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stellayuta · 6 months ago

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Love on The Grid - Formula 1 AU! Yuta Okkotsu - Pt 2.

Your likes, comments and reblogs really encourage me to write more! So do interact with this post and let me know your thoughts 🧡

PART 1

synopsis: One-night stands were nothing but a necessary painkiller for your inability to cross paths with true love. Your most recent find at a Vegas Club was no different. He was boring, obedient, SLOW! You leave him high and hanging hoping you'd never see him again until you find yourself gawking at a supersized billboard of him on a Vegas highway with the title 'LEGEND RETURNS TO VEGAS'.

genre: some s*xual tension, a lot of fluff, thrill and angst

content: 18+ only. Formula one driver! Yuta x f! reader, use of alcohol, swearing, mentions of sex

word count: 5k

a/n: part 2 came soon because i'm so pumped lolol. Note, In this story, Megumi and Toji aren't related.

WARNING: always use protection!

You sat in your hot, plastic seat with bated breath, like a thousand others, keeping your eyes trained on the asphalt of the track.

Even though it was November, temperatures in Vegas were no good - either that, or the revelation that your hookup from last night is a world-renowned athlete is making you nauseous.

You were in the most uncomfortable position in the entire stands combined, smack in the middle of a fired up Noritoshi and a spiteful Kokichi, who were planning on probably shouting at the top of their lungs for their favorite driver on the grid.

"When's this starting?" You turn to Miwa, a bit nervous.are You nervous to see that man, Yuta, in the middle of his job? What if he doesn't perform well - that would be embarrassing. Oh well, no one here knows about us anyway so it's fine. Except for his number one fan Noritoshi maybe.

"Well, they're almost done with the formation lap, so they should line up at the start line soon. Red Bull's Geto has the pole with a surprise front line seat for Ferrari's Gojo. King Okkotsu is sitting third with Ferrari's second, Itadori Yuji. Then it's Red Bull's Mahito followed by Merc's Toge and - " he goes on and on, speaking jargon and names You don't understand.

"Noritoshi." You stop him in the middle of his enthusiastic speech. "You understand that none of what you said passed through my brain right?"

"Ah well, none of it matters!" He cackles. "When the race begins - you will know who you'll cheer for and who will have you at the edge of your seat. Who gets your heart pumping." He says, fisting his chest. The last bit seemed a bit unintentionally personal but you roll your eyes at him anyway.

The drivers are soon done with their 'formation lap' which Kokichi is nice enough to enlighten you - is a circle they do around the track to prep their tyres for the race and check the tracks and engines. You also see now that Pole is the car sitting first in the starting lineup, as you narrow your eyes at dark, red and blue car zooming its way to ease into the frontmost bracket. That must be the bane of Noritoshi's existence and the Object of Kokichi's desire - Geto Suguru.

Behind him is a flashy red car that earns a deafening roar of cheer as he comes into position. That must Gojo Satoru.

Music Recommendation:

Behind him, and you find yourself looking really keenly. You spot the teal and midnight black hues of a fiery car, followed by another deafening roar and a partial standing ovation. So that's him. 'Mr. Cute Dick, I don't drink, I am not a virgin'. You smirk at thought of such a wallflower being at the center of one of the hottest sports in the world, in a championship with the highest stakes.

"Looks like Y/N is an Okkotsu fan." Noritoshi claims, grinning sarcastically at Kokichi who replies with a grimace. "No, I clearly saw her looking keenly at Geto."

"Ah, shut up the two of you." You snap. "Let me watch!"

The both of them exchange glances at your sudden interest but humor you as the crowd waits with a chilling silence. The five red lights light up, sounding a beep and you can hear your heartbeat in that moment as they turn green without warning and the race is on!

The set of 20 cars pick up speed at a maddening rate and are soon accelerating through the curves and straights of the track, tailing one another. The commentator is particularly zealous, and you find yourself listening to him with a lot of attention. Your eyes never leave the Teal and Dark vehicle with his tiny head popping out the cockpit, protected by his shiny, silver helmet.

For around 30 laps or so, nothing changes, and the people have started chatting amongst themselves. You slump back down into your seat.

There is some action going on at the back of the line-up with a few of the cars overtaking and re-overtaking one another.

"Well, this is boring…" You admit.

"It has its moments." Noritoshi states. "Oh wait, what's that-"

You turn to the track so fast, your vision goes blurry, and You nearly miss the spectacle.

The second red is quickly closing in on Yuta's Teal but Yuta swivels out of the way just in time, apparently surprising his tail-end as the driver, Itadori, loses control and touches the back of the first red car, Gojo's. Both of them start spinning dramatically and are vaulted out of the race at one of the turns.

"Collision! In the Top Five! Both Ferraris are out!" The commentator is roaring out now, with several people standing to get a better view.

You yourself are concerned for the Ferraris that seemed to have lost some parts of the car, leaving behind a trail of debris. But soon enough, both drivers emerge from their respective cars, with the taller one giving the crowd a thumbs up. He removes his helmet and a layer of clothing to reveal striking snow-white hair and dazzling smile. This sport is too fucking dangerous.

"The collision will be under investigation for sure to see if Ferrari's Number 3, Itadori is at fault! For now, the safety car is out."

You train your gaze on Yuta again. He seems to have taken a different route from the track now, heading towards a group of people, clad in suits and uniforms similar to the colors of his car.

"Hey, what's he doing?" You ask Noritoshi. You almost hear Kokichi mumbling "Oh shit." under his breath.

"That's a pit stop. Change of Tyres. Now is a brilliant time for this." Noritoshi says, his lips quivering. Is he really that excited for Yuta.

"The Safety Car has been taken off and with Mercedes' Number 7 quick thinking, Okkotsu takes the lead of the race!" The commentator announces earning a barrage of cheer from the crowd and a giant sigh from Kokichi.

"But not far behind him is Red Bull's Number 4, Geto, fastest car of the crop, who is looking to overtake�� He has the DRS on and, and…." You don't need to listen to the commentator anymore because You see it happening and You almost let out some weird feral choke as Yuta barely, barely manages to keep his lead and the vicious, red and blue car accepts defeat, staying behind. You finally breathe out when You see Yuta gaining some speed and maintaining a good distance between him and Geto.

Kokichi pokes your shoulder and gives you a look of immense worry when You realize You are literally gripping your hair at the roots with both hands.

"ah, hah!" You laugh nervously, letting go off your now scrunched up hair. You lean back again as they announce the final lap and with no difficulty, as the checkered flag is waved, Yuta's Mercedes finishes first, with Geto behind him, followed by the other red bull, Mahito.

All of us rise to give the winners a standing ovation as confetti is blasted into the air and fireworks decorate the already shimmering Vegas skyline. You watch in wonder at the colors in the sky as Yuta pumps his fists up, getting out of his car and running over to his team.

"Good win, bro." Kokichi smiles at Noritoshi, who You now notice is on the verge of tears.

You see Yuta remove his helmet, but You can only make out his dark hair from this distance. You don't stop yourself from pouting at the disappointment. Why do You feel like You deserve being close to him right now. Maybe your good-luck suck off today guaranteed his win.

You see him disappear into the pavilion and ask Noritoshi if we can take a closer look at them.

"Close is not close enough to get their autographs but I can get you close enough to see their faces." Noritoshi claims and You give him a smile of gratitude.

"Geez Y/N. Did I really convert you in one race? Can't say if I'm prouder of you or myself." He jokes.

We stand for the Japanese national anthem as we cheer for the winning drivers receiving their trophies and drowning each other in champagne. Geto Suguru doesn't seem to be too keen to join into the racket, but Mahito wants to push the whole bottle down Yuta's throat. You smirk at the view. No teetotalling today?

As the crowd disperses out of the stands, we make our way through as well. You are tightly holding on to one of Miwa's and Momo's hands, each.

Noritoshi guides us through a few sections of the crowd and through a few random nooks and alleys of the arena until we reach what seems like a back gate. You see that a sizable yet dealable crowd is already standing there with Cameras and posters and shirts in hand.

"Well, this is a guarded secret, so not many know." Noritoshi winks at us. Today You are glad You became friends with his girlfriend, Momo.

We join the rows of people, but you fight your way to at least the second from start row, earning a lot of swears and some chick even trying to pull your hair.

You gaze at the gate with hope. One last look. Just to curb your excitement. It's just excitement nothing else. I'll be done after this. I'll go back to your city and drown yourself in work. None of this ever happened…. but why do You feel oddly bitter.

Is it because You realized Yuta and You are worlds apart? You are just an ordinary, honest worker - a commonality. Whereas he a star athlete, loved by the masses and with access to as many options as he wants. But what You have learnt from your past is, people can be as special or common as they want - a person who wants to find options, will always go out in search of options.

And as if to prove your point, You feel an ominous buzz in your hands right as You hear the doors open. You check your phone to see the screen flashing "Megumi Baby." right onto your face. You don't react or move; You simply glare at the screen. You are unable to breath as memories come flooding in.

Promises, nectar-soaked words, caressing your face with the deepest look of love. His bare back shining with sweat as he pounded into a girl from your workplace that YOU had introduced to him as your coworker. Him turning around, expressionless, leaving without giving you an explanation. Him telling you that you were expecting too much of him and You should have never assumed we were a thing since he was just trying new things in life.

All of it comes back to me, not particularly with ease. It washes over you like a tsunami. Completely drowns me. It's not until the incessant shouting of the crowd brings you to your senses that You snap out of your trance.

"Yuta! Yuta!" the people cheer. "Look here, please, just once. Yuta!"

You stare in horror as You spot Yuta's back getting into his matte black car. You are only able to see a small fraction of the back of his head and his white shirt.

You missed your chance.

You look back at the still ringing phone and want to smash it to bits. Fuck you, Megumi. Fuck you.

The first thing You do is cut the call and block his vile number. Then You try to scream out Yuta's name too in a futile attempt to get his attention, but You are not loud enough.

Amazing.

You start laughing to yourself now.

What was the point of this?

You recall yourself looking in the mirror at your apartment, coaching yourself to make this a pleasure trip. You would hookup with the best guy You could find, forget Megumi for good and move on with your life. So, whatare You doing now?

That guy Yuta would probably head to some lavish after party now and have a string of the prettiest girls in the world willing to suck him off. What use is it down?

The realization nearly brings you to tears. You should have never tried. You slowly retract your raised hands and sink back into the crowd, letting them continue their cheers. You turn back and slowly make your way out of the crowd and towards your friends.

"Wow, Y/N. Even Noritoshi and I didn't go that far in. You good?" Kokichi asks.

"Y/N, sweetie, you look like you're about to throw up what's wrong?" Momo asks me, cupping your face while Miwa rubs your arm.

"Megumi called…" You admit and all of them show a violent shift in expression.

"You haven't blocked that asshole yet?" Miwa asks, furious. You shake your head. "I just did."

"Y/N. You better not maintain any contact with him. He's the absolute scum of-"

"Hey, hey there miss." Suddenly our discussion is interrupted by a polite voice. We all turn around to see two men in suits and glasses standing tall and strong, waiting behind us. They look oddly familiar somehow with the waxed-up hair and somber faces. One of them has a scar near his lips and the other has his hair in a messy bun.

"Miss, are you the one who took Mr. Okkotsu out of the Four Seasons Club last night?" One of them, the bun guy, asks in a business-like fashion, pointing at me. Ah, now You remember them. The two lookers from the club last night, hiding Mr. wallflower behind their broad backs.

Scarface gets a call before You could reply though.

"Yes, Mr. Okkotsu. We're on our way. Well, we have a surprise for you." he tells Mr. Okkotsu mischievously. You narrow your eyes at the word "Surprise."

Scarface exchanges a knowing look with Bunhair and both of them cage you in.

"Would you like to see Mr. Okkotsu, again? It's not like we can force you, but he gave us specific instructions to find you and let him know."

"I didn't make him out to be a stalker you know." You say sarcastically, pondering if You should accept their offer. your friends do give you a strange look and You almost want to tell at least Noritoshi what's going on. But before You can take a call, You get a beep from your phone. This time it's a fucking EMAIL from Megumi.

Jesus, this man.

"I'm coming." You say abruptly. "I'll meet up with you guys later." You tell your friends as they give you looks of utter confusion.

"And burn this shitty device please." you say, tossing your phone towards Kokichi. "At least until I get some sort of restraining order against Megumi."

You exchange a look with Noritoshi and he knows in his heart that You will certainly get an autograph for him.

The two men take surround you as they guide you towards the waiting car. A matte black Lambo. They make sure to hide you from prying eyes, which isn't too hard with their gigantic muscular bodies.

You take a deep breath before You open the door and slide in.

Yuta and you share a good 10 seconds of absolute silence. Honestly, he looks like he's about to fracture his jaw from how wide his gaping mouth is getting. The two men climb into the front and openly laugh at his expression.

"Really, Okkotsu?" they say in unison.

"Wh-wh-wha-" He stutters.

"If you're that offended to see me, I can get out." You tease him, knowing he's going to grab your arm and make you stay. That's exactly what he does.

"Sorry, I was just surprised." He regains his composure. "Well, it's good to see you again, after last time…"

Uff, he shouldn't remind you because you wouldn't be able to control your cheeks getting flushed. There is another round of awkward silence before he decides to continue.

"Ah, right. You left your undergarments in the room last night, I thought you'd want them back so I-" before he can say anything else you slap your palm onto his lips, turning an embarrassing shade of tomato red.

"Not here, not right now!" You whisper-yell at him but his bodyguards/managers/goons/whatevers are quick to catch onto the conversation. Scarface who's driving the car gives you a perverted whistle without turning back and Bun-guy merely hums to himself, pretending to not have heard anything.

"T-Toji, that's impolite!" Yuta shouts at the scarface driver, turning red himself.

"It's not an uncommon thing with you. Aren't you creating quite a collection anyway?" The bun-guy butts in, leaving Yuta defenseless.

"Todo!" he yells at him too and slumps back into his seat, hiding his face. You study him. This was the champion race car driver an hour ago - and now he's a blushy, awkward, highly embarassing puddle.

"Collection, so you do this a lot huh?" You poke him.

"Absolutely not!" He sits up again. "Last night, I just…"

Now you're interested. Sounds like he broke a rule for you.

"Last night what?"

"Well, I just-"

"Oh my god, speak up, Okkotsu!" Toji screams from the wheel.

"Nevermind!" Yuta retorts and grabs your hands. "Are you coming to the after-party or not?"

"Well, I don't have a gown or anything…" You reply, looking down at your very non-party like clothing - a pin strip pant suit.

"Honestly…" He looks you dead in the eye. "You look so gorgeous, I don't want others to stare too much but if you want a dress, we can make a stop. I'll cover it, don't worry." He assures me, feeling a bit less awkward now.

For that compliment, he deserves to see a pretty dress on you and probably a flick to the forehead for making your heart race.

Todo seems to have a good eye for stores because the boutique he takes us to has a brilliant selection of clothes from classy to elegant to teasingly hot and even a corner for some sexy stuff.

You take some time to think and pick out a silvery satin cowl neck dress that compliments your cleavage and stops just a few inches shy of your womanhood. You also pair it will sparkly, strappy heels. You'll just have to make sure to walk properly to not expose anything… unless. When you walk out of the fitting room, you find Yuta waiting beside the billing counter, on his phone, matching your colors, in a light grey tux and black shirt-trouser set. He has combed his hair in a side part, looking rather sharp and you can smell his fresh cologne from a distance. He hears the clacking of your heels and looks up, his lips parting slightly at the sight.

For a moment when your eyes meet, everything stills, like the two of you are the only people in this room. The magnetic pull is something you have never experienced before, not even with Megumi, who you once thought was the love of your life. You walk over to him quickly, tucking your hair behind your ear and give him a twirl. "What do you think?"

"Might have to punch anyone who looks at you wrong tonight." He admits, sheepishly.

"W-What?" You mumble, looking away. Megumi could never. All he told you was to dress modestly so the men won't look. Never did he say he'd protect you. Maybe he never had the balls or talent to.

"Okay, you two get back in the car." Toji yawns at us, getting impatient or perhaps slightly weirded out by the clear tension between us.

The drive to one of Las Vegas' most affluent casino clubs was short and silent. You weren't really mentally prepared to see celebrities and big shots, partying away.

"This will be the best night of your life, I promise." Yuta assures you, intertwining his fingers with yours. You let him only because it calms your nerves. There are a few questions you need answers to though.

"Why are you doing this?" You ask and see Yuta's brow furrow.

"Are you uncomfortable or anything? You can't tell me-"

"It's not that... it's just..." you start. "It really doesn't make sense."

"I am not the most spectacular lay in the world." you admit. "I'm sure you have the world's most exquisite looking women dying to get time with you. I just don't see how being with me can benefit you."

You notice yourself putting yourself down and try to stop but your self-esteem is at an all-time low. That was one of the prime reasons you didn't want to meet up again with anyone you hooked up with during this trip. You wanted to leave feeling all parties involved had the best time of their lives and had no complaints.

Maybe lust got the better of Yuta and he'd come to his senses any minute.

"I think I liked the fact that you had no idea who I was..." He says and you raise your brows.

"I'm sorry I was unaware-"

"Nope, it's a good thing... I felt like I could just be the party loser, Yuta, for once... not a papped, scrutinized driver, Yuta. It felt oddly liberating." He admits.

"Plus, I-" He starts but swallows his words. "Do you remember what we talked about on the way to the hotel?"

You were not paying too much attention back then, being bowled over by the need to fuck someone, but... what did you say?

"Kids, we're here. Catch up later." Todo lets you two know, looking back. Before you could get off though, Yuta leans over.

"Are you going to tell me your name now or not?" He says. The shadows must be playing tricks on your eyes because in the dark, illuminated by paparazzi flashes you find your heart drumming inside your chest, unable to break eye contact.

"Y-Y/N. My name's Y/N." You say finally.

Yuta smiles wide at this and grabs one of your hands, opening the door to his flashy car and the light, noise and cheers hit you all at once.

He helps you get out suddenly, facing a sea of stunned yet curious people, you find yourself wanting to cry from embarrassment.

Oh no. no no no no no! What were they going to print about you now? What will you tell the managing director at your company about this PR scandal?

"Relax." Yuta holds your hand firmly. "I'll make sure only the news you want gets out." He reassures you, find your fingers again, locking them into his and you feel slightly better as you guys make our way to the inside, walking the red carpet.

The casino obviously is so maximalist, it hurts your eyes to say the least. There are people dressed in grandeur lining up at food tables, cigar tables and alcohol tables. There are some playing a few rounds of poker or gambling away at the machines. You are unable to focus on any one spot because all of it is so grandiose, you can't help but gawk at everything!

When people spot the two of you though, they quickly make their way over. Yuta is today's champion after all - this party is for him. They have a lot of good things to say to him - words of admiration, congratulations, words of passive aggressive envy but what all of them have in common is the looks of confusion or judgement they throw at you. One side-eye with a raised brow and they excuse themselves. Sure, no sparkly dress can make you look like one of them, but you had no idea 'big'-shots had the smallest sense of morals and social etiquette. Yuta introduces you as a 'good friend' to them and although it stings at first, this is a necessary step. It's what you would want and would cause the least amount of headache for the both of you. You aren't really friends or aren't really dating after all.

'One time Hookup-ers' isn't exactly a PR friendly term.

"Sorry about them. Most of them lack manners." Yuta says nervously but you reassure him that nothing they say can dent your self-image.

"No amount of looks they give me can change the fact that I'm not drowning in daddy's money, but my own." You smirk at him, leaving him impressed.

The two of you go through a few more people until you finally get to retire to a corner table of the giant ball room.

"How do you do this?" you ask, staring up at the magnificent chandelier crowning the hall.

"Well the boys never stay back for these kinds of things, we run off to different parts of the city to get wasted." He replies. "Just not before race night." You look at him with some mischief tingling behind your smile. He takes this chance to lean in closer and bump noses with you.

"And you thought I was inexperienced, didn't you?"

"So that's how you aren't a virgin...hmm, adventurous."

But Yuta shakes his head. "I've dated before. We ended things and I'm just beginning to explore my options now..."

"You must be spoilt for choice." You try to boost his ego, smiling wider as you feel his breath fan your face. Oh, how you could use a kiss right now. A kiss with everyone watching.

"I'm not spoilt for good choices." He says. "Having a choice doesn't always mean they're the best option for you." Damn, that's harsh. You cup his cheek in your hand and gaze into his dark blue eyes.

"And yet you gave me a chance-"

Before you can finish though, you hear a pair of boots slapping the ground while running in your direction.

"Okkotsu Yuta, you were supposed to give me the post-race comments. The media is waiting!" You hear a woman yell out as she approaches the two of you. She is dressed in a simple yet elegant navy-blue ensemble. Her eyes look disappointed, but her beautiful face, with its under-lip mole, maintains its poise. Yuta greets her with a sigh.

"I will, I will." He tells her. "Rika, let me off for today at least."

"No can do, Yuta." she shakes her head, getting her phone out.

"You can give me a few phrases and I'll piece together something coherent." she offers but Yuta doesn't want to hear it.

"Um, kind of in the middle of something?" He reminds her, circling his arm around your back.

The woman, Rika, gives you a pointed look. "You get one of those every other week. This is important business Yuta."

What does she mean those? You slightly free yourself from Yuta's embrace and look at him, confused. He looks as unaware as you are.

"Rika, you-"

"Yuta, you should stop toying with chicks. New one every few days. And when they want to get serious with you, I have to deal with all those calls and messages." Rika rants on and Yuta's eyes are getting wider by the minute.

For a second, you feel an empty pit in your stomach but before it can show on your face, you stand up.

"So that's how it is, huh?" you corner Yuta who looks aghast.

"Why am I even surprised?" you mutter, walking away from them. You remember Megumi's deadpan face as he walked out after you caught him and his mistress together. Yuta will be the same.

You reach for the balcony door to get some fresh air, but you feel your elbow being grabbed. It's Yuta. Huffing and very worried.

"W-wait, Y/N." He pleads.

You choose to keep your face neutral.

"It's fine. it's not like we were dating. Maybe, tell that woman to be mindful about her language though because the next time she addresses me as if I'm some object, I'll punch her." That threat, You are very serious about. This was a bad idea after all. You don't belong in the world of racecars, and parties and high-profile vips. You are happy with your computer and 3 cups of americanos, building prolific, useful software, from your cramped up office.

"Listen, Y/N... She was lying!" He tries to reason, and you take a look at him. You mentally give him thirty seconds to explain himself. He takes the cue and wastes no time.

"She's the one I dated. She has been my manager for a long time, and it has been some time since we split. I thought she had moved on since I saw her with another driver a while back but looks like she's still bitter." He explains frantically. But who he has dated isn't even your concern.

"I don't want to deal with fragments of your past, especially ex-flames, Yuta." you say bluntly. "I'm sorry, I have to leave now. Goodbye. Thanks for the evening."

You free yourself from Yuta's clutches, stifling a sob and heading towards the exit. You may have been seeing things, but you see a fluff of white follow you out from the corner of your eyes. It wasn't Yuta though.

Why did you care? It shouldn't matter.

No amount of love could bring people a universe apart, after all.

To be continued....READ PART 3 HERE!!

a/n: Okay there is practically no smut here but the plot needs some build up. Part 3 gonna be out soon and it's going to have a lot of smut, stay tuned guys!

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leclerc-s · 9 months ago

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paint the town red - part twelve

IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME COMING

series masterlist

MONZA 2024

scuderiaferrari posted new stories

local german spotted in the paddock!! well, look who the iceman dragged in STOP STEALING MY PHONE TO TAKE PICTURES YOU KNOCK-OFF ONE DIRECTION!! clearly these guys are hard at work before quali today. scores polo position, begs bianca for her phone, sends me this and says, 'let the people know i'm ecstatic to have pole position.' who's man is this??

there is anticipation in the air. the city of monza is thick with excitement, the possibility of their drivers not only winning the race as a 1-2 but also becoming constructor champions at their home race is amazing. it’s a sense of excitement the tifosi haven’t felt since monza 2019, back when their current championship leader, won their home race. however, no one is more charles and carlos. charles is on pole once again, carlos right behind him with max and oscar behind them, it’s another ferrari front row lockout, but this time it’s at monza, their home race.

charles had been smiles all around, laughing and joking with his fellow drivers, he wasn’t nervous anymore, he’d lost the nerves after winning monaco. carlos also had lost the nerves after winning his home race in spain. they were confident and probably a little cocky, but with the lead they had in the championship, it would only be a matter of time before they won, it just wouldn’t be as special if they won anywhere else but monza.

much like monaco, the avengers could be spotted in the paddock throughout the entirety of the weekend. everywhere you glanced there was an avenger there, dressed to the nines and in red, showing their support for ferrari. but the true stars like always were charles and carlos. however, the arrival of a certain former ferrari driver sparked even more chaos than anyone else ever could. kimi räikkönen was spotted in the ferrari garage, sparking much conversation because the beloved iceman was missed around the paddock.

once again, will buxton was walking through the garage area when an avenger was caught waving at will, this time the culprit was none other than steve rogers. behind him were the ever bickering duo of sam and bucky.

“mr. rogers, a pleasure to be seeing you here at monza.” will greeted. steve smiled at him, “mr. rogers makes me sound old, i’m only a 104 will. steve will do just fine.”

will laughed, “well, steve, how are you liking monza so far?”

“it’s been great,” steve began, “the energy here is just unbelievable. i thought the craziest it would get was monaco, but i was wrong.”

“did you enjoy monaco? it was quite the chaotic race, not for ferrari of course. they had a calm race.”

“oh yes, it was very fun and entertaining. i wasn’t much of a formula 1 guy before all of this, it was after my time the first time around. but when i met tony he used to require no one bother him on race weekends, bianca always joined him, it was like their thing.”

“are you liking the sport so far? any complaints?”

“no, none from me personally. i heard the fans get annoyed when one person or one team starts winning it all so i suspect they’ll start complaining after this. as for liking the sport, yes, it’s very entertaining once you understand how everything works.”

“any doubts from the team today?” will asked, hoping to get some information out of him. steve shook his head, “they’re pretty confident they can win today. i know, like most race weekend when max is starting behind charles, they feel a bit of pressure, but they’ve got this. the car’s good, the drivers are confident.”

“so they’re definitely winning this?”

“of course,” steve answered, “not a doubt in my mind about it.”

“very well, it was nice speaking to you steve,” will said, as he departed.

“bye will,” steve replied. he rapidly turned around, beginning to scold sam and bucky. which the cameras caught, one of the commentators making a joke about it.

inside the ferrari garage the team stood in a semi circle, sebastian being the last to join them. the closer they got the race, the more the nerves seemed to actually appear. sebastian took a look at his team, “we’ve got this.”

“we do,” bianca agreed. the shared a quick embrace before parting ways. charles turned to bianca, “another bet?”

bianca groaned, “no, no more betting.”

“it’s kind of a tradition now,” he joked.

“fine,” bianca said, “one last bet, what do you want?”

“if i win this, and we become constructors champions today, you have to tell your dad.”

“what? do you have a death wish?”

“he won’t kill me,” charles replied, “he likes me too much.”

“i’ll think about it,” bianca answered, “now, shut up and listen to what i have to tell you.”

“yes, madame,” the two laughed, failing to notice a gossiping joaquin and scott.

“they’re totally dating,” scott told joaquin. joaquin nodded in agreement, “i wonder how long they can keep this up for?”

“not long,” scott replied, “bianca is not that great of a secret keeper. she’s bound to slip up sooner or later.”

the two of them shut up as sam and bucky approach them, the race 20 minutes away from starting. charles steps away from bianca as the team begins taking the car out of the garage and towards the race track. he exchanges a nod with bianca before joining the rest of the grid for the national anthem. as soon as it was over he went to talk for a moment with carlos before he was being ushered to get into the car.

"radio check," bianca said.

"do you think we can play a song when we win? like the lady gaga one again?" charles questioned. bianca laughed, "we'll see."

the moments before the lights went out were the most nerve wracking moment's of charles life. despite telling everyone he wasn't nervous and tricking himself into believing the nerves were gone for good, he was lying. but he moment those lights were out he was gone. carlos was left behind fighting max for p2 as oscar was shown to sneak around both of them and gain the upperhand. on lap 3 carlos was finally able to get away from max, and his fight with oscar began. it would only be a matter of time before he caught up with oscar but for now oscar was gone.

apparently catching oscar would be easier said than done, but a pit stop error from mclaren gave carlos the advantage that he needed. when he came out of the pits oscar was now fighting max for that final podium position. in the penultimate lap of the race, with charles and carlos ahead of them oscar and max continued to fight u til they achieve a photo finish. unfortunately for the reigning world champion, oscar came out on top for the race.

"it seems fitting that here, in monza, the home of ferrari, where they bleed rosso corsa, that ferrari is crowned the constructor champion of the 2024 season! for the first time since 2008 ferrari is constructor champions! charles leclerc and carlos sainz bring home another 1-2 for the scuderia.”

the camera pans to the the ferrari crew as they erupt into screams and begin jumping for joy. at the pit lane bucky barnes and sam wilson run across the pitlane, grabbing sebastian vettel and hoisting him onto their shoulders, as they parade the man up and down the lane. they stop in front of the red bull garage, both soldiers stop for a brief moment, flipping off the red bull crew who could only laugh, a visibly upset christian horner is shown for a moment. joaquin torres and peter parker are seen grabbing tony stark and throwing the man into the air, all he can do is laugh.

but the real stars, charles and carlos are basking in their win. the two cars came to stop at their rightful places in the parc ferme. charles jumps out of his car first, he jumps on top of it as carlos does the same. the two drivers turn to look at each other before running and enveloping each other in a hug. together they rush at their team, who welcome them with open arms. both of them hug their engineers tightly, before rushing to get weighted. charles is the first to spot oscar, he shakes the other drivers hand as oscar congratulates him.

before he can say anything else, david coulthard is pulling oscar away for his interview. carlos follows after him, with a brief congrats from oscar. charles is last one to go for his interview before all three drivers were being ushered to the cool down room.

charles turns to oscar, “i thought you were behind me?”

oscar shakes his head, “i lost a position after my pit stop. there was some kind of mistake and it was too late to catch up with carlos. i came out right in front of max.”

“i couldn’t catch you,” carlos tells the aussie. oscar smiles a bit, “you were too busy fighting with max.”

the three drivers turn to the screen, checo’s car is seen fighting with a williams, carlos looks confused, “is that logan or alex?”

“logan,” oscar answered, “he was starting p10 this race.”

“he’s doing better, no?” charles asked. oscar nodded, “he was close to a podium a while back in canada.”

“he’ll get it one day,” charles said, rather optimistically. with the way the season had been going, full of surprises, it was only a matter of time before logan got his podium.

“i hope so,” oscar whispered. he knew his american friend and been longing to get that podium in formula 1. it was his way of proving everyone wrong.

will buxton approaches tony, before the podium ceremony, he’s got both arms around harley and bianca. bianca is holding morgan in her arms. the little girl looking at everything in wonder while harley is bicker with peter. tony notices will and smiles at him.

“tony, bianca, harley, any words to the fans?” will asks.

"this win is not just for us," tony begins, "it's for every single tifosi who waited and hoped that one day we would be constructors champions again. but this is also for the other drivers who were let down by ferrari in the past. kimi, felipe, fernando, this is for you! forza ferrari!"

“it’s just,” harley began, “it’s incredible to be able to do this in front of our home crowd, it’s so special. we’re so thankful they had faith in us to be able to do this.”

“holy shit,” bianca softly says, “it was always a dream, to be able to do this, to see ferrari do this. i don’t think there are any words to describe what we as a team feel having won this after so many years.”

the screams are deafening as carlos runs up to the podium. he waves at the crowd, seamingly amplifying the cheers. charles is called up next to the podium and it seems like the cheers grow louder. charles stands on his spot at the podium, as he looks down at the crowd below, where his team is, winking at them, or rather someone. the person on stage is ferrari’s beloved team principal, sebastian vettel. he smiles brightly, at his two drivers, the crowd below chanting his name.

the national anthems begin, causing it to go silent for a moment as the monégasque anthem begins. charles smiles brightly, hearing his anthem play in monza again. the anthem switches to the italian anthem and all hell breaks loose. all around them the crowd sings the anthem, as their team sings along. all three ferrari members turn to look at each other mounting the words of the italian anthem, before looking back at the crowd.

as each of the drivers get handed their trophies, the crowd’s energy shifts.

oscar raises up his trophy to his team, a group of papaya drowned out by a sea of red, but everyone cheers for him regardless. carlos holds up his trophy, as the sounds are amplified. charles receives his next and throws it up in the air, before holding it out to the tifosi and his team. the last one to receive the trophy is seb, he takes and waits a moment before showing it to the crowd. the screams grow louder, if that was even possible.

when the time comes, all three drivers, as if in agreement, turn to drown seb with champagne. the team principal laughs before they all turn to the crowd below. after pictures, seb grabs the trophy, running to the front of the stage, where he holds it out, one last time, and the screams are deafening. it had been a long time coming but ferrari has finally done it, they were finally constructors champions.

liked by sebastianvettel, charles_leclerc, carlossainz55 and others

scuderiaferrari 2024 constructor world champions. we fucking did it! to our beloved tifosi, this is for you. your years of patience have paid off, we are so back.

tagged: charles_leclerc, carlossainz55

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harleykeener YEAH BABY! THAT'S HOW YOU MAKE A COMEBACK!

username i never thought i'd live to see the day! OH MY GOD!

username oh these guys are going to be so fucking hungover tomorrow

peterparker LET'S FUCKING GO! FORZA FERRARI!

biancastark_potts FUCK EVERYONE WHO THOUGHT WE COULDN'T DO IT!

↳ username oh yeah, these guys are so drunk. where's isaiah when you need him?

charles_leclerc WE DID IT BABY!! LET'S GO!!

isaiah_atkins VICTORY HAS NEVER FELT SO SWEET!

↳ username apparently he's as drunk as them.

arthur_leclerc YEAH! SCREW RED BULL! WE DID IT!

↳ username oh boy, they're all going to regret this tomorrow

liked by pierregasly, landonorris, harryosborn and others

peterparker PARTY ROCKERS IN THE HOUSE TONIGHT! (i have no memory of what occurred last night, yes we all partied together.)

tagged: michellejones, yelenabelova, katebishop, biancastark_potts, joaquintorres, pierregasly, francesca.cgomes, georgerussell63, fernandoalo_oficial, harleykeener, maxverstappen1, carlossainz55, charles_leclerc, isaiah_atkins, ririwilliams, landonorris, oscarpiastri, logansargeant, alex_albon, lilymhe, lewishamilton, danielricciardo, yukitsunoda0511, arthur_leclerc, olliebearman, americachavez, estebanocon, mickschumacher, lancestroll

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📍peterparker not pictured is yuki and pierre's horrible karaoke, isaiah falling on his ass, yelena punching a guy who flirted with her, riri outdrinking max, logan and oscar taking a nap in the middle of the club, alex and george almost making out, lewis trying to get a dancing kate off a table, charles for some reason, and many others.

↳ pierregasly he disappeared in the middle of the party and came back like an hour later?

↳ charles_leclerc lies and slander!

samwilson is that bianca? making out with someone?

↳ peterparker huh i guess it is.

↳ katebishop that is obviously the boyfriend you idiots.

yelenabelova is that why there's blood on my shirt?

↳ alex_albon you are one scary lady. you knocked him out.

↳ yelenabelova good, you should fear me.

biancastark_potts oh my god, what the hell happened last night?

↳ americachavez apparently too much and too little at the same time.

yukitsunoda you guys should throw more parties if it means free alcohol paid for by tony stark.

↳ tonystark YOU PEOPLE PAID WITH MY CARD?

↳ harleykeener duh? you're a billionaire, you can handle it.

ririwilliams i have never been more proud of myself.

↳ katebishop you built your own iron man suit from scratch?

↳ ririwilliams and? i outdrank max verstappen! that's not something a lot of people say they can do.

↳ maxverstappen1 she's right! be proud of yourself riri!

harryosborn oh, i'm sure you guys had fun.

bianca groaned as she pulled her phone away from her face, charles laying beside her laughed. bianca turned to look at him, "this isn't funny."

"it's hilarious mon amour," charles said through giggles. bianca rolled her eyes, as she sat up, "sure, my dad demanding to know who i'm kissing in peter's post is hilarious."

charles laughed again and as bianca moved to get up charles pulled her back, "you have to tell him."

"i will," bianca promised, "i just have to figure out when."

charles nuzzled his face into her neck, "go back to sleep."

both of their phones buzzed at the same time, a text from harley. bianca grabbed her phone first, sitting up as she read harley's text, charles groaned, "no, come back."

"shit," bianca said as she began running around the room. charles sat up, "what is it?"

"harry told my dad. we have less than five minutes before he shows up."

charles sat up, "why is this bad? i thought you wanted to tell him? are you embarrassed of me?"

bianca stopped, pulling her shirt over head, shaking her head rapidly, "i'm not, i promise. i just, i wanted to tell him when i wanted too, not when someone else decided to tell him. with harry, my dad found out because of norman. i never got an opportunity to do things right."

"okay," charles said, pulling a shirt over his head. bianca kissed his forehead, causing charles to pout, "i think you missed."

bianca laughed, but pressed a quick kiss to his lips, charles seemed ready to protest when both of them froze, a voice coming from the otherside of the door, "LECLERC!"

"oh shit," bianca whispered.

"LECLERC OPEN THIS DOOR! AND YOU! BIANCA MARIA STARK-POTTS BETTER NOT BE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DOOR WITH HIM!" TONY SHOUTED.

"fuck," the couple whispered.

series taglist: @burningcupcakefire @spilled-coffee-cup @evans-dejong @elliegrey2803 @bingewatche @arkhammaid @sunflower-golden-vol6 @lorarri @ironspdy @mypage-myfandoms @be-your-coffee-pot @vellicora @enchantedthoughts @stopeatread @hobiismyhopeu @lilsiz @alessioayla @niniluvsainz @au-ghosttype @six-call @embrosegraves @justtprachisblog @bionic-donut @nichmeddar @landonorizzz @unluckyyoshi @cool-ultra-nerd @kami10471633 @int3rnetgf @fernandoswarcrimes @skynel09 @arieltwvdtohamflash @brekkers-whore @camdensreg @mycenterfold @dear-fifi @chiliwhore @nothaqks @nataliambc @prongsvault @georgeparisole @kailyn-g05 @bella-1 @butterfly-lover @emilyval1 @winchesterwife27 @namgification @octopussesarecool @jensonsonlybutton

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¡leclerc-s speaks! ooh, a cliffhanger dun, dun, dun! harry's such an ass, can't believe i wrote him to be like that. bianca and charles are so american coded. i stand by what i said.

¡disclaimer! this is in no way making assumptions about the people involved in this story, this is all fake. it is a fanfiction please don't take any of what is said seriously. this is all for entertainment purposes and as a creative outlet for me. enjoy!

#leclerc-s #paint the town red series #f1 instagram au #f1 x oc #f1 oc #f1 smau #f1 social media au #f1 #formula one #f1 fic #formula 1 fic #f1 x female oc #charles leclerc x female oc #marvel social media au #f1 x marvel crossover

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moonlightreal · 4 days ago

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LJ Smith is back!

Well knock me over with a feather!

Did anybody have “LJ Smith surfaces” on their bingo card for 2024?

The big news is, she’s back! With a new website, theljsmith.com It seems to have gone up a month or so ago. Here’s the news you came here for:

The big news is that I have recently finished the last two books in the Night World series, Strange Fate: Mystic, and Strange Fate: Apocalypse; as well as an adult book, Lullaby. They are all in final editing with my agent, the esteemed Mr. John Silbersack ([email protected]). Lullaby is also with John, and it is my first book for grown-up readers.

So! Strange Fate is finished! For the… third time? Certainly not the first, but it seems to be finished-er than it ever was before and that is very exciting. I notice she mentions her agent (and his email address, so we can all hire him to promote our books if we want) but she doesn’t mention a publisher so it seems possible that no publisher has decided to buy the books yet.

My knowledge of publishing is scanty but I think Simon & Schuster gets “right of first refusal” meaning they get dibs on Strange Fate since they published the rest of the series. If they don’t want to take a chance on it… what? Will Ms. Smith be free to shop around to other publishers or self-publish? Or could S&S sit on the book without putting it out? I don’t know. Anybody in this fandom work in publishing? We need you!

Anyway, phoning up Simon & Schuster to see if they have anything in their system seems like a not-too-stalkerish thing we might do in the future.

I’m trying not to get my hopes up. It seems totally possible that publishers will look at Strange Fate and go, “A sequel to this totally forgotten thing from 30 years ago? That you need to have read all these 90s books to understand? That is totally non-diverse and not on trend at all? Written by some old biddy who isn’t in touch with today’s YA readers? Nah, we don’t want it.” But dangit, Ms. Smith is closer to getting it out than she’s ever been before and I’m rooting for her so hard… even if I’m not going to really believe it until the books are in my hands.

The website also has contact info for Ms. Smith: [email protected] We can write to her! I feel like I should, I gotta work out what to say!

The about page includes the factoid that Ms. Smith is an anime nerd. I wonder what series! Well her pup is named Arslan, so we know one of them!

The FAQ I believe is questions we have seen before on the old site. The books and fanart are also familiar.

The Short Stories page is where things get interesting. Are some of the stories new? Some are definitely missing. I never paid as much attention as I should’ve to the short stories, and then the website came and went… there are some stories by “Jessa-lyn Kemp” aka “staff writer Jessica Sherman” that are definitely new. Secret Circle stuff. It looks like a fan? Friend? Employee? Of Ms. Smith’s is helping create content. Good!

Someone who’s not about to spend the evening watching British Baking with their mother can pull up the old website and the new one and compare stories. I think the Strange Fate related stories are gone, because they’ve been incorporated into the books.

And then there’s the blog.

Ms. Smith comin’ in hot, barely back on the internet saying she loves AI art! Which is, like, one of the top ten ways to get people on the internet to yell at you, so brave choice there!

Please, nobody yell at LJ Smith. ^^;

Looking at the website Ms. Smith has used AI to clean up pictures of herself and even with the computer’s enhancements we can see that illness did a number on our poor author. She is gaunt! This is also the first time we’ve really seen many pictures of her, for years there was only the one. She’s got gorgeous hair. The other pictures are of characters from her books, and...

I'm also a writer who can't draw, and when I got a chance to play with picture AI I immediately made it make pictures of my characters and it was a really emotional experience. Like I was getting choked up. So while intellectually I know all the reasons AI is bad and there are a lot of them, that emotional punch of seeing people I knew so well but never thought my eyes would see is really powerful.

AND! As if this Hogswatch miracle hasn’t given us more than we were ever expecting, there’s a blog post all about Strange Fate with new information and I am just falling out of my chair with excitement… but this post is long enough and Mom and I are up to pastry week on British Baking, so that will be a post for another day.

#lj smith #night world #strange fate

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martiandmichelle · 7 months ago

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OK, it's time to tell the story all my friends are on me to tell. . .

I'll start by explaining this blurry photo (as taken by my associate Kaatje). The morning the Southeast exhibition of my Agency opened (at 9:00 am) those of us who had a display booth were asked to be ready for an inspection by the staff beginning at 7:30. The convention center was nice enough to open for us at 5:30. The previous night I had gotten a call from one of the organizers asking if I could be ready by 7:00 and I'm like "Sure!" since I'm a morning person anyway. I arrived at 6:00 dressed as in the photo (it was unusually cold outside for early Spring). As many of you know who have attended these kind of things, the flow when you walk into the arena is usually you go right and the last booth you see are the ones of the far left. Well, I was the far left booth - though it was an unusually large booth. So I should be the last one anybody visits, right? Well, read on.

The lady pictured whose booth was next to mine was an absolute riot - friendly and funny. She's a 6'4" trans lady named Melodee. She and I hit it off immediately: short me with the monster boobs and tall Melodee with the long legs and schlong. We had chatted for maybe 10 minutes when I grabbed my bag to go change (after agreeing to go with her and her trans friends to a bar that night - "they're going to LOVE you!" she said) when suddenly her smile change to a gasp with an OMG look on her face. "What?" I asked.

"It's him, it's Mr. G------! The global CEO!" She acted like she was putting something on a table in her booth when there was actually nothing in her hand. "Be careful," she said quietly. "He's an absolute bastard." Then she exclaimed "And, oh fuck, he's coming this way!"

Melodee was suddenly a nervous wreck. I wasn't sure what to do; I mean, I've fucked my share of wealthy, powerful men and stared down plenty of assholes in the past so I just held on to my bag and smiled as he approached.

As he approached a big smile lit his face. "Good morning, ladies," he said as he got close. "You're Melodee, right?" he said shaking her hand. "What's wrong?" he then asked her shocked face.

"Nothing, sir. I mean I'm just surprised you remember my name," she answered.

"Not at all," he said. "It's important to remember someone's name, and, besides, I hear good things about you. Congratulations!" She blushed and nodded a thank you. He turned to me. "And you must be Miss Marti. I've been dying to meet you!" He reached out his hand and I took it. "Very anxious to meet you indeed," he repeated then bent and kissed my hand. I could see Melodee behind him mouth a long "Wooooow!" in my direction. He turned to Melodee and asked "May I borrow your neighbor for a few minutes?" She nodded and he directed me to the back of my booth.

"But you are at a disadvantage," he said when we turned to face each other. "Here, my name is Bas. Well, Bas G-------. But I won't you to call me Bas," he seemed more nervous than I felt. "It is only fair for me to say that I am the Global CEO of -------------- (my Agency) but I want you to forget that. I am here this morning because I wanted to tell you without others around that I am a huge fan of yours." His eyes roved to my chest, stayed for a few seconds then came back to my face. "Yes, a VERY BIG fan. And I wanted to thank you for all you do for the Agency's business and for my eyes - and, well, other parts, too!"

Where was this asshole Melodee warned me about? He was being very nice and charming. Bas was tall, the same height as Melodee, gray haired, nice looking, and fit, especially for a man in his late 60's. But I was most impressed by how this very wealthy and, in this circle at least, very powerful man only wanted to talk about me. So we had a very pleasant 15 minute talk, we laughed some, he spent a lot of time staring at my breasts - which I enjoyed - and then he had me autograph one of my photos for him.

When he took my hand to say goodbye, he had one last thing to add. "I am, unfortunately, very busy with business this weekend during the show, but I have cleared my lunch time today. Would you join me?" I said "yes" and he beamed, made our lunch plans, then left to spend a bit of time with the other girls and guys who were showing.

When he was away from Melodee and I she grabbed my arm as I left to go change. "Girl," she said. "That man adores you!" I waved her off and went to change.

I'll stop there. More to come!

Marti

#marti

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funkyllama · 7 months ago

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Can I just say...between Arthur, Phil, and my Louis....Eloise has terrible luck in the relationship department

(Louis isn't looking that bad now is he lol)

omg- I forgot to answer this!

So, In My Humble Opinion: Arthur was her best "boyfriend," not only because I find him to be a very hot man, but also because he respected her without wanting to change her. Their break up, while kind of forced onto Elle, was entirely just. I think Eloise recognizes that now, seeing that he's been allowed at her events. Arthur jumped way too fast into wanting to be married and Eloise only realized after the breakup that she even liked that idea. He is still trying to get over her in his own story, which you can read on @prydainroyals. Louis, well. I don't know how I'd rank him in comparison. I think it's safe to say that if they weren't in the same circle, they would not of been with each other. Louis was very vocal in being there for a fun, not anything meaningful. Though, they did have the most chemistry of all her relationships and I feel as though, if they had not been forced apart, they could of had a good thing. Though, I think a happily ever after for them, like Eloise must have been hoping, plays into her naivety. Her reaction to learning that she was pregnant wasn't good, but she followed that up with hoping without doing or saying anything to anyone until it was too damn late. I don't mean to blame Eloise for everything wrong with that situationship, but Eloise was just making stupid decision after stupid decision. After looking back, I'm like why do ya'll like her?!?! If I was reading this story, I'd be rooting for Adrienne. lmaooo. That being said, Philippe is by far her worst partner. I'm genuinely shocked that so many people were rooting for them up until he went mask off with Freddy. Sure, he entered the story as Prince Fucking Charming, but c'mon now. He came upon her in an incredibly vunerable (ripped from S&S) moment and decided "I want her," no. That doesn't happen. His own father was vocally against their relationship, and not because of Eloise's stupidity in the last act. No, it was because Henri found his own son's actions so reprehensible that he lectured him loud enough for Viola to hear. Let us not forget that Viola, her best friend, did a 180 from actively encouraging her to being all, "ma'am please take a pause." OH AND---- they literally got engaged after the lowest point in their relationship, which left Eloise questioning if he even liked her?!?! Goodbye. Literally, cast that man into the fires of hell. He deserves worse, and his own daddy knows it. He's manipulating a grieving, first time mom, no thank you. No wonder he gave Freddy such an Ick. Philippe may be falling (in love) for her in his own way, and being a good stand in for the deadbeat mentioned above him, but that does not undermine his horribly manipulative and abusive actions.

@empiredesimparte has nothing to do with the evilness of Philippe's character, this is of my own making, please don't come for herrrrrrr. Also, go read mr Napoleon's coronation from the beginning, it is AMAZING. mentioning @armoricaroyalty bcs I did mention Freddy multiple times.

#funkyllama ask #ch eloise #ch art #ch philippe #ch louis

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deke-rivers-1957 · 1 year ago

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Flaming Star Review

Because this is a film where the focus is on a mixed race family dealing with the consequences of White/Native American tensions this is a disclaimer that things said will not age well. Read with caution and if you have something to discuss or want to correct a point I made I'm willing to listen.

Based on the book, Flaming Lance, Flaming Star is a film made by 20th Century Fox that tried to be the first Elvis film released after his return from the army in competition with the Paramount film GI Blues. Elvis was cast as Pacer Burton after Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra turned down the role of Pacer and Clint Burton respectively. Despite being filmed in August 1960, this movie was released in December of that same year. Barely 4 months later.

Seen as a story ahead of its time, this movie was once outright banned in Apartheid era South Africa. It also was perceived as a failure as it didn't make as much money as GI Blues which was released only a month prior even though critics surprisingly liked Elvis' efforts. The blame was put on the serious nature of the film and the lack of songs. Ironically there were more songs in the film, but because test audiences didn't like all of them, two of them were cut. Does Flaming Star really showcase the complexities of White/Native American race relations or is it so unbelievably insulting that the people in Elvis' circle were right to ignore it? Let's find out.

"Flaming Star" is quite appropriate for a serious western. A song like this wouldn't be out of place at all if this was a western not involving Elvis Presley. It also introduces us to the concept of the Flaming Star which indicates when someone's about to die. This does not exist in Kiowa culture. They do have specific beliefs regarding death but that isn't one of them. Right off the bat we get the idea that this is going to be a movie about how Native Americans are "exotic".

We immediately get a birthday party and "A Cane And A High Starched Collar" has audio that's so poorly edited. You can literally hear a weird echo effect on Elvis' vocals and it was admittedly distracting. That being said, the song is appropriate for the setting. In the mid-late 1800s, live music was the only entertainment available since radios and tv didn't exist. It also shows that Pacer might be stoic, but he isn't a recluse. He wants to have fun with his family just like everyone else.

Despite this being a mixed family, the white people are seemingly pleasant. That is until we get the micro-aggression that Mrs. Burton's cooking could practically pass for their white mother's. This photo summarizes my feelings about this as a whole. Everyone is looking at this man as if to say "you did not seriously just say that" meaning they all know how backhanded that compliment really is. Probably the only time Clint's fiancee is on their side as even she looks shocked that someone would say that. We also get an awkward moment of Clint getting a gift from his fiancee. It would make more sense for the white townsfolk and Clint's white fiancee to be confused if this was a gift from Mrs. Burton and it was something that was from her culture. It would at least connect with the micro-aggression because it would showcase that they still don't understand her fully.

After the party is over, Pacer and Clint ride with Clint's friends back home in what's supposedly the middle of the night as a showcase of the day as night filming technique. The family gets attacked by a band of Kiowa in the most severe case of emotional whiplash I've seen in an Elvis movie. One guy even gets a flaming arrow in the stomach. Outside of the general fact that Native Americans were driven from their land the movie wants to be as vague as possible regarding the history of White/Native American race relations so I don't no idea why they specifically chose now to do this. As for the victims of this attack you have to wonder why were they specifically chosen to die? From a logistics stand point they were further into town than Pacer's family. Unless there's a specific reason behind it, the only explanation we're going to get is that to the Kiowa "all white people are bad and need to die". This is of course a terrible reason from both a racial standpoint and a narrative stand point.

Mrs. Burton and Pacer are meant to have Kiowa ancestry so naturally you wonder what the town's dynamics are if even in peace time you have some of Clint's friends engage in micro-aggressions. A small town like this can be wary of outsiders. But Mrs Burton and Pacer aren't outsiders. Pacer was raised in this town so there shouldn't be any issue with Mrs. Burton regarding cultural differences. This is shown by having the Kiowa chief visit the house and showing Pacer be the go between by having him be the one to make a pact with the chief to meet at a later time. He doesn't really acknowledge Mrs. Burton because he knows that she left. Which makes it all the more confusing when Clint and Pacer go to the general store.

Everyone immediately turns on Pacer after this attack. Not even Clint's fiancee sticks up for him. If anything she practically yells in his face like Pacer personally killed the Howard family despite the fact that Pacer had absolutely nothing to do with it. This just shows that Pacer was never accepted if after one unprovoked attack his whole family gets shunned. Mrs. Burton even helped the Howard family from dying of fever showing she has no ill will towards white people. Clint's fiancee being part of this especially makes no sense since she should know better than anyone that Pacer would never do anything like this. Even when Clint wants to stick up for Pacer, she completely ignores him and goes right back to chewing Pacer out. She even wanted her husband to be to get out as if he's a trouble maker too. Just because their house wasn't attacked doesn't mean they knew. What was stopping the Kiowa from killing everyone in that town? Surely other families lived in that area. Her logic that they were specifically spared makes zero sense.

Some of the white people in the village arrive at the house. They want to know if Clint's going to be part of their fight against the Native Americans. As opposed to finding justice specifically for the murder, they act like they want to make every single Kiowa pay because to them every Kiowa member likes to kill people. Clint being a rational figure says no because such an extreme act is horrible and you have to wonder why this town is operating on collectivism as opposed to having at least a sheriff or mayor. Given the setting, this town wouldn't have this level of lawlessness. If you know anything about Native American history, you would know that you can fill an Excel spread sheet with how many wars the federal government had with Native American tribes. Texas alone was such a big battle ground that I'm genuinely confused on how this can happen without even mentioning the military or having people stationed there take charge of the situation.

They accuse Clint of not wanting to upset his "Kiowa" mother and naturally he shoots one of them. Even when Mrs. Burton offers to help, they practically spit on her offer. The white men took it so far as to kill Mr. Burton's cattle. After all this is an "us vs. them" situation where if Clint isn't with the white folk he's against them. Because apparently everything has to be black and white with absolutely no room for gray area. What boggles the mind is how exactly they plan on doing this? Do they genuinely intend on sending a handful of men to a full tribe when they have no idea who did the crime in the first place or even know how many people live in that tribe? There are just so many flaws in their plan just based on those two concerns that you can see why Clint is totally in the right for not wanting to join in just based on logic alone.

Pacer is put in charge of protecting the house while Clint and his father are gone. Some white trappers arrive at the house and immediately start making insults despite the fact that Mrs. Burton graciously offered food out of her own pot for them to eat as opposed to turn them away. This whole sequence makes no sense since if they genuinely didn't want a Kiowa helping them, they can just leave. They knowingly went into the house, saw she was Kiowa, and stayed just to boss her around.

When she eventually kicks them out, they still have the nerve to insult Pacer. To them it was her fault as opposed to their bad attitudes that they got kicked out. Pacer rightfully fights them and we get a sweet moment where he tries to hide his injury from his mother. Pacer wants to be a strong man, but Mrs. Burton sees right through it. She doesn't nag him. She doesn't give a cliched line about mother's intuition. She just knows because she knows Pacer is aware of the situation. This was a dangerous moment for both of them, and Pacer should be allowed to be a little vulnerable.

The next day the Kiowa come back and ask Pacer to join them. Even though Pacer himself is Kiowa, he's concerned about his safety. He's right to do this because after what happened to the fur trappers anyone would feel wary of people they don't know. However, what shows Pacer is different is that he's willing to let go of his suspicion. The chief also shows that he isn't a mustache twirling villain who can't be reasoned with by listening to the simple request Pacer makes of ordering his warriors away. Once he sees that, Pacer allows himself to let his guard down and have a civil conversation.

The chief talks about making a war against the white people for taking their land. His desire to get his people's land back is justifiable given the history, but his method of doing so is extreme. He wants to go beyond just getting land back. I understand this is meant to answer the why at the beginning, but it completely sanitizes how things got to this point. The chief having these extreme views goes against his actions as he allows Pacer and his mother to go to the tribe. There's no hidden motive as he outright says that he wants Pacer to join their cause. It wouldn't be in his best interest to be anything but transparent given the situation.

They arrive at the tribe's camp and we start to see how these people live. Pacer is stuck in the middle since he's half Kiowa and half white. His aunt is still part of the tribe which adds another layer. You see how the Kiowa are not exactly thriving so just by having basic empathy you can understand why the chief would at the very least want to be compensated for the hardships they faced. Additionally, you also see how Mrs. Burton isn't immediately shunned for leaving once she gets there. This indicates that while there's shared beliefs in this tribe, individual members are allowed to have their own opinion.

Pacer being treated like a member of the tribe despite being half blooded is a good example of how differences aren't always bad. If you come to a different group in peace, and they don't immediately see you as a threat, there's no reason to mistrust them. Even when the chief knows Pacer is conflicted, he doesn't immediately judge him. He tries to appeal to his Kiowa heritage so that he will go join them. He doesn't even kick them out when Pacer doesn't immediately agree to this. He's somehow more capable of seeing the gray area than everyone in that town which if anything makes you not want to sympathize with them.

On the way back, one of the Howards ends up being alive. I have no idea how he managed to survive the attack if he can't even stand and he's been left on his own devices for days, but we're not supposed to focus on that. What we're supposed to focus on is that Mrs. Burton had been shunned by her family. They no longer see her as one of them. As heartbreaking as it is, it's also heartwarming that despite these sentiments, this isn't a universal feeling amongst the tribe. Two Moons doesn't show any resentment towards her as he's willing to escort them home. This makes the Howard man not only shooting Two Moons, but shooting at Pacer and Mrs. Burton heartbreaking.

When they go into town to find the doctor everyone refuses to help them. They claim Clint's lying about one of the Howard's being alive because they do not want to help this family. It gets to the point where even when they entertain the idea that he was alive, his shooting was justified because he was delirious and confused. Even the doctor doesn't want to help because of peer pressure and it's just despicable behavior. A doctor should never withhold treatment from anyone let alone because they're afraid of being "othered". Pacer convinces the doctor to try to help them by pretending to hold his daughter hostage. His daughter sees Pacer as a friend yet everyone immediately thinks he's going to kill her like an animal because they no longer see Pacer as a human being but a horrible Kiowa savage. Even though Clint's fiancee does join them later on, to me it's too little too late as I just don't see how their relationship lasts after this.

Mr. Burton goes out to fetch some water as a dust storm appears. Mrs. Burton starts to see the Flaming Star so she gets out of bed and goes to die in a field. I get that we need emotional drama, but you can easily frame this as a feverish delusion. Mrs. Burton has been in this town for 20 years so having her slavishly obey this fictional belief feels weird. They bury her the next morning and to prove that Mrs. Burton did assimilate, her husband quoted a Bible verse. In this setting, knowing your Bible is very important and she took the time to learn it. Naturally Pacer is angry and wants to hurt the doctor. Even though the doctor claims nothing could've been done, Pacer has a point to say that he still could've tried. It's only because of Clint that he survived.

What I wish would have happened is that instead of Clint letting him go, he held onto Pacer. Clint letting Pacer go isn't a matter of racism but toxic masculinity. Men back then couldn't be seen as vulnerable as they are the breadwinners so Clint genuinely didn't know because Pacer never told him. What hurts even more is that Pacer calls out his fiancee for making him feel like garbage and she tries to defend herself by saying that she never did that. But she's lying. We saw her earlier in the movie yell in his face about the attack and from what I've seen never apologized for being that way. This should've been her moment to realize how wrong everyone was and to personally apologize for what she's said to Pacer. You know her future brother in law who Clint cares for. Pacer even said himself that this was their first fight period which shows how Clint cares for him.

Pacer deciding to leave makes sense because at this point his mother was his morality chain. He clearly doesn't have any support from the townsfolk so the best way to keep himself safe is to stay with the Kiowa. Mr. Burton though gives us this heartbreaking moment where he realizes that his wishful thinking involving Pacer being mixed race lead to him feeling alone and he apologizes for that. He doesn't shame Pacer for "betraying the family" but actually supports Pacer. Seeing him hug his youngest son really gives you and Pacer that silver lining that not all white are bad. That even if his beliefs were misguided, he always wanted nothing but the best for his family. Which is why when Pacer returns, he makes a deal with the chief to not attack his old home. It showcases how Pacer loves his family. Even if his father and brother can never fully understand what it's like to be him, he still loves them enough to not want them to be hurt by this war. I love how the chief is willing to accept this because again he is someone that can be reasoned with and Pacer isn't asking for something that's impossible to give.

A group of Kiowa unaware of Pacer's deal with the chief start to attack Mr. Burton. He manages to kill some of them before dying by arrows. How anti-climatic since the last time we see him, he tells Clint that he married Mrs. Burton because he genuinely loved her. Knowing that Clint was only a baby makes this so important to know because this means that Mrs. Burton didn't have Pacer and then married. She specifically left the tribe to marry a man who already had an infant son. She loved Clint as her own which is why when Clint buries Mr. Burton next to his stepmother's grave he wants to get revenge. In this instance, you can genuinely say he's justified because he had no reason but to think the chief was behind it. He is seeing first hand that the Kiowa do not care about Mrs. Burton by killing her husband. He manages to kill some before he gets shot by arrows and rides away. Pacer knowing that this is still his brother saves Clint by taking him away from the action to safety.

Pacer shows his true loyalty by helping Clint. He does everything he can to stem the bleeding and paints his face with Clint's blood to make him look more "Kiowa" so he can lead the others away. He manages to kill some of the Kiowa so they wouldn't attack Clint and get him back home safely. Pacer's loyalty to his family winning out is a good thing to have as it shows that loyalty is earned. This is his world and if Clint can at least live, that's all that matters. He didn't even know Mr. Burton was killed so he genuinely helped Clint because Clint is his brother and despite the misunderstanding, he never shunned Pacer. It's even more sad that Mr. Burton died the way he did because Pacer didn't even know how it happened or even got to be with him. It makes his plot to spare them all for nothing as it still happened. Which is exactly why he's willing to sacrifice himself to save Clint. Clint is his only family now and he's loyal to his family to the end.

Clint wakes up in his fiancee's home and despite still being injured, wants to go out and find Pacer. He's unfortunately too late as Pacer returns to town. Sometime during the night, Pacer was attacked and injured. We don't know how this happened but can only assume it was during the attack against the Kiowa. Pacer claims he can see the Flaming Star and says goodbye to Clint before going off into the hills to die. Clint's fiancee once again doesn't seem to care about this and what hurts the most is that when Pacer comes to town they don't even say it's Pacer. They just call him a Kiowa that's badly injured. How is it that someone who has lived in that town his whole life can be completely dehumanized to the point where he isn't even named. It isn't as if Clint went out of his way to ride up to Pacer because he was that far away.

I absolutely hate how the movie just ends like this because there's no bittersweet moment where Pacer is even buried. Pacer's loyalty should at least be rewarded by having Clint follow him to at least show that Pacer belongs with his family. Even if it's to bury him, Clint would at least show that he would never leave Pacer to die alone. Clint's fiancee could have finally had her moment of redemption by chasing after Pacer. Clint realistically is too hurt to ride so she would act on his behalf. This would be a sign that she does care about Pacer and is willing to acknowledge that her soon to be husband cares for him. But she doesn't do that because the movie stops like the writers were specifically told they couldn't make this movie longer than 90 minutes and simply ran out of time to finish the story.

Once again, the idea that Pacer has to obey this Kiowa instinct to follow this Flaming Star completely takes away from Pacer's message of how he hopes one day people will understand Native Americans. All he wanted was to be treated like any other human being and the writers from 1960 couldn't even do that by showing him being buried with his parents. The fact that it just ends makes you feel like Patchy from Spongebob when he was so hyped about a lost episode only to feel outraged when the end result was a let down. There are just so many questions about what Pacer dying means in this world that will never be answered. Did Pacer actually kill every single Kiowa warrior by himself? Will this lead to a bigger war if he didn't kill them all? What will happen to all the non-warriors in that tribe if they did all die? Does Clint still marry his fiancee despite all the negative things she said to Pacer? I have no idea since the movie just stops and it sucks because in the end all you can say about it is "that's it"?

This movie genuinely fascinates me with how it markets their characters. On this poster alone we have character descriptions that are blatantly false once you watch the movie. Pacer himself can be seen as a lie because there was nothing to suggest that he wished to join the tribe his mother used to be a part of before the events of this movie. I'll make a separate post about how race is depicted in the grand scheme of things but why was the tragic mulatto trope used for this story as opposed to the "not like them" argument. Based on what we know about these characters, it would be a lot more realistic for the townsfolk to hate the Kiowa tribe but turn to Pacer and Mrs. Burton to say "don't worry we don't mean you. You're one of the good ones" since it's no secret that this family has been part of the town for Pacer's whole life. In the grand scheme of things it feels like the urge to get this out before GI Blues caused the adapters to cut corners in establishing the status quo of this town. Barbara Eden has such a high billing despite having a severe lack of positive influence on the film which makes you wonder what the intent truly was.

Despite my criticisms about the legitimate social issues this movie covers, I still give it a 9/10. Acting wise, this is one of Elvis' better movies and just because the topic was controversial doesn't mean that it was a mistake to have Elvis play this role. He perfectly conveys the sadness behind Pacer's stoicism which shows his growth as an actor. Even if you're scratching your head on how Mr. Burton couldn't have possibly predicted Pacer having issues, you can at least understand that it wasn't out of malice but out of wishful thinking that things will be better in the future. If you're someone that likes to analyze how race was depicted in movies throughout history this is the perfect film for you. Even if you are sensitive to racism regardless of how it's portrayed, I still think it's worth watching because Pacer's message about having hope that people will understand those who are different shouldn't be forgotten.

Tagging: @ssinnerplazahotel, @smokeymountainboy, @jacksonwayne-blog, @arianatheangel-girl, @halieghhh,

@velvetelvis, @thelonelyheart, @mercsandmonsters, @xanatenshi, @alienelvisobsession,

@southcarolinawoman, @hooked-on-elvis, @ladelinee, @lucy114505, @peaceloveelvis,

@iloveelvisss, @tacozebra051, @wildhorseinkansas, @notelvisbutitry, @cryptoriawebb,

@nicferg068, @tupelomiss, @fish-stick-blues, @atleastpleasetelephone, @without-him,

@dreamingofep, @eapep, @arrolyn1114, @vintagepresley, @burnthheparaphilia,

@sir-arlieosaurus-lung-struggler, @sappholovell, @artemisblackwing, @beeneedssleep, and @houseofcatwic.

#flaming star #pacer burton #if anyone is knowledgable in native american history please let me know if i have pacer's character correct #native american history #tw racist slur #tw racsim #1960 #elvis film review

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mysteroads · 9 months ago

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World Building Post-War MHA, aka:

How Mr. Compress survives, thrives, steals all of AFO's money, and gives a big ol' "Fuck You!" to the heroes by doing a better job at saving people... All while staying classy. 😉

tltr: Mr. Compress steals AFO's money, creates a non-profit, names it all after the League to remind everyone why it's important and also to thumb his nose at the heroes.

So, mostly for my own edification, I started wondering what a Post-War MHA world would look like, and since MHA is a dystopia, how people would go about fixing the problems.

So, MHA dystopia can be described as: "Questioning the root of systemic issues brought about by a society grown both compliant *and* reliant on the protection of superheroes-- who have been elevated to celebrity/godlike status while ignoring 'Heroes' inherent humanity and all the flaws that come with being human-- while ignoring their own responsibilities as humans to help each other."

There's a reoccurring theme of Bystander Syndrome. Regular people growing compliant and being unwilling to step up to help their fellow man. Well, Post-War, I'm betting that's going to change, and that's where our boy Atsuhiro Sako can come in.

We all know Mr. Compress is going to survive. I really hope more members of the League do as well, but we know Atsuhiro Sako's going to make it. More than that, he's going jump headlong into making damn sure the past doesn't repeat itself, even if that means playing nice with the heroes (for awhile). There's going to be some sort of Villain Rehab program, or even a pardon/parole for the surviving LoV member(s). Sako's going to to be the perfect little ex-villain right up until his exit paperwork is processed.

And, since he was 1} in Tomura's inner circle, 2} he's clever enough to get Garaki to talk to him, and 3} he's an excellent thief... I'm going to assume he's smart enough to get the info he needs to access enough of AFO's accounts. 💸💸💸 And even if he's not, he's savvy enough to find the money somewhere.

I see Atsuhiro at the head of a Non-Profit Organization with several subsidiaries dedicated to different problems. Furthermore, as a unashamed former villain, I can see him naming the whole thing after the League... just to spite the heroes and remind everyone why he's doing what he's doing.😈 It's what his friends would've wanted.

The League for the Lost, and it's subsidiaries (colored for funsies):

Dabi’s Fire, for the campaign against domestic abuse and protection for the abused.

Himiko’s Hope, assistance for so-called villainous and other maligned quirks, with a special emphasis on blood quirks and others with unique dietary requirements.

Spinner’s Stories, support for mutation quirks and heteromorphs.

Jin’s Friends, for free access to mental health resources.

Big Sis’s House, safe spaces for queer youth and adults.

Tomura’s Soldiers, for the war against the trafficking of children with powerful quirks.

Honestly, this is probably the best way for the problems to be solved, and the best way to put AFO's ill gotten gains to good use. I mean, the money is there! It's going to be found eventually. Might as well use it to do whatever they can do to prevent a problem before it happens! And what better way to keep the memory of the League of Villains alive, get civilians involved in helping each other, and provide a warning for future generations-- than to put their names on Japan's biggest non-profit?

And, if he manages to piss off the old-school heroes and cops, while attracting the new generations, then that's just a bonus. 😎

If you made it this far, you are a most excellent person, a ✨gem✨ among readers!💖 And I want to hear from you! All... probably two, maybe three?... of you! What would you like to see from Post-War MHA? How would you fix the problems? Who from the LoV do you think's going to survive, and what are they going to do with themselves in the new world?

#I wrote a fic #now I'm gonna explain my though process #mwhahahaha #mha post canon #my hero academia #sako atsuhiro #mr compress #my writing #Rain on Wisteria #We're Dead but We've been Worse!#my hero academia fanfic #post canon fix it #fanfiction #what if #world building #boko no hero academia #bnha

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squadron-goals · 1 year ago

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How Richthofen shot down his seventy fifths victory (by Leutnant Lampel)

“Please, have a seat,” the Rittmeister Freiherr von Richthofen said to me when I reported to him at the mess: “Ordonnanz (orderly), Lunch.” Suddenly I was sitting in the middle of the famous circle of Jagdstaffel 11, in the middle of the great aces, and I was quite intimidated. - The officer´s mess was a round corrugated iron barracks, in which one could barely stand upright, two small window slits gave the necessary light. These were the living quarters of the English airmen who have left the field in quite a hurry. The Richthofen fighter wing had just moved in. The Rittmeister sits at the top of the table. He has his yellow-brown leather trousers on, his leather waistcoat and a wool waistcoat over it unbuttoned and his neckerchief removed. Just returned from a patrol flight with the gentlemen of his old squadron. It is very busy in the air. When one squadron returns, the next one starts immediately. None of the pilots wears his high awards. They just sit there in their gray uniform; one quickly becomes familiar with their circle, all are modest and amiable, in spite of their great successes. The most modest of all is the Rittmeister himself. He still looks very young, not at all as harsh as I had imagined from the pictures, and when he speaks to you, something amiable glides over his features. He doesn't say anything for a while, then he just says, "I just shot down my seventy-fifth." Gosh - I allowed myself a very shy congratulations, and now the Rittmeister is telling the story. “…weird,” he said, “the last ten I shot down all burned. The one today did too. I saw it, at first it was a very small flame under the driver's seat; when the machine then overturned, I saw that the floor under the driver's seat had already burned away completely. It also continued to burn very gently as he turned down, and when it crashed there was a tremendous explosion below, the likes of which I have never seen before." It was a Bristol fighter, a two-seater, and he resisted tenaciously. “We were quite frightened," said Leutnant Gußmann, looking over at his commander a little reproachfully. "Herr Rittmeister approached it incredibly closely." "Yes," said Richthofen, "I had to get very close to him. The observer was a tough, very clever fellow. A brave man. I had to get within five meters until he fell, although he was already in the fire of my machine guns and had to have been hit. And even then he still shot at me. In fact, the very slightest deflection of the steering wheel was enough to prevent us from running into each other.” At that moment the adjutant steps through the door. "I congratulate you most obediently, Herr Rittmeister -" He held a telegram in his hand. We all held our breaths. "His Majesty the Emperor most graciously deigned to award Herr Rittmeister the Order of the Red Eagle, third class, with crown and swords. On the occasion of the seventieth aerial victory, Mr. Rittmeister." And now the seventy fifths had already fallen! Everyone jumped up, the Rittmeister shook our hands. He almost turned red, all humble. “Children,” he said, “I have yet to earn the Red Eagle forth class.” When he drove away immediately afterwards to inspect a new airfield just behind the front - after all, it's going forward - he turned around again and half looked through the door. "Well, children," he says, "when I'm standing there in front and you're flying" - he cups his hand in front of his eyes - "I´m going to see if you're brave." As the gentlemen start afterwards, they shoot down three more Tommies. Leutnant Weiss his fourteenth, Leutnant Wolff his fourth and thus the two hundred and fiftieth of Jagdstaffel 11. Another young squadron gets its hundredth down today. Both squadrons belong to Richthofen's fighter wing.

#manfred von richthofen #Ein Heldenleben

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13thpythagoras · 5 months ago

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wow cute rabbit hole

So no scientist disputes that the moon is hollow.

This will cause cognitive dissonance, because it's one of those facts not taught in schools because standardized test writers weren't aware. But check wikipedia if you're curious, I've posted that link many times and won't bore my followers with it yet again. Just google the apollo 12 seismic survey and read closely. People aren't aware of this because it's hidden behind other text - scary....

No scientist would dispute that there is too much momentum in the earth-moon system than can be accounted for even by the Theia hypothesis, and it's not even close.

In my circles, we know there is more than a "man" in the moon, there are cities of ETs in the moon. That's why just about every apollo mission reported seeing UFOs, because it's a legit base for ETs. Look in your mind and you will see them. They will be able to possibly look back at you seeing them if you do this so tread cautiously and only take fleeting glimpses. There's a famous psychic who made contact with them and realized they're somewhat hostile to us, or at least to us becoming more psychically active.

Google Ingo Swann's story about psychic entities within the moon if you care to learn more there, but Mr. Swann isn't the only psychic reporting these experiences.

https://www.nytimes.com/1971/06/22/archives/astronaut-tells-of-e-s-p-tests.html

"What is your take on President Carter crying when briefed on aliens?"

Was he losing it over stories like this?

why does the moon have way too much radiation than can be explained by interstellar rays?

ultimately this is the most difficult piece of the puzzle to manage until you hear the full theory

The hypothesis holds that the moon is actually a radiation shield for an armada of alien motherships, that the moon was piloted through interstellar space long ago, potentially over a billion years, this journey left it with elevated levels of radioactivity due to the interstellar travel, as well as significant scarring on the leading side of the moon, which now faces earth. However those traveling inside the moon would not have experienced that, and would have likely had a comfortable ride. This theory allows for an origin story to the gods that may have appeared to those who wrote ancient "holy" texts. It's plausible that these civs within the moon are genetically engineering life on earth to match their wishes, and not all their wishes are exaclty the same, which is a theme we see repeated in many ancient religious texts.

It's possible that a number of alien species live within the moon / on the far side, they don't all get along, and that's why we don't all get along on earth either; we are perhaps avatars playing out the larger struggle of the heavens; and me I'm perhaps that religious reformer connecting these galactically-disparate ideas that actually relate to each ohter.

It's possible that the myriad ET species that came in with the moon are terraforming and genetically engineering life on earth to accelerate its trajectory toward their goals and ideals, which may overlap in areas, and in other areas, may compete. Obviously there's a government for these ETs somewhere...food for thought, unfinished thoughts clearly

#fascinating #moon #ETs #not my hypothesis but i like it:#the moon is actually a mostly-hollow alien mothership #idea to ponder #hypothesis to consider

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thisisntmyrightera · 2 years ago

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How to adopt a genius child and a series of unfortunate events | Eddie Munson x Fem Reader.

Summary: Eddie and You are the parental support of Dustin and Max is making fun of it.

Words: 2,977

Note: English isn't my first language, so i make my best.

All interactions are well received and appreciated.

Thanks for reading!

_________________________________________

Every Friday since you was 9 years old was sleeping ‘’party’’ at the house of someone in the group, sometimes Nancy other nights Steve, they were your friends since elementary school, then Eddie came when he was 12 years old and a little later a wild Robin appeared joining the team, you were the ‘’Weird 5'' when Jonathan started dating Nancy he joined the group for a while until he moved to California, the other guys, the younger ones use to called you ''The Growies''.

This weekend Nancy organized the night in her basement, she was in charge of cleaning, Steve to pick up Robin and bring pizza and enough food to not come out of the burrow until the next day while Eddie had to pick you up and buy drinks and beer at the gas station.

Although you had already lived that night for years, you never got bored, you always talked about what had happened during your week, made fun of how Steve failed again in love, Robin told his nonsense stories that seemed to come out of some channel 5 comedy , Eddie was explaining his D&D campaigns and how his band had found another Metallica song to play, that week you came in with a new story, Chance one of Jason's best friends had asked you out but you told him you'd think about it for that you weren't sure if your parents would let you date, it was a lie, you weren't interested in that guy at all or any other member of the basketball team, but that didn't stop Eddie from being silent for a long time and keeping his jaw clenched as he played with the lace of a cushion that adorned one of the sofas, after hours talking, listening to music and some getting drunk one by one you fell asleep s, you never chose a place to sleep, you just did it where you found enough space and the next morning you use to woke up with back or neck pain.

-Guys..? -Mrs. Wheeler went down the stairs of the basement a while she was still carrying in her right hand a tool to turn pancakes- you have a call

Her voice made you wake up stretching out your arms realizing that all night you were lying on Eddie's lap, his hand was gently around your waist and his head was lying on the back of the sofa while he snored softly, that made you smile a little looking at it for a few seconds until you got up slowly rubbing your right shoulder and walked to the phone that was on the wall

-Hi? - you barely managed to say while covering your mouth yawning

-Y/N? Thank God it's you, are you at Nancy's house? -Dustin spoke faster than he normally did

-Hmm yes...here we are, is everything alright? - you looked confused to one side of the room thinking about the possibilities in which Henderson had gotten into trouble this time

-Well... not at all, I promise you it wasn't as serious as they make it out to be and...

-To the point Henderson...it's...-you raised your left arm looking at the clock on your wrist, adjusting your eyes still asleep to the small golden circle - it's 8:20, really? it's saturday kid

-I'm in prison - Dustin said without any emotion making the sleep that was still in your body disappear quickly

-Dustin what did you do? how can you be in prison, you can't be in prison you are 14 years old

-Well, I'm at the police station, I promise I didn't do anything wrong, but can you come get me? I don't want to call my mom or Max mom - Dustin lower his voice a little embarrassed, sounding something tender, maybe to pity and touch your heart

-Max? the redhead is also with you..- you sighed pinching the bridge of your nose- we're going there and shut your mouth just like that girl, you'll get into trouble if you don't watch your words, understood? - You hung up annoyed, sighing, walking to Steve who was asleep on the one piece sofa as if a truck had hit him in the middle of a highway, moving him slowly trying to wake him up - Steve... Steve wake up

-Hmm, mom, it's Saturday... I don't want cereal - Steve murmured, settling down with his back to you as he crossed his arms over his chest, your eyes quickly moved to Nancy but she was still asleep as was Robin, both of them almost hugging on a blanket in the middle of the room, so your eyes looked at the last option

-Eddie - you approached him slowly and you spoke even more slowly knowing that little Munson did not like to be woken up abruptly - Eddie...-you moved him slowly making him settle on the sofa frowning his eyebrows babbling something- Edward - you move him stronger making him open his eyes looking everywhere lost between dream and reality

-What happened?..what...what happened? are you OK? what happened? -Eddie looked at you sitting on the sofa removing the hair from his face and adjusting his DIO shirt

-We must go look for Henderson, he got into trouble with Max and is at the police station - you looked at him somewhat embarrassed while He rolled his eyes in annoyance and rubbed his hands on his face getting up and grabbing his jacket from the floor to follow you up the stairs to the Wheeler's kitchen.

-Good Morning! -Mrs. Wheeler smiled looking at you while she arranged some strips of bacon in the pan- how was the night?

-Good morning - you smiled as sweetly as possible, accommodating your hair - it was perfect, right? - you looked at Eddie trying to seem normal although that made you both look more than suspicious

-Yes…yes - Eddie looked at you still trying to wake up and then he smiled adorable towards the kitchen island- good morning Mr. Wheeler - Eddie greeted creating an awkward silence by not receiving a good morning back

-Well we have to go but we'll be back later to help Nancy yo clean and collect our things... thank you very much for letting us spend the night here Mrs. Wheeler - you smiled walking slowly towards the door

-you don't have to thank me, you’re always welcome, you shouldn't leave without breakfast, take a pancake for the road - she smiled offering you from a plate where the pancakes already had some butter and strawberry jelly, Eddie and you took one for not looking rude as you kept walking waving goodbye and almost running to Eddie's Van

-I'm going to kill that boy, I could barely sleep and now have to go get his ass out of all the problems he gets into - Eddie sighed annoyed starting his Van while you looked at him with eyes that judged - what?

-Doesn't sound familiar to you Munson?

-I called you once to save my ass...one damn time

-Three

-Three times, that's nothing compared to what Henderson does - he sighed again annoyed speeding up a little and then braking when he remembered that he didn't have his seat belt on, but this made your body move abruptly and the pancake you were holding in your hand falling on your pastel pink blouse covering with jelly staining it completely, your chest rose and fell deeply annoyed as you tried not to look at Eddie even though out of the corner of your eye you could see how he pursed his lips to keep from laughing

-I'm not going to go like this...i look ridiculous

-I have...maybe a shirt in the back, go get it - He smiled at you adorable tilting his head as you unbuckled your belt and moved to the back looking at all the mess, empty beer cans, chocolate wrappers , some guitar picks and a toolbox - did you find it?

-I'm trying...- you just murmured trying not to touch the candy wrappers and at the same time not to fall due to the movement of the Van until on one side you could notice a completely wrinkled shirt - it's...-you took it with both hands looking at disappointed- it's a Hellfire shirt... do you want me to wear this?

-You can still wear your shirt with jam, you can say it's a new fashion, something European - Eddie laughed looking at the traffic signs and then turned right

-European...idiot - you sighed with no other option taking off your blouse while you took Hellfire's but not before smelling it to know if it was dirty, but the aroma was not unpleasant at all, a mixture of Eddie's cologne with a touch of tobacco, It was the aroma that characterized him

Eddie glanced in the rearview mirror in short bursts so you couldn't catch him, but seeing you sniff his shirt while you were only wearing your pastel blue bra with a little pink bow in the center made him smile thinking it was the most cute scene than he never would want to erase from his head

-I think... it doesn't look bad - you told him as you returned to your passenger seat looking at the shirt- I could join the Hellfire club, right? -Eddie stopped at a red light looking at you out of the corner of his eye while he raised one of his eyebrows-What? it suits me better than you

-Keep it, I'll make a new one for me later - he sighed trying to seem annoyed, but the fact of imagining that you would wear his shirt made him feel some butterflies in his stomach

The rest of the way there wasn't much to talk about, really almost nothing, it was just the radio playing the same old trash music as Eddie called it but he refused to change the station because he knew that was the music you liked

-Eddie let me talk, okay? -You looked at him as he parked outside the police station-You only be Dustin's emotional support if he goes into one of his crises

-Well, anyway I don't think I'm welcome here - Eddie got out of the Van at the same time as you, opening the door and making a slight bow for you to pass before him

-Hello, good morning Dustin Henderson called me a few minutes ago, is he here? - you rested your arms lightly on the high desk of the police that was in the hall while she reviewed some papers

-Let them in, they're coming for the boy - Hopper spoke leaving one of the offices while he was holding a folder

-Thank you - you smiled kindly at the policeman and walked back a bit when you saw that Eddie was lost looking at the poster of fugitives, making him walk while you took his wrist to follow you - Hi - you smiled at Hopper- is it very serious? - you followed him slowly while he was talking explaining that Max and Dustin had gone to a private property to use a "Radio Tower" and the owner of the place panicked and called the police, your hand wouldn't let go of Eddie's, In fact, you didn't realize that you were both holding hands until in the distance you saw Dustin and Max sitting in front of a desk, he looks sad and Max looked too upset - do we have to pay a bail?

-No, I know the boy and I know he wouldn't get into trouble, they're just kids experimenting with his...technology I guess - Hopper gave you the file with Henderson's "criminal" record, there was no point in filing it away for such a stupid reason - just take them away and keep an eye on them...especially on you - Hopper looked threateningly at Eddie as he put his hands on his belt adjusting it- it's strange to see you around here without having you handcuffed Munson

-It's my day off sir - Eddie smiled sarcastically erasing the smile when he felt a squeeze on his hand, looking at you whispering a ''What''

-I'm sorry - you smiled - they are kids right? - You laughed trying to relieve the tension of the moment - I'll go for... the other kids now, thank you sir

After signing some papers for the freedom of the criminals involved and giving them a slight scolding for how irresponsible they were, the 4 left the station, the scene was totally bizarre, like two parents taking their children out of the principal's office after getting into in trouble, Eddie got into the Van banging hard on the door while you got on the passenger seat and the other two got on the back seat, the silence lasted a few minutes, Eddie didn't start the car, he just kept holding the steering wheel waiting that one of the two said something

-I... I'm sorry- Dustin understood Eddie's silence and apologized as he played with his cap.

-I’m sorry? - Eddie repeated annoyed looking at him in the mirror - I'm sorry? I'm hungover Henderson, I drove up here because for some reason you decided to put a fucking tower on someone's property for what? call aliens?

-It was to call Suzie..

-I don't give a damn if you were going to call your girlfriend or the president himself, entering private property is not right

-But...I didn't know it was private property...I thought it was the open field - Dustin rise his voice a little

-Don't look for excuses now - Eddie turned a little looking at him annoyed as Dustin look at you looking for support

-Eddie, he already told you that he didn't know that the property had an owner, he already apologized

-Don't defend him- Eddie now directed his body towards you

-I'm not defending him, why do you have to bother so much about everything? because you have a hangover? why don't you get upset with yourself for not knowing how to drink instead of taking it out on us - your voice was high making Eddie take a deep breath puffing out his chest

-Don't bring my drinking into this, this isn't about me Y/N!

-It's not about you? then why do you have to make a scene Edward!

-A scene? you're making a scene, I always have to be the bad guy in this, you're the good one I'm the one who behaves like shit - Eddie hit the steering wheel with such force that even his curls jumped a little

- Ok do you want me to scold him? Dustin - your body turned towards the boy - you did something bad, don't do that again because you'll get in trouble again for a girl who lives on the other side of the country

-WHAT DOES SUZIE HAVE TO DO WITH THIS? - Dustin rise his voice making Eddie turn quickly towards him pointing his finger

-Don't talk to her like that, don't ever raise your voice towards her again, do you think you're very smart? She made me drive up here to save your fucking ass and you yell at her?

Dustin sighed crossing his arms annoyed looking out the window, you looked out the window on your side imitating Dustin's pose and Eddie started the car while Max looked at the 3 in silence holding laughter.

-Someone is hungry? – after some minutes driving Eddie spoke with an annoyed but calm tone

-I'm hungry- Dustin barely said.

-Me too - you said without taking your eyes off the landscape

Max couldn't contain herself anymore and she laughed covering her face making you and Dustin look at each other curiously and then see Max as she writhed with laughter in the seat

-Are you okay red? - Eddie looked at her in the mirror curious

-You guys are so funny -Max laughed wiping the tears from her eyes - you guys are like...the Munsons, you're the typical Hawkins family, Dustin, your parents are so funny - the girl kept laughing holding her stomach

-What are you talking about? - you looked at her without understanding

-Y/N...you and Eddie fight like a married couple with a problematic child, why don't you make this official? get married and adopt Dustin - Max stopped laughing noticing that none of you were laughing but she did not erase the smile from her face

-You're crazy - you sighed settling in the seat fastening your seat belt

-Crazy? Eddie is the one who is crazy in love with you-the redhead smiled wickedly biting one of his nails- why don't we all wear Hellfire shirts at the ceremony, it would be fun, don't you think?

-I'm tired - Eddie sighed as he stop on the road looking at Max - get off

-Eddie - you looked at him worried denying- you can't get her out of the car we're still far from her house

-Yes, mom... tell him I haven't done anything wrong - Max laughed looking at Eddie challenging him

-Max shut up ok...- you sighed feeling your cheeks flushed trying to hide them between the strands of your hair - let's go Eddie she's just joking

-Joking? - Dustin looked at you smiling- in fact I like the idea, Dustin Munson sounds good and also the last name matches your name Y/N

- Get out, you've are so annoying - your hand on the steering wheel prevented Eddie from driving as an evil smile formed on his face

-You heard mom...get out - Eddie smirk looking at you

Everyone began to laugh, even you who had no choice but to cover your face with your hands trying not to lose your sanity.

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dirty-brainrot · 3 years ago

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(Car Sick)

I've had this idea at the back of my head ever since that one car trip a week ago. God, I can still smell the car.

Pairing(s): Stardust Crusaders (Maybe mainly Jotaro?) x Reader

The stardust crusaders see you as one of the strongest stand users, possibly one of the strongest besides Jotaro and DIO, with no found weaknesses.

They found you as one of DIO's mind-controlled minions. During that time, you were able to take down all of them and even severely wounding Jotaro but by some miracle they somehow defeated you. Ever since that day, you joined them in their journey. Was it to repay them for freeing you? Beating DIO because he used you? Or was it something entirely different? We will never know.

But back to the main story, our Y/N has no found weaknesses until the long-ass car trip in Egypt.

"Mr.... Joestar.... Can we take a stop?" You slurred, the growing nausea in your stomach made it hard to form sentences. It felt like someone was messing with your intestines, twisting and turning them. "Y/N, We just took a stop!" Exclaimed the old man in the driver's seat.

You sat on polnareff's lap, laying your head on his chest wishing the dizziness would stop. In the middle sat Kakyoin and to the right is Jotaro. Because of your sudden appearance, you were forced to take a seat on one of their laps in the backseat until Mr. Joestar to buys a bigger and spacious car.

You pushed your head away from Polnareff and crawled to Kakyoin's lap, surprising both males. "I'll just... be here for a few minutes." The cherry-scented man stiffened but soon relaxed while Polnareff protested beside him. "Wasn't I comfortable enough?" He spoke dramatically, taking full offense to your innocent action.

You stuffed your face in Kakyoin's chest, inhaling the sweet cherry scent. "Pol, you stink." A simple muffled insult was all that came from you. He gasps. "Do I really stink?" He starts moving his arms and sniffing himself. "Your perfume is too strong." You added.

Polnareff was moving too much, making you much more nauseous. Grunting, you grabbed Jotaro's coat and pulled yourself to his lap. He probably would be pissed off but you couldn't think straight from the overbearing smell of the new car and the way Mr. Joestar was driving. All you wanted was just to suffer in peace so he probably won't mind... Right? You mumbled incoherent words to Jotaro, something along the lines of- "Sorry, polnareff moves too much." And random words.

...

'It's suddenly quiet...' You thought as you straddled Jotaro, holding onto his coat and burying your face to his chest as you did to Kakyoin earlier. "Well, now I can suffer in peace..." You mumbled, not realizing you said that out loud.

While you were mumbling words, Kakyoin and Polnareff stared at you, much more shocked than earlier. They couldn't tell if Jotaro is mad or if he doesn't care because of his hat covering half of his face. But after a few minutes, he moved his arm to your back rubbing circles on it making you mumble gibberish again. "Are you seeing what I'm seeing, Kakyoin?" Polnareff whispers to Kakyoin, still in disbelief. "Yeah..." He whispers back.

"Will you two stop staring?" The two men in disbelief flinched and looked away, acting as if they weren't caught staring. But they can't help sneak a glance every time to see if what they're seeing was true.

Back to you; your dizziness was slowly dissipating and the awful feeling of your stomach wasn't as worse as before. All thanks to Jotaro's faint sea smell (but he mostly smells like smoke) and him placing his giant hands on your back and gently rubbing it, you feel less dizzy. Bizarre how he smells like the ocean when he's in a desert.

Feeling sleepy, you thought. 'Maybe taking a nap won't hurt, it would probably be better than being in agony, awake.' So you closed your eyes and went to sleep.

When you woke up, you notice that you were in a new environment and on someone's arms. Then suddenly a strong cologne hits your nose. "Argh, Polnareff buy a new cologne." You pinched your nose, surprising the French man. "I told you, Polnareff..." You hear Kakyoin chuckle in the background. "Alright put me down—" Wiggling out of Polnareff’s arms, you land on the ground and dust yourself.

"-Let's get to kicking ass."

#jojo #jjba #jojo no kimyō na bōken #jojo bizarre adventure #jojo's bizarre adventure stardust crusaders #stardust crusaders #jjba x reader #jean pierre polnareff #jp polnareff #polnareff x reader #noriaki kakyoin #tenmei kakyoin #kakyoin x reader #jotaro kujo #jotaro x reader

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themarchrabbit · 2 months ago

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Just so people really understand what this law can do, the people that were rounded up and put in these internment camps, that had their money and property seized, they weren't immigrants.

Out of the 120,000+ people forcibly removed from their homes, over 2/3 of them were born and bred Americans.

Here's the Mochida family:

[IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Black and white photograph of the Mochida family, gathered in a group, waiting to be transported to an internment camp. The family consists of an adult man wearing glasses and a hat typical of the 1940s fashion, with his hand on the shoulder of a small child, possibly between the ages of 4-6. There are six children in the foreground, all wearing their winter coats and trousers, between the ages of 15-4. The children all have identification tags, similar to luggage tags, around their necks on lanyards. There is a young man in the background, also wearing a hat typical of the era, and glasses, possibly the oldest son. There is an adult woman, not looking at the camera, to the right, wearing a hat and coat, possibly Mrs. Mochida, or another female relative. At their feet are about five pieces of luggage marked with the name Mochida and a circle with a crosshairs inside. the cases are each about the size of a large purse]

The date on the photo is May 9th, 1942. The family would have been wearing layers of clothing, likely why the children have their coats on, but no gloves or mittens. They were only allowed to take what they could carry. Someone thoughtfully captioned this one, so no one felt too terrible about these children and their parents being sent to an internment camp. Oh, wait, I'm sorry, evacuated.

"Original caption: Hayward, California. Members of the Mochida family awaiting evacuation bus. Identification tags are used to aid in keeping the family unit intact during all phases of evacuation. Mochida operated a nursery and five greenhouses on a two-acre site in Eden Township. He raised snapdragons and sweet peas. Evacuees of Japanese ancestry will be housed in War Relocation Authority centers for the duration."

"Evacuated" to a "War Relocation Authority center"

[...]The Japanese Americans could bring only what they could carry—clothes, plates, cups, utensils, linens, toiletry items, and mementos—to the designated collection points. With less than a week to sell their businesses, houses, and valuables, they had no time to get things in order. The evacuees were moved to 16 assembly centers. Many of the assembly centers were located on fairgrounds and racetracks, where the living conditions were overcrowded and unsanitary.[...]

"Well, I mean, it was the 40's -"

While interned at the Minidoka Relocation Center in Idaho, newspaper staff reporter Kimi Tambara wrote an open letter in the Minidoka Irrigator to her friend Jan. She recalled Christmas 1941, just weeks after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. ". . . another thought . . . coincident with the crackling noise of the firecrackers popping around Lower Chinatown, a low voice 'You damn Jap-you! By gosh, the government should put every damn one of you in concentration camps'—I remember the cold shiver that ran up my spine, transforming the humid, warm air of a July night into the bitter cold of winter. You and I, Jan, tried to laugh it off, because somehow, it seemed ridiculous. The freedom of life and liberty was so much a part of us that the idea of confinement had never once occurred to us."

Oddly enough, while the Japanese-Americans of the time were aware of the year, they also had this strange belief that they had rights, especially since the majority of them were fucking citizens.

[IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Black and white photograph six children aged between 5-6 years old, in a southwest desert region of the United States. The Rocky Mountains are visible in the background, behind the buildings. Buildings are one story, wood and fabric structures. There is a watchtower in the background]

That photo is from the Manzanar Internment Camp. They had a school, you see. For the children the United States government imprisoned there, along with their parents, with no due process, from 1942-1946.

Meet then Lieutenant General John L Dewitt:

[IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Black and white photograph of a white man, John Lesesne [b. JAN 9th 1880, d. JUNE 20th 1962], in his early sixties. He is wearing his dress uniform, showing he was a member of the United States Army. He is inside, so is not wearing his cover, showing he is mostly bald, with his remaining hair shaved close. He is wearing glasses and looking at a point to the right of the photographer]

He was absolutely instrumental in Order 9066. And he died proud of it.

In February 1942, DeWitt reported to President Franklin D. Roosevelt that no sabotage by Japanese Americans had yet been confirmed, but he commented that it only proved "a disturbing and confirming indication that such action will be taken."[7] He recommended the evacuation of all Japanese from the coastal areas of California, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska (then incorporated U.S. territory at the time). Using Executive Order 9066, DeWitt then began implementing a plan for classifying, rounding up, and removal of "undesirables."

DeWitt was opposed to War Relocation Authority efforts to distinguish loyal from disloyal Japanese Americans/and to the creation of an all-Japanese combat unit. He testified before Congress, in 1943, that he would "use every proper means" at his disposal to stop the resettlement of Japanese Americans outside camp and their eventual return to the West Coast after the war. His and Colonel Bendetsen's "Final Report" (circulated and then hastily redacted in 1943 and 1944) also laid out his position that their race made it impossible to determine their loyalty, thus necessitating internment. The original version was so offensive, even in the atmosphere of the wartime 1940s that Bendetsen ordered all copies to be destroyed.

Just so no one feels left out, while his racism against Asian-Americans of all types was pretty horrendous, rest-assured, he was just as hateful towards Italian-Americans and German-Americans.

By the way, just to end this little history lesson, that all-Japanese American combat unit that Dewitt opposed? Dewitt, who, despite serving in the Spanish-American War and WWI, was a quartermaster and administrator who never actually saw any combat. Which, you know, logistics make the military work, that's not a bad thing. But he wasn't a combat commander. And he didn't know shit about it apparently, or people either.

Meet the 100th Infantry Battalion, "The Purple Heart Battalion", and the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. They were eventually known as the 100th/442nd Regimental Combat.

The United States military was still segregated at the time. These men were all of East-Asian descent, mostly Japanese, second-generation (nisei), but also included Korean-Americans and Chinese-Americans. They had family in internment camps. Some had been in internment camps. Some had been stripped of their previous standing in the military and declared "enemy aliens". Their families had been stripped of everything, even dignity. What was done to them was wrong.

They still volunteered. To get out of the camps. To prove their families were loyal American citizens. To prove they were loyal American citizens. To help strangers on another continent.

They are still the most decorated in United States' history.

[IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Black and white photograph, of about a hundred adult men, standing at attention in three columns, all of East Asian descent, mostly Japanese, wearing 1940s US Army uniforms. They are all holding rifles against their right shoulders. There are four men standing to the right of the three columns, one in the front, to the left, a second in the middle, again, to the left. The two other men are standing on a hill to the left. In the front of the (viewer's) left-hand column, one man stands holding the unit's flag instead of a rifle]

[IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Black and white photograph. Four men of East-Asian descent in WWII-era United States' Army uniforms are in the foreground, standing at attention, perpendicular to the camera, holding the United States' flag and two regimental flags. The rest of the unit, numbering over a hundred men, are in the background, in formation. There is a group of what appears to be mostly white men in civilian dress being guided by a man in a United States Army uniform approaching. The man at the head of the group in a khaki trench coat is then President Harry S. Truman, who succeeded President Franklin D. Roosevelt after his death in office in 1945. he has his hat in his right hand, held over his heart, in respect to the unit.]

Their motto, chosen by the men, was approved and made official.

"Go For Broke"

[IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A blue circle outline on a white background. Within the circle, there is an elongated red hexagon/six-sided polygon. The inside of the hexagon is colored blue, with a white stylized hand holding a flaming torch. In the outer blue circle are the words "GO FOR BROKE - 442nd REGIMENTAL COMBAT TEAM"]

I'm guessing "Get Fucked, Dewitt" wouldn't have been approved.

Order 9066 was wrong. It was wrong in 1942, and it sure as fuck hasn't gotten any less wrong in the eighty-two years since.

It’s scary that the average person doesn’t understand how massive, dictatorial, and cruel Donald Trump’s promised mass deportation plans would be, but it’s even scarier that some people do understand and simply don’t care

#us politics

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twoidiotwriters1 · 2 years ago

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Copycat: Agent Zero —(Marvel Fem!Oc)

A/N: I wanna stretch this until the next Avengers movie but that's years away so maybe I'll write one-shots or something idk -Danny

Words: 2,101

Phase Four Masterlist

Previous chapter // Next Chapter

Listen to: ‘Slow Dancing -by Adam French

ix: Drive Down Memory Lane

The last thing Cat wanted was to sit on a bus full of her former classmates.

Sunglasses and the old leather jacket on, she leaned against the fancy transportation and waited, when the teenagers rounded the corner and spotted their new ride, Cat smiled and opened her arms in a welcoming gesture.

"You guys didn't think I forgot about you, did you?" She asked them. "I had to crash one last school trip before parting ways!"

"C.C?!" Betty exclaimed. "Oh my God! I almost didn't recognize you!"

"She looks the same to me," Flash commented. "Hi, babe—"

"Don't even think about it," Cat said harshly.

"C.C. you didn't have to!" Mr. Harrington beamed. "This is so generous!"

"Just giving back to the school that I loved dearly," she retorted with a sweet smile.

MJ walked past her. "That's what every rich person says, but they're always up to something. "

Cat was expecting MJ to be mad at her, the girl had called after Pietro's death once, it was the only time she'd decided to answer, and the last. Peter had told her it'd been the heart condition they'd made up, it was close to blasphemous to claim Pietro had died in such a helpless way.

Ned and Peter approached when the others had already entered the bus, Peter was upset.

"Cat."

"C.C.," she reminded him tensely, "but just for a few days."

Ned gave her a short, somewhat sympathetic smile as he got on the bus, he even patted her shoulder. Peter opened his mouth to complain but she didn't give him the chance.

"I was forced into this as much as you, don't start."

He handed his suitcase to the agent that was accompanying her. "What's the story you'll tell our friends?"

"The story I'll tell your friends," she replied, "it's simple: I found out you were having a terrible trip and I decided to help. C.C. Stark's been out of the country studying abroad."

"What's she studying?"

"Business management," she responded, "she's thinking about working on Stark Industries, after all."

"They really thought about everything, huh?" Peter looked around with curious eyes.

"I had plenty of time to think about C.C.'s life if the blip hadn't occurred..." her voice sounded a bit shy. "Five years."

Peter glanced at her, Cat hadn't shown the slightest hint of missing her old life until then, and the boy wondered if she was only keeping her act together for the sake of her reputation.

Ten minutes into the trip someone sat next to her.

Copycat stared at MJ and waited for the girl to start talking, if she were the one to start the conversation she'd end up saying the wrong thing, but her old friend wasn't trying to speak, she wanted to fight.

"You shouldn't have come."

Cat looked out the window with a disgruntled expression. "Jeez, I'm glad to hear I've been missed..."

"You've been missed, that's the problem," MJ told her gravely, "Peter was miserable after you guys broke up. He left half of his extracurriculars again, he had these huge dark circles under his eyes—"

"If you're here to try and convince me to take him back—"

"I think you did the right thing."

Cat looked back at her, now truly upset. "Then what the hell are you nagging me for?"

"You had no right to cut ties with all of us without a word."

"I had no right?" Cat raised a brow. "I'm sorry, but I think I haven't made myself clear. I'm an adult. You are not. I won't have any kind of relationship with underage people, no matter how entitled you feel to it."

"P.J. was older than us and he never—"

"Don't use P.J. against me."

Cat's eyes weren't visible through her sunglasses, but her voice was clear enough. She held onto the armrest MJ couldn't see, her claws pierced the plastic material.

"My brother was only two years older. I'm twice that amount. It's different, and I know you know it's different. It's not okay for me to interact with you. Especially if we think about our history."

"I don't understand why our friendship's problematic!"

"It just is!" Cat was feeling a harsh pressure in her chest, she wanted the conversation to be over cause she couldn't be honest, and she'd once promised she would never lie to MJ again.

"Is it because you think it'll be awkward? Peter told us you were dating someone new—"

"Peter misunderstood me. I said I had feelings for someone. He had the right to know, I didn't want him to think he had a chance to revive what we had, that would've ended up hurting him."

"What about me?"

"I..." Cat blinked. "What?"

"Why did you ghost me?" MJ's expression turned into a pout. It was barely noticeable, but it was real. "I only had you. Ned and Peter kept inviting me to their outings and I like them, so it was never hard for me to say yes, but I couldn't help feeling like it was out of pity."

"They're not like that," Cat replied in genuine distress.

"I always thought you were the one keeping us together... I don't know what to think of you now. I have good memories with you, I'm sad you turned into an asshole. P.J. would be sad to see it too."

Cat's heart was pounding so hard that she was having trouble focusing. She swallowed thickly, slowly, she unstuck her claws from the armrest.

"If you're done, I'm going to ask you to leave right now."

"That's all?"

Something inside Cat's brain turned off and suddenly she couldn't feel a thing.

"I'm not going to fight. It would only give you the wrong idea," she looked at MJ through her sunglasses. "Put the blame on me, hate me if you want... the only person you'll be hurting is yourself."

"Hi. Is this seat taken?" Peter sat next to her without waiting for her reply. "Let's talk about our plan—"

She pushed the sunglasses up her nose. "If you force me to talk right now, I'll projectile vomit all over you."

Peter's voice was overflowing with mirth. "You still get carsick?"

"I left my stupid pills in the suitcase," Cat grumbled.

"I can ask MJ if she's got—"

"I don't want anything from her."

"C.C. this isn't gonna work if you keep avoiding them," Peter whispered in frustration, "they're supposed to think you're here because you missed them, they won't buy it if you stay in a corner the whole time!"

"Is that any different from how I used to be?" She was too dizzy to think.

"Of course," he said, "you used to love our friends, that doesn't go away easily— at least not in normal people, and you're supposed to be one."

"I don't understand why I tried so hard to be normal..." she pushed her head back and stared up at the ceiling. "I gave and gave, and it brought nothing."

"Don't say that in front of Ned, you'll hurt his feelings."

"Ned hated me!"

"No, he didn't know you," Peter clarified, "but he watched your back for years. Did you forget all the things he did for us?"

"I remember," Cat replied in a bad mood. "Can you stop talking to me? I'm really nauseous..."

He kept his eyes ahead, but after a second he moved to the side and faced her to continue the conversation. "Why is it that every time we fight, I have to corner you on a bus to get you to speak to me?"

"If you have to chase the girl, that means she's not interested. Has no one ever explained that to you?"

"I don't care if you're not interested," he frowned, "I still wanna know..."

She looked out the window, struggling to take deep breaths. "Did we only fight twice during our whole time together?"

He tilted his head trying to remember. "The first time we weren't dating... and we're no longer dating now..."

"You're saying that the whole year and few months we dated... We never had an argument?"

Peter moved again, deep in thought. "Not in a way that was like, a real fight. We'd discuss which movies to watch, or which pizza we'd order, but we never got mad."

Her relationship with Peter could very well be described in a simple word: Easy. But what had been left of it? She couldn't look him in the eye, or speak to him without getting down, and Peter was heartbroken. Kids don't stay young forever, and dreams always come to an end.

"You know what they say about the couples that don't fight?" She inquired. "That they're lying. And if they're not lying, that they don't care enough about each other."

"You know," he replied quietly, "after the blip, the first thing everyone asked me was if you were okay."

"Peter..."

"I told them you hadn't blipped," he laughed a little, "then some of them congratulated me for dating an older girl... and I told them you didn't feel comfortable dating a high school kid. They thought that was very mature. I didn't."

"I was trying to—"

"I know," he interrupted, "I know what you think you were doing. That doesn't mean it didn't hurt."

"You're okay now, though, MJ's made sure of that," she pointed out cruelly.

"Don't start." It surprised her how defensive he sounded. "She doesn't know."

"You think she doesn't know," Cat shrugged, "but if she's still talking to you it must be because she feels the same way."

Peter couldn't believe this person was the same girl he'd fallen in love with all those years back. Cold, cynical, and rude, while C.C. may have appeared to be that way, once you got to know her you'd realize it was only her lack of experience. It wasn't the same now, she was mean by choice.

"I'm glad I'll have C.C. back for a few days," he muttered, "she's nicer than you."

"Like I don't know," she sulked. "Everyone liked her better. She had everything, of course she had no reason to be angry..."

Peter's annoyance grew when he realized he would not be able to stay mad at her if she continued to say things like that. Losing her old life had bruised her in a way that could not be mended.

How close was she to her friends now, if she had any? Was her new boyfriend good to her? Peter knew she'd started dating someone cause Happy said it during one of the times he'd visited his aunt.

"I'm sure your boyfriend likes you as you are," he blurted out.

"You gotta stop telling that lie to everyone," she made a face, "I don't have a boyfriend. Who told you that?"

He felt his cheeks burning. "Well, you said you liked someone else so I just thought—"

"Doesn't mean I'll date them," he could imagine her eyes rolling behind the sunglasses. "I don't have time for that."

"Adults never date?"

"I didn't say that," she retorted with exasperation. "Your aunt and Happy seem to be doing well, right?"

"What!"

"Oh shit, you didn't know?" She raised her eyebrows.

"I didn't think they were—"

"I mean it's been what, eight years since your uncle—?"

"It wasn't that long for us," Peter reminded her, "it's been three years in our time."

She frowned. "Right. Well, I mean, May's a lovely woman. I think Happy's good company as long as he learns to respect boundaries."

"...so it won't last."

Cat's lips twitched a bit, but she managed to hide it. "Don't say that in front of Happy or you'll hurt his feelings."

Peter chortled —he actually laughed!

"He was the one who told me you were seeing someone," the boy confessed.

"Ah, I think I know why..." Cat pushed up her sunglasses and leaned her head back once more. "I've been acting as this rich girl for the sake of a mission and I befriended Billy Russo..."

"Wait," Peter lowered his voice, "you're Katrina Maxwell?"

Cat looked back at him, taken by surprise. "You know her?"

"Yes! Flash rambles about you all the time! He can't shut up about how hot you are—"

"Ew."

Peter smiled. "How is it to be rich and famous?"

"You're famous," she chuckled.

"Not in the same way Katrina is," he retorted.

"Not bad." She wrinkled her nose. "Not fun either."

"But how come Happy thinks you're dating the guy?"

"Well, I kinda am— But he's not dating me. He dates Katrina."

"You don't look like her, it's crazy," Peter reached out and she was still too dizzy to stop him, he lifted her sunglasses. "Your eyes are smaller, and her hair's red... Do you use a wig?"

"I'm a shapeshifter, Pete."

"You can control it now?" He gaped.

"Yup," she squinted, thumb going up to rub her forehead. "Crap."

Cat opened her window and bent over. Peter moved away, but he clasped the back of her jacket to stop her from falling out. Once she was done, she fell back on her seat and let out a pained groan.

"Your sunglasses fell off," Peter pointed out with a little grin.

"I'm aware," she replied weakly. "God, I hate this mission."

Next Chapter—>

Taglist.

@ieatpanicattacksforlunch @jesuswasnotawhiteman @siriuslysirius1107 @greengarsstuff @itsyagirl01 @23victoria @espressopatronum454 @jkthinkstoomuch

#twoidiots writing #marvel #marvel fic #marvel fanfiction #copycat fic

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cocochannel00 · 3 years ago

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The Azoff Family: A Case Study on one of the Music Industry’s Most Connected Families

(ft. a breakdown of the Grammy voting process and problems)

This is very long so I will try and split it up into categories for everyone (sorry I got carried away- I spent like 2 hours writing this) but enjoy!

*Disclaimer: I want to preface while the majority of this is based in research, some parts may be speculation. I don’t know the family personally so I can’t tell you what goes on behind closed doors but I can tell you how parts of the entertainment/music industry work. I’ve had 5 internships in the industry (one in marketing at one of the big record labels) and the rest of my work is publicity (what I enjoy) and events and a former advisor used to run in the same circles as Irving Azoff (and he spilled some tea last year) I’m not out here to diminish the hard work of any artists or their teams, I’m simply here to showcase parts of the industry that aren’t always shown.*

Please also see: Story Time: How Fan Pages Directly Impact Columbia Records Decisions and Harry Styles Image

IRVING AZOFF: NEVER STOP THE GRIND

Let’s begin with the great business man himself Mr. Irving Azoff Irving Azoff is the literal posture child for connections and power in the music industry (he was also inducted into the 2020 rock and roll hall of fame class which is like a huge fucking deal for a manager to be inducted so you know he's the real deal)

In conclusion, I love Irving Azoff and his drive.

Irving Azoff: Early Years Run Down:

He came up middle class (dad was a pharmacist, mom a bookkeeper) in Danville, Illinois

He dropped out of college to run a small Midwestern concert-booking empire and managed local acts in the era

Opportunity came knocking and he got the chance to manage the Eagles and the rest is history

He's one of the best negotiators and has negotiated business on behalf of stars like Stevie Nicks, the Eagles, and Jimmy Buffet

Azoff has been an incredible manager and his drive to always advocate for his clients while basically not giving two sh*ts about what people think of him has gotten him the incredible reputation he has today.

All of Irving Azoff’s Major Job Positions:

Former President MCA (major label)

Former CEO of Ticketmaster and executive chairman of Live Nation Entertainment, the behemoth formed from Ticketmaster’s merger with Live Nation.

In 2013 he and Cablevision Systems Corp. CEO and New York Knicks owner James Dolan formed a partnership, Azoff MSG Entertainment (Currently still CEO)

----> Azoff also ran the Forum in Inglewood under Azoff MSG Entertainment after MSG purchased it in 2012 (it was sold in 2020 to the owner of the Clippers) — why do you think Harry played the forum for the Fine Line show? Azoff connection

Azoff MSG Entertainment encompasses all of the other companies including Full Stop Management, Global Music Rights (performance-rights org), and the Oak View Group (arena developing company)

He also is the co-founder and manager of the lobbying group Music Artists Coalition, a group that helps lobby for artists-rights issues such as royalty rates, copyright issue and healthcare insurance (see he's not all bad)

Essentially what I'm getting at is this man knows anybody who's anybody. He's the man you want on your team to help promote your music, plan your tour, and get you on that Grammy nom list.

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JEFFREY AZOFF: THE CHILD OF NEPOTISM

So for those of you that don't know, Jeffery Azoff is Harry's current manager and the son of Irving Azoff (the third of four kids). He's currently a partner at Full Stop Management, the company owned by Irving and the one artists such as Harry, Haim, the Eagles, Kings of Leon, and Meghan Trainer are signed to.

Jeffrey graduated from the University of Colorado's Leeds School of Business and started working fresh out of college at his father's old Management company (Frontline Management) working under Maroon 5's manager Jordan Feldstein (the only way you get that kind of internship/job as a 21 year old fresh out of college is if your family or family friends gives it to you). He worked here for 5 years.

Direct Quote from Irving Azoff to Jeffrey (really tells you a lot): "Listen carefully, because I’m going to say this one time. You have a phone and you have my last name. If you can’t figure it out, you’re not my son."

After working for his father, Jeffrey moved on to the talent agency CAA (Creative Artist Agency) where he worked for roughly 3 and half years before joining his dad in forming Full Stop Management in 2016.

While he was at CAA, Irving moved over clients like Christina Aguilera and the Eagles to the talent agency to help with tour booking instead of doing it internally through LiveNation (he was CEO).

Even though I'm sure Jeff has had to work somewhat hard to get to where he is (or at least to mess up his dad's work as he doesn't seem like the type to take laziness well), the door into the industry and every job was basically handed to him on a silver platter.

Not to mention if you watch episodes of keeping up with the kardashians (like myself) you can actually see Jeff hanging out with kendall and the rest of the fam at their Palm Springs house (you know you're a nepotism kid if you have an in with the Kardashian crew). Invite me next time Jeffrey!!!

Think of the Azoff's as the mafia family of the music industry, you don't mess with the mafia

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THE GRAMMY AWARDS: STUDENT COUNCIL ELECTIONS ON STEROIDS

Ok so here's where we’re going to get into a bit more of the speculation/grey area. I don't need to tell you that award shows are corrupt (See the Golden Globes Emily in Paris scandal) and the Grammys are not an exception. Think of the Grammys as one big student council/government elections where despite the fact the teachers tell you six times to vote for the best candidate, you're still going to vote for your friends even if they aren't the best.

A simplified break-down of Grammy voting:

1) Recording Academy voting members (artists, producers, musicians- anyone involved first hand with the creation of music; All voting members must have been producers, performers or engineers on six or more tracks of a commercially released album (or 12 or more digital tracks) and record labels will submit nominations in various categories to the grammys (songs need to be released commercially between October 1 of the previous year and September 30th of this year). You can also become a voting member by either winning a grammy or being endorsed by a current voting member (hint hint)

2) Once received, the recording academy with have the academy of trustees and its reviewers organize them and approve any changes to the 30 categories/fields (aka they can add new categories or remove old ones; so no best ukulele album of the year -- this is where things get funky)

There's speculation that during this stage when these special groups of 8-10 people are organizing genres, there's an "unwritten rule" that you need to be careful what album you green light (especially for famous artists) if you don't want them to win) (Rob Kenner said this- he used to be on one of these committees). Famous people tend to get more votes from clueless or lay Academy members that don't know the specialized categories or don't care enough to listen to songs that aren't radio trending.

3) After the nominations occur, Voting members begin their first voting. Members can vote for the four general categories of record of the year, album of the year, song of the year and best new artist and a maximum of 15 categories, all within their areas of expertise. Now the interesting thing is that while these are the guidelines there is literally nothing stopping them from voting in whatever categories they want (i.g. a rapper voting in the opera category despite not listening to opera). Theses ballots are all tallied and the top 20 entries are determined in each category (funky moment #2)

In 12 of the 84 categories those top 20 go to the ballot and it's done; for the rest it’s not like that. 59 categories including the big four go to a "nomination review committees" (identities are protected so they can't get lobbied... sure) who take a look at the top 20 and narrow it down to 7 or 8. (these are the special committees the Weekend talked about when he was snubbed). They're supposed to choose the nominees "based solely on the artistic and technical merits of the eligible recordings" which lets be real if that was the case Watermelon Sugar (along with most of the others in the category) I don't think would have been nomimated as they are very generic pop (none of them are special... sorry to the WM lovers out there).

This committee is basically held to THE HONOR CODE SYSTEM... I mean tell me when the last time the honor code system worked in literally any scenario (literally wtf). Don't take my word for it though the former CEO of the Academy Deborah Dugan (a queen) filed a complaint against the Recording Academy basically claiming that the nomination review process was rigged (she was fired after 5 months on the job).

Quote from Deborah Dugan "Members of the board [of trustees] and the secret committees chose artists with whom they have personal or business relationships... It is not unusual for artists who have relationships with Board members and who ranked at the bottom of the initial 20-artist list to end up receiving nominations."

These review committees can also exploit there power by adding up to two nominees that don't appear on the top 20 list to the final voting ballot (except in the 4 big categories - which watermelon sugar that one wasn't nominated for)

They also have craft committees for like non performance stuff (like album notes, engineering and arranging) that don't even get voted on by the academy voting members

4) After all of that fucked up mess, the grammy's decided is ok, the ballots go back to the voting members for the final vote. Deloitte (an accounting firm) then counts all of them, seals them in envelopes, and delivers them to the Grammy award show.

** The Grammy's just announced this year they're removing the "secret committees" so let's see how things shift in the next couple of years**

So obviously I'm not saying this to discredit Harry's nomination or his win as Fine Line was in the US top 20 albums for the majority of 2020, however, we must acknowledge privilege. Harry has a big name to him and a huge following, and while all of that shouldn't be taken into account, it does. He also has the Azoffs, a very well connected family with friends in lots of places that would be able to put in a good word here and there to get support behind Harry. Harry won best pop solo performance for Watermelon Sugar in a category with Doja Cat, Justin Bieber, Billie Eilish, Taylor Swift, and Dua Lipa. Look at the names there, the songs (ya'll can try and remember them cause I'm too lazy to write it out) and tell me that those top names with all of the music produced didn't get there through some connections.

Do with all this information what you will and if you are interested in learning more about the entertainment industry on your own Endeavor (owners of WME, a big talent agency like CAA) is hosting a free online program called the Excellence Program to help guide the future generation of industry executives. The program is a-synchronous and starts on July 12th. Highly recommend giving it a go if you're interested!!!

Alright ya'll that's it. Feel free to message me with your thoughts!

Extra Sources if you'd like to read:

https://www.vice.com/en/article/pkdndn/how-grammys-voting-actually-works-and-where-the-alleged-corruption-lies

https://www.grammy.com/grammys/awards/voting-process

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2020-11-05/irving-azoff-eagles-manager

https://celebrityaccess.com/caarchive/jeffrey-azoff-exits-caa-to-launch-new-management-company/

https://www.rollingstone.com/pro/features/grammy-awards-secret-committees-945532/

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/grammy-awards-eliminate-secret-committees-voting-changes-1163887/

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ryuzakemo128 · 2 years ago

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The Angel Of Death

Chapter Eight: Personal Grim Reaper (Part Two)

<- Previous Chapter / Next Chapter ->

Trigger Warning(s): Cursing, Angst

Pairing: (Later on) Thomas Shelby x Red (Female Reader)

The discussion between Polly and Red left a bigger imprint than planned. As that happened, she was hugged by Thomas's younger sister Ada. Incredibly caught off guard and weirded out, Polly happened to be with her at the time.

"Polly told us,"

"About that thing, yeah. Probably explained better than I could."

"I'm Ada Thorne, Its nice to meet you Red"

"Nice to meet you too. Is there something the matter Ada and Mrs. Gray?"

"I told them what you told me." Polly said to Red.

"You really do remind me of my mother, probably more now. Thank you doing that from the bottom of heart, thank you. Come in, you two, let's have some tea."

"I could use a cup."

Red invited them inside, showed them around her house and made tea for the both of them.

"This is a nice place you got here."

"It certainly wasn't when I first got it. It had things wrong with it, possibly haunted by a few dead people. But it's home enough for someone like me."

"You protect people."

"Protected and killed people Ada. Sometimes at the same time."

"I want you to do something for me Red."

"Name it and I'll consider it."

"I want you to be my brother's bodyguard. For which one? Thomas, arthur, John and Finn."

"I'm only one person, I can't protect that many people at once."

"Well protect Thomas and Arthur at least."

"I'll consider it only if they know about it as well. Otherwise it won't be ethical for us to make that choice for them."

"You're the one to talk, talking about ethics while people with less are starvin. Not to mention you worked for cold blooded killer."

"Good point there, but I would also be retracing what I have already done. Just with a different person."

"No, I know for a fact that Ivan might have used you like that. I know for a fact that my brother wouldn't."

"Still have to speak to him about it. both of them actually."

"Fine. I will and I want you there while it happens."

"I'll be there, no doubt about it. I have a feeling Mrs. Gray would drag me there by the collar if I don't"

"You know, we'll do it today. We'll tell them at dinner tonight and you can finish that story about yourself at the same time." Polly suggested look at both Red and Ada.

"I don't think that would be an appropriate thing to do Mrs. Gray." Red told her, "At least from what I know about how your family works."

Hours flew by, Polly and Ada dragged Red out of her house to tell the rest of her story about her life. Not that she minded telling the rest of it, it was more uncomfortable to be sitting and having a dinner in someone else's home. It was beyond triggering to say the least, given the last time she had a chance to have dinner like that was right before her parents were murdered.

"I can't do it."

"Can't do what?"

I can't stay here, it's uncomfortable for me to be here." Red's eyes were blurred with tears as all she could think about was what she walked into as she got home one late afternoon. But the lovely evening was cut short by an unknown assassin working for Ivan.

"I'd get inside and stay there, while I handle whatever that is." Red said to Polly. "Keep your family inside and I'll be out here to handle what he throws at me instead of any of you"

"Red is your bodyguard from now on," Ada started to explain, "Not till after she deals with Ivan"

"Ivan sent his regards," He said to Red.

"I certainly doubt that." Red stated as the man threw a punch at Red's direction. Red dodged it landing two blow against him directed at the body. As they started exchanging blow after blow. The sound of their fists colliding was like thunder, the fight wasn't going to end and it was only about to get even bloodier.

They were both bleeding from cuts on their face, Red had received a broken nose from the hard hid in the face. He was going to kill her if she didn't end this. They circled each other, looking for an opening to get a few hits in here and there.

The man in front of her taller than Red, and he is using his height to his advantage, landing punches on Red's face. Until he decided to fighting dirty and pulled a knife from his sock.

"Things are about to get interesting" Red thought to herself, hoping and praying that no one inside that house came outside to stop them. Red tackled the guy to the ground struggled to take knife away from him. She grabbed large enough object and started bashing his skull in. As she landed heavy blows against his skull he stabbed her. Due the adrenaline rush, she couldn't even feel it.

"He's dead Red, he is well and truly dead. God you're a mess aren't you" Someone stopped her before she could do more damage. The fight is won, but at the cost of making her look like a monster.

"That you mother? Have you decided to take me with you"

"Red's been stabbed, we need to go to hospital now!"

"I feel tired, as if I haven't slept in years kind of tired you know?"

"Tommy thank you for helping me today." Red said to him, "I mean Mr Shelby, thank you for helping me"

"At least I know what happens after you loose a lot of blood."

"I hallucinate my mother and soon I'll start apologizing, I am dying after all"

"No, you're not dying. You were supposed to protect me remember?"

"how? I can't even protect myself"

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