#"The Last American Hero" | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

mariacallous · 6 months ago

Text

The loneliness epidemic in the United States is so bad that even federal agencies have begun to pay attention. Today, half of adult Americans report experiencing feelings of loneliness and isolation, and some of the highest rates are seen among young adults.

That’s a painful social problem—but it’s also a national security threat. I get laughed at sometimes when I try to explain this concept to old-school bureaucrats. Who can blame them? Evolving threats are a headache, so it’s easier to pretend that nothing ever changes. But consider how easy it can be to compromise the lonely and desperate.

Take Sweet Dave, as he’s come to be known among security professionals, otherwise known as David Franklin Slater, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel-turned-civilian Air Force employee. Earlier this year, Slater was charged with passing on classified information to an individual—who claimed to be both a woman and Ukrainian—via email and an unnamed online messaging platform.

Documents included in the federal indictment against Sweet Dave read like a Saturday Night Live sketch: “Dear, what is shown on the screens in the special room?? It is very interesting,” the alleged Ukrainian woman is quoted as saying to Slater at one point.

“You are my secret informant love!” Slater’s beloved coos after checking in to ask about how NATO representatives travel.

Judging by these messages, Slater wants to feel special. The person he is corresponding with makes him feel like a hero, not just a retired soldier in Nebraska. Who doesn’t, at the end of the day, want to feel like a hero?

It’s easy to dismiss Slater as foolish and horny, and while he definitely seems to be both of these things, I was curious to see a fellow open-source intelligence expert unearth his Facebook likes: Here’s a guy who’s completely awash in images of unattainable fantasy women to an embarrassing level, and it follows that he would lose all common sense if approached by one online.

Sex is an old motivation for espionage, but the current rash of cases is about far more than lust. Take Air National Guard member Jack Teixeira, who leaked highly classified information to impress his fellow nerds on Discord, a social messaging platform. He, too, wanted someone to think of him as a badass.

Foreign intelligence has always preyed on the lonely and romantically vulnerable, from the West German women targeted during the Cold War by East German “Romeo” spies to the French diplomat who believed that his lover, a Chinese man, was a woman who had birthed his son.

But the internet allows a degree of connection—or the illusion of connection—that facilitates exploitation on a scale never before seen. Sometimes it doesn’t even take foreign actors. Consider the case of Anna Gabrielian and her spouse, Jamie Lee Henry, two Americans who are due for a new trial after being charged with giving classified information to Russia. (Last year’s legal proceedings against the couple ended in a mistrial.)

What does a married couple have to do with loneliness and fantasy worlds? Not much, or so I thought at first—until I reread the indictment.

Looking at the power dynamics on display in this case is revealing. Henry and Gabrielian were in a lopsided relationship, with Gabrielian submerged in a fantasy dreamworld of “sacrificing everything” for a distant, mythical Russia. And she pressured her spouse into going along with it.

Gabrielian was so far gone that she thought that she could simply email the Russian Embassy and offer them help, and that she could trust whoever reads emails from random strangers over there. (I personally think that Russian Embassy staff members likely decided they were being played and began making inquiries of their own sources that U.S. intelligence picked up on, thus ultimately exposing Gabrielian’s plan.)

Gabrielian went as far as calling her spouse a “coward” for showing hesitation about turning traitor. This was the pedestrian version of the infamous “Russia, if you’re listening” speech by former U.S. Donald Trump, this time by a woman who clearly thought that benevolent Russian benefactors would materialize and reward her courage. There doesn’t appear to be a financial motive, as is the case with many similar cases. This was a spy fantasy concocted by a woman who obviously wanted to feel important.

In yet another unfortunate case, Gordon Black, a staff sergeant in the U.S. Army, was arrested in Russia in May and accused of theft. Based on this man’s social media, he seems to have been involved with a Russian woman from Vladivostok—the city where he was nabbed by the authorities.

Based on available information, Black was in the middle of a divorce from his American wife. I’ve found pictures of him with the Russian woman in question dating as far back as June 2023. I have also found memes and comments, supposedly posted by this woman on social media, that reflect virulently violent views toward Ukrainians, anger toward NATO, and even the desire to humiliate her American boyfriend, whom she calls a slur in one memorable video.

Black was stationed in South Korea and was due to travel to a new post at Fort Cavazos, in Texas, when he decided to detour to Russia instead. According to his mother, Black did not appear to have permission to do so, and may have even been “set up”—although Black’s loneliness may have played an even bigger role.

It’s clear to an impartial observer that Black’s Russian girlfriend was bad news, yet he risked everything for her. The ardent devotion that appears in his face in one particular picture with his girlfriend is almost painful to look at.

The usual approach by both government and private actors to security training and identifying foreign threat actors is extensive, and repetitive lectures and reminders reiterate that training. But that doesn’t necessarily address the root of the problem.

Many people with access to sensitive information—like the public as a whole—are adrift both online and offline. They’re stressed, and they often don’t feel connected to other human beings. This makes them sitting ducks as far as foreign intelligence, hackers, scammers, and agenda-driven trolls go. It can also make them feel angry and resentful, willing to betray, and willing to act stupid for the sake of feeling powerful and important—and feeling seen.

In the national security world, the word “holistic” is often viewed with suspicion and seen as the purview of New Age crystal healers. But you can’t divorce human nature—and human predicaments—from digital and personal safety.

For example, I once had several diplomats act very surprised when I pointed out that not enough people are being taught that they shouldn’t use dating apps while drinking or while seriously stressed. It just hadn’t occurred to them that unwinding with a glass of wine after work and checking the apps could result in a bad outcome. These men weren’t stupid at all—they just hadn’t considered a holistic approach to using technology while holding a sensitive job.

The same can be said about drinking in other situations where you could be left vulnerable—such as in a foreign country, or in a bar frequented by the wrong kind of people. Somehow, we all know the risk, but we rarely focus on why people take it to begin with; we rarely focus on our natural need for connection and thus have a hard time mitigating it properly.

Another man in a sensitive job was once very surprised when I wrote that it’s perfectly OK and even advisable to video chat with a potential date. “You mean I can just ask for that? What if she thinks I’m rude?” he asked. The answer to that question should be “who cares?”

Unfortunately, for lonely people—and especially men—who are already having a harder time when it comes to connecting to others, “who cares” is not enough. Being in the right frame of mind, being more confident, and feeling more settled are essential to enforcing boundaries, and people desperate for connection simply have a harder time doing that.

“Put down your phone and go outside” is cliche advice, but outside is also a great place to meet people, thus leading to a lessened sense of loneliness, thus leading to reduced stress, and thus leading to better decisions.

“Recognize when you’re unhappy or desperate” is another cliche. People laugh when I bring up the fact that staying emotionally balanced is advisable from a national security perspective. Sounds like woo-woo yoga mom talk, right? Yet the clearance process is already meant to weed out people who feel desperate—people with gambling or drug problems, for example. So shouldn’t we also be focused on making sure that people who already have clearances have access to the tools they need in order to right themselves when pressures in their lives escalate?

How many leaders instead expect their subordinates to constantly be online and available? This feeds into the loneliness epidemic too—believe me. How easy do you think it is for a person to form meaningful connections when they are forced to constantly check their phone?

With lawmakers growing more cognizant of “right to disconnect” laws that allow employees space to be offline instead of demanding constant connection, perhaps we can start thinking more broadly about what it means to disconnect, and how burnout is inadvisable. Not just because burnout is bad, which it is, but because burnout can be dangerous.

Lonely and unhappy people are a gold mine for hostile actors. The subsequent need to seek connection and validation in the wrong places is a security threat—and one that national security leaders need to be thinking about much harder.

77 notes · View notes

marsbarsfrommars · 8 days ago

Text

truth, justice, and the problem with not telling your friends about your double life

summary

“Well, no,” Barry says, “But he also doesn’t call his house ‘The Fortress of Solitude’.” “I do not live in the Fortress,” Clark reiterates for what feels like the umpteenth time.

or, Clark's friend know that being Superman isn't his full-time job, right? Right?

read

under the cut or on ao3 for better formatting

notes

I know I said I'd write more elvar and I'm sure I will at some point bc I love them, but I've started watching smallville and got back into the dc fandom bc of it. my characterisation is based on a mix of the few comics I've read, smallville and other fanfictions so I really hope this isn't too ooc. I don't really know the canon timeline (and I'm not sure dc does either) so I just made something up: bruce, clark and diana met for the first time when bruce was 23 and clark 22, about half a year after clark debuted as superman, two years later they officially founded the jla and the other members joined them over the past year. the plot of this is very silly, but I hope you still enjoy it. happy holidays to everyone who celebrates! title inspired by the quote "I'm here to fight for truth, justice, and the american way." from the 1978 film (that I haven't even watch) as always, english isn't my first language so there might be grammar or spelling mistakes, but spellchek says it's fine so I don't really care as long as it's not unreadable content warnings: absolutely none this time, this is just fluff and humor

Clark is honestly having a great week. No world—ending events, no villains trying to kill him personally, and only one ‘you look kinda like Superman’ comment when he took off his glasses in the office. It’s a late Friday afternoon so he’s done with work for the week and can enjoy a lazy evening on the couch with Lois, watching reruns of The Great British Bake Off and commenting on the candidate's work, even though both of them don’t know the first thing about baking. He’ll make something quick and easy for dinner or, better yet, he could fly over to that really great Italian place and get them a nice pizza. Yes, he’ll do that as soon as this meeting is over. Hal has been talking almost uninterrupted for the last few minutes, and at this point Clark isn’t sure if it’s even about work still.

He glances over at Bruce, expecting to see his friend listening attentively and maybe even taking notes, but the man is sitting weirdly still, even for Batman standards. He focuses his enhanced senses on his friend for a moment and, sure enough, The Batman, known among his fellow heroes for his near absolute commitment to the job, is asleep in a League meeting. The white lenses of his cowl hide it well enough, but his even breathing and slowed heartbeat are giving him away to Clark. Clark debates lightly kicking him under the table to wake him up, but then decides against it. Bruce is running a company, being Batman and raising a hyperactive eleven-year-old all at the same time, he needs all the sleep he can get.

Hal is somehow still talking and Clark is sure that, at this point, what the Green Lantern is saying is either very serious and he should have listened intently the whole time instead of spacing out for the last five minutes, or it's deeply, deeply unserious. He decides to tune back in on the conversation and okay, the topic has somewhat strayed from official Justice League business. Hal is seemingly telling Barry and Oliver how he was part of a fraternity and even lived in the frat house for a semester in university, despite never officially signing up. Diana and J’onn are listening intently, the latter with the look of mild horror on his face exclusively reserved for people who didn’t grow up in the States hearing about a fraternity for the first time. Dinah is listening to the tale as well, albeit seeming rather bored and increasingly disgusted every time Hal says the word ‘frat house’. Bruce is undoubtedly still asleep or he would have ended this meeting minutes ago.

Apparently Clark has been staring at Hal a little too intently for a little too long while he was trying to understand what the man was even talking about because now Hal turns to him with an apologetic look on his face. “I’m sorry, Kal-El. I totally forgot to explain to you and J’onn what a fraternity is.”

This doesn’t raise any immediate red flags for Clark—which, big mistake. Is it a little odd that Hal thinks he wouldn’t know what a fraternity is? Sure, but Clark doesn’t exactly look like someone who spent a significant amount of his time in university in frat houses (it was twelve minutes in total and he regrets every single one of them), so it’s probably just that.

“I think I have already gathered all the essential facts from your story,” J’onn says before Hal can start his explanation, looking vaguely unenthusiastic at the prospect of hearing more about fraternities and frat parties and whatnot.

“And I’ve been to a frat party before, so no worries,” Clark adds. (Yes, this is about the aforementioned twelve minutes and no, he doesn’t want to elaborate.)

Hal furrows his brow, while the rest of the League, minus Diana, J’onn and Bruce, turn to them with matching questioning looks on their faces. “When did you go to a frat party?”

Now, that is definitely more than a little odd. Since when are his colleagues that interested in minor details about his private life?

“Uh, when I was in university,” Clark responds, still not seeing what the big deal is—which, again, big mistake.

“So, what?” Barry asks. “Did you just look up universities near you and walk into the first frat house you saw or was it, like, by accident?”

Now it’s Clark’s turn to furrow his brow. “No, it was in my first semester at uni and my friend dragged me along to socialise, but we left after a while because it just wasn’t nice.”

“You went to university?” Oliver asks at the same time that Hal says, “I didn’t know you had friends other than us!”

Okay, ouch. That is definitely a little hurtful. He may be a little introverted at times, but he definitely has friends other than the League, and Lois, for that matter. He stares at his friends blankly. “Yes, I went to university and yes, I have friends who aren’t you. Why would you think I didn’t?”

“Well,” Barry starts to say, then pauses and thinks for a moment before he continues. “We’re obviously very happy for you. We were honestly a little worried that you were getting lonely,”—Oliver, Hal and Dinah nod along emphatically at that bit—”It’s just a little unexpected for us with your full-time job being Superman and you living in the Fortress and stuff.”

Pause. What the fuck is happening? Clark considers about a hundred possibilities, ranging from ‘this is all a really weird dream’ to ‘my friends have somehow completely lost it in the five minutes I wasn’t listening’, before he decides that actually, none of this makes sense and the only thing he can even say to all of this is, “What?”

Oliver shoots a confused look at Barry before he picks up where the latter left off. “We’re really not trying to sound ignorant here, we just didn’t think you were very involved in the human world, apart from being Superman of course.”

“It’s not because you’re an alien,” Dinah assures him quickly, “I mean, J’onn is alien too and he has a job and everything, but your home is literally called ‘The Fortress of Solitude’.”

The others are clearly trying to explain this whole thing to him, but Clark just gets more confused with every word they say. He glances over at Diana, a pleading look in his eyes, but she just lightly shakes her head, clearly trying to hold back laughter. Apparently she understands what the hell is going on but won’t tell him. Traitor. Clark decides that, under these circumstances, now would be a good time to wake Bruce and lightly kicks him in the shin under the table. Bruce doesn’t visibly startle, but he glares at Clark with his infamous Bat-glare, which would be a lot more effective if Clark didn’t witness Lois glaring at Lombard in a similar fashion on a weekly basis when he bothered her while she was in the middle of writing an article. He's pretty desensitised to glares of all kinds at this point, thank you very much. Bruce obviously doesn’t say anything, as to not give away to the others that he has, in fact, not been attentively listening but napping for the past twenty minutes.

“I don’t live in the Fortress,” Clark says, since he is obviously on his own in this and that is the only thing he can think of.

“What do you mean?” Hal asks, a look of utter confusion visible on his face.

“I do not live in the Fortress of Solitude,” Clark repeats. “It’s kind of like my base of operations. The place where most of the surviving Kryptonian knowledge and artefacts are stored, but it's not my house or anything. Why would I want to live there anyway? It's in the Arctic and completely made of ice and that's not all that comfortable.”

“But if you don’t live in the Fortress,” Barry says slowly as if he’s piecing together critical information and not inquiring about Clark’s current place of residence, “Where do you live?”

“In my flat in Metropolis.”

Oliver looks completely lost—a sentiment Clark shares. “But how do you pay for that?”

Clark looks at his friends as if they’ve all gone spontaneously mad, which is a theory that sounds more and more realistic with every inane question they ask him. “With my money, which I earn at my job.”

“You’re getting paid to be Superman?” Hal asks, sounding scandalised and at least mildly offended.

“What? Who would even—what?” Up until this point Clark had tried to be polite and answer his colleagues' questions, no matter how strange they are, but this is too far. “Are you, and I say this with the utmost respect, are you all insane?”

Instead of an answer, he receives a round of blank stares.

“If this is a joke, please stop because I clearly don’t get it and, to be honest, I’m starting to get really concerned about you.”

Still no answers, and now Clark is starting to feel like he’s the one losing his mind. This is when Diana finally decides to chime in, and Clark can honestly say that he has never been more grateful for her. “Kal,” she says slowly, looking directly at him, “Is there a possibility you forgot to inform the rest of the League about your civilian identity? Or the fact that you even have one?”

Oh, fuck. This can not be real. This is not happening right now. This is-

“You have a civilian identity?” Oliver interrupts his train of thought in an overly incredulous tone.

“Yes, obviously,” Clark answers. “I didn’t think that was something I had to specifically tell you about. There’s a reason all of us are keeping our civilian lives private, well, all of us except Hal, maybe. But just because I don’t really talk about mine doesn’t mean I don’t have one. Batman doesn’t talk about his either, but I’m pretty sure that none of you are assuming he’s Batman full-time either, right?”

“Well, no,” Barry says, “But he also doesn’t call his house ‘The Fortress of Solitude’.”

“I do not live in the Fortress,” Clark reiterates for what feels like the umpteenth time. “And I’m not Superman full-time, I do have a civilian identity like the rest of you and I’m very sorry for not telling you, but I didn’t think it was something I had to specifically confirm for you.”

“So you really did go to a regular university and live in a normal flat in Metropolis?” Hal asks.

“Oh my God!” Clark throws his head back in exasperation. He is officially no longer having a great week. Next to him, Diana snickers. That’s it, the only League members who are getting holiday presents this year are J’onn and Bruce. Diana is officially off the list. Clark slowly dips his head back down and looks at Barry, Hal, Oliver and Dinah one after the other. “I was raised in Kansas by my parents, they are human and adopted me when I was about one year old, before any of you get any ideas. I went to high school like any other teenager would, and when I was eighteen I got into university on a football scholarship. I finished university a few years ago and now I live and work in Metropolis.”

There are a few moments of merciful silence as his friends process what he just told them, and Clark almost sighs in relief. Almost.

“Could you, uh, define ‘a few years’ a bit more clearly?” Dinah asks, obviously trying to sound tactful and not offend him.

“Yeah, how old are you exactly?” Hal adds, clearly having no such reservations.

“Twenty-six. Give or take a few months because of the adoption.”

“Twenty-six?” Barry shouts at the same time that Dinah buries her head in her hands and murmurs, “Oh God.”

“You’re not twenty-six,” Hal says firmly. “You’re not twenty-six because that would mean I’m a full two years older than you and that simply cannot be true.”

Now, this is just rude. He doesn’t act older than twenty-six, at least in his opinion, and he certainly doesn’t look it.

“Wait,” Diana interjects, “How old did you think he was?”

“I don’t know!” Hal is obviously severely distraught by the fact that Clark is a little younger than him. “Like two-, maybe three hundred years old, how would I know?”

Clark is shocked. Diana bursts out into laughter and even Bruce is struggling to hide his amusement now, the rest of the League wouldn’t notice, but it’s obvious to Clark when he glances over at him. Bruce is definitely off the holiday present list as well. Clark simply can’t hold back anymore. “Three hundred years? Are you kidding me?”

Diana laughs even harder and Clark kicks her under the table, which doesn’t phase her at all. (No, he’s not being childish. Shut up.)

“I’m sure he didn’t mean it like that. He probably just assumed you would be older because you’re practically immortal in comparison to some other people here.” This is the first time J’onn speaks up since the beginning of this conversation, and Clark is so very grateful for it. He knows that J’onn isn’t actively using his telepathy to read the team’s minds, but he’s never sure how much the man subconsciously picks up on. It is, however, evident that he picked up enough to know that Clark has a civilian identity. Or maybe he just has the common sense the rest of their friends seem to have misplaced, who’s to say? Clark nods weakly at him in thanks. He is so ready for this conversation to be over. All he wants to do is go home and not tell Lois about this incident when she asks him how the meeting went because he knows she would never let him live it down.

“We’re so sorry about this. This is a pretty stupid misunderstanding and we shouldn’t have made assumptions about your private life,” Dinah says because she’s a normal, sensible person, unlike the rest of his so-called friends.

“It’s fine, really,” Clark assures her. “I’m not mad, just…surprised, is a good word for it, I think, about some of your assumptions. But since it’s all cleared up now, I think it would be a good idea for all of us to end this meeting here and go home. Unless there are any other burning questions?”

While the rest of the League seems to have heard what he said, they don’t look like they will be answering him any time soon. The traitorous traitors Bruce and Diana are too busy trying not to start laughing (again) and Hal, Barry and Oliver are apparently still processing the fact that he has a life outside the Justice League and being Superman. Clark is seriously considering just getting up and leaving at this point, which would be a very rude thing to do to his friends and he knows his mum would be scolding him for it if she knew, but it’s not like they’re going to get anything productive done and the meeting should have ended at least twenty minutes ago anyway.

Then Barry shakes his head and—God help Clark—starts to speak again, “Dinah’s right. It’s just all very surreal right now. I mean, up until now we thought being Superman was what you did all day and now we find out you went to high school and uni and have a flat and a job and everything. Next, you’ll be telling us you’re actively dating or something.”

(If Clark had a time machine this would be the moment he’d travel back to later and shut himself up because Barry was clearly joking, not asking a question, and he doesn’t need to say anything in response. He just needs to nod, smile, say goodbye, get up, leave and never ever bring this situation up again. Of course this isn’t what he does, though.)

“I’m married, actually.” Shit. He didn’t mean to say that. He didn’t mean to say that at all.

“Married? You’re married?” Hal’s voice has risen at least three octaves in tone.

As his only normal friends, J’onn smiles warmly and gives him a double thumbs up (?) and Dinah rolls her eyes and mouths ‘sorry’ at him before she says, “I’m very happy for you. Congratulations.”

Clark smiles warmly at both of them, trying his best to not let his smile look too strained. This has all been a bit much.

“I can’t believe it,” Oliver mutters, because apparently the universe has condemned Clark to eternal suffering via awkward situations and annoying friends, but before he can even say anything to that, Oliver turns away from him to point an accusing finger at Bruce. “Did you know about this?”

This isn’t that bad, Clark thinks, Bruce always acts very serious in the presence of the whole League and he surely won’t contribute anything to this conversation. This is fine. But Bruce smirks and Clark can feel the horror rising in his chest like a physical thing when his friend says, “I was at the wedding. As his best man.”

All hell breaks loose at Bruce’s admission because of course it does. Barry gasps, a full on overdramatic, broadway-worthy gasp, while Hal looks like someone just punched him in the face and Oliver is staring at Bruce with the most unamused expression Clark has ever seen on him. Diana starts laughing so hard she’s crying, and Bruce looks like holding back his own laughter is causing him physical pain. (He manages it though because God forbid the Justice League ever sees him as anything other than the overly serious Dark Knight.) Clark has no idea what Dinah or J’onn are doing, he’s too busy regretting every single decision he has ever made that led him to this point.

“Okay, please calm down everyone,” Clark says and miraculously they actually do. “I am not angry at you,” he reassures them again, “But I do think you’re overreacting a little.” He would say more than that, but he really just wants the conversation to end and never be brought up again.

“A little is a bit of an understatement,” Bruce mutters under his breath. Clark shoots him a dirty look because Bruce could’ve at least helped him end this sooner. Bruce smirks at him ever so briefly. Clark rolls his eyes. “While this seems to have been very enlightening for some of you, I suggest we end this meeting now. Unless there’s an emergency, we’ll see each other next week. Diana, Kal and I will schedule something.”

And with that, the meeting finally comes to an end. Clark has never been more thankful for anything in his life. (A blatant lie.) The general commotion at the end of every meeting starts with everyone getting up and saying their goodbyes. Normally, Clark would stay behind to chat and catch up on their personal lives with Diana and Bruce, but today he’s getting out of here as fast as possible and polite. He’s almost at the door when Bruce, in front of everyone, calls out to him, “Enjoy the next episode of The Bake Off! The season 5 finale is especially good!”

Clark is going to murder him. He’ll do it, really. “One more word from you and I’ll get your son a drum set for Christmas.”

Everyone’s attention immediately shifts to Bruce, who looks absolutely mortified and rushes out of the door with a hurried ‘see you next week’. Clark follows him, leaving a confused Justice League—minus Diana and J’onn—in their wake. He can hear Barry say that the last part was surely a joke and everyone else agreeing emphatically. Apparently, the one thing more unbelievable than Clark being married is Batman being a father. If only they knew.

“Just so you know,” Bruce says as they’re walking side by side, “If you actually get Dick a drum set for Christmas, I will be repaying the favour as soon as you and Lois have children. Don’t think I won’t.”

Clark throws his head back and laughs loudly. “Then I hope you’re patient because Lois and I aren’t even thinking about having children at the moment and when we do it’s still going to be some time before they can even hold a drumstick.”

“It's a good thing then that there’s an abundance of noisy light-up toys I could buy for a baby out there.”

Clark groans.

“What do you think about a Furby? They’re nice, aren’t they?” Bruce says with a mock contemplative expression on his face.

“I’m taking your name off the potential godparent list as soon as I get home,” Clark threatens, although he’s not serious at all.

Now it’s Bruce's turn to laugh. He pats Clark’s shoulder. “Yeah, yeah, keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel better. Just know that I’ll tell Lois that the League honestly thought you didn’t have a normal life and that you were three hundred years old the next time I see her.”

Clark punches him in the arm. Bruce laughs even louder.

#clark kent #bruce wayne #diana prince #superman #batman #wonder woman #lois lane #the justice league #dcu #dc comics #clois #fanfiction

22 notes · View notes

sheepheadfred · 2 months ago

Text

Ectoberhaunt Day 13: Isekai: Old Hero New World

Summary: Danny doesn't know how he got here, but science seems to have advanced a lot... and gotten very animal focused?!

(cw: alternating pov)

Ao3 link

An explosion in the lab and a tumble through a random portal inside the realms later, Danny has no idea where he is.

Blue skies, green plants. He knows he must be on Earth, but where?

Doesn't help that the green is getting closer as he moves upwards. Oh, he's going down!

Are those trees?

Oh yeah, he also seems to be falling!

Danny sure hopes he's in ghost form. Not looking forward to if this is how he kicks the bucket for real. Either way, this is gonna hurt.

No energy to scream and barely conscious as it is, snapping branches snuff out any awareness he momentarily had.

The Wild Kratts crew are relaxing in the Tortuga when Koki gets an alert by some Wild Kratts Kids. It was Aiden! Something strange happened in the forest near his home.

Something had a big crash in the woods and it seems to have scared the animals near by and the kids are worried.

Could it be one of their usual villains? Maybe, but they tend to be more subtle than this. Hopefully it's not a new villain they need to worry about.

The crew packs up and heads to the North American Eastern Woodlands, full of concern and mounting dread.

Danny wakes on a bed of broken branches and is surrounded by trees walling him in, the sun shining through the canopy. A squirrel napping on him scurried away as he sat up to take in his surroundings more clearly.

How long was I out?

He's not Sam and can't identify plants on sight, but he's pretty sure this forest is local or at least similar to what he's used to. He thinks these might be oak trees but don't quote him on that. It just seems likely that he at least stayed in the U.S. is all.

It'd be easier to find out where he is if he could check the stars but, sadly, it's the middle of the day. No stars for him. A shame.

Checking himself for injuries, he finds that he must have changed back after crashing. The timing for it makes the most sense for one.

Hoping he doesn't have a concussion or any broken bones that he can't feel, Danny starts to walk through the forest. Too worn out to fly for now.

That and he doesn't know if its safe to risk it or if someone would see Phantom and call the GIW or something.

Danny limped forward in the direction he chose randomly and saw the sun peaking brighter through the trees. Hoping that it means there's a clearing, he speeds up as much as he can.

The closer he got, the louder and more distinct voices became in that direction.

They sound young.

Once he reached the edge of the forest and into the clearing, his legs gave out. He has been walking without rest since he woke up and Danny can't even remember when he last ate.

As he blacks out, his only thought was how he must look to the kids who had to be nearby.

Hope this doesn't traumatize them.

The crew arrives on scene. The clearing near the beaver pond seems undamaged but they know better than to just judge without investigating.

The area is eerily quiet, especially for this time of day.

Jimmy pulls them in for a landing and the others get ready to disembark. Kratt brothers Martin and Chris make their way to the concerned children first thing when the Tortuga landed.

"Ok, just to be clear. What did you hear?" Martin beat Chris to the punch in asking.

"There was a big crash deep in the woods. And then the whole forest went quiet. We haven't seen almost any animals since." The older of the two brothers answered, the younger one nodding to confirm he heard it, too.

After deliberating with the others, the Kratt brothers were about to venture into the woods to investigate. About to.

Because right before they could, a boy, early teens at oldest, stumbled out of the forest looking like he had been through a very rough hike.

Meanwhile, miles away but in the same forest hours ago:

The whelp didn't notice him?! What an insult. The halfling is quick to notice the presence of a ghost, even if due to that 'ghost sense' of his. To not be noticed means it was on purpose or something is wrong with his prey. Yet he seemed to be functioning like usual!

Skulker hovers above the treeline, watching Danny plummet into the leafy abyss.

"Pathetic. The whelp really must be slipping if he failed to notice me. Although his parents were right there and disrupted the sanctity of my hunt! They have no respect for actual hunters. Closer to savages who target indiscriminately than a hunter who can tell which prey is worth the effort and which are bottom feeders best left alone. Even the whelp knows that! They are more akin to Plasmius and his cruel experiments on the recently dead and never born than true hunters." The ghost thought out loud to himself, mentally marking his observations down as he flew. Grumbling along the way. "It should not matter where the hunt took place, even inside the cursed residence."

He left to find something more fun to hunt in the meantime. The whelp was no fun when he doesn't bring a challenge!

And he didn't have to search long.

He didn't happen upon a creature catching his eyes but another hunter! One with a different style and class than he's seen the human world have before! Even if he hasn't really seen most of the human world. He won't stay, of course, but he can observe these new methods and see if he can add them to his own style. The possibilities are endless.

Coming into consciousness was never fun as he was forced to take stock of what is wrong. Danny is sure more damage to his person happened since the last time he did so. A few hours ago. He thinks.

He has never been good at telling time on a good day, let alone on a day where he hasn't been aware of time's passing.

Sitting up, he realized his burns he can now feel have fresh bandages on and that he is not alone or surrounded by trees this time.

He seems to instead be in some kind of medical room. Not professional and it lacks the smell of antiseptic and buzzing of florescent lighting of a hospital. One less thing to worry about, he supposed.

I am getting real tired of not knowing what's going on.

A young woman poked her head in the room. She had a tan complexion, neatly tied back hair, and a bright yellow jacket. Her face lit up once she saw him, kind brown eyes landing on him.

"Hey, we were worried about you!"

Danny doesn't know this woman nor why she'd be worried. Sure he was hurt, but he got hurt all the time!

In lieu of answering with words, he used his very confused expression and pointed to himself to ask and make sure.

"Yes, you! What kind of kid goes hiking in the middle of the woods without any gear or ways of communication?"

Oh yeah, my phone should still be in my room. Haven't had the chance to tell anyone something happened. That and something was in the lab, of course I went alone!

"Someone who woke up there and just started walking." Danny was still groggy having just woken up, his mouth moved before his thoughts caught up with him.

"Just woke up there?!"

Ooops, guess that was the wrong thing to say.

"Sorry? It was the middle of the night when someone broke in and the sun was up when I woke up in the middle of all the trees."

Her face looks sickened.

SHIIIT. WHY CAN'T I SAY THE RIGHT THING?!

"What I meant was 'Hi, my name is Danny, what is yours?'!" he near panic shouted out of sheer embarrassment.

Taking a second, the woman in yellow tried to get her thoughts in order while making sure her mouth worked. Hopefully better than his as he keeps putting his foot in his mouth.

"R-right, I'm Aviva and you're on the Tortuga. The headquarters of the Wild Kratts crew."

"That was a lot of words that you said. I don't know what a 'Tortuga' or a 'Wild Kratts' is but it's nice to meet you, Aviva." Danny answered her with a polite smile and an attempt at a handshake which she thankfully returned.

"Well, it seems we both have questions. How about I get the others so I'm not the only one trying to clear this up with you? Or you can move to the main area when you're ready. Ayaiyai, I am not the team medic. I think I'll grab someone else to clear you and get you something to eat and drink. They'll want to know you're awake, anyway."

All he could do was not as she left the room muttering to herself like mad with a dazed expression.

Great, more strangers. At least I can get answers soon. Hopefully.

Martin and Chris were investigating the forest. Something mysterious is happening and they don't like what they've been seeing.They found the spot of broken branches a good ways in like something fell from way up high.

They sure hope it wasn't anything alive because they doubt whatever it was would have survived the fall. But given that there are nothing but broken branches, either an animal dragged it off or the fallen object got up on its own.

It wasn't just that. If it was just whatever fell, the forest wouldn't be as silent as it is. It's giving them an eerie feeling.

Chris searches for clues from the trees as the climbing brother while Martin checks from the ground.

Heavy boot prints and purposefully damaged plant life hints at someone dangerous out here. They worry about the kid they found who came from this direction and woke up here according to him if Aviva's report is accurate.

They decide to continue investigating a bit longer before heading back. Their animal friends could be in danger and a kid has been targeted!

Only, they didn't need to continue looking. The air grew colder when before the sun kept them warm and now it's like the sun can't reach them. A deafening silence even more noticeable over the lack of forest noise, and a new sound of the whine of small rockets like a jet pack.

Out of the corner of their eyes they could see a silver suit of armor and flaming green hair. A net suddenly sprung out at them and they barely managed to dodge!

The only thing they heard from this new villain was him calling for a 'whelp' and that nothing else in the area would be worth his time, but that they would do for now.

Danny made his way to the main area of this building he woke up in, having gotten tired of waiting, when he heard an alarm. Still exhausted, he braces against the wall after the noise assaults his ears.

What the?

Now fully awake, he tries to understand what has everyone in such a tizzy.

Two men were on a video call on the big screen talking to Aviva, a ginger, and a black woman he has yet to meet. Talking about a new villain searching for some rare creature he called a 'whelp' while stomping around in a metal suit.

A new villain? Wait... 'Whelp'? Oh no.

Danny is now glad no one noticed him because now he can sneak out as Phantom. His reserves are still low but if Skulker is here looking for him, then he's gonna get him!

Not gonna let some innocent civilians get hurt because he's too tired. He never let that stop him before!

... Though, he will have to be smart about his powers. They don't know about him, maybe even ghosts in general, and he doesn't want to ruin a forest because a ghost followed him all the way out here.

On his way out, he got to see the place from the outside and he just knows his friends would be jealous once their worry moves out of the way. A turtle ship! Not too unbelievable from what he's seen but it's amazing. A combination of both Sam and Tucker's passion!

Well, I can always be fascinated later.The dead never rest, after all.

He snaps out of his momentary awe and leaves towards where he first woke up. Following the now twice over haunted forest trail.

Further into the forest, the brothers were dealing with this guy. Or trying to at least.

It's like this anything they do goes straight through him!

Don't get them wrong, they are glad they are being targeted instead of some poor animal but c'mon! This guy has to be getting tired at some point! Even if it's just his suit getting overused.

He kept demanding information of where whatever creature he was looking for was. Which, even if they got what he meant specifically by 'whelp' and 'half ghost' they'd never rat out any creature to someone who'd want to hurt them, anyway!

And then, he decided since they aren't helpful, they might as well be target practice! Who does this?!

They're on the back foot, trying to get away when suddenly a blast of green energy comes from behind. Shooting right in between the brothers and hitting the suit or armor guy square in the chest. Pushing the villain back a few feet and leaving a strange, charged smell in the air.

Whatever that was, the new villain grinned at the arrival.

The crew back at the Tortuga scrambled.

A new villain, a hunter by the sounds of it, is looking for a creature he calls 'whelp' or 'halfling'.

And to make matters worse, when Aviva went to check on the injured kid and he was gone. He vanished as if he was a ghost!

She was the one to check on him because he already met her and now she's even more worried about him! She's glad they already sent the Wild Kratts kids who called them here home. It wouldn't do to worry about their safety, too!

He said he just woke up in the middle of the woods and some of his wounds are older than just the last few hours he has to have been hiking for. More like stumbling! He's lucky the direction he picked led him to other people!

How did he up and leave without anyone noticing, anyway? Even if they were busy, someone should have heard him leave! Right?

No! Don't beat yourself up for this, Aviva! Focus on the task at hand for now! A new villain is in these woods now and the injured kid disappeared! They could be connected somehow!

She jumped on a Buzz Bike after letting the others know she was on her way, and left towards the action.

The brothers Kratt only had a moment to turn their head to see the newcomer before things started happening again. The world felt like it was on pause between the blast and the newcomer floating in there, feet off the ground, as they gave a sassy and confident smirk.

Whoever this was had the physical appearance of a young teenager with snow white hair and glowing green eyes, shining the same color that is lighting up his outstretched fist. He seemed to be glowing the same white as his hair and off-putting aura that the man before them was. An aura that wasn't that noticeable before now is amplified. The rest of him was in black and white like a strange bodysuit with a stylized D on his chest. An emblem like their paw print ones on the power suits.

The power suits!

That gives them and idea.

Before they left to find some creatures, they could hear the robotic armor and newcomer exchange banter like they knew each other.

"Ah, so you finally show yourself!"

"Skulker, you asshole! First you broke into the lab and shot me in the back and now you are just throwing a tantrum because I'm not here to entertain you! What the hell!"

"You know full well how this goes, ghost child."

"But at 2 AM?! I just managed to pass out. And because you attacked in the house, the house's defenses activated! I am so tired of you and I'm running on negative sleep!"

Wait... the 'whelp' was this KID?!

The newly dubbed 'Skulker' refuted the accusation that he blew up whatever lab the kid was in. Then shouting about some kind of 'Frootloop' was the last they heard before they made a retreat.

Who that kid is doesn't matter right now, it's time to find some creature powers to help him out. They don't want to leave the kid alone with that guy for long, he looks and is acting like he can handle it but he's clearly very tired. Skulker is very clearly armed and dangerous!

Aviva made her way to the boys, having no idea where Danny wandered off to and only able to focus on one thing at the moment, when the brothers quite literally crashed into her. Leaving them all sprawled on the ground for a hot minute before picking themselves back up.

"Guys?! What is going on?"

"We wish we could tell you." Martin replied first, taking a second to process things.

"What we do know," Chris chimed in, "is that what we need is some creature power. There is a dangerous villain farther in and we need to help that mystery kid fighting him!"

"What? Is there someone else out there? Did you say 'kid'?"

"Yeah, and we need to help them. They showed up out of nowhere to help fight off Skulker, that's the villains name apparently by the way, but they seemed really tired just after one hit!"

"What?!"

"Yeah. We need to help them! Hopefully after we can learn who this person is, too!"

"Well, more than being the 'whelp' Skulker was searching for!"

The boys ran off in different directions, finding a different creature to transform into.

Aviva was left there, stunned.

Today has been so confusing.

And not the fun way.

She's going to help even if she doesn't know everything that's going on or so help her!

Aviva gets back on the Buzz Bike and heads for the action.

Danny has less energy than he thought!

One blast and he's already struggling to not change back again.

Damn Skulker! First his ghost sense wakes him up and then he comes at him from behind, pushing him into this mess!

Sure, maybe the lab explosion was probably not entirely his fault but there's a whole lot else from that night that was.

Danny is pretty sure adrenaline and rage are all that's keeping him moving, but what else is new?

Having to doge and weave through the trees while Skulker can go right through them, apparently finding it fun to have trees as obstacles. Frustrating but he knows the alternative is the fight above the trees and he's not sure he could stay in the air long enough for that.

Exhaustion dragging through him, right to his bones even in this form, is his body's payback for not resting enough even if he never really gets to.

One wrong turn and a failed dodge later, and he slammed into a tree. Winded, tired, and in a daze. Struggling to catch his breath, all he can do is lean on this tree that caught him mid-flight. Collapsing under his own weight.

He was sure that this was it for him, when suddenly a large green bird and a human sized bipedal blue wolf, he thinks, started attacking Skulker from two different sides.

It wasn't until they spoke did he realize that they were the two men Skulker was fighting earlier! At least Danny thinks so? Today has been wild for him. But he is pretty sure he at least heard their voices back at that giant mechanical turtle.

The green bird man took the fight to the sky, Skulker following him. The ghost is curious and confused, yet intrigued. He hopes they aren't some rare creature for him to hunt, too!

While one went off to take the fight out of here, the blue brother stayed behind. The man came up to him, concern etched onto his face.

"Hey, kid. Are you alright? Standard question, I know, but a response would be good." This was said in a light tone but caution was in his voice.

Shit, is he talking to me? Great, hope my mouth works properly this time.

"Yeah", a groan escaped him as he tried to stand while the world spun, "Just trying to find the bus that ran me over."

"Buddy, I can say with certainty that getting up right now is not a good idea for you."

"But if I don't fight him, who will? He could hurt someone! Besides, I'm used to this."

The man frowned, looking a bit heartbroken. Danny didn't understand why, especially while in this state. No one else minded he did all this stuff. Danger is the price to pay for living in Amity Park, let alone being a Fenton!

"How about this, you tell me what you usually do when fighting him and we can let my brother know? He's the green bird you saw earlier."

Danny wanted to protest but he could barely see straight. Can he really trust these guys? He wants to but his head is pounding too much to think clearly.

"I don't even know your name, wolf-man."

The blue wolf man paused, before chuckling a bit, "Oh, right! I'm Martin and my brother is Chris. We're the Kratt brothers! Most people we run into are able to recognize us so I forgot you probably wouldn't know."

"Huh", Danny's mouth tried to work as he processed this. Martin and Chris are apparently big names here! But all he could say was, "Didn't know a bird and a wolf could be related like that, are you adopted?"

"Wha-", he looks at himself and realizes he's still transformed, " Oh! No this is from my creature power suit! Our friend, Aviva, invented them. Programming and form and everything! Animal DNA and nature know-how takes care of the rest!"

Huh! Technology sure can be impressive! Especially when it's not centered on his and other ghosts' destruction!

"Oh." Apparently he cannot talk today, "I'm Phantom."

While trying to remember what else he was asked, an explosion shook the trees, stopping any further conversation.

Coming back down through the trees was Chris, plummeting right on top of them, screaming.

Martin moved to catch his brother. To keep him from getting more hurt and to keep Phantom from being directly impacted. A glow of green and blue signifying the crash to cause their deactivation.

The light from their de-transformations caught Phantom's eye. They can change just like him! He thinks he can trust them with this, after all.

Oh, no! But that could be bad if Skulker decides to want them for that!

Wait... Skulker!

"Ya gotta remove his head."

The now human looking brothers look at him in disbelief. Chris showed confusion as well as only Martin had context for that.

"Oh, right! Chris, this kid is Phantom! Phantom, this is Chris!"

"Bro, that only answered one question."

Danny just realized they are both looking at him.

Right, it's not obvious. Forgot.

"The head of his suit. It comes off," Danny tried to explain while his head and mouth were not working right, "then ya gotta use this."

He hands them the Fenton Thermos.

"For soup?"

"Nooooo, ya gotta uncap it and just point it at him once the head is off. It'll get him to stop."

Dannys instructions were not as clear as they should be but they had no choice but to try it.

Able to get around the trees better and with Skulkers attention back on Phantom, they managed to knock his head off.

And they were really not prepared for what happened next.

With the head now off, the body just went limp.

Like no one was inside.

Then they looked at the head in their hands and tiny, green feet were sticking out of them. Kicking wildly.

"Use the thermos!"

Phantom's strained yell startled them that they dropped the thermos and almost dropped the head.

Only to be picked up by Aviva, coming in clutch.

Danny tried to explain what to do, but he's unsure if what came out made sense.

Well, either it did or she was able to intuit what needed to happen, as she did exactly what she needed to do.

She pointed the thermos and aimed it at the knocked off head. Skulker finally was able to force himself out of his robotic head right before the beam hit him.

His booger-y form is visible for all to see and cursing them all.

Danny laughed at his small form, feeling good about this.

"Hey, guess what! I can transform like you guys!" Danny exclaimed, impulse making an executive decision.

And Danny let his transformation rings wash across his body, passing out again for the second time that day. Oblivious to the three adults' shocked faces.

Back in the Tortuga, hours later:

"...And that's what happened. I'm pretty sure that the portal spit me out somewhere completely different or even a different dimension. I don't have time to keep up to date on most news usually, but I'm pretty sure either of my friends would be raving about you guys. One's an extreme activist and the other is a tech nerd who'd totally geek out about this ship."

Danny, bandaged and rested up, explained all that happened leading up to here since he was last home. He slipped in some things about his home and his friends and family. Even ending with what he thinks is a lame smile and jazz hands.

"Everything I learn about you makes me more concerned." One of them said. Danny thinks her name was 'Koki'.

"Yeah, dude. That is seriously messed up," JZ chimed in, "This guy wasn't even one of the more dangerous ones? Are you sure you should even go back?"

"Speaking to the choir, dude. I'm well aware how messed up my half life is. But it is my life, y'know? I need to be able to get back."

Despite the adults' clear hesitation about sending him back, they don't want to trap him here away from the people he loves. That's what their villains try to do when they kidnap baby animals! With what they old him, he can at least trust them to help him get home.

Somehow.

"How will I get home, anyway? I can do some basic engineering from being around my parents' stuff my whole life but I'm not sure where to start!" Danny had to ask. He feels like he can ask them despite the uncertainty. It's not often he comes across adults he can feel this way about.

"Oh, I can help with that!"

"Aviva? I thought you did animal based engineering and inventing?"

"Si, I am. But if I managed to crack time travel, even just a bit, then I don't see how I can't do this, too!

"Now, that is some confidence! Time travel? Do tell!"

"Oh!" The brothers simultaneously looked at her and Danny, "She invented a time trampoline!"

"We went back in creature time to meet extinct animals!"

They practically talked over each other out of excitement.

"A trampoline?!" Danny could hardly believe that human made time travel existed here, let alone one that functioned like a trampoline!

The group laughed good naturedly at his reaction, as understandable as it was.

"I think we all agree that you can stay with us until a way home is secured. Bet you never got to fly in a giant turtle ship, before?" Jimmy casually tells him in his usual, laid back tone.

"You bet I haven't! I did successfully land a NASA shuttle once, though. That was a story and a half for sure. I've done a lot of flight simulators in preparation to be an astronaut!"

It felt good to be able to passionately talk about what he loves with others who can share back different passions.

"Ah, a future space boy, huh?," JZ responded, "Thinking about life on other planets?"

"One of the many things to think about regarding space!" Space talk really brought out Danny's energy.

"Oh,"Koki added, "bet he doesn't know about tardigrades!"

"What are those?"

"Tardigrade, or a water bear, is a small creature, usually only visible with a microscope that can survive in even the harshest environments. Creatures like the tardigrade show us that life could be possible out there in ways we never thought possible." It's like all of them took turns infodumping that he wasn't able to discern who said which part as he took in the information.

"Those things sound so cool! How do we find them?"

"I guess we can show you. You are staying until you can go home after all!"

He's looking forward to future adventures while they last. To learning about animals he never once though twice about and giving their villains a good scare.

"Oh yeah," a thought just occurred to him, "what does 'tortuga mean? Like why did you make that the name of your giant turtle ship?"

"Danny," Aviva said with a smirk,"'Tortuga' means 'turtle' in Spanish!"

Danny's face lit up red in embarrassment and everyone laughed at his expense. He felt warm and welcome here, a way he hasn't back home in a long time if ever.

If animals and how they work were taught anything like this, I don't think I would have failed that class as badly. I think being here will be fun while it lasts!

Sam and Tucker are gonna be so jealous!

34 notes · View notes

brf-rumortrackinganon · 6 months ago

Text

Archived Link

Some quotes (but really, the whole article is worth a read!):

The backlash last week over the decision to give the Duke an award named after Pat Tillman, the American war hero killed in Afghanistan, is understood to have stunned Prince Harry.

and

The controversy whipped up over the decision to award the Duke the Pat Tillman Award – for his work with Invictus – certainly took the wind out of his sails. Team Sussex is resigned to criticism, fully aware of the polarising sentiments towards both Harry and Meghan. But when it concerns anything relating to his military record and work with veterans, it is a particularly bitter pill to swallow, one source admitted. “Harry’s legacy on Invictus, the things he has achieved, that’s his real passion,” they said. “This is the space in which he truly feels at home, it is something he deeply cares about. The reaction certainly took the shine off the award.”

Another one:

On June 29, former NFL player Pat McAfee criticised the decision on his ESPN show, saying: “We should celebrate sports. The worldwide leaders should celebrate sport but doing something like this is obviously trying to p--- people off.” He suggested they create a new category specifically for Prince Harry. “How about it’s like ESPY for Royal Family member who doesn’t want to be called ‘Royal Family member’ who loves sports?” Co-host Boston Connor said it was “probably the most embarrassing thing I’ve seen in my entire life” while guest Ty Schmitt called the awards “a gimmick”.

Let’s all agree to not watch the ESPYs. They’re on Thursday (7/11) night.

#sussexes #invictus games

42 notes · View notes

valscodblog · 3 months ago

Text

guess who was listening to music and decided to make five new ocs??? its me. surpise surprise lmao.

@thebunnednun @seconds-on-the-clock @skauni @writing-with-moss @needa-sum-luvn

FIRST UP WE GOT: Call of duty:

Mya Farrans. Callsign: "Fuckup." Rank: Lieuntant Race: Mexican-American

Works for: Shadow Company/ Phillip Graves

Quote: "They wanted a girl. But they all suffer a Woman."

Mino Luci. Callsign: "Kirā." Rank: Sergeant. Race: Japanese

Works for: Team "Shi"./ Yuta Jacob

Quote: "My father blamed me for being the eldest daughter and not a son...so I showed him that I was better than my brothers. Mentally and Emotionally."

NEXT FANDOM: FNAF:

Eloise Woods. She was just eight years old when a certain yellow bunny took her away into the supplies closet and stuffed her into an unfinished robot. "Val the Vaulter". The Val robot was meant to be a human who would jump over kid's tables and after she had done this, she would serve them a fresh cupcake, backed in a built in oven in her stomach. The idea was scrapped, but the base of said robot was still made. It has now been 23 years since this event...but poor Ellie still takes her anger out on the nightguards.

Quote: "If your scared of me...why do you keep coming back?"

NEXT FANDOM: Adventure time

(forgot her scar so imagine it's on her closed eye plsssss)

Name: Princess Black Licorice Where she lives: Candy kingdom

Backstory (short ver.): Created by her mother Queen Licorice but was kinda an experiment bc she was the first ever artificially flavored and colored licorician ever. Eldest daughter. Ran away at age seventeen and never looked back. Became good friends with Finn and Jake and went on to live with Bubblegum and Marceline (eventually joining the relation ship)

Quote: "I made myself the hero because i never had one...but today I'm still the hero because there's people out there who need one."

Name: Princess Chocolate Licorice Where she lives: Licorice Kingdom

Backstory (short Ver.): Last and youngest child out of two royal kids. Her mother his Queen Licorice. Rules the kingdom with her mother-most def is the favorite...but she doesn't see eye to eye with her mother and father. She wishes her sister were still there-to be with her. But alas...she left. One day, she gains permission to go to the candy kingdom, only to find her sister there-and not in a dress!? But in combat boots, and adventurer's jacket, cargo pants, a tee shirt, and fingerless gloves!? Where was her elegant black gown!? Her Shiny Crown!? And that scar over her eye-Oh! The pain. It's all too much.

Quote: "If being mean is something that gives you a kick, then allow me to give you a more painful one, Mother."

(okay i cant find a good pic for this bitch so uhmm here's her asthetic)

Name: Queen Licorice (original flavor) Where she lives: Licorice kingdom

Everyone loves the original flavor right?! Well here she is! She's as sweet as she tastes-or that's what she makes them think. But in realality, she drove away those she didnt need nor like. Like her eldest daughter-once her youngest was at the age where she could handle the little brown thing, she sent the ugly one away. Ugh, what was she thinking, thinking that such a shade of color could be half as pretty as her? Ugh.

Quote: "Black is the color of death. And Death is what I should've given you when you were born, Child. Flee. Flee this kingdom and never come back!"

12 notes · View notes

monimarat · 1 year ago

Text

Marat talks his way out of jail by flattering Lafayette

In early October of 1789, days after the March on Versailles, a warrant for Marat’s arrest was issued, forcing him into hiding. He continued publishing L’Ami du Peuple sporadically, but was finally taken in on December 12.

After being questioned, Marat was visited by Lafayette and was freed soon after. His confiscated presses were returned, and L’Ami du Peuple resumed its daily publication. Lafayette would regret it a month later, when he failed to arrest Marat on January 22, helping to turn him into a popular hero.

Marat tells the story in the December 19 issue of L’Ami du Peuple:

Spies, shadowing some friends who were visiting me, discovered my hideout, and last Saturday at dawn I was assailed by a detachment of 25 men, led by the vice president of the Saint-Nicolas-du Chardonnet district. My host [the person who had been hiding Marat], half dead with fear, led them to my door. I opened it in my pajamas. ‘What can I do for you, gentlemen?’ ‘We’ve come to arrest you.’ ‘May I see your warrant? All right; I’m your man. Please allow me to get dressed.’ My papers were confiscated. I asked for a carriage and was taken to the investigations committee. ‘The People’s Friend has come to see you, gentlemen.’ ‘We’re not ready for you yet.’ ‘How many must there be to form a tribunal?’ ‘Three.’ There were only two of them. I turned my back on them and took a seat in the corner. One of the gentlemen sat down near me and made small talk. They had awakened me rather brusquely; I hadn’t eaten breakfast. I accepted a cup of chocolate and continued to chat. They were then ready to begin the proceedings. They asked me (and they knew the answers as well as I did) where I had been and why, and how long I had stayed in each place. After the interrogation, Mr. Lafayette came in. The committee members presented me to him. ‘I have been done an injustice, sir,’ I said, ‘by those who claim that I’ve attacked your principles. You have fought to break the Americans’ chains; why should anyone think you would want to forge new ones for your own countrymen?’ After a rather long conversation on political subjects, I went into an adjoining room and then returned to the investigations committee.

As quoted in Conner’s Jean Paul Marat: Tribune of the French Revolution

#lafayette #marat #it’s Marat’s death day but this is a better story

75 notes · View notes

dr-tonytonychopper · 1 year ago

Text

BATFAMILY AS FOLKLORE SONGS

i’m honestly shocked i’ve haven’t done this one. this one is a little different tbh, usually i just do characters and maybe lyrics but this time i did actually did explanations and i was watching the long pond sessions so i could get accurate notes on each song. DISCLAIMER there’s a lot of run on sentences and i hope it all makes sense, peace and love-ssb✌️🫶

the 1: steph and tim, i see this as being from both of their povs. i think a relationship between them wouldn’t work long term it would’ve been fun if you would’ve been the one

cardigan: dick/babs, i know that all writers have their own opinions on who is the “other woman” but timeline wise it’s kori so i see this as being from babs pov bc she goes back to him no matter what

the last great american dynasty: The Wayne’s, i feel that after Bruce adopts his kids and starts collecting others he starts kinda shifting what the wayne’s are where as when he grew up it was about image, poise and galas he starts to change and all he cares abt is if his kids are comfortable i had a marvelous time ruining everything

exile: jason and bruce, even though this song is like two lovers fighting i think it can be interpreted as jason being upset after tim becomes robin and it took you five whole minutes to pack us up and leave me with it and i can see bruce’s pov of being fed up with giving jason the chance to do the right thing but him not doing it like you’d get your knuckles bloody for me second, third and hundredth chances balancing on breaking bridges, i couldn’t turn things around you never turned things around

my tears ricochet: damian and talia, “it’s a song about greed. it’s a song about how somebody could be your best friend and your companion and your most trusted person in your life and then they could go and become your worst enemy who knows how to hurt you because they were once your most trusted person.” Taylor Swift long pond sessions you had to kill me but it killed you just the same this whole song and specifically this part and the quote reminds me of when talia made and had a clone of damian kill him i didn’t have it in me to go with grace and you’re the hero flying around saving face you hear my stolen lullabies

mirrorball: Stephanie, i’ve never been a natural all i do is try i know everyone is like this is dicks songs it’s not he’s the natural however i feel stephanie is put on this pedestal for being independent but she’s not and i feel like she morphs herself into a different version of herself depending on who she’s with “we have mirror balls in the middle of a dance floor because they reflect light they are broken a million times and that’s what makes them so shiny. we have people like that in society. they hang there and everytime they break it entertains us” Taylor Swift long pond sessions

seven: damian and jon, it’s a song abt besties idk 🤷🏻‍♀️ past down like folk songs the love lasts so long

august: kori/dick, IM SORRY DICKORI/ KORI STANS! to me when writers write this love triangle they write babs as the one, she’s smart and sensible and someone to settle down with while kori is written as a fling and something that is just someone who’s there in the moment and that’s what august is about it’s about this girl who was seen by this guy as a fling while she is truly falling for him and from everybody’s pov she’s this bad girl and temptress while all she wants is to love and to be loved

this is me trying: tim, they told me all my cages were mental so i got wasted like all my potential, tim is often now written as this happy go lucky character and i think that in red robin he’s fighting some real demons but in the newer runs he’s fighting to make it through the day or insecurities about his position in the family or as a superhero or even as bernard’s boyfriend and i feel like it’s just so real like no other character is going to compare to me when it comes to that and when it comes to his position in everyday life he is the definition as wasted potential he is crazy smart and charismatic but he just hates school and hates studying i was so ahead the curve that the curve became a sphere

illicit affairs: bruce/ talia, bruce and talias relationship is not healthy but i do believe that they both or at least bruce loved the other person and i feel like it shouldn’t even be described as an relationship because it seems like a means to an end

invisible string: the entire batfamily, definition of right place at the right time

mad woman: cass, in the comics and fics cass is often written to be a crazy, feral woman and i think that it’s a narrative constantly written about women and i feel like men are written as traumatized while women are not written or perceived with that tone they are written as vindictive or crazy

epiphany: babs and jim gordon, epiphany is written paralleling WWII to the pandemic and i think the perfect parallel in comic book history is babs and commissioner gordon fighting the same fight but taking different paths or routes and aaron dessner describes the song as comparing taylor’s family history and hero’s of today and i feel like that’s the perfect way to describe it

betty: babs/dick/kori, i already described my thoughts twice but i feel like dick would maybe take more accountability

peace: bruce/selina, imma be honest i don’t know if it’s canon that bruce doesn’t do relationships bc of batman but it’s fitting and i feel like it’s probably that even in relationships with other heroes is a conversation to be had bruce truly can’t give selina peace, he cannot promise stability or a promise of staying alive or not being over tabloids as he’s the richest man alive all these people think loves for show but i would die for you in secret

hoax: duke, duke is the one character that i can’t really get a read on but as the newest member of the batfamily i feel like there’s still this feeling in him that’s like i have this new family and i love them but at the end of the day i want my parents my parents that raised me at the end of the day he’s a boy who wants his parents. i also feel like he’s still trusting of people and he reaps what he sowed everytime

the lakes: tim/bernard: tim always has an exit plan and it’s always escaping by himself to be by himself and i feel like it’s the same no matter who he’s with but when he met and started dating bernard he finally found someone to escape with and exit the hero world for im setting off, but not without my muse

batfam (taylor’s version) is coming so lmk what albums you guys want next🤭🤭

28 notes · View notes

psalm22-6 · 1 year ago

Text

Reading the screenplay for Les Misérables (1917) by Frank Lloyd and Marc Robbins

So the 1917 American film production of Les Miserables (starring William Farnum, directed by Frank Lloyd, and produced by William Fox) is not lost per se but it isn't readily available to watch either. According to @melancholyarchivist's research, a version is preserved by the Filmoteka Narodowa and can be viewed on-site (Is there anyone in Poland who's interested in visiting?) and we may some day get a restored version. In the meantime, I found that (most of) the screenplay is available through the Library of Congress, where it was submitted as part of the studio's copyright claim. I will tell you straight away that it itsn't complete. It ends right at the story's climax, which was incredibly frustrating to me but there's still lots of cool info. Here were some high/low lights for me: The film begins with a forward displayed through intertitle cards:

1. In the realm of prose Victor Hugo’s immortal classic shows that if sin dims the Divine Image, conscience disturbs the soul with sore discontent. 2. We see how God uses conscience to waken a dead soul and “plague the sinful man with dark despair,” until the conscience, that first made a coward of a bad man, at last makes a hero, of a good man. 3. In “Les Miserables,” Victor Hugo portrays the worst man as having a Diving Spark that no injustice can extinguish, which God guards and feeds, making it incorruptible in this life, and immortal in the next—SLOW FADE

That is not a great start but okay. Then we see Napoleonic soldiers walking triumphantly through the streets (the year is 1796.) Contrast this with scenes in Jean Valjean’s household, where children are fighting over a scrap of bread. Valjean sees the baker's window full of cakes and bread. He breaks the window and reaches over the cakes in order to take the bread. He is of course immediately caught, and the baker rejoices smugly. For context to this next part, an iris shot was a common technique in silent films where the camera’s “eye” opens and closes to direct the viewer's attention. (Also I have added punctuation to a lot of these quotes to make them more readable.)

SLOW IRIS in on loaf of bread on Judge’s bench. Open full on Judge, looking off and talking sternly, pointing to loaf of bread

This makes it sound like the bread is on trial. The bread on display in the courtroom is present in the 1935 American film production as well and like in the '35 production, 1917 has Jean Valjean dragged out of the courtroom while dramatically reaching for his sister. In Toulon, we see Javert as a prison guard. Although Valjean is repeatedly referred to as a "galley slave," he is not shown working on a ship (as he will be in the '35 film). He demonstrates his strength by saving a prisoner in a quarry. There is a lengthy scene of Jean Valjean attempting to escape prison (which was eventually cut down according to what I've read. Notice how the title page says "a film in 10 reels." It was later cut to 8.) Jean Valjean strangles a guard to death. Bloodhounds chase him across a marsh. When Valjean is released from prison, instead of being chased by the dog out of the dog house, there is a scene where Jean Valjean asks a man for food. The man refuses but Jean Valjean then sees him give his dog steak. He exclaims “I am denied food–when even dogs are fed.” A nun directs Valjean to the Bishop's. After the classic Bishop's Candlesticks sequence, we do see Valjean steal from Petit Gervais. Cut to the bishop praying in front of his empty cupboard. Then cut back to Jean Valjean, who sees the coin. Cut to the bishop. Back to Jean Valjean. Jean Valjean has a vision of himself: beside him fades in images of him as a prisoner, which are slowly replaced by a vision of the Bishop surrounded by light and looking at him sadly. The police are looking for Valjean but they don’t see him because he is on the ground sobbing. Then he goes to the Bishop’s house and prays outside it. There is a very sad scene of Fantine leaving Cosette with the Thenardiers but this scene was later cut. After Fantine is fired, an “old hag” tells her “Why should you starve when you are still young enough to attract men?” (This intertitle was cut by the Chicago board of censors.) In horror, Fantine holds up her hair and has a vision of Cosette as a baby, which dissolves into the hair. We see Fantine go to the hairdresser to sell her hair. Immediately after this she encounters the Bamatabois character and remembers what the old woman told her (that intertitle was also cut by the Chicago board of censors). She smiles at him, and touches his arm, and he pushes her into the gutter, telling her it is where she belongs. When Javert arrests her, the money she got for selling her hair is left behind in the gutter. Meanwhile, we see Valjean coming into the homes of poor families to give them money. He arrives in time to see Fantine's arrest and orders that she be freed, leading to this direction:

Very dramatic. I'll try to limit my use of screenshots though, since the typeface is a bit hard to read but one thing that's very charming and at times hilarious are the typos. See for example this scene where Javert tells Mayor Madeleine that he has denounced him:

Interior Madelein's room-- He writing at desk. Door opens. Housekkeper announces Javert. Javert enters. Stands looking at Madeleine. Housekeeper exits. Madeline turns around, asks Javery his business.

Even ignoring "Javery," they just spelled Madeleine three different ways.

Closeup Javert-- Her looking at Madeleine with resigned expression says: "I WISH TO TENDER MY RESIGNATION." Closeup Madeleine-- He looking at Javery in tense manner, suddenly controls himself, quietly says "Well."

As Jean Valjean decides what to do about Champmathieu's arrest, he sees visions of prison and of the bishop. When he arrives at the court in Arras, he is transfixed by the doorknob, which transforms into the face of prisoner 24601 (I thought that part sounded pretty cool). In the courtroom, no one believes that Madeleine is Jean Valjean. He addresses the prisoners and reveals that he knows Valjean's prison number. Then he lifts up his sleeve.

Closeup Madeleine left arm and shoulder. Letters T.F.P. and numbers 24601 is seen branded there

Of course, the musical would later do this but what other early adaptations show Jean Valjean with a brand? Fantine dies, Simplice lies to help Valjean escape (a fair amount of emphasis on Simplice actually.) We see Madame Thenardier send Cosette out to get water. In the woods, witches and ghouls haunt Cosette. Valjean buys her Catherine, shows the Thenardiers the letter from Fantine and gives them money in exchange for Cosette. Cut to 1832 (funny, this is basically just like how the musical abridgesthings). We get a birds eye view of Paris and the

Closeup Courfeynac-- He surrounded by men, who are eagerly questioning him. Marins enters. They greet one another in friendly manner. Courfeynac tells Marius he wants to speak with him. They exit from friends. Long Distance-- Men gathered in knots whispering as Courfeynac and Marins go to table, sit and start to talk. [...] Interior room at coffee house-- Marins on stall, addressing men in earnest manner. He finishes speech, is congratulated by Courfeynac and others. IRIS OUT.

Yes, Courfeyrac is called "Courfeynac" for half the script, until they switch to "Courferac" which isn't as bad. Marius is always "Marins," except once when he is called Marius and I swear that "Marius" is the typo. We also get a short scene of Gillenormand, who receives a letter from Marins saying that he won't accept his money. Meanwhile...

Long Distance Garden-- Cossette out of sight. Valjean enters, sees her gone. Registers surprise. Cossette creeps out behind him, startles him. He turns, sees her. They exit together.

It's not super egregious but Cosette is always called "Cossette." Marins leaves Courfeynac. Cossette and Valjean go to the park.

Long Distance-- Valjean and Cossette seated on bench Closeup Marins-- He looking off, registers fascination. Closeup Cossette-- She reading book, slowly raises eyes. Sees. Closeup Marins-- He looking toward her, fascinated.

He looks at her like she's a bug.

Long Distance-- Marins walks past Cossette and Valjean. He exits past camera. Closeup Cossette-- She peeping over top of book after book after Marins. Very interested. Pathway-- Marins going from camera, turns and suddenly walks back.

Freak behavior.

Long distance-- Valjean speaks to Cossette, who is shyly looking toward Marins. They both rise and exit past camera. Marins comes to bench, picks up Cossettes handkerchief, gazes after them, registers facination.

I don't think that there is any payoff to the handkerchief, it seems to really be Cossette's. Cut to the Thenardier's. There is no Azelma, Azelma is replaced by Gavroche (sometimes spelled Gavroch, Gavranche, Bavranche or Gavrouche.) Eponine comes to Marin's room and he gives her money. Then that very afternoon, Valjean comes to give the Thenardiers alms. Gavroche actively participates in his parent's schemes (he breaks the window with a rock, not his hand.) Thenardier recognizes Valjean and decides to rob him.

Outlet of Sewer-- Low barred arch gate in background, river seen beyond. Thenardier come to outside of gate, opens it with key, enters, close gate behind him as he comes to foreground toward camera. 4 men creep past camera and join him. He starts to whisper to them.

I love that Thenardier is meeting Patron-Minette (unnamed though) in the sewer and that they introduce his key here. Meanwhile, Marins goes to the police:

Police Headquarters-- Javert with back to camera, listening to Marins, who is telling of plot. Javert suddenly swings around, full face to camera. THE SUBLINE IRONY OF FATE. JAVERT NOW ATTACHED TO THE PARIS POLICE TAKES CHARGE OF THE CASE.

I bet that that reveal was awesome! Javery gives Marins a gun. Then Valjean arrives at the Thenardier's house and is forced to write a letter luring Cossette there. But before he can be made to give the address, he escapes and burns his arm. Marins fires the pistol and Javert arrives. Valjean then knocks over the candlesticks and escapes in the dark. He goes home and Cossette tends to his wound. Eponine and Gavroche see their parents arrested.

Closeup Eponine and Gavranche-- Gavranche turns to Eponine and says: SISTER DEAR - I AM GOING FAR FROM HERE.

Meanwhile Marins is distraught because he can't find Cossette

Interior Meeting Room, A.B.C.'s-- Room crowded with men. Marins seated alone at table. Courfeynac addressing men. Marins does not pay much attention.

Eponine finds Cossette's house and leads Marins there.

Exterior Valjeans house-- Eponine enters followed by Marins. She turns, points to garden gate. He joyfully starts toward gate. She stops him. He turns to her. She wistfully says: DO YOU LOVE HER? Back-- She finishes line. Marins nods yes, then eagerly exits to gate. Eponine looks after him and sighs. Garden at bench-- Cossette gazing out dreamily. Marins enters quietly behind her, stands looking at her with great love. She suddenly feels his presence, sees him, rises, stands staring at him. They look at one another. Marins registers great love, starts to speak to her. She turns away from him, registers great confusion and emotion. Close up Eponine-- She leaning against iron fence, registers dumb suffering.

Unlike in the book, where iirc Marius and Cosette embrace straight away and then never again until they are married, Marins and Cossette do not embrace as first but after many meetings, they embrace A LOT. One night Valjean looks out his window and he just sees them making out. Then Marins leaves. Cosette goes inside.

Interior living room (night)-- Cossette discovered arranging flowers in old fashion vase and lighting candles in happy manner. Valjean enters to her, stands looking at her in silent anguish. She turns, sees him, goes to him lovingly, asks him what's the matter. He quietly says: FOR REASONS WHICH I CANNOT EXPLAIN WE MUST LEAVE THIS HOUSE TONIGHT FOR ANOTHER I HAVE CHOSEN.

So yeah the reason they leave is because of Marins. Meanwhile, Javert gets a message:

Interior Police Headquarters-- Javert discovered writing. Gendarmine enters, hands him letter. He opens it, read INSPECTOR JAVERT A MALE PRISONER NAMED THENARDIER ESCAPED TONIGHT FROM THE LA FORCE PRISON. ACT ACCORDINGLY. LEBLANCC

This letter makes me laugh. MEANWHILE, Cossette is distraught at leaving. She sees Eponine (Marins had previously pointed out his friend Eponine) and gives her a letter for Marins.

Insert note-- DEAREST MARINS FOR SOME UNEXPLAINED REASON MY FATHER HAS SECRETLY TAKEN ME TO NO 7 DE L'HOMME WHICH IS TO BE OUT FUTURE HOME. COSSETTE

That also makes me laugh. Then a riot breaks out for no reason except that it is 5 June 1832.

Street near coffee house-- People seen hurriedly entering homes, all in state of alarm. Courfeynac at head of 35 men marching toward camera, old man and Gavranche at side of him. They all singing revolutionary songs.

Eponine is there in men's clothes and she gets the idea to give Marins (who has discovered that Cossette's house is empty) an anonymous note telling him to go to the barricade.

Long shot-- Shooting barricade in foreground, fight in progress. Red flag which is attached to pole at top of barricade suddenly falls, shot away. Old man grabs it, starts to climb to top of barricade. Close up top of barricade-- Old man starts to put flag back into place. Close up soldiers at end of street-- Officer gives command, they fire volley. Close up old man-- He trying to fix flag, suddenly his body sags, clutching flag, he falls. Long distance-- Old man falls from top of barricade to ground. Courferac goes to him. Close up Courferac andold man-- Courferac raises the dead body, registers strong emotion Close Up Marins-- He gazing off, exits toward Courferac Behind barricade-- Marins with Courferac laying dead man on matress, Marins has dead man's coat in hand, suddenly rises, calls off, raises hand, says: "LET THIS DEAD HERO'S COAT BE OUR FLAG."

They continue to fight the National Guard. Marins strikes a soldier senseless. Eponine gets shot, gives Marins the letter, and asks for a kiss. Marins kisses her. She dies. Then he writes a note to Cossette. Gavroche delivers the note to Valjean. Valjean is about to rip it up when he has a vision of the Bishop.

Sub title-- KNOWING THAT COSSETTE'S HAPPINESS DEPENDS ON MARIN'S SAFETY, VALJEAN GOES TO THE BARRICADE TO WATCH OVER HIM.

The next morning, the insurgents are still fighting:

Iris in on old man's coat-- Top of pole at barricade. Open full, showing long distance shot of street, men in barricade being served with coffee, fighting going on. Valjean in background, tending wounded.

Couferac tells them that they are going to run out of ammunition and Gavroche goes to get more. Valjean yells at him to come back. When Gavroche is shot and killed, Valjean retrieves the body and the ammunition.

Interior coffee house-- Courferac followed by Marins and Valjean leave body of Gavrouche. Courferac sees Javert and in terrible rage points to him and says: "YOUR FRIENDS MURDERED THAT BOY FOR WHICH CRIME YOU DIE."

I forgot to mention that Javert had been caught and tied up earlier. Marins is horrified but Courferac agrees. Valjean secretly lets Javert go. The barricade is attacked by cannons. Marins is shot. Valjean takes Marins and leaves. We see Courferac fighting terrifically. Shots of Valjean carrying Marins through the sewers are interspersed with shots of Courferac and others fighting. The insurgents retreat into the coffee house. The others die until only Courferac remains. He runs into another room, slamming the door behind him. The soldiers follow. The screenplay ends there! Don't you wish you could read the rest??! I feel certain that we were going to see Thenardier again, since he had escaped from prison, plus we saw him use that key. And I think we would have seen Gillenormand too. Also obviously Jean Valjean dies, but I read that his death scene got cut down in the final version.

#les miserables #lm 1917 #les mis #posts destined to be tagged long post

45 notes · View notes

tenebraevesper · 1 year ago

Text

Analyzer - Félix & Emotion, Part 1 (Miraculous Ladybug)

So, now that Season 5 of Miraculous Ladybug has finally ended (and left us with an abysmal conclusion), I’m here to deliver my thoughts on how Félix was handled this Season. I have heard all kinds of reactions and opinions, but I’m here to present you my unfiltered thoughts in regards to him and his actions.

But, before I start, I’ll preface this with saying that I’ll be splitting this analyzer into three parts: Pre-Emotion, Emotion & Post-Emotion, mainly because of the shift that happened in that very episode.

So, let’s start the party!

Last we left off, I talked about Félix in Season 4 and basically praising him for being an unapologetic gremlin who causes chaos anytime he appears. Given how I felt nothing for the heroes in the Season 4 Finale, I frankly couldn’t care less about Félix’s “betrayal”. The only thing that annoyed me were the idiots who clowned on Maribug for somehow not having the ability of mind reading and realizing Félix was cosplaying as Adrien.

We’re starting off with Episode 2: Multiplication. There isn’t much to say, aside from the fact that Maribug has figured out that Flairmidable was Félix, while Adrichat was stewing in his own jealousy over Maribug having a team of heroes to help her to figure that one out. Not to mention, even after Adrichat mentions how Félix and Monarch might be connected, he completely forgets not only that Félix was interested in sticking around at the Agreste mansion, but that he found a spy glass which should’ve hinted that Félix was investigating something or someone - namely Gabriel. Great start!

So, here’s where we learn a bit more about Félix,... and why does he have a Wikipedia page? Also, I thought his surname was Graham de Vanily, but it appears he has retained his father’s surname rather than taking his mother’s.

Anyways, we find out that Félix is the son of the American billionaire Colt Fathom, who died the previous year, and his mother, Amelie, is actually the aristocrat Lady Graham de Vanily. He’s also a triple kung fu and horse riding medalist, chess prodigy and England’s youngest graduate. He’s also the only one who has any braincells in this show.

Skipping over the boring stuff, we learn that Amelie had been covering up for Félix, pretending that her son was not at home so Maribug and Adrichat wouldn’t search for him.

Behold, the only parent in the Rich Kids Club who actually cares about her child. Gabriel, Tomoe, André and Audrey could never!

We can already tell from the scene that Félix is up to something, with Duusu wondering if he’s her new holder and Félix responding with: “I’m much more than that, Duusu.” This is what we like to call “foreshadowing”.

Skipping ahead to Episode 18: Emotion, we finally learn what Félix’s plan is. To quote Red: “It’s murder. The plan is murder.” Ooops!

The episode itself starts off with an Adrinette scene and I’m gonna skip over this, because honestly, I couldn’t care less about the Love Square since it feels more forced than 8-year-old me mashing a Barbie and Ken doll against each other while shouting “Now, kiss!’’

Anyways, we see Félix, once again cosplaying as Adrien as the Diamond Dance and spotting a ring on Kagami’s hand.

Don’t worry, I’ll get to that. First of all, how do I know this is Félix and not Adrien? Because there is no way Mr. Oblivious himself would have such reaction to a ring on Kagami’s hand. Second, where the hell is Adrien even? I sincerely doubt he agreed to Félix’s idea of pulling another switcheroo. Did Félix kidnap him or something?

Anyways, Félix has a sudden realization about Kagami that I will address a moment later, while Kagami just glares at him. The tension is then broken up when Amelie barges into the building, yelling at Gabriel about how Félix is still missing.

Amelie Graham de Vanily: (struggles to make her way in through the guards) Gabriel! My son Félix has been missing for weeks now! (storms towards them) Not only have you and your friends been no help with the search! But now I'm not even invited to the ball?! You haven't been the same since my sister Emilie disappeared! Why are you rejecting us?

Parent of the year! No, seriously, even if she’s only acting, her giving a verbal smackdown to Gabriel is always pleasing to hear. Hell, she even questions Nathalie why the hell she’s still working for Gabriel despite his obvious cruelty.

Anyways, moving on to the actual Diamond Dance, which really is just a party for snobby rich kids (as established by Chloé, who has been really done dirty this season, turning her into a caricature of herself, because Astruc apparently can’t stand the thought of people being fond of her).

We spot Félix and Kagami talking to each other, with Kagami still believing that the person next to her is Adrien. I have to say, while probably a bit awkward, I do like the interaction between them, especially how Kagami calls Félix more assertive and braver, and being willing not to go between “Adrien” and Marinette, because Marinette is her friend. Wait, wasn’t she gunning for Adrien in Season 3 regardless of the fact that Marinette is her friend?

Eh, who cares, because the writers certainly don’t.

Félix doesn’t care either, as he’s here to just play his role as Adrien, at least until the right opportunity. Kagami continues telling him how they don’t have to play as the puppets for their parents, and Félix counters with their parents still be the ones controlling them. Kagami replies that she, being a descendant of Samurai women, obeys orders because she wants to, which makes me wonder whether any of the writers ever did research on samurai. They didn’t obey orders because they wanted to, it was because they had to, even if it caused the samurai or their family to suffer. In fact, the word “samurai” means “one who serves”. Yeah, the implications are a huge “yikes” given what is revealed in this episode.

Félix, ever the charmer, dares her to leave the party, leaving a protesting Kagami stunned when he tells her that he can do that. Once again, pure cunning and gremlin attitude coming from him. Not to mention, Kagami is visibly excited about the idea of just getting away.

So, if all that’s needed for her to fall for a guy is for the guy in question to be rebellious, I’m seriously wondering why the hell she ever fell for Adrien, who has the spine of a wet noodle? I suppose she thought he was similar to her, a lonely rich kid who dreamed of freedom and would grow a spine and escape the expectations Gabriel put on him. That, or it’s because the writers said so.

Anyways, Kagami changes her mind, with Félix being disappointed.

Félix!Adrien: See? You're not as free as you claim. Don't you think we should be able to decide our future?

Keep in mind that conversation about freedom. It’s kinda fascinating.

So, before they can open up the ball with a dance, Marinette runs towards Félix, rambling about how “Adrien” could’ve told her how he went to the dance even tho he didn’t want to go to it... and seriously, couldn’t you send him a text message or call him to tell him that? Because you know what this is? This is more unnecessary drama to make fun of Marinette being “oh, so in love with her boyfriend” because no one in this show knows how to write actual romance unless it’s accidental. Honestly, what is with the writers’ obsession to clown on her every damn episode?

It did serve a purpose to Félix’s story, though. After all, Félix only knows Marinette as that one girl who sent Adrien a love confession on the anniversary of his mother’s disappearance/death/whatever. Now, he saw a girl who was willing to break into a high society party to tell her “boyfriend” she loves him. That’s some crazy dedication. After a little nod from Kagami, he starts dancing with her.

It gets even more interesting with this piece of dialogue:

Félix!Adrien: All eyes are on you.

Marinette: They're looking at me like I'm a monster.

(Adrien's face turns sour.)

Félix!Adrien: Look closer, Marinette. (stops dancing, and whispers in her ear) They're the monsters.

Honestly, this is leading to some really interesting characterization in regards to Félix, but I’ll get to that in a moment. Marinette figures out this guy isn’t Adrien, with Félix giving her a devious smirk.

I just love this little gremlin. Félix then proceeds to transform...

...in front of everyone? Has he not learned that, if your identity is revealed, your Miraculous will be taken away? Unless you’re one of Marinette’s classmates and not named Chloé, because screw Chloé.

I gotta say, the transformation is quite short, if snappy. Furthermore, Argos outfit is miles above Flairmidable. I suppose Félix spent the previous 16 episodes coming up with an outfit for his big reveal.

Now, here’s where I have to clown on Marinette. This girl sees Félix using the Peacock Miraculous to transform into Argos, a Miraculous she knows was last held by Mayura and then Shadow Moth. She also knows that Félix was the one who either gave the other Miraculous to Monarch or had them taken away. Yet, she still doesn’t put two and two together and ask Félix about what he knows about Monarch. Admittedly, she may have more pressing matters to deal with, given how Argos reveals the solution to all of his problems.

It’s murder. The solution is murder.

Long story short, Argos creates a Sentimonster named Red Moon and then uses it to Thanos-snap everyone he doesn’t care about out of existence - including Gabriel!

Argos: Good evening, uncle! You can call me Argos now. Gabriel: How dare you! I will never allow you to— Argos: Oh, I think you will, uncle! It's time for someone to finally put an end to your endless 'trying to control people'. Adrien, my mother, me; turn us into whatever you want us to be! I'm freeing us from you! (Argos snaps his fingers and Gabriel disappears into thin air.)

Wooo, end the episode right there! That bastard Gabriel is finally dead! Félix/Argos saved the day! Let’s break out the good stuff and party!

Yeah, considering how this wasn’t the finale of Miraculous Ladybug (too bad), it’s obvious Gabriel will be brought back, but let me enjoy the moment.

Anyways, I’ll end Part 1 of the Analyzer at this moment, and discuss instead Félix’s character up to now. In Season 3, we saw him being very reserved, showing disdain for Adrien and his friends, and willing to go so far to sabotage him. Season 4 showed more of Félix’s cunning side, as he was the only one to figure out that Gabriel is Hawk Moth/Shadow Moth, being willing to confront him even though Gabriel threatened his life. Not only that, but he also achieved his goal of taking possession of the Peacock Miraculous, fooling the heroes and making a fool of Gabriel.

It is established that Félix is a very morally grey character. He’s observant and self-serving, looking out mainly for his own safety, with there only being a few people he genuinely cares about, like his mother and Adrien. As shown in Season 5, he clearly cannot stand the people around him, save for Kagami and Marinette, calling everyone else monsters and desiring to be freedom, not only for himself, but for others as well, and even resorting to make everyone vanish to achieve that.

I know people consider Félix a villain, but I don’t think he can be called one. The title of Anti-Hero actually fits his character more. He’s selfish, having put the safety of Paris in danger by giving Gabriel all of the Miraculous, but here he just snaps him out of existence, ending the reign of Monarch once and for all, and Gabriel cannot do anything about it. Technically, he saved Paris, and he did it because he had enough of Gabriel being a controlling bastard.

Félix continues being awesome in his own way, and while the rest of the episode explorers who he is as a person, I’m afraid that his is the peak of his awesomeness.

Links:

#Analyzer - Félix & Emotion, Part 2 (Miraculous Ladybug)

#Up Ladybug (Masterlist)

#Ten's Thoughts #Up Ladybug Analyzer #felix agreste #felix graham de vanily #felix fathom #duusu #ml argos #ladybug #chat noir #miraculous ladybug pv #miraculous ladybug #ml salt #love square salt #ml writers salt #thomas astruc salt #gabriel salt #kagami tsurugi #marinette dupain cheng #chloe bourgeois

40 notes · View notes