#still kinda bittersweet when my close friend originally gave me the game because we were supposedly play that game during our game nights

[ao-xingyume1987]

Now I think about it, if I my close friend didn't gifted me l4d2, I wouldn't have so much interests or hyperfixation to it til' now

[sweetpeasgirl]

Treat You Better | Sweet Pea

Description: Based on the song “Treat You Better” by Shawn Mendes, Jughead and Y/n’s relationship is at it’s bittersweet end and Sweet Pea, her best friend, is there to defend her

Word Count: 2.3k

Pairing: Sweet Pea x Female!Reader

Warnings: Kinda angsty but not really

Tags: Angst, FLUFF

The White Wrym is not where you thought you would spend your Saturday night but Jughead had said that he needed to take care of a few things and you didn't want to be blown off again. You understand that he's busy, you really do. He's the son of the former Serpent leader; of course he's going to have a lot more on his plate. You just didn't think he'd push you off of it- the plate.

Sweet Pea had warned you about that. It was the latest topic of argument between you. For best friends, the two of you fight a lot. You know he's just trying to look out for you, that's been his role since the two of you were kids. He's in the grade above you, and was originally your older brother's friend, but they fell out a couple years ago. He never left you though.

He's always been the one watching your back. At first he just kept you out of harm's way, whether that be from grade school bullies or the men who lurk in alleyways when you're trying to walk home. Now, though, he has to watch out for boys who say they care about you but don't. He has to watch out for heartbreak.

That's where Jughead comes in. Sweet Pea is just being his overprotective self, like usual. Sure, you've had your fair share of walking out into the busy street with your head down, and he's had to pull you back quite a few times, but this is different. He can't save a heart that's supposed to break. Jughead does care about you, or at least he did when you first got together last year. Some things, however, just aren't meant to last forever.

Forever is a long time and time has a funny way of changing things.

"Juggie, it's your turn," your voice is quiet as you hand him the wooden pool cue, trying not to draw attention to yourself.

It's cold in the bar and you had been alerted so suddenly that date night was getting moved here that you didn't have time to grab a sweater. You can feel the stares burning into uncovered shoulders. It puts you on edge as Jughead accepts the cue from your shaky hands and takes his shot absentmindedly. Something's going on in his head, you can tell by the way he furrows his eyebrows and watches the people around him.

You, meanwhile, are trying hard not to look anywhere but the green felt of the pool table. There's commotion all around you. Shouts can be heard from the bar and the sound of smashing bottles that accompanies them. There's laughter coming from somewhere else but it doesn't sound friendly. Whatever it's about is cruel; it’s something that should not be made a joke of.

You're definitely way out of your comfort zone. Hell, you're way out of your un-comfort zone. You're just plain scared and, with the lack of conversation that Jughead is providing, the regret is bubbling quick in your chest. You almost wish he would just break up with you so you can cry and move on already.

"Jughead," a loud voice breaks the awkward silence around the crowded pool table, "there you are boy. We can finally discuss what you wanted to talk about now."

A tall, middle aged man with light brown hair and a weeks worth of beard growth pats your boyfriend on the back. Jughead shoots you an apologetic look as he passes the pool cue back to you once more. Your blood runs cold as he starts to walk in the opposite direction with the newcomer. He's seriously leaving you alone, in a room full of people who honestly aren't the safest characters, on what was supposed to be your night. Something happened to the boy you first knew and this just settled what you already thought. It’s over.

Your eyes blur with unshed tears at the hurt and fear circulating through your veins. He disappears from sight and the dark atmosphere gets hazier as you grip the side of the table to keep yourself steady. You can once again feel the stares burning into your back. It's like they were waiting for you to be left unattended. When you're with Jughead, the heir of the Serpent crown, you can't be touched. When you're with Sweet Pea, their deadly warrior, you can't be touched. When it's just you, though, anything goes.

You don't know what to do. It's only a matter of time before someone approaches you and when that happens you'll be in a situation that you probably won't be able to get yourself out of. That's the one thing your mother always told not to do; never put yourself into a situation that you can't get out of. Sweet Pea would not be happy.

"Y/n, what the hell are you doing here?"

Case in point. You jump at the sound of his voice but spin around instantly and bury yourself into his chest nonetheless. The tears fall down your face before you can stop them but you really couldn't care less. The smell of leather and pine surrounds you and warmth finally fills your body. Apparently you're colder than you had originally thought.

The relief that fills you is unmeasurable and you cling to Sweet Pea tightly, "It was supposed to be our night but-” you hiccup, tugging on his jacket- “I didn't want to miss another date night-” another hiccup- “I didn't want to-” you rub your forehead against his chest, your voice now just a whisper- “he left."

Your thoughts come out scrambled and between ugly sobs but it's enough for Sweet Pea to gather the overall picture of what happened. After all, he has been doing this for a while. He tightens his arms around you, the anger radiating off his uncovered skin in heated waves.

"He left you? Here?" Sweet Pea is seething when he pulls back.

He lifts you to sit on the edge of the pool table, the game laying discarded behind you. The visual reminder only makes the tears come faster and the warmth leave your bones again. You start shivering but this time you can't steel yourself enough to stop, the realization dawning before you can lie to yourself again. You and Jughead are done. You have been for a long time now and everyone else saw it before you did.

"Pea, we're over," you can't raise your voice above a harsh whisper, covering your raw face with your hands to suffocate the onslaught of cries you can feel bubbling to the surface, "we're over now. You were right."

You close your eyes to avoid staring into Sweet Pea's murderous chocolate ones. All you feel now is the ice circling your veins.

"Baby, hey," a large jacket that smells too much like Sweet Pea to not belong to him is draped over your shoulders, "it's okay. We'll go home."

The anger seeps out of his voice and you peer up to see the concerned face of your best friend once more. He's looking at you in the same way he was the time fell out of Jughead's tree house. You had blacked out from the fall and woke up in the hospital with a broken leg. He was so scared that he didn't leave your side for a minute. But it's different now, you're not physically hurt, so he shouldn't look worried.

You let out a sorrowful breath and just nod your head, a deep weariness settling over your being. At least you're getting what you had wanted. A clean break.

"Y/n, can we talk?"

You hadn't noticed Jughead come back but now he stands a little behind Sweet Pea who is still in front of you. Sweet Pea instantly turns at the sound of his voice, the rage back and in full swing. You just lower your head, too tired to keep it up.

"Jones you're so lucky I'm not beating the crap out of you right now. I didn't think you were stupid enough to leave her here but I guess I was wrong! You're just lucky I happened to be here. And that she doesn't hate you." Sweet Pea spits his words at Jughead

"Look, man, can I just talk to my girlfriend?" Jughead's voice is monotone, both of you knowing he's just calling you his so that he can officially end it once and for all.

It's for the best and you both know it. His phrasing, however, doesn't go over well with Sweet Pea.

"Are you serious right now? Or is this a sick joke? You forfeit that title when you left her as free game for anyone in this place,” Sweet Pea steps towards him and you hold your breath, knowing quite well who would win the fight if one were to ensue. “You're dating the most beautiful girl in this shitty town and you treat her like she doesn't even matter! If it was me she wouldn't be crying on a damn table, she would know damn well just how much I love her!"

Your head snaps up at his words, your breath hitching in your throat. The commotion of the bar is drowned out around you and all you can see is Sweet Pea's back. He can't really love you, can he? He's just making a point, being the best friend he always has been. The logic makes sense to you but you can feel your heart breaking for the second time tonight because of it.

You place a hand on Sweet Pea's shoulder, drawing his attention back to you, "it's okay Pea, I should talk to him at least."

He doesn't look happy but he nods, helping you off the table and moving to the side to let you pass. You look at Jughead and toss him a melancholy smile. It's wrapped with bittersweet memories from all your late night's at Pop's and early mornings coming back from the drive-in. Jughead and you had some pretty good times despite your inevitable end. Maybe, just maybe, though, you can make it a peaceful end.

"Y/n I do love you," Jughead takes his beanie off and runs his hand through his already messy, raven locks, "but not like I did before. Somewhere between moving here and, well, taking on the role of my dad I let us fall apart. I'm sorry."

"It's okay Juggie. I probably wasn't putting as much effort in as I could have," he scoffs at that, a guilty smirk on his face.

You both know that you gave this relationship your all. But, standing here now with Sweet Pea's eyes searing into your back, it's pretty clear that your heart was forming attachments with another person. Which means that sooner or later you and Jughead would have fallen apart anyway. Sometimes these kinds of things are no one's fault. It's a mutual heartbreak and when it needs to happen, it needs to happen.

"You know, y/n, I don't feel too bad about losing you to him."

You furrow your brows at his comment, your voice cracking slightly when you speak, "what do you mean? He was just saying all that stuff. Pea doesn't love me."

Jughead rolls his eyes and glances quickly at Sweet Pea before walking closer to you. You can tell he doesn't want him to hear what he's about to say.

"Y/n that boy is in over his head. It's a feeling I can relate very much to but listen to me," his eyes capture yours in a serious stare, "he's going to treat you better than I ever could. He's not going to leave you in dangerous situations or bail on plans. Can't you see he'd take a bullet for you?"

Your heart races at his words and you spare a glance at Sweet Pea. He's already looking at you, the worry back in his mesmerizing eyes. He raises an eyebrow at you, pulling a smile to your lips. Maybe Jughead is right. Maybe you love Sweet Pea as more than a best friend.

Looking at him now, his tanned skin glowing under the dim lights and his dark brown hair pushed behind his ears, there's no doubt in your mind that you're attracted to him. Sweet Pea has always looked handsome in your eyes, even after a fight with purple bruises staining his face. You think back to all the times he's been there when you needed him most. That boy drops whatever he's doing when you call; no matter if you're just bored or looking for someone to nap next to he’s there next to you. You've always felt at home when you're with him. Hell, you have a drawer in his room devoted to your clothes.

Sweet Pea loves you and you're pretty damn sure that you love him too.

Turning back to Jughead, you nod your head, "I'd take one for him too."

"Good. I think I'll leave now. Thanks for everything, y/n," Jughead pulls you into one last hug before heading out the door.

You pull Sweet Pea's jacket tighter around you as you walk back towards him. He gathers you once more into his chest and you let the last of your tears fall. There will never be a time when parting isn't such sweet sorrow. It's the beginning of something new but also the end of something that you once thrived on. However, wrapped completely in Sweet Pea's scent, you've never felt like you belonged somewhere so much.

"Ready to go home baby?"

"Yeah Pea. Let's go home."

[pass-the-bechdel]

Marvel Cinematic Universe: Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

Does it pass the Bechdel Test?

Yes, once.

How many female characters (with names and lines) are there?

Five (29.41% of cast).

How many male characters (with names and lines) are there?

Twelve.

Positive Content Rating:

Three.

General Film Quality:

No matter how many times I watch this, I’m always surprised by how excellent it is. If any other future Marvel film wants to be ‘the best’, this is the movie it has to beat for the title. 

MORE INFO (and potential spoilers) UNDER THE CUT:

Passing the Bechdel:

Natasha asks about the ballistics on the weapon used against Fury, and Maria responds. I’ve heard people argue that Natasha was not asking Maria specifically and therefore this does not count, but since Natasha clarifies a detail of Maria’s response (to which Maria responds again in order to confirm), I definitely think it qualifies. I have allowed a pass for far, far less in the past. 

Female characters:

Natasha Romanov.

Peggy Carter.

Maria Hill.

Sharon Carter.

Renata.

Male characters:

Steven Rogers.

Sam Wilson.

Brock Rumlow.

Georges Batroc.

Jerome.

Jasper Sitwell.

Nick Fury.

Alexander Pierce.

Aaron.

Arnim Zola.

Senator Stern.

Bucky Barnes.

OTHER NOTES:

They start this movie by having Steve go for a jog and make a new friend, with a conversation ensuing that is by touches casual, light, humorous, insightful, serious, and sobering. It’s a pretty weird way to launch a much-anticipated superhero comic-adaptation action movie sequel, to be honest, but it’s also rock-solid character establishment - for the never-before-seen Sam Wilson, and for Steve Rogers whose mental state and coping skills in the modern era are kinda an open question at this point - and by getting us on level with Steve’s day-to-day (rather than Captain America’s, which comes after) they’ve immediately prepped us for a story in which this character confronts and reassesses who he is and what he stands for at a core level, and not just in a symbolic/legacy kind of fashion (a la Tony Stark). It may say ‘Captain America’ on the tin, but this is Steven Rogers’ story. This is a fantastic and well-condensed first three minutes of this film, before they fly off to deliver the action sequence we may well have expected to have received up-front. 

Oh yeah, also this opening scene involves jogging around the Washington Monument, which is not a subtle detail, but I can dig it. If they’d had Steve draw attention to some Major American Landmark at some point in the movie and make a patriotic declaration of some kind, then I’d cry foul, but as-is the use of Washington DC as a setting is the hardest they bother to hammer the AMERICA button. The absence of self-fellating patriotism which I appreciated so much in the first film continues to be a virtue in this one. I do dig.

Remember how I really love it when people get hit and fly off the screen? Steve just kicked a dude off a boat and I made the dorkiest ‘hee hee!’ noise ever. Sure am glad the only reason anyone knows about that is that I just told y’all, and not because anyone actually heard me.

One day, we’ll stop getting these kinds of gratuitous butt shots of female characters in tight clothes. But it sure ain’t this day.

In a world of equal-opportunity sexualisation, this Cap-butt would be forgiveness enough for the aforementioned offense. But it still sure ain’t that day, friends.

Other reasons to love that opening scene: they low-balled Sam’s counseling skills to us by having him quickly identify the best way to speak to Steve and to engage with him (as Steve, again, not as Captain America; that’s the key), and that’s what allows Steve to bond with him enough that, put in a tight spot and not sure who to trust, he shows up on Sam’s doorstep later in the film. Really tight characterisation and dynamic-building.

ALSO, Steve’s adventure to the Captain America museum exhibit reminds us all of what he’s lost - specifically, Bucky Barnes - and contextualises his encounters with Sam Wilson within the emotional landscape of Steve’s desire for close male companionship, highlighting the need which compels the formation of that bond while also accentuating the sense of Steve’s present isolation and uncertainty, robbed of any understanding confidante (the bittersweet reality of having Peggy Carter still alive, but losing herself to Alzheimer's, really hits that one home). Again, Steve’s emotional landscape is actually a vital part of the story of the film on both character and plot levels, so there’s a LOT of great show-don’t-tell demonstration in the interconnections of all these scenes, PLUS they’re doing the good work for all the other characters involved AND reminding the audience of the score so that the film can continue to draw from the past as the movie continues, without losing any viewers for whom this might be the first foray into the Captain America story. This movie is just...really well put together, guys. It’s a little shocking, how good it is.

Winter Soldier intro is too cool. Not a pun.

Steve takes a chance and asks his neighbour out for coffee; she declines with a soft no; he accepts even-tempered and assures her he won’t trouble her any further, and she lets him know that he’s no trouble and there’s no hard feelings. It’s all a very painless and respectful navigation of boundaries, and taken on face value (ignoring the part where she turns out to be an undercover SHIELD agent, and everything which unfolds from there), it’s a welcome example of how easy it is to take rejection graciously. Guys, be the Steve Rogers that women want to see in the world.

I want a metal arm. I don’t want to not have my current arms, they’re fine, but in an abstract version of the world where you have things purely for cool points, I want a metal arm.

The fight choreography in this film is great. It’s good watchin’. 

Also the soundtrack is top-end. 

“...Specimen.”

The movie didn’t need a hetero kiss thrown in there, though. I sure wish there wasn’t a random kiss in there.

“The answer to your question is fascinating. Unfortunately, you shall be too dead to hear it.” 

Urgh, why Senator Stern gotta show up, be a pig about women, make his little Nazi declaration, and leave? The answer is, he really doesn’t gotta. You know what’s good shit? Not using misogyny and objectification of women to demonstrate that a bad guy is a bad guy, unless it’s actually a relevant part of the story. One day...

I can’t deal with how cool the Winter Soldier is. I’m almost embarrassed by how much the whole Silent Sauntering Assassin thing works for me.

Sam Wilson brings a tiny knife to a gunfight and still gets the upper hand because he’s perfect.

THE FIGHT CHOREOGRAPHYYYYY

The Winter Soldier is barely in the film in the first hour, and Bucky is referenced in the museum but not discussed by any of the characters, so there’s no lantern hanging on either the mystery of the Winter Soldier’s identity or the conspicuous reminder of a supposedly dead character (another reason why tying the memory of Bucky in so tightly with Steve’s present state of comfortless seclusion is important and clever). If you somehow managed not to be spoiled for it already, the Bucky reveal is a real kicker of a twist.

The degree to which I adore Sebastian Stan’s attention to detail in his performance has increased tenfold since The First Avenger. Dude has got nuances on his nuances.

The part of me that is emotionally susceptible to heroism is very moved by all the nameless SHIELD agents who stand up to HYDRA and die for it. 

I join the rest of the world in being really disappointed that what appeared to be Jenny Agutter’s councilwoman kicking Strike Team ass was actually just Black Widow. Sorry Natasha.

The Winter Soldier shows up and murderises a heap of pilots, and the part of me that is susceptible to heroism finds itself in conflict with the part that is susceptible to the Winter Soldier’s ineffable coolness (which is itself at odds with the part of me that wants Bucky Barnes to be safe and happy). This movie got me good.

Rumlow talkin’ some shit about pain and Sam’s just like “Man, shut the Hell up,” and it’s perfect. I love him.

I love this film. I mean I really, really love it. Like, I mean this is one of my favourite movies in the world. Like, if we were playing that ol’ game of ‘if you had to pick ten movies, and those were the only movies you were allowed to watch for the rest of your life’, this would be one of my ten movies. That’s how much I love this film. There’s so much to get into here, so much to enjoy: it’s light and easily-digestible enough for when you just want to be entertained by something that doesn’t demand too much from you, but it also has serious depths for when you’re in the mood to dig in. It has well-crafted action scenes, but also a strong plot with powerful emotional currents. It has wonderful, charismatic actors playing intriguing characters, and most of them are good eye candy, but none of them are just eye candy - there’s a lot of complexity to unravel in the motivations and personal narratives of the leads. It’s a superhero movie, sure, but it’s also a political spy thriller. And, to top it off, it’s not only an excellent stand-alone film, it’s also a fantastic example of how to do a sequel right.

Sequel-making can be a fraught business; you’ve got sequels that are basically just pointless retreads of the original, sequels that are so different they hardly count as sequels at all, sequels that are so busy trying to be ‘bigger and better’ than the original they become ridiculous, sequels so busy attempting to capitalise on the spectacle of the original that they forget to have any of the same heart that gave the original meaningful impact, sequels that ignore that the original had a plot and themes and that maybe that stuff was relevant to its success, etc, etc...there are lots of great sequels in the world, certainly, but as Iron Man 2 and Thor: The Dark World already attested for the MCU, it is very, very easy for sequels to go wrong. For this film, I think it goes without saying that I feel they passed all of the above sequel-killing quality tests with flying (low-key red-white-and-blue) colours, hence my adoration. But, just for kicks, lets talk about how they did it.

For starters, you can pretty much guarantee that this isn’t gonna be a pointless retread of Captain America: The First Avenger, since this movie takes place seventy years later and there are certain essential world elements that have fundamentally changed, such as technology, characters, and the fact that WWII ended a good while previous. But, that’s exactly how they make this story work as a sequel: they use the nature of change to give the film its shape, thematically, politically, emotionally, and in doing so they assure that everything which is different in the present builds directly from the past. Steve Rogers has not fundamentally changed, and that’s a critical anchor, considering he’s the titular character and all, but he is in a state of flux due to everything else that has changed, and his doubts inform the narrative landscape. This is not the world he remembers, and yet, as the plot unfolds and he digs into the conspiracy at his feet, there’s plenty there that is hauntingly familiar, because this is a story about how the past is still alive and kicking in the present, it has just updated to keep with the times.

It’s worth noting that despite Captain America making the jump from the forties to the modern age without any stop-offs in between, the film doesn’t linger on or wallow in the differences in his world in any strict sense - even Steve himself (in that EXTREMELY well-crafted opening scene with Sam) is somewhat dismissive of the specifics, because he’s not dwelling on the oh-woe-things-have-changed, he’s just trying to get his head around it, adapt, and move forward (and the practical realities are easy enough, but the emotional facets? Yeah). The thing is of course, no one else shares this problem with Steve; they’ve all been around, variously, for the parts in between, and the story is still concerned with the context of the world which made all of its characters what they are, and particularly with the war that came after WWII, the war within which HYDRA reseeded and began to grow anew: the Cold War. In particular, it’s the ‘70s/’80s era Cold War, built into the political-thriller superstructure of the film itself and driven home most overtly by the Winter Soldier, heavily Russian-coded and steeped in the potent psychological horror of brainwashing, but there are other signifiers littered across the story as well. There’s former-KGB agent Black Widow, and the reference she makes to WarGames, and there’s Arnim Zola frozen in time by the ancient computer system which now acts as his ‘brain’, and then there’s the stroke of subversive genius in the casting of Robert Redford - the positively Captain America-esque blue-eyed-blond hero of many a seventies Cold War political thriller - as our primary villain, working within the United States government for the benefit of his secret European-originating agenda in true foreign-infiltration style. Of course, we can adapt all of this to fit the radicalised terrorism and technological paranoia of modern times (and those elements are alive and well in the text with the surveillance-state fears represented by the helicarriers), but the historical timestamping is important to the trajectory of the film; times change and things grow increasingly subtle and complicated, but the core dilemmas that call people out to fight are instantly familiar. In that sense, Steve Rogers hasn’t missed much at all.

The war that calls Cap to arms this time around may be more subtle than the openly-fought battlefields of WWII, but it is no less global or insidious; the new ‘improved’ HYDRA may not be led by a literal Nazi who peels off his own face, but the cold political calculations of Alexander Pierce are much more frightening for their realism (an aspect of the film which has become increasingly prescient for the modern era since the movie was released), and the fascist supremacist dogma that compels these villains to attempt to reshape the world with the blood of millions is drawn from the same poisoned well; this is an escalation of the same enemy that Captain America faced before, only much closer to home. And while the passage of time has benefited the old evils in allowing them to entrench and fester and craft re-branded, more socially-accepted versions of themselves, it has not been so favourable to the positive familiar things from Steve’s past: it has claimed Peggy’s memory, and rotted SHIELD beyond recovery. And then, there’s what it’s done to Bucky Barnes.

Fake-out character deaths are a major staple of the superhero/comic genre, and not one I love, since it tends to take the power out of apparent-death scenes and leaves the drama feeling contrived, and while the Bucky reveal is not entirely free from that cynicism, it sells itself well on delivery. For starters, it packs a wallop in additional drama instead of just neatly undoing that which already existed (Nick Fury’s ‘death’ and reveal, on the other hand, is more in the classic line of cheap and inconsequential), and it ups the personal stakes for Steve in exactly the same way as Bucky’s ‘death’ did in The First Avenger. Crucially, the fact that Bucky is the Winter Soldier doesn’t alter the wider narrative in any convenient way, such as providing Captain America with the key to stopping him or resolving the other conflicts of the plot through his connection; the Bucky reveal reconnects the story to Steve’s emotional journey, which is exactly where it started before Shit Got Crazy - there’s a good reason they spent the first half hour of the movie on charting Steve’s mental state. There’s a sharp division between Bucky Barnes and the Winter Soldier, despite them both inhabiting the same form, and it’s a mirror of the division between Steve Rogers and Captain America: regardless of all assumptions to the contrary, the two are mutually exclusive entities. ‘Captain America’ is not a person, he’s a symbol, and he’s manipulable in that way, he can be propagandised, his image and actions are a tool turned to the purposes of others at the expense of the human underneath; Steve recognises this (and has since the first film), and he holds this secondary persona at a remove and does not define himself through it. This is what Sam’s keen social instincts pick up so quickly in the beginning: treating Steve as Captain America is the wrong approach, it fails to connect, because Steve is not the uniform, Steve has doubts, Steve could give up the shield; Steve is a person. Bucky doesn’t have the same luxuries, in opportunities, in company, or in the cognizant ability to define his own identity, but even without the personal attachment of their history, Steve is uniquely positioned to understand the difference between the Winter Soldier and the person buried beneath the title. If it was not Bucky, specifically, the visceral emotion of the mirrored experience wouldn’t land quite as strong, but either way the Winter Soldier is the realisation of Steve’s deep-seated fear of being made a puppet, an unthinking enforcer too heavily indoctrinated into patriotic subservience to recognise the despotism that has replaced his idealism. 

I said at the top that this is, ultimately, a Steven Rogers story to which ‘Captain America’ is an accessory, and not the other way around, and that’s a fact at the heart of what makes this film work - on its own, and as a sequel. The fore-fronting of Steve as a character in his own right and not just ‘Captain America’s real name’ was key to avoiding any cloying patriotism overriding the narrative of the first film, and it’s doubly important now as both Steve and the Captain America brand re-situate outside of their original context. It’s easy to strip back the specific trappings of Captain America and still have this movie function just right, because for all the action and intrigue, it is essentially a character piece about Steve Rogers figuring out his place in the world and reclaiming the moral compunctions which have been presumptuously attributed to the lofty symbol of his alter ego, and not the struggling reality of everyday life. Captain America is what he is and how he is not because it sounds good or because it makes for positive PR or because it’s nice to have legends from the good ol’ days; Captain America is the embodiment of scrappy little Steve Rogers’ grit and determination to live up to what he believes in, come Hell or high water or the gravest of consequences. Steve begins the film at odds with himself, unsure if there’s a place for his shameless idealism within the mess of modern life; he’s going through the motions of being Captain America, but he’s uncertain of what it means to him at this point, or where it’s headed. He finishes the film having gained something vital: a mission, but it’s not a professional job for Captain America, it’s a personal mission for Steve Rogers, and that’s much more important. Captain America is just an idea; Steve Rogers is the reason it matters, no matter what war, what time, what place, or what flag.

[the-roanoke-society]

//I want to know more about the various time fracture and time travel missions where Succubus and Seraphim meet younger Harry and Hamish.

oh, gracious. well, buckle in, it’s a ride. the #concerning the mission with the time fracture and #concerning the time warp mission tags are both separate missions that somehow both take place on the Actual Timeline. the #time fracture incident happened first.

put under a read more because i severely underestimated how long this would get. some of the details of the time fracture mission are a smidge violet. proceed with caution.

seraphim and succubus had been sent out into a desert in the southern half of arizona to investigate some—very odd activity. lilith, upon initial review of the files, thought that maybe it was something demonic, so of course, those were the two agents that were picked.

but when they finally got to the sector of the desert where the strange “glitches” had been happening (in the words of the locals), they couldn’t find anything up until—well. it was sort of like reality, irritated at there being two people this close to what was essentially an open wound, ripped itself open.

seraphim and succubus, in short, were sucked through a fracture in time.

it’s not as romantic as it sounds.

it would have been fine, except for the fact that this was an unnatural rift, caused by some cult activity in the opposite corner of the state that they wouldn’t even investigate until the year after, when they began kidnapping and “sacrificing” sex workers traveling through the area. turns out the elder god they served was a nasty piece of work. but that’s another story.

this meant that it left bodies behind; granted, faux corpses, but corpses all the same. and lilith—she suspected. but she wasn’t sure. there had never been an incident like this where she, or any other women of her handle, had been able to be sure.

from the feeds, it rather looked like they were pulled forward, and then struck by lightning originating from chest-level space. both were violently knocked backwards, almost in half. the autopsies likened the internal lacerations and bruising more akin to blunt force trauma.

for all intents and purposes, seraphim and succubus were dead.

except–that they weren’t.

the actual, living, breathing agents landed roughly in an alleyway in london, circa nineteen-eighty-five.

and the bodies—were buried.

merlin laid his wife to rest. harry threw a rose onto the coffin of a woman he hadn’t yet gotten the chance to propose to. and their grief was shared by the society, the council, the order, and other agencies.

they stalked roanoke like ghosts, unwilling to leave their rooms, their stomping grounds, so quickly. this is the place where they’d do their mourning. kentucky could be a pretty gentle place, if you let it be.

lilith observed them from afar, trying to an eye on them—and signal receptors in the basement, by the gate.

she hoped in silence.

but what wasn’t silent was london in its punk phase.

and guess who just happened to be in the pub that succubus and seraphim woke up next to?

a much younger, much rougher hamish macoighre.

good news? not exactly.

hamish—we’ll just say that merlin was supremely refined through his recruitment into kingsman, his training, and his acceptance of his position.

this was before allllllll of that happened.

seraphim, more than a little panicked and in a bit of haze, wandered in and very stupidly just drank the first thing she could get her hands on—which happened to be hamish’s scotch. which, uhm. again. wouldn’t normally have been a problem.

but this hamish was a lot less kind. “oi! the fuck y’ think ye’re doin’?”

the scotch hit her brain before her common sense did, and it was coupled alongside the fact that seeing her husband closer to her own age was—jarring. her face wasn’t just flushed from the booze. “the fuck are you gonna do about it? hm?”

his friends around him egged him on, because “what, you gonna let some bird just drink what you paid for, ham’?”

and poor rae, she was trying to get seraphim out of there, but then: “go on, hit me, fucking asshole! you won’t—!”

joke was on seraphim. he walloped her right in the face and left her with a prize-winning shiner, which sent her into enough shock for succubus to finally get her out of the bar and back outside into the alleyway where they’d landed.

“okay, look, lillith, drake, someone is going to find us, but you can’t go around picking fights with your spouse—“

said spouse abruptly appeared around the corner of the alley, fury on his face like a mask—but he stopped, looking off to the side, at someone neither women could see.

and rae heard a familiar voice.

“hamish? what’s wrong? are you alright?”

no one was prepared for harry hart of the 80s. no one.

“… oh my god, harry is a fucking babe.”

“rae. focus.”

“this cunt—“ and what started ferociously sort of died because it was then that he started to look at seraphim like he had before. it wasn’t a look of recognition, not anything like that. more a look of—‘oh. oh she’s cute. i slightly regret decking her in the eye.’ “—stole my drink!”

“so you hit her? gracious, hamish, what on earth is wrong with you? our—“ and harry got real close to him, and the roanoke women sort of backed up, pretending not to hear—but they already had an idea of what he was muttering. “our training begins in three days. you know how much elias vouched for you. if he finds out you did this—“

“he won’t find out, harry, for fuck’s sake—“

“you can’t keep acting like this if you want to be a kingsman.” and then, a little louder. “apologize to that woman. i’m sure it was an accident, right miss?” that was the first time harry had actually looked at them. his eyes went straight to rae. as they had once before.

what a fucking cosmic joke.

“yes.” seraphim answered honestly—and a little timidly, because hamish was starting to walk towards her. “we’ve uhm—“ she blinked, shaking her head. her face was beginning to ache. “—had a rough day.: and the swallowed. “i’m sorry. if you want, i can get you another one—?”

succubus snorted, “with what money, genius?”

“oh—shit. right…”

“‘salright,” hamish began, grinning. “i—have a better idea.”

that better idea included going back into the bar, stealing an entire bottle of scotch behind the bartender’s back, and sneaking up onto the roof.

but succubus—she stayed down on the ground, with harry.

neither of them knew when they’d be pulled back home.

maybe it wasn’t so bad to make the most of it.

“thanks for uhm, helping my friend. my name’s rae. what’s yours?”

“oh, harry. harry hart.”

and eventually, one pair ended up at the bar, having a warm conversation over pints of guinness, and the other—kinda sorta ended up making out with a fantastic view of the london skyline, having split almost half a bottle of stolen liquor. seraphim discovered that hamish, her rock, the most stable person in her life—had been just as lost as she sometimes felt in her twenties. it was bittersweet.

they weren’t even the best versions of themselves yet—but seraphim and succubus, in their own way, saw that even if they’d met earlier, in another life—they would have fallen in love with them just the same.

and harry and hamish would have, too.

but this wasn’t the right place, or the right time.

rae felt it first.

“raeanna? is everything all right?”

“yes, uhm—i’m  sorry, but i need to find my friend. right now.”

and out in the alleyway: “morgan! morgan, come down!”

seraphim groaned. and not just because his lips had found her neck again. “shit—hold on, pause, i need to make sure rae’s all right—“

“what about if i’m all righ’?”

his voice was so husky and right in her ear that for a split second, she seriously considered fucking him on the roof.

but again. wrong place. wrong time.

“oh shut up. you’re fine. rae! hold on—we’re gonna play a game called can i get down a fire escape while this wasted—if i win, i don’t break my legs—“

as soon as seraphim’s feet hit the pavement with a grunt—she felt it, too. okay. not just the scotch, then.

someone had found their signals. they didn’t have much time.

rae grasped harry in quick embrace that left him breathless. “we’ve got to leave now, i’m sorry; you’re gonna do great things.” it was already happening, they had to get farther away from them. succubus hooked a hand around seraphim’s arm as she gave hamish one last kiss.

“remember—show them just what you’re made of.”

“wait—but you just—!“

whatever harry was trying to say we didn’t hear them. a bus passed by the front of the pub, loudly, and when it passed, the agents were gone.

they were in london’s past for only a few hours.

but in their home timeline—they had been dead for almost a month and a half.

harry and hamish had eaten more strawberries in that time than most people do in an entire year, and that’s when lilith knew for sure that no, they weren’t dead, they were just lost. and she just had to wait. the craving for strawberries was a dead giveaway to her hunch.

but she said nothing to the kingsman agents, who slept in their beds, burying their faces into anything that smelled like them at night. grief!masturbation definitely happened, but that’s another post.

it was hard to watch. other members of the society generally, very quietly, stayed out of their ways, for the most part.

when the gate snapped them back—it was 3:16 in the morning. the manor was dead silent. “i don’t think they expected us,” seraphim whispered. they were both afraid to even make noise. something felt—different.

very quietly, they walked upstairs and went to the kitchen, where eggsy was making cups of tea for him and lycan, who still had some trouble sleeping.

as soon as he turned and saw them, standing in the doorway looking more than a little bewildered, he dropped both mugs. lilith woke up to the sound of shattering ceramic.

seraphim sprinted to her room as soon as it sort of hit what had happened, when eggsy explained through joyful tears that it’d been almost two months, we thought you were dead, we thought you were never coming home.

oh, but they were.

and harry, harry’d woken up too, and put on a robe before stepping into the hallway. he stopped, because he thought he saw seraphim run past the corridor opening, and that couldn’t be right. what was all this noise in the kitchen?

as soon as he saw his girlfriend, back from the apparent dead, he fainted. the thud reverberated throughout the house.

seraphim found merlin asleep on her bed, and jake wide awake, who quickly started barking. “no, no no no, jake, shhhh, it’s okay, we gotta be quiet, okay, people are—“ oh. he was looking at her. “—sleeping. hamish? … hamish. sweetheart, it’s me.”

but he’d had nightmares like this before. he didn’t trust his own eyes. and he rolled up into a sitting position, watching as she took one step towards him, then another, until she was sitting next to him, her thigh against his, her hands on his face. “i’m sorry,” she said. “if i had known—we would have tried to get back quicker…”

his face crumpled and he crushed her to him, sobbing freely into the crook of her neck.

much harry did in medical. he very carefully felt rae’s body next to him as he woke up. made very sure that she was there, with him, actually with him. and then he slipped one arm around her. and broke. he couldn’t speak.

turns out this fracture mended itself like a bone, much like any other. that’s what allowed them to be pulled back.

both of them were treated, of course—the ride back had left them with heavy bruising on their ribs, legs and spines. and lllith insisted of a few weeks of leave—but that may have been more for harry and hamish’s sakes.

it was a rough summer.

as for the time warp mission—that happened about a year later, and that was planned. of course harry and hamish threw fits, understandably, but lilith, wyvern and drake all assured them that they’d be able to come home safely.

the mission, in a roundabout way, was ness’s idea/request. over tea one afternoon, she’d been pondering ways of preventing another moor mission scenario, where borley was left defenseless against an aspect of the unknown that had only happened because of societal stigma. she wondered if they’d only started teaching earlier, if they’d started collaborating with the kingsman agency years ago, if things would have played out differently. would fewer lives have been lost.

… then she remembered our gate.

she remembered she had a way to find out.

so it happened that seraphim and succubus were again sent back to london, circa 1987. harry, as it turned out, hadn’t lost his romanticism or softness, not just yet. and hamish, while well on his way to become the man that seraphim knew—was still clinging to a handful of what were essentially fuckboy tendencies. they were sent to borley, with a letter from ness, to—herself. holy shit, they thought, she looked exactly the same? how old was this woman?

and they set about building a curriculum, bridging the gaps between borley mission aesthetics, and kingsman.

there was just one rule.

do not get too attached to harry and hamish. to galahad and merlin. don’t do it.

if you’re expecting a situation a little like the uh, the graduate—uhm. well. you aren’t entirely wrong.

turns out when two people are meant to be together, life–finds a way. and sometimes that entails sneaking out to a bar in the middle of the night and discovering that no, the boys didn’t know how to kiss them—but the ladies knew. that—caught them off guard.

of course, lilith found out. pretty quickly. she’s not a moron.

the mission was not ultimately a failure, but seraphim and succubus would find out in a while that it hadn’t been quite a success, either. their on-boarding with borley didn’t go as smoothly as you’d think. their reputations and qualifications at roanoke didn’t carry the same weight overseas, and neither did their specialties.

lilith, in a fit of rage, blanked out their memories of their husbands—but just for a week. which could also be another post.

hopefully! this answered some questions (and wasn’t terrible). we haven’t done a mission where we’ve come across harry and hamish as very young boys, or somehow had them transported into our time yet.

but i’d be very, very curious to see how that would play out.

[ios-amsterdam]

Ep 6. “Oploop for Cullan”

The final twelve castaways are merged and are now members of the Coven tribe.

JONES:

It feels like Randy is relying on me for a majority of the social game. I totally get that it's hard to integrate yourself into a new group of people - but I don't want to have to carry him in this game. As far as I know, I'm the one who's making the other connections, and he's been asking me to do the talking when it comes to forming the alliances (which is something I really don't want to risk). Hopefully he's not just using me as a shield if we lose, I want him to be able to do something for himself, yk? It's his game too, and I want him to actually do well. And idk if laying low will really do anything for him right now. 

JONES:

HOLY FUCK I MADE MERGE AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH it's bittersweet bc now I have to scramble on behalf of Randy and myself BUT ITS OKAY BECAUSE WE'RE MERGED I'm so proud of myself. My current goal now that we're merged is to just check in with the old Wolfskers - specifically Keaton. I think of all the people from our old tribe, he's the biggest wildcard? Especially since now Chrissa is gone with the unanimous vote, I really just want to know why, yk? JONES:

I pitched an alliance to Keaton and he's down!! this is what I've been like,,terrified of doing the whole time? Idk if it's my dumb bitch juice or I'm getting too cocky or anything, but I'm finally like, making moves!! I'm pleased!! Ahhhhh!!!! hopefully they don't kick me in the ass or anything lol MO:

I made iT IT TO MERGE FUCKERS I DID IT. ME. I WIN. I’m getting to know everyone in this merged tribe and it’s so nice, it feels like a campfire. As for the reward challenge, I doubt I’m winning that shit, I don’t know anyone that well but it’s ok im ok we’re fine. Also, when i drink caffeine my brain becomes moldable to irrational thoughts that wouldn’t usually affect me but they amplify on caffeine. this isn’t game related i just needed to share. JONES:

So...I found myself in a weird situation. I'm not saying I'm the new Tyler Crispen or anything, but apparently I have ties with most people? Not only do I have my "Alliance" with Randy/Keaton/Jayden/Nick (since we haven't solidified anything yet), but now I have this alliance with Saxon and Madison. I'm glad that I have options, but I'm just worried that somehow it's going to bite me in the ass. Half of the time I didn't even do anything - Nick and Jayden literally were like "you're cool I wanna work with you" and like???? Shit here I am lmao. But yeah, it's bittersweet. I'll figure this out though if I can, I have more wiggle room now Y'all asked for tea! I'm thinking about the current dynamics of the game rn, and it's the Wolfskers 5 v 7 other people right? SO Wolfskers think they're in control of the game - and I want to keep it that way for this coming vote and maybe get someone that's inactive out like Jacob or Autumn? BUT then it'll be 5 v 6, I can maybe talk with Oploop for Cullan and the rest of the guys outside of Wolfskers about a blindside?? Idk!! I kind of love the idea. We can't expect to make it to the end with all of Wolfskers there, we have to turn on each other eventually - plus It's finally not a unanimous vote and it'll be a game changer yk?? I guess I want to see my og tribe mates squirm a bit. I've felt like I've been carrying some people on my social game so I'd like to see them try and save themselves. I came to play, not just sit around and coast the whole time.

MADISON:

Okay soooooo it's merge now, which means I can finally be with all my boys (Keaton/Nick/Kage). And last night, Jones, Saxon, and I made an alliance, so that's like half the tribe right now (math?) so I feel confident that I'm in a good position right now, but I also worry about Keaton being too comfortable as well. As proud as I would be to see him win, I need to try and make sure that doesn't happen because I know for a fact he wouldn't hesitate to backstab me (relationship goals) so I need to make sure that I take the first shot at some point. I don't know what it is, but I just feel really chill at this point right now. ALYSSA:

S/o to me juggling one-on-one alliances with four people LOL let’s see how long I can keep this up ~~~ RANDY:

https://youtu.be/5rcmDawtPpc

JONES:

I promised Saxon that I'd try to keep him safe for the next two tribals since he won't be there, and I also want to call Madison and Saxon to hear my "plans"?? I want to see what'll happen. It'll probs bite me in the ass if my paranoid bitch juice plans fail, but I'd rather go out of the game on a high note pulling off moves than doing nothing yk? I'm totally happy to help people with this immunity only because Idk if I want to win it? In my mind I keep asking myself if it'll make me a threat to win? It would be nice to win something, but I don't really need to unless I have to yk? ALYSSA:

Madison be coming for my allies and I’m like... first boot? Hehe JONES:

Alright so, Madison has said maybe 3 entire words since merge. Like Im not gonna force myself on you, ill just send you to ponderosa 🤷‍♀️ JONES:

I love how both my alliances are targeting each other :) :) :)  MO:

I hate the first tribal after merge. Because usually merge at the beginning it’s like a huge party because it’s a checkpoint for everyone and unless you go into merge with previous beef between you and someone else there’s not much to go off of when it comes to who to vote for. So now everyone’s just kinda sitting, looking around at eachother trying to find if there’s a reason they should be eliminated. Even if you wanna play strategic there’s a 50/50 chance of it working because you either get people to agree with you, or your target finds out and turns everyone against you. Slightly off topic, I’m not gonna lie I know I shouldn’t of been offended at the reward challenge but the person I gave a big bowl of spaghetti gave me a rotten banana. JONES:

The plan right now is to get rid of Kage and honestly I'm fine with it?? Like YEAH I keep saying that I want to see Wolfskers squirm - but there's no possible way that all of Wolfskers can make it to the end and we have to pick ourselves off eventually, and I don't want to be the one who has to get picked off because of it. Plus they're being kind of cocky about having the votes like - you're literally 4 of 12 people that already blew their cover to their target within 3 hours of the immunity challenge ending. MO:

So the vote tonight was originally going to be Madison but all of a sudden we hear about Kage being in an alliance with Keaton and Jayden so everyone’s going to vote Kage. But then I thought about it, I asked who told me about the Kage vote and they said that Saxon told them that Kage was in an alliance in the first place and from my knowledge, Saxon and Madison are pretty close. But I’m fine with voting out Kage. MADISON:

In this game Kage is a piece of hot garbage and he really hurt my feelings by coming for me for literally no reason. I never would've done that to him and it's just not a smart move on his part. And the fact that Keaton was in on it makes me so angry. I don't know why people in games always hate me so much, if knew I would change it but idk what I'm doing wrong. NICK:

So the vote is either Madison or Kage and my job is really to convince people to keep Madison because she is loyal.... well mainly loyal to me :D JONES:

WE HAVE MAJORITY TO GET KAGE and if I’m right then after this vote, Keaton will think that Randy flipped and will go after him, if not then I guess I’ll die! Sorry you had to succumb to the perjury gods, Kage. You were just too quick to throw one of my closest allies under the bus and I wasn’t okay with that. I kind of want to just say - yeah: I might be playing like a snake. I get that. But until this point I’ve been playing to nice and have to start playing for myself. I know I wouldn’t make it to the final 3 if I went with the Wolfskers 5, and now that it’s merge I have to make big moves. I’m sorry if anyone’s offended by what I play, but the game is the game and I hope we can be friends afterward. Thinking back I’m honestly kind of upset that I’m betraying Wolfskers/Kage/Randy, because I feel like I really have made connections with everybody, and now it hurts to vote them out. But game wise I know I have to do it eventually. I hope they won’t be mad after the game ends :( ALYSSA:

Catch me out here trying to find the winning side and work with them lmao everyone is making final deals and I’m like ???? Well apparently Keaton’s in an f4 with Jayden, kage, and randy And apparently Jayden made an f3 alliance with him and autumn??? Even tho he’s been trying to work with me???? And Saxon who was my f2 from the start is getting close with Madison Which makes me nervous but then I can always sneak into that for a potential f3???? But I’m a strong player and I don’t think that many strong players in an alliance will work Or at least like we’re all the same kind of strong player. Saxon and Madison are pretty strong players I’d feel nervous having an f3 with them for fear that one would back out And Saxon told me he and Madison have been on call every night It’s just very confusing Everyone has a fucking final whatever Im most loyal to Autumn tbh cuz idk who else I can really trust  and Autumn is loyal back I think... But then i just heard Jayden made an f3 with him and autumn and I’m like ?????? I trust trust I just wanna make Jury lol And not get called a snake 😂😂 Do I keep secrets? Yes But do I vote out people from my alliances? No (The one with kage doesn’t count) (That hasn’t been active since merge)

KEATON:

This game is silly. Everyone refuses to truly tell me whats going on (probably for better but still) and i have to hope and pray people tell me what the plan is. Today, that was Jones, telling me the majority hit on Kage so I am doing that...until an insane plan hits my mind.  Tell EVERYONE AND THEIR MOTHERS IM VOTING KAGE...INCLUDING KAGE. Then, vote Madison. At this point, i have everyone in the world thinking i voted Kage, but instead i voted wrong on purpose, causing chaos in the group hunting for the stray vote. If i can sucessfully pull this off, I can save myself for 2-3 votes while everyone goes on a witch hunt, and the witch goes along with them. AUTUMN:

I have a loooot of tea to cover and like no time to do it cause I gotta grab dinner before live night but whew Kage is probably going home 8-4, the Wolfsker boys are in trouble- which would explain why both Randy and Jayden each hit me up for an alliance- and I love it. PLUS Madison created this vote with Jones' help since she's a mole on Wolfskers and her actual alliance is Nick, Saxon, and Madison. We love getting what we wanted with no blood on our hands 

 So you know I'm intentionally off the grid right now as they're panicking. Because whoever sticks by Kage and doesn't flip is walking right into the lion's den. All I need is for the vote to not be unanimous cause if it is, there won't be a massive fallout like I need there to be. Right now we have betrayal, 2 core fours about to go into war, and 4 floaters in the middle including me and Alyssa. So unity is not what I need right now. Ok I think I just about covered it? BUT LIKE ARE YOU SCREAMING BECAUSE I AM Alright now I really gotta go/ woo fingers crossed! And things better be how I left them cause if this shit somehow goes 6-6 so help me God

JAYDEN:

Fr Fr the sheep came out. Madison is active af and hasnt spoken to me. HMMM. Honestly I may be going home it is what it is. I think I can get Randy Keaton and Jones together to vote with me. Hopefully Autumn and Alyssa still wanna work with me. I feel like thats the only way ima stay.

JONES:

I'm starting to think that Madison and Saxon are playing emotionally? Like,,,I totally get where they come from, but when I told them Mo was sus of them being together, they were immediately like "I kinda wanna vote him" but that's not (clap emoji) SMART (clap emoji) BECAUSE he's so likeable?? Especially since he's already on to the Oploop for Cullan alliance,,,like,,cmon also we shouldn't be throwing names out now or they'll find out like what happened with Kage?? Idk I'd rather take my time rn bc we have an entire day