#Washington seems to concur
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What Does South Side Sox, a Chicago White Sox community Mean?
Home Scores Watch 2022 World Cup Odds Stories Browse Sign In Account SPORTS & TEAMS PLAYERS Reveals PERSONALITIES SPORTS SPORTS & TEAMS. PLAYERS. Program. Characters SPORTS NFL NCAA FB MLB NBA NCAA BK NASCAR Soccer USFL NHL Golf Premier Boxing Champions WWE UFC WNBA NCAAW BK Tennis Motor Sports Professional Bowlers Association Horse Racing Westminster Kennel Club Olympics MLB MLB MLB Arizona Diamondbacks Atlanta Braves Baltimore Orioles Boston Red Sox Chicago Cubs Chicago White Sox Cincinnati Reds Cleveland Guardians Colorado Rockies Detroit Tigers Houston Astros Kansas City Royals Los Angeles Angels Los Angeles Dodgers Miami Marlins Milwaukee Brewers Minnesota Twins New York Mets New York Yankees Oakland Athletics Philadelphia Phillies Pittsburgh Pirates San Diego Padres San Francisco Giants Seattle Mariners St. Louis Cardinals Tampa Bay Rays Texas Rangers Toronto Blue Jays Washington Nationals CHICAGO WHITE SOX 81-81 · 2022 2ND IN AL CENTRAL MLB > TEAMS > CHICAGO WHITE SOX NEWS NEWS. SCHEDULE. Status. STATS. SOCIAL. ROSTER. VIDEOS. ODDS Additional Video game LOG. Personal injuries. PLAYER NEWS Cease, Alvarez, Manoah obtain leading benefit from brand new $50M pool Chicago White Sox right-hander Dylan Cease will definitely acquire the most extensive volume in the new $50 million pool for pre-arbitration gamers, earning $2,457,426 48 MINS Earlier • ASSOCIATED PRESS Pirates sign RHP Velasquez in hopes of strengthening rotation The Pittsburgh Pirates have authorized right-handed decanter Vince Velasquez to a one-year, $3.15 million contract 3 HOURS Earlier • ASSOCIATED PRESS AP source: Blue Jays, RHP Bassitt, acknowledge to 3-year contract The Toronto Blue Jays strengthened their rotation by concurring to a $63 million, three-year package with Chris Bassitt 21 HOURS Earlier • ASSOCIATED PRESS White Sox remain 'person' but ready this offseason This account was excerpted from Scott Merkin's White Sox Beat e-newsletter.
To read the complete e-newsletter, click on listed here. The brand-new file happens as Mr. Romney encounters brand new questions concerning his foreign policy and his organization business. The file comes on the third time of a five-day, three event debate in Las Vegas that counter Paul Ryan against Mitt Romney for the Republican presidential election. The presidential ethnicity, if any, seems to be near.
And sign up to acquire it reg. 1 DAY AGO • MLB.COM Lucas Giolito's transformative offseason, coming from his pitching distribution to the environment Lucas Giolito has devoted his offseason so much focusing on the environment and obtaining his pitching shipping back on monitor. 2 DAY Back • MLS.COM When it happens to being prepared along with the stress of beginning a brand new organization, the common first-division staff, and a MLS group, is extra worried with the environment.
1 DAY AGO • THEATHLETIC.COM Photographes: Pilgrimage to Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Des Plaines The yearly expedition to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe began on Sunday, December 11 as sojourners coming from the Chicago place and beyond come. 1 DAY Earlier • CHICAGOTRIBUNE.COM Chicago White Sox don't plan to hurry a offer as winter months meetings wrap up. Need More Info? with MLB on Wednesday are going to begin immediately.
And persistent,' GM Rick Hahn mentions. "If you yearn for to come in and locate a great group with the greatest players, what we're going to carry out is look at what we've done when the possibility to do our work came up.". The Panthers took that chance, and a group of previous GMs have operated hard in current years to relocate ahead and establish players. This provides them another course back to where they wish to be, moving forwards that would produce any sort of team much better.
Chicago White Sox general manager Rick Hahn saw disclose that All-Star closer Liam Hendriks was being stated in business discussions shortl. 1 DAY Back • TWINCITIES.COM Chicago White Sox don't plan to rush a bargain as winter season conferences wrap up. "In the meantime, we are not providing up anything," Hahn pointed out. "We think everyone can step up to the platter all the opportunity. It has some terrific depth at 3rd, fourth and 7th innings.
And thorough,' GM Rick Hahn mentions. "If you wish to happen in and find a great crew with the finest players, what we're going to perform is look at what we've done when the option to do our task came up.". The Panthers took that opportunity, and a staff of previous GMs have worked hard in latest years to move forward and develop players. This provides them an additional course back to where they wish to be, moving forwards that would help make any sort of team better.
Chicago White Sox general manager Rick Hahn saw disclose that All-Star closer Liam Hendriks was being pointed out in field conversations shortl. 1 DAY AGO • MERCURYNEWS.COM Paul Sullivan: Is Tim Anderson trolling White Sox fans — or is the 2-time All-Star shortstop merely a little bored?
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Cartoon published in Judge magazine October 19, 1895, featuring the ghosts of Steuben and Lafayette urging the USA to intervene in Cuba.
A Plea for Cuba
Shades of Lafayette and Steuben (to Columbia): - “What! Asleep with that cry for aid at your door! What would have been your fate if we had acted similarly in your hour of need?”
#Baron von Steuben#Gilbert du Motier Marquis de Lafayette#Lafayette in cartoons#lafayette in art#judgy pro-interventionist Lafayette ghost#Washington seems to concur
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Masterlist
last updated: August 31, 2023
Teen Wolf
Derek Hale
I'm Not Afraid
(Y/N) Argent arrived at Beacon Hills to put to rest her father’s sister, Kate Argent. For the first time, her family has decided to settle down and sustain a life in this interesting small town. After 17 years, (Y/N) has the opportunity to establish interpersonal relationships but will she be ready to face the complications that come with relating to her cousin’s, Allison, friends; especially, the infamous Derek Hale. She will face the adventure of being associated with the Derek and McCall pack as well as being faced with the discovery of certain aspects of her life she never imagined.
Derek Unnamed Request
Request: TW imagine being Stiles little sister and the pack finding your art book of them and Stiles and Malia being concerned because your not in it when u didn't draw or sketch your self and Derek explains why because ur not a part of the pack.
Ours
Derek Hale and (Y/N) have been together for a long time, and they didn’t know something was missing from their lives until it arrived unexpectedly. And all they want to do is revel in the moment for as long as they can, by themselves.
Twilight
Carlisle Cullen
Collision*
(Y/N) Uley is back home after being away for four years. Her life is at a standstill and she is taking time to find out who she is without school. But she never thought that coming back to the reservation would turn her whole life around. In the midst of secrets and mysteries, a man crashes into Spencer's path, and her life will never be the same.
Rosalie Hale
Bound - One Shot
Tricked by the Universe - One Shot
Art - One Shot
Bound [Extended Version]
Jasper Hale
Sealed with a Kiss
A self-proclaimed ‘lone-wolf,’ (Y/N) had always walked through life on her own. As much as she wanted it, she could never find the right fit among other vampire covens. But when she decides to cruise through Forks, Washington she meets the famous Cullen family and their resident brooding blonde with a pessimistic point of view toward his love life. It might just take a stubborn vampire to change his mind.
Karmic Retribution
(Y/N) Cullen might be even-tempered and calm by nature. But when it came to her partner, no one gets by unscathed. Not even her own family.
Paul Lahote
Speak
Bella Swan was a disaster when Edward had left. Deciding she needed a little help, Charlie Swan receives with open arms his younger daughter (Y/N) Swan. She helps Bella during her depression and becomes inseparable from her long-lost friend Jacob. What she didn't expect was falling for a hotheaded short-tempered silver wolf.
Embry Call
Truth
Embry and (Y/N) getting together was inevitable, and it seemed that the universe concurred.
Jacob Black
Because It's You
After (Y/N) Swan moves back to Forks, Washington to live with her sister and her father, she meets one Paul Lahote. Even if her heart had always been spoken for by her childhood best friend, she still falls into a whirlwind romance with Paul that ends with a pregnancy and a betrayal. Can Jacob accept her even in her situation once they are fatefully bonded?
Criminal Minds
Aaron Hotchner
Running In Circles
(Y/N) Rossi is following in her father's footsteps by joining the BAU team as a profiler. The girl genius knew almost everything but she could have never predicted falling for Aaron Hotchner, her boss, and her father's friend. in their world mutual feelings are not enough to push them together. Will all the adversities and obstacles they face pull them together or push them apart forever?
Keeping Secrets*
(Y/N) and Hotch have been keeping their relationship under tight wraps, not wanting the team to be involved in their personal business. But too many glances and oddly timed touches make the truth come out before they can say anything.
Marvel Cinematic Universe
Bucky Barnes & Steve Rogers
Choices*
After the snap, (Y/N) and Steve decided to shift their friendship into a romantic relationship. After the Battle of Earth, and Thanos’s ultimate defeat, Steve had to travel back in time to return the stones, but what (Y/N) doesn’t know is he’s not returning. The man leaves to his best friend the hard task to break the news to his lover. But what will happen if Steve returns in an unexpected manner?
Loki Laufeyson & Thor Odinson
Twists of Fate
Being a royal has its perks, but it comes with responsibilities (Y/N) and Thor had not expected. In the game of love, war, and kingdoms, fate tends to play tricks no one needs.
Thor Odinson & Bucky Barnes
Made for Each Other*
In a world where everyone has a soulmate, (Y/N) gets two. One turns out to be a god, the other a 90+ year-old brainwashed Hydra assassin. Both men will have to learn to share because (Y/N) is not giving up either of them.
Peter Parker (Earth 19999)
Swinging By
Peter would never take being Spiderman for granted, but he couldn't deny the exhaustion that came with balancing his superhero life and being a teenager. One night, the sluggishness takes over him and he ends up in a bedroom that is not quite his. How would his downstairs neighbor react to the boy upstairs being a masked hero?
Good Girls
Rio "Christopher"
Heartbeat*
(Y/N) Marks had no free time. From studying for med school, working her rounds for clinical, and the occasional babysitting her sisters sprung on her, she was all booked up. But none of that stopped her from aiding her sister and their best friends to rob a grocery store. She could have never guessed those couple of minutes would be enough to change her life forever or that it would lead to her meeting the man that would catalyze that shift.
Avatar
Jake Sully & Neteyam
In the Heat of the Moment*
Every month, female Omatikayans go through their heat whilst men go through their rut. It’s a time for mates to engage in the most animalistic desires. But when one of the two is gone, it can be a rather painstaking endeavor. With Neteyam gone on a hunting trip, (Y/N) has to go through her heat alone for the first time. Or does she?
Jake Sully & Neteyam & Lo'ak
For the Rest of Time*
(Y/N)’s heart is being pulled in two directions. On the one hand, having Neteyam as her mate seems like an obvious and practical decision. But on the other, choosing Lo'ak guarantees a life of exhilarating adventure. Still, the only thing they have in common is how they leave her high and dry on multiple occasions. Until Jake Sully becomes tired of his sons’ behaviors and gives (Y/N) what she wants.
Neteyam
Until They're Gone*
Neteyam’s life had been written out since the moment he was born. He was told who he would be and how he would do it for as long as he could remember. All he wanted was to do something for himself and it didn’t matter who it hurt in the end.
Harry Potter
Remus Lupin
You'll Feel Better
It had always been a running joke between the Marauders that Remus always had chocolate on him. But (Y/N) didn’t know how it had started. After James, in a cruel attempt at a hurtful joke, reveals the reason to (Y/N) she can’t help but make it her mission to change Remus’ mind about the sweet treat.
Holidays
12 Days of Ficmas
Kinktober 2023
Follow Me! | Taglist
*SMUT
#masterlist#andreafmn#vampire diaries#twilight#criminal minds#teen wolf#carlisle cullen#edward cullen#paul lahote#damon salvatore#derek hale#aaron hotchner#derek morgan#spencer reid#jennifer jareau#emily prentiss#david rossi#stiles stilinski#isaac lahey#scott mccall#allison argent#chris argent#erica reyes#vernon boyd#stefan salvatore#elena gilbert#klaus mikaelson#the originals#fanfiction#imagine
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Ichabbie ways of saying ‘I love you’
“Our fates are intertwined now. Running away isn't going to change that.”
“I do take comfort knowing that this strange road we find ourselves on can only be traveled together.”
“So if she dies in the dream...” "She dies. Period." "I see." *Ichabod marches over and drinks a concoction. "Crane!" .... "What are you thinking?" "Well, i'm coming with you now, so no point in discussing it."
“Believe me when I say that you belong in Sleepy Hollow. In the here and now.”
“You are home, Crane.”
“I look forward to you expanding my horizons further.”
“You know how important Crane is.” “To you?” “Yeah, to me.”
“Through these centuries, against the impossibility that we would find each other, we did. And I am most grateful for it.”
“Perhaps it would be easier if you left.” “There's no way. Too many people I never got a chance to say goodbye to. You are not gonna be one of them.”
“You were right. There's always another way.”
“Next time listen to me, okay? I can't go through that again.”
“If it makes you feel any better, I feel pretty alone sometimes too.” “Perhaps this is the sacrifice that witnesses must carry. all we really get is one another.”
“Your company holds the greatest value to me.”
*lifts glass in a toast* “To family.” “To finding family.”
“If using this map meant betraying your trust, that's something I cannot do.” *burns the map “For the world. For our friendship. You and I will choose our own destiny. We have free will. I choose to forge my fate with you.”
“When I remembered you, I saw this world for what it truly is.”
“I swear to you, for as long as I can draw breath--” “Our work is not done. You will come back for me. That I know.” *precious Ichabbie hug “Remember our bond. I'll come back for you.”
“I just...I don't think I would've made it without you, Crane.” “Nor I you, Lieutenant.”
“I promise you: I will return for you!”
*precious Ichabbie hug “Crane! You're alive.” “We are survivors, you and I.”
“Maybe you don't come back.” “And leave you here? No. Lieutenant, I do not accept good-bye.” “...we're fighting a war, crane. Coming back for me is a risk I cannot let you take.” “The Bible foretells two witnesses. You and I must remain together if there is any hope of victory. The only risk, Lieutenant, is in leaving you behind.” “No matter what I say, you're coming back, aren't you?” “I made a promise.”
“Hold fast, Abigail Mills. I'm on my way.”
“You never did tell me the full extent of your ordeal in that place.” “Truth is, it got to me. Everywhere I went, I felt it slowly clawing at my mind, my soul. You know what the worst part was? Seeing you.” “Must be why you beheaded me.” “That demon version of you appeared just when that place was about to break me. I'd never been so happy to see anyone in my life.”
“That's what scares me. My faith in you is my greatest weakness.” “That's what they want you to believe.”
“The only ones we can count on now are each other.”
“What matters now more than ever is that you and I stay true. Trust is the only currency with any value. All other forms are too easily counterfeited.”
“...but hear me, Grace Abigail Mills: it is not our fate for one of us to bury the other. We shall be victorious or defeated together.”
“I will be with you at every moment.”
“Our duty must be to one another before anything or anyone.”
“Of course I'm coming with you!”
“Be careful.” “You too.”
“Thank you, Lieutenant. It is thru your eyes that I see myself most clearly.”
“I swear to you, his sacrifice will not be in vain.”
“No matter what obstacles we face, no matter how many disagreements we have, our bond cannot be broken.”
“Even in times of great peril, we could always rely on one another.”
“I'm glad I'm not in this alone.” “I echo that sentiment, Lieutenant.”
“We're partners. More than that, we're friends.”
“You knew I'd not survive without you.”
“No matter what the course of fate, and no matter how I get there, I look forward to experiencing your America. It will be a pleasure to make your acquaintance all over again, Miss Mills.”
“You know, Crane, you don't need some stone tablet to justify your place in the world. You belong here just as much as anyone else.”
“You were wrong when you said that Henry and Katrina's death meant that you were alone. You may not have family, but you are not alone.”
“Of course having you by my side is the greatest boon.”
“After you passed out, she showed up.” “Pandora? Did she harm you?”
“I'm most grateful, Lieutenant, that you and I have found one another once again.”
“We are a partnership of opposites, yet our affinity for one another bears the ripest of fruit.”
“You noted that I've been off my game of late. When I pledged my allegiance to this country in 1776, I had a very clear vision of what my future would hold. Nowhere in that vision did I imagine waking in the 21st century, and yet,,,more and more, I feel this desire to acculturate. But the idea of losing the archives, of losing my fight for citizenship for a country that I, in part, founded, the idea of losing you...to some wretched federal promotion to...I don't know, Dallas or Los Angeles or... Sometimes it seems as though the unbeatable enemy is the 21st century.” “Yeah, but the thing is, Crane, Joe, me, Jenny, we are the 21st century. And every day, we take you a step further in that direction. That is the unbeatable enemy beating itself. And we ain't goin' nowhere.”
“I'd like to think you and I have developed, over the years, Lieutenant.”
“With all respect to my fellow compatriot, Major Revere, your spirit and mine is made of far heartier stock. Hence our most impressive roster of victories. Tis because we care. Come what may.”
“You ready to fight some bad guys, Crane?” “Indeed.” “My man.”
“If the Lieutenant were here, she would say something tough yet encouraging. Of which I would wholeheartedly concur. She is very good at that.”
“This particular (monster) feeds off for desperation. The locator spell I cast must have brought it to the area. And it focused on me because of my... emotional state [from missing Abbie].”
“I have worked and fought alongside many people in my time. It was only recently that I truly understood what a partner is. What it means to have someone who makes you more than you are simply by being by your side. Truly your better half.”
“I will never cease my efforts to find the Lieutenant.”
“Our shared connection as witnesses means I am the Lieutenant's best chance.”
“Tis a relief to find you hale and hearty, Lieutenant. I knew you were alive.”
“Thank you, Crane, for never giving up on me.”
“I meant what I said before: you're always here. With me. Ever since we first met. There's no explaining it. Two people could not be any more different. But we work things out. Together.”
“Stay with me, Crane.”
“[He's] not alone. Not ever!”
“In the darkness. Lost. I heard your voice. I followed it.” “We made it.”
“You were my Wilson.”
“In all candor, Lieutenant, whilst you were away, I spent every waking hour endeavoring to bring you home. All other responsibilities fell by the wayside.”
“I'm trying really hard.” “And you will succeed. Just as you were by my side when I returned to Sleepy Hollow, so I shall be by yours.”
[Jenny to Crane] “You seem happier.” “Yes, I admit I do feel rather suffonsified. And your sister's mood appears to have taken a significant upturn of late.”
“I knew Crane was out there looking for me. I held on to that.”
“The supernatural has given you a lot of good too. It led you to Crane.”
“Lieutenant--” “Oh. Yes. I'm scared out of my mind of seeing that place again, and no, I'm not letting you go without me. Whatever you do, I do. That's the deal.” “Truth bomb if I ever heard one.”
“I prefer to focus on what we have, and I have a partner of the highest caliber.” “Better than Betsy Ross?” “Well, she was occasionally rather pushy. Prone to talking with a mouth full of food.” “George Washington?” “Well, now there was a great man. But a great man with legendary halitosis.” “I really beat those guys?” “Oh...handily.” “You...never waiver in your faith. In what we do. In me. And you know how rare that is, don’t you?” “When it concerns you and me, Lieutenant, there is no greater certainty.”
“I'm really going back there.” “Only this time you're not alone.”
#ichabbie#ichabbie moments#abbie x crane#abbie x ichabod#crane x abbie#ichabod x abbie#sleepy hollow#personal
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La Fayette in Prison - Part 2 - Magdeburg
After Wesel, off we go to Magdeburg. Here La Fayette and his fellow prisoners stayed from January 4, 1793 until January 4, 1794. Just like Wesel, Magdeburg was and still is a prominent city in modern-day Germany (back then in Prussia). And just like Wesel, Magdeburg lies near a river, the Elbe to be precise. And again, the prison laid inside the city’s fortress. Large parts of the fortress are still intact and are the sites of numerous activities throughout the years, such as re-enactments, historic festivals, historic guided tour ... visitors are also free to request an individual guided tour, unrelated to any other activity. La Fayette is once more named as a noteworthy inmate by the Homepage of the organisation charged with taking care of the fortress. But he was far from the most prominent inmate – Germans at least will recognise the names of Fritz Reuter and Werner von Siemens (the guy who founded the company “Siemens”). Whoever created the Homepage either did not do their research or disliked La Fayette. It is stated that La Fayette attempted an coup d’état that failed and that he initiated the Champ the Mars massacre ... both statements are grossly oversimplified at best and utter nonsense at worst. During La Fayette’s stay Ludwig Karl von Kalkstein (then a Lieutenant-General) was the Governor of the prison and Otto Kasimir von Meerschneidt (then a Major-General) was its Commander.
La Fayette and is fellow Frenchmen were brought to Magdeburg by means of an open cart. What was in all likelihood intended to degrade them further, was actually a blessing for the prisoners. They now had fresh air and the open, blue sky in abundance, something that had been denied to them all those months prior. Something else happened as well. People recognized these august men and apparently also cheered for them. Where the Prussian and Austrian authorities had a keen dislike for La Fayette, the population was in large parts in favour of him (more on that in a bit). Though he may have been touched by the cheering, such outpours of affection did not help La Fayette endear himself to his jailers – not at all. Nevertheless, conditions at Magdeburg were better ... far from good, but better.
La Fayette was allowed to obtain some books. Among other things he read mostly about agriculture and this knowledge would later come in handy when he ventured into the farming business after his return to France in 1799. He was furthermore allowed to write and receive letter ... but there was a twist. You see, when a letter for La Fayette arrived, the authorities in Magdeburg would open it, read it and decide if La Fayette was allowed to receive this letter. If so, they would go into his cell and read the letter aloud to him exactly once. If he was allowed to reply, his letters were checked and if there was something in them that did not please his jailors, well, the letter then moved directly into the bin. Lovely!
Nevertheless, things were looking up for La Fayette and he started writing letters to the full extent of his possibilities. Although he ached to let his wife Adrienne know that he was more or less okay, he did nor dare to write her. She was still imprisoned in France and La Fayette feared that somebody there might recognise his handwriting and subsequently destroy the letter. Instead he tried to reach his English and American friends (both in America and as envoys in Europe).
La Fayette described his cell in a letter to an unknown friend in England:
“Imagine an opening made under the rampart of the citadel, and surrounded with a strong, high palisade; through this, after opening four doors, each armed with chains, bars, and padlocks, they come, not without some difficulty and noise, to my cell, three paces wide five and a half long. The wall is mouldy on the side towards the ditch, and the front one admits light, but not sunshine, through a little grated window. Add to this two sentinels, -- whose eyes penetrate into this lower region, but who are kept outside the palisade, lest they should speak other watchers not belonging to the guard, and all the walls ramparts, ditches, guards, within and without the citadel of Magdeburg, and you will think that the foreign powers neglect nothing to keep us within their dominions. The noisy opening of the four doors is repeated every morning to admit my servant; at dinner, that I may eat in presence of the commandant of the citadel and of the guard; and at night, to take my servant to his prison. After having shut upon me all the doors, the commandant carries off the keys to the room where, since our arrival, the king has ordered him to sleep. I have books, the white leaves of which are taken out, but no news, no newspapers no communications, -- neither pen, ink, paper, nor pencil. It is a wonder that I possess this sheet, and I am writing with a toothpick. My health fails daily (…).”
(I am a bit irked by the fact, that I can neither associated an recipient nor an exact date with the letter. The letter otherwise seems authentic and the content is similar to other letters by La Fayette that we have more information on – that being said, I gave the letter a pass although its provenance is not what I would like it to be.)
I have seen some people argue that La Fayette mostly managed to keep his spirits up, because he did not complained an awful lot in his letters – but when assessing such a statement, you have to keep in mind that La Fayette really could not complain a lot in his letters, otherwise they would never be posted. It is true though, that there were small betterments. I already mentioned the letters and books, but he and the other prisoners were also allowed to take regular walks in the yard of the prison. They walked separated from each other and were heavily guarded. But La Fayette fell ill again, this time with a fever. His illness was not as serious though as it had been at Wesel.
La Fayette also received some money from his friends in America. Some of his friends, such like Washington, privately send money for La Fayette to use. Thomas Jefferson, then Secretary of State, found a way for the Government to pay La Fayette some money. He argued that La Fayette had offered to serve in the Continental Army without pay but that there was no official document of the Continental Congress accepting this offer. It follows that the Treasury owned La Fayette six years of pay and furthermore ten years worth of interests since they had “forgotten” to pay him the money since the end of the war ten years prior. Jefferson wrote a letter to Washington on December 30, 1793:
“Soon after his captivity and imprisonment, and before the ministers had received our instructions to endeavor to obtain his liberation, they were apprised that his personal restraint, and the peculiar situation of his fortune disabled him from drawing resources from that, and would leave him liable to suffer for subsistence, and the common necessaries of life. After a consultation by letter, therefore, between our ministers at Paris, London, and the Hague, they concurred in opinion that they ought not in such a case to wait for instructions from hence, but that his necessities should be provided for until they could receive such instructions. Different sums have been therefore either placed at his disposal, or answered on his draughts, amounting, as far as we hitherto know to about twelve or thirteen hundred Guineas. This has been taken from a fund not applicable by law to this purpose nor able to spare it: and the question is whether, and how it is to be made good? To do this, nothing more is requisite than that the United States should not avail themselves of the Liberalities of M. de la Fayette, yielded at a moment when neither he nor we could foresee the time when they would become his only resource for subsistence. It appears by a statement from the war office, hereto annexed, that his pay and commutation as a major General in the service of the United States to the 3rd of nov. 1783 amounted to 24,100 dollrs thirteen Cents exclusive of ten years interest elapsed since that time, to the payment of which the following obstacle has occurred. at the foot of the original engagement by Mr Deane, a copy of which is hereto annexed, that a certain roll of officers there named, and of which M. de la Fayette was one, should be taken into the american service in the grades there specified, M. de la Fayette alone has subjoined for himself a declaration that he would serve without any particular allowance or pension. It may be doubted whether the words in the original French do strictly include the general allowance of pay and commutation. and if they do, there is no evidence of any act of acceptance by Congress. Yet, under all the circumstances of the case, it is thought that the legislature alone is competent to decide it. If they decline availing the United States of the declaration of M. de la Fayette, it leaves a fund which not only covers the advances which have been made, but will enable you take measures for his future relief. It does it too, in a way which can give offence to nobody, since none have a right to complain of the payment of a debt, that being a moral duty, from which we cannot be discharged by any relation in which the creditor may be placed as to them.”
Washington forwarded the letter to the Congress and on March 27, 1794 Congress passed a bill to pay La Fayette the money he had not accepted as a General during the Revolutionary War. To nobody’s surprise, neither Congress nor President Washington had any objections and the bill was approved swiftly.
Prisons in the 18th century (as well as today) often development into some sort of parallel society. Money and especially bribery could get you far in prison and La Fayette experienced that first hand. On November 18, 1809 La Fayette enclosed an account of his financial situation in a letter to Thomas Jefferson. It seems as if this lengthy report had been written by one of La Fayette’s secretaries. Here is a short excerpt of the English translation of the report:
“The expenses caused by his captivity were enormous; the prisoners had to pay their own way as long as their money lasted, and as General Lafayette was the only one with some money, he had to take responsibility for his fellow prisoners. But this was a small matter in comparison with all that his European friends did financially to save his life, to correspond with him, and to facilitate his escape. Some of them made great personal sacrifices, and the sums generously sent by the American government were swallowed up. General Lafayette’s family provided for its own expenses while living in Olmutz. So that on arriving at Hamburg after an imprisonment of five years he found nothing of what had been intended for him and only an increased debt to Mr. Gouverneur Morris up to the time when he was paid 68000.₶; to Mr. Parish former United States consul, forty three thousand Livres; to Mr. Bollman a contract reduced to 30000.₶”
(You see, a great deal of the financial troubles and transactions came after his stay in Magdeburg but since everything started in Magdeburg, I thought it convenient to discuss the monetary issue here in full.)
We see the United States taking actions to the best of their abilities and we see also more letters discussing La Fayette’s fate. News travelled slowly in the 18th century and it took the three months that La Fayette stayed in Wesel for the world to find out that he even had been arrested. But after the knowledge was out there, we see an increase in letters and also in newspaper coverage. So much so that Adrienne could read in the French newspapers that La Fayette was presently alive and in Magdeburg. We can further observe that people all other he world started petitioning the Prussian King for La Fayette’s relief. His friends, English Members of Parliament (although it would take a couple more years before the House of Commons would discuss the topic in full), Washington and his friends in America, Americas envoys in Europe, the list goes on. Some of La Fayette’s fellow prisoners, mostly unassuming secretaries and aids, had been released almost immediately and were now also trying to secure La Fayette’s freedom – some even returned to France to do so. We also see Prussians citizen petition their King. Most of these petitions were simple letters, but some petitioners had the money to spare and printed their petitions as pamphlets – many of them can today be found online.
Although the instructions for the guard were not less strict then they had been in Wesel, the guards in Magdeburg appeared to love to gossip. During his stay La Fayette was kept more or less up to date on the newest developments in France and the war. Eight months into his stay in Magdeburg he was also given some news about his wife Adrienne. La Fayette wrote Charles Pinckney in London on July 4, 1793:
My dear Sir,
Whilst on this anniversary my American fellow citizens are having their joy, I join in a solitary bumper with the happy remembrances, the patriotic wishes which are crowding upon us (...) Owning to your kind interference, my dear Sir, the crowned gaolers have consented after eight months to let me know that my wife and children were alive – be pleased to acquaint them that my health is tolerably good (...).
(Can we please acknowledge the fact that La Fayette took the time out of his day and remembered that it was the anniversary of American Independence?)
There is another letter that I want to give the spotlight. La Fayette wrote on March 15, 1793 to his friend, the Princess d’Hénin. In this letter he wrote that:
“I know not what disposition has been made of my plantation at Cayenne; but I hope Madame de Lafayette will take care that the negroes, who cultivated it, shall preserve their liberty.”
La Fayette had bought a plantation in the French colony of Cayenne and implemented a system of gradual emancipation. The plantation was later sold by French authorities and the people there re-enslaved. Although his endeavour ultimately failed I found it interesting to see that La Fayette, even during such a dark hour, thought about others as well.
Before we move on to the next prison, this time in Neisse, on last titbit. The Baron von Steuben, the absolutely legendary legend, was born in Magdeburg and as a man of military background probably spend some time in the fortress as well.
#marquis de lafayette#general lafayette#lafayette#french revolution#american revolution#french history#american history#1793#1794#magdeburg#wesel#olmütz#neisse#elbe#prussia#austria#prison#baron von steuben#thomas jefferson#george washington#letters#lafayette in prison#lafayette imprisoned#charles pinckney#money#adrienne de noailles#adrienne de lafayette
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Five Seconds (1/8)
This is the sequel to “Of the Eight Winds,” which began from a small simple prompt from Sunflowerdeedsandscience: “Mulder is unhappily married when Scully is partnered with him, and while he doesn't cheat (because sorry that's not romantic), he falls for her so hard that he finally gets the courage to end the marriage and start fresh.” That prompt took on a life of its own that became ‘Of the Eight Winds.’ This fic immediately follows the events of that piece — I would encourage reading it first if you haven’t.
This is not written in the same Rashomon structure as the original — it is absolutely linear. Hope that doesn’t throw anyone.
I’ll be posting the first two chapters today, and then one chapter a day until next Monday. You can also find it on AO3 here.
PROLOGUE
They say in the heat of the moment, you have five seconds to make a decision. Five seconds between right and wrong. Five seconds between life and death. As Mulder stood watching one gun pointed at his children and another pointed at an immensely pregnant Scully, five seconds seemed an eternity.
XxXxXxXxXxX
6 Months Earlier
She watched the house from the shadows. Occasionally from her car. It was harder to follow the woman as she worked at a secure government facility, but the man was easy. He had a small private psychology practice in a townhouse in Old Town. He usually ate lunch at a Panera near the office or brown bagged it from home.
The kids both attended a private prep school out in McLean. The girl drove herself and her brother most days. The boy would often stay late for sports practice (ice hockey, if the equipment was any indication) and the man would usually pick him up. Their lives were pretty routine.
After two weeks, she finally made an appointment with the man’s scheduling service and waited nervously in the outer office. Right on time, he opened the door.
“Olivia?” Dr. Mulder smiled at her, “come on back.”
She passed him through the doorway and settled into a plush leather couch.
He sat down in a chair across from her and crossed his leg, looking relaxed. Up close, she noticed that his hair was starting to grey at the temples, but he still looked fit, and conveyed an easy manner.
“Thank you for seeing me,” she said, trying to calm her nerves.
“Of course,” he said, looking down at his notebook, “I see you were referred to me by Dr. Heitz Werber?”
“Yes,” she said.
“Why don’t you tell me a little about yourself,” he said.
She took a breath.
“I grew up here in DC. After grad school… My father worked for the State Department and I, uh, went into the family business.”
Dr. Mulder nodded, his expression neutral.
“I can imagine that’s pretty stressful work,” he said.
“It was,” she said, “I don’t do it anymore.”
He nodded again, waiting for her to fill the silence. She went on.
“The work I did… it hurt people. And I’m… I’m trying to make amends.”
His expression gave nothing away. She steeled herself, took a deep breath.
“Dr. Mulder, my name is Olivia Kurtzweil. Our fathers knew each other a long time ago. I’m here to warn you. You and your family are in danger. Your wife and her baby…”
His nostrils flared, but he maintained his composure.
She reached into her pocket and pulled out several pictures.
“I can prove it,” she said, “This is me and my father, this is me and your sister Samantha. And this is our fathers together.”
“I think you need to leave,” he said, his voice tight for the first time. He was not looking at the pictures.
She rose.
“There’s not a lot of time.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of paper with a phone number on it, set it next to the pictures, which she left on the office’s small coffee table. “Call me at this number. Soon. I’ll tell you all I can.”
With that she left, her heart hammering in her chest.
CHAPTER ONE
Arlington Cemetery
May 2nd, 2018
Mulder descended the stairs quickly, the leather bottoms of his dress shoes scraping loudly on the dusty grit of the steps. The occupants of the underground lair were the perfect people to call when you needed information, but good housekeepers they were not.
He entered the code on the security box at the door at the bottom of the staircase, and the door swung open.
“Guys?” he called into the cavernous space once the door sealed shut behind him.
“In here!” he heard a muffled call from near the back.
He stepped around gunmetal shelves awash in circuitry and computer parts and turned right into the sanctum sanctorum of the place: the desktop on which sat the AMD Threadripper 3000. Two men were hunched over the screen, one sitting, one standing just behind him.
Grease-stained napkins were wadded up next to the keyboard and crinkled butcher paper sat nearby, sporting the red-splotched remains of marinara sauce and a few errant banana peppers.
“You want a meatball sub, Mulder?” came the nasally voice of the man standing, “We got extra.”
“I don’t relish the thought of being up all night with heartburn, Langly, but thanks,” Mulder said, and Frohike turned from the chair, his wispy hair now more white than grey.
“They’re from Gino’s,” he said around a mouthful, “you’re missing out.”
“Tell that to Gino,” Mulder said, “didn’t he die of a heart attack in ‘04?”
“His wife is still running the place, bursting with health,” Frohike said, and reached for a styrofoam cup.
“But she doesn’t eat the subs,” said Mulder, and swung into a nearby chair. “Where’s Byers?”
“Staying with Suzanne for the weekend,” Langly said, like he couldn’t imagine why.
“Is that safe?” Mulder asked. The Gunmen had been hiding out in a government-built safehouse under their own graves in Arlington Cemetery for more than a decade.
Langly shrugged.
The three men looked at each other for a moment. Finally, Mulder spoke again.
“What did you find?”
“Enough,” said Frohike, turning back to the screen. Mulder stood and walked up behind him.
Frohike tapped a picture on the screen.
“Olivia Kurtzweil,” he said, “born December 4th, 1963, daughter of Dr. Alvin Kurtzweil and Ruth O’Brien Kurtzweil. Graduated from Sidwell Friends School in Washington DC in 1981, got a PhD in both Biology and Virology from Boston University in 1987. Employment records get kind of muddled after that, but it would make sense if she worked for the State Department, though what a Biologist/Virologist would be doing for State is troubling.”
Mulder leaned back. It was the same woman who’d been in his office earlier that day.
“And the pictures?” he asked, “of our fathers together? Of her and Samantha?”
“The real McCoy,” Langly said, “they don’t appear to be altered in any way. Sent them to Chuck Burks, too. He concurs.”
Mulder sighed heavily.
“What’s going on, Mulder?” Frohike asked, his tone serious.
“She came to my office today, Olivia Kurtzweil,” he said, nodding at the screen, “she told me that Scully is in danger.”
“In danger?” Langly said, puzzled, “how?”
“Scully is…” Mulder paused, “she’s pregnant,” he said, and he saw both men’s eyebrows go up. “This woman told me that our family... that Scully and the baby are in danger.”
Frohike and Langly traded looks.
“We haven’t told anyone about the pregnancy,” Mulder went on, “and Scully’s OB is an old friend from med school that she trusts implicitly. This Kurtzweil woman knows about the baby and insists it’s in danger. I need to know what’s going on.”
“Firstly,” said Frohike, who stood and put a hand on Mulder’s shoulder, “Mazel tov.” Mulder smiled at him. “Secondly,” he went on, “it appears as though this woman is telling the truth -- at least about who she is -- I would talk to her. See what you can find out.”
“How’s Scully taking this?” Langly asked.
“I haven’t told her yet,” Mulder said, and the boys traded another look. “I didn’t want to scare her without knowing more.”
Frohike squeezed his shoulder again and then let his arm fall.
“Let us know, huh?” he said, “However we can help.”
Mulder nodded and drifted back toward the door, a ball of worry sitting heavy in his gut.
XxXxXxXxXxX
“Where are the kids?” he asked as soon as he walked in the kitchen. He hadn’t even taken off his coat.
“I had a good day, thanks for asking,” said Scully with a grin. She was loading the dishwasher and turned to look at him. Her face fell, turning serious. “The kids are upstairs. What’s wrong?”
“I had a patient come in today…” he started, and her features softened. She probably thought it was just empathy for one of his patients, a tough case. “Scully, she showed me a picture of herself as a kid. With Samantha.”
“What?” Scully said, standing up straight, “how?”
“I don’t know,” he said, and moved past her and into the living room, making for the bookshelf that held old family photo albums. He pulled one out and skimmed through it. Pulled out another. Halfway through, something caught his eye and he flipped back a couple of pages until he saw it. A picture from the same 70’s-era party at his childhood home on the Vineyard that Olivia had shown him. There was his father standing next to Alvin Kurtzweil, and down in the corner, both wearing swimsuits and gap-toothed smiles, pigtails frizzy and wet, sat Samantha and a 7 year-old Olivia Kurtzweil.
He felt his breath leave him.
Scully had come up quietly behind him, put her hand on his arm.
“Mulder?” she said.
“I need to make a call,” he said.
He pulled the note Olivia had left with him out of his pocket. She picked up on the first ring.
“Olivia, this is Dr. Mulder,” he said. “We need to talk.”
XxXxXxXxXxX
The next morning at 9:00am, they found themselves sitting across their kitchen table from Olivia Kurtzweil, Special Agent Monica Reyes, ASAC John Doggett and Assistant Director Walter Skinner.
Scully was sitting, arms crossed in front of her defensively, at the head of the table. Reyes sat next to her, looking at Kurtzweil with an equal amount of curiosity and distrust. Doggett was too amped up to sit and paced through their kitchen. Skinner sat, quiet and still, looking as menacing as ever at the far end of the table.
Mulder felt a certain odd protectiveness toward Olivia, and couldn’t help but treat her a bit like a patient.
“Olivia,” he said calmly, “why don’t you start at the beginning.”
The tale she spun was as fantastic as anything they’d ever heard in their years on the X-Files. Olivia had been groomed from childhood to work on what she called “The Project.” When Samantha Mulder had been abducted, The Project had used her DNA to create alien-human hybrids. Throughout the years, these hybrids had been used by different factions of The Project to further their agendas in relation to a colonization project that Olivia said once threatened the world. She had fought with others to bring it down and now, The Project’s last ditch effort to resurrect itself lay in the cells of the child Scully was carrying.
“How was my father involved?” Mulder said, his voice like ice.
“Your father did everything he could to protect you and your sister,” Olivia said after a pause. “He was the person I initially approached when I became disenchanted. He and I worked together for years dismantling everything we could.”
Mulder narrowed his eyes at her.
“You were at my father’s funeral a couple years ago,” he said, recognition dawning on him, “I saw you at his wake.”
Olivia nodded.
“He couldn’t save your sister,” she said, “but he saved you. And in the end, he saved me.”
“My sister,” Mulder said, his stomach feeling as though it were in his feet, “is she alive?”
“No,” Olivia said, “I’m so sorry. And that’s the problem. Your sister’s DNA was the only one that was able to create viable hybrids. Her DNA was the key. And the last living hybrid sacrificed herself before a rogue faction could get her. That rogue faction is after Scully and your baby for the DNA markers particular to your family.”
“Then why aren’t they after me?”
“The particular markers they’re looking for are rendered dormant after a baby is born. The genetic material they can use is only found in--”
Scully spoke for the first time, finishing Olivia’s explanation. “Embryonic stem cells from our baby.”
Olivia looked pained and nodded. “It’s their last, best hope for restarting the program,” she said.
“How do they even know about the pregnancy? We haven’t told a soul.”
“A hack on your medical records is my guess. HIPAA means nothing to these people.”
“I’m less concerned with the how and more concerned with the why,” Mulder said. “You say embryonic cells. That means they’re on a clock, right? Once the baby is born...”
“Destroy the umbilical cord. The placenta. Those cells are only found in a few places. Destroy anything they might be able to use. After that… you and your baby will be safe.”
“So no one else in our family is in danger?” Scully asked. Her eyes darted unconsciously to a family picture that was framed on the wall above Olivia. It was a candid photo, taken the year before when they had hired a photographer to take Lily’s senior portraits. In it, Mulder and Scully were holding hands, looking at their two kids who were laughing about something Will had said. They were all smiling and carefree. In the moment, it felt like a world away.
“I know the technology and the biology it draws from,” Olivia said, “I helped design it. Their only hope is getting their hands on the embryonic stem cells from your baby. If you were planning on getting an amniocentesis test -- don’t.”
“Why not?” Skinner asked, “why not just give them what they want?”
“Because they’ll never stop,” Reyes said.
Olivia shook her head sadly. “She’s right. They take and they take, and they don’t care who gets hurt or what is lost.” She looked to Mulder. “Your father and I worked for years to shut it down. Finish it. Hide your wife. Protect your baby. Once it’s born, you should all be out of danger.”
“Tell me about this rogue faction,” Doggett’s voice coming from the corner of the kitchen startled everyone.
“Mercs for hire,” Olivia said, “Only one of them that I know of is familiar with the working pieces of The Project. I don’t know him well. I only ever saw him in the periphery.”
“Do you have a name?” Doggett asked.
“I doubt it’s his real one,” Olivia said.
“We’ll take whatever you can give us,” said Reyes, who shot a look to Doggett.
“I only ever heard him called ‘Krycek,’” she said.
Mulder felt his gut drop.
XxX
“What do you think?” Mulder asked Scully, as they sat together around their empty dining room table. Doggett, Reyes and Skinner had left and it was nearly noon, the sun bright outside their windows. Nevertheless, the room felt cold. Mulder could feel anxiety press on him from all sides as though he were under water.
“I don’t know what to think,” Scully said, a hand resting unconsciously on her stomach, which had just started to push out. “Mulder, for almost fifteen years our lives have been ordinary, calm. After all this time…? It strains credulity.”
“Scully I would agree with you. But… some of the things we saw when we were on the X-Files… We know credible threats. This feels like a credible threat.”
“Do you really believe everything she said? About your sister?” He could see her skeptical reserve crumbling.
Mulder let that question sit in the air for several long moments. “Just tell me if the science checks out,” he finally said.
Scully huffed an almost amused sigh. “I couldn’t even begin to-” she started.
“Scully, you yourself were filling in the blanks of Olivia’s story. If what she says is true, does the science check out?”
Scully gave him a long look. “Yes,” she finally said.
He held her gaze, a feeling of overwhelming affection coming over him. “Scully,” he said quietly, “we have to get you somewhere safe.”
She looked down, added another hand to her abdomen so she was cradling it with both. On the countertop, there was a half drunk bottle of Deer Park and a single yellowing banana. Someone had left their iPhone headphones sitting in a semi-coiled loop, and there were crumbs in front of the toaster, dishes in the sink. They sat in the middle of a half-lived life.
“I won’t leave without you,” she finally said, “without you and the kids. We all do this together. If the threat is really what Kurtzweil says it is, I couldn’t bear the thought of them trying to use you or the kids to get to me.”
Mulder nodded curtly.
“I’ll go to the guys,” he said, “see what they can do for us. Skinner and Doggett and Reyes will do what they can to protect us, but I think given everything we’ve heard, it’s best to avoid… governmental oversight.”
“I’m inclined to agree with you,” Scully said.
“We need to leave soon. We can’t wait.”
Apgar jumped on the table then, looking for affection. Scully, who normally wouldn’t tolerate a cat on any eating surface, reached out and pet the cat absently, her eyes far away.
“Where are we even going to go?” she asked.
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2: the snap
Summary: The situation wasn’t going as Tony wanted, not even close. When he went out for a walk with Pepper that morning, he didn't expect to be on an alien ship going to another planet, much less that a magician would appear during this walk, accompanied by Bruce Banner with yet another threat for them to confront. Stark hoped his life would become easier after he had partially abandoned his armor and chosen to live a normal life with Pepper and his daughter Elisabeth, but things had to get worse in one way or another.
Word count: 10,5k.
Warnings: I’m from Brazil, I write in portuguese and translate to english, with what I know and learn from the language, and with some help of google translate, it may oy may not be understadble, but I’m trying my best, and hope you like it.
Masterlist
The situation wasn’t going as Tony wanted, not even close. When he went out for a walk with Pepper that morning, he didn't expect to be on an alien ship going to another planet, much less that a magician would appear during this walk, accompanied by Bruce Banner with yet another threat for them to confront. Stark hoped his life would become easier after he had partially abandoned his armor and chosen to live a normal life with Pepper and his daughter Elisabeth, but things had to get worse in one way or another.
He remembers the tranquility of things before leaving home. Lisa was talking excitedly about an excursion the Midtown school would take the students, and how excited she and Peter were. He remembers to smile, and to face Pepper who had a huge smile on her face, he remembers when his daughter left home to go to school, and Pepper looked at him saying that these two were unexpected, and that she was curious to know where that relationship would go. Tony thought the same thing, and so he fought tooth and nail to keep the boy safe.
Thinking on a positive side, Tony was happy to be with Peter, because it meant his little girl was safe on Earth. It was selfish to think about it like that, the boy took an important part in Tony's life, he was like the son he never had, and he has won this place since he started a friendship with his daughter a few years ago. The boy had acquired powers after being bitten by a radioactive spider and assumed the mantle of Spiderman after that, years later, Stark would recruit him to help him with the Captain America X Sokovia Accords case, or as his daughter nicknamed "Civil war".
Which led him to the current situation. Trapped in a spaceship, with a plan based on a movie about aliens, without many options, Tony follows the boy's plan without hesitation, and in the end, it was a good plan, perhaps not the best way to save the wizard, but a plan that had worked. The spaceship belonged to the three now, and the next step was to think about what they would do next, Stark watched Peter talking to Strange's magic cloak, while his own costume retracted, turning over the clothes he wore for his walk.
"We got to turn the ship over." Stephen speaks, getting up quickly, the cape quickly adapts to his body.
“Yeah, now he wants to run. Great plan”. Tony replies approaching Parker, seeing if the boy hasn't been hurt in any way. If in Sokovia his daughter had gone against him, just because he was using Peter in a battle that wasn’t his, imagine what she would do if the boy got hurt here.
"No, I want to protect the stone". After checking it, Tony turns to the steering part of the ship, it wasn’t designed for human hands, but rather, Thanos's hands, alone he wouldn’t be able to control the ship.
“And I want you to thank me. Go ahead, I’m listening”.
"For what?" He hears the man's voice. "Nearly blasting me to space?"
"Who just saved your magical ass?" Tony turns around, facing the man. "Me".
"I seriously don't know how you fit your head into that helmet." Tony goes back to analyzing the system, while Stephen approaches him.
"Admit it, you should have ducked out when I told you to". Peter didn't dare say anything while the two argued, so he just kept close to the two of them watching. “I tried to bench you, you refused. Almost as stubborn as my daughter...”
"Unlike everyone else in your life, I don't work for you."
"And due to that fact, we’re now in a flying doughnut..." The comment made Strange roll his eyes, this conversation wouldn’t take them anywhere. "Billions of miles away from Earth, with no backup".
"I’m backup". Peter takes the comment as an opportunity to join the conversation.
"No, you’re a stowaway". Tony says quickly, pointing a finger at himself and then at Stephen. “The adults are talking”.
"I’m sorry, I’m confused as to the relationship here." Stephen looks at Stark with a confused expression, pointing his finger at Peter. "What is he, your ward?"
"No". Peter quickly extends his hand. "I'm Peter, by the way."
"Doctor Strange". Stephen speaks quickly, not shaking Peter's hand.
"Oh, we’re using our made-up names". Peter steps back nervously. "Um… I'm Spiderman, then". Stephen looks at him, and without saying anything else, starts to approach Tony.
“This ship is self-correcting its course. Thing’s autopilot". Tony informs the other man.
"Can we control it?" Peter begins to approach the two, while Strange leads questions about the situation. "Fly us home?" After a time of no response from the other man, Stephen speaks again. "Stark?"
"Yeah?”
"Can you take us home?" Tony nods, but his mind doesn't want to follow that plan. "Yeah, I heard you". Stark folds his arms, looking back at the wizard. "I'm not so sure if we should".
"Under no circumstance can we bring the Time Stone to Thanos". The wizard makes it clear once again, making Tony sigh. "I don't think you quite understand what's at stake here".
"No". Tony approaches the man. “It’s you who doesn't understand, that Thanos has been inside my head for six years, since he sent an army to New York and now he's back!” Peter remembers the 2012 attack, like it was yesterday, Lisa was at his house when the attack started, Pepper had left the girl there before going to a conference in Washington, and he remembers what it was like to see his best friend worried about her father. "And I don't know what to do, so, I’m not so sure if it’s a better plan to fight him on our turf or his... But you saw what they did, what they can do". Stephen regarded Tony as if he was as crazy as he seemed, that plan could end terribly badly, and trial and error wasn’t a viable option. “At least on his turf, he’s not expecting. So, I say we take the fight to him”. Tony was silent for a few seconds, considering the other man's expression, he didn't know how far they could go, and it was a very risky thing, but it was worth the try. "Doctor. Do you concur?"
"Alright, Stark". The man speaks calmly, he knew what he was risking there, and understood the responsibility he had the moment he put the necklace holding the stone on his neck. “We go to him. But you have to understand... If it comes to saving you or the kid or the Time Stone... I will not hesitate to let either of you die”. While Tony didn't look shaken, Peter's heart had probably skipped a beat or two, it was a lot of responsibility, planning such an attack, and it was at times like this, that he would rather have listened to his best friend, he should have stayed on the bus. "I can't, because the fate of the universe depends on it".
"Nice. Good. Moral compass”. Tony fiddles with his cloak, as if fixing it, and starts to approach Peter. "We’re straight. Alright, kid". Peter didn't move, and just watched Tony make a hand gesture, from one shoulder to the other. "You’re an Avenger now." Despite his nervousness, and as the whole situation scared him, Peter couldn't help but smile at what the man had said, he understood the responsibility of carrying that title, and he knew that he couldn't let Tony down, he couldn't let anyone down.
☼
It was supposed to be just another excursion, or that was what Elisabeth Stark thought when she left home. When you're the daughter of the famous billionaire and philanthropist Tony Stark, you can expect literally anything when you leave the house, going from being recognized by your father's not-so-secret "identity" to a donut-shaped alien spaceship invading Earth, and today, the tour to the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan had been interrupted by the second option, and Lisa couldn't be more nervous.
Elisabeth had seen the ship from the place she sat near MJ, who was just talking to her about her friends and the place they were going to. She could see that Peter had also seen the ship and knew well that the boy wouldn’t be on the bus for very long, which made her even more nervous. She knew him well enough, knew that he wouldn’t miss an opportunity to help the city, and understood that she wouldn’t be able to stop him for anything in the world.
"Holy shit!" Lisa and MJ turned their gaze to Peter and Ned, the four now aware of the ship in the sky, and Elisabeth was sure that Parker had asked Leeds to distract the rest of the students. “WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE!” Without having to do anything else, Ned gets up and goes to the back of the bus, followed by MJ and several other students, leaving Peter and Lisa sitting in their seats. "THERE’S A SPACESHIP!"
"Think about what you're doing". Lisa whispers to her best friend, watching him put web shooters on his wrists.
"Saving the city". He responds with a smile, trying to reassure the girl.
"Putting yourself in danger". Peter with a quick gesture, puts his hand on his friend's face, giving a huge smile.
"I wouldn't be the friendly neighborhood buddy if I didn't do that". Before Peter could move, Elisabeth held his hand, making him look at her quickly, Ned's distraction had worked, but he needed to be quicker if he wanted to leave before anyone noticed that he was gone. "I'll be right back".
"No matter what you think at the time..." He looks at his friend confused, not understanding where she was going. "If my father thinks about getting on that ship, stop him, and above all, if he gets in that thing, get back to the bus".
"Lis, I ..."
"Promise me". Without saying anything else, the boy nods, leaving through the emergency exit quickly, leaving Elisabeth alone on the seat. Taking a deep breath, Elisabeth gets up, following the example of the other students, but soon realizing that one of the students hadn’t followed Ned's distraction, sitting on the seat in the back, Harry Osborn was smiling towards her.
"That was... interesting?" With a nervous smile, Lisa notices the students return to their seats and the bus stops, quickly, she sits down next to Harry. "So, Spiderman and Iron Heart, great partners..." Harry was one of her best friends, she met the boy at a science fair when the boy complained about his father giving more recognition to other people than to his own son, this started a friendship between the two, and has been expanding, and now Harry, Peter, Ned, MJ and Lisa were inseparable.
"Didn't you go see the donut-shaped ship?" Harry smiles widely at the comment.
“Are you kidding? This to me is like a weekend dinner at home”. Lisa accompanies her friend, laughing about it. The driver suggested that everyone stay calm and reported the situation to the teacher responsible for the excursion, and it seemed that Roger Harrington didn’t have a smooth trip.
"I urge everyone to remain calm, the roads leading to Manhattan have been temporarily closed." The professor points to the ship. “Because of that. We have no prediction for when we can continue our journey, or if we should continue, so stay together and stay on the bus, and...” All students remain silent, and the teacher seemed lost in his lines, just nodding his head and sitting back down.
"You know, I'm starting to think that this guy should take a vacation". MJ says quickly, approaching the bench that Osborn and Stark sat on, Lisa turns around with a smile, seeing that Ned and Flash were with her.
"Stark, you who are experienced in this kind of thing..." Flash starts making MJ roll his eyes, waiting for something stupid to come out of her mouth. "How likely are we to die on this bus?"
"That’s so low mood, Thompson." Brad yells from the back of the bus.
"Yeah, nobody's going to die." MJ replies, but in her eyes, I could see that there was a certain uncertainty in what she said.
"We will only be stuck on the road for a few minutes, it's not like the world is going to end for this". Betty speaks, rolling her eyes and sitting down next to Ned.
However, what would be minutes ended up becoming hours. Stark remained vigilant with the ship practically all the time, talked to her friends to distract her mind, while the bus wasn’t moving anymore, and after practically an hour, the ship disappeared from the skies, and she had no news of Peter and neither of her father, indicating that the two of them would probably be inside the ship. After a few more minutes, Elisabeth realized that she also couldn't stand there, she had to get off the bus and find help as soon as possible, to know what was going on outside the bus.
She could hear Harry and Flash talking about the ship, and Ned was asking her what would happen next. MJ sat in silence on the bench next to her and looked out the window as if all of her problems were going to disappear while she didn't look, Betty stayed close to them, but hardly talked, Lisa was sure she liked the company of Leeds, and that somehow it comforted her. Stark didn't know how to answer all of the questions, and felt almost immediately, her heart ease when her cell phone started ringing. She looked quickly at her cell phone, seeing the contact name “Uncle Rhodey”, without thinking twice, she answers.
"Hello?" Her words came out almost in a whisper, and she felt relief when James Rhodes started talking to her.
"What's up, little princess?" The group of friends she had around her were practically silent, and all she could hear on the bus was the other students talking to each other.
"He's on the ship, isn't he?" Elisabeth knew the answer to that question, she understood that everyone needed to act quickly to stop the threat, including her.
"According to Pepper, he is". The girl hears this, and closes her eyes in agreement, as if she is trying to assimilate it yet, the chances of Peter being on the ship with him were enormous. "And that's why I need you, there's something coming, and we don't have enough people to fight it".
"Which is?" She opens her eyes again, seeing Harry looking worried, he even holds her hand, and she realizes that her friends had practically the same expression as Osborn.
"A big guy named Thanos, he's after some Stones". Stones? Stark had so many questions in his head, who was Thanos? What did he want? And what were these Stones he was looking for? “Listen, I need you here, where are you? Do you need me to pick you up?”
"On a bus on the Queensboro Bridge, where do I need to go?" From the expression that Harry had now on his face, he knew that she wouldn’t be with them, and quickly, the boy was already getting up to talk to the teacher, being followed by MJ and Ned.
"Do you have your suit with you?" She quickly says yes. "Perfect, meet me at the Avengers headquarters, I'll explain everything here".
Ignoring Flash's various questions regarding what was going on, Elisabeth gets up, passing Harry and MJ, looking at the teacher. He seemed nervous, but he wasn't sure how to deal with the situation, letting one of his students out was practically irresponsible, all the students on the bus were under his supervision, not that Peter Parker cared about this, but looking at situation, he knew that the girl wouldn’t be useful here, and wherever the Avengers were, it would be the best place for her to be.
That was her cue, and she quickly went out of the bus, feeling every single eye of each classmate on her back. She passed a few cars, until she found the perfect takeoff point without damaging nobody’s property. Her suit had the same technology as her father's suits, Lisa had designed it herself, but always with some adjustments from Tony, the nanotechnology used in both suits was put on their bodies succinctly, while Tony's armor fit in his body according to the clothes he wore, hers fit inside a nanotechnological bracelet, where the armor stayed when she wasn’t wearing it, and with just a touch, the armor fit on her body.
With the armor on her body, she starts to take off, going to the meeting point. Passing through Manhattan made her aware of the damage done by the invaders, the records of her father's armor, indicated that Friday had evacuated the streets until 43, and notified the rescuers in the case of injured civilians. The streets were practically impassable, cars abandoned in practically the entire region of attack, and some places destroyed, probably due to the fighting that happened there.
Without thinking too much, Lisa accelerates the flight, needed to get to the Avengers headquarters right away, and find out how she could help. She took advantage of the flight to check some things about her father and Peter, Tony had activated the sending of 17: A, a new suit for Peter that the two had work together, with nanotechnology the suit would give an upgrade in everything that the old uniform of Peter had, including a way to go after his father in space, both his suit and Tony's were far from being traceable, and that worried her a lot.
Arriving at the base, she didn’t need to be received by anyone, her costume had already retracted into the bracelet, and she walked quickly through the halls of the place, meeting James in one of the meeting rooms, having a conference with the secretary Ross. Elisabeth remained silent, waiting for Rhodey to finish that conversation, she didn't know what was going on, but from what she heard from the conversation, Vision hadn’t yet been found, which only opened more questions in her head, why were they after Vision?
"Still no word from Vision?"
"Satellites lost him somewhere over Edinburgh". Rhodey sends a smile towards her, being returned, she leans against a wall near the door that she had entered, crossing her arms.
"On a stolen Quinjet with four of the world’s most wanted criminals”. That's when she realized, Steve and Natasha were involved in this, she was sure Wanda was with Vision, just as Sam would be with Steve wherever he wanted him to go. If the situation was a case of life and death for the four to reveal their location to the world, it meant that it was imminent danger, just as Ultron was to Sokovia.
"You know they're only criminals because you’ve chosen to call them that, right, sir?" She looks back at Rhodes.
"My God, Rhodes". Rhodes had a serious look; it was the kind of look she only got when she did something that no one would approve. "Your talent for horseshit rivals my own”.
"If it weren't for those Accords, Vision would’ve been right here”. She looks at the hologram, seeing Ross quickly approach James.
"I remember your signature on those papers, Colonel".
"That’s right". Rhodes nods. "And I’m pretty sure I’ve paid for that".
"You have second thoughts?"
"Not anymore". The noise of the door; indicates that new people arrived at the place, she approaches Rhodes, seeing Steve, Natasha, Wanda and Sam, who was helping Vision to walk, her heart squeezes, she hadn’t seen the four in a long time.
"Mr. Secretary". Steve speaks, stopping at the door, looking at the three, Elisabeth can't help but smile at him.
"You got some nerve". The secretary walks again, facing Rogers. "I’ll give you that".
"You could use some of that right now". Natasha replies, the woman is completely different from what Elisabeth remembered, her hair was short at the shoulders and blond, as if she had changed to be easier to not be recognized.
"The world’s on fire". The secretary looks back at Steve. "And you think, all is forgiven?"
"I'm not looking for forgiveness." Steve speaks quickly. “And I'm way past asking for permission. Earth just lost her best defender. So we’re here to fight”. Rogers gets closer to the hologram. "And if you wanna stand in our way, we'll fight you, too".
"Arrest them". The secretary says, turning his gaze to Rhodes, that he does not lose his serious expression.
"All over it". Without thinking twice, Rhodes disconnects the communication with the secretary, making the holograms disappear. "That’s a court-martial". Elisabeth smiles at the comment, making James smile too. "It's great to see you, Cap". The two shake hands, while the others enter the room smiling.
"You too, Rhodey." Elisabeth quickly hugs Steve, while Natasha hugs Rhodes, and then quickly hugs Lisa.
"You grew up so much, what did two years did to you?" Natasha comments, staring at the girl, while Steve smiles and agrees, the little reunion is short-lived when Rhodes speaks again.
"Well... You guys really look like crap". Lisa turns her gaze to the other three, Wanda looked a little shaken, Sam had the same expression he always had in situations like this and Vision had a serious wound in his stomach. "Must’ve been a rough couple of years".
"Yeah, well, hotels weren't exactly five star". Sam says, giving a big smile.
"Uh, I think you look great". Another voice appears, and almost instantly, everyone turns around, seeing the new presence in the room. "Uh… heh… Yeah, I'm back”. Bruce Banner had a nervous smile, the Hulk had stolen a ship two years ago and fled far away, and now, he was back.
"Hi, Bruce". Natasha says, making the man practically speechless, the two looked at each other as if nothing else was important, while the rest of the room just watched the two.
"Nat".
"This is awkward”. Sam whispers, making everyone look at him, and then everyone started moving, going to another room, where they finally discuss what to do next. Elisabeth went to the other room with Natasha and Steve, and the two were telling about how much they had lost from her growth in the past two years, the two have been with her since the attack in 2012, where her father had become friends with the other Avengers, everything changed with the Sokovia Accords.
"So, we gotta assume they’re coming back, right?" Elisabeth turns her attention to Rhodes, who was facing a hologram of the two aliens who called themselves Children of Thanos, who ambushed Wanda and Vision.
"And they can clearly find us." Wanda comments, looking at everyone, Bruce walked around the room, and seemed to be the one who knew most about Thanos.
"We need all hands on deck". Bruce says aloud, looking at Natasha. "Where's Clint?"
"After the whole Accords situation, he and Scott took a deal." Bruce nods his head. "It was too tough for the families, they’re on house arrest".
"Who's Scott?" Bruce asks.
"Ant-Man". Steve responds, making Bruce turn around in confusion.
"There’s an Ant-Man and a Spider-Man?" Elisabeth nods, making Bruce wince. “Okay, look... Thanos has the biggest army in the universe... And he is not gonna stop until he...” He pauses, as if trying to ease the situation. “He gets… Vision’s Stone”.
"Well then, we have to protect it". Elisabeth speaks, getting up from the chair.
"No, we have to destroy it". Vision joins the conversation, making everyone look at him, who has a calm expression on his face. “I’ve been giving a good deal of thought to this entity in my head, about its nature”. Everyone was silent, just watching him, as he approached Wanda. "But also, its composition. I think that if it were exposed to a sufficiently powerful energy source, something, very similar to its own signature, perhaps… Its molecular integrity could fail".
"And you, with it". Wanda looks at him calmly, everyone had understood what Vision was suggesting, destroying the Stone meant that Thanos wouldn’t be able to catch her. "We’re not having this conversation”.
"Eliminating the stone is the only way to be certain that Thanos can't get it”.
"That’s too high a price”. Vision holds his partner's head gently, staring at her.
"Only you have the power to pay it". Without saying anything else, Wanda moves away from his touch, walking away. "Thanos threatens half the Universe. One life cannot stand in the way of defeating him". Vision alert everyone, nobody seemed interested in following that plan.
"But it should". Steve speaks. "We don’t trade lives, Vision".
"Captain, 70 years ago, you laid down your life to save how many millions of people". Vision approaches Rogers, making him turn completely towards him. "Tell me, why is this any different?"
"Because you might have a choice”. Elisabeth lets go, facing Bruce.
"Your mind is made up of a complex construct of overlays". Vision is silent. “J.A.R.V.I.S., Ultron, Tony, me, the Stone. All of them mixed together. All of them learning from one another”.
“You’re saying Vision isn’t just the stone?” Wanda asks.
"We are saying that if we take out the stone..." Elisabeth turns to Wanda, gesturing with her hands. “There’s still a whole lot of Vision left. Perhaps the best parts”.
"Can we do that?" Natasha asks, facing the two.
"Not us. Not here". Bruce replies, looking at Lisa, the two knew that alone, neither of them were capable of that nor they didn’t have none of the resource needed.
"You better find someone, and somewhere fast". Rhodes speaks quickly. "Ross isn’t exactly just gonna let you guys have your old rooms back”.
"I know somewhere". Steve concludes, giving everyone a smile.
☼
"You alright? That was close". Tony lets go, helping Stephen pull himself together. They had controlled the ship to land on Titan, ready for a surprise attack on Thanos. "I owe you one".
"Let me say…” The two turned to Peter, who was hanging upside down on one of his webs. "If aliens wind up implanting eggs in my chest or something, and I eat one of you, I’m sorry”.
"I don’t wanna hear another single pop culture out of you for the rest of the trip. You understand?" Tony says quickly.
"I’m trying to say that… Something is coming". Peter concludes, making Stephen and Tony look at him crookedly without understanding, and that's when a bomb is dropped between the two adults, making the three fly with the impact.
"THANOS!"
Everything happened very fast, the three attackers entered quickly where the ship had landed. Attacking without thinking twice, the same man who had screamed attacked Stranger, who quickly defended himself with magic, and then immediately sent his cloak to disable him. Tony fought with another man, who were wearing what appeared to be boots with thrusters, two guns in his hands and a strange mask, in a blow to fight back, the attacker attached a magnetic device to his armor, causing it to be pulled onto the beam of nearest metal. The first thing that Peter manages to focus his vision on, is a woman with antennae, which makes him move away as quickly as possible.
"DON’T PUT YOUR EGGS ON ME!" He quickly gets up, throwing webs in her direction, holding it in place, then Peter is hit by the same man who fought Tony earlier.
"Stay down, clown". The man starts to shoot, making Peter move quickly upwards, trying to avoid the shots, the boy commands the armor to open the new feature, the four mechanical arms attached to his back, helping him move faster, an attempt who was thwarted by the man, who threw a device towards him, who dispersed itself on two electric cords that he tied around his waist, stopping him.
"Die, blanket of death!" Tony quickly detached himself from the beam and put his foot on the attacker's chest that had been trapped by Stranger's cloak, he now looked at Tony, while he pointed one hand at him, ready to shoot.
"Alright, everybody, stay where you are…" The man who arrested Tony on the beam screams was holding Peter hostage, aiming the gun at his head. "Chill the F out". Strange had a spell ready, and hoped he didn't have to use it, the man holding Peter tightens something on his helmet, revealing his face, his weapon turns to Tony. "I'm gonna ask you this one time. Where's Gamora?"
"Yeah, I’ll do you one better”. Tony's helmet retracts showing his face, while he aims at the fallen man and the man who had Peter. "Who’s Gamora?"
"I’ll do you one better". The man on the floor says. "Why is Gamora?"
"Tell me where the girl is, or I swear to you, I’m gonna Fench-fry this little freak". The other threatens again by pressing the gun further on Peter's head.
"Let’s do it!" Tony shapes a large nanotechnology weapon, aiming at his partner lying on the floor. “You shoot my guy, I blast him. LET’S GO!"
“Do it, Quill! I can take it". The man on the floor screams, revealing the name of the man aiming the gun at Parker.
"No, he can't take it!" The alien that Peter had webbed screams after Quill.
"She's right." Strange speaks. "You can’t ".
"Oh yeah? You don’t wanna tell me where she is?” Quill speaks again. "That’s fine. I’ll kill all three of you and beat it out of Thanos myself”. Quill turns his gaze to Peter, tightening his grip on the gun. "Starting with you".
“Wait, what. Thanos?” Stephen asks looking at Quill. “Alright, let me ask you this one time: What master do you serve?”
"What master do I serve?" Quill repeats looking confused. "What am I supposed to say? ‘Jesus’?” Tony takes a deep breath, looking at Strange, rolling his eyes as he turns to Quill.
"You’re from Earth?"
"I’m not from Earth, I'm from Missouri". Quill responds, staring at Stark.
"Yeah, that’s on Earth, dip-shit". Tony removes his foot from the man and returns his armor to normal. "What are you hassling us for?"
"So, you're not with Thanos?" Peter asks slowly.
"With Thanos?!" Quill repeats, facing Tony. “No, I’m here to kill Thanos! He took my girl-” Quill stops aiming the gun at Peter. "Wait, who are you?" Peter follows the example of the other two, and removes his helmet, revealing his face.
"We’re the Avengers, man". Quill takes his arm from Peter's neck, moving away.
"You’re the ones Thor told us about!" The woman speaks again, making Tony look at Quill.
"You know Thor?"
"Yeah. Tall guy, not that good-looking, needed saving”. Peter looks at Quill with a confused expression.
"Where is he now?" Strange asks.
"He went to a planet called Nidavellir, with two of our teammates". Quill speaks, approaching Tony and Stephen. "We split up, we went to Knowhere to retrieve the Reality Stone, but by the time we got there, Thanos had already taken it, well, the Reality one and two more".
"Excellent". Tony says quickly, starting to get out of the ship's rubble. "And who are you?"
"We are the Guardians". The woman speaks quickly, the other partner had helped her with Peter's webs, and soon everyone was outside.
"I am Quill, Star Lord, this is Mantis and Drax". Tony nods, Peter was beside him, and Strange was analyzing things. "We are a team, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Thanos took Gamora, and Rocket and Groot are with Thor."
"Tony, Peter and Strange". Tony speaks quickly, pointing to each one. Quill starts to fiddle with a device, and soon starts talking again.
"The heck happened to this planet?" Everyone was watching him. “It’s eight degrees off its axis. Gravitational pull is all over the place”.
"Yeah, we got one advantage." Tony approaches Quill, leaving Peter to watch Mantis, who randomly jumped where she was. "He’s coming to us". Tony turns to the others. “We’ll use it. Alright, I have a plan. Or at least the begginnings of one”. Quill turns to him. "It's pretty simple. We draw him in, pin him down, get what we need. Definitely don’t wanna dance with this guy. We just want the gauntlet”. Drax yawns, making Tony turn to him without patience. “Are you yawning? In the middle of this, while I’m breaking it down? Huh? Did you hear what I said?”
"I stopped listening after you said, we need a plan". Tony takes a deep breath, it seemed that the three were seven times more difficult than his daughter.
"Okay, Mr. Clean is on his own page". Tony turns to Quill.
“See, ‘not winging it’ isn’t really what they do”. Quill informs Tony and Peter.
"Uh, what exactly is it that they do?" Parker asks, looking at Quill.
"Kick names, take ass". Mantis replies.
"Yeah, that's right". Drax agrees, making Tony roll his eyes in silence, thinking about what they have in hand.
"Alright, just get over here, please". Quill looks at Tony confused. "Mr. Lord, can you get your folks to circle up?"
"‘Mr. Lord’. Star Lord is fine”. With a quick nod, Drax and Mantis join the three at the circle.
"We gotta coalesce". Tony crosses his arms. "‘Cause if all we come at him with is a plucky attitude…”
"Dude, don't call us plucky". Quill speaks, rolling his eyes. “We don't know what it means. Alright, we’re optimistic, yes. I liked your plan. Except it sucks, so let me do the plan, and that way it might be really good”.
“Tell him about the dance-off to save the universe”. Drax says, making Tony take a deep breath, where had they gone?
"What dance-off?" Tony asks.
"It’s not a… It’s not… It’s nothing". Quill responds quickly.
"Like the Footloose, the movie?" Peter asks, making Quill smile.
"Exactly like Footloose". Parker looks at him confused. "Is it still the greatest movie in history?"
"It never was". Peter responds quickly, getting quiet again.
"Don’t encourage this, alright?" Tony tells Peter, who quickly agrees. "We’re getting no help from Flash Gordon here". Tony approaches Peter, standing beside him.
“Flash Gordon? By the way, that’s a compliment". The two turn to Quill, who was approaching them. "Don't forget, I'm half human. So that 50% of me that’s stupid..." Tony nods. "That’s 100% you".
"Your math is blowing my mind". Tony comments, turning his gaze to the floor.
"Excuse me, but…" Mantis says softly, making everyone look at her, and consequently at Strange. "Does your friend often do that?" Tony looks nervously in his direction, the man was doing something with the Time Stone, but it didn't seem to be doing him any good, his head was moving all over the place and the man was floating, definitely not normal.
"Strange, we alright?" He didn't seem to hear, so Tony approached slowly, and soon the man woke up from what he was doing, falling to the ground, Tony holding the same, who was breathing quickly. "You’re back". The others approached the two with concerned looks. "You’re alright".
"Hey, what was that?" Peter asks nervously.
"I went forward in time to view alternative futures." Strange was speaking with difficulty, still trying to breathe properly. "To see all the possible outcomes of the coming conflict".
"How many did you see?" Quill asks.
"14,000,605".
"How many did we win?" Tony asks worriedly.
"One".
☼
When the Quinjet landed in Wakanda, Elisabeth didn’t know what to expect. Steve and Natasha left first, and it was possible to see that the new king of Wakanda was already there and accompanied by some of his soldiers. She never imagined that she would visit Wakanda, and if she ever did, it would be under better circumstances. Lisa was walking beside Rhodes and Banner, and she could hear when the scientist asked if they should bow, she could practically hear the smile when Rhodey said they should, because T’Challa was a king.
"Seems like I'm always thanking you for something." Steve speaks looking at the king, who just smiles, shaking his hand, is when Bruce starts to kneel, earning him a disapproving look.
"What are you doing?" Elisabeth whispers as she joins Rhodes, who keeps a smile on his face.
"Uh, we don't do that here”. Bruce gives an embarrassed smile, exchanging looks with his partner beside him. "So how big of an assault can we expect?" T’Challa speaks, starting to walk with the other Wakandians, being followed by the team.
"Uh, sir, I think you can expect quite a big assault". Banner speaks, approaching Rogers, who just looks at him with a weak smile, Bruce was gone for two years, but it seemed that he had never lived on Earth, lost all customs from there.
"How we looking?" Natasha asks, looking at the girl who was in the middle of Steve and her.
"You will have my Kingsguard, the Border Tribe, the Dora Milaje, and..." Elisabeth's eyes followed Wanda and Vision being guided by two guards, but she soon gained something new to look at, coming towards the group, James Barnes approached with a smile.
"A semi-stable, 100-year-old man". Steve smiles widely, hugging his friend.
"How you been, Bucky?"
"Uh, not bad, for the end of the world". Bucky responds, and then T’Challa guides them to where Vision had been taken for analysis, that’s where the team met Shuri, the king’s sister. Bruce and Elisabeth offered to help her, since Bruce had helped with the creation of Vision, and Elisabeth read just about everything her father had about him, and the knowledge needed to be able to help. Banner was impressed with how smart the girl got with each passing day, he couldn't wait any less, the girl was a Stark.
"Whoa, the structure is polymorphic". Shuri says after evaluating the structure of the Stone.
"Right, we had to attach each neuron non-sequentially". Bruce informs, receiving a curious look from Shuri.
"Why didn't you just reprogram the synapses to work collectively?" Vision looks at Bruce curiously, Banner just looks at her without knowing what to say and takes a deep breath.
"Because… We didn’t think of it"
"I’m sure you did your best". Shuri says with a huge smile on his face, eliciting a weak laugh from Elisabeth.
"Can you do it?" Wanda asks.
"Yes, but there are more than two trillion neurons here”. Shuri stares at the three near the table, looking back at Vision. "One misalignment could cause a cascade of circuit failures". She looks back at the king. "It will take time, brother".
"How long?" Steve asks, they didn't know how much time they would have for this to work, they didn't know how long they would have before Thanos attacked again, they needed to do it right.
"As long as you can give me". Suddenly, the technology on Okoye's wrist starts to fire, indicating that something was not right around Wakanda.
"Something’s entered the atmosphere." Elisabeth joins the others, approaching the window of the room, seeing what had entered, several ships falling around the land of Wakanda, they didn’t have much time.
"It's too late". Vision speaks, having difficulty sitting. "We need to destroy the stone now".
"Vision, get your ass back to the table". Natasha speaks, leaving the room.
"We will hold them off". T'Challa speaks, starting to walk around the room, being followed by the guards, Steve turns his gaze to Wanda, taking a deep breath.
"Wanda, as soon as that stone’s out of his head... You blow it to hell".
"I will".
“Evacuate the city. Engage all defenses procedures”. The king turns to Steve. "And get this man a shield." Everyone started to leave the room, except for the one who would be responsible for the stone, Stark and Banner.
"Your green friend isn’t going to join the battle, is he?" Banner shakes his head. "Maybe he doesn't have to..." Bruce looks at her confused, and Lisa instructs him to follow her. Elisabeth quickly informs her what she needed to do for the king, and it gives her enough space to call for the armor she needed.
The Veronica suit was worn when the Hulk lost control during one of Ultron's attacks, and it was time for her to be used again. Elisabeth quickly accessed the satellites, and waited for the King of Wakanda's cue, where he would allow a piece of the dome to open up for the armor to pass, and it would be in this way that Bruce Banner would join the battle, not with the Hulk, but with a Hulkbuster.
☼
"Oh, yeah". Strange says when he sees Thanos leaving the portal created by the Space Stone, the plan was set, ambush Thanos and take his gauntlet out, and Strange would follow the plan, making the enemy think that only he would face him. "You’re much more of a Thanos."
"I take it the Maw is dead". Thanos replies, noting that his partner wasn’t there with the stone, but rather, the stone keeper himself, who just nods. "This day extracts a heavy toll. Still, he accomplished his mission". Thanos starts to approach the stairs that Strange was sitting on.
"You may regret that". Stephen warns. “He brought you face-to-face with the Master of Mystic Arts”.
"And where do you think he brought you?" Thanos continues to approach.
"Let me guess. Your home?" Thanos stops at the beginning of the stairs.
"It was". With a quick movement, his hand closes, and the Reality Gem begins to shine, and soon all around him is transformed, showing what that planet once was. “And it was beautiful. Titan was like most planets. Too many mouths, and not enough food to go around. And when we faced extinction, I offered a solution”.
"Genocide". Strange completes, watching Thanos' expressions.
“But at random, dispassionate, fair to rich and poor alike”. Thanos turns his gaze to Doctor Strange. “They called me a madman. And what I predicted came to pass”. He stops using the Reality Stone, showing the destroyed planet.
"Congratulations. You’re a prophet".
"I’m a survivor".
"Who wants to murder trillions".
"With all six stones, I could simply snap my fingers…" With his free hand, Thanos snaps his fingers, demonstrating how easy it would be. “And they would all cease to exist. I call that mercy”.
"And then what?" Strange gets up, starting to approach.
"I finally rest..." Thanos takes a deep breath. “And watch the sun rise on a grateful universe. The hardest choices require strongest wills”.
"I think you’ll find our will equal to yours." Strange moves his hands quickly, summoning his Mandalas, preparing for the fight.
"Ours?" Thanos looks up, seeing the piece of stone that was coming at high speed towards him, with a quick movement, he closes the hand of the gauntlet, using the Power Stone to defend himself.
"Piece of cake, Quill". Tony speaks, dropping the stone and passing the Starlord, who just rolls his eyes.
"Yeah, if your goal was to piss him off."
Quill activates his helmet, starting to fly. Thanos soon breaks the stone dropped on himself, and the team could see when the purple stone on the gauntlet stopped glowing and the red one took over, causing the stone's debris to turn into bats and attack Stark. Peter throws a web under Thanos eyes, and quickly kicks him, while Drax stabs one of his legs, and soon starts attacking his upper part, followed by Strange, who emerged from a portal.
With difficulty, Thanos throws Drax away, holding the sword created by Strange. He finally takes the web out of his eyes, staring at Strange, in a quick stroke, he breaks the spell of the sword, and kicks Strange away, which resists the blow, and already does another spell to fight back. An attack from behind made by Quill, hits Thanos back, who tries to fight back, but fails because Star Lord and Doctor Strange coordinate an attack together, which results in Quill depositing a shock bomb on Thanos back, which disoriented by the shock suffered. Strange quickly opens a portal and Quill leaps out of it.
"Do not let him close his fist". Strange orders to his cloak, which quickly grips the hand with the gauntlet, leaving Thanos trying to get it out of his fist.
"Magic!" A new portal opens behind Thanos, and Peter passes him by punching him in the face, and then entering another portal. "More magic!” Again, and Thanos seemed to be paying attention to the coordinated attack. "Magic with a kick!" Peter yells through another portal. "Magic with a--" Thanos let himself be hit one last time, and when the portal opened again, he grabbed Peter by the neck, hitting the boy on the floor.
"Insect!”
With a quick move, he throws Peter against Strange, knocking them both down, and that's when he finally rips the cloak off his wrist, only to be met with an Iron Man missile attack. Thanos closes his hand, using the Space and Power Stones, to suck the energy from the explosions and turn them against Tony, who is hit and thrown away. Peter hits the gauntlet with a web, pulling his fist down, Thanos soon breaks the web, tearing what is left of the gauntlet, without being able to attack back, a small ship is thrown against Thanos, revealing a new fighter.
"Well, well". Thanos lets go, staring at the woman he knew very well.
"You should have killed me!"
"It would’ve been a waste of parts!" The woman follows a series of attacks, which didn’t appear to affect Thanos.
"Where's Gamora?!"
With a kick, Thanos tosses it away, being met by another attack by Strange, several magical threads trying to pull the gauntlet, something Thanos tried to loosen with his other hand, but was kicked in the leg by Drax, even so, he reacted to that, and started pulling the magic threads, pulling Strange close. Quill used a device to pull Thanos hand, making him unable to pull anymore, while Peter held him with one of his webs.
Tony takes the place of the wires, and begins to pull the gauntlet, under Thanos head, Strange opens a portal, through which Mantis passes and sits with his legs around Thanos neck, quickly placing his hands on his head. From there, everyone collaborated to hold Thanos. Mantis held him still, controlling his mind, while Drax held his legs, Peter and Strange his other hand and Tony was still trying to pull the gauntlet off.
"Is he under? Don’t let up" Tony says, analyzing the situation.
"Be quick. He is very strong". Mantis informs with difficulty, Tony takes a deep breath, looking at Peter.
“Parker, help! Get over here". Peter quickly runs to his side, holding the gauntlet. “She can't hold him much longer. Let's go!" The two begin to pull, while Quill lands in front of everyone.
"You need to open your fingers to take it out." Peter speaks by pulling hard on the gauntlet.
"I thought you’d be harder to catch." Quill looks at Stark. “For the record, this is my plan”. Quill looks back at Thanos, approaching. “Not so strong now, huh? Where's Gamora?”
"My Gamora…?" Thanos speaks with difficulty, as if he is in pain.
"No, bull-shit". Quill speaks quickly, facing the other angrily. "Where is she?"
"He is in anguish." Mantis informs.
"Good". Quill speaks, facing Thanos, but Mantis' expression changes.
"He… He mourns”.
"What does this monster have to mourn?" Drax asks.
"Gamora". The woman who had joined the fight later says, she was standing behind Quill, and looking at Thanos angrily.
"What?" Quill turns to the woman, taking a deep breath.
"He took her to Vormir”. The woman speaks slowly. "He came back with the Soul Stone, but she didn't."
"Okay, Quill..." Tony retracts his helmet, looking directly at the man, everyone there seems to understand, and all they didn't need was to miss this opportunity. “You gotta cool it right now, you understand?" Quill seems to ignore the same, turning his gaze to Thanos. "Don’t, don’t engage, we’ve almost got this off!” Tony screams, seeing that it would be useless to keep trying to talk, then pull the handle back with all the strength he has.
"TELL ME SHE’S LYING!" Quill screams. “Asshole! Tell me you didn't do that!”
"I… had… to". Thanos speaks with difficulty, making Quill take a deep breath.
"No, you didn't." Quill speaks slowly. "No, you didn't." He repeats again, before placing a punch in Thanos's face, moving the structure they had set up to hold him. "NO, YOU DIDN'T!" He punches one more, feeling the anger seep through his body, and before he can deliver more, Tony takes his hand, holding him back.
"QUILL!" His helmet comes back, and he looks at Quill, holding the man. “Hey, stop! STOP!"
“It's coming! I got it!" Peter announces, but before he can take it out, Thanos awakens, headbutting Mantis, and pulling the gauntlet back on quickly, he holds one of Mantis' legs and throws it away. "Oh, God..." Before jumping quickly and holding her against his body, using the mechanical arms to fall to the floor without getting hurt.
Thanos kicks Drax forward, hitting Quill and the woman. He pulls the wire that Strange was holding, throwing it away too, Tony tries to attack him, but Thanos retaliates with a punch, pushing him away. Quill, Drax and the woman start to get up and run, but using the Power Stone, Thanos knocks them down again. Tony molds one of his armor's arms into a giant sword, and tries to attack again, which doesn't seem to affect the man, who just defends himself and throws Tony away again.
From where Tony lands, he could see Thanos wearing another of the Stones, to pull a moon from the sky, he tries to fly when he sees the huge stone approaching, but he cannot escape and ends up trapped under it. The other pieces of the moon still fell under Titan, and Peter swung from web to web saving the companions from the remnants of the moon, with the impact of the larger stone, all who were temporarily fallen flew away.
"I got you, and you!" Peter tried to remain calm, he knew the plan had gone wrong, and he feared what would happen next, but he tried to remain calm, he needed to make sure that everyone was well and safe from the rest of Thanos's attack. "Sorry I can’t remember anybody's name!"
While Peter was sure he had saved everyone and placed them close to where he had left Mantis, he could see Strange fighting Thanos, all of Doctor Strange's movements were precisely calculated, and Thanos didn't seem to be affected by any of that, just dodged and remained trying to attack. Peter continued to follow their struggle and saw Strange perform a doubling spell. Thanos didn't seem to be affected, he just wore a combination of Jewels and found the real one, eliminating the copies, using the stones again he pulled Strange close to him, holding his neck.
"You’re full of tricks, wizard." Peter sees Thanos pulling Strange's eye necklace, seeing him despair. "Yet you never once used greatest weapon”. Peter approached, watching Thanos crush the necklace. "A fake". Thanos tosses Strange away, and Parker was about to act when he saw a part of Tony's armor cling to the gauntlet's hand, preventing him from closing his hand again.
"You throw another moon at me..." Tony says after landing near Thanos. "And I'm going to lose it."
"Stark".
"You know me?" Tony asks nervously, the man in front of him was his nightmare for years, and he was finally face-to-face with him.
"I do". Thanos says calm. "You’re not the only one cursed with knowledge".
"My only curse is you."
Peter sees Tony resume the attack, and although it started well, it didn’t end gloriously for Tony. He managed to fight back in the best way he could, and even managed to make a bleeding wound on Thanos, something that the man mocked Tony for having managed to do, the fight continued, and it was Thanos's turn to fight back, which ended up with Stark being stabbed with a piece of his own armor.
"You have my respect, Stark". Thanos says, holding Tony's head, who held the spot where the armor was tucked. "When I'm done, half of humanity will still be alive." Thanos releases his head, moving away. "I hope they remember you." Without saying anything else, Thanos closes his hand, ready to use the four Jewels.
"Stop!" Strange speaks, drawing Thanos's attention. "Spare his life..." Tony turns his gaze to Stephen, not believing what he heard. "And I will give you the stone."
"No tricks". Stephen nods in agreement, and Thanos changes the target of the stones, ready to end Strange if he were lying.
"Don’t". Tony speaks with difficulty, something that Strange ignores, since he reveals the stone with his hands and hands it to Thanos, seeing the same quickly put it on the gauntlet.
"Only one to go". Quill last tried to attack Thanos, but he creates a portal with the Space Stone and disappears from there. Leaving everyone there, aimlessly.
"Did we lose?" Quill asks, taking a deep breath, Tony uses a last resort of the armor, to stop the blood from his abdomen.
"Why would you do that?" Tony asks, staring at Strange.
"We’re in the Endgame now."
☼
Things weren’t going well, not even far. Elisabeth fought with everything she had, she had already fallen and stood up several times, and that didn't seem to be enough for her. She saw when Thor and two other partners joined the battle, and she saw when Wanda started to fight too, she saw Vision being attacked and heard Banner's call about Vision. She flew as fast as she could, and saw Bruce pull the largest of the ‘Children of Thanos' away from the Vision, leaving the other, she tried to defend Vision, fought the alien, and was thrown away after delivering a few blows, the alien didn't seem affected and just attacked Vision once again.
"I thought you were formidable, machine". Elisabeth gets up, checking the damage to the armor, there were many, but she couldn't think about it now. "But you’re dying, like any man". She ran towards the alien, pushing him away from Vision, who just stayed on the ground, trying to recover from another blow, so she saw Steve running towards her, making a coordinated attack with her.
"GET OUTTTA HERE!" Steve yells towards the Vision, who just looks at him taking a deep breath. "GO!"
The attack of the two continued, until the alien threw Steve away, and Elisabeth was left alone to fight, which didn’t end very well, since he hit a part of her leg, causing her to fall, and the alien grab her neck with his hand. Steve tried to focus his eyes on her, and help Elisabeth, but it wasn’t necessary when he saw Vision with the enemy's spear attack the alien, taking him off Lisa and finally killing him. Vision was weak, so as soon as the attack ended, he fell to his knees next to Elisabeth, who was trying to recover her breath, Steve ran close to the two, helping Vision to get up.
"I thought I told you to go." Steve says looking at him, that he just smiles weakly and replies.
"We don't trade lives, Captain." Elisabeth remained with Vision until Wanda arrived, when the woman ran close to him, Lisa got up and went towards Steve.
"How are things going for the others?" She asks worriedly, her helmet retracts with the rest of the suit and Steve can see her tired face, her blond hair was stuck in a bun made at the last minute, and her face had several bleeding bruises, he couldn't even imagine how the rest of her body was, it was not the place he wanted her to be, and he couldn’t think how much Tony wouldn't want her to be there too.
"Everyone is holding on as they can." Elisabeth nods, taking a deep breath. "Are you okay?" Before she could respond, Vision let out an agonized cry of pain, causing the two to turn to Wanda and Vision.
"What?" Wanda asks. "What is it?"
"He’s here". Stark turns his gaze to Steve, putting her suit back on and standing next to him, Rogers puts his hand on the communicator to his ear and starts talking.
"Everyone, on my position". If what Vision said was right, Thanos had finally arrived, and none of them were in any shape to face him alone. "We have incoming". Everyone approached quickly, and watched the blue-colored portal open, and a large man emerged from it.
"Cap". Bruce says softly. "That’s him".
"Eyes up." Captain pulls his shield, starting to walk towards Thanos. "Stay sharp".
Elisabeth saw when Bruce tried to attack him, and all Thanos had to do was use one of the stones and pin the man into a wall. She saw him use another stone to send Steve away, she saw him take down T’Challa and she saw him turn Sam’s wings into nothing. She tried to attack him too, but like the others, she couldn't even get close, her body was tired, and she had bruises over most of her body, her heart was pounding, and she felt like everyone had failed.
All that was left of everyone there was to see Wanda fight. Watching her kill the love of her life and at the same time preventing Thanos from getting close, she fought, and fought and in the end, the Mind Stone was destroyed, as was Vision, who was now dead. Elisabeth tried to get up, like the others, Thanos approached Wanda and the corpse of Vision, and started talking to the woman.
"I understand, my child". Wanda looked at Vision, she cried, and she didn't have the strength to fight him again. "Better than anyone".
"You could never." From where Elisabeth was, she could see Thanos put his hand on Wanda's head, and take a deep breath.
"Today, I lost more than you can know". He gets up looking at the Vision. "But now is no time to mourn". He starts to get closer. "Now, is no time at all." Unable to react, Thanos uses one of the stones, and as if by magic, Vision who had died within seconds, was alive now.
"NO!"
Wanda tries to attack him, but he just throws her away, pulling Vision by the neck, he pulls the jewel off his head, and throws it to the side as if it is nothing. And finally, he has the last stone, Elisabeth looks desperately towards Steve, who seemed mesmerized by what had just happened, thunder strikes Thanos, and Thor announces his arrival to the titan, throwing his axe in his direction, hitting his chest. Thor approaches, holding his head.
"I told you..." He holds the ax head. "You’d die for that!" With that Thor squeezes the axe across his chest, making Thanos scream.
"You should have..." Thanos starts with difficulty. "You should have gone for the head." Thor looked at him confused, but soon realized what he meant, quickly Thanos snapped his fingers with the gauntlet, making Thor scream. The stones shone brightly, and when Thor finally saw it, the gauntlet was destroyed, burned, as was Thanos's arm.
"What’d you do?" Thor asks, looking at Thanos. "WHAT’D YOU DO?" Without saying anything else, Thanos uses the stones as a way to escape Thor’s grip.
"Where’d he go?" Steve asks approaching Thor. "Thor?" Steve catches your eye. "Where’d he go?"
"Steve?" Rogers quickly turns to the source of the voice, Bucky approached him, but something was wrong, his body were disappearing, as if he were disintegrating, his legs disappeared causing him to fall to the ground, but before his body hit the ground, he had turned to dust, gone. Steve approaches, playing in the same place where Bucky disappeared, he exchanges glances with Thor, who seemed shaken and without understanding.
Soon, many around Wakanda started to disappear. Warriors who fought against Thanos's army had the same fate as Bucky, Thanos got what he wanted, it was happening all over the world, half of humanity erased. Steve took a deep breath, and watched one by one, his partners disappear, T’Challa disappeared right after, the tree that came with Thor, Groot, Wanda, Sam, and finally, the girl he considered as a daughter, Elisabeth.
She felt nothing, it seemed that her body was no longer in her control. She remembers looking at Steve with a weak smile, before feeling her legs gone and fall to the ground, Steve ran towards him, being followed by Thor, he hugged her, and assured her that things would be fine, that she would be fine. He will never forget her last words, "Tell Dad and Peter that I'm sorry". And as if it were nothing, they were left there, the survivors of Thanos's snap.
☼
On Titan, Peter helped Tony to his feet. They had lost the fight, lost everything, nothing could fix things now, Strange assured them that was the only way to fix things, Tony didn't think so. All Tony thought about was taking Peter home, he wanted to go home, meet Pepper and Elisabeth, have another normal day with them, it was all he wanted, but things were not going as planned.
"Something's happening." Mantis says, and then, her body begins to disintegrate, the woman disappears, and all that is left of her is ashes, dust. They turned to Drax, and the same thing was happening to him.
"Quill?" Quill turns to Tony, and somehow, Stark knew, it was happening to him too.
"Steady, Quill".
"Aw, man". It was Quill's last words, before the same thing happened to him.
"Tony". Stark turns to Stephen, who is sitting on the floor, and looks at him seriously. "There was no other way". And then the same thing happens to him, Tony takes a deep breath, it couldn't be happening.
"Mr. Stark?" And Tony realized, the fear on Peter's face, realized that it was happening to him too. "I don't feel so good…"
"You’re all right?” Tony says calmly, and Peter quickly approaches him.
"I don’t know what’s-- I don't know what’s happening…” Peter stumbles, and Tony quickly takes him in his arms, Parker was crying, and Tony didn't know what to do. "I don’t wanna go. I don't wanna go, Mr. Stark, please". Peter kept repeating this, and Tony bent down with the boy in his arms, not knowing what to say or do, Tony laid him on the floor, and Peter looked at him. "She was right, I should’ve stayed on the bus..." Tony didn't understand at the time, but he tried to smile, tried to make sure everything was fine, even though in the end, he knew he wasn't. "I'm sorry..." Those were Peter's last words, Tony hoped it would happen to him too, it was the only fair thing to happen, but he didn't disappear, neither he nor the woman, the two survived it, and Tony wished he hadn't.
Add yourself on the tag list
#peter parker#peter parker x stark! reader#peter parker x reader#pepper pots#james rhodes#bucky barnes#steve rogers#stark!reader#wandavision#vision#wanda#avengers infinity war#avengers#captain america#iron heart#iron man#tony stark#ned leeds#harry osborn#flash thompson#betty brant#mj#michelle jones#rosé#happy hogan#snap#thanos#gamora#peter quill#y/n stark
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whats the black site list?
The black site list is a list of locations where programming occurs. The sites are denied by the United states government. The Black Sites are where terrorists are taken and held with no legal protections.
The sites are also where TBMC continues to occur.
I’ll give a list below.
Oz
First quotes from documents confirming the existence of black sites.
“Assurances have, in some circumstances, proved unreliable. With regard to the CIA’s extraordinary rendition of detainees from CIA-run ‘black sites’ in European States, it was submitted to the ECHR that by 2005”
“I am certain that the HVD programme has its general origins in the 17.09.2001 Finding, because our sources were unanimous on the question of the latitude this document afforded to the CIA. However we were also told separately of the existence of further classified documents (thought to have been signed in 2002) that actually use the term “black sites” in relation to specific facilities.”
“Indeed, even when the revelations of secret detentions in “several democracies in Eastern Europe” first emerged in November 2005,6 the publication responsible for breaking the story, The Washington Post, made a decision not to publish the names of the states which had hosted CIA “black sites”, although it was aware of this information.”
“There is nothing on the face of the intelligence reports that would alert the recipient agency to the fact that the detainee was subjected to torture to obtain the information contained in the report. Nor are there any indications in the reports that the CIA had engaged in extraordinary rendition, with these 39 detainees often moved around to several CIA black sites before appearing in detention at Guantanamo Bay”
“ECHR judgments describing the roles played by Lithuania and Romania in CIA black sites and rendition in their own countries “to avoid disturbing their relationship with the United States, a crucial partner and ally”. Abu Zubaydah v Lithuania”
The List of some black sites
“First we have received concurring confirmations that United States agencies have used the island territory of Diego Garcia, which is the international legal responsibility of the United Kingdom”
“Second we have been told that Thailand hosted the first CIA “black site,” and that Abu Zubaydah was held there after his capture in 2002.”
“One CIA source told us: “in Thailand, it was a case of ‘you stick with what you know’;” however, since the allegations pertaining to Thailand were not the direct focus of our inquiry, we did not elaborate further on these references in our
discussions. The specific location of the “black site” in Thailand has been publicly alleged to be a facility in Udon Thani, near to the Udon Royal Thai Air Force Base in the north-east of the country.”
“The CIA brokered “operating agreements” with the Governments of Poland and Romania to hold its High-Value Detainees (HVDs) in secret detention facilities on their respective territories. Poland and Romania agreed to provide the premises in which these facilities were established, the highest degrees of physical security and secrecy, and steadfast guarantees of non-interference.”
As was already shown in my report of 12 June 2006 (PACE Doc 10957), these partners have included several Council of Europe member states. Only exceptionally have any of them acknowledged their responsibility – as in the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Some European governments have obstructed the search for the truth and are continuing to do so by invoking the concept of “state secrets”. Secrecy is invoked so as not to provide explanations to parliamentary bodies or to prevent judicial authorities from establishing the facts and prosecuting those guilty of offences. This criticism applies to Germany and Italy, in particular. It is striking to note that state secrets are invoked on grounds almost identical to those advanced by the authorities in the Russian Federation in its crackdown on scientists, journalists and lawyers, many of whom have been prosecuted and sentenced for alleged acts of espionage. The same approach led the authorities of “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” to hide the truth and give an obviously false account of the actions of its own national agencies and the CIA in carrying out the secret detention and rendition of Khaled El-Masri.
Detention sites:
BLACK - Romania
BLUE - "Quartz" - Stare Kiejkuty, Poland
BROWN - Afghanistan
COBALT - "Salt Pit" - Afghanistan
GRAY - Afghanistan
GREEN - Thailand
INDIGO - Guantanamo
MAROON - Guantanamo
ORANGE - Afghanistan
VIOLET - Lithuania
RED - This could be an additional site in one of the above countries, or someplace entirely different. It is mentioned only once in the report, on page 140 of 499, and the entry is almost entirely redacted.
Companies:
Company Y - Mitchell, Jessen & Associates, based in Spokane, Washington.
The "Associates" are David Ayers, Randall Spivey, James Sporleder, Joseph Matarazzo, and Roger Aldrich.
It should be noted that there is no "Company X" in this report, I found this peculiar. It seems that there should be one, and as it happens there are several shady "Companies' known: "Premier Executive Transport Services" Incorporated in Dedham Massachusetts, is known to have been part of the CIA rendition program. The names of its officers include "Coleen Bornt," "Brian Dice" and "Tyler Edward Tate." These are fictitious people.
Other companies suspected of involvement in rendition include: "Stevens Express Leasing" "Richmor Aviation" "Rapid AirTrans" "Path Corporation"
Businesses:
Business Q - Associated with Zubair, associated with Hambali
Torture Doctors:
"Grayson Swigert" - James Mitchell
"Hammond Dunbar" - Bruce Jessen
CIA Officers:
CIA Officer 1 - COBALT Site manager - Matthew Zirbel. Zirbel's corrupt CIA boss (Convicted) Kyle Dusty Dustin Foggo overruled the 10 day suspension Zirbel received in the murder of Gul Rahman (innocent).
CIA Officer 2 - Torturer at COBALT and BLUE - Albert El Gamil - retired from CIA in 2004.
Ron Czarnetsky, CIA Chief of Station on Warsaw, Poland from 2002 to 2005. This would make him responsible for site BLUE.
[no mention] Alfreda Frances Bikowsky - Made herself involved in Waterboarding in Poland (BLUE) in March of 2003. Took trip unassigned and on own dime. Was "scolded" and told it "wasn't supposed to be entertainment." Would have been there at the same time as Mitchell and Jessen.
Assets:
Asset X - Directly involved in the capture of KSM.
Asset Y - Reports on Janat Gul
Persons:
Person 1 - al-Ghuraba group member, with an interest in airplanes and aviation. "intelligence indicates the interest was unrelated to terrorist activity."
Detainees:
Detainee R - Held by foreign government, rendered to CIA custody
Detainee S - Held by foreign government
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sorry but how do institutions largely favor conservativism? is there any actual evidence for that? I’m not saying they aren’t but I’ve gotten into arguments w/ right wingers about this multiple times and I have to concur that, at least on the surface level, most media institutions specifically tend to skew liberal. I’ve heard the argument that mainstream media is generally ran and funded by multi-national corporations who favor democrats because democrats are pro globalization, which allows those corporations to better maximize their profits, while republicans aren’t. I’m a leftist but I honestly cannot say I am able to refute that, so I’m wondering what are your thoughts?
i guess i can understand that rationale but it doesn’t really hold up imo. firstly, institutions favor conservatism because conservatism broadly refers to an ideology that seeks to maintain to old way of doing things, or the status quo. like when we say racism or sexism is institutionalized, obviously we mean that it’s baked into institutions, right? institutions are often built into the status quo in order to perpetuate systems of domination, which is why it’s often important to recognize and target the root of these issues within our institutions to eliminate them from there, rather than just stopping at the surface. we see this in education, government, as well as in the media, which is also an institution.
i mean think about it, do they really skew liberal? or do they report on facts that are just not favorable to conservatives, which they then interpret as some liberal bias? think back to the coverage in 2016. do you feel as though media outlets such as NBC (which was led by serial sexual harasser andy lack, by the way), CBS (also led by a serial sexual harasser, les moonves), the NYT, and other outlets were biased toward hillary clinton? think of how they covered the emails vs. anything and everything trump did, how they regarded her health and experience and record.
think of the coverage following this election, does it favor liberals? or have we seen multiple national news outlets push negative coverage on democratic infighting and losses that portrays this election as a failure for the democrats, when they won the presidency, kept the house, and made the senate competitive, with two races in GEORGIA headed to a runoff? how often do we see the dems in disarray narrative being pushed at the national level? remember the 2018 midterms, when the results had not even fully come in yet, and reporters and political pundits declared that the blue wave was a failure, only for it to actually come to pass later? think of the coverage of the COVID relief, and how often you see a narrative that portrays it as typical washington partisanship, when house democrats have already passed several aid packages, that mitch mcconnell refuses to bring to the senate floor. what about how the media has pushed the idea that a) the president could ban fracking and b) that it was some scandal for biden. or their frenzy over biden’s supposed plan for court packing, without also mentioning how republicans have actually packed the courts during trump’s term. what about the way they’ve reported on a number of plans for criminal justice reform, or in the protests this summer (remember how quickly it became about violence?)
think about the kind of commentators you often see in the national media. what is their educational background? their class? are they often male? white? think about the primetime line ups for major networks, or who they bring out for special coverage? we have seen major shifts in diversity in media, and in many areas a more prominent role for women, but only after decades of pushing for progress. and still there is work to be done.
conservatives often allege bias against them; in academia, on social media, in the press. and yet, when we look closer, it always seems to be the opposite. and if we listen to media execs ourselves, like les moonves, who himself said “trump may be bad for america, but he’s damn good for CBS.” think of the success of rupert murdoch and the right wing media machine. of the expansion of sinclair broadcasting into local news. that shit about globalization is nonsense; it is conservative policies that have created 24 hour and partisan news and its conservative policies that line the pockets of wealthy media executives, who are by and large white and male, a demographic conservatives almost exclusively cater to
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MAGA million march
What an experience!
WASHINGTON DC:
We crossed the Potomac River into Washington DC around 8 am after driving 12 + hours. All of us brimming with excitement, we decided to drive to the place and find parking as close as possible.
Not a chance! Even Google didn't have any idea how many roads were completely closed off! Asking police officers, where we could find parking, they responded: There's a lot going on! Everything is closed!
We saw groups of people walking with great big Trump flags so we asked them where they parked. That left us with a mile long walk just get to Freedom Plaza: the starting place. The wind was crisp but thankfully we had a sunny, open sky. Police guarded the perimeter of the blocked off area and we were met with several smiles as we crossed over and one officer wished us a good day.
ENORMOUS CROWD:
About 3 hours early, we reached the crowd that had started to gather, and it already seemed really large. I used to attend a city wide church where crowds of 3000 to 4000 attended. This was already much bigger. We used to be involved with rallies that met in stadiums where numbers were in the tens of thousands. This already approached that, 3 hours before the event was to start, but people were still streaming in, yet they were at that stage spread-out enough for us to move around among the crowd. An enormous Trump flag was laid out on the ground in the middle of the square.
FROM ALL OVER!
It was just Wonderful to see the support for our president, from all ACROSS the country! I spoke to several people from Texas, one couple from Dallas and a group from San Antonio, as well as many more who came shorter distances. Several groups from Maryland were very happy to find each other there. Some people came all the way from California.
ALL SORTS & TYPES:
What a colorful variety of people, all united to support president Trump!
I saw an American Indian Chief, complete with his feathered head gear.
There were women of every size, color and shape, dressed in American flags and colors head to toe, and bearded, weather-beaten men parading less savory slogans about where the left should get off, as well as the clean-cut, young and old, sporting slogans, waving flags and wearing flags like capes.
"The Proud Boys" showed up strong, strutting their stuff, and a group of "Gays for Trump", flags and all! I guess Ricky Rebel's crowd, because he was there too! I asked for a photo! There were "Black Lives for Trump" which I found interesting.
Seems everyone was just so happy to be there and excited to find all the others there, united around the cause: make the elections fair and honest!
THE PRESIDENT DROVE BY:
Around 2 hours before the event was to start, a motorcade came by, everyone cheered and people claimed it was the president. Being on the ground, and with those masses i only saw the cars came by.
SOUNDS:
Many individuals walked around with their own personal megaphones, chanting - especially once we started moving out. Unfortunately no sound system was set up - suitable for a crowd of that size, therefore people back down the streets leading up to the square probably could not hear much.
Around 12 noon, the crowd was thick and they again played "Proud to be American!" (it was played many times in the preceding 2 hours) This time all the people joined in singing - i guess the crowd joining in, helped the sound to be carried down the streets. Then a man's voice asked for everyone to remove their hats to show respect, and he prayed for the country and the president.
Next, a woman sang the National Anthem acapella, and everyone joined in, standing in reverence, hand on the heart. Such a solemn and glorious moment! After that, a man led the ENTIRE CROWD in the pledge of allegiance - a magnificent declaration!
THE WALK:
Next, someone with a megaphone explained the route and some other technicalities. (which, I could not make sense of) That is when the people started moving out. We tried to hold on to one another but in vain. Thankfully, everyone in our family had at least a semi-charged cell phone on them, and the boys stuck together with their sister, while my husband and i held onto each other.
PREPARATIONS:
Flowing with the SEA of people down the eight-lane Pennsylvania Street, towards the Supreme Court, seemed surreal. Apparently, in preparation for the march, ALL the businesses had been closed, their usual activities suspended and the people evacuated. (rather like an old Western movie, where the hero faces villains in a shootout on Main Street - “High Noon” -style, and everyone left town)
But more than that, on ground level, all the windows and doors had been boarded up and EVERY movable thing cleared out! No sign of life anywhere!
If it wasn't for the fact that we were surrounded by such a mass of people - in the middle of the street, it would have been eerily empty and quiet.
NOISES:
In the crowd, people carrying megaphones called out their individual takes on the election issues to anyone and everyone. Some megaphone carriers stopped at various points on route, to stand on the side of the street and proclaim their doctrines about related causes:
Alternative news networks and Abortion, among others.
CHANTS:
Megaphone carriers walking with the crowd broke out in chants regularly:
"Stop the steal" or "U- S-A" also "Count those votes" and "We want Trump!" as well as "Fox News Sucks!"
When we turned onto Constitution Avenue to go up towards Capital Hill, buildings no longer lined BOTH sides of the road. On one side stretched the lawns of Union Square and the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial parks. A group of perhaps 20 people, wearing Antifa paraphernalia, had gathered there but police kept them 50 or more yards away from the marchers and yard sized metal gates had been erected on the sidewalk, to keep marchers on the street.
At the sight of the police lining this part of the road, the entire group around us, started chanting: "Back the Blue, Back the Blue ....!"
During part of our walk, we were near a group of Buddhist Monks, dressed in their garb and carrying a brass dome that they chimed once, upon entering every new street block. It seemed strangely out of place. However, they too, felt they had freedom under the Trump administration, that would be denied them under a Communist Biden rule.
POLITE:
My daughter commented that this was a particularly polite crowd, and i concur. She said that having attended several “Conn’s” this crowd did not push and shove. People constantly apologized if anyone was bumped or brushed by. When I said excuse me, in trying to pass, I was met with a smile and “...you’re good hun..”
They were NOT mostly Christian or church people, yet all of them were respectful and polite, basically Conservatives, with conservative values.
ON THE WAY OUT.
We finally met up with our children again, at the Supreme Court, after the one and a half mile "march" and there were more speeches. However, here it was even more difficult to hear and we could not see who was talking. The organizers estimated there were 100,000 people and that was astonishing because it was called only 5 days earlier, and ALL the media networks blocked word about it from going out!
Truly this was the result of a free independent grassroots communication system!
We started making our way back to our car, around 2 pm, not waiting for activities to be finished off, and mainly because we were just DONE! As we drifted back to our car, we walked parallel to the road on which we had come.
We looked across the great Union Square lawns and saw that the MAGA march crowd was STILL filling the ENTIRE width of Constitution Street, making their way up Capital Hill, towards the Supreme Court !
This was TWO HOURS AFTER the event had started! That makes me think there MUST have been many, many more people than they estimated!
It was COMPLETELY peaceful and astonishingly LARGE!
The motorcade drove past us again, as we continued back to our car and i heard later that was the president on way to the golf course. I do not know if ANYONE gave the president an honest or accurate account of this extraordinary show of support from ordinary working American people, who passionately voted and want president Trump in the White house at least for FOUR MORE YEARS!
Apart from the march showing Physically and undeniably to corrupt politicians, that we REFUSE to roll over and play dead and conservatives are a force to be reckoned with, I felt something shifted spiritually with the march!
Praying for our President!
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Dems Have Squandered Last Opportunity to Beat Trump
President Trump has met and passed his supreme test.
This has left his Democratic opponents desperately espousing gloom and demanding that the economic shut-down continue, according to frequent semi-high-brow Democratic ideologue and former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, for up to seven months.
Clinton Treasury Secretary Larry Summers took to The Washington Post to preach epidemiological defeatism.
While the choristers of fear and despair are clinging to a prolonged economic meltdown like drowning men clutching a raft, their presumptive presidential candidate is disintegrating in the midst of friendly interviews and struggling to get a little attention while the man he wishes to unseat takes one to two hours of prime-time television every day announcing the success of his plan of action to deal with the country’s greatest public health crisis in a century.
When Trump realized that his breezy assurances that everything was under control and that the spring weather would vanquish the problem weren’t cutting it, and that he was wide open to blistering criticism from his opponents, he imperturbably executed a 180-degree turn and became, in FDR’s phrase, apt for a public health crisis, "Dr. Win-the-War."
The Democratic Party spokespeople for a few days were feeling very sufficient, settling into a long siege with the entire economy of the country descending into desperate straits, and then carrying their recently resurrected nominee, the ill-assured and quavering Joe Biden across the finish-line against the new Herbert Hoover.
Democrats had been incredulous at Trump’s appearance as a candidate, judged him unelectable, were so astonished by his victory they convinced themselves and corrupted the Justice Department and the intelligence agencies with the monstrous falsehood that he had won by enlisting the support of the Kremlin. And when that enormous canard came down in flames — like the Hindenburg at Lakehurst, New Jersey in May, 1937— out of terror-induced distraction, they impeached him for unimpeachable offenses and with no believable evidence that he had committed them anyway.
The unelectable Trump had given way to the impeachable Trump, who was replaced by the distinctly beatable Trump, a vision it was increasingly hard to believe in as the economy disobediently boomed and the president’s poll numbers rose. Then, like the Seventh Cavalry guided by a beatific apparition, the coronavirus pandemic descended. It wasn’t quite the Trump exit his enemies had wished, but it would do and it was providential.
Trump would shut everything down after being pilloried for overconfidence and ineffectiveness, the economy would wither, the pandemic would do to him politically what the Iran hostages did to Jimmy Carter, and the Democrats could claim in the autumn that if he had just acted more quickly, all would be well, and the disease-driven poverty of America was Trump’s doing.
The president had the grace of conversion. He shut down all the bunk about his philistine animosity to science by recruiting a blue-ribbon scientific and public health administrative team. He stopped most of the Democratic officeholders by cooperating closely with all the governors, including some he had quarreled with publicly and acidulously.
People in the front lines, like New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and California Governor Gavin Newsom, were fighting for the lives of the people in their states, as well as for their own political futures, and all those who were trying to cope with the pandemic, rather than exploiting its political consequences, had the same interest.
The eminent scientists and other specialists on the president’s task force appeared with him at his press briefings and spoke in solidarity with him. Trump more or less shouldered the vice president aside and took the podium every day with the whole country watching.
He brought in the private-sector leaders and a collaboration somewhat reminiscent of the brilliant cooperation between government and industry in World War II instantly came into being as many corporations threw their energies into producing and distributing vital equipment for combating the scourge.
Medical supplies were moved quickly and with almost no red tape. The astounding incapacity to test in serious numbers and promptly was replaced in two weeks with mass testing that almost anyone could perform with results coming in 40 minutes.
This week there have been 65,000 tests a day and by next week there will be 150,000 tests a day.
Trump was solid, not rattled, by the questions and entirely believable as he handled the press every day, and fully corroborated by his experts. The anticipated fatality rate between 5 and 10 percent of those afflicted, and a majority of those apparently with coronavirus symptoms, narrowed out after about 10 days and it emerged that only about 15% of those who seemed to have the symptoms tested positive, and of those, fatalities were about 1.5% of infected people.
If the immuno-compromised portion of the population could be segregated and protected, the fatality rate came down to about half of 1% of the 15% of the tested and symptomatic people who actually had contracted the coronavirus.
And there are large regions of the country where the penetration of the virus has been minimal, and this condition was generally conserved by drastically reduced travel.
The independent medical and epidemiological experts confirmed that the president’s actions in closing down flights from China in January and from Western Europe on March 11 had undoubtedly saved many American lives and that without these measures, the United States could have had fatality rates like Italy’s distressing 10.5% of infected cases — scores or even hundreds of thousands of dead if replicated in the United States.
At the time of the move on flights from China, Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer fired the usual Democratic charges of "racism" and "xenophobia" at the president—the charges didn’t wear well.
The president championed the malarial remedy Hydroxychloroquine, and when one unfortunate tried to self-medicate but with the phosphate version (an aquarium tank-cleaner) he died so CNN billed it a virtual manslaughter by the president. Laughable.
And the actual remedy does appear to be promising. As this new and less terrifying picture emerged, a rising focus among commentators was on the economic damage of a prolonged shut-down of the country.
Although this was essentially what the Democrats were counting on, they had to concur in the president’s relief package, an awe-inspiring two trillion dollar direct relief bill supplemented by a four trillion dollar liquidity facility.
The Democrats squandered their ability to take much credit for it by trying to pack in nonsense about solar panels, windmills, abortions, carbon emissions of grounded airliners, and back-handers for trade unions.
Too late.
They realized that Trump and the treasury secretary, Steve Mnuchin, had layered in tax benefits that would outlast the public health crisis and its consequences and would be of tangible pleasure to the voters as they went to their election places.
And so the Democrats arrive at their last line of defense: Bill de Blasio, the failed, lame-duck mayor of New York, pathetically wailing for the deployment of the armed forces (for no evident purpose and as if they were immune to the virus) and predicting that the pandemic would rage everywhere in the country at the highest New York City rate, for six months.
Reich and Summers and the others charged out of the firehall one more time demanding a long shutdown, but it won’t fly. They’ve run out of dirty tricks they’re finished.
The Democrats have a presumptive candidate who can hardly utter a coherent sentence in response to a friendly questioner, live-streaming from a little podium in his living room, an absurd, and objectively sad spectacle.
The Democratic bosses are sending an infirm and elderly mouse to bell a big, tawny, roaring cat.
Anyone can see how it will end.
This article was originally published in American Greatness.
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Account of a Duel between Major General Charles Lee and Lieutenant Colonel John Laurens – Philadelphia, December 24, 1778
“General Lee attended by Major Edwards and Col Laurens attended by Col Hamilton met agreeable to appointment on Wednesday afternoon half past three in a wood situate near the four mile stone on the Point no point road. Pistols having been the weapons previously fixed upon, and the combatants being provided with a brace each, it was asked in what manner they were to proceed. General Lee proposed, to advance upon one another and each fire at what time and distance he thought proper. Col Laurens expressed his preference of this mode, and agreed to the proposal accordingly.
They approached each other within about five or six paces and exchanged a shot almost at the same moment. As Col Laurens was preparing for a second discharge, General Lee declared himself wounded. Col Laurens, as if apprehending the wound to be more serious than it proved advanced towards the general to offer his support. The same was done by Col Hamilton and Major Edwards under a similar apprehension. General Lee then said the wound was inconsiderable, less than he had imagined at the first stroke of the Ball, and proposed to fire a second time. This was warmly opposed both by Col Hamilton and Major Edwards, who declared it to be their opinion, that the affair should terminate as it then stood. But General Lee repeated his desire, that there should be a second discharge and Col Laurens agreed to the proposal. Col Hamilton observed, that unless the General was influenced by motives of personal enmity, he did not think the affair ought to be persued any further; but as General Lee seemed to persist in desiring it, he was too tender of his friend’s honor to persist in opposing it. The combat was then going to be renewed; but Major Edwards again declaring his opinion, that the affair ought to end where it was, General Lee then expressed his confidence in the honor of the Gentlemen concerned as seconds, and said he should be willing to comply with whatever they should cooly and deliberately determine. Col. Laurens consented to the same.
Col Hamilton and Major Edwards withdrew and conversing awhile on the subject, still concurred fully in opinion that for the most cogent reasons, the affair should terminate as it was then circumstanced. This decision was communicated to the parties and agreed to by them, upon which they immediately returned to Town; General Lee slightly wounded in the right side.
During the interview a conversation to the following purport past between General Lee and Col Laurens—On Col Hamilton’s intimating the idea of personal enmity, as beforementioned, General Lee declared he had none, and had only met Col. Laurens to defend his own honor—that Mr. Laurens best knew whether there was any on his part. Col Laurens replied, that General Lee was acquainted with the motives, that had brought him there, which were that he had been informed from what he thought good authority, that General Lee had spoken of General Washington in the grossest and most opprobrious terms of personal abuse, which He Col Laurens thought himself bound to resent, as well on account of the relation he bore to General Washington as from motives of personal friendship, and respect for his character. General Lee acknowleged that he had given his opinion against General Washingtons military character to his particular friends and might perhaps do it again. He said every man had a right to give his sentiments freely of military characters, and that he did not think himself personally accountable to Col Laurens for what he had done in that respect. But said he never had spoken of General Washington in the terms mentioned, which he could not have done; as well because he had always esteemed General Washington as a man, as because such abuse would be incompatible with the character, he would ever wish to sustain as a Gentleman.
Upon the whole we think it a piece of justice to the two Gentlemen to declare, that after they met their conduct was strongly marked with all the politeness generosity coolness and firmness, that ought to characterise a transaction of this nature.
Alex Hamilton
E Edwards
Philad Decemb. 24th 1778”
— https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Hamilton/01-01-02-0687
#Alexander Hamilon#Charles Lee#John Laurens#American Revolution#Hamilton#Duels#Anniversary of the Laurens-Lee duel!
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How to proceed About Packed Overhead Receptacles
During the a 3 week period prior to the begin from the New 12 months, about 43. 3 million Americans had been likely to consider flight journey aircraft, as outlined by Flight companies for Usa, a business control group.
Many in the persons traveled with fat, and several didn't verify their luggage simply because they desired to certainly not pay trolley suitcase fees. Amongst main home service providers, simply JetBlue and The west always enable people to check on a ladies handbag free of charge. Travellers about various other airlines are actually commonly inspired to spend around $25 per carrier per airline flight. Jointly, air carriers required in $3. four billion really and almost $1. several billion throughout the initially 1 / 2 of 2011 by baggage charges, relating to the Division of Transportation.
While an individual who lures frequently for people who do buiness and private factors, I dislike baggage costs. Of all First, like the majority of everybody else, I actually merely may wish to dedicate more income just for the similar support. Since the costs not necessarily generally added till check-in, it's now extremely difficult to determine the entire price of routes in order to make convenient evaluations among airline companies when creating programs, if you don't memorize numerous air carriers ' gear procedures.
But what troubles me much more compared to costs themselves may be the rise in carry on bag baggage sparked with the service fees. " Wise " travellers, seeking to use less, are progressively determining it makes ideal feeling to continue everything they require for any week or even more, even when which means carrying suitcases they could hardly lift up. I was certainly not just in becoming irritated by complications this will cause. In a latest study released through the U. H. Travel Relationship, 72 percent of participants reported "people who provide a lot of carry-on palm bags inches as one of their particular biggest worries with contemporary air travel.
The sight of vertically questioned or seniors attempting to lifter weighty carry-ons into packed overhead receptacles has additionally persuaded me that there's a minimum of a small safety risk involved right here. Many able-bodied people, personally included, create a habit of providing to assist when additional medication is noticeably experiencing their bags. But all this filling and shuffling will certainly small to advertise quick boarding and on-time take-off.
Almost all the baggage which are becoming moved from your recently pricey valuables area towards the over head region should also end up being cleared simply by secureness. Regarding to Homeland Protection Admin Janet Napolitano, that extra scanning services costs the Vehicles Safety Supervision $260 mil annually. "The improved quantity of carry-on luggage causes significant gate blockage, adversely impacting reliability and leading to significant strains in TSA assets and staff, very well TSA elected chief executive and Main Professional Roger Dow informed an Us senate panel. (1)
Florida-based Spirit Airline carriers finds you solution towards problem: demand for carry-ons too. Seeing that 2010 August, Heart continues to be requesting individuals to pay for extra for carriers whether or not they check them or offer all of them aboard. To my shock, Character has grown its traveler count number by simply nearly 25 % because it added the luggage payment. Nevertheless not a large number of tourists want various other airline carriers to consider this method.
Rather, persons plus some congress possess contended that Congress should control baggage fees. Senators Bill Cardin, D-Md., and John Landrieu, D-La., have suggested laws that will prohibit flight companies from recharging guests an extra fee for his or her first examined bag.
Airline flight marketplace organizations counter-top that an authorities requirement about them might move back again the work schedule for the purpose of the times of large air travel regulations when ever, whilst Sam Lott, a spokesman with respect to Airline carriers with regards to America, place it, " consumers paid many had fewer alternatives. inch
Mainly because practically as much ast I actually would prefer to not necessarily accept the air carrier lobby about this one particular, My spouse and i do. Representatives and government bodies haven't any business informing flight companies as well as their consumers what conditions they're able to concur upon. In the end, while I choose to not travel around on Soul Trip companies and pay out the cost to find carry-on side bags, other folks do apparently. In the event that our elected representatives start discussing travel and leisure offers on individuals ' account, they might find yourself just removing selections rather than enhancing them.
U. S. Breathing passages, as an example, might possibly not have the next whether it weren't to luggage costs. After a 10 years of enormous deficits, the fees performed various in getting the company again for the dark. Circumstance. S. Air passage published $450 million in revenue this year. Its income was straight down considerably with all the preliminary 75 % of 2011, mainly because of higher gas prices, however in both years the airline's whole income might be related to baggage along with other non-ticket expenses.
In the situation of baggage costs, the simplest legal repair would be to close the tax loophole that mementos firms that demand separate luggage charges around the expense of people that include regular baggage allotments in ticketed prices. Even though flight tickets, which will for JetBlue and Freebie southwest consist of travel luggage transport, are taxed, independent baggage are certainly not really Provided the quantity of authorities facilities air carriers need, fees upon seat tickets seem sensible. Free of charge goes by for individual suitcase sets charges might.
Relating within the Authorities Responsibility Workplace, costs upon suitcase set costs might have produced one more $240 mil this season for that Airport terminal and Airways Trust Account, which will help purchase international airport building, visitors control security and systems home inspections. Our elected representatives may also need to have airline flight companies to speak their suitcases charge insurance policies to people a lot more obviously and previous inside reservation procedure.
A good harder job for Our elected representatives is going to be fighting the present hub program. Clients soaring away from particular single-airline-dominated towns actually have little chance to workout any actual choice. Almost two-thirds of persons who also are available in or perhaps beyond Atlanta's air-port, by way of example, turn out about Delta arrivals, depending on the Bureau of Transfer Figures.
That may switch since Southwest quickly, which acquired fee-charging AirTran this past year and therefore obtained a 12 percent talk about of Atlanta's industry, presents their very own baggage-fee-free Atlanta plane tickets the following month. Georgia travelers can therefore possess a better quality rival to Delta on travellers to Denver colorado, Houston, Chi town, Baltimore-Washington and Austin tx. Although there aren't any fee-free choices for travel arrangements on essential non-stop ways to Fl, Nyc as well as the Western Coast also, primarily because JetBlue, a significant participant on all those tracks, doesn't have existence found in Metro atlanta.
The nation's lawmakers can't buy other airline carriers to begin shifting their organization to City atlanta. But it may remove hurdles that actually entrench airline carriers ' positions of electrical power within their hubs and keep others inside the dark areas. Granting regional air-ports considerably more expert to reallocate entrance and airport terminal space may possibly go quite a distance toward developing a more versatile force framework. In occupied and space-constrained airfields, the cut of takeoff and obtaining places performs a sizable part too.
Seeing that we view throughout the so-called South west impact, the moment one trip inside a market place begins to present buyers better gives, other folks follow match. Without options, nevertheless, clientele include zero method to take action for the discontentment with guidelines just like luggage service fees, and air travel companies encounter zero pressure to switch.
In the long term, with a few Congressional support, customers might be able to convince airways they will no longer appreciate getting hit by costs together with the check-in countertop or simply by suitcases dropping in the section. Until after that, the carry on shuffle will probably carry on and become as well-known a game title inside the heavens while Angry Parrots.
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4 Unique Aspects of a Waldorf Kindergarten
This post was originally published at - https://waldorfacademy.org/4-unique-aspect-of-waldorf-kindergarten/
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Four Unique Aspects of a Waldorf Kindergarten: Play based Learning, Pre Academic Experiential Foundations, Sensory Integration, Nature-Based Learning
[caption id="attachment_7967" align="alignnone" width="267"] Garden Winter Prep[/caption]
Why does it feel so different, so special, in a Waldorf Kindergarten? There is a peaceful quiet under the hum of activity and focus, the teachers speak and sing softly and the children move about the room with a comfortable confidence at any given moment.
There are many things that contribute to this unique setting, including the natural classroom design, the smell of fresh bread or soup, or the way the teachers move about the room doing purposeful work.
There is also a deeper level of social, emotional and academic learning in the Waldorf Kindergarten that is a pervasive undercurrent in the daily rhythm of our early childhood classrooms.
Labeled as “undercurrent” only because the children would never come home to report on what was “learned,” as this age-appropriate atmosphere focuses on play-based learning and teacher modeling. Children would instead tell tales of imaginative games, a puppet show story, time outside, or proudly report that they had helped make bread or sweep the floor.
Here are four unique aspects that make up a Waldorf Kindergarten and differentiate it from some of its more main-stream counterparts in early childhood education:
1. Play Based Learning
Learning in Waldorf early childhood is developmentally appropriate for children age 3-6. What is best for learning at this age is self-directed play. Many early education experts are recommending a swift return to developmentally appropriate, play-based learning in early childhood.
This New Zealand study, covered by The Telegraph, reports that “Pupils kept out of formal schooling until the age of seven perform just as well those subjected to normal lessons at five… In some assessments of reading skills, those with a later start actually overtook their peers by the age of 10.”
The Harvard Education Letter concurs, calling the early childhood trend of, “scripted curricula and reduced recess” a matter of “serious concern.” The researchers ask specifically, “Have kids gotten smarter? Can they learn things sooner? What effect has modern culture had on child development? The surprising answers—no, no, and none.”
The reality is, children learn all kinds of imperative skills through play. Self-directed play promotes neural pathway development, hones social skills and peer navigation, advances large and small motor skills and strengthens motor planning and coordination.
This does not mean, however, that teachers only facilitate a play environment. The children think their day is filled with play, but teachers are focused on the children’s developing skills, discussed next.
“Research shows greater gains from play-based programs than from preschools and kindergartens with a more academic focus”
– The Washington Post, January 2015
2. Pre Academic Experiential Foundations
Through creative play, story time, artistic activities and outdoor exploration, the children actually work on language development, basic math, working with peers, listening skills, lengthening attention span and developing memory.
For example, during creative play time, as children play and imagine with a wide variety of natural toys and materials, they are developing their imagination, interacting with peers, problem-solving, and carrying tasks to completion.
As they sit quietly in a circle for story time, morning verse or a puppet show, they are learning to recite and remember, listen for sustained periods of time, expand their vocabulary and understand the sounds and meanings of language.
Storytime in a Kindergarten classroom is especially important in the Waldorf approach to teaching reading, which develops a child’s comprehension skills before phonic skills.
Listening, comprehending and imagining what is said in spoken word is key to future reading comprehension when words on a page must go beyond the stale script and develop into a richness in their minds.
Waldorf early childhood students spend time with many different artistic activities as well including beeswax modeling, crayon drawings, sewing, and finger knitting. These activities develop small motor skills, the ability to focus on a task for a lengthened time and finger knitting encourages math basics such as counting and understanding interlacing patterns.
Even snack time is learning time. This group activity teaches social interaction, direction following and is an introduction to some of the science and math basics involved within cooking.
3. Sensory Integration
Waldorf strives to educate the whole child, and that includes the senses and their relation to the body and movement. Now called “sensory integration,” experts are beginning to understand why the ability to effectively process and organize sensations is essential to learning, especially through visual and auditory processing.
The Waldorf Kindergarten cultivates a deepened awareness of the senses and works towards deepening essential sensory development in young children.
First and foremost, early childhood students in Waldorf schools are encouraged to move and then move some more. Recess, at least three times daily and almost always outdoors, includes nature walks, teeter totter building, log jumping, tree climbing and running along with other activities.
Getting messy to develop tactile senses is also encouraged through sand play, mud play, recess in rain, snow, wind and sunshine. Tactile skills are used indoors in cooking, dough kneading, beeswax sculpting and other arts activities.
Music and dance are also regularly seen in Waldorf Kindergartens. Teachers are often singing, moving and encouraging children to do the same. And while taste might not seem like a sense that could be cultivated, Waldorf Kindergartens are unique in that each day of the week represents a different, handmade healthy snack for the children full of rich and (often new) textures, smells and tastes for young ones.
And all these activities, which at their heart are natural child’s play, are encouraged instead of discouraged in Waldorf early childhood education. Children are never told to stop rolling in the grass, climbing trees, stomping in mud or picking up mulch and stones as these activities are essential to developing sensory integration. We understand that a large variety of sensory activities are key in building mobility, motor skills, flexibility, spatial awareness, tactile sense, proprioceptive senses, and all sensory integration.
4. Nature-Based Learning
While we have already discussed the sensory richness of outdoor play, time in nature has other amazing brain benefits as well, including boosted cognitive performance, reduced anxiety, improved test scores and much more.
This is why Waldorf children in early childhood play outside, in natural vs. playground settings, in all weather and all seasons.
Children who immerse themselves in a natural and ever-changing environment simply have more opportunities to learn new things in new ways. Being outdoors provides expanded opportunity for physical exploration. Inspiration is everywhere in the change of seasons and cycles of life, and children develop a bond with nature as they begin to understand their place within it. Also, a hearty dose of curiosity and respect for nature also develops, laying a foundation for future scientific investigation.
As Richard Louv, author of “Last Child in the Woods”, says, “Time in nature is not leisure time; it’s an essential investment in our children’s health.”
Read original article here. If you want to learn more about Waldorf Academy please contact Admissions Manager, Jennifer Deathe 416-962-6447 Kindergarten tours Thursdays- registration required.
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via Politics – FiveThirtyEight
In the final weeks of the Supreme Court’s last term, the court’s conservative majority overruled two decades-old cases. The cases made headlines — not because their content was especially attention-grabbing, but because of what they may signal for the future. In both cases, liberal justices sounded the alarm on the threats they saw to other precedents. Justice Stephen Breyer even wrote in one dissent that he was left wondering “which cases the Court will overrule next.”
Breyer and the other liberal justices may soon get an answer on just how far the conservative justices are willing to go. The Supreme Court is back in session today, and it is already facing a docket full of high-profile cases, including several in which the justices have been asked to reexamine and potentially overrule past decisions. On Friday, for instance, the court announced it will review a restrictive Louisiana abortion law that’s nearly identical to a Texas law struck down by the justices in 2016. That case will be a particularly closely-watched test of whether the conservative justices are willing to start reversing liberal precedents on abortion rights. Generally, once a precedent is established, the justices say they’ll adhere to it, meaning that in cases involving hot topics like abortion or affirmative action, they’ll hand down a ruling that’s in line with what past justices have decided. But, of course, as we saw in the previous term, this isn’t always the case. Justices do sometimes overrule precedents or change them in substantial ways, and studies have shown that when that happens, their ideological preferences influence which precedents they affirm or override.
This appears to be true of the Roberts court as well, but according to a FiveThirtyEight analysis of Supreme Court decisions dating back to 1953, his court so far actually hasn’t been any more likely than previous courts to alter precedents. But there’s a key distinction: When the Roberts court does break with past rulings, it tends to do so by the slimmest of margins. Under Chief Justice John Roberts, the vast majority of precedent-altering cases have been decided by a narrow one-vote majority — and most of those cases have split along ideological lines. That’s a departure from previous courts, where there was typically greater consensus when overturning precedent. And it might also signal that Roberts — who has said that ideologically divided, 5-4 decisions undermine the court’s reputation — is actually more comfortable with divisive rulings than he lets on.
On the other hand, concern for the court’s reputation as an impartial institution might mean Roberts will move more cautiously than some of his conservative colleagues would like. “Roberts is in something of a bind,” said James Spriggs, a political scientist at Washington University in St. Louis. “There might be plenty of cases he wants to overrule. But as chief justice, he’d prefer to make big changes with a consensus, and that might lead him to vote in ways that are in tension with his ideological views.”
The Roberts court is already overturning precedents without consensus
In a system where unelected judges wield an enormous amount of power, the principle of adherence to precedent helps ensure that a single judge can’t simply decide he doesn’t like the rules and change them. And Supreme Court justices do so sparingly, perhaps in part to avoid the impression that they’re taking the law into their own hands. According to our analysis of precedent-altering decisions in the Supreme Court Database,1 they make up just about 2 percent of the total decisions handed down under Roberts, Rehnquist, Burger and Warren.
But even if these types of cases are rare, the Roberts court is handling them differently. As the table below shows, about 70 percent of the precedent-altering cases during Roberts’ tenure were decided by a thin one-vote margin, and only 14 percent were unanimous. That’s a big contrast with previous courts, where one-vote majorities only decided between 20 and 31 percent of precedent-altering cases.
One obvious culprit for this trend is the growing polarization dividing the court’s left and right flanks. For over a decade, Justice Anthony Kennedy was the court’s “swing” justice, which meant that even though he was still quite conservative, he would sometimes pivot and join the liberal justices on issues like gay rights. Nevertheless, more than half (62 percent) of the Roberts court’s precedent-altering decisions have gone in a conservative direction, as coded by the Supreme Court Database.2 And in rulings decided by one vote, the conservatives also usually came out on top. Five conservative justices (including Kennedy) were in the majority in two-thirds of these decisions; the liberal bloc, meanwhile, was only in the majority 20 percent of the time. Now with Kennedy retired, Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh (Kennedy’s replacement) are at the center of the court, which means that liberal precedents may be in even more danger.
This pattern is troubling to some, in part because it signals that the current court is willing to make big changes without a consensus, which was rarer under previous chief justices. Leah Litman, a law professor at the University of Michigan, told me that she’s concerned that these types of decisions “could undermine the court’s legitimacy.” Chief Justice Earl Warren, for instance, famously negotiated with his more conservative colleagues to obtain a unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education because he thought it would give the decision greater authority. Ideologically divided decisions in high-profile cases run a higher risk of being seen as politically motivated — such as when the Roberts court ruled that the government can’t restrict political spending by corporations.
Some liberal precedents could be in trouble
Of course, none of this bodes well for more liberal precedents on issues like abortion or affirmative action, since there’s plenty of evidence to suggest that if justices do overturn a precedent, they’re more likely to dismantle one they disagree with ideologically. “Conservatives will generally uphold conservative precedents and overturn liberal precedents, and liberals will do the opposite,” said Jeffrey Segal, a political science professor at Stony Brook University and the co-author of a book on the Supreme Court and precedent.
But precedents aren’t overturned only because of the justices’ ideological leanings — other factors play a role, too. Sometimes there are philosophical differences, as in the case of Justice Clarence Thomas, who is notoriously skeptical of loyalty to precedent for precedent’s sake alone. In a concurring opinion a few months ago, he wrote, “When faced with a demonstrably erroneous precedent, my rule is simple: We should not follow it.” Thomas is not necessarily alone in this regard, although he is unusually open about his views. Other justices have also varied on how much they seem to lean on precedent. According to one study using data from the Burger and Rehnquist courts, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was more likely to show deference to precedent than Kennedy. The stature of the precedent in question can matter, too. For instance, one study found that justices were more likely to overrule a precedent that they disagreed with if it was also still active and influential, as was the case when the conservative justices overturned a longstanding ruling involving public sector unions in 2018.
There may also be moments when a wing of the court feels more emboldened to overturn precedents — like when the court’s ideological center of gravity shifts. In 2006, for instance, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, then the court’s “swing” justice, was replaced by Samuel Alito, a reliable conservative. The following term, the court issued five precedent-altering decisions — more than in any other single year since — including a case where the conservatives voted to allow a ban on a specific method of abortion for the first time. Ryan Black, a political science professor at Michigan State University, said it’s possible that this year could be similar. “It’s the same pattern — the median moved right, and the conservative wing of the court is stronger and more homogenous, so it’s not unreasonable to expect they might want to strike while the iron is hot,” he said.
But Roberts may emerge as a defender of precedent
There’s a possibility, though, that Roberts will emerge as an unlikely savior of liberal precedents — or at least work to postpone their demise. Given his pivotal role at the court’s center and as the chief justice, he’s likely to be more influenced by concerns about the court’s institutional reputation and his own judicial legacy at a moment when public opinion of the court is more polarized than at any other point in the past 20 years. And that could lead to some unexpected alliances with the liberal justices, in this term and beyond.
Take a case from last term, where the court had the opportunity to overturn a 1997 ruling that gives federal agencies the power to interpret their own regulations — a longstanding conservative bogeyman. Instead of voting with the conservatives to overturn it, Roberts cast his lot in with the liberals and instead voted to narrow the precedent’s scope. Litman told me that the liberals may similarly work with Roberts this term if they see an opening to avoid sweeping changes to precedents they support.
But Roberts could also join his fellow conservatives to start overturning more high-profile liberal precedents, and if he does, some experts say he risks jeopardizing the court’s status as a neutral arbiter. According to Spriggs’s research, people are less likely to think favorably of a narrowly decided, precedent-altering ruling than a unanimous one. “Consensus makes the ruling seem more neutral and less partisan,” he said.
Then again, more recent studies by Michael Salamone, a political science professor at Washington State University, have suggested that when the issue is controversial, the size of the majority might not matter very much. In his experiments, he found that if the issue was something high-profile, like abortion or gun control, the case’s margin didn’t matter — people’s views of the ruling were guided by their politics on the issue.
Roberts is an avowed skeptic of political science, so chances are he’s not looking to these studies for guidance. And regardless of how he decides to approach upholding precedent this term, it seems safe to say that at least some precedents are likely to fall by the wayside, given the court’s recent track record. But it’s also entirely possible that the Supreme Court’s long-awaited conservative revolution also may not be coming as quickly as some on the court’s right wing would like.
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