#[IC] George Washington

[binch-i-might-be]

John: I may be stupid,

Gwash: correct.

John:

[classic-art-favourites]

Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze, 1851.

[taavisplushies]

Name: George Washington

Pronouns: he/him

Brand: Ice King Bear

Where he’s from: Amazon

[marlowe1-blog]

"The Angel of the Bridge" (The Stories of John Cheever)

OCD hits at a bad time

This is going to be an interesting exercise since I finished the book. I'm done. Only I haven't been writing the reviews. As soon as I'm done reviewing these stories, I'm going to put the beat up copy on a free library shelf and maybe read something else by him but not this year.

As such remembering these stories is going to be a tough time. Only this one I very much remember because it reminds me of something that happened to me in my twenties. Someone said "Why are people afraid of heights? Because they are tempted." From that moment on, I spent years freaked out about heights. I hated walking over bridges. I went on a ferris wheel with my then girlfriend and just stiffened up in fear imagining my head cracking open on the pavement 50 feet below. Somehow I got over it enough to not freak out, but I'm not exactly eager to walk over a bridge.

Re-reading the early passages in the book, I'm not sure whether to be impressed or confused by the way that Cheever sets the story by talking about his mother as an ice skater and how much he's embarrassed by her dancing all over the Rockefeller Center ice rink. This leads to him talking about his mother asking him to invite his brother over, but his brother is afraid of elevators. And then we get to the point where he talks about his brother being so afraid of elevators that he quits a job because it moves to the 52nd floor and his talk about how great airplane travel is.

Then finally we get to the point of the story which is that he suddenly crosses The George Washington Bridge on a stormy night and feels the fear of thinking that the whole thing will collapse. And then the story is about how he's afraid of bridges.

This will come up in almost every story from now on, but a weird thing about late period Cheever is that he seems to take a long time to get to the actual story. At least this one fits it all together in the end when he says that his brother is still afraid of elevators and his mother still dances on ice skates, but it's still strange and a slap in the face to that editor note to START AT THE BEGINNING OF YOUR STORY.

As in, when you know what the actual story is, lop off all the weird stuff you put in the beginning before you knew where it was going. Cheever might have done that in the 40s and 50s but he's certainly not doing it in the 60s.

In some cases, it's frustrating but I think it works in this story since this is an arrogant character who dismisses his mother's ice skating and his brother's fear of elevators before getting hit upside the head with irony and his own irrational fear.

It would be a much weaker story if it had just started out with him crossing GWB and being freaked out. It's also one of the first person stories.

The angel refers to a hitchhiker that he accidentally picks up when he pulls to the side of the bridge to freak out and he's too distracted by the hitchhiker to think about falling to his imminent death.

[battlestariroh]

Ice Cream & American Exceptionalism

This Fourth of July, I'd like to call attention to the Ice Cream Barge, which was a real US Navy vessel that provided ice cream to US & allied sailors in the Pacific during World War II. Nothing captures the United States quite like this ship, which brought together our love of naval supremacy, junk food, and constant consumption!

[teaboot]

I don't know if you're American or not but in my experience as a person who is not American, American events and media are so incredibly loud and visible that they tend to leech into everything.

Like I'm Canadian born and raised and can name more American presidents than I can Canadian Prime Ministers. I have Canadian friends from Canada who can accurately describe themselves as Liberals but are still sorta foggy on NDP policies. Do you know what day Canada Day is? It's July 1st. Do you know what's on my dashboard on July 1st? Early posts about July 4th.

And if you're an American reading this: Or, hell, anyone else reading this: We all know George Washington was the first American President. Do you know who the first Prime Minister of Canada was? Can you name two British political parties? What are two countries that have Monarchies, not Democracies? What was the most recent political scandal you can think of that took place outside the US? What's your favourite TV show that takes place anywhere outside of America? What are your top three favourite non-american musicians? If English is your first language, how many foreign countries can you go to where you don't speak the language, but don't have to worry about it?

I said "International America Day" as a joke, but there is a very real phenomenon in countries outside of the US where the general population becomes Americanized through the prevalent American media.

We know American current events, we know American scandals, we know about American cops and American movies and American accents and American fast food chains. We have serious opinions on the American legal system and we talk about American law and American policy and American celebrities, and many of us don't know Jack Shit about what's going on where we live.

I'm Canadian. I've heard all about 'building the wall' and ICE and Jan 6th, the intentional government distribution of narcotics in Black communities and the use of Marijuana Illegalization to persecute Black and Mexican people under the Nixon administration.

Do you know what Canada did to Chinese immigrants to build the Canadian railroad? What about the Sterilization Act? Residential Schools? Do you know what a Status Card is? Does it, or does it not cost money to ride in an ambulance? Can people with breasts legally walk around topless? What's the legal drinking age? What are our biggest cities? Who was our least-popular PM? What are our allied nations? Where does the Canadian military get deployed?

"International America Day" was a goof. But Jesus, it's a little bit serious

*edit: yeah I wrote June instead of Jan my bad

[bogleech]

TOP TEN DINOSAURUSES

maybe you're wondering my most tenned favorite dinosauruses??? The science study of dinasacacers is called "dinosaurusology" by leading experts like myself, and it is constantly changing as we make new uncoveries almost every tuesday when we find new bones in my cousin rob's garage (he hasn't thrown anything out since the 90's!) As such bear in mind that up to two facts I am about to share could become dated over the course of the next century, however as both the king and queen of science this will only be true if I'm still available to approve the new facts. If I'm dead or kind of tired then nobody will ever know what's true anymore so you should be nice to me. #10: OVIRAPTOR

OVIRAPTOR was a good model for what all dinosacans were like: it was a wrinkly lizard that slithered in filthy dirt and had difficulty standing upright because its bones were made of rocks. This is why we have the term "the stone age," so be grateful you're living in "the bone age!" Oviraptor's name means "eggs velociraptor" because it was a kind of velociraptor that stole eggs. It didn't know what to do with them because nobody invented cooking yet and raw dinosaur eggs were disgusting, so every oviraptor starved to death.

#9: IGUANADON

This was the last known photograph of IGUANA DON (not to be confused with his cousin iguana dan) when george washington invented photographs 2 million years ago. Don was an ugly disgusting hilarious lizard monster with one horn on its nose and he died because he evolved a dining room in his torso exactly the right size for 21 cavemen to walk in and eat his kidneys. This was not helped by don's instinct to sleep on a big porch under a chandelier.

#9 DIMETRODON

DIMETRODON was the most common dinosaur of jurassic, which was the fifth and final era of dinosaurs after the ice age but before the ediacaran. In fact dimetrodon was the very last dinosaur to ever exist on earth before they were all eaten to death by the ediacaran's dominant predator: a species of swirly looking weird rock. Nobody knows why these swirly looking weird rocks died out, but it's most likely because dimetrodon was so poisonous from its diet of entirely pufferfish. You can tell it was a sea dinosaur because of its fish fin! #8: PTERADACTYL

PTERODACTYL was a regular dinosaur until it got married to a species of bat and its bat wife laid a bunch of pterodactyl eggs! This woodcut is however inaccurate: flying would not be invented until president obama discovered the first airplane in 1998, so pterodactyl couldn't possibly have stayed in the air and just immediately fell. The long 900 million year reign of the pterodactyl abruptly ended when the last one finally hit the ground (it took longer in those days because the oxygen disaster made so much more air) #7 SNORKASAURUS

SNORKASAURUS was completely unique among all dinocaurs by having a really long neck. It was one of the largest creatures to ever roam the earth at over 7 feet tall, or exactly 12 meters to those of you living in Liberia or Myanmar! This is the last known photograph of snorkasaurus, giving birth to the first cavemen. Snorkasaurus went extinct because all of them did this instead of making baby snorkasauruses. This is because like all dinosaurii they had only a tiny peanut for a brain, and nobody was around to give them 'the talk' because that wasn't invented yet.

#6 SMILODON

SMILODON was a very special dinosaurn because it was the first one to stand up on its hind legs after years of rigorous exercise and weight training. By inventing this new way of walking, Smilodon made it possible for the first monkeys to evolve! This is called "convergent" evolution.

#5 BULBASAUR

BULBASAUR was a majestic and beautiful species of neopet unfortunately disliked by the scientific community because it is the reason there are no flying dinosuars. Bulbasaur was the first ever flying dyanasar ever invented, 19 billion years ago on September 10, 2001, but the project was discontinued when its first test flight ended in a tragic accident. That's right: on September 11, 2001, Bulbasaur crashed into the stock market, causing the great depression that lead to the civil war :'( now to this very day, flying dinosarers are against the law.

#4 YOSHI

YOSHI is a type of dinersaulophus called a "bird," which was actually the second attempt by early neanderthal alchemists to manufacture a street legal flying dinnersauran, but the New Zealand government realized if dinophlofbuses can fly, then bats would no longer be special, and since bats are New Zealand's only major export it would have been an economic disaster. The queen of Australia (New Zealand's largest city) ordered the CIA to sand all of the wings off of these early prototype birds. Every bird tragically went extinct when it looked down, noticed how high up it was and remembered it could not fly, activating the effects of Earth's gravitational field.

#3 ANOMALOCARIS

ANOMALOCARIS was the dinosorcerous that discovered the first primitive cave painting of a modern day crab and invented carcinisation. All the other dinanders laughed at Anomalocaris for wanting to turn into a crab, but guess what??? Every single kind of dinosaur is dead but there's a crab still alive at 29, making it the oldest person in the world. Who's FUCKING laughing now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

#2 EARL SINCLAIR

This is the last known photograph of Earl Sinclair, seen here as an uncredited extra in "Avatar 3: Lost in New York." Earl Sinclair was a sindonaur species that could disguise itself as a human by putting on sunglasses, a necessary adaptation in order to hide from the largest predator dancasore to ever live: Mellisuga helenae. However, near the end of the coal age, M. Helenae finally remembered that sunglasses hadn't even been invented yet. Look carefully, and you'll notice nobody is wearing sunglasses at all in this scene, making Earl Sinclair stick out like a sore thumb! If you're still having difficulty, here's a zoomed in image of this majestic thunder lizard:

Unfortunately......this wardrobe malfunction made Mr. Sinclair just as obvious to his ancient enemy, and the last Earl Sinclair's brains were sucked out on September 11, 2001, the darkest day in British history because he was the only one who knew the recipe to chicken mcnuggets (the only british food.) To this day all british people are extinct but you can still see their fossilized skeletons waiting in line at the department of motor vehicles.

#1 CONCAVENATOR

Concavenator was an Early Cretaceous carcharodontosaurid up to six meters in length with an unusual pointed crest on its back.

[swantales-aw0owo0]

Just a little something I’ve been cooking (attempting to write a secretly married hangster fic so I figured out an entire timeline pre-Tg:m cause the timeline is kinda fucked in the movies)

Bradley is born in ‘84 (June 27)

Jake is born in ‘87 (January 3)

Top gun takes place in ‘86

Carole dies in ‘96 (Bradley moves in with Ice and Mav)(he’s 12)

Bradley’s papers are pulled, he begins to attend UCSD (University of California San Diego), and he stops talking to Mav in ‘02

(College in the fall of ‘02)

Jake, Javy, and Natasha all attend the US Naval Academy in Annapolis together. Jake and Javy bunk together and become fast friends/brothers. Nat becomes friends with Javy but can’t get past Jake’s persona to get along with him. ‘05

Bradley graduates with a bachelor’s degree in PoliSci and a minor in History spring of ‘06

Bradley and Jake meet in the summer of ‘06 right before Bradley goes to flight school and after Jake’s first year at the Naval Academy in Annapolis.

Bradley then goes to Pensacola for 18 months (‘06-‘07) continuing to meet up with Jake whenever possible

Bradley gets stationed at the Naval Base San Diego from ‘07-‘08

Bradley is invited to and wins Top Gun in ‘08 before being sent to the Naval Air Station Jacksonville

Jake, Javy, and Nat all graduate from the Naval Academy in ‘08 and then spend 18 months in Pensacola for flight school (‘08-‘09)

Javy and Jake are stationed together

Nat gets stationed with Bradley who’s heard his boyfriend (husband) complaining about her and befriends her.

Jake, Javy, and Nat all attend Top Gun together in ‘09 and Bradley is sent back to NAS San Diego. This is when Nat finds out about their relationship. Jake scrapes a win at top gun, very closely followed by Nat then Javy.

December 18 ‘10 DADT is repealed

They fly up to Vermont to get married in a courthouse and then “honeymoon” in NY December 21 ‘11 after taking time off for Christmas. Javy and Nat attend as their best man/woman and witnesses

The four get stationed on the USS. George Washington where the “rivalry” between Jake and Bradley is established from their banter over comms and on the carrier. They spend 18 months there before they’re all split up. (‘11-‘12)

Over the next 8 years the four are moved around occasionally stationed with each other. Jake and Bradley have a house together in Cali (Bradley’s parents house) for any free time they have.

From ‘20 onward Jake is flying with the Vigilantes out of Lemoore and Bradley is on board the USS Theodore Roosevelt flying with the Golden Warriors.

‘22 TG:M (Bradley is 38, Jake is 35, Mav is 60)

I spent a long time on the logistics of years and math so if you see any mistakes no you didn’t <3

[abardnamedreginald]

im a wolf-demon-salamander-grey treefrog-katydid-cricket-luna moth-klingon-trad vampire-cat-romulan-harry potter wizard-gnome-drow-orc-wood elf-high elf-werewolf-twilight vampire-chihuahua-android-bard-druid-sorcerer-d&d wizard-lotr wizard-mind flayer-kraken-owlbear-genetically modified human-andes mint-harry potter merperson-h20 mermaid-great white shark-raven named nevermore-amontillado-sewer clown-animatronic-ink person-reality bender-ringwraith-chicken-fairy-telescreen-multibear-manic pixie dream girl-d class-horcrux-dragon-unicorn-pegasus-among us crewmate-among us imposter-game master-sharpie king size marker-dwarf-dragonborn-toothbrush-rock-paper-scissors-lizard-vulcan-politician-god-phone guy-icebreakers ice cubes pineapple-a doctor not a miracle worker-troll-ent-poodle-rabbit-Bear.-orange zombie-purple zombie-green zombie-professor plum-col. mustard-in the library-with a knife-hoola dancer-fish-villager-pelecan-defense against the dark arts professer-mafia boss-peep rabbit-peep chicken-gymnast-hairbrush-philosopher-music freak-school teacher-kidnapper-police lieutenant-farmer-trash can-dumpster out back-turtle-tribble-my little pony-kratt brother-high diver-pearl diver, dive, dive, deeper-chef-fire-earth-water-wind-wasp-bee-hornet-yellowjacket-mud dabber-grasshopper-rattlesnake-armadillo-cowboy-flashlight-starfleet science officer-harlet-elephant-gater-muppet-emo-goth-preppy-teabag-loser-sucker-mouse-rat-a puppet-a pauper-a pirate-a poet-a pawn-and a king-father albert-the pope-a nun-pastor jeff-gambler-metalhead-death rocker-the grim reaper-angel-lighthouse-paw patrol dog-hobbit-starfish-sponge-crab-squid-shrimp-jellyfish-chipmunk-hammerhead shark-nurse shark-humpback whale-blue whale-orca-sexual harrassment panda-south park character-jakoffasaurus-scrabble board-ouija board-pillow-toilet paper-period pad-tampon-baby diaper-elderly diaper-martian-touch tone telephone-starfleet operations-starfleet command-kirk-spock-bones-sulu-chekov-uhura-scotty-yeoman rand-KHAN!!!-mudd-the uss enterprise-the uss reliant-botany bay-v'ger-valeris-saavik-sybok-surak-sarek-the abbreviation 'idk'-sheldon-leonard-penny-howard-raj-amy-bernadette-mary cooper-george sr-george jr-missy cooper-meemaw-tam-dr sturgis-dr linkletter-dr jack bright-dr clef-dr gears-dr kondraki-dr mann-dr iceberg-dr crow-dr rights-dr sherman-scp 049-scp 3008-scp 4231-scp 166-scp 682-scp 2521-scp 590-O5 6-bill cipher-stanley pines-stanford pines-dipper-mabel-wendy-soos-schmebulok-gideon-mcgucket-dipper goes to taco bell-sheriff blubs-deputy durland-tad strange-andy taylor-william afton-michael afton-elizabeth afton-crying child-henry emily-charlotte emily-dave miller-jack kennedy-dee kennedy-peter kennedy-steven stevenson-aragorn-sam-frodo-merry-pippin-boromir-legolas-gimli-gandalf-faramir-denethor-sauron-elrond-thranduil-harry-hermione-ron-voldemort-pettigrew.-moony-padfoot-prongs-snape-edward-bella-alice!!-carlisle-charlie-cthulhu-greg heffley-pennywise-bendy-sammy-norman-jack-alice (susie)-allison-henry stien-joey drew-bruenor battlehammer-raskolnikov-heather-heather-heather-veronica-jd-kurt-ram-martha-kurt cobain-david bowie-freddie mercury-hozier-mitski-lemon demon-jack stauber-tally hall-hamilton-burr-jefferson-madison-washington-phillip-angelica-eliza-peggy-king george iii-king henry viii-ben franklin-catherine of aragon-anne boleyn-jane seymour-anne of cleves-katherine howard-catherine parr-dracula-𝓯𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓴𝔂-evan hansen-conner murphey-john adams-raymond barron-fred randall-jane doe-ocean-noel-mischa-constance-ricky-karnak-vergil-alternate-thatcher davis-ruth-dave-cesar-mark-adam-sarah-jonah-evelyn-gabriel-trump-biden-sunny-basil-kel-aubrey-hero-mari-vanessa (the mean girl that kinda likes u)-tux the linux penguin-perry the platypus hybrid princess...dont fw me

[yall-batman-fanfic]

Meeting the Justice League | Batman/Bruce Wayne x Magician!Reader

Synopsis: Vivian didn’t meet the Justice League until she asked Bruce if she could, and that was after she ran into one while at work. Let’s just say that not all first-time meetings were ideal or good at all. Even if that member is on probation.

Vivian met some of the members of the League before they became the Justice League. She remembered meeting Diana Prince when she was invited by one of her former mentors to the museum they worked in. At that time, Diana was a museum curator. She didn't know she was Wonder Woman at the time and only did when Bruce revealed to her some files he's been keeping about possible threats, starting from Superman, then there was a speedster in Star City, and then Diana Prince, or Wonder Woman, who has been fighting since World War I.

She remembered coming to the museum and meeting the tall, lean, and beautiful woman. Diana came to greet them that day and showed the collection of statues from the classical era they have restored. After the tour, Vivian went out to have coffee with her to talk more about their works, and they were later joined by Bruce who flew all the way from Gotham to Washington, D.C. to surprise her and join her in the remaining days of her trip in D.C. (Kirk wasn't too happy when Bruce appeared and took his spot beside Vivian in all the dinners and lunches). 

When Vivian introduced Diana to him, there was a pause before he held out his hand to her and introduced himself. She took note of that but said nothing and continued with their lunch. She observed Bruce and Diana the entire time and made a list of things to ask him when they retreat to the hotel room he booked for them both in the same hotel she and her colleagues were staying at – she just have to move out of her current room she shared with a couple of other female professors and join Bruce in the suite floors above the others.

“Wanna tell me who that was?” Vivian asked as soon as she closed the door. “Couldn't be an ex-girlfriend since you kept the act of,” she made a gesture that showed his entire persona, “Billionaire-philanthropist Bruce Wayne who came to see his girlfriend in D.C., all the way from Gotham – which, by the way, is impractical but how couldn't I love you even more?” She kissed his cheek.

Bruce smiled. He then had her back facing him so he could zip down her dress. “Diana Prince. She's a member of the League.”

“Oh – wait, what?” Vivian turned to him. “You don't just drop a bomb like that and act like it's nothing.”

“She's a work friend, Viv.”

“No, George and Catherine who are floors below us sleeping in shared rooms with the others and are eating take outs from McDonald's are work-friends. Leaguers are not just work friends. You get to talk shit about your work friend, not a fellow Leaguer.”

Bruce chuckled. “Trust me, Diana can be rude when she wants to be… and she can call out your shit when needs to be.”

“Exactly, and you can't do that at work. It's either you talk behind their back or you don't,” Vivian jokes. “So, let me guess, Wonder Woman?”

“The one and only.”

“Holy shit! Bruce, I met Wonder Woman and you didn't tell me! I talked about World War I like a total geek in front of the woman who actually fought in it!”

“Don't worry, she just messaged me and said that she finds you interesting and asked if you're up for ice cream sometimes,” Bruce got out his phone that just sent him a notification.

“Do you have any idea how much of a Wonder Woman fan I was growing up?! I had history books, Bruce, history books just so I could read about her. Do you think she'll sign them for me?”

Bruce frowned, more like a pout as he said, “You never let me sign anything.”

“Please, you leave enough marks on my body that it's passable for an autograph,” she made her point when she took off the dress and showed the hickey on her waist.

“You can ask her for one when you both head out for ice cream. I know your plane leaves tomorrow back to Gotham, but maybe we can stay back a bit so you both can have that meet up.”

“It's a date.”

He didn't like that. Not one bit, but Bruce messaged Diana about the plan and gave her the time they could meet.

Changed to her pajamas – which was just her old Gotham University t-shirt and a pair of Batman printed shorts (she got those just to mess with him) – Vivian jumped on their bed and snuggled close to Bruce. 

“I know we agreed to keep League business out of any conversation since what you’re dealing with is really confidential, but since you’re working on this with Alfred… maybe I can have a little peek at that file now? Just so I know who I keep an eye out for.”

“Don't worry, there aren't any historical figures you've encountered lately. And Diana's the only one… but I guess you're right. You're practically behind the Bat Computer when we're on patrol. It's about time I also share some stories from my other work.”

The next day, Vivian went with her colleagues to their last destination before saying goodbye to them as she and Bruce would be staying for an extra day in D.C., this had Catherine tease her about their extra day stay, and a disappointed look with Kirk since they planned to watch another movie on the plane. They met with Diana as soon as her colleagues left and Vivian spoke with her much more relaxed than the last as secrets were no longer in the way.

At the end of their date, Diana said to them both, “Bruce, you should bring Professor Pryor to the Tower sometime. We might need her expertise in some areas, and her skills.”

Bruce frowned. One of the reasons he didn't want the League to know about Vivian was because of her power. Once they learn about her magic, they will always add her as an option to their plans. Magic is one of the things they battle.

“We'll see,” said Bruce.

~*~

It was easy to identify who Superman was when she met Clark Kent in the gala. Before she just went through the files of the Justice League with Bruce, she's heard and has seen Superman in the newspaper a couple of times now and it would either be on a blurry photo or just the bad quality of the newsprint. So, when she saw the profile of the Kryptonian on the BatComputer, Vivian said, “well, gotta give him points with creativity. I mean, when Oli (her brother) removes his glasses and sweeps his hair back, he's unrecognizable.” But after a beat she and Bruce were laughing.

Clark Kent grew up on a farm in Kansas and came to Metropolis and works in the Daily Planet (“Look at that, Superman’s going to work for you,” Vivian commented), and has written pieces that span from investigative journalism, to entertainment and lifestyle, and sports.

As much as Vivian wanted to meet Clark Kent, Vivian can't just go to the Daily Planet to meet him without reason. So, when Bruce mentioned that they were going to have a gala in Wayne Tower to celebrate Wayne Enterprise's acquisition of the Daily Planet, and to welcome the new company under W.E.’s list of companies in its conglomerate, Vivian asked to have Clark Kent to cover the event (since the invitees were only the board members and some chosen employees by the Editor).

When Clark received the news from Perry White, Clark had a feeling this was the work of Bruce. Still, he went to the gala to cover the entire thing, and as he stood there with the other reporters with Jimmy to get photos, Clark braced himself when he heard someone call out, “Bruce Wayne's here!”

Coming out of the sleek black car, Bruce Wayne acknowledged the people around them, he then let out a boy who was around twelve years old, and then, to Clark's surprise, a woman with red hair and wearing a long black dress that made her stand out. She held onto Bruce hand the entire time, while keeping an arm around the boy's shoulder to keep him close.

They passed a couple of reporters who asked a few questions, mostly for Bruce to answer about the acquisition of the Daily Planet, and some asking Vivian about the documentary that she will be part of. It was a documentary about Gotham City, and as one of the renowned researchers and historians of Gotham, she was asked to guest in the whole thing.

When they were about to approach Clark, Bruce whispered something to Vivian's ear and her gaze came to him. Vivian smiled and she approached him with a hand held out.

“Clark Kent, right?” She said.

“Yes, it's a pleasure to meet you, Professor Pryor,” said Clark.

“The pleasure is mine, Mr. Kent. I've read your works and it's nice to see a reporter putting their heart into their works. I hope this change will be good for you and the other members of the Planet.”

“Some mixed reactions but people will get used to it,” Clark shrugged. It was when Jimmy nudged him and then asked Vivian for a photo that Clark remembered he was there for work too. After Jimmy took the photo of Vivian with young Dick Grayson, she refused to get a solo photo, Clark guessed, as she kept Dick with her whenever Bruce wasn't there (preoccupied with other reporters and partners). Young Dick Grayson was her safety net in these places, and Clark could hear her heart beating faster than normal, and see the little mannerisms that showed anxiety. The way Dick held her hand showed that the boy knew about it and would stay beside her.

So, instead of asking her something that would get her caught off guard, Clark went off script and asked her something that would get her comfortable in the situation: “We heard that you will be part of a documentary that explains Gotham's origins.   Tell me, Professor, what can you say about this documentary? There’s also word that it would be directed by one of the renowned directors in Gotham.”

Caught off guard with his question, Jimmy nudged Clark again but Clark ignored him. With Lois writing about the merger, Clark was supposed to write a lifestyle piece about Vivian Pryor’s dress, her relationship with Bruce Wayne, and just mention the project she was part of. No deeper dives into the project. This piece was about the only woman that Bruce Wayne was in a long-term relationship. Despite Bruce being in Gotham, his photos in business magazines have women in Metropolis swooning, and when they heard rumors of him in a serious relationship with a university professor, they were left heart broken. And everyone now wanted to know who Vivian Pryor was beyond the author biography and the interviews and documentaries.

This was supposed to be a celebrity scoop! And Vivian Pryor was a rising celebrity.

“Well, I can't say much that won't get me in trouble. But it will give people more insight on Gotham. I know that Gotham has a reputation in other cities, but I hope this documentary would show how rich it is in history, and I think the director will be able to do it. He is a Gothamite afterall, so he'd know what to show.”

“What about you? I read that you didn't really grow up here. What got you so interested in Gotham?”

“Gotham has secrets that are yet to be discovered. And I think that's what draws me to it –” This made Dick scoff and sent her a teasing look, which Vivian pinched him playfully for. “Alright, that and this little kid.” Dick rolled his eyes. “Other than the fact I went to Gotham University. Also, for the record, my mother was actually a Gothamite. She grew up here in Gotham, but she was a free spirit and liked to travel and brought me with her until we settled down in Liverpool.”

“What are you talking about here?” Bruce came to Vivian's side. He glanced at Clark's way but only for a moment as his gaze stayed at Vivian. 

“Just her latest project, Mr. Wayne,” said Clark.

“Well, I'd hate to cut this short but we need to head inside,” Bruce then held out a hand to Clark, “It's nice to finally meet you, Clark Kent. It was Vivian who asked you to cover for tonight's event. She’s a big fan of your works.”

Ah, so she knows, Clark pieced together.

“I'm glad to hear that. We've been trying to get an interview with Professor Pryor but she's got a full calendar for the past few days.”

Vivian glanced at Bruce before she said, “I'm sure we can squeeze you in. I'll send you my free schedules, Mr. Kent. I'll be sure to tell your boss about it too.” After that the unconventional family of three went inside the venue to join the celebrations.

The next day, Clark got an earful from Perry that he didn't get the scoop he was assigned to write, but after a while Perry got a message from Bruce Wayne's secretary about the free schedules of Vivian Pryor so Clark could get a one-on-one with her since their conversation was cut short. Clark wasn't sure if that was on purpose or a coincidence, but that message saved his behind.

After coordinating with Vivian and Bruce’s secretary in their free time, Clark took a ferry ride to get to Gotham. When he got there, Clark was surprised when he saw Bruce Wayne to be at the pier to pick him up.

“Clark,” Bruce greeted with a smirk. Beside him was Dick who begged to go with him to meet Superman face to face.

“Bruce,” Clark shook Bruce’s hand. “Hi Richard,” he held out his hand to the boy.

Dick shook it and said, “Call me Dick. Everyone does.”

“I'll take note of that. So, where's Professor Pryor?”

“Still on campus. I thought I'd let you see her work before the interview, just so the Planet really knows who they're writing about,” Bruce opened the door for Dick before getting in the car.

The ride to Gotham University took a little while, and Clark frowned when they passed the depressing areas in Gotham and then the sudden transition to the “metro” side of the city, which was where Gotham University was. Bruce parked his car beside the car that had a parking spot named for Vivian Pryor, and they were walking through the halls of the university campus where Bruce and Dick were greeted with familiarity.

When they entered a classroom, Clark could hear Vivian's voice in the amphitheater setup of the room. The room was packed with students, colleagues, and some professionals in their field, listening to her special lecture that day on symbols and icons, which was her specialty. 

“Symbols are deeply embedded in our cultures, religions, and histories. They can represent complex concepts and beliefs that vary significantly across different societies. And to interpret these symbols you need to understand their context. Their historical background and the cultural narratives surrounding them. Let's say these,” Vivian pressed the clicker and the slide showed an image of Lady Gotham which the audience represented as justice, while others said “a lie!”. She said nothing and showed another photo. It was of a black mask with a long beak, the answers were: “death”, “death mask”, “Penguin's new face”, and “plague mask”. 

Another photo, this time it was gold mark with a lightning bolt.

“Zeus!”

“Storms!”

“Thor!”

Another photo. A trident.

“Devil's pitchfork.”

Then another. This time it was Superman's symbol.

“Hope!”

“Justice!”

“Alien!”

“Superman!”

Then another. It was the Batman's symbol this time.

“Vengeance!”

“Justice! Real justice!”

“Batman!”

“It's a fucking bat!” A student called out, which earned laughter from the others, and one of the professors to reprimand them.

“Alright. Starting from this,” she showed a photo of the lightning. “You all just got two out of five… not enough to pass this class, if you ask me. Because your answers were objectively correct, but if you zoom out of this photo,” she pressed the clicker and the whole photo appeared. “That is the Flash!” 

And it was, it was the photo of Barry in his Flash costume and smiling at the camera.

“And, this one…” the trident photo zoomed out and showed Arthur as Aquaman. “Poor Aquaman. Don't let him hear you call that a fork.”

The students laughed and groaned at the answer.

“And you got the last two correct though,” Vivian showed the photos of the Batman and Superman from their front page photo when the Justice League were featured. “Now that we’ve finished the classics, we're moving to more modern symbols that are built today. The new earthshakers and gods that guard the skies and land and oceans. For extra credit on those who want, I want a paper next week that is an analysis on what the Justice League symbolizes. You can take it culturally, historically, or even use newspapers for your sources. What I want is to see how you analyze these symbols beyond the – as Mr. Sanches said in our last lecture – beyond the bling.”

The lecture ended after that and the audiences were leaving the place, giving Bruce and Dick the space to come down to meet her with Clark. Dick was the first to greet her, and Vivian welcomed him in her arms. 

“Hey, you didn't fall asleep!” Vivian rested her chin on his head as he sat on her desk.

“I never slept in your lectures!”

Laughing at him, Vivian turned to Bruce to greet him with a kiss.

“You were wonderful,” he told her.

“Thanks. And Clark, wonderful to see you here!”

“Hello, Professor Pryor.”

“Please, Vivian's fine. And maybe we should head to a more comfortable place to talk?” Vivian said as she nodded at the direction of the students that linger in the classroom to get the latest scoop. “Wayne Manor isn't that far.”

“Of course.”

“And Alfred made lunch too,” said Bruce.

~*~

“So, Bruce finally told you about the Justice League,” Clark said as he drank his tea. 

Sitting in the sitting room in Wayne Manor, Clark was finally able to remove the mask and greeted Vivian as himself – as both Clark and Superman. And in return, Vivian showed him her secret too – rather, the entire Wayne Manor’s secret. Her magical abilities. When she first showed it, Clark nearly had a heart attack when the pot of tea flew to his side and asked if he needed a refill, at first he thought it was Alfred asked but then the butler came out of the kitchen with more biscuits and pastries. Then he saw the floating tea pot and jumped in fright.

“For a moment I thought the place was haunted,” said Clark when he saw the floating pots and china.

“Ms. Vivian likes to play her part in the upkeep of the manor by conjuring the dead to help out,” Alfred joked.

After that was put aside, and Dick getting an autograph from Superman, Clark went to work by stating how thankful he was that they called just in time when Perry was about to tell him off for not doing the piece.

Vivian sighed when she learned what the piece Daily Planet wanted and shrugged at Bruce's way, saying, “it's what the people want. Let's get on with it. I trust Clark with telling the story as truthfully as the people want it to be.”

After what he saw in that lecture and finally meeting Vivian that was beyond the papers and the spotlight of the paparazzi because she was dating Bruce Wayne, Clark promised to do the best he could. So, he went to work, starting with Vivian's background, then her work, and how she met Bruce. His question was really just a fluff piece for people to get a glimpse of the life of a woman dating a billionaire, as Perry told him to. 

But that wasn't what Bruce and Vivian saw when the copy of the Daily Planet came to their door, brought by Alfred.

The article that Clark wrote did mention Vivian's relationship with Bruce but it focused on women in her field and how she is now a rising name in the male-dominated workplace, which was what he saw in her lecture. 

“Vivian Pryor is inspiring young women to take the field as more and more female students are applying for symbology and iconography majors in universities. Beyond that, she has been passionately supporting the Wayne Foundation to bring education for all children in Gotham and is helping in improving and setting up schools in the city… proving that it doesn't take a mask or superpowers to be a hero…” Dick finished reading aloud the last paragraph. “Congratulations, Viv!”

Vivian turned to Bruce and said to him, “How about we take a trip to the Planet so I can thank Clark for this? Maybe set a date with Lois too?”

“No need, he's already in the back garden,” Bruce got up as his phone got a notification of the new arrival.

Coming to the back, Vivian saw Clark landing on the green grass with Lois Lane just coming down from his arms.

“We came as soon as we heard,” said Clark, grinning.

Lois went to Vivian first and greeted her with a firm shake. “Clark went all out in this one, he even battled Perry to divert it from a fluff piece on lifestyle to the business section. Hi, I'm Lois. Lois Lane.”

“Vivian Pryor – and thank you so much! It's so nice to finally meet you! I've read your works and the one that won the Pulitzer!”

Before Vivian can go to Clark and thank him for the wonderful piece he wrote, Lois was already dragging her inside the manor to talk as they were the “only two people who would get what it feels like to date someone who wears their underwear outside”. 

Bruce went to Clark and invited him inside the manor as well, as they entered the home where they saw Vivian and Lois happily chatting away, Alfred serving drinks, and Dick sneaking to get an extra cookie, he turned to Clark and said, “thank you. This article means a lot to us both. For the past few weeks Vivian's been hunted by the media and it's been bothering her for a while now.”

“No problem, Bruce. Besides, I never really liked writing those kinds of things. It was nice seeing her work… and that's why you brought me to her lecture, didn't you?”

“I'm sure you would have written something even without the lecture,” Bruce smirked.

~*~

Vivian didn't meet the Flash nor Green Lantern in their civilian identity. It was one of those days where Batman had an early start in the morning, rather was running over time as the caped crusader. Vivian woke up with Bruce missing in their bed, which disappointed her, but she did get a call from him while he was in a chase with some criminals across Gotham. Though she appreciated the thought, Vivian told him to focus on the road before he crashes and she and Alfred had to make up another story on how Bruce Wayne got into an accident.

On her drive to work, just right after she dropped off Dick at school, the chase that Batman was in led to the road Vivian was driving at. And it wasn't just any car chase.

“Shit!” Vivian saw the large truck ramming through the traffic, and before she could even get out of the car, Vivian found herself standing on the pavement with her personal items with her, and a really, really bad headache.

“Sorry ‘bout that!” Flash said and handed her a cup of coffee from a nearby shop. “Just like how Batman said you liked it, and –” in a blink of an eye he had a takeout in hand “-- forgot the pastry.”

“Thanks, Barry,” Vivian said, still shocked with all of this. “And what about the big ass… oh, Hal's here.”

The Green Lantern has arrived and had the truck in mid-air with his materialized crane. Batman parked his motorcycle by the pavement where Vivian and Flash were and was glaring at the sight of Hal. 

“I guess he came uninvited?” Vivian said. While Batman welcomes help, only when he asks, but isn't too happy when someone comes into his city uninvited. 

“You're welcome, Spooky!” Hal called out.

Flash chuckled and shrugged. “Gotta go!”

“Thanks, Flash,” Batman told the speedster, but the Flash was gone but Vivian guessed he heard it in his comms. Batman then turned to her and asked, “are you alright?”

“I am. And thanks for the…” she raised the cup of coffee and the pastry. “But I am sorry about the car, though.” She whispered as she saw the car they bought for her daily commute to work now crushed after the truck ran over it earlier. Thank god she didn't leave anything in that car and had everything in her bag, ready to tuck and roll.

“It's just a car. What matters is you're safe.”

“Yeah, see you around, I guess. Thanks for saving the day again, Batman.”

It was awkward not to kiss him goodbye or anything.

Later that day, on campus, Bruce visited her to see how she was, acting as if he wasn't there to see her after the Flash saved her ass from getting crushed by a truck. He came with a take out from her favorite restaurant and keys for a car. It was his silver Audi, one of the few cars that were not too flashy in his collection. 

“We can head out to look for a new car for you,” said Bruce as he showed her the car in the parking lot which got a couple of students and staff do a double take at the sight of the fancy car. “Or you can just use this.”

“And have this crushed in Gotham's traffic?” Vivian raised a brow at him. “I'd rather not.”

Bruce sighed, “I guess we're going to the showrooms later.”

“How about a second hand car?”

“Vivian.”

“Bruce.”

They held their strong and stubborn gaze. Until Vivian sighed and said, “I’m paying for the new car, you already gave your share the first time.”

“Because I want to.”

Vivian unlocked the car and opened the back door for him to enter. When he got in, Vivian followed and started the engine with the key's remote engine feature. There, hidden in the heavy tint, Vivian reached for him and kissed him deeply. Bruce was about to pull her to his lap but with how cramped the car was he couldn't and he sighed.

“Yeah, I guess your car had more leg room,” Bruce commented.

Vivian laughed and brought him another kiss. “Thanks for bringing this over. But how are you going back to work? And did you even get to sleep before coming here?”

“I took a nap. And don’t worry, Alfred's coming to pick me up. I'll be staying at home today. He forbade me from working today and only allowed me to head out to bring you the car.”

“Good. I'll see you later.”

“Also,” Bruce sighed again and took out his phone and read the message. “Barry said that – and I quote – should totally have a double date or a triple date with Superman. P.S. Hal says your girlfriend's hot.” He hummed in displeasure when he read the last part.

“That's your call, now go home.”

“Alfred's not here yet, and it will take a while before he arrives.”

“Bruce, we're on campus.”

“I'll try not to shake the car too much –”

PING!

Another message, and it was from Hal. Bruce read it aloud, “Hal's wondering if you have a sister and it could be a double-double date.” He scoffed. “Yeah, Olivia would give him the time of day. I'd like to see her scare him off with the training she's got in the army.”

~*~

Vivian met Victor Stone before he became Cyborg. She remembered Victor as one of the students that Gotham University wanted to offer an athlete scholarship as the young man showed potential in American Football. She would usually hear Victor Stone's name whenever there's a game and the professors in the breakroom would surround Justin's laptop that played the life feed of the match. Though she didn't know much about American Football, she knew that Victor Stone had a chance to go pro with all the praises given from the announcers and from the professors in the room hoping Gotham University gives a good offer to the young athlete.

Because of his popularity, Gotham University invited him for a tour in the campus even before college application season started. Victor Stone was huge, that was the first thing she thought when she saw the boy, and really nice because she tripped on her own heels while walking – it broke in the middle of the day – the boy left the tour he was getting just to help her out. It was embarrassing when he carried her to the nurse's clinic because of the sprain.

When she met him again as the Leaguer Cyborg, Vivian was shocked to see how he was now. What shocked her even more was when he remembered her. 

“You're Professor Vivian Pryor from GU, not sure if you remember but I carried you to the nurse's office to get checked after you tripped and sprained your ankle,” said Cyborg. “I guess this is the last thing you expected from me, huh?”

“I'm surprised but I’m glad that you're here,” Vivian shook his robotic hand. “It means Batman has someone watching his back. You're a good kid, Victor, and I still get embarrassed whenever the others would bring up the time a touring student had to carry me to the nurse's office.”

“All good, Professor. No longer wearing heels?”

“I still do, but I switch them out in the middle of the day now.”

She remained good friends with Victor Stone since then and, though unfair, depended on him for Batman's safety and return.

~*~

Vivian met J'onn a couple of times. The Martian was a man of few words and whenever the would meet it would be brief as he had duties in the Tower. But there was a time when she encountered his mind reading abilities when he suddenly told her, “Unfortunately, Professor Pryor, Martians are not accustomed to heat nor are we war-crazed beings, just like how our planet was named after the Roman god of war, Mars.”

“So, you can read minds, at least the movies got that right. But noted on the other bits,” Vivian said. “And because of that, I'll be reading about blocking mind readers again. Excuse me.”

~*~

Zatanna joined the Justice League much later and when the League was already an established organization. She brought magic into their arsenal. But Vivian met Zatanna even before she was a Leaguer too. It was during one of her shows in Gotham, Bruce took her to one of the shows and they got access to the back where she got to meet Zatanna and learn more about Bruce's training under her father, and something new about him too.

“You guys dated?” Vivian said.

“You never told her?” Zatanna raised a brow at Bruce.

“It was brief,” Bruce told her.

Vivian raised a brow at him. “I told you about John, Bruce.”

“John. Not John Constantine?” Zatanna asked her.

“The one and fucking only,” Vivian said. “You?”

“Based on that reaction, things didn't go so well then. And yeah, I did.”

And based on that Vivian could see that Zatanna still had feelings for John Constantine. 

“Is he still a total asshole?” Vivian asked.

Zatanna groaned and said, “so much! You have no idea!” Zatanna waved her hand and got them some seats and a couple of drinks. Leaving Bruce to stand at the corner while they chatted. “He's so – I could kill him.”

“Fall in line.”

“What did he do to get you to want to kill him?” Zatanna smirked.

“He tried to trap a demon into my body and kill it easily with the Spear of Destiny.”

“Fucking asshole.”

“You got no idea,” Vivian clinked glasses with her and took a drank the wine. “This is really weird, I know that we just dated each other's exes but I'm starting to like you.”

“Same here. And don't worry about Bruce and me, it was just – as he said – brief. He's more of a really good friend now. Does he still have the tendency to brood and smolder?”

“Brood and smolder?”

“Yeah, back then he would have this look and just –” Zatanna mimicked Bruce's face which had them laughing. “-- he's so dramatic.”

“Now that you mentioned it, yeah, he still does. And John, what's his latest?”

“The last he's gotten himself into some shit with a demon or a witch. Nothing new. Same old John, I guess.”

“Same old John fucking Constantine.”

Bruce stood there for a while as the two women spoke like old friends and not someone who just met moments ago. He had to excuse himself to get a drink but was stuck there when they started asking him questions that were too awkward to answer. Especially when it was his ex and his current girlfriend asking. But who was he to say no to an interesting invitation that involved them three, especially if it was Vivian and Zatanna who suggested it?

~*~

John Constantine is not an official member of the Justice League, but he does some jobs for them when it deals with the dark arts. The first time Vivian saw him again after so long, was at the Watchtower where Batman was reluctant to recruit her for a job to consult about the dark arts. But really, it was John who requested the appearance of Vivian Pryor – the only witch he knew who could perform the specific magic to do the job – unknowing she was already married to Bruce Wayne that time.

When Bruce brought her to the Watchtower, he didn't tell her who asked for her there, so when she saw John in the room with the other concerned Leaguers on the mission… all hell broke loose.

“Long time no see, Vee!” John sarcastically said. “I would have gotten you myself but someone put a spell to keep me from finding you – FUCK!”

Vivian punched him across the face.

Many winced as they heard the impact.

In the background, Batman turned to Robin, who was Jason at the time, and said, “You were supposed to restrain her.”

The thirteen-year-old boy turned to him with an incredulous look. “What was I supposed to do?”

“How about calming her down?”

Just as Superman or Wonder Woman was going to intervene, Vivian snapped at their direction and said, “stay out of this!” Then grabbed John by the collar of his coat and gave him a headbut. 

“When I said I never wanted to see you again Constantine, I meant ever. Hence the spell,” Vivian hissed at him.

John spat out the blood from his mouth and said, “Still angry I see.” He turned to Batman. “Where did you find her and how the bloody hell did you convince her to come here?”

“At our home. And I asked her to come with me.”

“But he didn't mention that it was for John fucking Constantine,” she glared at her husband.

“Hold on!” John shifted his gaze between her and the Batman. “You married Batman?! Are you serious right now?! What the fuck, Vivian?”

“It's none of your business!”

“You do know how to pick them, don't you, love?” John laughed. 

Batman didn't like the little pet name John used for her.

“Shut the fuck up, John.”

“Listen, love, it's done. Let's just forget about what happened that night.”

“Not that simple.”

It was time for Bruce to stop this. Placing a hand on her shoulder, Batman gave her a look that said they'll talk about this later and Vivian had to reluctantly let go of John. Letting him fall on the ground.

“Ow! She did that on purpose! Don't you have a time-out for that behavior or something?” John said.

“Stop whining,” Vivian went to Jason's side and had him under her arm. Jason lets her hold him to calm her, and while she does, he raises a middle finger at John.

“Did you see that?! Oi, Bats, your kid's –”

“Let's get to the matter at hand,” Batman pressed on. “We've called for the best magic users on earth to join us on this mission.” He showed the profiles of Zatanna, John, and Vivian on the screen and footage of their magical abilities. Zatanna with her true power, John with his dark arts, and Vivian with the golden flames and the ability to attract and repel anything in her path.

“Hold on, are you using hand symbols there?” John pointed at the video of Vivian casting the large flame from her hand while holding her ring and middle finger forward and pressed on the pad of her thumb. “What are you? A witch on training wheels?”

Vivian did a hand sign and John's cigarette was suddenly frozen in ice.

Batman sighed and only watched the exchange. Zatanna came to his side and said, “Yeah, working with our current partners who happen to be exes isn't going so well.”

“I should have told her before I brought her here. Maybe given her time to cool off,” Bruce said.

“You don't say? I don't blame her though, John has a talent to piss anyone he comes across.”

“I don't blame her either… I brought Robin to keep her calm but he's just enabling her,” Bruce muttered as he watched Jason raising the middle finger at Constantine.

[sunbookie]

Look around you black child 

Your creation is everywhere 

Though painted, distorted and given new names 

They bear your prints just the same 

So Sharpen your eyes and Tune your ear 

So you'll know what you see 

understand what you hear 

You were the first to write 

The first to read Humanity sprang from your black seed 

For 110,000 years You were here alone and 

Then the caucasian man was born 

Behind the ice Inside the cold 

A chill set in this new mans soul 

Other minds have been credited with the things they learned from you 

Newton, Pythagoras, Kepler and Galileo too 

So Sharpen your eyes and Tune your ear 

So you’ll know what you see 

Understand at you hear 

You made the serpent the symbol of the healing arts and 

African justice was Goddess Maat who weighed herself against the African soul, Truth and justice blindfold, The George Washington Monument is yours too 

A copy of the Egyptian Tekenu... 

A symbol of the black world's powers of creation The king of southern Egypt wore a white crown Keep listening and you will catch your mouth when you learn that the central government in Egypt was known as the white house

Sharpen your eyes and Tune your ear 

So you'll know what you see 

Understand what you hear 

Your god Osiris was restored to life 

Long before Buddah Long before Christ 

and today what you call The Madonna and Child 

is but The First Black Family worshipped along the Nile

 And when you feel the spirit the holy ghost 

You should know that it started at Abydos 

Where god Osiris' body was laid 

The holy land Where Africans prayed 

Minute by minute Hour by hour As you lose your history You lose your power

So Sharpen your eyes and Tune your ear 

So you'll know what you see Understand what you hear.

-The Legendary Listervelt Middleton

[binch-i-might-be]

Father and Laurens contrasted sickeningly with Alex. Alex who looked so small and frail, all crumpled in on himself, orange candlelight casting stark shadows over an unusually pale face, hands trembling faintly now that he no longer had anyone to hold on to.

And yet… he was just as much of a soldier as they were. He had proven it tonight, not that he had needed to.

They were two sides of the same coin. The strength and the weakness, the war and the consequence.

The victory and its price.

yes I used this excerpt already but I don't care ❤️

anyway guess what happened. gu. guess what.

she's finished :) after approximately eight million years :)

so I've said this already, but I put a little reference to one of my most obscure fics in here! whomstever finds it wins the right to brag hehe

[burningexeter]

[WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN]

Before its cancellation, plans for a fourth and potentially final season of Martin Mystery was in the works from Marathon Media and years later, they were eventually leaked out and later confirmed to be true from the creators:

• Season 4 in a change of pace, would've been serialized by having stories that would span multiple episodes and make mini-arcs with them comparing it to the fifth and final season of Totally Spies!, another show of theirs.

• In one of the mini-arcs, we would have saw the return of the Gatekeeper who was last seen in the Season 2 finale which ended on a cliffhanger with him infiltrating the Center with the storyline picking that up with Martin and Billy uncovering it in a conspiracy within the Center itself.

• Others that would've happened were Jenni and returning characters Michelle Dubois, Darla and Kaitlin becoming new agents for the Center, an episode set in Chinatown that would've been an homage to John Carpenter's Big Trouble In Little China, creatures such as the Jersey Devil, mermaids that steal souls and the Ninki Nanka were to be included but in their own different ways, it was going to be revealed that the Center was founded by the first President Of The United States themselves, George Washington himself.

• A new character that would've been introduced and be added to the main cast is Troy — a british gymnast who died of a broken neck back in the 80s but is accidentally brought back to life by Diana and is now a corpse without half of his body and a snapped neck that is has to use duc tape to keep said head up. No, seriously.

• Now one major storyline that would've changed the show and recontextualize it is that while Martin figures it all out by himself, Diana discovers that M.O.M. is in fact her mother and his step-mother. The latter is already on thin ice and working her way to the top with the help of Martin after the Octavia Paine incident but at the end of one of the mini-arcs, Diana discovers this to her shock, disbelief and horror, only be immediately "caught" and kidnapped by M.O.M. who appears right behind her out of the shadows in her room. M.O.M. reveals that she wiped her family's memories of her and has kept them in stasis in order to keep their relationship from interfering with her role as head of the Center, leading to more of M.O.M.'s character being fleshed out which shows her as a strict and morally grey but loving and caring woman who will equally do anything to keep the Center afloat and anything to keep her family safe to which she's called out on by Diana for all of the things that she's been through and all of the things that's happened to her, leading M.O.M. to question herself. To show what kind of drama we're dealing with and were to be dealing with, an episode would've ended with just M.O.M. and Diana driving in a car with the former driving and the latter sitting next to her, Diana apologizes for everything that has just happened and M.O.M. says she know she is and that she's her daughter and nothing will ever change that, she'll always love and care for her no matter what and nothing will ever change that as well but from this point forward to she don't know when, her trust is something Diana is going to have to earn back. Diana hangs her head down in shame as M.O.M. drives off emotionless.

Oh, and M.O.M.'s real name is revealed to be Olivia Lombard.

[blondeweasel]

Since my school year is ending and I’ll soon be losing my Mini-Tech to 2nd Grade, here are some of my favorite moments/interactions of the last few weeks.

“Did you know that most birds in South America eat dragonflies?”

“Did you know that volcanoes can produce earthquakes?”

“George Washington lived during the Revolutionary War, but John said he was alive in the 1980s. That’s absurd!”

“I’m pretty sure we’re having recess in approximately 5 or 6 minutes.”

Because he can be restless and always moving, he fell out of his chair and hit his chin on his desk. He looked at me with wide teary eyes behind his goggles glasses and said in a shaky voice “I’m ok but maybe I should be more careful in the future.” (I still checked on him and send him up to the nurse for an ice pack despite him trying to be strong and brave)

And my favorite interaction:

Mini-Tech: “I’m a bit concerned today.”

Me: “Why?”

Mini-Tech: “It is overcast, rainy, and windy. That’s optimal conditions for an F-5 tornado.”

Me: “Oh, bud, don’t worry, we don’t have tornadoes in this part of the country.”

Mini-Tech: *looking at me skeptically* “I suppose. But the weather pattern is similar.”

I’m going to miss my daily fact-dumping sessions from my Mini-Tech!! I’ll have to seek him out next year and ask for some new facts he’s learned. My heart needs it!

[paganimagevault]

Statue of The Republic by Daniel Chester French 1893. Going to make this my '4th of July post', happy 4th all! Sources and more images on my blog, link at bottom.

The Republic statue was created for the Chicago World Fair of 1893 and was known by a variety of names: The Golden Lady, The Republic, Goddess of the Republic, and Statue of Liberty. The fair lasted from May 1st-October 30th. About 50 different countries participated in the fair and 18 erected their own buildings at the site. The site was known as the "White City" for its predominant white Greco-Roman style buildings. It also featured the first ferris wheel, created by George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. for the event.

After the fair closed the small city was destroyed in 3 fires, but the Goddess statue survived all of them:

"On January 8, 1894, the first great post-Fair fire consumed much of the east end of the Court of Honor. French’s Statue of the Republic stood “in the midst of it all like a gigantic silhouette, with uplifted arms as if appealing for help,” wrote the Chicago Tribune (Jan. 9, 1894). She held her liberty cap defiantly among clouds of black smoke as fierce flames danced around her for more than an hour. While the heat from this “Peristyle Fire” was intense enough to melt the ice on the Grand Basin, it barely tarnished the golden statue. By morning, the conflagration had completely destroyed the Peristyle, Casino, and Music Hall and damaged parts of the Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building. Had the firemen not saved it from the flames, the Republic likely would have burned down that night, too. The next morning, the majestic golden goddess of the Fair looked as brilliant as ever, “except for a blistered right arm and a black spot over her heart,” noted the Chicago Herald." (from worldsfairchicago1893 website)

"When arsonists set a fire on February 14, 1894, the Republic watched the blaze destroy much of the South Colonnade between Agricultural Hall and Machinery Hall. She faced yet another and much bigger scene of horrific destruction on July 5, 1894, as the western end of the Court of Honor burned in another arsonous fire. Seven buildings—Terminal Station, the Administration Building, Mines and Mining Building, Electrical Building, Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building, Agricultural Building, and Machinery Hall—succumbed to the inferno. The next morning, a single serene statue towered above a field of blackened ruins of twisted iron framework." (from worldsfairchicago1893)

"...the Chicago Inter Ocean also recognized that, with the surrounding buildings of the White City gone, the Republic now stood to better advantage: “Particularly was this so when last winter the golden figure towered above an unbroken field of snow. On the night of the last fire the flames seemed to separate and pass by on either side, and when the sun rose the next morning there seemed nothing left untouched but the golden woman of the lagoon.” (from worldsfairchicago1893)

“With only the sky for a background,” observed the Washington (DC) Evening Star, the statue “shows it proportions and lines to better effect now than before.” (from worldsfairchicago1893)

Redesign plans for the area to be turned into a park by Olmsted, Olmsted & Eliot initially included the statue at its current location but later omitted it from the plans. Minimal efforts were made to repair the parts of the statue that had been damaged and the city decided, in secret, to destroy it:

"While the South Park board had spent around $250,000 making improvements to Jackson Park, focused mostly on the northern end near the museum, they had devoted a mere $400 for repairing staff and repainting the Republic. This despite a claim by J. F. Foster, General Superintendent and Engineer for the South Park Commission, that “every effort had been made to preserve the statue.” On Thursday, August 27, Captain Kelly of the South Park Police placed the orders to burn the Republic the next morning, and Capt. Shippy of the Woodlawn police notified the fire companies in the district that a blaze would be set in Jackson Park at dawn. When taking this decisive action at their meeting on August 12, the South Park board chose to keep the execution a secret. They delegated the task of destroying the statue to mechanical engineer and Assistant Park Superintendent A. H. Wilder, who chose fire as his tool. The Commission deemed burning the statue at night too hazardous because it would attract too many people, and a proposal for a public ceremony and celebration also was dismissed. They thought it best to raze the Republic—in secret—at daybreak. Her executioners slipped away quietly as crowds arrived on the scene, curious about the smoke rising over the park." (from worldsfairchicago1893)

[rjzimmerman]

In a first, sea-level rise drove a cactus to extinction in U.S. (Washington Post)

They once stood sentinel near the edge of the ocean. Giant columns of green studded in spikes, adorned with garlic-scented flowers and decked with woolly hair so thick it looked like snow had somehow accumulated in the subtropical heat.

Now scientists believe the Key Largo tree cactus, which grew in the Florida Keys, is the first plant of its kind to go extinct in the wild in the United States due in part to sea-level rise. Its disappearance, they warn, is a preview of things to come for other low-lying coastal species if human-caused climate change continues unabated.

“It’s a big deal when we lose species from an entire country,” said George Gann, executive director of the Florida-based nonprofit Institute for Regional Conservation.

Scientists have warned for a while that global warming threatens to batter many species. The loss of this cactus underscores how climate change is driving extinctions in real time — not in the future, but today.

“For me, it was devastating,” said Jimmy Lange, a research botanist at the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Florida who monitored the Key Largo tree cactus for years. Lange, Gann and other researchers described the local extinction in a study published Tuesday in the Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas.

“This is such a glorious plant,” Lange said.

The tree cactus persists elsewhere in the Caribbean, including parts of Cuba and the Bahamas. But the stand lost on Key Largo to saltwater intrusion from rising seas and soil depletion from high tides and hurricanes was the only one known in the United States. This coastal plant with the snowy fur is Florida’s latest victim of sea-level rise, fueled by the melting of glacial ice thousands of miles away.

Discovered in 1992, this solitary stand of Key Largo tree cactuses sprouted from a limestone outcrop bordered by mangroves on Key Largo, a 33-mile-long island south of Miami popular with tourists. At night, its cream-colored flowers reflected moonlight and attracted bats that actedas pollinators. The magenta fruit that grew from the pollinated plants lured hungry birds and mammals during the day.

Botanists first noticed a problem in 2015 when they discovered something had almost entirely chewed through many of the cactus stems, probably in search of water. Only 60 individuals were left alive; half the population was gone.

The perpetrator may have been a raccoon or rat, though a wildlife camera never caught a culprit. “We’re not 100 percent sure,” Lange said. The team began rescuing stem fragments the following year.

Then in 2017, Hurricane Irma sent a 5-foot storm surge through Key Largo. The cactuses had endured hurricanes before, but the rush of seawater from that Category 5 storm accelerated the die-off. Past research has shown higher mortality rates for tree cactuses in saltier soil.

Even after the skies cleared, “king tides” boosted by sea-level rise continued to bring destructive saltwater within inches of the plants. The higher tides may have even made freshwater less available to small mammals and prompted the frenzy on the cactuses stems to quench their thirst. “But we can’t say for sure,” Lange said.