstatic over the decision. Ahead of filming Season 1, Film Afrika producer Vlokkie Gordon said: "We are delighted to have been awarded ['Black Sails'] and it is further proof of South Africa's international reputation for outstanding production skill and expertise" (via The Location Guide). Gordon continued: "A production of this scope provides not only employment for South Africans, but also skills transfer which is in line with Film Afrika's policy of supporting growth and development of the South African film and television industry."

The swashbuckling series was then added to the growing list of productions shot out of Cape Town, including "Safe House," "Chronicle," and "Mad Max: Fury Road," as per the Cape Town Film Studios website. Plus, another Starz series benefited greatly from the elaborate ship sets built there, with "Outlander" using the Jamaican landscapes in its third season, according to Entertainment Weekly.

4. 300 people worked on the pirate ship

The impressive sailing vessels featured in "Black Sails" are almost as important to the story as the characters themselves. Therefore, a ton of work was put into the construction of the sets in order to make the maritime setting feel real for the cast, and more importantly, the audience. In a behind-the-scenes clip shared by Starz, senior rigger Joel Yates explained: "The carpenters building the boat it took them, I think, four or five months. They want it to look as authentic as possible because what we've built is a very accurate replica of a sailing ship."

The end product, called The Walrus in the show, was massive as well, as Yates revealed that the full ship is approximately 140 feet long. And to pull off such an incredible feat, it took a gigantic crew with various skill sets, as construction coordinator Clive Pollack shared: "There are 300 people working on the boat. There are carpenters, sculptors, painters, riggers, sailmakers."

5. There were no bathrooms for cast and crew on the ship

For as grand as the prominent pirate ship is in "Black Sails," it does have its faults as it also serves as the set of a modern TV production. In a 2016 interview with Den of Geek, actor Zach McGowan revealed the biggest problem for the cast and crew on set: "The hardest thing about the ships, most people don't realize, is just when you're on the ship at the top of the deck somewhere, it's very far to the nearest bathroom. There's no bathroom on the ships."

Even with that minor complaint, McGowan went on to stress that being on the deck of the ship at sea was such a great experience that the actor wished he had more of those scenes. It's also his opinion that most of the cast felt the same way, except possibly the ones who spent the most time on board, such as Toby Stephens.

6. The actors went through pirate boot camp

Like most epic dramas featured on premium channels, "Black Sails" is filled with massive battle sequences, in this case often between rival pirate clans, or against the relentless forces of the British and Spanish empires. While the nature of naval warfare means that a good amount of these conflicts are long distance, yet devastating, as cannonballs attempt to rip enemy vessels apart, much of the brutal combat is at close quarters.

All of the fight scenes in the series are quite impressive, so it makes sense that many cast members received special training. In a Q&A with a few of the main actors, shared by Starz in 2015, Luke Arnold revealed: "We all went through a three-week pirate boot camp. Well, the pirates of the crew did at the beginning of shooting." And it was a good thing that they did because when asked if they could survive the rough conditions of the time period, the general consensus was an adamant no. Toby Stephens then elaborated with a laugh: "The real trouble, I'd be ok on Nasau, it was as soon as I'd get on a boat and I had to sail anywhere."

7. Clara Paget came up with Anne Bonny's distinctive look

From Charles Vane, Edward Teach, and Jack Rackham to Captain Flint, Long John Silver, and Billy Bones, "Black Sails" has all sorts of characters based on either historic people or from the famous fictional tale, "Treasure Island." Therefore, both the writers of the show and the actors who portrayed these popular figures had to work with what was already known about them. But at the same time, there was a lot of creative freedom as well.

A somewhat minor, though fascinating aspect of another one of these real characters in the series, Anne Bonny, was thought up by actress Clara Paget. In a 2016 interview with Den of Geek, when asked what she contributed to the role, the actress replied: "I suppose the hat. That came completely organically. I tried on this hat and then I was pulling it down in an almost jokey way, like an old-school Western. Then it became who she is, hiding behind this hat. It really works for the character because, as I said, it shows this vulnerable side at the same time as being a badass through one side or the other. Like schizophrenic, bipolar."

8. Zack McGowan broke a stuntman's jaw by accident

A major reason that the fight scenes in "Black Sails" are so good is because of the enthusiasm of the cast and crew when filming, yet there was one time that may have gone a little too far. When a stuntman on set named Daryl was to be hit with the butt of a rifle by Zach McGowan, the dedicated performer showed no fear and encouraged the actor to strike him square in the face. The veteran stuntman figured it was no big deal since the thing was only made of rubber. Since Daryl seemed more than fine with the idea, McGowan went along with the idea.

In a 2017 interview with Rotten Tomatoes, Toby Stephens recalled the disastrous, though somewhat funny result: "Zach, who's brilliant at this kind of thing, whacked him straight in the jaw, as the guy asked, and totally broke his jaw. It looks fantastic, it actually made the cut, and it looked absolutely brilliant. At the end of it, I just remember Daryl going, 'No, it's fine. It's okay, don't worry about it.'" Fortunately, the stuntman was not seriously harmed, so they were able to joke about it a bit.

9. Zack McGowan climbed the balconies of a building to get rum

"Black Sails" is filled with many incredible exploits of pirate warriors as they battle on the high seas, but a behind-the-scenes achievement by one of the actors was almost as impressive as what was shown on screen. During a break in filming, the cast was having a good time together but needed some rum, so Zach McGowan went to rather extreme lengths to remedy the situation.   

In order to gain access to the prized liquor in a room several floors up, the actor literally scaled the side of the building all on his own. When talking with Rotten Tomatoes, cast member Hannah New described the amazing sight, saying: "He did this like Spider-Man kind of thing where he climbed up these balconies … it's incredible, he does like, God knows how many chin-ups every day. So, he can just chin up these balconies."

After McGowan successfully got the rum and then made the way back down with it in his front pocket, the cast waiting down below were too awestruck to do anything but tensely watch. Fellow actress Jessica Parker Kennedy added: "And none of us videotaped it. I think we were all in such shock, it was so scary, I thought he was going to fall and break his neck and we would have to explain it to our producers the next day."

10. It took all season to film Luke Arnold's underwater scene

In the fourth season of "Black Sails," Long John Silver nearly perishes in the sea as he struggles to escape his sinking ship. Actor Luke Arnold must have been pleased that his character ultimately survived the harrowing experience, but filming the scenes was definitely not easy for the actor. Even though he was confident in the comprehensive training he received beforehand, Arnold still had to overcome a major fear of performing in those conditions.

When asked specifically about those tense underwater moments, he told Collider in a 2017 interview: "That was the beginning of hell that kept getting crazier as it went along. That took all season to shoot. We were in the water tank, from the beginning of the season, stuck underwater, all day." To his dismay, Arnold was right when he assumed it would take longer to finish than the filmmakers first thought, yet it was all worth it, as he added: "Right until the last couple of weeks, I was doing bits of the underwater stuff to make that whole sequence as spectacular as it is."

11. Luke Arnold received a special gift from a producer

Luke Arnold was one of several major cast members of "Black Sails" who was in the show from the very beginning all the way through to the climactic finale. The actor very much enjoyed his time filming the series, so when he found a cherished memento from the early days, it was a big deal. In the same interview with Collider, he revealed: "We were shooting a scene in Season 4 that was back in Eleanor's office, and I found the piece of paper that I was writing the directions to find the Urca de Lima on, which was the very first scene we shot in Episode 103. Nina Jack, who was one of our producers on Season 4, got it framed and gave it to me as a gift, so I've gone away with that. That was amazing!"

On the other hand, there were parts of the series that Arnold did not remember so fondly, mostly from the difficulties that arose in pretending to have lost a leg. In this endeavor, he was able to use a crutch on screen, but the prop caused him so much discomfort that he grew to despise it.

12. Luke Arnold had a legless stunt double

Once Long John Silver tragically loses his leg in "Black Sails," Luke Arnold had some difficulty filming scenes as the character, so he was grateful to have help from a stuntman named Ben de Jager who is also missing the limb. The actor told Collider: "It was great to have somebody who's gone through the experience of losing a leg. He did step in for a lot of stuff, mainly because it was so much easier to have him there. If you're shooting from behind or you're focusing on the foot, it's easier to have someone in who's missing the leg than to do it with me and spend a fortune on visual effects to change things."

Though Arnold certainly got along with de Jager, there also seemed to have been a little jealousy in sharing screen time for the role. The actor admitted that a downside for him was his absence in some major Long John Silver moments of the show.

13. The writers gradually decided to bring back Flint's lover, Thomas

For as dark as "Black Sails" can be throughout the series, it ended on a fairly happy note as the main character, Captain Flint, is finally reunited with the love of his life, Thomas Hamilton (Rupert Penry-Jones). Both men are sentenced to imprisonment on a plantation, yet all that matters to the pair is that they are together again. Viewers may have been somewhat surprised that Thomas had returned to the show given the fact that he was thought to be dead, but over time the writers decided that was not going to be his fate.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in 2017, Jonathan Steinberg explained: "We had a sense in Season 2 when he died off-screen, that any character who dies off-screen, you're taking the word of the messenger as to whether or not it actually happened. We knew we weren't finished with him. And then at some point in Season 3, we realized it would be reasonably late in the series when he came back, so in Season 4 it felt right."

Source: Looper

[snifflesthemouse]

Charles is playing a mighty long con, isn’t he?

After the passing of Her Majesty the Queen, King Charles used his first-ever message as king to set the precedent of his reign. I am almost certain that his mother told him to do this much, so as to clear the air. I imagine one evening, mayhaps over some tea or biscuits, long before his mother was gone, that a conversation happened where his mother told her son the importance of boundaries, setting them, and most importantly sticking to them. I say this for what I say next.

It would seem that Harry and Meghan expected those precious HRHs to appear as automatically as those possessing them were delivered. It would also seem that every time they use the word “security” they mean “money”. Most of all, it seems they want back in and they aren’t getting what they want… exactly. It would seem some conditions were made. Why else is there this mad scramble to move mansions, edit Netflix and Spotify productions, push back money-making novels (THIS AUTHOR REFUSES to call Harry’s impending memoir as such; it is most certainly all an act of fiction), as well as parting ways with Sunshine Sachs?

When QEII died, with her went an entire legacy. Now, Charles is the King. And he had a vision of what he wanted his reign to look like that included Harry and his family. I’ve read most of the good bits of every fair and decent biography written about them – from Tom Bower, to Lady C to Tina Brown. I can tell you without a doubt that Charles had highest of hopes for Harry. Which has me concerned. I hate to play devil’s advocate here, but the proof is in the press. All their behaviors say they were given an ultimatum.

Why is it that, since leaving the UK, Harry and Meghan have rid themselves of Sunshine Sachs? I’ve seen blind items referring to the fact that Sunshine Sachs was bragging to other clients about charging the couple ten times the going rate. I’ve seen posts saying that Sunshine Sachs was always meant to be temporary, that the plan was always to “let them go” once settled. Still yet, there is a third explanation suggesting they ran out of money and haven’t paid their bills in quite some time. On top of dismissing Sunshine Sachs, however, there are even rumors of them selling their house in Montecito.

This author posted to you, my beloved reader, their mortgage specifics. The first ten years of their mortgage, they would be at a low interest rate of 2% or so. Right now, in America, the mortgage rates are rising. They are around 7% right now. This means that even if Meghan and/or Harry had amazing credit scores, they would still expect to pay astronomically more on a new mortgage than what they do now.

Let me give you an example. Say I bought a house for $14M. My interest rate is 2.49%. My monthly payment will be a little over $55,000 without the escrow, insurance(s), or property taxes. But buying a new house now means interest rates are much higher. With interest, a tenth of a percent can equate to millions over the long run. Half a hundred-thousand a month on a mortgage is expensive to people like you and me. Say now I want to move.

If I sold the old house… I would have to sell it for enough to pay off the old mortgage to break even. I’d have to sell it over the remaining amount to get a profit, and I would have to sell ice water in hades to make enough bank to pay off the old and buy outright bigger or better. But remember the interest rates are higher now. So, it costs more to buy the same amount of sqaure footage now than it did two years ago. A $14M mansion at 6.18% is going to cost the new buyer $85,000+. That means an even more expensive mansion will cost even more. That’s not counting everything else that goes with buying a house like realtors’ commissions, 4title/deed work, etc. Everything they are doing is costing them money. Why?

The only thing that suggests they need money is parting ways with Sunshine Sachs. Everything else is going to cost them money. Which means they are doing this for a long-run purpose in mind. You only spend money like this to make it up tenfold later on down the road. Messing with publishers, Spotify, and Netflix like this threatens their only potential revenue streams. Those BS job titles handed to Harry by those Silicon suckers probably came in the form of stock they cannot get money out of readily right now. If he’s getting paid legit money, it’s not more than $90,000 a month.

Now do you see why I fear this all? This all says to me a deal was potentially struck during the mourning period. It says Charles told them if they want their children to be titled and all that, you have to give me something, too. It says they are in the middle of negotiations. There is no way that it’s down to being broke. They would just start doing ten times the bombing via interviews and podcasts.

If they tone down the blame game rhetoric, especially if they start trying to extend “olive branches”, then we will know why. Then again, I kind of hope that I am wrong. I hope the shifting is her preparing for divorce from him. I hope that she saw he had nothing more to give, and without that drip of prestige and money… Harry is no longer worth his trouble. He just becomes an addicted abuser.

Addicts tend to travel in pairs because some dope is better than none. You increase your chances of getting high if two people are working together. Same thing with psychopath-sociopath narcissists. They are heavily co-dependent. Until the loathing overpowers the dependency. It always does, too. These relationships eat themselves from the inside out.

Charles is wise to keep them close. He should use their antics against them every time a serious faux pau pops up. I’d use the press to redirect every bad comment back at them if I were him. I could teach a masterclass on manipulation, though. So I assume most people don’t think like that.

My point is this. Harry and Meghan are making moves that wouldn’t make them money. It would cost them money. That means these moves are more valuable to them later on than those current deals are now. What could that possibly be, other than titles ore a way back home?

Hope I am wrong, but chances are I am not. I expect Charles to bring Harry and his family back to Frogmore before the year is up. But, in a private capacity as rent-paying private citizens. Then, a long, slow campaign to repair Harry’s image will begin. It will certainly not end well if it does. It will end in a big payday and NDAs. But it will be a mess.

[ducklooney]

You know, Scrooge and Goldie are really the only canonical couple, they just deserve each other, the same inclinations, love for money and gold which in most cases outweighs their own love, also other sins, especially Scrooge in early comics. And personally, I just can’t consider Scrooge and Bridgitta a love couple just out of respect for Bridgitta ... And I feel sorry for her, because her heart is only occupied by Scrooge. She doesn’t need such a lover, Scrooge just suitable for Goldie in every sense.

Hi, sorry I didn't answer you earlier. You have the right to love what you want, I don't blame you and you are right, everyone has the right to their opinion. But I have to say this, even if you may not agree with me. Well like this, as much as I love the love couple between Scrooge and Goldie, it’s not exactly what you think. Scrooge is not like Donald, so he only has to be sentenced to one person. Donald Duck certainly has a lot of girls he’s in love with and that’s seen especially in some cartoons and most comics, which isn’t bad, but in the end he’ll always end up with Daisy. That’s how most writers work and that’s such a canon. Scrooge McDuck is not such a case, he will, no matter how many women and sympathies he has, he will love money the most in the end. Money is his greatest love. I know it sounds sick, but such a character was created to be bastard and to be a ruthless capitalist, which is a parody of the society of that time (Scrooge McDuck was modeled on Ebenezer Scrooge from the Christmas carol by Charles Dickens). Of course, Scrooge is not the only character who loves money more than anything. There are already such stingy characters as Mr Magoo, Richer Rich, Mr Burns, MOM, Mr Plotz, Montana Max, Mr Krabs, Eddy and other characters. Some are protagonists and some are antagonists. Scrooge was an antagonist at the beginning, but later, according to Barks, he became the protagonist and a great adventurer, although he will only go to collect valuables, and not to think about helping the poor and giving to the museum. Although many authors of later comics mitigated that, Scrooge would still be a positive person.

Scrooge in the Carl Barks comic “Back to the Klondike” went back to the Klondike not so much for Goldie as for the lost gold that Goldie took from him. Eventually Scrooge got mad at her again for cheating on him. Barks preferred Brigitta more, although it was not his work, but a fictional character by Romano Scarpa, and Barks considered her a true character for his universe. Brigitta MacBridge was on purpose for him, not so much as he was for her as she was for him. Brigitta had enough money, she didn't need Scrooge to further replenish her wealth. Their romance was certainly comical. Of course, Brigitta has other companions such as Jubal Pomp, also a businessman and a good partner for Brigitta. Jubal Pomp (or Filo Sgaga in Italian) is credited with making Brigitta not as aggressive as in many older comics, although I love the romance between Scrooge and Brigitta.

Yes, there are comics in which Scrooge admits that he loves Brigitta. In the comic “A Tale of Two Biddies!” has a confession that Goldie doesn’t mind being Brigitta from Scrooge because she knows she was Scrooge’s love for the past, while Brigitta is Scrooge’s love for the present.

As for the romance between Scrooge and Goldie, their romance really only worked in the OG Ducktales and Don Rosa comics only to later work on other comics that did that romance at the time Scrooge was in the Klondike. I love that romance in the Klondike and that is the best thing that both characters could afford, but one thing should not be forgotten. For some reason they could no longer be together and Goldie became a thing of the past for Scrooge McDuck. I wish their romance had really happened when they were in the Klondike, but the past would have been different. Neither Hortense nor Matilda would leave with Scrooge and settle in Duckburg, nor would Donald or Della. History would be different. Maybe Scrooge took Goldie with him and took her to Scotland, though who knows. Although I wish they had gotten married back then, I'm sure Goldie would have broken up with Scrooge if she had known about his cruel plans for the African colonies. Although I know that many Scroldie fans will not like what I am going to say now, I apologize for that, even though I am a Scroldie fan myself, and that is certainly Goldie Scrooge's past, which cannot be corrected. And that was later shown in most comics. Although Scrooge and Goldie met again, but as old people, especially in Don Rosa comics, even though they renewed their old romance, they still can't correct what the two of them have done in the past and what is there. Maybe Goldie's granddaughter Dickie, as in some Italian comics, corrects such a mistake, so Scrooge admits her as a future heiress. But everyone makes a canon for themselves and everyone has the right to their opinion.

But I will say the same thing, Goldie is not the first love for Scrooge. Scrooge was in an Arild Midthun comic (The Substitute Santa of Strathbungo -The Orphan's Christmas) when he was ten and already had a crush named Brenda who was an orphan. Unfortunately when he left, he never saw her again, but he saved her like other orphans from the notorious abuser.

However, the essence certainly remains. Scrooge is not like Donald and he will probably choose to love his money rather than Goldie, Brigitta or some third woman. Such is his character. Of course, he should love his family, but I don't like it when it is especially mitigated in both versions of Ducktales, so he becomes the voice of reason in his family. Such is his character. Of course, he should love his family, but I don't like it when it is especially mitigated in both versions of Ducktales, so he becomes the voice of reason in his family. Goldie, as greedy as she is, is not like Scrooge. Although this is an unpopular comment and I beg the reader of this not to attack me afterwards, I am not a Goldie fan in the Ducktales reboot (although the love couple between Scrooge and Goldie was ok) nor do I like the scheme team as some we call the Goldie and Louie team cannot be good examples of the mentor-student relationship. I don't like it. I prefer Goldie as a good grandmother as in comics or a good dedicated woman as in OG Ducktales. And unlike Scrooge, that old Goldie has never been rude to her family, as far as I know. She treated her granddaughter Dickie well, as in Italian and some Brazilian comics. Of course, everyone should love their version and their team as they like, I'm not defending that, I'm just asking you to respect my opinion, that's all.

Yes, I'm a fan of Scrooge women's couples who always make sense (Scrooge with Goldie, Scrooge with Brigitta, Scrooge with Magica, Scrooge with Fenton's mother and other couples) and who can be canon with themselves, and that I love Scroldie, but again, I respect other opinions like most canon Duck comics and Duck cartoons, but one thing is for sure. Scrooge McDuck will love only money the most and that will be his only treasure and we can agree that Scrooge will not be like Donald who has real love called Daisy. Yes, there will be confessions in some comics that Scrooge, in addition to his flaws, also loves his family.

Sorry for the comments, but I had to show you an essay on that. I'm sorry if I offended you with these comments, I didn't mean to, but I hope you understand me. If you have any questions or concerns about what I said, feel free to ask me. These are certainly my views and opinions.

[wyn-n-tonic]

Baby, Let The Games Begin -- Part I

Hiiii. Okay, I've decided to jump back into the fanfiction game because sometimes I just can't focus on my own characters and need a respite from them. I am a little bit sickly in love with Dave York and, no, I have not spoken to my therapist about it. Second person isn't typically my writing style and this was definitely an experiment. There will be a few parts to this, I'm not sure how many. 

Word Count: 1,000 Warnings: Talking about death, killing, masturbation (not explicitly), choking (not explicit... yet). If you see anymore that I don't know about, just message me and I'll amend the warning.

Summary: Cat and mouse between two psycopaths.

His diligence is ghostlike. He moves through walls and people and the world blending in. He’s flat and close cropped. Broad but not overwhelming. Confident in his movements but he doesn’t take any room that’s not easily gifted to him.

But he’s gotten… sloppy. He’s been in South America for over a month now and the Spanish that usually gets better with time and immersion is slipping. He’s fucking up in all the small ways that will blow this mission to shit if he doesn’t get it together.

It’s another rainy night somewhere in Ecuador and he’s losing his fucking mind half drunk off sleep deprivation, half off a fifth of whatever brown liquor is stewing in his system tonight.

Yeah… sloppy.

But he’s never had a target like you.

Your pictures are peppered over his walls, papered down from hotel to hotel. He’s chased you through three goddamn countries and he is no closer.

He’s beginning to think you’re in his head. Just a figment of his imagination. If he’s a ghost, you’re a phantom and he is losing his fucking mind. —

You laugh in the darkness as his frustrated grunts come through the thin walls. You take another sip of the same shit he bought only hours ago—expensive—trying to figure out if tonight’s activities are vigorous pushups or if he’s spilling himself again. Thunder rolls and so does he, silence settling over the rooms once more. You wonder which picture it was tonight but you know he’s already got you plastered behind his eyelids.

It’s pissing down in Zamora again tonight and he is losing his fucking mind. But you’re not exactly making it easy for him.

Except… you are.

He’s trying too hard, that’s the problem.

He’s on the right track but, god, he’s stupid. He’s looking for the girl in the pictures, the stone faced widow mourning yet another husband. A man bought your ass. Another one bought your tits. Hell, one offered to buy you new legs when you complained about your height. That’s the woman he was looking for, a multimillionaire who went to yoga every day and fucked her instructor every night. He wasn’t chasing you, he was chasing his imagination. That’s the problem with men, they’re easily manipulated.

And this one? He’s no different. You’ve got him wrapped around your little finger, he just doesn’t know it yet. —

There’s something he’s missing, he knows it. He’s pacing around the room but he knows he needs to carry himself out the door. He thought the presents you were leaving were the answer at first. Propped up in the rental car, he watched his hotel room all day but nobody ever showed. No woman in sight, certainly not the one in the photos.

Either you’re close or he’s losing his grip on reality.

But… No. He’s trying too hard. That’s the fucking problem.

Maybe he just stops giving a shit and it’ll all fall into place. —

He sent his men home two weeks ago.

“Five guys for one woman is excessive, go home and get started on other jobs, I can handle this.” He didn’t give them a choice, he was so confident. That’s when you decided to start fucking with him.

It was little things at first. Moving the pictures around, the furniture. Then it escalated. You cut the drapes in half, that was fun. But one day you were worried about all the alcohol so you snuck in with a different purpose.

You filled his small fridge with empanadas from a local vendor with a note to take care of himself. That wasn’t the first night you heard him cum but it was the first time he came with your name on his lips.

He found your tube of Ruby Woo waiting the next day. It didn’t exactly match the new hair you’d picked up in Medellín but he didn’t know that.

His groans came audible again that night while you packed, a small smile playing across your lips.

Those groans soundtracked your dreams from Cali to Quito as you hoped the two swipes of your credit card were enough for him to come running. —

As you leaf through his belongings once again, you think of the man whose scent you caught in Venezuela. He’s younger than who you usually go for, that’s a given. But in playing this game? In hearing what you already do to him? Well…

He’s a killer. You knew one was coming for you the moment you caught Helen’s eyes at the funeral. Poor, beloved Charles. It’s not that you killed him so much as you made it easier. You’re not a killer, you’re a helper. This man, though?

Those flat black eyes have a body count much higher than yours.

You wonder, as you crawl into his bed, if he’d give you a choice in how you want to go. Quite honestly, you’ve been thinking about those hands around your neck since Caracas. —

He’s pacing again as his voice carries over, the soft sound of fabric being thrown into a suitcase.

“Helen, hi, it’s Dave.” He sounds… tentative.

He lets out a frustrated sigh and the pacing stops, “No, no. I didn’t find her s—“

Silence and then, “It’s been over a month, I can’t keep chasing somebody I’m not sure is even here anymore. I’ll keep alerts up, continue to track her movements but I won’t… I won’t be taking an active effort against this one anymore. She’s too smart.”

He closes the phone with such force that the sound echos, certain he’s broken it. He walks to the middle of the room and his voice comes back but this time it’s for you.

“I know you’re listening. Hell, you might even be able to see me. You win, I’m going home. Enjoy that island.”

[celticcrossanon]

Hi, CelticCross...hope you're well and feeling better.... I've just read your reading on Harry, an astounding piece of analysation which must have been draining for you...

my ask? Is Harry an ACTUAL, PHYSICAL threat to William? could he arrange/be involved in an assassination attempt, or a sabotage of some kind, against William and Charles?

obviously, he forgets that even if Charles and William are eliminated somehow, there are still George, Charlotte and Louis who are the heirs...such ignorance probably comes from MM as she's never been too astute on how the LOS works...

Thanks for any info you can provide! And stay well yourself!!

Hi Go-ScottishGal14,

I don't think Harry will be involved in an assassination attempt against members of his family.

I do think that he will continue to try and assassinate their reputation via stunts and stories in the media. I also think that he is very pleased with the media misrepresentation of the Caribbean Tour, and he would love for that sort of media misrepresentation to continue in the future (note: I don't think the Harkles were involved in that reporting fiasco by the royal rota, but I do plan to do a reading very soon to find out for sure).

From the energy of that reading, Harry is sitting at home and plotting something against William. He is daydreaming about how successful his stunt will be and how it will rise him up and lower William in the public eye. What I don't know is whether his thoughts are going

a) "I will do x - the public response will be y - William will fall/be humiliated because of z", and then the daydreams and arrogance take over and he goes on to dream of the family taking him back and giving him the throne as a reward because William is 'no good' and so on

or

b) "I will do x, and then William will have to leave the line of succession because of it, and then I will be king after daddy" / "I will do x to get rid of William from the line of succession" and then he daydreams about becoming king

b) is much more aggressive and malicious than a), but I do not know which line of thought he is following. It could be that they are both muddled together in his head, because that is certainly the way the energy felt.

The action, x, is signified by the Seven of Swords. Swords is the suit of communication and thoughts, so it will almost certainly be through the media, and it will be an attempt to change how people think about William. He is going after his brother's reputation/how people think about his brother, like he did with the Rose affair rumours, only he wants this to be far more damaging. It will be deceitful, sneaky, underhanded etc as per the reading. He may try to steal credit or something else from William (the Seven of swords is the Thief card), or it may be something else.

If it was a planned assassination attempt, I would expect to see some combination of action/conflict (5, 7, 8 or 9 of wands) leading to death (Death, 8 of Cups, 5 of Cups, 10 of Swords), via sneakiness (5 of Swords, 7 of Swords), plus a major arcana indicator like The Tower, The Hanged Man (reversed=treason), The Devil, Justice with a reversed energy, and other cards showing a danger to the monarchy (e.g. The Hierophant coming out next to the Tower). I did not see anything remotely like that in the spread. We have one of the sneaky/underhand cards (the 7 of Swords), but none of the others and no indication of anything like that occurring.

I hope this helps answer your question. :)

[knightmareaceblue]

Forever Isn’t Long Enough

TW: Gun Violence, Aggravated Assault. Let me know if I need to tag anything else please.

In the aftermath of the worst day of his life, Charles Calvin makes an important decision about his future.

Nothing says ‘Today’s gonna be a great day!’ quite like a fresh explosion to Charles. He watched excitedly from his chopper as an entire wing of the building his two favourite people had infiltrated blew apart in a glorious blaze of red flame and black smoke. A normal person might have been more concerned, but a normal person was not partnered with the infamous Henry Stickmin and Ellie Rose: master ex-criminals who specialized in infiltration, espionage, and overall ass-kicking. A little explosion was nothing to them.

“So much for being subtle.” Ellie’s calm, collected tone came through the headset. She was always so cool under fire, and her voice still caused Charles’ heart to stutter despite all the time they spent together. “Henry, how are you holding up?”

From his position in the helicopter, Charles couldn’t see their third teammate, but he could imagine Henry giving a spirited thumbs up. It was very rare he was up to talking, but Henry had survived worse things than a meager explosion. At this point, Charles was half-convinced Henry was invincible. He was without a doubt the strongest, bravest man Charles had ever known.

They were his best friends and his soulmates. Charles couldn’t think of two better people to be partnered with.

A brief moment passed, then Ellie came back on the line. “We’re good then. Charles, where’s our guy?”

Their current target had a long, obnoxiously pretentious name. During briefing Charles had jokingly called him Mister Bigwig, and the nickname had stuck. These last few weeks the team had been spent meticulously burning his bridges and cutting his lifelines, preparing for today’s operation to finally take down his endangered animal smuggling empire and bringing him in. They hadn’t quite expected him to blow up his head of operations to throw them off, but, well, that was special operations for you.

Charles flickered through the cameras, eventually catching the tacky orange suit of his target on one of them. “Found him. He’s heading south, towards the helipad. I’ll swing around and cut him off, you two keep on his tail. Hurry up though, I wouldn’t want to get all the credit for this arrest.”

With a smirk, Charles pulled his helicopter around to head off their target. Over the headphones Ellie’s voice came again. “Promise me you’ll be careful, Charles.”

“Uh, aren’t I always?” He replied casually.

“Actually, no, that’s why I have to keep reminding you.” Ellie retorted, expertly weaving both sarcasm and concern into her voice. She worried too much about him, honestly. The both of them did. “I mean it Charles. Don’t do anything stupid.”

He huffed, but acquiesced. “Fine, fine. No crashing for me today.”

Over the radio, Charles heard Ellie tell Henry, “Honestly, that idiot’s gonna be the death of me-” before it clicked off.

With Henry and Ellie preoccupied chasing after their mark, Charles swung his chopper around to the helipad. His initial plan had been to land and barricade the door, then sabotage the guy’s escape vehicle, but he had apparently underestimated the distance between that camera and the helipad. Or maybe he’d underestimated how fast the guy could run. Regardless, Mister Bigwig, with his slicked back hair and his piercing orange suit, emerged from the building and began making his way towards the helicopter.

Well, shoot. Now what?

Charles considered his options. He could always crash his helicopter into the guy. Would certainly prevent him from getting away. But nah, he’d already promised Ellie he wouldn’t do that. Besides, it’d been six weeks and three days since Henry’s last nightmare about him or Ellie horrifically dying. The last thing Charles wanted was to trigger Henry and break his streak.

Okay, so that plan was out. Well, Charles could always remotely control the other helicopter. It would be amusing to watch this pompous wanna-be gangster desperately attempt to wrestle control of his machine while Charles flew him straight to HQ to be processed. But… flying two ‘copters at once would be a real pain. He’d be lucky if he managed not to crash at least one of them. Put that one on the back burner, then.

It only he could prevent the chopper from taking off at all- Oh, idea!

Charles’ fingers danced across the various buttons on his dashboard before gently pressing in one that was labeled with a picture of a piece of gum. The machinery hummed, his helicopter’s gun lowered, and then it launched a single grenade at the enemy vehicle. The grenade hit the ground, bounced once, then exploded, coating the rear rotor and landing gear in a pink sticky substance.

Mister Bigwig stared slack-jawed at the mess made of his escape vehicle. With a grin, Charles leaned out the window of his helicopter to call out to him, “Sorry, looks like you’re flight’s been delayed!”

...and immediately ducked back in as Mister Bigwig pulled a gun from his sport coat and fired blindly in Charles’ general direction. His aim was absolute garbage, but the sound of the metal bullets hitting the broad side of his baby made Charles grit his teeth. Man, and he’d just given her a fresh buff, too!

“Uh, guys?” Charles spoke into his headset. “Doooon’t mean to rush ya, but will you be getting here anytime soon?”

“We’re almost there, had to get through a security gate- Wait,” Ellie’s tone suddenly turned serious, “is that gunfire?! Hang on, Charles! We’re on our way!”

Charles flinched instinctively as the next bullet got a little too close to the window for his liking. “Ah, take your time, no rush.”

Honestly, his saving grace was that Mister Bigwig was either too angry or too stupid to fire at his engine or rotor instead of attempting to take him out. Still, knowing he was protected by strong metal and bulletproof glass didn’t make being under fire any less unsettling.

Mister Bigwig paused to reload his weapon, and it was at this point that Ellie and Henry burst through the door. Ellie was first, her hair frizzed up like an angry cat’s, and she only paused to look around for the mark before charging at him with a closed fist. The resulting wham made Charles, if only for a moment, feel sorry for the poor bastard. Then Charles remembered he made his fortune off of killing endangered animals and selling off their body parts and decided he got off light.

“That was for trying to blow up my boy.” Ellie told him, fury burning cold. She then delivered a hard kick to his ribs. “And that was for trying to shoot my other boy.”

Charles brought his ‘copter in for a gentle landing. He immediately hopped out to help his two partners bring in their mark. “Nice work, guys!”

Immediately Henry ran up to Charles, holding his arms tight and looking him over with his frantic, gorgeous red eyes. Charles let him; no matter how much verbal reassurance he or Ellie gave him, Henry was never fully satisfied until he saw for himself that both his partners were unharmed. Once his Stickmin Inspection was complete, Charles helped Ellie pull their target up. She’d already cuffed the guy, so all that was left was dragging his sorry ass back to headquarters. With Ellie dragging him on one side and Charles on the other, they forced him into their helicopter, Henry following behind with both hands on his weapon.

“You’re okay?” Ellie asked.

Charles tossed her his best, most charming smile. “Aren’t I always?”

Ellie rolled her eyes at him, but seemed satisfied by his answer. “Well, all’s well that ends well, I suppose.” She decided. Then she smiled at him, her face crinkling with cute little dimples. “And you did great stopping that helicopter. Nice work.” She leaned closer to give him a kiss.

Her lips met Charles’ palm, placed halfway between their faces. “Ah, you know the rules.” He told her, fighting to keep his smile off his face. “Strictly professional on missions.”

“Oh yeah,” Her violet gaze pierced into Charles, leaving him with a lasting shiver, “You’re so professional.” A teasing twinkle lit up Ellie’s eyes.

The moment was ruined by Mister Bigwig making exaggerated retching sounds. “Ugh,” He groaned, “I can’t believe my private guard fell to this-”

Whatever undoubtedly sexist thing he was about to say was interrupted when he tripped and crashed headfirst into the cement. You’d expect the leader of a smuggling empire to be less clumsy, jeez. What? Henry was no where near the guy. His hand was certainly not on his back. That’s ridiculous; the bastard was just a klutz.

Inwardly, Charles snickered. Outwardly, he was the picture of stoicism as he pulled the guy back up on his feet.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. I know my cohort took care of reading your rights, so just remember you’re welcome to exercise your right to remain silent at any time.” And with that Charles, pushed the man into his helicopter, turning around to be met with his two favourite people, staring up at him with mirror expressions of puppy dog eyes and sad, precious pouts.

God damn it.

“Fine,” He told them, putting effort into sounding more annoyed than he actually was, “You get one smooch each. Make them count.”

And oh boy, did they.

--------------------

It took several hours for team Triple Threat to arrive at base with Mister Bigwig. General Galeforce, several guards Charles had seen around from time to time, and another high-ranking officer Charles was unfamiliar with, were waiting for them. Charles greeted them with a salute that Henry and Ellie echoed soon after.

“Excellent work, all of you.” The Capt’n told them, motioning for the guards to take custody of Mister Bigwig. “Tomorrow we’ll have Mister Big-” General Galeforce paused, then scowled, “Mister Cholmondeley transferred to a cushy four by four in a military prison. Not the Wall,” He immediately promised Henry and Ellie, “A more humane place. Still quite uncomfortable, but much better than the cages he’d transported his livestock in.”

The Officer standing next to the General nodded. “We’ve already made arrangements for his surviving wares to be taken to specialized wildlife hospitals before being released in specialized preserves. I cannot thank you all enough for your efforts in bringing Cholmondeley down.”

Henry flushed adorably at the praise, the way he always did. Ellie just smiled. Charles spoke on their behalf. “It was our pleasure, sir. Now if you’ll excuse me,” Charles immediately hopped off of the helicopter to head for the repair shed, “I have to make sure that prick didn’t break anything important.”

Everything proceeded as normal after that; Ellie and Henry joined him in grabbing some supplies from the repair shed, but made the wise decision to stay out of Charles’ way while the repairs were underway. They were his most trusted and beloved partners, sure, but this was his baby. They knew better than to mess with her.

It was while Charles had been tinkering with something inside that he heard Mister Bigwig’s loud, grating voice screech out, “YOU BITCH!” before his entire body stilled at the sound of a gunshot. Charles immediately dropped what he was doing and raced to peer out into the garage just in time to watch Ellie catch Henry and scream.

Watching Henry go down shut something off in Charles’ head. He wasn’t thinking anything at all as he raced to his partners’ side, helping Ellie put pressure on the bullet wound. Henry was conscious, thankfully, but he gasped breathlessly as he struggled through the pain. A part of Charles half-expected Henry to just get up and carry on, to laugh at Charles and Ellie for thinking he could be caught off-guard like that, to pull a bag of fake blood out of his shirt and squirt it playfully in their faces. But Henry stayed down, and the liquid pouring onto their three hands was very sticky and very warm.

“Henry- Henry, it’s okay, you’re going to be okay-” Charles’s mouth pushed out words borderline non-sensibly, desperate to fill the silence. “I’m here, it’s okay, you’re okay- you’re- you… Henry…”

It was then that he noticed there were only two hands covering the wound now – his and Henry’s. Charles kept babbling as his eyes darted around, searching desperately for Ellie- where was she, why would she just leave Henry like this, what was she doing-?

He heard her before he saw her; the scream Ellie made was feral; unhinged. A disturbed sound he hadn’t thought his calmest partner capable of. She pounced on Mister Bigwig, and the would-be murderer became her victim as her nails violently punctured his skin, tearing at his face. “BASTARD!” She yelled, her voice high and grating. Her entire body shook with her unbridled rage as she continued her assault, desperately attempting to tear Henry’s shooter apart with her bare hands. One of the guards, who looked very much like he didn’t want to be there, crawled away from her with unbridled terror on his face while the other guard attempted to pull Ellie off of him. Eventually several other soldiers came out of the woodwork and managed to separate Ellie from her victim, despite her screams and struggles.

All the while Charles watched, holding Henry as close as he could. There wasn’t anything else he could do.

--------------------

“What do you mean I can’t see her?!” Charles asked, struggling to keep his frustration under control. The last thing they needed was for all three of them to be out of commission.

General Galeforce had the gall to look deeply apologetic as he answered, “I’m sorry, son. You know how it is. They’ll need to question her, run an inquiry… given the shock of what happened, and that he was an armed and active threat, I don’t think they’ll convict her-”

“Are you kidding me?!” Charles pushed away from the General and immediately began pacing back and forth, hands tangled in his hair and scratching at his scalp. His heart was hammering in his chest. “They already didn’t like how Henry and Ellie were criminals, they’ve been waiting for an opportunity to lock her up and throw away the key!” With each word, Charles’ breathing quickened and his words began coming faster. “Those bastards- think Henry and Ellie are worthless because of who they used to be- they’ve been waiting for something like this to happen...”

“Son- Son!” The General grabbed Charles by the shoulders, holding him steady. “Calm down. Operation Triple Threat brought down the Toppat Clan, the Bandanna Clan, Mister Bigwig’s smuggling ring… They’ve done so much good for the world. I will not let them break you up-”

Charles scoffed, pushing away from the General again. Tears prickled at the corners of his eyes, but they were not of grief. They were born from sheer frustration. “Oh, yeah, ‘cause they’re only worth something when they’re useful, right?”

That actual made the General reel back in shock. “Charlie-” The General started, but couldn’t seem to find whatever words he was searching for. All he could say was, “I’m sorry.” Silence passed between them, only broken up by Charles’ occasional sniffles. Eventually the General asked, “How’s Henry?”

“Still in surgery,” Charles wrapped his arms around himself as he begun to shake, “They- they said I can’t see him after. He’ll be in ICU, and only immediate family is allowed in. And I’m not immediate family.”

Despite living together since Triple Threat was formed. Despite Henry having literally no family out there. Despite everything they’d been through, it wasn’t worth more than some useless protein strands or worthless legal documents. Admittedly, Charles hadn’t reacted well to the news. He’d begged the doctor for an exception with tears in his eyes – Henry couldn’t be alone in there, he’d panic, he’d get anxious, he needed to see at least one of them – and was told to go home and get some rest. Instead, he’d come to see Ellie.

That hadn’t gone any better.

“What do I do?” Charles gripped a tuft of his own hair with one hand and pulled, clutching at the collar of his shirt with the other. “What the hell do I do?”

Both of Charles’ hands were gripped by the General. He carefully tugged the one pulling at Charles' hair away from his scalp and held them away from Charles. After a moment, the General told him, “You need to rest, Charlie. I know you’re scared out of your wits, but there’s nothing more you can do right now. Just wait. I won’t let them pull any bullshit with Ellie, and Henry’s a stubborn son of a gun. They’ll get through this. Just… have faith in them.”

Reluctantly, Charles nodded along, trying to get his breathing under control. Of course he had faith in his partners. But… nothing like this had ever happened before.

“I’m going to have Lieutenant Price take you home.” General Galeforce decided. “You just focus on taking care of yourself right now, okay? When I last saw her, Ellie was pretty worried about you.”

Hearing that, surprisingly, didn’t calm Charles down at all. In fact, it brought a new round of tears to his eyes.

God, and he’d thought this was going to be a good day.

--------------------

Rupert took Charles home, and hung around for a little while in a fruitless and overall pointless attempt to cheer Charles up. When he finally, finally left, and Charles was alone in the apartment he shared with his two better halves, the first thing Charles did was go into their closet and grab Henry’s favourite leather jacket, adorned with the faux pilot’s pin Charles had gotten him as a souvenir.

Actually, Charles had bought Henry the jacket too, before they’d gotten together- hell, before Ellie had even entered the picture. There hadn’t been any particular intention behind the purchase, besides Henry had clearly wanted it and hey, Charles had a bunch of money he hadn’t been using, why not? Charles ran a hand over the patches on the sleeve – a snowflake Ellie had made him, and a lovely star patch that had been part of a set Henry had commissioned for them after their first mission together.

“Huh?” Charles peeked up from his comic book educational reading as he noticed Henry frantically waving his hands to catch the pilot’s attention. He was bouncing back and forth on the balls of his feet, practically vibrating with nervous energy. This… wasn’t typical. During their friendship he’d seen Henry paranoid, bored, frustrated… but not nervous. Not like this. “Henry? What’s up?”

“GOT A MINUTE?” Henry signed. Charles managed to read it first try, which made him feel positively giddy. There was still a lot for him to learn, but it was nice to know he was getting better.

When Charles nodded to the affirmative, Henry gestured for the pilot to follow him, leading him into the kitchenette where Ellie was already waiting. No food was out, which was good. After the Knife Incident shortly after they’d first moved in together, it had become a House Rule that Henry wasn’t allowed to be in the kitchen alone.

At Henry’s prodding, Charles took a seat next to Ellie, who greeted him with an awkward smile. They’d still been getting to know each other at this point, but they’d had great synergy on their missions, so even back then Charles had known they’d be great friends!

…Obviously the kissing bits came later.

Charles returned Ellie’s greeting with an enthusiastic smile, then had directed his attention back to Henry, who stood before both of them with a pensive expression.

“I.” Henry signed, then paused. “I GOT YOU-” He then used a sign Charles hadn’t been familiar with, though Ellie nodded in understanding. Curse her and her pre-Henry knowledge of sign language!

“Sorry, didn’t catch that.” Charles interrupted casually, then clumsily echoed the sign back. “What does that mean?”

Henry spelled out each letter for him. “G. I. F. T.” Then repeated the sign. “GIFT.”

“Ah, okay.” Charles nodded, doing his best to commit the new word to memory.

From there, Henry reached underneath the counter and produced a colourful box, made to look like a wrapped gift. Personally, Charles wasn’t a fan of using these pre-fab boxes for gifts, finding half the fun was wrapping it yourself and watching a person struggled to figure out how to undo your tangled messed. But, hey, to each their own, right? The box was laid in the center of their little kitchen nook, and Henry pushed it towards them both, then pulled back from it and tapped his fingers together nervously. Charles looked at the present, then at Ellie, who was looking back at him. After a long moment of neither of them making the first move, Charles grabbed at the lid and ripped it off like a band-aid.

Inside, nestled among a little too much coloured tissue paper, were three little patches: a golden sun in a blue sky, a silver moon in the darkness of night, and a shining star on a purple background. They were all hand-crafted, with tasteful stitching and gorgeous colour. Ellie made a delightful little ‘ooh’ing sound at the sight of them, and Charles was smiling so wide it actually hurt his face quite a bit.

Nervously, Henry first picked up the one with a sun on it. “FOR CHARLES.” He signed, making a ‘C’ with his one hand and wiggled it around on one finger, similar to the sign for helicopter. This was the sign he’d come up with to refer to his favourite pilot. Then Henry handed it over, and signed nervously, “BECAUSE YOU ARE SUNNY. LIGHT. MAKE LIFE BRIGHT.”

Charles’ face went a little red as he quietly responded. “Oh.” And took the patch, running his fingers over the pretty yellow orb on the image. That was incredibly sweet. He’d attach it to his own favourite jacket later.

Then Henry picked up the moon patch and offered it to their red-headed compatriot. “FOR ELLIE.” For her name, Henry made an ‘E’ with one hand and kept the other flat, then changed the ‘E’ to an ‘L’ as he raised them both from his stomach to his chest like the sign for lift. “BECAUSE YOU ARE CALM. FULL OF MYSTERY. COOL. LIKE MOON LIGHT.”

“Wow,” Ellie’s cheeks turned a shade of pink that clashed with her hair as she took her patch. “Thank you, Henry.”

“Thanks, Henry.” Charles echoed absently, running his fingers over the patch for what must have been the tenth time.

The final patch Henry took for himself, displaying it proudly. “STAR FOR ME.” He signed. “BECAUSE I AM DISTANT AND HARD TO NOTICE. L. O. L.”

Given what Henry had signed last, that was clearly a joke, but for some reason it didn’t sit right with Charles. He immediately blurted out, “No way!” and when Ellie and Henry’s attention was on him, shook his head. “The stars DO suit you, Henry. But for entirely different reasons. They’re pretty!” Henry’s entire face turned red just as Charles realized what he said. Still, he persisted, too aware of his own reddened complexion. “The stars may be in the distance, but they’re bright and calming. We make pictures in the sky out of them, and even when we can’t see them they’re always there, watching over us. Just like you!”

Ellie chimed in. “There’s so much mystery and wonder out there in universe. The stars are amazing, Henry. They suit you well.” She smiled at him, that sincere dimply smile that, even back then, had made Charles’ heart skip a beat.

A twitching, embarrassed smile crossed Henry’s face, which was now entirely red from their compliments. He signed, “THANK YOU.”

The patch on Henry’s favourite jacket was now wet with tears. Charles took a moment to wipe at his eyes before pulling it on.

Once he had Henry’s jacket, Charles crouched down under the bed they’d all come to share and pulled out Ellie’s favourite bag. Much like Henry’s jacket, the hand-purse was usually kept at home on tougher missions due to the sentimental weight it carried. The snowflake patch she shared with Henry rest squarely in the center of one side, and her moon patch attached to another side. She also had a heart-shaped pin attached to the lid, a gift Charles had given her to ‘complete the triangle’ as it were. Charles, in turn, had a matching pin he tended to keep in his pocket.

With Henry’s jacket swaddling him and Ellie’s purse clutched close like a child’s doll, Charles retreated to the corner of the room and huddled down, finally letting the day’s stress out with horrible, desperate sobs.

Once his emotional outburst was done, a voice that sounded suspiciously like Ellie chimed through his head. Okay, let’s think this through logically: what’s the worst case scenario here?

Obviously, the worst case scenario was Henry dying. By now the poor guy should have been out of surgery, and Charles’ hadn’t gotten any calls, so he doubted anything had happened, but it was still touch-and-go while Henry was in the ICU. So Henry dies, and what happens to Ellie? The worst case for her was probably being sent back to The Wall, that horrible place. The stories his two partners had told Charles about it made him grind his teeth in anger. He’d absolutely break Ellie out if it came to that. He’d break her out from death row too, though he doubted her crimes would warrant that. They’d be on the run, and without Henry, but at least the two would be together.

Still, being with Ellie without Henry didn’t sit right with Charles. Henry had introduced them; he was the soul of their team, the glue that kept them together. Their inspirational spirit. Of course Charles still loved Ellie, he always would, and he’d stay with her no matter what. But they’d never really be complete again without Henry.

It went both ways, though. If something happened to Ellie before he could bust her out, he’d never forgive himself. She may have been the last addition to the trio, but Charles couldn’t imagine a day without her smiling at him, or whispering into his ear with that teasing tone of hers. She was his heart, keeping him strong and steady, and he and Henry would always be missing that piece of themselves if something happened to her.

Then a horrible thought occurred to him. What if they both died?

No. There was no way that would happen. Immediately Charles rejected the idea, because it- he- that just couldn’t happen. Henry was too strong for a bullet wound to take him out. Ellie was too tough for prison to put her down. They’d be fine, they’d absolutely be fine, because if they weren’t- if he lost them-

They were his heart and his soul. If Henry and Ellie both died, Charles’ heart and soul would die with them.

But it would never come to that. They’ll be FINE.

Charles clung to that thought desperately, repeating it over and over in his head like a prayer. He begun rocking back and forth, clutching Ellie’s purse a little tighter.

Sitting still and thinking about life wasn’t doing him any good, so Charles hopped up and begun pacing back and forth. Then he begun cleaning, just to have something to do. Normally the trio divided chores evenly among the three of them, depending on what they each had going on that week, with two exceptions: Henry never cooked and Ellie always handled laundry, because she was picky about how it was done. None of the chores had been done yet this week, so Charles ticked them off as he wiped, scrubbed, and swept, doing anything and everything he could not to think about Henry or Ellie or death. Kind of hard to do when literally every item in the apartment had some sort of sentimental attachment to them, but Charles could be very stubborn when he wanted to be.

While putting away random bobbles, Charles opened one of the drawers in Ellie’s dresser and paused. There was no clothing or jewelry inside; instead, the entire thing was filled with various pieces of paper; loose-leaf notebook paper, sticky notes, papers both printed and hand-written. Charles picked one of the little coloured squares up and looked it over.

Ellie: Taking Charles to the dentist. He’s being a total baby about it, so we’ll probably be stopping for ice cream on the way back. Love ya – Henry

Charles picked up another one, this time one of the loose leaf notebook papers. He actually recognized this one; it was a notebook page he himself had been doodling on during a boring phone conference. The face of General Not Galeforce had been poorly doodled and distorted, with his mustache spiking in every direction and his eyes bulging out. There was a reason the only one to handle Team Triple Threat was Galeforce, after all.

“Can’t believe she kept that,” Charles mumbled, and kept digging. The entire drawer was filled with things like that; little notes they’d left each other, Charles’ various random scribbles and doodles, a bunch of photos, half of which Charles hadn’t even remembered posing for… and there, at the very bottom of the drawer, was a fully detailed pencil sketch Charles had made. He’d drawn the three of them, sitting together, Henry in the center. His arms were around their shoulders, holding them tight, while Ellie and Charles held hands in his lap and cuddled into his side. He’d… drawn this before they’d gotten together. Thrown it out with the intention of never showing it to anyone. How had Ellie gotten a hold of it?

Charles slammed the drawer shut before his tears could ruin any of the paper, and continued cleaning.

He swept. He wiped down the counters. He swept. He cleaned the toilet bowl. He swept. He scrubbed down the shower. He mopped. He vacuumed the couch. He vacuumed the carpet. He swept again. He swept one more time, just to make sure.

Eventually, after cleaning the apartment top to bottom three or four times, Charles collapsed onto their too-small-for-three-people sofa and let himself breath. It was nearing midnight, and while he’d managed to exhaust himself, images of Henry and Ellie, cold and alone in those sterile, clinical environments, haunted the darkness behind his eyes. Charles dared not fall asleep like this. Is this what Henry felt when he had his nightmares? God, how awful.

He’s probably having nightmares right now. He’s tossing and turning in a hospital bed, and you’re not there to hold him. You’re not there, you’re not there, you’re not there-

Charles chocked down his tears and looked around for another distraction. Something, anything. Eventually Charles’ eyes rested on a picture hanging on the wall. It was something he saw everyday, but it was only now that Charles decided to look a little closer. The picture had been taken during Operation: Triple Threat’s official implementation. They were standing all in the line; Ellie to the far right, him to the far left, and Henry in the center. They were all huddled as closely as they could, with beaming smiles and excitement in their eyes. It had been Henry that had insisted on hanging the picture up, to Charles’ surprise. Until then, Henry had virtually no opinions on the décor of the apartment, which had made setting the space up infuriating at the time. This picture hanging in a place of prominence had been the one and only demand Henry had made.

“Is there some special reason you want it up here?” Charles had asked, not mad at all but slightly confused. They already had a table full of other pictures, so he’d expected to put the photograph there.

Henry had turned to him and answered in sign, speaking simply and slowly so that Charles could understand him easier. “REMINDER. IMPORTANT. BIG MOMENTS DESERVE BIG CHANGE.”

“Big moments deserve big change.” Echoed the pilot in a whisper. Yeah, okay. He couldn’t keep running away from this.

So, the worst case scenario didn’t warrant further thought, or he’d panic himself further. But what about if everything went alright? They couldn’t just wrap this up in a neat bow and pretend it didn’t happen. They’d almost been separated. What if something like this happened again? Their career was very high-risk. It was easy to think of Henry and Ellie as invincible, unflappable heroes, but today had shattered that reality for him. Henry wasn’t invincible. He could be hurt; he could die. If something like this happened again, Charles needed to find a way to be by his side. Ellie wasn’t completely calm in every situation. She could lose her mind just as easily as he or Henry could, and that could get her in serious trouble. He needed to find a way to support her if she ended up in trouble like this again.

But how could he do that? What did he really want here?

“I want them.” Charles said aloud, his voice quiet and small. “I want Henry and I want Ellie and I want us to be together. No matter what happens.”

Then it was decided. Charles grabbed his doodling notebook and got to work writing.

--------------------

Charles jolted awake with a stutter and gasp. Shoot, when had he fallen asleep? It hardly mattered, though; nobody had ever bothered setting the clock on their oven, but the sun was beginning to peak through the window, so it was probably late morning or early afternoon.

Well, he noted as he looked down at what he’d spent the rest of last night working on, at least it was finished.

After a moment of just staring blindly down at his work, Charles pulled out his cell phone to give the General a call, only to find a large number of missed calls, and a fair number of messages. All of them made this morning. Charles’ arms shook, but he began to listen to them anyways.

“Oi, Charles, it’s Rupert. Just checkin’ in, makin’ sure you’re okay… call me if you need anything.” Message deleted. Thank you text sent.

“Charlie, it’s me. There’s no news yet-” Deleted.

“Mister Calvin, I’d like to ask you some questions concerning the events of-” Deleted.

“Congratulations! You’ve been selected for-” Deleted and blocked.

“Charlie? Son? Can you please pick up? I’m worried about you-” Deleted.

“Okay, son, I know I literally just called you, but I’ve just received news from the inquiry. Ellie’s case is being closed. Thanks to the testimonies of the soldiers working that day, she was found to be acting to protect herself and others. Her use of excessive force will result in some penalties, but considering the good will Operation Triple Threat has earned, she’ll get a slap on the wrist. I’m filling out the paperwork to get her out now. Call me back soon.” Repeat. Deleted.

“Mister Calvin? I’m calling on behalf of a Mister Henry Stickmin. He’s requested me to inform you that his condition is stable, and that he’s being transferred to Recovery shortly. He’ll be in room 123, and you can reach him at 999-999-9999, extension 123. Have a pleasant day.” Repeat. Deleted.

“Charles? Hey, you there? It’s Ellie, just got out. I’m at the hospital with Henry. He’s doing fine, by the way. Just being a baby about his IV antibiotics- oh don’t give me that look, you totally are! Heh, but seriously, hurry on over here! That holding cell was just awful, and I need both my boys. See you soon, love you! And Henry loves you too. But not as much as me- HEY! Give back my chocolate, Hen!” Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Saved.

Getting dressed and taking an uber out to the hospital where Henry was being treated simultaneously felt like time was both flying by and dragging on. The entire ride Charles fidgeted anxiously in his seat, constantly re-reading what he’d written last night, psyching himself up for what he was about to do. The poor driver constantly suffered through Charles’ anxious mutterings as he rehearsed what he’d written, or urged the traffic lights to change every time they had to stop. Even if he was still anxious about what was about to happen, Charles kept enough of his awareness to apologize to the man as he leapt out of the vehicle, and left him with a generous tip.

When Charles arrived outside Henry’s door, he paused to admire the view. There they were; Ellie’s hair was disheveled, and she’d been given a pair of plain clothes to wear, but she was still as radiant as ever; her violet eyes were shining with the force of her laughter, her smile wide and lovely as always. And Henry… he was absolutely beautiful, even with his skin still pale from blood loss and with his red eyes highlighted by dark shadows. The anxious tension Henry usually carried on his face and shoulders in these unfamiliar circumstances was momentarily absent as he watched Ellie giggle with blatant, unbridled affection.

They were safe. They were here, and alive, and safe.

“Hey, Charles!” Ellie called out excitedly upon noticing him, but then she paused and repeated, softer and gentler, “Hey, Charles. You okay man?”

Henry began to sign at him, a little faster than normal in his concern. Charles caught the questions, “ARE YOU OKAY? WHAT IS WRONG?”, but couldn’t bring himself to answer. Tears poured down his face.

‘You. Assholes.” Charles whimpered. He didn’t even get a chance to elaborate before he suddenly burst into loud, uncontrollable sobs. All the relief and grief came out all at once, and Charles couldn’t stop it. His knees buckled, but before he could collapse Ellie caught him and pulled him close to the bed so she and Henry could hold him tight. As he cried, Charles continued. “You can’t do this to me! You can’t just scare me like that! I thought you were both going to die! You promised you wouldn’t leave me behind! You promised!”

Henry tilted Charles’ head up, looking him deep in the eyes. Many found Henry’s silence unsettling, but those people were morons, because Henry spoke a thousand words with the glimmer of his eyes, the quirks of his lips, the lines of his brow. And even before he’d properly learned to sign, Charles could read Henry like an open book. With that one look Henry was transferring all his of his love, and giving that gentle reassurance that it was okay to keep going, even if he was calling them assholes.

“I… I’ve never felt more helpless.” He confessed to them both, managing to speak through the constant stream of tears. “You were both in so much trouble, and I couldn’t do anything! I couldn’t visit Ellie to let her know it’d be okay, I couldn’t sit with Henry in the ICU, even though he needed me. It was like the world was falling apart, and everyone expected me to just sit back and watch. I never, ever want to feel like that ever again. I want to be able to be there when you need me, to be able to protect you both because, god damn it, that’s my job! I’m supposed to back you up. You both mean the world to me, and I never ever ever want to let you go!”

This hadn’t been the plan. Charles’ had spent the whole night writing a nice, heartfelt speech, but screw it. It was now or never.

Silence passed between the triad for a moment. Then Henry inhaled, and Charles and Ellie both snapped to attention. It was very rare when Henry would use his voice; the moment was always either incredibly dire… or incredibly important. The two others waited with baited breath.

“I…” Henry spoke, his voice soft and rough as always, “...want to pick out the rings.”

Sleepy green eyes blinked at Henry. “What?”

“You two have shit taste in jewelry,” Henry told them, blunt as a bat. “I want to pick out the rings.”

The words finally pierced through Ellie’s haze, and she scowled. “Um, excuse you, I have excellent taste in jewelry.”

“Yeah, if you want to look like a gaudy super villain.” Rebuffed the ex-thief. “I’d happen to prefer something a little classier for my wedding bands, thank you very much.”

“Wait, wait.” Charles looked back and forth between them both, utterly confused. “Was that a yes?”

It was obviously a yes, Charles realized as soon as he said it. But Henry only smiled patiently at him, tired but with gentle adoration shining in his eyes. “Charles, it’s you. And it’s Ellie. It was always going to be a yes.”

Still not entirely satisfied, Charles turned towards their female partner. “Ellie?”

“You two were already stuck with me for life.” She spoke matter-of-factly. “I don’t need some fancy paper from the government telling me what I already know. But,” She reached over to run her finger along his cheek, wiping some of his dried tears away, “I want whatever will make you happy, and I know this will. So I will absolutely marry the hell out of you. Besides, Henry would look gorgeous in a wedding dress.”

“DAMN STRAIGHT I WOULD.” Signed their bedridden partner.

Charles blinked away a fresh stream of tears and smiled so wide his face hurt. “Ah. Ah jeez. Ah wow. Can one of you please come over here and kiss me?”

Ellie barely needed the invitation before she dove in, pressing her soft lips against Charles’ and pulling him close to her for a breathless minute.

Sudden, fierce snapping broke them apart after a while. The source of the snaps pouted at them; Henry Stickmin, master thief and destroyer of the infamous Toppat Clan, was pouting at his significant others like an adorably small child being told ‘no’.

“NOT FAIR.” He signed crossly. “CANNOT GET UP.”

With a wet chuckle, Charles sat down and leaned closer to Henry. “Sorry, Hen. Let me make it up to you.” Their lips came together; Henry’s were always rougher than Ellie’s, but still just as sweet. And once he was done, Charles moved to the side so Ellie could duck in and exchange a smooch with Henry as well.

They were his best friends and his soulmates. Maybe they weren’t perfect, but they didn’t need to be. They just needed to be together.

And now they were. Until the end of time.

--------------------

Man, this is the second time I've gotten Henry shot. Anyways, happy (late) Valentine's Day. This will also be on my AO3 account.

[mccoyyy]

Bring historical accuracy to Carlisle's early life, pretty please 🥰

absolutely (and thank you @pandabooraccoon and the other two anons who asked something similar to this too I love you so much). I'm putting this under a read more cause, yeah

ok, to start of with I am nowhere near an expert, but this time period in history really fascinates me cause there was so much going on. 

so Carlisle was born in 1640′s London, and at the time there was a shit tonne of religious and political upheaval going on. You had the Union of Crowns, disagreements over the Church systems, covenanting, Civil War and Cromwell, Executions and the removal and restoration of the Monarchy. Shit was mad. But I’m gonna start with Carlisle’s dad (I’m going to call him Abraham but full credit for that one goes to @panlight​) cause I have so many thoughts

Abraham was a pastor in 1640. He most likely started working when he was breached and then took over as Pastor (Preacher) after his dad died. I’m going to say he was born around 1620, married in 1639ish and then Carlisle was born a year later. So he would be what, 20 when Carlisle was born. 

First of the bat, there is no way that Abraham would still be alive and kicking when Carlisle was 23. The life expectancy back then was just under 40, so a 43 year old Abraham cutting about burning witches (and we’ll get to that in just a moment) just isn’t realistic but neither are vampires so oh well. In terms of religion if were being historically accurate, then Abraham would have most likely been an Anglican pastor as that was the dominant form of church in England at the time and he would have been fucked up by the mob/church/general public/all of the above for being anything else

However, it gets sticky when you bring in the idea of Puritanism. I firmly believe that Abraham would have loved Cromwell and puritanism (cause I like to headcanon him as an utter dick) but if were doing that then it creates a problem. If Abe was a devout Protestant Anglican, he would have believed in the divine right of kings (a monarch has no authority other than the word of god and therefore doesn't need to listen to anyone else) and therefore seen Charles I as the mouth of God, and had issues with the whole execution thing, so if Abe was a Puritan, then he would probably have to be a Presbyterian (dominant form of church in Scotland and also the parliamentarians) but again, this causes problems cause no one really liked Presbyterianism (understatement). It’s possible that he could have been influenced by Cromwell and switched from Anglicanism but religion back then was very different to what it was now, it took a lot to get people to change their ideas over faith (see the plague) so I’m gonna go out on a limb and blame Charles I who first started to undermine parliament and try to start Absolutism which lead Abe to change his loyalties. Either that or he supported Cromwell’s agenda but didn’t agree with execution which is the most likely option tbh.

With Abraham out of the way, we can now move on to our boy. Carlisle, the son of a pastor in 1640, there is no fucking way that this dude didn’t know the year/date he was born. Know why? cause dates were recorded by none other than the fucking church. aka his father. Carlisle is just bad with dates but that's ok buddy i guess that happens when your like 300. Secondly, his dad wouldn’t have raised him. It would have been left up to his mum, but cause she wasn't around he would have been raised by a wet nurse until he was breeched and entered the adult world at the ripe and grown up age of six (at least I think but I’m not 100% sure) when he would have started helping his father with sermons, and received an education of some form (probably a clerics education). Either way, he would have been helping his father at a very young age and exposed to so much shit

Back to Abraham for a wee second. Smeyer writes that he hunted down and burned vampires but again, this isn’t likely. Vampire hunters did exist but not in London. They were most common in Bulgarian/Serbian beliefs and even then they were very different to the modern idea of vampire hunters. And secondly, they wouldn’t have been burned! pyres weren’t used in the 1600s and instead would probably have been killed through hangings, torture or trials to determine whether they were a witch or not. So the good news is, Carlisle didn’t have to watch women being burned alive from the age of like six, he would only have to watch women being drowned, tortured, disembowelled, branded and hanged! and not just women accused of being witches, but most likely Catholics too!

We don’t know much about Carlisle’s life from his birth to his ‘death’, so I’m gonna take creative liberty and make some stuff up. London in the 1640s was utterly awful. It was dark, bleak, and really smelly. He was pretty lucky in terms of the plague cause the only major outbreaks occurred just before him and just after him (1603, 25 and 65) but there would have been the odd outbreak. I like to believe that Carlisle was an argumentative little shit and from the age of like 10 argued with his dad about literally everything. Canon says that Carlisle didn’t agree with his fathers particular brand of faith, so I’m going to go out on a limb and say that whilst he was still a protestant, and most likely Anglican, he probably followed an early form of religious tolerance at the least. Lutheranism didn’t reach England until around the enlightenment so I don't want to call him that but it was in existence in Germany at the same time so others had probably moved towards it a little, it just didn't have a name. His tolerance probably came from watching his father punish Catholics from the age of six, and their main argument as he got older was probably regarding tolerance of Catholicism. As much as I hate to say it, its low key unrealistic that Carlisle wasn’t married as a human so that would probably have been another point of contest between Carlisle and Abraham.

During Cromwell’s puritan reign was the most prominent witch-hunting years too, so if were being really nit-picky then Abraham would probably have only started hunting witches or at least started doing it a lot more frequently than he previously did round about here.

Cromwell died in 1658, and the monarchy was restored in England in 1660, but Carlisle’s dad most likely still followed puritan ideals and was not happy with the restoration period, and again, the revival of Christmas, theatre and fun was something that 20 year old Carlisle and Abraham would have disagreed over. Carlisle would have taken over a lot of his fathers duties round about this time, leading sermons and all that because Abraham should have been dead by now so I guess smeyer can have that one.

And now we get up to our boy’s final years. And this is like shooting still targets. Carlisle was hunting vampires in London sewers when he got bit, and then crawled into a potato cellar where he writhed in agony for 3-4 days. Firstly, sewers. The London sewage system wasn’t built for one or two hundred years. London was so fucking smelly. Like so much so that if it was sunny the house of commons/Westminster had to be evacuated cause the (literal) shite in the Thames would have warmed up and became especially pungent, and it was only when it started to affect MP’s that they though that maybe they should do something about it (which is probably another reason that super-senses-vampire Carlisle boosted to France as soon as possible). So he wouldn’t have been fighting vampires in sewage systems, but instead an alley, slums, or even along or near the Thames if you want to keep the sewage aspect. 

After being bitten, it would have been pretty difficult for Carlisle to drag himself into a potato cellar because he’d be crawling for quite some time. Potatoes didn't become a staple crop in society for quite a while. They were about and people ate them, but were largely seen as food for the lower classes in society, and there certainly wouldn't have been cellars filled with them.

Also just as a little end note, plague devastated London 5 years after he was turned so literally my favourite headcanon to give Carlisle is that he blamed the outbreak on himself. Yes, he may have went along with the miasmic theory that Plague was caused by bad air instead of his fathers ‘divine punishment’ theories, but there’s nothing like a good bit of puritan guilt am I right? seeing and maybe helping with the plague (masks and so many herbs stuffed inside them would have blocked the smell of blood) is also what I like to think made Carlisle want to go into medicine.

And there you have it. A (sort of) accurate version of Carlisle’s and Abraham’s life. and again, disclaimer, I am nowhere near an expert, so there might be inaccuracies and mistakes here. But basically, smeyer please. Google is free.