Exploring American History, Wednesday, September 4, 2024

[heroic_jawline]

Well, why not start off with a bang and a portal trip out to Massachusetts? More specifically, to Bunker Hill.

"Hello, everyone! I'm Tony Stark," Tony began before glancing over to Steve.

"And I'm Steve Rogers," Steve said with a earnest-to-slightly-dorky wave at the students. "I'm also known as Captain America in some universes." And that almost explained their US History class! "Welcome to Massachusetts. Thirteen colonies on the North American continent that we now call the United States of America declared their independence from Great Britain on July 4, 1776. This national park is a monument to the Battle of Bunker Hill, which took place more than a year before that."

"While this battle was considered a victory for British forces, it marked a turning point in how seriously both the rebelling colonists and British took the rebellion due to the higher number of casualties on the British side," Tony added. "It's also said to be the battle where someone told the rebels: 'Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes.'"

"Which is pretty good advice when you were firing a rifle made in the 1700s," Steve admitted. "They only worked half the time. Of the 2400 British soldiers and Marines in the battle, more than a thousand were killed or wounded. The rebels only had about 1200 fighters. So while tactically, yes, the British retained this hill at the end of the battle, the morale of the undefeated British Empire took a significant hit. It also led the colonies to realize that they might just be good enough shots to give a full-scale revolution a try."

"So, let's explore both the museum and then onto the monument itself," Tony suggested.

Comments

Re: Look Around!

[what_big_teeth]

Even though Eleanor was feeling a strange urge to go get donuts that she couldn't quite explain, she was going to at least try to make it seem like she was doing the good scholarly thing by wandering the museum and checking out the signs with info and everything, contemplating her own versions of the questions (how many soldiers could she stomach eating? Would she feel better eating American soldiers or British ones? Could she have been able to tell the King of England to just, you know, stop that whole taxation without representation thing?)before just sort of parking herself on the grass around the monument because being outside was just nicer.

Re: Look Around!

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"Hey, do you wanna go get donuts with me?" Arden asked. "And drink the iced coffee I feel compelled to buy, even though I hate coffee? I think I've seen a place or two around here that we could go to."

Re: Look Around!

[what_big_teeth]

"That's so weird," Eleanor admitted, blinking at Arden a little bit and shaking her head. "I was just thinking about donuts..."

Must just be something in the air. But apparently, that was all the motivation Eleanor needed as she shrugged a little and stood back up and brushed some grass off her bottom.

"But, sure. I could probably use some coffee, too."

Re: Look Around!

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"Huh," Arden said. "Maybe we're mind-melding over snacks. Quick, we should make for the donuts before Kams bops over and we all start craving Squishies."

Re: Look Around!

[what_big_teeth]

"Although," Eleanor reasoned, her head tilting slightly, "if it turns out even she is craving coffee over Squishies, then we'll know for sure something strange is going on."

That something strange was probably just Being in Boston, but that was besides the point. And, hey, Eleanor might be a New Englander herself, but her exposure had been very limited

Re: Look Around!

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"I...don't actually know what we'd even do at that point," Arden admitted. "Besides possibly hide behind Professor Rogers and hope he and Professor Stark--" the rich one "--knew what to do."

Re: Look Around!

[what_big_teeth]

"And hope it was just some sort of portal anomaly that'll clear up and go back to normal once we got back to Fandom," said Eleanor with a nod, as she tried to decide if it was almost too disturbing to even bother testing it or if she was too curious to not want to know.

She was leaning more toward the former, though.

Re: Look Around!

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"We took a portal to the world of slightly psychic coffee," Arden decided. "Whispering 'drink me' over the brainwaves."

Re: Look Around!

[what_big_teeth]

"Well, that's...." Eleanor paused a moment, as if not sure exactly how to describe it, especially since it mostly just made her wonder if it was less about psychic coffee and more about someone with abilities like hers with an...oddly specific agenda. "...mildly upsetting, but maybe that's all the reason to just give the coffee what it wants."

Re: Look Around!

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

A pity Arden couldn't offer the assurance of that not actually being true, by virtue of her own partial immunity to compulsion, but even if she and Ellie had put all their nonhuman cards on the table, it was an ability she didn't even know she had.

"I'm pretty sure that's only true if Kams comes over in the mood for a coffee," she said instead. "So long as she stays strong with Squishies, I think we're safe."

Re: Look Around!

[what_big_teeth]

And honestly? Eleanor would be perfectly happy and content to never have to find out which of her friends her abilities would work on...

"Fingers crossed," Eleanor agreed with a nod. "But maybe we should keep an eye out for somewhere that has Squishies for her, too, though, just to be sure."

Re: Look Around!

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

That was a plan that everybody could approve of, honestly.

"I mean, I feel like that's the most sacred of our duties, even when we're not worried about possible psychic coffees."