#Bruce Batten

[queenofthemasquerade]

Atomik Cocktail - Cutthroat

[japan-overload]

221115 Ark Hills Club.jpg by Bruce Batten Via Flickr: View to SE from Ark Hills Club, 37th Floor, Ark Mori Building, Akasaka 1-12-32, Minato-ku, Tokyo toward Shiroyama Trust Tower 城山トラストタワー, Zōjōji Temple 増上寺, Rainbow Bridge, Tokyo Tower, and Ark Hills Sengokuyama Mori Tower アークヒルズ仙石山森タワー

[avillanappears]

concept: unicorns but instead of horses they look like japanese serow

(photos by bruce batten and alpsdrake)

[nowoolallowed]

Yuny and His Wife Renenutet - Met Museum Collection

Inventory Number: 15.2.1 New Kingdom, Ramesside, Dynasty 19, ca. 1294–1279 B.C. Location Information: From Egypt, Middle Egypt, Asyut (Assiut, Siut; Lykopolis), Tomb of Amenhotep, Necropolis Cliff tomb, Medjdeni, Khashaba excavations, 1913

Other Photos:

Bruce Batten on @ Flickr | Margaret Lucy Patterson @ Flickr

Description:

These figures represent Yuny seated next to his wife Renenutet. Yuny, who lived in the city of Asyut, was a chief royal scribe and holder of many other offices, perhaps including that of physician.

Renenutet affectionately places her right arm around her husband's shoulders. On the back of the statue she is described as a singer of Amun-Re. In her left hand, she holds by its metal counterweight a heavy bead necklace called a menat. Menat necklaces were ritual implements that were held in the hands and shaken like cymbals, especially in the service of the goddess Hathor, but also when entering the presence of other deities..

Appropriate to their high secular and religious positions, Yuny and Renenutet wear the elaborate wigs and fine linen attire fashionable in their time. Renenutet is adorned with a lotus fillet and a necklace called a broad collar. The beads are in the shape of nefer hieroglyphs (meaning "good" or "beautiful"), offering vases, and floral petals. Traces of black remain on the wigs. The couple sit together on a bench with elegantly carved lion-paw feet.

[middleland]

Inside Peters Hall, View to N (2) by Bruce Batten

[iamheatherfay]

Directed by 

Drew Harwood

Writing Credits (in alphabetical order)  

Drew Harwood

Cast  

Gareth Koorzen...Jake Drew Harwood...Brandon Sidney Edwards...Sandra Chris R. Taylor...Aj Heather Fay...Cali Aja Nicole...Sofia Mary Charles Miller...Chanler Amber Hutchins...Zoey Katie Garland-Noble...Leanne Johnny Mocker...Ivan Makar Tony Suriano...Vok Chip Heidt...Axl Roger Jerome...Grandpa Jezebel Luxure...Burlesque Dancer Jean Robert De-Cavel...Chef

Other cast:

Bradley Paynter...Party Guest Randy Bruce...Party Goer Richelle Talor...Party Goer Angel Lane...Party Goer Jake Kopronica...Party Goer Brian Lally...Delivery boy Nick Coleman...Kyle (uncredited) Jai Sahai...Priest (uncredited) John Christian Schulte...Spencer (uncredited)

Produced by 

Katie Garland-Noble...producer Drew Harwood...producer Chip Heidt...executive producer Calvin Herbst...line producer Gareth Koorzen...producer Johnny Mocker...executive producer Jared Safier...executive producer

Music by 

Jeanne-Peri Foucault

Cinematography by 

Brandan Haskell

Editing by 

Sam Zarrin

Casting By 

Brittany Kirby

Production Design by 

Rachel Z. Meyer...(as Rachel Meyer) Drew Vecellio

Art Direction by 

Drew Vecellio

Costume Design by 

Robin K Fields...(as Robin Fields)

Makeup Department 

Celeste Blandon...assistant makeup artist Libby Dietrix...assistant makeup artist Patricia Martinez...makeup artist

Production Management 

Calvin Herbst...production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director 

Samantha Sather...second assistant director Jeff Seemann...first assistant director

Art Department 

Rachel Z. Meyer...set dresser (as Rachel Meyer) Tony Suriano...art department assistant Drew Vecellio...set dresser

Sound Department 

Sam Costello...sound designer Chen Shen...ADR & VO recordist Mike Teeters...sound mixer Dean White...re-recording mixer

Stunts 

Bryan Carlisle...boat driver/water safety

Camera and Electrical Department 

Aria Brice...best girl grip Jon Cibella...key grip Jack Miller...second assistant camera Mitchell Sacco...first assistant camera John Christian Schulte...gaffer

Costume and Wardrobe Department 

Elizabeth M Galbraith...costume assistant Julianna Weis-Palacios...assistant set costumer

Editorial Department 

Strack Azar...colorist Jack Kanner...assistant editor

Location Management 

Katie Garland-Noble...location manager Drew Harwood...location scout Gareth Koorzen...location scout

Script and Continuity Department 

Shawn Tira...script supervisor

Additional Crew 

Frank Batten...production assistant Hunter Deno...production assistant Jeremy Jardine...Additional Music Brian Lally...on set paTim Lally...driver double Brodie Mccauley...production assistant Olivia R. Ramage...production assistant Benjamin Willis-Teff...Key PA (as Ben Willis-Teff)

Thanks 

Kimberly Carlisle...special thanks Jean Robert De-Cavel...special thanks (as Jean-Robert de Cavel) Pattie Lally...special thanks Lynn Michele Latta...special thanks Marilou Lind...special thanks D. Lynn Meyers...special thanks Kristen Schlotman...special thanks Tassy Taylor...special thanks

[chugleychimp]

THE REWARD IS THE RISK

I am pleased to feature this article from an old friend, Paul Batten, a former engineer development driver for McLaren Cars. Paul is also a Bible believing Christian. In our molly coddled world of over protected, woke safety, are we not losing something of the essence of life? Muses Paul. Gibber! Gibber! Chugley The reward is the risk  BRUCE –THE EARLY DAYS AT BRANDS HATCH ENGLAND Paul…

[scapepiner]

Jurassic fantasy xxx

Jurassic fantasy xxx movie#

Jurassic fantasy xxx free#

When James Cameron stepped into Ridley Scott’s space-horror boots to direct the sequel to the brilliant Alien, he didn’t try to ape the sickening, paranoid, slow creep of the original. The killer scene: Ripley straps into a Power Loader suit to destroy the alien queen. Yippie-ki-ay, indeed.- Tom HuddlestonĬast: Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Bill Paxton But of course, the blue-ribbon winner in all this has to be Bruce Willis, who crashed from nowhere (well, from TV’s Moonlighting) onto the world’s stage, thanks to a combination of antiheroic self-mockery, battered but unbowed machismo and one very grubby T-shirt. The script is crammed with humor and invention, and whoever came up with the idea of setting it at Christmas deserves a big medal. John McTiernan’s direction pulls no punches, and there are sequences here-like the oft-imitated, never-bettered swinging-through-a-window-on-a-firehose moment-that achieve something close to visual poetry. That said, even the highest of concepts will only work if all the elements are right, and Die Hard is a textbook case of everything falling into place. It’s little accident that, in the wake of the film’s success, clones sprouted up like toadstools almost overnight, from Die Hard on a boat ( Under Siege) to Die Hard on a bus ( Speed) and this year’s Die Hard on a musical instrument ( Grand Piano). Admittedly, there are precedents- Assault on Precinct 13 must have been an on-set favorite-but no one had told this tale with such streamlined precision before.

Jurassic fantasy xxx free#

Their only hope is a man locked in with them, yet free to roam, a lone hero who must pick off the bad guys one by one, arcade-game–style, until he reaches the Big Boss. The story is so ingenious, it’s incredible no one had thought of it before: A group of terrorists invades a state-of-the-art skyscraper and takes the inhabitants hostage. We want speed and intensity, wit and wisecracks, cartoon violence and things going boom. We don’t want to see ourselves reflected, we don’t want understanding or honesty or intellectual insight. If cinema is the perfect escapist medium-and until someone invents a virtual-reality device that works, it will be-then action movies are its purest expression, the best way we know of for humanity to shake itself loose from the trappings of humdrum reality and take to the ether. It isn’t exactly what pseuds would call High Art.Īll of which is precisely the point. It doesn’t offer much insight into the human condition (though the image of Bruce Willis walking on broken glass could be taken as a poignant metaphor for life’s little brutalities). But does Die Hard really fit the bill? It doesn’t have anything to say about the state of the world. The killer scene: Alan Rickman’s final tumble: iconic, nostalgic, slightly-shoddy-effects–based glory. 🥋 The 25 best martial arts movies of all-timeĬast: Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Bonnie Bedeliaīest quote: “Now I have a machine gun. 🌊 33 great disaster movies that’ll have you running for cover Written by Eddy Frankel, Eddy Frankel, Joshua Rothkopf, Trevor Johnston, Ashley Clark, Grady Hendrix, Tom Huddleston, Keith Uhlich, Dave Calhoun, Phil de Semlyen, Dave Calhoun & Matthew Singer Just be warned that your hand may experience some soreness from all the high-fiving you’re likely to do while watching. Light that fuse, clip that wire and batten down the hatches – these are the most pulse-pounding, heart-racing, edge of your seat thrill rides ever put to film. Time Out ’s critics have weighed in, too. To put together this definitive list of the greatest action movies ever made, we polled over 50 experts in the field, from Die Hard director John McTiernan to the actual folks in the line of fire, such as Machete himself, Danny Trejo. Shoot, some even have character development. Others might dropkick you right in the heart. (To be fair, Bay does have some bangers, including one on this list.) But action flicks needn’t be dumb or epic or even particularly loud to succeed.

Jurassic fantasy xxx movie#

The problem is that the genre has been co-opted by the likes of Michael Bay and a stream of hacks who think that big explosions are the only thing a movie needs. After all, film is meant to make you feel something, and the best action movies will quite literally make your chest rumble – usually because something big just exploded. Art school snobs and hardcore cineastes may turn their noses in public, but the truth is, deep down, everyone loves a good action movie.

[sevdysmorbedi]

cigarette cards of women aviators from collection: “Famous Airmen & Airwomen”.

[imqu1se]

f*** terry mcginnis

i said what i said

 let them interact with each other @ dc make them girlfriends 

[dinodorks]

170317 Toronto-21.jpg 

by Bruce Batten

[wordywarriorwrites]

Chapter 9: On the Run

Masterlist: The Boss of Brooklyn A03 Link Author: @wordywarriorwrites Summary: When it comes to being The Boss, James Buchanan “JB” Barnes rules with an iron fist. For him, there’s no room for sentiment, and certainly no time for distraction, even if it is in the form of an old flame. Steve Rogers had bowed out of the life a long time ago, but a twist of fate brings him right back into the fold, and face-to-face with a man he once loved. When a game of cat and mouse turns into a matter of life and death, both will be forced to decide whether they’ll be loyal to the business, or faithful to each other. A/N: Bucky Barnes Mob Boss AU. Stucky. For: Star’s Multi-Fandom Follower Celebration & Sherry’s Fall Into You Challenge. Warnings: Language, violence, drug use, alcohol, smoking, explicit sexual content, illegal activities.

Instead of sticking to terms, Nick Fury was going for a hostile takeover.

It was a breach of contract, but from a business standpoint, it was the smart play. Hell, Bucky planned to do the same thing in the future, but the situation had gone tits up before he got the chance to put his own plans in motion.

They’d all agreed to the terms of the treaty, but as soon as Fury got back to his home turf, he unexpectedly declared Steve wasn’t the right man to handle their combined interests, and refused to work with someone he “no longer deemed trustworthy.” The Families didn’t have an alternate person who knew both businesses, and without Steve as a diplomat and go-between, the truce became strained.

In in an effort to maintain order in Brooklyn, dues were increased, funds were redistributed, and territories were rearranged. Tightening both the reigns and the purse strings helped for a while, but when people learned trade suffered because an outsider was badmouthing one of their own, they made their displeasure known.

It didn’t take long for whispers of disapproval to turn into deafening roars of outright dissent. The nature of the business had changed, but the foundation and principles had remained the same. In their world, unsubstantiated accusations still brought out visceral impulses, and after Sam went down, the gloves came off.  

Bucky had Natasha and Bruce investigate and they’d both arrived at the same conclusion: Steve and Sam had been loyal and all roads led back to Fury. He’d been the origin of the treason rumors, was behind the unsanctioned hit, and wanted Steve cut out so he could wrest control and poach from their joint revenue streams.

The situation reached critical mass after the funeral. Sam had been in the ground less than an hour when another attempt was made. Steve had been ambushed and almost killed in the middle of his own living room, and not long after, Bucky learned the Families private homes had also been compromised.

Bucky knew it was only a matter of time before Fury tried again, and once the Families realized he was gunning for them all, everyone agreed to batten down the hatches and move to undisclosed, more secure locations.

The hotel suite he was holed up in offered privacy, security, and best of all, a well-stocked bar. Yet, even with the creature comforts, Bucky still felt feel like a caged animal. He really needed to get his house in order, and so far, no easy solution had presented itself, and the booze wasn’t helping.

“If you want to take Fury out, you’re going to need to do it from the inside,” Natasha opined over FaceTime. “You need to turn his crew, and in order to get to them, you have to go through Steve.”  

“If he rallies Brooklyn and manages to get Fury’s people on his side, allegiances will be divided, and there will be mutiny here and abroad,” Bucky argued. “I can’t fight a war on two fronts.”

“You’ve always been stubborn, but I never knew you could be so ignorant.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Natasha leveled him with a hard stare, “Steve’s calculating, but he’s stalwart. You’re alive because he’s still in love with you, and that’s why he won’t ever betray you or try to oust you.”

Bucky sighed and poured himself another drink, “For the record, he’s not in love with me. And Steve may be steadfast, but he’s also unforgiving and prone to petulance.”

“Look, if you just apologize and set aside your ego, the two of you could--”

“My ego isn’t the problem,” he interjected. “And in case you’ve forgotten, his goon squad beat the shit out of me, and he left you for dead in an alley.”

“And in response, you had our guys torture him for a month. Then, you took away his choices, his money, and his freedom,” she retorted. “The time for posturing and tit-for-tat is over. If you don’t get Steve back on our side, our people won’t fight, Fury will bury us, and it will be your fault.”

Before Bucky could formulate a response, Natasha brusquely told him to, “get his fucking shit together,” and then, ended any further discussion of the matter by cutting off the call.

Partnering with Nick Fury had been a calculated risk, but Bucky could have never foreseen it going bad so quickly. The harsh, bitter truths Natasha voiced were difficult to face, but deep down, Bucky knew she was right. The wisest course of action would be to bring Steve back into the fold, but given everything that had happened, mending fences would be easier said than done.

Too exhausted to think about it anymore, Bucky texted his security detail, and let them know he was turning in for the night. He’d just started to undress when a response came through; thinking it was one of the men bidding him goodnight, he ignored it, but when his cell rang and one of the guards in the suit adjacent suddenly began pounding on the adjoining door, he knew something wasn’t right.

A rhythmic candace. Sharp, loud, repetitive snaps.

The sound was all too familiar and made the hairs on the back of Bucky’s neck stand on end. Instinct and a flood of pure, high-octane adrenaline made him reach for his own weapon at the base of his spine. He could hear muffled, indistinct voices; see the doorknob being rattled; feel the grip of the gun against the palm of his hand; taste the fear and whiskey on his tongue.

Knowing he was next, he bolted for the exit, and looked through the peephole. When the hallway revealed itself to be empty, Bucky slipped the chain back, flipped the deadbolt, and opened the door.  Both guards stationed just outside were down, and as he continued onward, the bodies kept piling up.

The culprit had taken them out one-by-one and managed to get into the suite next to his without raising any suspicion or alarm. Everyone had erred on the side of caution and the Families hadn’t revealed to each other or anyone else where they were hunkered down. If he was being targeted, it meant someone on the inside had sold him out.

A strange sound drew his attention away from his thoughts and back to the task at hand. When he approached the elevator, he saw the doors opening and closing, but a pair of legs sticking out from the inside prevented them from shutting all the way. Bucky didn’t know how many enemies there were or where they were all located, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to stick around to find out.

A flickering exit sign pointed toward the stairwell, and he hastily made a beeline for it. Twelve flights and another door saw him out of the hotel and onto the street. Without his phone, wallet, and keys, he had no way of reaching out to anyone or getting away quickly. Exposed, alone, and with the enemy on his tail, Bucky had no choice but to start walking.

Gun low and pressed to his thigh, he crossed the street, and made it about two blocks before a black SUV, headed fast in the opposite direction, suddenly pulled a U-turn right in the middle of traffic. There was absolutely no way to outrun a car, which meant he had little choice but to duck into the nearest alley.

Sweat pooled at the base of his spine and his pulse thudded in his ears, but he remained silent, and waited. The vehicle pulled right up to the sidewalk, but nobody got out. The tinted window on the front passenger side was lowered, which prompted him to ready his weapon.

Bucky was a hairsbreadth away from firing when the high beams were flashed and a familiar voice yelled his name. As he warily approached, the back door was thrown open; the interior lights came on and revealed Bruce riding shotgun, Natasha at the wheel, and none other than Steve Rogers in the seat behind her.

With the threat of death imminent, Bucky didn’t hesitate, and as soon as he was in, Natasha hit the gas, and drove like a bat out of hell.

“How did you know?” he asked.

Bruce turned around in his seat, “Ever since Sam was killed, I’ve been monitoring all communications, but there are a lot of phones and a lot of people. Fury managed to get to one of your guards. I just didn’t see it until it was too late.”

“And him?” he prompted, nodding his head toward Steve. “Why is he here?”

“Steve knows Fury’s playbook,” Natasha voiced. “He’s here to help.”

Bucky let out a sound of frustration, “You shouldn’t have involved him.”

“You want me gone? Fine,” Steve mumbled lowly. “Pull the fuck over.”

Bruce shook his head frantically, “Bad idea.”

Natasha glanced in the rearview mirror, “You’re in no condition to be out on your own.”

When the vehicle entered a tunnel and the car’s interior was flooded with light, Bucky instantly understood why Bruce and Natasha didn’t want to dump Steve on the side of the road. The evidence of Nick Fury’s brutality was on every inch of visible skin, and the sight of Steve’s injuries made his gut twist.

One eye swollen shut and the other bloodshot. Brow and cheeks marred with stitched up cuts. Jaw extremely distended. Bruises on his arms that hadn’t even begun to heal. Steve was pale and sweating, and his harsh breathing indicated there was probably something even worse going on beneath the clothes. A lesser man wouldn’t have been able to withstand the agony, never mind be upright, but Steve wasn’t like most men.

Ram-rod stiff. Vacant countenance. The composure and comportment of a soldier.

He may have been bloodied, but Bucky knew not to mistake it for weakness or surrender, and the cold, deadly look in his eye suggested he wasn’t going to let a few cuts and bruises prevent him from getting even.

Everyone in Brooklyn was baying for blood, including Steve, and war was inevitable.

Nick Fury started it.

And Bucky had a sinking feeling Steve would be the one who finished it.

Chapter 10: Behind Enemy Lines

Everything: @jennmurawski13​ @nerdy-bookworm-1998​

Steve Rogers: @patzammit @hearttoearth​ The Boss of Brooklyn: @star-spangled-man-with-a-plan @jamesbarnesappreciationsociety @captain-rogers-beard

[hello-birdies]

Lanius bucephalus by Bruce Batten

[lizartgurl]

The Little Atlantean (Aqualad x OC

(part one) (part two) PART THREE

@princes-jasmine @the-shadow-of-atlantis @super-spoiler @dykeclone @thespacebuns @flamebiirds @snaibzel

Emma danced arm in arm with Richard, who had finally found his sea legs once the party began. She was tossed from sibling to sibling, spinning Duke under her arm and tossing Cassandra up in the air- once to spin, and twice so Cass could swing herself up onto the mast, where, once she found her balance, did a hearty jig.

“Show off,” Stephanie grinned as she bowed to Jason and the song finished.

Richard took Cassandra as his partner for the next dance. Duke took Stephanie, Tim with Mara, and Jason took Annabella, leaving Emma with Roy, the first mate, and something like her only friend outside of her siblings.

At complete ease with the casual and less-than-noble sailors of the family’s royal yacht, the royal children felt more themselves than they had in years, than they had since their kind father had died.

King Bruce had loved sailing trips, especially toting along the whole family to visit foreign lands and old allies. They traveled by sea wherever possible, like travelling with an old friend. Obviously, all his children, adopted or by blood, had inherited his love of the saltwater.

Talia smiled as she watched her children. The twins, young as they were, were allowed to stay for cake, but had been sent to bed before the rest of the festivities. She stood on the sidelines with Captain Pennyworth, the oldest and most trusted companion of both herself and the late king. She watched it all with a relaxed grace as she clapped along to the sailor’s pipes, trumpets, and makeshift drums on barrels full of various amounts of salted fish.

After this sea shanty, Talia raised her arms,and the sailor’s instruments fell silent, followed shortly by the Princesses and Princes.

“Crown Princess Emma,” Talia said, a hint of her courtly voice rising in the back of her throat. Emma shot her a pleading look, and Talia all but sighed.

“There is one more gift that must be presented tonight. It was commissioned by your father before his death.”

“King Bruce, may he rest in peace,” the sailors chanted respectfully. A brief moment of silence swept over the ship with the breeze, and Annabella squeezed Emma’s hand.

Talia approached her children, arms spread to offer a hug, “As you all know, Your father’s statue stood in the center of the capital of Gotham since his coronation, as did his father’s, and his father’s before him.

Emma and her siblings nodded.

“Princess Emma,” Talia nodded to the sailors, who cleared aside their musical setup to reveal a large object, covered by a tarp.

“I want one,” Jason grinned mischievously.

“You don’t even know what it is!” Mara elbowed him.

“She just said it’s a statue, genius,” He hissed.

“Oh, right.” She said sheepishly.

Emma gripped a corner of the tarp, and with the help of her siblings, yanked it off to reveal her elegant and gleaming marble statue.

“Wow,” Annabella gasped enviously. Richard gave a low whistle, impressed.

"It's...shiny?" Duke said slowly. Jason and Stephanie held back gales of laughter.

“It...it’s beautiful.” Emma mumbled, suddenly intimately aware of everyone’s eyes on her, comparing her to the statue of the goddess-like woman. Her features were stern and cold, like the rock it was carved from. She held a book in one hand, and a sword in the other. She already felt completely overwhelmed.

Kaldur reached the ship, heart racing. His cheeks were already beginning to hurt from how much he was smiling.

“Your highness!” Garth hissed, not wanting to warn the humans, but unable to bring himself to scramble up the side of the ship as Kaldur was deftly doing, in order to get closer to the sources of light on the ship above.

He hardly knew what to take in first. There were dozens of humans, some dressed identically, while a few of the smaller humans were dressed more elegantly with flowing sleeves and skirts about their legs. The smaller humans danced about with incredible agility and smiles to match his own, following the music produced by the larger humans, each wearing blue stripes with a red scarf tied around his neck.

A familiar squawk sounded above the din of the jaunty music, and a few greasy feathers fell in front of Kaldur’s nose. He barely brushed them off before he sneezed.

“How ya doin kid?” Vulko screeched, landing next to Kaldur on the side of the ship.

Kaldur clamped his hand over Vulko’s yapping beak as one of the dancing humans looked up, glaring around as one of her dancing companions crashed into her.

“Bella? You okay?” Stephanie rubbed her nose, looking around with her sister.

Annabella glared at the opening in the side of the ship's railing, used for cannons inb times of war. “I thought I heard someone...talking.”

“Over this din? Really?” Duke asked.

He was right, and Annabella shook it off, but not before noticing that Emma was now standing on the side, too relaxed to be catching her breath.

When he was certain that the coast was clear, Kaldur peered back through the opening.

“I’ve never seen humans this close before.” He whispered to Vulko, hoping the crazy bird would get the message.

At that point, a medium-sized female human began to approach the side of the ship where they were hiding. Kaldur slunk back into the shadows to avoid being seen, but it was quickly apparent that this human was too lost in her own woes to notice the merman clinging to the side of the ship.

She leaned over the railing, staring off into the distance. The bright blue dress she wore matched her intelligent eyes, Kaldur could tell that even in the shadows created by the ship’s lanterns, and a thin silver diadem not unlike the ones he and Tula were required to wear at most official court functions wrapped around her forehead.

She sighed long and loud, and Kaldur immediately felt sorry for her.

“Emma,” A tall human woman, in an elegant green dress that resembled more of a robe, approached her. She wore a simple but elegant golden crown, and her shoulders seemed to bear the same weight as her younger human counterpart.

The first human- “Emma” -threw herself in the older woman’s arms the way Kaldur used to do with his mother, back before all the tragedies that took his father, his uncle, and placed Sha’lain’a on the throne until her niece could assume that duty.

“I take it you are not enjoying the festivities that much?”

“It’s wonderful, Talia, but how can I do it all? I know Bruce had faith in me, I know you and practically everyone I talk to about this has faith in me, but, but...it’s all so much.”

Talia grimaced at herself for even thinking this when Emma was in such distress.

“You know, Bruce always said that being King became ten times easier after we were married.”

Emma grinned wryly up at her mother, and her expression softened as she looked over at her siblings.

“Trust me, Talia, when I find the right partner, it’ll hit me like lightning!”

Her declaration echoed dangerously over the ship, as lightning flashed in the distance.

Roy scuttled up the mast in a second.

“Hurricane!” Came the warning from the crow’s nest a moment later. In that moment, the wind began to pick up. Jason wrapped his arms around Cass and Bella, as if the wind would lift them up by their skirts and carry them away.

“Woah!” Vulko’s grip slipped as Kaldur hung to the ship’s rigging for dear life. He couldn’t see La’gaan and Garth anymore, and a sudden fear ripped through him that he’d lead them all to their deaths. Surface-related, yes, but humans would take the brunt of the blame, should his mother find out.

“Vulko!” The winds carried away his voice, along with the seagull, who seemed worried about Kaldur, but otherwise content to let the winds carry him wherever.

“Batten the hatches, men!” Captain Pennyworth struggled to hold onto his hat. “Get the Royal Family below decks!”

Roy stumbled in an effort to get to the unattended steering wheel. Emma almost flew past him, turning as sharply as she dared to start them away from the storm.

But it was too late, the storm was already upon the unsuspecting revelers, and a fresh lightning bolt split the mast into two jagged halves.

“Abandon ship!” Roy declared. Half the sailors began to loosen the longboats while others attempted to stifle the fire for even a moment.

“Damian! Athanasia!” Talia screamed in a panic, realizing that her two babies were trapped beneath the deck, and the fire was growing closer to the stairway.

Without thinking, a plan came to Emma as she skid across the deck, soaked from the downpour. She gripped Bella and Jason’s shoulders to get their attention.

“Get Talia and everyone else off the ship, I’m getting the twins.”

“Emma, wait!” the hem of Emma’s skirt slipped through Annabella’s fingers as her big sister leaped over the flames, rolling down the stairs, steadily filling with smoke. The royal quarters were easy enough to find, and had she not known the ship like the back of her hand, the cries of her baby brother and sister were enough to lead her through the violent pitching.

“Hang on, Dami,” Emma whispered, placing the older brother on her back and holding Athanasia to her chest. She tore three strips of fabric from her skirt, wrapping it over their mouths to help the three of them breathe as she navigated back up to the deck through the smoke, now a billowing cloud of darkness that stung her eyes and seared her tiara.

She could barely see as she stumbled back onto the deck. The screams had mostly stopped by then, but the tears were still flowing.

“Emma!” Talia screamed, guiding Emma to the railing.

“I’m going to jump!” She warned the three boats below. Damian whimpered as the flames licked at her back, and that was enough for Emma to ignore Talia’s protest and pitch herself over the side of the ship and into the roiling waters, clinging to her baby brother and sister.

“Emma!” Richard was half-scolding as his boat reached her. He gripped the fabric of her sleeve as Cassandra and Stephanie took the babies.

Richard’s grip relaxed as he thought maybe perhaps they’d all make it through this alive. Emma only had time to flash a weekly heroic smile before another wave washed her underwater.

[fadedsepiascribbles]

Soft crafting fluff fic time!

Okay, so… Time to get real about this. We’re all battening down the hatches for End Game next month, but, before that sends our hearts (and probably our ‘nads) through a meat grinder, I am going to create as much ridiculous softness as I can… So probably one more story after this, but I’m trying, yeah?

This is a story of soft fluff and fibre arts, and everyone is happy, or at least snarkily cordial. No one dies, no one gets hurt, and Bruce Banner gets smothered with family feels and blankets. It’s a literal slice of life, with the barest hint of a beginning and ending. So if you need some self-indulgent feels as much as I did, here you go!

Big thanks to @elenorasweet for letting me springboard off of her today, and to @lizabethl , who I hope gets feeling better really soon!

[kxowledge]

Change Management

Caldwell, Raymond. "Models of change agency: a fourfold classification." (2003)

Goffee, Robert, and Gareth Jones. The character of a corporation

Cameron, Kim S., and Robert E. Quinn. Diagnosing and changing organizational culture: Based on the competing values framework. 

Noer, David M. Healing the wounds: Overcoming the trauma of layoffs and revitalizing downsized organizations. 

Ashkenas, Ronald N., et al. Making the deal real: How GE Capital integrates acquisitions. (1997)

Cameron and Green, Making Sense of Change Management

Tuckman, Bruce W. "Developmental sequence in small groups." (1965)

Models of Change Management

Lewin, Kurt. "Frontiers in group dynamics: Concept, method and reality in social science; social equilibria and social change." (1947): unfreeze, move, refreeze

Bullock, R. J., and Donde Batten. "It's just a phase we're going through: a review and synthesis of OD phase analysis." (1985): exploring, planning, action, integration

Kotter, John P. "Leading change: Why transformation efforts fail." (1995): eight steps

Beckhard, R., and R. Harris. "Managing Organizational Transitions."  (1987): change = level of dissatisfaction with the status quo * desirability of the proposed change or end state * practicality of the change > cost of changing

Nadler, David A., and Michael L. Tushman. "A model for diagnosing organizational behavior."  (1980):congruence model of staff, skills, systems, style, shared values, strategy, strucutre

Bridges, William. Managing transitions: Making the most of change.

Todnem By, Rune. "Organisational change management: A critical review." (2005)

Senge, Peter M., et al. "Collaborating for systemic change." (2007)

Stacey, Ralph. Complex responsive processes in organizations: Learning and knowledge creation.