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emblem-333 · 5 years

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Who’ll Be Bernie Sanders’ Running Mate?

If nominated Bernie Sanders would act as a pallet cleanser for the big tent Democratic Party currently made up of poor, middle, working, upper, and professional class. While their Republican counterparts since the 1960’s have relied on disaffected white voters in the south, obvious vitriol for POCs. Regardless of how vile the Southern Strategy is, you can not deny it’s been a winner for the GOP. Sanders, a Democratic Socialist senator from the state of Vermont, doesn’t appeal to the wealthier brackets of voters. His call for raising taxes to facilitate his tentpole policies, like Medicare-For-All, Free College, and the Green New Deal, make the professional class uneasy. For those wishing for moderate reform and not a revolution, they flock to Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren after all of the Joe Biden alternatives faded off into obscurity.

We are beyond the stage of the race where we can say “It’s early.” It is no longer early. Though not a single state has voted you can assume the three names that’ll cling to relevancy until the Democrats convene in Milwaukee in July of 2020 is Biden, Sanders, and Warren. Thought to be hopefuls like California senator Kamala Harris saw her campaign disintegrated after Hawaii’s representative Tulsi Gabbard shined a bright light on Harris’ dark history as attorney general.

"I'm concerned about this record of senator Harris. She put over 1,500 people in jail for marijuana violations and laughed about it when she was asked if she ever smoked marijuana," Gabbard said at the debate.

She continues, "She blocked evidence that would have freed an innocent man from death row. She kept people in prison beyond their sentences to use them as cheap labor for the state of California, and she fought to keep cash bail system in place that impacts poor people in the worst kind of way."

The attack came out of nowhere. Neither candidate appeared to have any crossover with one another. Gabbard supporters are few, mostly online. Harris’ base is made up of rich, white liberals left over from the previous election when they unilaterally supported Hillary Clinton. In the previous debate Harris appeared to have launched herself into the top tier of candidates after boldly going after Vice President Biden for his opposition to school integration via bussing. Now most of Harris supporters are in the pocket of Warren. Meanwhile, Gabbard’s campaign failed to qualify for the third debate and looks ready to saunter off and exit stage left. Gabbard is an interesting character, one with many flaws and also great convictions. It is unclear whether the future for her is bright, dark or merely dim like most failed presidential candidates.

Sanders recently enjoyed a quiet post debate bump in the polls currently he is tied for first with Biden in the crucial primary state of California (voting March 3rd) at 26 percent apiece — senator Harris sitting pathetically fourth with 6 percent. While Biden stumbles and speaks incoherently just about everything, Warren dithers on the core tenants of the progressive movement, Sanders stands strong as the flag bearer of the elixirs that might cure this decaying body of an empire we call the United States.

Of course, we’d be naive to believe Sanders merely winning the plurality of the pledged delegates warrants his nomination. If neither candidate crosses the 1,885 delegates voting goes to a second round where a plethora of unpledged delegates, dubbed “Superdelegets” get to play a key, if not the biggest role in naming a nominee. If Sanders manages to wrangle the nomination from the cold, near-dead hands of Neolibalism virtually nobody would want to be anywhere near his campaign either out of not agreeing on political ideology or the common consensus of the party insiders that his campaign his doomed for historic failure. The ghost of George McGovern still looms large inside the psyche of many Democrats while the losers who posed themselves as moderates (Carter, Dukakis, Mondale, Gore, Kerry, H. Clinton) rarely get mentioned.

Usually, a running mate is chosen as a political strategy. Sometimes the candidate is from a swing state. Tim Kaine was from Virginia and didn’t bring much to the table other than he could potentially deliver the state to Clinton. But seeing as political realignment is a certainty in a Sanders vs Trump general election, it’s safe to assume Bernie, given his advanced age, will pick someone who is ready to succeed his movement if tragedy were to befall him.

The question is who? Most Democrats are conservatives on many issues, and shamefully act as Warhawks when they believe it to be politically expedite. Youngsters like Beto O’Rourke and Pete Buttigieg are diametrically opposed to Sanders’ in ideology. So is Harris.

Many believe Sanders’ running mate is likely to be Warren. The 2nd most progressive member of the United States Senate. The problem using this label as a benchmark is it’s pretty low. Warren is a fine, upstanding senator of a state susceptible to turning red when a seat is open. Scott Brown upset Martha Coakley for the vacant Ted Kennedy senate seat in 2010. Governor Charlie Baker trounced challenger Jay Gonzalez in his re-election bid. Right now right-wing Democrat Joe Kennedy owns up to $1.75 million worth of stock in oil and gas companies like ExxonMobil and Chevron is challenging one of the Green New Deal’s strongest advocates in junior senator Ed Markey. Massachusetts is a relatively liberal state, but unknowingly flirts with neoliberalism daily. Warren needs to remain in the Senate not just to preserve the seat, but as a vote for Sanders’ agenda.

Warren is also problematic for her poor political instincts, her DNA fiasco and pledge to take corporate donor money once the primary is over.

Going down the list though you are hard pressed to find better alternatives.

Jim McGovern, 59 (MA-02, Worcester)

Rashida Tlaib,43 (MI-13, Detroit)

Tulsi Gabbard, 38 (HI-02, Honolulu)

Elizabeth Warren, 70 (MA senator)

Mike Capuano, 67 (MA-7, former)

Ed Markey, 73 (MA - State Senator)

Russ Feingold, 66 (WI - Senate)

Ben Jealous, 46 (Gub. Candidate Maryland)

Jamie Raskin, 56 (MD -8 rep.)

None of these names fuel the lust young people have for the complete upheaval of America’s capitalistic society. But the Democrats of the New Deal generation are either in their seventies or too young to run for President. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York is the only self-identifying socialist politician and she legally cannot run until 2028. If elected to serve two terms Sanders would only preside the Oval Office until 2025 leaving a gigantic window of opportunity for neoliberalism to shuffle back into the Democratic Party and retake it.

It is truly a fascinating quandary what the second era of “BernieCrats” would look like, if the first one is legitimized in Sanders ascension to the presidency. Perhaps Gabbard will have molded herself into the complete progressive package people want to see in a potential successor. As of now, Gabbard stands as one of the most dovish voices in a political system overwrought with bloodthirsty ghouls. That’s not to see she is always against military intervention. Gabbard’s language specifically states she is against “regime change war” not total American conquest to facilitate the empire. Her ties to the right-wing leader of India Narendra Modi, while a member of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly he is thought to be complicit in the killing of nearly 2,000 people (790 Muslims) in the 2002 Gujarat riots. Gabbard’s remained silent on the issue and appears to have tied herself to Modi.

Other issues is her unwillingness to come out in favor of abolishing private insurance. In her defense, every candidate (including Warren) quiver at the idea of cutting the Goliath that is the healthcare industry down to size.

Massachusetts Representative Jim McGovern is a lot like Gabbard without the baggage. McGovern is also better on the issue of immigration. Gabbard says we need to have stricter border laws. McGovern voted against various legislative efforts to restrict immigration. A vocal critic of the Iraq War, McGovern was one of the few dissenting votes, and pushed then-president Obama to provide a draw-down plan in Afghanistan.

The issue with Gabbard is it is potentially too soon to anoint her the successor to Sanders’ movement. If fortunate to serve eight-years The reign of Sanders could reshape the image of how conservative Democrats present themselves to survive in the new political climate. Harry S. Truman was a conservative southern Democrats known for union-busting before the reign of Franklin Roosevelt forced him to pivot to a moderate New Dealer to secure re-election. Perhaps after some time has passed Gabbard will join AOC as a fellow crusader for the Green New Deal, legislation Gabbard hasn’t said she supports. On the other hand, Gabbard did propose the “Off Fossil Fuels Act” and stood with Water Protectors at Standing Rock. There’s an activist inside her at war with her inner conservatism.

Noticeable omissions are Massachusetts representative Ayanna Presley, and president of Our Revolution Nina Turner. Pressley, once a Clintonite who dismissed Sanders’ ambitious plans as unrealistic found herself in a primary with entrenched progressive incumbent Mike Capuano winning solely on the fact she was a fresh face in a time when people believed leadership was getting too stagnant. But Pressley is no friend to fellow Justice Democrat Ilhan Omar. Pressley cast her vote in favor of Resolution 246, which condemns the Palestinian call for global solidarity in the form of boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS).

Turner is a fire breathing progressive, a wonderful surrogate for Sanders and spokeswoman for his movement. Truly a fantastic organizer I don’t know if Sanders is smart to “promote” Turner to V.P when having her remain leader of Our Revolution or appointing her as his Chief of Staff would more than suffice.

Representative Rashida Tlaib is an under the radar candidate sure to galvanize an already energized base. Talib is an advocate for Medicare-For-All, the minimum wage to be raised to $18 to $20 an hour, and is for the complete abolishment of the Immigration Customs Enforcement agency. She is relatively young and inexperienced. I don’t know how’d she fare on the national stage.

Former president of the NAACP and previous Maryland Gubernatorial candidate Ben Jealous is widely known amongst progressive circles online and is highly regarded. As an organizer Jealous helped register over 370,000 voters to the polls for the 2012 presidential election.

In his bid for the governorship many labor and progressive groups issued early endorsements of Jealous, including the American Postal Workers Union (APWU-Maryland), Communications Workers of America (CWA), National Nurses United, the Maryland State Education Association, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), UNITE-HERE, Democracy for America, Friends of the Earth Action, the Maryland Working Families Party, Our Revolution and Progressive Maryland.

Jealous won his party’s nomination running on a platform that included free college tuition, legalized marijuana, universal health care, and a $15 minimum wage. A small caveat is Jealous shrunk when an analyst for Circa News described him as a democratic socialist, referring to himself as a “venture capitalist.” Many progressives are hung up on Warren describing herself as a “capitalist to her bones” is the initial source for many Berners reluctance to switch their support.

The drawback to picking Jealous is he potentially can win the governorship in 2022. Jealous came in a respectable second to popular incumbent Larry Hogan 55 to 43 percent. Hogan is ineligible to run for a third term leaving Jealous in prime position to win the next time. Progressives will need to infect the legislative body with as many antibodies possible to pass a progressive agenda. If the political landscape looks different in 2024 or 2028 then progressives can afford to pluck repression liable to Republicans or Neoliberals.

If Markey is defeated by Kennedy in his primary then Sanders might as well call the 73-year-old and see if he isn’t ready to retire. Markey is more progressive than Warren. Markey is the biggest cheerleader besides Sanders for AOC’s Green New Deal. He is possibly the best candidate to assume the role of president of Sanders is unable to complete his term for whatever reason.

Plus, you wouldn’t have to worry about losing a progressive vote with Markey as it is sadly likely Kennedy will unseat him. Kennedy is outspending him under the table and leads already by double-digits. Massachusetts Neoliberals are very good at their jobs: stopping progressives.

#bernie2020 #bernie sanders #alexandria ocasio cortez #Ed Markey #2020 election #running mates #free coinage of silver #sailboatstudios

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geraltcirilla · 6 years

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Exploring Karen’s Past

In this post I’m going to be going over things we know about Karen from details dropped in Daredevil canon, looking at what cast have said about her past, and her comic origins to hypothesize where the show might be going with her.

This will be under a cut because it gets quite long.

All the things we know about Karen so far in the MCU canon:

She was from a small town of Fagan Corners, Vermont that had around 400 people. (2x05)

Her parents are Penelope and Paxton Page.

She was on the basketball team in high school. (1x07)

Her brother Kevin Page died in a motor vehicle accident at the age of sixteen. According to the news article: At about 1:40 pm, Kevin Page was driving his car. While heading east on Vermont Route 12 from the hill Road exit ramp off Interstate 89 Page veered off the roadway into a chain-linked fence. The responding medical services sent his body to Windler Medical Center where he was pronounced dead on arrival. It took some time before the state police was able to resolve the investigation of the incident. The article was titled “Mystery Accident Causes Teen Fatality”. (2x09)

Karen says her brother wasn’t good and tying ties so she used to do it for him. When asked what he was like by Matt she said "Uh, he's sweet. He's a good brother.” (2x04)

When Wesley asks her if she loves New York she replies “I haven’t been here long enough.” (1x11)

She appears to have no friends or relationships outside of Matt and Foggy. She does not appear to be in contact with her family.

"Do you really think this is the first time I've shot someone?" Karen to Wesley (1x11)

When discussing her past with Ben and the information he uncovered on her: "Stories like this are built on sources, Miss Page. Credible sources. I did some digging into your, uh past activities.” (1x04) / "And who'll believe me when they start digging? When they find what you found when you were looking into me." (1x12) / “Look, Ben didn't care, and I don't, either." (2x09) / “Although, you know, why you'd wanna see good in the man who pulls the trigger is beyond me.” (2x10)

Things cast have said regarding Karen’s past:

Deborah Ann Woll noted that Page's backstory would be different than the one from the comics. source

"There’s something that happened in Karen’s past — we allude to it, Ben alludes to it — and when she grabs the gun she says, “You think this is the first time I’ve ever shot somebody?” That's a secret from her past that she doesn’t want anyone to know. The fact that she shot him once, you can explain that as self-defense; but then she pretty much unloaded the gun into him. That crosses a bit of a line. The last thing she would want is for those two to be horrified by what she’s done." -- Steven Deknight, showrunner of Daredevil season 1. source

Karen’s story in the comics:

Her family was well-off.

She graduated with a 3.8 GPA from the University of Vermont.

Her father became the super villain Death’s Head, who fought Daredevil and ultimately died saving Karen’s life.

She begins making pornographic movies while hooked on heroine.

She is ultimately killed by Bullseye.

MCU vs Comics

Karen does not have a brother in the comics.

In high school Karen was on the cheer squad in the comics but the basketball team in the MCU.

Where in the MCU she has a dark past, in the comics she has an innocent past but a grim and ultimately tragic future.

In both the MCU and comics Karen’s relationship with Matt dissolves after he reveals his identity as Daredevil.

In MCU Karen leaves Nelson & Murdock to become a journalist, in the comics she leaves Nelson & Murdock to become a film actress.

In the comics: Karen grabbed Bullseye's gun and threatened to kill him, but Bullseye was not scared because he knew his gun was not loaded. / In Marvel’s Daredevil: Karen grabbed Wesley’s gun, who claimed he wouldn’t have left a loaded gun on the table within arms reach of Karen She shoots him and it turns out the gun was loaded, and he dies.

Things the MCU has not confirmed yet:

The age difference between Karen and her brother Kevin.

When Karen moved to New York from Vermont.

Breakdown

Although it was confirmed Karen’s story will be different in the show versus in the comics, we can assume writers will take inspiration from the comics and borrow some ideas. Throughout Daredevil, Defenders and Punisher we have seen that the writers don’t ignore the comics, they simply take inspiration and let the character grow from there. So I don’t think it’s wise to entirely disregard the comics in our own theories. We can use them as a starting point and go from there.

For example, we can assume Karen and Wilson Fisk will have a confrontation in Daredevil season 3. If Wilson finds out Karen killed Wesley he’ll likely want revenge, and might hire Bullseye to kill her. The show won’t actually kill her like the comics do but I can see them psyching us out to think she was going to die and severely injuring her in the process. In this way they are both faithful to the comics but have created their own unique story, which is really what the MCU is all about.

We can use the same logic and apply it to her past. Take a little bit of the comics, use the knowledge we have from the show, add a bit of reasoning and you can piece together what might have happened.

A common theory I’ve seen is that Karen killed her brother, whether intentionally or unintentionally, from what she had told Wesley about shooting a man and what we know about Kevin being dead. This is unlikely as her brother died in a car accident. But that doesn’t mean Karen hasn’t shot someone before. The wrong thing to do is assume every time Karen discusses her past, she is talking about the same singular traumatic event. I believe multiple things happened to Karen and her brother’s death was the instigation of it all.

Hypothesis of Karen’s timeline

We can start by assuming Karen had a normal happy childhood with her upper class wealthy family (starting where the comics did). She was close with her brother, close enough to tie his ties for him. (We can assume they were close in age due to this, but more on that later.) She was on the high school basketball team and she was a “mean three-point shooter”. Then her brother dies in a MVA at the age of 16. This is the beginning of Karen’s downward spiral.

The circumstances surrounding the death of described as “mysterious” in the news article. At the time the article was written the death was still unsolved, which is strange considering it was a single car crash into a chain-link fence, what’s there to be confused about? How is that so hard to piece together? Ultimately the police were probably puzzled as to how the car crashed in the first place if no one else was involved. Car accidents usually involve two people unless the one person is altered level of consciousness from drugs or alcohol and simply drove themself into a wall. But we can assume Kevin’s blood work was clean because if this was the case the death would not be mysterious, the investigation would not have taken so long to wrap up, and the title of the article would be “Intoxicated Teen in Tragic Accident”.

Everything surrounding Kevin’s death is strange but we can assume Karen had nothing to do with it. A) She’s only a teenager herself at the time, B) The news article does not mention a sister or another person involved in the crach, and C) Karen is presumably incredibly close with her brother, so close that to this day he is still a sore subject for her (despite several years having gone by since then). She cries when she sees his news article and lies to Matt that he is alive by using present-tense when describing him. But if Kevin’s death was strange and Karen wasn’t involved, who was and what happened?

This is where I introduce Karen’s father, who we know nothing about in the show: Paxton Page. In the comics he is the villain Death’s Head. Brief run-down: He was a scientist who created the cobalt bomb, refused to sell it to the US government, was branded a traitor, continued to work on it in secret, went insane because of the radiation, developed superpowers and fought Daredevil, and died saving Karen from a molten cobalt spill. Remember, to figure out what the MCU’s truth is you take what the comics give you and you adjust it to the universe of Daredevil. So let’s assume in Daredevil Paxton is still a villain, just not insane and super-powered from radiation. A villain more suited for the “real world” of the MCU. Paxton would be evil in the Fisk or Wesley sort of sense: manipulative, self-serving, megalomaniac. And let’s say he is a scientist and is working on weapons for the government (or a private contractor) (which is why he is wealthy). He’s evil not because because he can project fireballs, but because he doesn’t care who his weapons hurt as long as he is paid. If Karen’s father is a villain or shady we can probably connect Kevin’s death to him. Either Paxton was directly responsible for Kevin’s death because Kevin found out what his father was doing and was going to rat on him, or the government/private contractor Paxton was working for killed him as revenge for Paxton not sharing his “new weapon” with them (the cobalt bomb, or in the show something different.)

Moving on. So what happens to Karen after Kevin’s death? I believe Karen took Kevin’s death harder than anyone in her family because of the tiny hints we are given throughout seasons 1 and 2 of Daredevil to how close they were. (She said she tied his ties for him as kids and she is still raw over his death years later as she A) weeps at seeing the news article of his death and B) inadvertently lies to Matt that he is still alive by describing him as “sweet” and a “good brother” in present-tense.) When siblings are close it’s usually because they are close in age, so I think it’s fair to assume Karen and Kevin are either Fraternal or Irish twins.

This is where I go back and reference Karen’s darkest history in the comics: the heroine addiction and pornography. I think the writers will dabble with this a bit, but not to the extremes of the comics. Karen’s downward spiral in the comics comes after she moves to LA to pursue a career in acting, which happens in her future. Like I said before in the show, the darkest part of Karen’s life happened in the past. If acting wasn’t the instigation it was no doubt the death of her brother. This especially makes sense because the brother didn’t even exist in the comics, so he was invented specifically for the show and specifically to be a key piece of Karen’s dark and mysterious past.

So her brother dies, right? And she’s devastated, her whole world is over, and she is just 16 herself. What happens when 16 year olds think their life is over? They act out. Drugs, drinking, partying, etc. (We know Karen can hold her liquor from Daredevil.) She’s probably going to try and escape from her realty through drugs, but not something hard like heroine from the comics. Something a teenager could get at a party like ecstasy or other pills. (Once again taking an idea from the comics and watering it down with a spin that would fit in the current verse the writers are working in.) And what happens when a teenage girl is getting fucked up at a party without anyone looking after her? Boys are going to try and prey on her. It would be so easy for teenage Karen to find herself in a situation where someone is trying to hurt her or rape her because she is vulnerable. But we all know Karen will do whatever it takes to protect herself. Cue her shooting some fuckboy to death after he tries to attack her. This is her killing a person in her past without making her a murderer (which would be inconsistent with her characterization).

Ben and Karen had discussed twice in season one how her past made her an unreliable witness to Fisk’s crimes. So it’s something you can easily find doing a background check but nothing so illegal it would get her into trouble. Just hurt her reputation. But it’s also something neither Ben nor Ellison care about, so likely something they can sympathize with. I think a rich little party girl drunk as shit killing someone in self defense as right about fits that narrative, doesn’t it? Hell, add in Karen having been suicidal at the time (Ingredients: just lost an immediate family member + only a child + probably a drug and alcohol problem = recipe for suicidal ideation) or even attempting suicide and all her credibility as a witness goes out the window. It’s not right or fair but it’s how the world treats depressed people--they aren’t trustworthy or reliable. And you can bet your ass Fisk would’ve spun the hell out of this story if she took a swing at him on her own.

This is not necessarily saying that’s exactly what happened and why she shot someone, but I’m pretty confident her brother’s death and the possible shooting are not related and are in fact two separate incidences. I’m also pretty sure whoever Karen shot, it was done in self defense.

So if all of this stuff had happened to Karen (hypohetically) it would make sense why she would leave Vermont and move to New York to reinvent herself. She’s running away from her past.

Conclusion

That’s about all that I got at the moment. I just wanted to introduce some ideas I thought people could mull over that they hadn’t been thinking about before when it comes to Karen.

Her father is a villain in the comics.

Her “killing” someone in her past is a different incident than her brother’s death.

That multiple events could have happened to her in succession rather than one single event.

Her brother’s death is the instigation to the chain of events that has her leave Vermont and cut off ties with her parents.

#karen page #kastle #daredevil #marvel #mcu #karen page meta #my meta #mymeta #daredevil meta #suicide tw #rape tw

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charlie-bee · 6 years

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Meet the Parent

Tagging: Charlotte Brewington and Robert Roy Location: The Roy residence | , Vermont Time Frame: Late Afternoon | November 23, 2017 General Notes: Charlie and Mr. Roy have a bonding moment.

Charlotte excused herself from the table after Nate’s father made his way into the kitchen. She placed a hand on Nathan’s shoulder and smiled, urging him to spend time with Trixie and Liv and she gathered some plates before following the older man. “Mr. Roy. Let me help you with that.” She smiled and placed the plates on the counter so she could roll up her sleeves. “Dinner was lovely by the way. I might end up staying in Vermont at this rate. Thank you for having me. I’m having a wonderful time here…” she told him genuinely and looked over to the other. “Liv and Nate are lucky to have you.” She reached for the black envelope she had left in the kitchen earlier. “ I wanted to give you this. It’s our wedding invitation. Of course you know you’re invited but I wanted you to have one.” She handed it to him with a smile.

Robert had a lot on his mind. Seeing both of his precious children with the people they were going to marry was emotional and hard, surprisingly so. He picked up all the dishes and made his way into the kitchen, ready to get some time to process everything until Charlotte’s voice broke his thoughts. “Charlie,” he smiled, wide, turning to greet her. “I told you. You call me Rob, or dad but never Mr. Roy. An’ I ain’t gonna call you Charlotte.” Noticing her rolling up her sleeves to help him wash the dishes he laughed. How long had it been since one of his own kids actually helped him do that? “You’re welcome to stay up ‘ere, love to have you.” He rolled up his own sleeves. “I’m lucky to have them…and now you and Trixie.” He smiled and took the envelope into his hands. Charlotte was already shaping up to be much better than he anticipated. He nodded at his future daughter-in-law and opened the letter carefully before frowning deeply at it. “McDonald’s? That Nate’s idea?” He sighed, setting the letter down on the table. “I’m gonna kill that boy if you don’t do it first. No one deserves a McDonald’s wedding. I spent every dime renting out a barn for my wedding ‘cause Jo was a farmgirl.”

Charlotte smiled at the older man and observed him as he spoke. She could see a lot of Nathan and Olivia in him and from what she had seen in pictures, they both had physical traits that resembled their mother. A part of her wished the matriarch was here to share the amazing meal Robert Roy had whipped up and also because Charlie would have loved to have met the woman that raised Nathan and Olivia. “I’m sorry. That’ll take some getting used to, Rob.” The desire to call him ‘dad’ was there but Charlie felt that perhaps she wasn’t there yet. Her yearning for a family didn’t mean she had to move at a faster pace. This was nice. It was more than she could ask for and more than what she expected. It was a pleasant surprise in the midst of such an unconventional situation. “I might come visit more often then. Get Nate to bring me here. It’s really a nice change of pace from the city. Reminds me so much of Syracuse.” She beamed at his words, feeling included already but the smile soon faded when the man asked about the choice of venue. “Well, yes but it’s not so bad. The McDonald’s in Chelsea is actually very nice.” Who was she? She’d never say something like that about a fast food restaurant but Charlie understood Nathan’s concerns and she didn’t want to burden him further. She looked up at him when he mentioned his wife and suddenly nothing else mattered. “Tell me about your wedding, Rob. As a matter of fact, tell me about your romance with Jo. I would love to hear it!” Maybe it’ll make him forget the invite for now. Truth be told, she just wanted to have the invitations in time for Thanksgiving so that she had something to give Mr. Roy. They’d hash out the details at a later time. “How about this? You already cooked an amazing and delicious meal. Sooo, you can sit down while I wash dishes and you can keep me company while you tell me stories. How does that sound?”

Robert liked Charlotte, he really did. There was something calm and friendly about her. He wouldn’t say it out loud, for fear of Liv attacking him, but he’d liked her just a bit more than Trixie so far. He’d always said he wanted more daughters, but was unsure if this was really the way he wanted it to happen. “O’ course,” he chuckled, “as long as you understand that we’re family.” He reached out to pat Charlotte’s shoulder. “Get the boy to visit me more. They get older and then they don’t want to see their old man no more,” he laughed to let Charlotte know he was joking. “Were you from Syracuse originally?” He rubbed his beard, scruffy and white and far from what it used to be. “If you’re fine with it…” He grumbled, giving in to the idea just a little bit more. He saw something in her eyes that reminded him of himself and he laughed, sitting at one of the kitchen table chairs close by. “I think I wish my biological kids did this for me.” He laughed once more, he had a deep and raspy laugh as years of smoking caught up to him. “It might get a little long, so strap in Charlie.” He coughed, wondering where to start. “I had this idea when I was a kid that I’d be this big country star. I brought a guitar with me everywhere and I played any place that’d have me. I wandered over the world, never got famous but I made enough to keep my life up…that’s when I came to this bar in Vermont. I was down on my luck, delusion boy I was, and I was sad. That’s where I first met Joanne. Everyone called her Annie but I called her Jo. She was my Jo, and she called me her cowboy. She worked at that bar, and she was so beautiful that I couldn’t even get my order out that first night. She must have thought me a fool…” He breathed out, stopping his story. “You sure you don’t want help, Charlie?”

Charlotte began to start the task of washing the dishes. She was positively beaming the more Robert spoke. It felt like she had known him for a quite some time but then again, she felt that way about Nathan. She just wouldn’t tell him that out loud. There was a fear that she carried with her since the day she had met her match. The fear that she’d end up falling and well, he didn’t. So she locked those small little thoughts up in a place where only she knew where to find them. “Yes, we’re family and that goes for you too. Anything you need, I’m a phone call away.” Strange how close she felt to this family despite knowing them for such a short period of time. “I’ll get him into shape for you, don’t you worry.” Charlie laughed and nodded in response to his question. “Yep! Born and raised. Well, kind of. We moved to the city when I was very young and I moved back to Syracuse when my parents passed away. After my college graduation,I made the move to New York City once again and well,the rest is history.” She soaped up the dinner plates before rinsing them under the faucet. It was Robert’s turn and she couldn’t help the growing smile on her face as he began his story. “Hmm? Oh No! Please go on, Rob. I’m fine, I promise you . Tell me more about your Jo.” she asked wistfully placing each plate, one by one into the drainer beside the sink.

Robert smiled, “You’re a sweet girl, Charlotte. I’m ‘farid there’s little you can do for an old man up in the middle of nowhere but send me letters sometimes. I like gettin’ those.” He adjusted himself in his seat, trying to see if he could look into the other room to spot his other kids. When he found he couldn’t, he turned back to Charlotte. “Nate never told me about your parents. I’m sorry. Was it the virus? If you don’t mind me askin’.” He shifted again, smiling wide at Charlotte. “Okay, okay, if you say so.” He coughed. “Jo was a firey woman, I think I knew I loved her when I she looked me dead in the eye and called me a coward. She was always honest, always smiled when you said hello to her, she loved flowers and looking at the stars. That first night I met her, I’d wanted to ask her out, but I couldn’t find the words so I went up on that stage, and sang a song for her. Don’t think she got the message, so I came back the next open mic and I sang another song. Still couldn’t talk to her, but she’d talk to me. She’d tell me these silly stories and I’d smile and nod like some fool. Then I’d go up on that stage and sing a song that I don’t think she knew was for her. She finally got tired of me hoverin’ and asked me out. I don’t wanna bore you with all the facts but…Jo was, is, the love of my life. She changed my life for the better and every day I spent with her was the happiest I’d ever been. Even when it was bad I knew she’d be there, I know we’d be together. Jo liked to tell me that romance was for chumps, as she put it, but she’d smile at all the roses I got her.” He paused, mulling with his thoughts. “You can make the best out of this law, but I hope you get the kind of love that makes you feel like you can be the best version of yourself. Someone who lets you cry into their arms, lets you speak and they listen. Someone who’ll stay with you even when they’re gone. I hope that man can be my Nate, but even if it’s not you’ll still be family and I know Nate won’t hold you back.”

Charlotte continued on with the last batch of plates, the saucers this time and she smiled at the mention of letters. “Well, you’re in luck because I love written letters. I wish people still did it. It’s such a lost art. But I think that’s the romantic in me…” She shook her head. “Well, Nate and I have only known each other for a couple of weeks so I understand if he didn’t. We’re still trying to get all our eggs in a basket. Yes. It was the virus. I was very young but I miss them everyday. It’s why I’m so happy Nate asked me to join you folks.” She cleared her throat and began cleaning up the sink. Hearing Robert talk about Jo pulled every heart string and she smiled widely as he went on. “She was definitely a romantic in disguise.” Charlie chimed in and turned around after shutting the faucet. “The fact that she loved those roses…” Her words drifted off as she had a thought and she pushed away from the counter to sit across from Robert. She was always pretty emotional when it came to certain things but there was something in Robert’s tone that truly got to her. Before she knew it, tears were streaming down her cheeks and she wiped them with the back of her hand. “Don’t mind me. I do this a lot.” She smiled softly, dropping her gaze to the floor. “Nate is wonderful. You’ve done a great job with him, Rob. He’s …already the kind of person I can talk to and I know he will listen. He’s proven that much to me so far. I intend to make the best I can out of this law. I’m not going to walk away from it. I know that perhaps it might never be love between us but…I’m glad I got him. Thank you for making me a part of your family…” She laughed softly and wiped her eyes again. “And you and Jo were so lucky to have one another.”

Robert nodded. “It’s the romantic in me too,” he smiled, “why don’t we send each other letters? Liv gets on my case about it so I’m forced to use technology for her but I’d love to send my newest daughter a letter. Us Roys have our own wav seal, it’s very neat.” He scratched at his beard again, humming in a low tone. “If you love someone you’re always gonna miss ‘em, all you can do is keep ‘em alive best you can…what I’ve found at least.” He smiled, “you come ‘round for Christmas too now, you hear? The snows nicer up ‘ere anyway.” He crossed his arms, trying his best to show Charlotte that he wasn’t forcing her to come back, but that he’d love to have her anyway. “Wanna know a secret?” He leaned in, “everyone’s a romantic.” Then he leaned back, extending his arms out as he explained his point. “People can hoot and holler all the want about love being fake, or romance being dead but ain’t no person that doesn’t love to be swept of their feet, love to be loved by someone. I bet you there’s not a single soul out there that won’t love it just like you and I do.” He smiled, crossing his arms again. When he saw Charlotte start to cry, he did the same, and decided right there and then that he liked Charlotte, and that he’d treat her no different from any other family member. “You started me off now too,” He laughed, wiping his own tears away as well. “It was all Jo,” he waved away the praise, “he’s more like her than me. Now if you want to compliment Liv, I’ll take the praise for that.” He laughed again, reaching out to pick up Charlotte’s hand and hold it in his own. “I am lucky, I never want to think about what might’ve happened if I never came up here. Every day was unexpected and even now that she’s gone every day is a surprise. She brought me my Nathan, and then Olivia, and now you Charlotte. I mean it when I say she’d made me happy, she does it even in her death.” He patted her hand and let go, crossing his arms. “She brought me Trixie too but I don’t see that girl washing any dishes so between you and me, you got more points.” He winked.

Sitting there, across from her future father-in-law, Charlotte felt like she was the luckiest person in this whole marriage law scenario. It wasn’t because there was sparks at first sight or because she and Nathan figured things out on the same day they met. It was because she had earned a family out of it and she was going to cherish this moment for a long time. “I would love to write to you and I’d love to check out that seal.” She smiled between tears thinking about her own father. He’d be about Robert’s age now and they’d probably get along so well. “Those are wise words.” She nodded at him asking her about wanting to know a secret and her smile widened when he let her in. She leaned back, chuckling softly as she thought about her match, the man that was in the other room who had serenaded her at three a.m. but she promised herself she wouldn’t do that. Wouldn’t make something out of nothing like his ex girlfriends once did. “I think you’re right.” She whispered with another soft chuckle. “They just haven’t realized it yet.” Quickly, she reached for a napkin on the counter and passed it on to Mr. Roy, mindful to take one for herself as well. “Well, Olivia is quite lovely. I adore your children very much. In such a small amount of time that I’ve gotten to known them, I really do care for them.” She looked down at her hand in his and smiled. “Well, Trixie has a huge heart. You’ll see…” And then chuckled, finally looking up and spotting Nathan in the doorway. “Oh.” She tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and smoothed out her skirt. “Your father and I…we were just getting to know each other…”

Robert wanted to cry, this was the first time either of his kids had brought home anyone and he’d already loved Charlotte dearly. He really didn’t know what he’d done right to deserve all this, but he hoped he could continue to do it. “Thank you, Charlie.” He said sincerely. He’d meant it for a lot of things, for having her listen to his story, to agreeing to write him letter, to sliding a napkin on over his way. He could only hope that the weight of it all could be heard in his voice. “I’m glad you care for them, I know they care for you too.” He chuckled, “Well, tell her to get in here and wash the dishes next then.” He paused seeing his son at the doorway, he hadn’t noticed him there, but smiled at the sight of him. “Son, I was just telling Charlie here about your mom. You’re welcome to sit with us. Did you just come in?”

In truth, Nathan had been listening beyond the wall for a while. It didn’t take long for him to annoy Liv enough for her to drag Tixie off somewhere to do god-knows-what and Nathan knew far better than to follow them. The sound of Charlotte’s voice drew him to the kitchen, and then the sound of his father’s voice froze him at the door frame. “Hey…” he awkwardly started, leaning against the frame. “Actually, I just….You don’t mind if I steal my fiancée away do you, pa?” With that Robert smiled and got to his feet, patting down his clothes. He gave Charlotte a goodnight, pressing a gentle kiss to her head as he walked out of the kitchen, shooting his son a look of fatherly understanding.

Charlotte smiled when Robert pressed a kiss against her head and she waved. “I’ll see you later, dad.” And there it was. She hadn’t planned it but it happened and in front of Nathan. She hoped he didn’t think she was overstepping. When the patriarch left the kitchen she stood up and smiled at Nathan. “Your father is amazing.” She tried to look into the next room for the others and then looked back over to her fiance. “Hey…where’d they go? Dinner was incredible and your dad is so sweet! I washed all the dishes and placed them in the drier. I’ll come by tonight before we go to bed to store them into their proper place.” Maybe she was just talking so that it wouldn’t give them any awkward silence but despite those attempts, it still happened and she swore that if Nathan was close enough, he’d hear the sound of her heart thumping against her chest. “So…did you want to do something tonight?”

Nathan stood there, awkwardly shuffling his feet. He could see the large grin on his father’s face from being called dad by Charlotte, even the tears that threaten to spill from his eyes before he ducked out of the room. Nathan could only sigh. “Yeah, he is.” He smiled thinly, following Charlotte gaze. “Oh, they went…I don’t know where. They’re probably making out.” He smirked, cupping his hands to yell out into the house. “Trixie and Liv sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G” he was cut off by the sound of Liv yelling at him to shut up from wherever she was. “That’s that.” He stuffed his hands into his pockets and turned back, “You don’t have to worry about the dishes, we’re all lazy to we just leave them out. And you’re going to be busy tonight anyway.” He winked, pointing at a suspicious object covered in a black cloth. “I got a telescope. I was wondering if you wanted to look at the sky. Mercury is going to be at it’s highest so supposedly it’s the best time to look at it.”

Charlotte giggled when Nathan teased his sister and future sister in law. “will you leave them alone?” She then chortled when Liv responded. “I love you guys . Never change okay?” She arched a brow at his words and then smiled when he revealed his surprise. “You got a telescope? That’s right. You’ve done your research…” and then her mind went to Robert telling her how Jo liked the stars. “Are you trying to seduce me, Nathan Roy?” She asked playfully before rolling her sleeves down and letting her hair out of her bun. She slipped her hand into Nathan’s and looked up at him before tip-toeing to peck the corner of his lips. “Okay. Onward!”

“I will not leave them alone!” Nathan retorted. “When Liv likes someone it’s painfully obvious and I had to sit through all that.” He shook his head and laughed, stepping towards his present to pull the cloth back and show her the telescope. “I remembered that a certain someone liked stars.” He smirked, looking Charlotte right in the eyes and he said the only appropriate response to that sentence. “Why? Are you seducible?” He was proud of himself for that one, and let Charlotte take his hand and leaned down to meet her lips, smile growing wider and more lopsided. With his free hand, he grabbed the telescope, thankful for the handle on the box, and the other he squeezed Charlotte’s hand lightly. “Let’s go, Lottie.”

Charlotte couldn’t believe that Nate had done this. Not that he wasn’t capable or anything but it seemed like something romantic…then again, things seemed to shift in that direction without them planning it many times since their first encounter. She told herself several times to ignore it or to make nothing of it but seeing how excited he was to show her made that all the more difficult. “I love it. I can’t wait to see it now. Oh gosh you’re gonna love it too. We gotta get a few blankets though because it might start snowing.” it was hard for her to hide her own excitement and maybe the weekend was supposed to be different. Maybe she didn’t have to hide it. “who’s this certain someone? Should I be jealous?” She chuckled and nodded at his response. In this case, she was definitely no Jamie. “I’m absolutely seducible.” She chased another kiss, already having learned that one wouldn’t be enough and smiled at the nickname. “Let’s go, handsome.”

#para:meet the parent #f2f:nathan #c:nathan

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