the biggest lie of my life was finding out dakota & elle fanning’s first names were indeed not dakota & elle -

Get In (thaurens)

Summary: In summary, high school math teachers are shit. Prompt: ‘Need a ride?’ Beginning Notes: yall thaurens is so cute tbh what are we missing out on here

John Laurens exits Kings High School with annoyance written clearly on his face and his backpack heavy with extra math homework. The wet wind howls wildly outside the safe haven of the school, trees bending in the direction of the stormy mess and lightning crackling overhead. He doesn't even bother stepping from under the canopy—it's obvious it's going to be pouring down rain soon. Of course, it would rain at 6 o'clock on an already terrible Monday, when he has to go pick his little sister up from the middle school. Internally, John curses his habit of running into terrible luck. If his stupid fucking Math teacher hadn't of held him back after class, if the man would have just waited until Friday when he knew Martha would ride home with her best friends for a sleepover, he wouldn’t be in this predicament. But no, apparently because he had come to the school in the middle of the school year, he desperately needed tutoring to even dare meet the level of curriculum that the other students were meeting. The douchebag probably had forgotten that he came from a Magnet school. The worst part is, he can't even call one of his best friends to come pick him up because his phone is dead—it had died while he was attempting to call Martha and let her know that she would have to call their father to pick her up. At least he'd been able to talk to his sister before his phone died, so hopefully Martha was home—safe from the storm. That still didn't explain how he would get home. Ready to give up and storm back inside to ask to use the phone—which he would have to give his ID number for, and explain why he needed to use a school phone after school hours, and blah blah blah—John turns on his heel with frustration written all over his face. But the sound of a car horn honking twitches his curiosity. Like every other human being, when a car honks, he has to look. John turns and looks over his shoulder for another student waiting to be picked up by an expectant parent or older sibling. Parked haphazardly in the parking lot—he can hear his father's voice complaining about poor drivers that take up two spaces, because this car takes four—is a boy. Man, actually—with unruly dark curls and flirtatious brown eyes, sitting in the driver's seat of an expensive looking black pick-up truck. From appearances, he looks to be a college kid—maybe one of the students that attend King’s college program in the mountains. His wrist is draped over the steering wheel lazily, and his chair is leaned so far back he can't possibly be able to see the streets. He would look like a normal college kid, if it weren't for his very wet hair and car interior—as if he'd driven his car with the windows rolled down. The boy honks again and smiles at him, popping his gum in his mouth. John cringes.

"Need a ride?” he offers, leaning over to open the passenger side door. Immediately, alarm bells are ringing in John' ears. Some random college kid is driving around, offering seventeen-year-old high school students rides in their shady looking pick-up truck. John may not have a lot of street smarts, but he was far smarter than that. Not to mention his counselor gave him the standard 'don't talk to strangers' talk when he enrolled, as if he were a child. John is about to answer with a snippy 'no' when two heads poke into the front, both of the boys seeming confused as to why they were stopping. Two sets of chocolate brown eyes both look him up and down before turning towards the driver. He knows those two students—James Madison and Aaron Burr, two of the most popular kids in the entire school. James was a campuswide name due to him being only a fifteen-year-old about to graduate, and Aaron was known for his ability to 'get around'. They both were Juniors—Aaron was on the varsity swimming team and James was the Engineering teams pride and joy. The point was, he sort of knew them, but he wondered why the Juniors were in the truck with this strange boy—who he still thought was pedophilic. "Thomas, let's go!" James whines, reaching over the steering wheel and honking his horn. The boy smacks his hand and glares at him. "Wait, he's trying to get laid," Aaron jokes. John flushes, hopes that his blush isn’t recognizable from where he stands. "Uh, no thanks," he answers, remembering the boys offer. "I was just going to call my mom."

John gestures lamely towards the school and makes to turn back around. Thomas chuckles and shakes his head, his wet mop of hair falling into his eyes. He opens his door, and hops out—to the sound of James' displeased groan—before running over to meet him under the canopy. Up close, John realizes his eyes aren't brown but the color of caramel—brown in essence, but speckled with different shades of green. They're actually extremely gorgeous. "Well, then, here's some advice," he says, whipping out what appears to be a brand new phone—he wonders how he can have the latest generation of Android and the latest year of car, figures he’s probably spoiled rich—and pulling up the weather forecast. "If you live in the Northeast, then there's no way she's coming out to get you—not if she doesn't want to crash into some bat shit crazy drivers—people like us. We just came from that way—streets are full on flooded, water came up to my calves. If she cares about her car, she'll wait until the rain lets up. Same for the East. West is the only place where it's not raining cats and dogs... yet. Look, I'm only offering you a ride because we're driving around and we saw you over here, looking like someone just ran over your puppy. And they're going to kick you off school ground at seven, then you'll be walking around here trying not to drown. Accept it or not—I'm trying to be nice." "How would you get me home if there's no way we're driving that way?" John asks, crossing his arms over his chest and narrowing his eyes. This entire situation is sketchy, but he proves some valid points. Plus, he sort of knows James and Aaron—they all had AP Physics together—and even if he doesn't know 'Thomas', then he kind of knows them and so far, they've proven to be alright in his book. "We won't. You can hang out with us until my friend Adams texts us and tells it's let up over there—we were on our way to his place. We'll drop you off on the way," he offers, with a head tilt and lopsided grin. John sighs and looks around nervously. He didn't want to stick around until the rain let up—who knows when that will be—but he also didn't want to get in a car full of partial strangers. "I don't even know you," he voices, looking up from the gum spotted concrete of the entrance to his school. Thomas shrugs and his smile widens. "Well, I'm Thomas Jefferson—I graduated from here last year. That’s James Madison and Aaron Burr, but I'm sure you know them already. Anyone who goes to this crusty ass school knows those two. And curled in the back napping is Theodosia Bartow—you should know her, she's a Junior." He did know Theodosia Bartow a bit—they had English III together. Theodosia was one of their smartest students. She would sit with John and talk sometimes—when she wasn't focusing on whatever they were doing in class or tuning out into her own world. John would even call her a friend. "I still don't think I should get in a car with you guys. For all I know, you're a group of rapists," he says. Thomas laughs, his head tilting back and showing his Adam's apple. It takes a long few moments for him to realize he's serious. When he does, he rolls his eyes and shrugs again. "Suit yourself, sweetheart. Don't say we never did something for ya," he says, before stalking off back towards the car. John fidgets, watching as his one chance home walks away. He checks his cracked watch, seeing the time as six thirty. Thirty more minutes on campus before they kick him off, no matter the circumstances. Grumbling about going to a shitty school, John lurches forward and grabs Thomas' sleeve. He turns to look at her, a smug 'I-told-you-so' smile on his lips. John resists the urge to punch it off. "Fine. But I need to borrow your phone and call my mother first," he says. Thomas inputs his password and hands him his phone, where he quickly dials his mother's number. It takes a few rings, but then his little sister's voice fills the receiver. He breathes a sigh of relief—this meant Martha was with their mom, at home. Either way, his sister was out of the horrible weather. "Marty, I'm going to be with some friends. I'm going to call you, every hour on the hour until the rain let's up. If I don't call at seven thirty, call the cops, okay? And don't tell mom unless I don't call, alright?" John voice is hurried. He dares a glance at Thomas, who doesn't seem fazed at the instructions at all. Maybe he's not a rapist or a murderer or whatever the hell. "’Kay, Jack. Where are you going with your friends?" Marty asks childishly—John thanks his lucky stars for his sister being the obedient little girl that she is and not asking what friends he would be with or asking why he would have to call the cops. "Just to their house for pizza and soda. I'll bring you some back," he assures his little sister. Martha squeals in delight and the two siblings trade their goodbyes—John going over the instructions twice more before hanging up. As soon as he's deleted his mother's number from his call log, John hands Thomas his phone back. The taller of the two pockets the device and grins maniacally at him before rushing to the driver's seat. In the back seat, James and Aaron give loud ‘Finally!’s when he explains that they've got a new companion. John continues to stand outside the passenger door, the nervousness taking its grip on him. Thomas grins at him again and opens the door for him. "Get in bitch, we're going shopping!" he shouts in a high-pitched nasally voice, waving her in. Hopping in the truck, John wonders if he’s going to regret this.

Griffin (any version)?

Oh gosh, I have to pick one? Ah heck, I don’t have the heart, I’m gonna cover as many as I know

H.G. Wells book Griffin

general opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine I guess | like them! | love them | actual love of my life hotness level: get away from me | meh | neutral | theoretically hot but not my type | pretty hot | gorgeous! | 10/10 would bang (would probably think better of him were he not so cold to literally everyone)hogwarts house: gryffindor | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuff (I’m torn because the closest he has to positive traits seem to fit either Slytherin or Gryffindor but so do his negatives traits)best quality: Damn do I wish I had his kind of drive and determination. (Not for the things he did of course, just in general.)worst quality: Pretty much everything else.ship them with: Kemp. Maybe Thomas Marvel too were Griffin not so mean to him.brotp them with: …Kemp, too, I guess?needs to stay away from: Everyone.misc. thoughts: I pity him to a degree, but I do not and will probably never agree with anyone who tries to tell me that he’s better than his ‘33 film counterpart; he’s just a different flavor of asshole from his Claude Rains-portrayed counterpart, and I don’t trust anyone who tries to argue otherwise.

Dr. Jack Griffin (Claude Rains 1933 film version)

general opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine I guess | like them! | love them | I’m kin with them to some degree (I’m sorry for sorta stealing this from you kara) | actual love of my lifehotness level: get away from me | meh | neutral | theoretically hot but not my type | pretty hot | gorgeous! | 10/10 would bang (I love myself but not enough to bang me)hogwarts house: gryffindor | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuff (Again, torn for similar reasons to the above, though I think his positive traits are more evident in this one. Also I could arguably see him as a Ravenclaw I suppose.)best quality: Oh gosh, that’s kinda tough… His voice is certainly a unique quality, and his ambition is about on par with that of his book counterpart, but I think what I like most about this take on him is how he cares about Flora and does not want her caught in the middle of this mess he’s gotten himself into. It’s a brief glimpse into a different side of him that the film never gets to show us elsewhere, and it’s the main reason why I can’t say he’s as bad as his book counterpart because at least there seems to have been a point where he wasn’t a terrible person.worst quality: I feel like his insistence that he could handle everything himself with no outside help played a big part in how things got as bad as they did for him, and also please stop killing people, Griffinship them with: Flora, of course. I’d add Kemp too, but… well…brotp them with: Again, I’d say Kemp, but that didn’t turn out well.needs to stay away from: Most everybody except maybe Flora, Dr. Cranley, and Kemp since at least the former two wanted to genuinely help him.misc. thoughts: He’s not better or worse than his book counterpart imho; he is his own thing, and I can respect that, and I kinda wish some other people could do the same. (coughcoughbookpuristscough)Also, after finding out about all the difficulties that Claude Rains went through behind the scenes just to film this (having to wear a stuff that made him barely able to hear anything, wearing a suit where they had to stick tubes up his nose just to breathe, working in a black velvet suit so that the special effects team could make the invisible effect work, fainting because of some of this) makes me appreciate his performance in this even more, especially as his first sound film.Also also, Jack’s bi as fuck. Oh yes, he undoubtedly treats and talks to Flora better than anyone else he encounters in the film, but there are some lines he has (mostly with Kemp) that seem very not-straight out-of-context (and arguably in-context even).

Dr. Jack Griffin (Monster AU version)

general opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine I guess | like them! | love them | I’m kin with them to some degree (surprise) | actual love of my life hotness level: get away from me | meh | neutral | theoretically hot but not my type | pretty hot | gorgeous! | 10/10 would bang (again, I love myself, but not enough to bang me)hogwarts house: gryffindor | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuff (Torn again, even more so since we’ve tried making him more likable and have been giving him quite a bit of character development)best quality: He’s finally learning that keeping his problems and feelings to himself isn’t always a good idea and having him getting better about being more open with others is nice. Also, I love writing interactions for him, especially when it involves one of his partners.worst quality: He still has problems when it comes to interacting with others, but he’s at least learning, just like most everyone else in their monster group.ship them with: Arthur Kemp, Flora Cranley and Henry Jekyll are all his partners and he loves them all dearly.brotp them with: See above, as each one was very much a friends-to-lovers situation. He’s also starting to get along better with Rosemary, Henry’s fiancee. He’s also been slowly rebuilding his friendship with his brother Frank as well as building more trust with the rest of the people in the polycule Frank is in (those being Geoffrey Radcliffe, Kitty Carroll (his partners), and Helen Manson (his partners’ partner)).needs to stay away from: Rei (the first Phantom of the Opera in our AU), for a good while at least. They don’t exactly get along at first, and it takes a long time before they can interact without at least one of them figuratively jabbing at the other. I’d add Hyde, but most people know to stay away from him.misc. thoughts: I love him. I love writing for him. I love writing interactions that involve him. I don’t care if this deviates from the book version more than the ‘33 film did, I still love him.

And as a bonus, since I’ve headcanoned that his last name is Griffin

Claude Griffin (The Invisible Man from Mad Monster Party/Mad Mad Mad Monsters)

general opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine I guess | like them! | love them | I’m kin with them to some degree | actual love of my life hotness level: get away from me | meh | neutral | theoretically hot but not my type | pretty hot | gorgeous! | 10/10 would bang (fuck you, Yetch, he’s not nearly as ugly as you)hogwarts house: gryffindor | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuff (I don’t think there’s any Griffin I’m aware of that could be considered to be a Hufflepuff.)best quality: He’s so Extra!worst quality: Mad Mad Mad Monsters reduced him to a henpecked husband that makes “marriage sucks” jokes and that is just awful.ship them with: Jekyll and Hyde. Probably the only Hyde ship I genuinely like, honestly.brotp them with: His son Ghoul and Boobula.needs to stay away from: Nagatha. I have no idea how they hooked up, but you can’t convince me that they wouldn’t both be much happier after getting a divorce and moving on with their lives.misc. thoughts: Mad Monster Party was a mixed bag but he was one consistently good thing about it and he really made it worth it to me.

I’m sorry this was so long, I have a lot of feelings about this character, and I love talking about him, so thank you so much for asking!

(Send me a character?)

Sorry if this is an inappropriate ask. Please feel free to ignore in that case. What do you think of RFK's rumored affairs, including the horrible Monroe stuff? Personally, I think he was unfairly maligned, simply because he was the middle brother of JFK and Teddy, who were proven cheaters. Biographers like James Hilty or Larry Tye have argued that he was too much of a prude and too cautious to be a womanizer. Certainly no woman has ever come forward, unlike in JFK's case.

Hey there! Sorry for the delay in answering, but I basically wanted to educate myself more on the topic and then get back to you; it’s not gauche at all, especially if you consider it from a historical perspective, which I try to when undertaking a historical analysis of anybody, even with someone I might genuinely like.

I tend to agree. One of what is called the ‘definitive’ Robert Kennedy biography, “Robert Kennedy: His Life” by Evan Thomas, which I’m currently reading, is ridiculously detailed in this aspect, and provides a lot more perspective on RFK’s views of women, etc.

RFK, as opposed to JFK or Ted Kennedy, for all extensive purposes, was a feminist. He was famously a ‘mama’s boy’ as a child, mercilessly teased for it, and tried to compensate by being the family protector and as tough and controlling as his old man wanted him to be.

That being said, his father couldn’t beat out his natural sensitive sensibilities which became his defining trademark later in life once he got out from under his grasp (it took the debilitating stroke of his father, but he finally did it). He was forced to become his own man despite constantly supporting others, and it was the hints of this man that sort of informs my perspective of any rumours of infidelity.

1. This is a man who basically was horrified when his date opened her mouth when she was kissing him at twenty. The man didn’t know about French kissing until twenty, despite his two older brothers and his father being famous womanisers. A lot of people describe RFK as ‘lost in the shuffle,’ the only boy amongst a sea of girls until Teddy was born. We have to remember that despite being close later by circumstance, RFK and JFK were not bosom buddies growing up, and rarely spent time together unless with family, which is understandable, with almost a decade between them in ages. So I think any thought of JFK’s behaviour ‘rubbing off’ on RFK is sort of a moot point.

2. This is also a man who as a child Thomas hints could have been considered so sensitive that he became clinically depressed, just it was never diagnosed (To be fair, if you read how much even his own family considered him a failure, I couldn’t even imagine living through it. It’d drive you crazy). He famously would spend more time than the three times a week required in mass, and would stay there for at least three hours, praying and lingering, as if looking for some sort of shelter from the storm. He didn’t drink or smoke until he was twenty-one, and lost his virginity because his father paid someone to take him to a brothel. Reportedly, he said afterwards something akin to ‘Not bad, but not great either.’ This was obviously a kid for whom sexual activity or debauchery was not at the forefront of his psyche.

3. Because he wasn’t part of ‘The Golden Trio’ of his older, more social and stunning siblings, including JFK, he had to carve out a niche role for himself, despite pretty much being a C- student and failing at most stereotypically ‘Kennedy’ things he tried his hand at. That was the role of the protector of the family name for the good part of his life. I honestly think it speaks volumes that he said on the campaign trail that people could say whatever they wanted about him, as long as they liked JFK. We all know JFK was a notorious cheat, and the fact that RFK took that mantel on just goes to show how much this identity as the protector defined him. I don’t think honestly he’d risk that just to have a fling with a girl.

4. He was supremely Catholic. This tended to make him a Moralist, until proven otherwise. However, one of the things I think everyone loved most about his character was that if he was proven there was a grey area, he would admit his wrong and move on. That sounds simply nowadays, where politicians famously flip-flop on positions all the time, but this is different than flip flopping on positions; you could literally see him GROW as a person.

That being said, early in his life and in his career, he did tend to see women as this precious thing to be protected or sinful. There are stories where he literally fired a campaign worker for swearing in front of female staffers, at the same time saying women were the best workers because they just worked the hardest. He would have men walk female campaign workers to the subway to make sure they got home alright if he kept them late. I think later in life, the more ‘sinful’ women he knew, judging by his behaviour, he didn’t pain women as these two dichotomies, but the moralism of being brought up so strictly Catholic was the starting place from which this grew (Famously he married his wife Ethel, who almost considered becoming a nun).

5. Which brings me finally to your actual question, about the rumours about the affairs, in particular Marilyn Monroe.

To be honest, judging from what I outline earlier, that’s basically why I don’t think he really had an affair. Some border on the ridiculous (homosexual affairs)), to others which were more plausible (aka guilt by association being surrounded by the dozens of women JFK cheated with), but all don’t tend to take into account one important thing: Bobby.

Bobby, for all extensive purposes, was the opposite of his brothers. It was the only way he was able to find an identity within the family after years of trying to emulate them. Ted, being much more social and athletic, from what I understand, fell in line with the Kennedy men cheating pretty easily. But Bobby had to prove himself by being the OPPOSITE of what was expected. If they swerved right, he swerved left. It was the only way to distinguish himself in the eyes of his father. If Jack was flighty and rebellious, Bobby was stable and dependable. Everyone who knows him describes him as being almost TOO loyal. I honestly don’t think it’s in his character as the one black sheep in the family (They literally called him ‘Black Robert’) to cheat, especially considering the heavy influence Catholicism had in his life.

6. Which brings me to the Marilyn Monroe rumours. From all the research I saw, RFK only met/associated with Marilyn four times that can be proven: once, at a dinner party where they first met, which was quite sweet because the next day Marilyn wrote to her father and mentioned RFK by name, saying he had ‘the most wonderful sense of humour,’ which if you know anything about Bobby, is the most hilarious mental image ever. Marilyn, the epitome of glamour but sweet as a button, oohing over Bobby, who probably was just spewing self-deprecating black humour all night. But honestly I find it sort of adorable. xD

The second recorded instance was where Marilyn was at Madison Square Garden and famously sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to JFK. RFK was with there with 15,000 other drooling men. There’s also a pretty adorable story that RFK was the only person sensitive enough to realise that Marilyn was basically a hunk of meat to them about to be torn apart, and pretty much guided her to safety, not only to save the image of his brother, but to save Marilyn as well.

The third instance was where Ethel and RFK invited Marilyn to come to a pool party at their place, but she refused. Part of the Kennedy family was married into actors, so Pat Kennedy was actually great friends apparently with Marilyn, so this isn’t really that out of the ordinary.

The last recorded instance was where Bobby went to talk to her about Jack and keeping a low profile, and although nobody really knows what was truly said there, that’s presumed to be what the trip was about. With Bobby’s schedule as Attorney-General, he was recorded doing a multitude of other things that day, so I doubt anything actually happened.

Then there is that weird thing where people say RFK orchestrated her death and that bullshit, which is absolutely ridiculous conspiracy theory zones, but it’s proven he was 350 miles away the day she died with his wife and family, so nothing doing there.

From what I understand, the two people who were said to start the rumours that Marilyn slept with both RFK and JFK were Marilyn herself and Peter Lawford, who was going through a ridiculously bitter divorce proceedings with Pat Kennedy at the time and was a known alcoholic and druggie, and from what I’ve heard, sort of an all around cunt: basically openly marrying into the family for the prestige and as a boost to his acting career, and that’s the only reason he was in the original Ocean’s Eleven as a favour to the Kennedys, but I digress. I can see him saying stupid shit just to get back at the Kennedys and due to the mythos of the family, some of it sticking the more scandalous things he said. I don’t put too much stock in him and once again, always thought of him as a cunty-Mccunt-cunt (To be fair, I remember my mum said one day when the original Ocean’s Eleven was on TV everyone thought he was a cunt too in the 60s, so there you go XD).

Marilyn herself had a lot of her own problems at the time, and I wouldn’t ever really want to blame her for those things, because I always felt bad for her and the way she was manipulated and used by men from a very young age. From my perspective, she learned to define herself BY men and what attention they gave to her, due to a rocky family upbringing and suspected abuse, which I always thought was so incredibly sad. I always saw her as this sort of broken loose cannon that was manipulated but ultimately snuffed out.

From what I understand, her saying that came from tapes with her psychologist, where she claimed she slept with both of them. Keep in mind, this is towards the end of her life where she was ridiculously stocked up on barbiturates and alcohol. To be honest, I think she wanted to sleep with Bobby after realising he was protecting her, but the feelings weren’t reciprocated to the point it was consummated. Marilyn always seemed to go after people who could protect her in some way, but where other men would protect her out of love for her image and her glamour, and be (usually, Arthur Miller excluded) these examples of machismo and manliness, Bobby was famously shy around women and sweet (To be real, Marilyn could have used a ‘Bobby’ in her life to keep her on track; someone who saw her as a real human being and not just her glamorous image, but I digress). So even if he did want to sleep with her, I don’t think he would act on it, because he wasn’t a man driven by sexual urges.

The reason I don’t believe what she said was particularly true in terms of RFK (we all know it was true in terms of JFK) was because A) She and the only other person who said it were known druggies/alchies and famously unreliable as sources (Peter Lawford), and B) The one person who WAS reliable as a source (in however unscrupulous a way he was) was J.Edgar Hoover. That man had files from sun-up to sunset on JFK’s different liaisons, missteps, etc. It IS a bit of speculation on MY part, but do you think, even if there was a rumour that Bobby was stuck up in something, it would be in the Hoover files? Why would JFK’s liaison with Marilyn be in the files but not Bobby’s? Arguably Bobby was the one person more disliked in Washington; you would think this would be something Hoover would jump on.

I think also because Marilyn would want something with Bobby, I don’t see her above saying it until it was real. This is a woman who was used to living in a sort of fantasy world of her own creation that she was very well aware of (contrary to her public image, she was very smart and constantly attempting to improve herself), so I think it’s not above considering that she said it because she was hoping or imagining that such a thing would come to pass.

This leads into rumour and speculation that is profoundly unhistorical and I don’t really care to get into it, but I think that is the historical nub someone can base their hat on. I don’t think if RFK had affairs, it wouldn’t be recorded by Hoover, wouldn’t be something that he had tremendous levels of Catholic guilt about, and would have come to the forefront, because it would have affected him in a way it wouldn’t have affected his brothers. So even if he DID have an affair, I think he would feel genuinely guilty about it, which to me, puts it in a different area than someone who just constantly cheats and doesn’t give a shit.

Hoover also didn’t particularly have a reason to go soft on RFK. I’ll quote the book ‘Bobby and J.Edgar,’ which is more rumour-mongering than actual history for the most part, but the summary of their two positions is outlined well:

“For Hoover, Hersh writes, “America amounted to a kind of Christian-pageant fantasy of the System” that was threatened by “Commies and beatniks and race-mixers … hell-bent to eradicate this utopia.” Kennedy saw “gangsters” undermining unions, corporate America and, yes, even politics. Here was the nub of their quarrel: subversion versus corruption.”

History has pretty much played out that Bobby was right (including today with Trump in power), so they had no reason to see eye to eye. It’s a complicated area of history that can often degrade into rumours, scandal, and stupidity, which I don’t particularly care to go into, but from a purely historical aspect, I hope you can see why I think it would basically be contrary to his character; not because I’m trying to be one of those people who hold up a holier than thou view of the Kennedys (that family was something else), but because I don’t particularly think it was in his character and identity as this Good Bobby/ Bad Bobby dichotomy of someone who was seen in the media as the person who had to clean up after his brother’s mess, and that was often true.

Hopefully this somewhat answered your question and remained relatively historical rather than scandalous in nature, as I try to stay above all those sorts of things in pure historical analysis. Sorry for the late reply. xx

A New Glader?

Pairings: Thomas x Reader

Author: @ninja-stiles

Words: 1940

Request: Do you think you could do a Thomas imagine from the maze runner? Where Y/N is the 2nd girl to arrive at the maze and Theresa feels threatened by her but Thomas trusts her and starts to like her? And maybe Theresa tries to do something stupid/mean to Y/N?

Authors Note: This was requested to me and thought that I’d give it a shot. I want to thank @dylan-ohbrien for proofreading and editing it for me! Enjoy bbys! 

Y/N’s POV

I gasp awake and start coughing up water. I move the wet hair out of my face, my clothes damp, looking around the space I’m in. The noises of animals cut through the sound wave as I desperately try to figure out where I am. It’s dark, but not entirely pitch black, there are lights outside of the box I’m currently trapped in and it seems to be that the cage I’m in is moving.

        “HELLO?” I yell out, “HEY! IS ANYONE THERE? WHERE AM I?!”

The box’s speed seems to increase and I cower near one of the corners praying that I don’t die in here. It comes to a stop and a bright light shines through as a trap door opens. I look up seeing a bunch of guys and a girl surrounding the opening and I immediately feel intimidated. A guy jumps down into the box squatting down in front of me and I try to back up slightly, but I’m already against the wall.

        “Hey, it’s going to be okay.” The guy tells me holding his hands up.

        “Wh-Where am I? Who are you?!” I ask my eyes wandering up towards everyone who’s watching me closely. The guy looks up at everyone and asks them to give us a minute. They all go back to whatever they were doing as this very attractive guy looks back at me.

        “I’m Thomas and you’re in the Glade. Tell me, do you remember your name?” Thomas asks me.

        “My name’s Y/N,” I say quietly and he looks at me shocked, “I-I don’t understand why I’m here though. D-Did someone put us here?”

        “We don’t either. We’ve been trying to figure out why and who,” he helps me off the floor and I watch him jump out of the box, then he brings his hand down as I grasp onto it and he lifts me up, out of the box, “this is the Glade. Where we work and live to survive at the moment.” I look around at everyone working and my eyes land on another girl who seems to be giving me a death look.

        “U-Uhm, who’s she?” I ask looking back at Thomas and he looks over at the girl.

        “That’s Teresa. I’m not going to lie to you, but it’s a little strange that you’re here.”

        “Why’s that?” I ask as I run a hand through my hair.

        “Well, when she came up in the box there was a note attached to her stating that she’d be the last one, ever. That was a couple days ago and now you’re here.” He tells me as he brings me to what I assume is the sleeping area. He sits on his hammock and motions me to sit next to him.

        “So we have rules here. First everyone does their part, no slackers. Second, never hurt another glader. We have to trust each other. Lastly, never go outside the glade, unless you’re a runner.” He tells me.

        “What’s a runner?” I ask curiously.

        “Runners, well mostly myself and Minho, are the ones who go into the Maze. We run through it everyday.”

        “Even though you just got here it already feels like we’ve known each other for years.” Thomas chuckles rubbing the back of my hand with his rough callused fingertips.

        “I honestly feel the exact same way. I’m trying to remember if it was possible that I know you, but my mind’s just drawing a blank.” I confess looking around, my eyes finding Teresa once more. She’s standing near a boy with sandy blonde hair who’s trying to get a stump out of the ground. I see her eyes giving me a mean glare and I gulp slightly looking away.

        “You okay?” Thomas asks me looking towards where I was looking then back at me.

        “I-I don’t think Teresa likes me that much.” I say rubbing my face and a sigh escapes my lips.

        “She just doesn’t know you. Don’t worry about it too much okay?” He tells me rubbing my back softly and I nod my head in response.

**Few Days Later**

I was helping Newt and the other Track-Hoes with planting some vegetables. It’s been a few days since I’ve gotten here and seemed to gain trust from most of the gladers, but the one person who doesn’t seem to trust me still is Teresa. I don’t really understand what her problem is with me, I haven’t done anything to her. Thomas keeps telling me to just give it time, but I’m starting to have my doubts. That’s another thing, Thomas and I have been getting really close lately and it might be possible that I like him, a lot. He’s absolutely gorgeous with his chestnut colored hair, honey brown eyes, those adorable pink lips with moles that splatter across his left cheek. Not to mention that nice muscular body he has. My heart thinks that he likes me as well, but my brain says that he doesn’t and I don’t know if I should confront him with my feelings or just keep them in the shadows.

Teresa’s POV

“Thomas you can’t just go around trusting people!” I yell, “what if she works for WCKD?! We need to banish her!”

        “Teresa, we worked with WCKD, so you want to banish us as well? I’m telling you that we can trust Y/N. She hasn’t done anything wrong and I don’t see why you don’t like her.” Thomas tells me crossing his arms over his chest.

        “You barely know her, so why do you TRUST her so much? Is it because you like her?” I ask angrily crossing my arms as well.

        “So what if I like her? Is that against the law? Last time I checked it wasn’t.” He tells me cinching his eyebrows in anger.

        “If you’re not going to do anything, I will, Thomas. We don’t know anything about her past or why she remembered her name.”

        “What like when you remembered your name? We trust you don’t we?” He accuses.

        “That’s different. I was supposed to be the last one and a few days later she shows up? It’s suspicious and you guys aren’t doing anything about it!” I yell storming away from him.

Stupid Y/N. What the shuck does she have that I don’t? In the midst of my thoughts I heard Y/N laugh at something Newt had said to her. I groan heading towards the cooks hut grabbing a small knife.

        “I’ll just take care of this myself. Thomas was supposed to be mine, not hers.” I say heading towards Y/N who’s still planting seeds.

        “Hey Y/N will you help me? There’s this thing I need from the woods and it’s stuck, I need some help getting it out.” I ask.

        “Uh yeah, sure.” She replies and I bring her out into the middle of the woods. She walks in front of me looking around on the ground for the thing I needed help with. She turns around about to ask me where it is when I shove the knife into the side of her stomach. She gasps out and I pull the knife out as her hand covers her wound.

        “W-Why?” She asked me.

        “Well, because you can’t be trusted. Also, nobody likes you, they just pity you, including Thomas. I’ve seen the way you look at him and know that he doesn’t feel the same honey.” I tell her throwing the knife leaving her on the ground to bleed out.

Y/N’s POV

I watch her walk away as I go in and out of consciousness putting pressure against the wound. I hear a twig snap near me and I look around desperately trying to find someone.

        “HELLO? SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME! THOMAS!? Please…” My voice goes quieter as I hear someone yell my name.

        “Y/N!?” Thomas yells out.

        “Thomas!? Thomas please, I need help.” I cry out and see him run towards me jumping over some roots from the trees. He reaches me falling onto his knees next to me.

        “Oh my god, Y/N. What happened? Who did this to you?” He asks me taking his shirt off wrapping it around my stomach, tying it off to keep pressure applied to my wound.

        “T-Teresa. S-She told me that no one likes me or trusts me i-including you,” I look up at him seeing tears in his eyes, “is that true, Thomas? That you don’t like me.” I ask him, tears sliding down my face and I close my eyes. I feel Thomas’ fingers wipe my tears away and I open my eyes seeing his face in front of mine.

        “Of course it’s not true. None of it. We all trust and like you, Y/N. I like you, a lot and I wish I would’ve seen this coming. God this is my fault.” Thomas mentions running a hand through his hair.

        “Thomas, this isn’t your fault. You didn’t know what she had planned, okay? Just help me get to the Med-Jack tent please.” I smile up at him and he lifts me up bridal style and I gasp in surprise, “oh gosh Thomas.” I chuckle.

        “C’mon cutie let’s go get you patched up. I’ll have to tell Newt what happened.” He tells me carrying me to the Med-Jack hut laying me on the table. Clint and Jeff come in and gasp at the sight of me.

        “What happened?” Clint asks as Jeff gathers the supplies to stitch my wound back up.

        “Teresa stabbed Y/N. I need to go get Newt. I’ll be right back.” Thomas says running out of the door.

I lay back against the table as Clint unties the shirt Thomas placed there, lifting my shirt. They pour peroxide onto my wound and I wince as they clean it before Jeff starts stitching the skin. I take my mind off Jeff sewing my skin and think back to what Thomas said, I like you, a lot. I smile at the memory and hear footsteps running into the hut. Newt and Thomas run through the entrance to see Jeff finish up my stitches. Thomas stands next to me rubbing his thumb against my forehead, I smile up at him as my delicate fingers wrap around his arm.

        “So Teresa did this to you?” Newt asks me and I nod in response. Newt hums nodding his head rubbing his chin. “Alright, well we’re going to have to banish her. She knows the rules and she broke one.”

Thomas and I nod as he goes and gets a council meeting ready. I look up at Thomas to see him already looking down at me and a small smile spreads on his cute lips.

        “T-Thomas, I think I love you.” I tell him.

        “I-I think I love you too, Y/N.” He smiles leaning down placing a soft kiss against my lips. I kiss back placing one of my hands on his cheeks. He pulls away placing a gentle peck against my lips, nose, forehead, and each cheek.

        “I’m going to get us out of here okay? Me and Minho have it figured out. We were all supposed to leave in the morning when the doors opened.” Thomas tells me and I grab one of his hands intertwining our fingers.

        “I fully trust you to get us out of here and I know you’ll keep me safe no matter what.” I mention leaning up placing a kiss to his lips. He groans in response kissing me back with more passion than the first kiss.

        “C’mon we need to get to the council hall.” He tells me. He helps me off the table and walks us across the glad with our hands still intertwined.