#Diana demands co-parenting rights

[mkarchin713]

Dave didn’t think the situation would be as bad as it was. Everyone knew the Fenton’s where wackos, always going on about ghosts. They where annoying yes but harmless, unless Jack Fenton was driving but that was the traffic cops department not his.

Dave was not expecting to get shot by green lasers when he rang the doorbell (if it wasn’t for Wonder Woman he would have more than just a hole in his tie). Nor was he expecting Jasmine’s non-reaction as she used her house key to open the door (maybe he should have listened when she told him not to ring the bell)

At first the living room looked pretty typical for small town America but then Dave noticed some peculiarities. The room was mostly clean but only the bottom half. Everything under five feet was spotless, over five feet and it was filthy. Jasmine Fenton was under five feet but with her arms outstretched she could probably just reach the cleaning line.

The kitchen also looked fairly normal, if not for the step stools and toy guns on the kitchen table. The stools where everywhere, by the fridge, the cupboards, even the stove. Dave checked the cupboards, there was cheap but relatively healthy food at the bottom and expired snacks up top, far out of Jasmine’s reach even with the step stool.

Dave made a quick peak in the fridge and -

….

Food should not do that, it should not be glowing and moving. Those where hotdogs how where they moving? If it wasn’t for Batman and Jasmine he would be dead three times today. He thought the gun was a toy, it shot lasers just like the door bell. What kind of parents left working laser guns on the kitchen table and why did Jasmine even know how to use it. This was worse than he thought.

Just when Dave thought it couldn’t get any worse and explosion came from the basement. Jasmine didn’t even flinch, she just went to the bottom shelf next to the basement door and grabbed an EMT sized first aid kit and headed down the steps with the heroes in quick pursuit.

….

He was only a few seconds behind them, how had Batman end up covered in glowing green goo, why was Black Canary and Wonder Woman in a fist fight with the Fentons, where those open chemicals and a weapons vault and was that a swirling green portal in the wall. Why where the Fentons claiming the heroes where ghosts and telling Jasmine to throw them weapons, was that a bazooka, and a whip with Jack Fenton’s face on it. What the hell was going on!

…

Dave was going to retire. He was going to retire and move far away from the Fenton menace. The Drs. Fenton had been detained, tied up in their own glowing green net. Now they where yelling at Jasmine, saying she was a ghost, that was the only reason they could think of that she would shoot them with a net gun after they tried to shoot the downed Batman with the Bazooka.

Jasmine was seconds away from crying, saying she wasn’t a ghost and just wanted them to stop fighting. Her parents started going on about how the ghosts where obviously tricking her, and how she could be so stupid to believe a ghost, and how they raised her better than that. All this was going on as the seven year old patched up her parents wounds with a worryingly practiced ease.

Dave didn’t know what to do, none of his training mentioned what to do when mad scientists attacked the Justice League. No fosters in Amity would dare take the kids in fear their parents would come looking for them. Dave had seen Jack Fenton go through brick walls like the Kool-Aid Man, he doubted any prison could hold him for long. And if Daniel had powers like the heroes thought it would be even harder to place the kids in a home together.

Apparently Batman is a mind reader as just as Dave was about to bring up the placement issue the dark knight gave Dave the contact info of a league approved emergency foster who would take the kids in no questions asked. Dave looked at the card and thought maybe the rumors where true, maybe Batman was Bruce Wayne’s sugar baby.

In the middle of a Justice League meeting, Batman feels a tug on his cape. He looks down to see a little boy who could easily pass as one of his.

"Erm," the boy starts. "I frew up."

[incorrectbatfam]

Stepmom!Selina?

She sees what she's getting into from a mile away, but she welcomes it because Bruce's kids are a part of him, and she loves all of Bruce.

The kids all see it coming too, and while some (Damian) take longer to warm up to her, she's welcomed into the fold with open arms.

Selina's got a heart as big as her partner and while she's not always perfect, you can see how much she cares.

As a former foster child herself, Selina understands Duke's unique experiences and traumas from the foster care system, so whenever he needs to talk, she's the first one he goes to. Sometimes he doesn't want to (or need to) talk, so they'll watch boxing matches or she'll teach him little bits of Mandarin. If the kitchen isn't busy, they'll try their hand at new TikTok recipes, and film themselves either succeeding or debunking the original poster.

Being raised in isolation to be a human weapon meant Cass missed out on a lot of the things daughters typically learn as children/teens. The evening of Cass's first gala, she didn't know the first thing about doing her own hair and makeup. She's braved assassin armies, but her self-made disaster of bobby pins and eyeshadow nearly drives her to tears. Selina swoops in, wipes Cass's face with gentle reassurances, and walks her through step-by-step.

Selina considers it a privilege to have watched Dick grow from the spunky little Robin to the man he is today. Even though he's taller than her, she still ruffled his hair when he does a good job. She also keeps the first ever birthday card he gave her, which includes a pop-up bat signal and scented stickers, and remembers all of his favorite radio stations. Also, when Bruce does something, Dick goes tattling to Selina.

For a while, Carrie mooched off of her siblings' Netflix profiles, but everyone got tired of her messing up their algorithm and she was forced to make her own. She soon realized how much freedom she had because no one could see what she was watching. Selina caught on to the power trip and started researching and watching snippets whenever a new show comes out. That's how she stopped a bunch of preteen girls from watching Squid Game.

Tim often gets overlooked as not just the middle child, but the child who appears put-together and regularly takes on adult responsibilities. Selina, however, remembers that he's still a teenager. She regularly checks in and gradually teaches him that it's okay to let go and act his age. Selina encourages him to call his Young Justice friends outside of missions and take small acts of rebellion against Bruce. When Tim and his boyfriend snuck out to a famous lover's lookout, Selina gave them the car keys and covered for them.

She noticed that Jason really enjoys hanging out with Harley Quinn, bonding over not just Joker trauma but other shared interests like music taste. After Harley turns to the antihero side, Selina discusses with Bruce and they start inviting Aunt Harley and Aunt Ivy to dinner. The first time they do that, Harley is so excited that she baked a three-layer cake just for Jason. Literally, in strawberry frosting, it said, "THIS CAKE IS FOR JASON ONLY." Finding someone that Jason can relate to remains one of Selina's proudest accomplishments.

She's trying her best, but she makes mistakes too. For instance, although Wayne Manor has plenty of kitchen space, Selina does her cooking at Harley and Ivy's because Ivy can offer her fresh plant-based ingredients that suited Damian's needs. When Alfred's not available, she sends Damian to school with healthy, flavorful vegan lunches shaped into Cheese Viking characters. One time, she was tasked with bringing brownies to a PTA meeting. Incidentally, Harley was simultaneously baking a... different kind of brownie for a block party (you can see where this is heading). When an angry superintendent demanded to know who was responsible, Selina wisely kept her mouth shut and thankfully, so did Damian.

Cullen loves concerts, but he's a huge introvert who gets anxiety when he's left alone in a crowd. Selina becomes his concert buddy, and she'll go as all-out as he does. Sometimes that's showing up to a garage band dressed-down in hoodies and sunglasses. Other times it's painting their faces and looking like they just came out of a Hot Topic blowout sale. She even listens to the discography beforehand so she can blend in. Selina learns a lot about Cullen through this, because nothing says more about a person than the music they listen to.

Harper, though looking rough around the edges, turns into a giddy little kid at interactive science museums. During one of these trips, Harper got distracted by the giant Newton's Cradle so she didn't notice a fourth grade field trip sweeping up Selina. When they reunited at the gift shop, a chaperone had given Selina a school t-shirt and she was put in charge of grading ten kids' assignments. Harper laughed so hard that she spewed lemonade on the museum owner. Neither of them will let the other live that day down.

Selina and Barbara openly talk about guy stuff, and Selina is more than happy to offer advice in times of need. They're both pretty liberal talking about that stuff, and one time they did a tier ranking of all the Gotham Rogues based on how effective their gimmick is (Joker was the only S-tier). They then proceeded to get into a debate on whether or not Man-Bat and Killer Croc should qualify for the list, which led to them staring each other down at dinner while the other family members sat around them confused.

Steph's school offered a Mother's Day breakfast. Although Crystal Brown was doing her best and wanted to make it, she was scheduled a double-shift that the breakfast fell right in the middle of. Selina reached out to Crystal and with permission, went in her place. Afraid that Steph would publicly reject her, Selina sat in the parking lot for ten minutes as Bruce amped her up over the phone. Steph, thinking that no one would no up, was ecstatic and said that she couldn't have thought of anyone better. They enjoyed stacking up waffles and making the girls who bully Steph envious.

Long before she and Bruce got married, Selina made it clear that she would not be relegated to the gender-typical role of a homemaker, and Bruce happily concurred because it's 2021. They knew that to give Alfred a break, they'd have to take on some chores themselves. Instead of dividing up a boring old chore chart, they find ways to make cleaning fun and collaborative. They'll dance around the halls in mop slippers, play "guess the stain", and race their roombas. The kids see this and start modeling the behavior in their own ways—Dick swings from high places to dust them, Damian trains his pets to pick up garbage, and Cass and Duke compete to see who can clean the most bathtubs.

Some parts of the Manor are due for redecorating, so Selina and Alfred make a day trip out of interior design sketches, flipping through furniture catalogues, and looking at paint swatches. It sounds boring at first, but the menial tasks meant they had plenty of time for conversation, and she finally understood why everyone respects him. They also made room in the afternoon for a stroll through the park and afternoon tea, where he told her and her only the secret to a perfect scone.

The other Justice League partners welcome her into the group too. Whenever Selina's in Metropolis, she joins Lois and Ma and Pa for Sunday brunch where they share what their kids have been up to. Iris shows her life hacks to cooking large batches of food in a short time. Selina and Dinah discover an online store dedicated to selling vigilante gear and go on a Cyber Monday spree for their whole families. Steve Trevor, Diana's partner, teaches Selina how to fly with the invisible jet so she can surprise Bruce with the batplane.

After overcoming their initial conflicts, Selina and Talia hold a high amount of respect for each other. Talia sees Selina as not just a capable combatant, but a worthy partner to her former beloved and stepmother to her son. Selina, after spending all that time with the kids, understands the motherly love that Talia holds for Damian and makes it abundantly clear that she would never try to replace Talia in the boy's life. Regardless, looking after all those kids is hard, so they are very much open to the idea of co-parenting.

(Selina doesn't know it, but all this makes Bruce fall in love with her all over again.)

[ked-r]

Have you heard of the EACH Act?

The EACH Act (Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance) would lift Hyde Amendment restrictions on federal funding for abortion and restore access to millions of women on government-funded health insurance. The bill, first introduced in 2019, was reintroduced in March 2021 as HR 2234 / S1021. We need to show its sponsors and cosponsors that there's public support for action now.

Please take a moment to contact elected officials to move this bill forward. Women’s lives and health depend on overriding barriers to abortion.

The Hyde Amendment, first passed in 1977, restricts abortion coverage for federally funded healthcare recipients. This includes people on Medicare and Medicaid, Native Americans, U.S. servicepeople and veterans, Peace Corps volunteers, federal employees and their families, and women in immigration detention and prisons. Clearly it is the most vulnerable who suffer the greatest when denied full maternal and reproductive health care. Without funding for abortion, women end up sterilized or die from lack of choices.

EACH would lift the ban on federal funding and strengthen the constitutional right to abortion. Its passage is urgent in the face of concerted rightwing attacks on Roe v Wade. EACH is needed now more than ever when millions of women have lost jobs, health insurance, and childcare during COVID-19. Still, this measure is just a start. Full reproductive justice includes free abortion and safe contraception on demand, no forced sterilization, 24-hour free childcare, social support for parents of all sexualities and genders, free nationalized healthcare, an end to poverty and racism, and much more. So let’s get started!

Please call or email the six original EACH supporters and urge them to light a fire for passage of the EACH Act.

Representative Diana DeGette (D-CO) 

Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA)  - If not in her district, call (510) 763-0370

Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL)  - If not in her district, call (773) 506-7100

Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) 

Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) 

Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) 

Suggested phone message

My name is _______________. I urge Senator/Representative __________________, an original 2019 EACH Woman Act co-sponsor, to light a fire for passage of the EACH Act in Congress (SB1021 / HR2234). Please inform me of public hearings about the bill and how I [and my organization] can help support it. I can be reached at [phone # and email]. Thank you.

Suggested email message

Dear [Senator/Representative Last name],

I wholeheartedly support the EACH Act HR2234 / S1021 (formerly the EACH Woman Act), which would lift Hyde Amendment restrictions on federal funding for abortion and restore access to millions of women on government-funded health insurance. Because you were one of the original sponsors during the 2019 Congress, I’m looking to you to light a fire for EACH this session. Your advocacy for the most vulnerable and underserved—women of color, Native American, poor, unemployed, disabled and working women—is needed now more than ever. For the millions of women who have lost jobs, health insurance, and childcare during COVID-19, quality maternal and reproductive care are life-and-death issues.

Please keep me informed of public hearings on EACH, when it will come before congress, and how I and members of my organization, ________________________, can support the bill.

Thank you.

(This is copied from Radical Women Seattle)

[tcm]

TCM Stands in Solidarity with Black Lives

Turner Classic Movies stands with our Black colleagues, talent, storytellers and fans — and all affected by senseless violence and social oppression, because we believe Black Lives Matter. Our parent company, WarnerMedia, is supporting these organizations that work to advance social justice: 

Color Of Change 

Equal Justice Initiative 

The National Action Network 

The National Urban League 

NAACP Legal Defense Fund 

National Center for Civil and Human Rights 

WarnerMedia is expanding its content innovation program OneFifty with additional funding to seed issue-focused creative ideas from communities who often go unheard. We are proud to be part of an organization committed to change. We know words and social posts alone are not enough, and we pledge to hold ourselves accountable and take meaningful action. One of the ways TCM is doing that is by amplifying the work of Black voices.

You can also find previous, in-depth conversations to learn more about the history of Black representation in classic Hollywood on our YouTube Channel or in our book Hollywood Black, written by prominent film historian and author Donald Bogle. The following films are airing this month on Turner Classic Movies that showcase different aspects of Black life.

A MAN CALLED ADAM (’66) at 8:00pm ET on 6/8 - Sammy Davis Jr. gives a rare dramatic performance in this film as a trumpeter tormented by a car accident that killed his family. Cicely Tyson, Ossie Davis and Louis Armstrong costar.

Jazz legend Monty Alexander spoke to TCM host Eddie Muller about his personal connection to this film.

ODDS AGAINST TOMORROW (’59) at 8:00pm ET on 6/15 - A film noir about a bank robbery gone wrong is considered by many to be Harry Belafonte’s best film. He also produced it through his production company, HarBel Productions.

BLACK ORPHEUS (’59) at 3:00am ET on 6/18 - The ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice is told in the slums of Rio de Janeiro during Carnaval in the 20th century. This influential film went on to win the Palme d'Or at the 1959 Cannes Film Festival, the 1960 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Foreign Film at the 1960 Golden Globes.

ALWAYS FOR PLEASURE (’78) at 5:00am ET on 6/18 - A documentary capturing the life and music of New Orleans and featuring such musical legends as Allen Toussaint, Irma Thomas, Booker Washington and The Neville Brothers.

BLACKBOARD JUNGLE (’55) at 2:00pm ET on 6/20 - Sidney Poitier’s breakout role as a juvenile delinquent in a film about a new teacher at an inner city school.

THELONIOUS MONK: STRAIGHT, NO CHASER (’89) at 9:30pm ET on 6/22 - A documentary about the legendary jazz pianist and composer told through a series of interviews and archival footage.

SHADOWS (’59) at 11:30pm ET on 6/22 - A drama that explores race relations among three siblings in the Beat generation.

NEW ORLEANS (’47) at 9:00pm ET on 6/25 - This fictional film set in New Orleans features Billie Holiday in her only feature-length film and has appearances by Louis Armstrong and His Band.

LADY SINGS THE BLUES at 9:45pm ET on 6/25 - Diana Ross, Billy Dee Williams and Richard Pryor star in this legendary and groundbreaking Billie Holiday biopic, co-written and produced by Motown business woman and entertainment executive Suzanne de Passe.

TCM host Jacqueline Stewart recently spoke about this film during our May spotlight on Wonder Women.

THE WATERMELON WOMAN (’95) at 9:45pm ET on 6/26 - The first film directed by an out black lesbian director, Cheryl Dunye, who also stars in the film that is a personal look at the black lesbian experience.

BLACK GIRL (‘66) available on demand on Watch TCM until June 30 - The heartbreaking story of a Senegalese woman who tries to find a better life in France by taking a job as a servant. Directed by pioneering African director Ousmane Sembène.

BLACK GIRL was one of the many films featured during our Black Experience on Film series co-presented by the African American Film Critics Association in 2018. Here is a part of the conversation between critics Tyra Martin and Gil Robertson.

In addition to what we have on TCM, our parent company Warner Bros. has made the movie JUST MERCY (2019) available as a free digital rental in June. Our sister network HBO  also has programs Notes from the Field and Wyatt Cenac’s Problem Areas available on YouTube.

[tabloidtoc]

National Enquirer, November 2

You can buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Jealous O.J. Simpson killed Nicole Brown over sizzling photos 

Page 2: Melanie Griffith was caught in lockdown meltdown mode outside her Los Angeles home yelling at an unsuspecting laborer and giving him a good working over after he somehow crossed her bath and pushed her buttons but it doesn’t take much to get Mel to blow these days because she’s upset about two things which are getting old and not having a man in her life 

Page 3: Lisa Marie Presley’s son Ben Keough’s tragic last moments were caught on tape as he argued with his girlfriend according to the coroner’s report on his suicide and security camera footage also captured the eerie sound of an apparent gunshot said the officer who viewed the tape -- Ben had hosted a party for his girlfriend Diana Pinto then about 4 a.m. the 27-year-old musician went to his bedroom; two hours later Diana went to check on him and had to jimmy the bedroom door lock with a bobby pin and she discovered his body and called 911 but Ben was pronounced dead at the scene -- since his death a devastated Lisa Marie has blamed herself for not intervening sooner; Ben had been to rehab several months before and Lisa Marie could see he was struggling with drugs and depression and she has kept a close eye on Ben’s gravesite with Graceland’s surveillance system 

Page 4: Anne Heche’s shocking public pronouncement that she wants to reunite with former galpal Ellen DeGeneres was met with fury from Ellen wife Portia de Rossi -- Ellen and Anne were Hollywood’s highest-profile lesbian couple when they dated for three years before their bitter split in 2000 and they haven’t spoken since but Anne announced after her elimination on Dancing with the Stars that she would love to appear on The Ellen DeGeneres Show but Portia has made it clear she wants Anne nowhere near her wife and she believes Anne is using Ellen to drum up publicity for herself, lonely Ryan Seacrest is longing for a reunion with former flame Shayna Taylor but she wants no part of him -- workaholic Ryan announced the combustible couple’s third split in June after eight on-and-off years together -- Ryan’s obsession with being the next Dick Clark tests the patience of everybody around him and it’s made him a nightmare to be in a relationship with as Shayna found out firsthand -- Ryan seemed so cocky and sure that breaking up was the right thing to do but not having Shayna there to lean on has really gotten to him however Shayna is refusing to be played for a fool 

Page 5: Kelly Clarkson made a massive mistake dumping husband Brandon Blackstock according to famed numerologist Glynis McCants 

Page 6: Doting dad Kanye West is spoiling oldest daughter North rotten and it’s causing even more problems between him and wife Kim Kardashian because Kim feels North is getting too spoiled but Kanye won’t hear any of it because North is his firstborn and his princess and he treats her like it -- North is regularly served breakfast in bed on a silver tray and gets whatever she wants even if it’s waffles with strawberries and ice cream and she also has a team of beauticians and a stylist to cater to her every need as though she was a full-grown woman and her wardrobe is extensive and expensive and she never wears the same designer outfit twice plus North also loves to shop online for jewelry and Kanye gives her his credit card and she can spend $100,000 in a single sitting and Kanye just thinks it’s cute 

Page 7: Daring Jill Duggar and husband Derick Dillard are rebelling against her conservative parents and causing a full-scale family war as the couple has publicly defied Baptist patriarch Jim Bob Duggar several times since their 2014 marriage and now they’ve been banned from the 19 Kids and Counting reality clan; Jim Bob’s even demanded that their neighbors have nothing to do with them -- Jill and Derick drew Jim Bob’s fury after criticizing her parents’ conservative views and shutting down their own family factory after having two sons and said they’re stopping there for now unlike Jill’s folks who had 19 kids, dog lover Jennifer Aniston adores her new rescue puppy but potty-training the pooch has been the pits so desperate Jen had to sign up her new pup Lord Chesterfield for private lessons with a dog trainer -- she has two other dogs Clyde and Sophie but they’re well-behaved and know to do their business outdoors and Jen loves them all but she forgot how much work it is to train a puppy 

Page 8: Prince Harry’s wife Meghan Markle revealed her private battle with depression as her struggles with first-time motherhood and fitting in with the rigid royal family pushed her over the edge but Queen Elizabeth thinks her conniving confession is simply a ploy to sully the monarchy -- Meghan described the emotional pain caused by criticism as a death by a thousand cuts and said if people are saying things about you that aren’t true what that does to your mental and emotional health is so damaging -- Queen Elizabeth believes Meghan’s confession is a calculated attack on the monarchy and Meghan is acting like the royals waged a war against her but Meghan and Harry’s actions since they quit have infuriated Her Majesty because Meghan keeps orchestrating situations where she takes center stage appearing to support and put the spotlight on those in need but she turns them all into opportunities to talk about herself and how hard her struggle is

Page 9: Rattled Tyra Banks’ rocky start on Dancing with the Stars has her looking for a way to waltz off the show and she is already trying to back out of hosting because she hates the criticism she’s been getting from virtually everyone plus she’s unpopular with the contestants and is bickering behind the scenes with producers who now regret replacing longtime hosts Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews -- ratings have also plummeted since Tyra took the helm with the show losing more than a million viewers in early October from the same week in 2019

Page 10: Hot Shots -- Gwen Stefani during a photo session in Calabasas, Tiffany Haddish used a leaf blower during a skit on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Justin Bieber on a scooter in Beverly Hills, Zosia Mamet donned a unicorn horn as she wrapped the final scenes of The Flight Attendant, Robert Pattinson and Colin Farrell on the Liverpool set of The Batman 

Page 11: John Oliver’s jokey jabs have earned him a crappy honor from the town of Danbury in Connecticut -- after he ragged on tony Danbury on his show Mayor Mark Boughton vowed to rename its sewage plant after him and now it’s official that the Danbury Sewage Plant is now the John Oliver Memorial Sewage Plant and as promised John is donating $55,000 to local charities which has spurred fundraising efforts for local food banks and Boughton is offering tours of the plant for $500 donations to local food pantries, ailing Phil Collins was rocked by ex-wife Orianne’s betrayal and pals fear he won’t make it to Christmas -- the singer was shocked when it emerged that Orianne who he’d divorced in 2006 and reunited with a decade later married another man in Las Vegas and the stunning news prompted him to serve an eviction notice to get her out of his Miami home and his life for good but Orianne refused to leave

Page 12: Straight Shuter -- Nev Schulman on roller blades in an L.A. parking lot (picture), Eboni K. Williams only landed the gig on The Real Housewives of New York City because she co-hosts State of the Culture on Sean Diddy Combs’ Revolt TV cable network and Bravo is desperate to get famous New Yorkers on the show so cameras will be following Eboni around at work hoping to catch Diddy, with Keeping Up with the Kardashians ending E! is looking for the next big reality family and it may be Sylvester Stallone’s daughters Sophia and Sistine and Scarlet Stallone who are all models and not one has a sex tape, with Bravo boss Andy Cohen and axed Housewife NeNe Leakes at war their mutual friends are being forced to pick sides -- Andy gave NeNe access to his famous non-reality show friends and now he’s regretting it -- Kelly Ripa and Anderson Cooper are all Team Andy

Page 13: Kris Kristofferson is battling Alzheimer’s disease and has been forced to retire from singing and acting but the songwriter is in the best place he can be at his home in Maui with family and friends who are surrounding him with love and support, frantic Kate Gosselin is feeling a financial pinch and ready to take a bath on her house by putting her $1.2 million mansion on the market for a measly $815,000 because she’s been struggling with money because she hasn’t worked in a while and living off the money she made in past 

Page 14: Crime 

Page 15: Marie Osmond was blue over being booted from The Talk but husband Steve Craig gave her something to get over it which was a stunning pair of opal and tanzanite earrings worth nearly $3000, Megan Thee Stallion cheated death when she was shot twice in July and is now using the terrifying incident as a platform to empower Black women and she wrote an op-ed saying the attack proved she and other Black women are not protected as human beings -- fellow rapper Tory Lanez was charged with the shooting that left two flesh-shredding wounds in Megan’s feet and allegedly took place after they argued in an SUV in Hollywood Hills 

Page 16: Cover Story -- Rampaging O.J. Simpson was driven into a kill-crazy rage after seeing photos of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson dating hunky young boytoys and flaunting her body in modeling shots -- 25 years after the disgraced football star’s 1995 acquittal intimate images from Nicole’s secret photo album including a picture of the blond beauty posing topless with lover Brett Shaves is believed to have given the jealous ex-jock a motive for murder 

Page 18: American Life -- I found a $1M diamond in the rough 

Page 19: John Travolta paid tribute to wife Kelly Preston on what would have been her 58th birthday three months after tragic death following a secret two-year battle with breast cancer -- John addressed his late love in a touching Instagram post featuring an image from their 1991 wedding day alongside a picture of his own parents as newlyweds, sci-fi legend George Takei has fired yet another shot at former Star Trek castmate William Shatner as the aging actors’ war of words continues to rage on well into their 80s -- George who played Sulu claimed Shatner was jealous of the amount of fan mail received by their late co-star Leonard Nimoy who played Spock but Captain Kirk shot off a testy response and claimed George was making things up and the only person with jealousy is George -- when told Shatner’s comments George calmly remarked that you can tell by those words that he is upset to put it mildly 

Page 20: In a rerun of their long-running rivalry Madonna and Mariah Carey are prepping dueling biopics -- their cold war dates back to the ‘90s but Mariah ramped up their feud when she revealed the very exciting prospect of her biopic but that followed Madonna’s announcement that she was collaborating on her own script -- they’re each obsessed with getting their film out first and getting the right It Girl to play her so the other one doesn’t grab her first

Page 21: Elton John and ex-wife Renate Blauel agreed to zip their lips about their four-year marriage and privately settled her $3.8 million lawsuit over claims he blabbed about their relationship in his memoir Me and the movie Rocketman, Stevie Nicks admitted her insomnia has gotten so bad that she needs therapy or needs someone to hit her on the head with a hammer -- she’s long been nocturnal and it used to be she could sleep from 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. but now says she doesn’t nod off until 8 a.m., singer Amy Winehouse died in 2011 but her dad claimed he still can’t get her out of his house -- former taxi driver Mitch Winehouse who is working on a movie and stage show about the late singer insisted he’s regularly visited by his daughter’s ghost who comes and sits at the end of his bed -- Mitch also said Amy helps around the house in his dreams 

Page 26: Niecy Nash’s new bride Jessica Betts has a nightmarish criminal past according to police reports -- Jessica was arrested twice in Chicago once for domestic battery and then for selling a gun to a minor

Page 28: Stars Who Refuse to Zip It -- cringeworthy confessions and nasty habits and more -- Jennifer Love Hewitt, Megan Fox, Al Roker, Olivia Wilde 

Page 29: Kristen Stewart on Robert Pattinson, John Mayer, Lady Gaga, Suzanne Somers 

Page 32: Demi Lovato’s relentless ex Max Ehrich refuses to let her go and her friends are worried he’s turning into a stalker -- since their breakup he’s been particularly creepy, Tatum O’Neal’s confession that she was ready to jump off the balcony of a Los Angeles home was actually a desperate cry for help -- Tatum was reportedly put on a psychiatric hold at a local hospital after the alleged incident and the event signaled she was in unbearable emotional and physical pain and she feels lost and rejected because she was the youngest Oscar winner ever and now she has trouble finding a job and lost all confidence in herself 

Page 34: India Oxenberg has confessed she was afraid of former NXIVM cult master Allison Mack of TV’s Smallville -- India found herself Allison’s slave and realized she was being groomed as a sexual partner for NXIVM leader Keith Raniere and she was branded with Raniere’s initials in her pelvic regions, a disturbing TV interview in England has sparked new fears for the well-being on boxer Mike Tyson -- Mike looked like the train wreck he was when he was plowing through drugs and was sent to prison in the early ‘90s; he looked barely conscious as he slurred his speech and offered incoherent responses -- Tyson blamed his interview on lack of sleep and insisted his contact with drugs is now limited to growing and smoking pot on his California ranch 

Page 36: Health Watch

Page 42: Red Carpet -- Zendaya 

Page 45: Spot the Differences -- Debbie Matenopoulos on Home and Family 

[elane-in-the-shadows]

Red Queen Fan Fiction - Red Huntress Chapter 7

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Epilogue

Find this on Wattpad and on AO3

The journey to Trial took several days, more than a week. During this time, Diana was stuck in a number of vehicles, transports, farm machines and carriages where she often also had to sleep. She wasn’t to talk to the drivers, nor to be seen. She found that a bit silly but she guessed she was only useful as an informal supporter of the Scarlet Guard if she wasn’t known as one, not to be connected to any rebel who might get caught.

Her company was a woman about thirty, with short straight black hair and olive skin. Sometimes she drove their transport; the rest of the time she wanted Diana to prepare. Or rather “Tina”. To make her memorize her role, the operative never used Diana’s true name and neither introduced herself. Diana went along with that, eager to please, yet inwardly wondering how deep the operative had sunk into the game of changing identities. She instructed Diana in the duties of a Red civil servant, so strict and exact about the required meekness she could’ve been a maid servant herself. Or still was, like putting on a mask over her rebel self. As she also told Diana how to be a spy.

“You have only women as roommates on your floor,” the operative said when they eventually arrived at the dorm in Trial. The dorm was higher than any house Diana had ever been in before, and still it was surrounded by buildings even higher, reaching into the grey sky.

Diana swallowed her nausea that rose from sudden uncertainty. Don’t be such a bumpkin. To not let her rural origins show was precisely what the operative had reminded her about.

“Right”, Diana agreed to whatever she’d said.

The operative sighed as they entered the building and went up the stairs. “All inhabitants of this dorm are some sort of servant or other. Mostly with municipal jobs, like you.”

“Sure.”

The operative stopped her at the door of the third-floor-room “Tina” was to live in. She turned to Diana, glaring. “Don’t trust them.”

Diana raised an eyebrow. “As people? Or as sources?”

For the first time in days, the operative’s features softened, although one would hardly call it a smile. “I see you understand. As the former, of course. You aren’t here to make friends. Now come,” said she, and led Diana inside the room.

They dressed in uniforms of skirts and shirts, all in light blue shades apart from the scarlet neckties marking them as Reds, to undermine any chance at being mistaken.

Diana wasn’t sure what to think of the face she saw in the mirror. With her straight, pinned-up hair and the crisp uniform, it wasn’t the face she was used to, neither a strange woman of nineteen. She was not Diana Farley of Sieverling, but someone different, someone she’d have to get to know – and shape. Into the spy the Scarlet Guard wanted.

The operative nodded. “Let’s go introduce you at the office.”

Diana took a reassuring breath, glancing one last time at herself in the mirror. You can do this.

But it was winter, and she was glad the operative let her keep her coat from home, to cuddle in something familiar during their walk.

The work itself was dull. Sorting papers, carrying forms, copying them. She wasn’t good or fast on the typewriter, unskilled compared to her co-workers, and she feared this lack of experience had to out her false identity. She tried to improve and to shift typing to other colleagues, but she realized that she failed the Guard in this regard: If she had been a quick typist, she could type documents for the Guard besides her official tasks. But they knew this when they hired you for this job.

On the other hand, when she was free of the typewriter, she had enough time to gather the bits and pieces the Guard wanted. The municipal office stored many police data Diana was to search up in the archives, at other times she could trip over some rumours regarding the forces’ next steps, both information valuable for protecting Scarlet Guard operatives. Not that she had any idea about their dangerous operations as information only ever flowed one way – away from her. Like before, Diana was to organize forms and permits the Guard needed, sometimes by stealing, other times by leaving a door open at the right time. Most intelligence she was to deliver to a drop box that changed location every week. Occasionally, a handler expected her for a briefing, and quickly, she learned to censor her words to avoid suspicion. Keeping her routes hidden was top priority, of course.

Diana had feared her absences, her inefficiency, would be noticed and chided, but soon she had realized her co-workers also stretched their tasks to fill their days, without trying to impress the Silvers for the small hope of promotion. Was there a point in trying? She guessed the real “Tina” would want to impress, to keep this position, about also that her co-workers would know better than her. The Silvers underestimated all Reds, and showed that to Reds every day.

That was why Diana had learned to freeze, automatically, lowering her eyes and putting on the vapid friendly smile, when a Silver entered the office. She saw more of them there than ever before in her life and the shock remained fresh for her. She was never able to anticipate their orders, either filled with stupid and offensive remarks, or random tasks the Reds had to figure out on their own, with little hints how much extra time they demanded. Those occasions were only sufferable because the colleagues stuck together, to distract or subtly calm an agitated Silver and to share the work.

The worst was that Diana was either invisible or a tool to be used or a doll to be stared at.

She hadn’t been aware how much it hurt, to be gawped at and not seen as a person but an object. There was one Silver, a middle-aged man with long brown hair and cold beige skin, who always looked at her in passing, harder than the others. He never said anything and every time, Diana felt her 15-year-old self like never before.

From her first day, she’d kept her knife on her person, firstly because she was used to it, later because it gave her reassurance.

No one there knew she was a young girl. No one knew her name. And she could never let anything slip. Not even in the dorm, where most of her roommates were in their mid- or late twenties, could she let go. She feared they’d smell her secrets as she claimed to be close in age yet always remained a little bit off. They even talked different from her.

She tried though. Gone out with them in their spare time, to roam the city. She couldn’t get used to it, the grey concrete everywhere, the air, the fragrances. There was a river, yes, and many canals and wells, but hardly green. And the convenience. She didn’t have enough coin to buy more than what she needed to live, but she saw enough – more than enough. Medicines, clothes, books, tools, even electronic devices were available in Trial, things she found at home only a few times a year when the right vendors bothered to visit Sieverling to sell their decidedly smaller offers.

Just the chance to buy these things at any time, to have them at hand when needed, made her envious, even though they were still unaffordable for most Reds.

“They’re traps, you know,” her handler, a young man in his mid-twenties with golden-brown complexion, said once. “The shops.”

“Hm?”

“They’re to tell us what we’re supposed to crave in the Silvers’ eyes, to ignore what we really need.”

Diana understood him, truly. But those were a city man’s words, not of a person who would’ve given – or paid – anything for an expensive medicine to save a life when purchasing that drug from another place took more time than a beloved, dying, person had left.

Diana remembered when her mother had a fever after Madeline’s birth. Papa had been devastated, but he’d gotten that antibiotic to help her, as the drug vendor had travelled on just to the next village. His own mother, he said then, hadn’t been so lucky when she suffered and died from pneumonia.

One rainy evening in late March, Diana wasn’t with her roommates when they went out. She continued to keep herself apart from them, being a stranger as the city remained a stranger to her.

One reason for that was the curfew. She just couldn’t grasp it. Lord Isère took few measures to control the private lives of the people of Sieverling, but a curfew would’ve been beyond ridiculous. Telling peasants – or hunters, like her parents – not to leave their houses at night, when the best time for work could happen to be in the dark? When an animal – or a sick person, for that matter – might be in need?

Diana knew what the curfew was for, to control the Reds. To remind them the place they lived in wasn’t their own.

She stared out of the window, into the rain and onto the wet street. Her roommates had ways to deal with the curfew, knew the right bars and places to sleep in. It should’ve been enough; Diana was alone, could forget her façade for a night and imagine she was in another place, with someone else. She missed her family, GIselle, her life so much. But she was angry tonight, full of energy and considering how lazy she’d become with her office work and lack of training sessions. She cursed at hiding herself. It was fifteen minutes until curfew, and she decided to go out for a jog.

She despised the first metres but she bit through them, pulling up her hood against the rain. She wore dark clothes, pants and a sweater, clothes she also put on when training at home. She ran on until she no longer felt the cold gushes of the weather and instead had the warmth of the runner’s high rise in her. Finally, she smiled. And squinting her eyes, she saw the two watchmen almost too late.

Cussing silently, she dashed into the next alleyway to avoid a pointless questioning. She had little idea where it led, seeing only puddles and shadows in the tight gap between houses, until two people emerged from the darkness, pressed against the wall.

No, one person pressed against the wall by the other. Diana stopped, yet a puddle splashed as she stepped into it.

“Another customer?” one of them hissed. It was the aggressor, the person holding the other, a boy, in place. A woman, it sounded like, and she turned her head to Diana, letting go of the boy.

The boy stayed fixed on the wall and Diana ceased to breathe.

The woman had to be another guard, a Silver. And, she realized as the rain formed into icicles, a shiver who was able to freeze liquid matter.

Dina only saw a pale face framed by hair turned dark from the rain as the Silver advanced at her. She prayed for her training to kick in, to tell her what to do. She fell into a defensive stance as the Silver slid on the puddles in the alley she’d turned into ice, along with the icicles in her hand she began to throw. Only then did Diana remember her lessons.

You can’t defend against a Silver. You can only attack.

The Silver was inched away from her when Diana changed position and kicked at the Silver’s leg, shattering her balance. Passing her opponent, Diana slid onto the ice puddle herself, grabbing her knife as she spun at the edge of the ice.

The Silver seemed stunned, for she hesitated. Diana’s mind ran miles but she had no time to search her memories for a shiver’s fatal weakness. She just knew how much their surroundings favoured the Silver, with all the water to freeze and turn into weapons. There were already new icicles, growing sharply around the Silver.

Diana moved forward, afraid the shiver would use the puddle to pin her place, like she’d done with the boy behind her. She ran, her left hand lifted to protect her face against the icy projectiles that pierced her belly instead.

She couldn’t stop. She charged, crashing into the Silver and lashing away her arm with the claws of ice taking shape around it. They both fell, and Diana buried her knife in the Silver’s chest.

She breathed heavily, on top of the Silver woman. She pressed a hand over the Silver’s mouth and nose to stop her from screaming.

It felt endlessly. The woman was dying and still, her ability, her last breaths, tried to freeze Diana’s skin. But it was no use, and finally, it was over.

Diana thought she must’ve dealt a lucky hit, punctured a lung. If she’d pierced the stomach, it would’ve been her who lost her life.

Suddenly, she heard a crack and the boy stood right behind her, shoving her away. Diana crouched on her haunches, staring at the hesitating boy. Then he ripped a bag open and threw powder over the body. “Go!” he spat at Diana, and turned to dash down the dark alleyway, on some path only he knew.

Diana didn’t follow. She got up, stepped out of the alley, and ran home.

A/N: This chapter finally delivers after you had to wait so long for the opening line of the first chapter to become relevant.

@elliemarchetti @lilyharvord @mareshmallow @evervaleli @avid-author-activist @marecalrandomstuff @misslucyhutton @shadykittentraveler @olivegreenolives @gamer670 @neyrriz @scxrletguardsdawn @yjlover @loveverygalaxybouquetstuff

[punkscowardschampions]

Ava & James

Ava: So, campus bars Ava: Avoid entirely or cheap enough to make the cringe worth it? 🤔🤔 James: use your student loans wisely enough that cheap is avoided entirely Ava: Ugh 😏 I thought you'd give real advice if I got you off the clock James: go with your gut, option 1 James: you're not striking me as someone to base their social life around KCLSU's quiz night Ava: I love trivia like I love cheap white wine spritzers and school spirit James: knew you'd fit right in Ava: Can I put that resounding endorsement on my application then, James? James: it'll carry more weight if you accidentally add the I when you write my name James: but I didn't say that James: slip of the pen, that's all Ava: My lips are sealed Ava: There's plenty of time to meet him and double up on kudos James: I hear the girl's hazing rituals are savage James: stand you in good stead that will Ava: No one is scarier than a high school girl Ava: Nor as petty and sadistic Ava: I think I'll survive James: they've toned it down since that girl had a mental episode post head shave James: sure you will Ava: Very chic Ava: Do you wait 'til the UCAS app has gone through to drop the horror stories usually or are you really bad at this whole recruitment thing on purpose? James: it's my 1st time playing tour guide James: potentially I'm less than cut out for it Ava: I won't lodge a formal complaint Ava: Unless you're turning over DMs as feedback, in which case, awkward James: I won't be, some girls think I have more sway than I really do James: awkward indeed Ava: God Ava: Not even my first choice Ava: Though makes you wonder how effective attaching nudes to your cover letter would be James: they'd have to take that on a case by case basis Ava: 🤞 that you don't get the one token woman on the panel James: not your 1st choice, no need to cross anything Ava: Hypothetically, James II Ava: Why was it yours, then? Ava: Student life evidently not being it James: it was my only James: it's gonna end up being Teddy's too Ava: He hasn't turned up to business studies in time Ava: But slip of the pen, I get you James: my older sister got all the brains and none of the sense of fun Ava: Know the sort Ava: Bet I still likes you better though James: I wouldn't go that far Ava: Too far for a taster sesh Ava: Understood Ava: Don't suppose you'll point me in the direction of where you actually hang now then? James: I suppose I could Ava: Please Ava: Bored is an understatement Ava: I'll still show up all present and correct for the debrief thing tomorrow James: it's such a good thing here isn't your 1st choice Ava: You should give me the real tour Ava: I'll keep my lips sealed James: can't I get another please before you do? Ava: Please do not invite your brother Ava: He got us kicked out of Mahiki last month it was so tragic James: he's a disgrace Ava: Most of them are James: I don't associate with anyone who still goes to Mahiki regularly Ava: It's pretty played out James: if they'll let Teddy in they're getting desperate Ava: 😂 awh James: you ready now? Ava: Already out Ava: Figured you better pick me up from The Vault Ava: Consider it a mini hazing of my own James: keep your lips sealed that I'm going within 100 yards of the place and sure Ava: Don't worry Ava: The others are at the cinema or something equally as lame the school put on for our 'overnight entertainment' Ava: I'm sick Ava: No selfies James: the hangover'll make it look & feel convincing Ava: That's a promise you can put your wallet behind Ava: I am a guest James: you don't want put your fake ID on the line either Ava: Bold of you to assume I've ever needed to buy my own drinks 😏 Ava: I didn't bring it alright, shut up James: you don't need it, I'm only playing Ava: 😾 James: how many drinks has my brother bought you? Of course I need to 1 up him Ava: Total? Ava: Not as much as he'd like but lots Ava: Not trying to milk this sibling rivalry or anything, have known him ages Ava: Well before Mahiki would let him in, like James: hardly a rivalry, you know him well enough to realise Ava: True Ava: You do what feels right and I'll let you know by the end of the night then James: very straightforward James: I like it Ava: You don't know me well enough yet but that's par for the course James: I knew your brother for years & I didn't know him James: we'd need more than an evening Ava: I'm as comparable to my brother as you are to yours Ava: Probably James: show me, I'll show you Ava: Deal Ava: But we will need more than an evening Ava: to make it fair James: you can have until you're bored Ava: You'll want longer when you aren't anymore James: I'm used to things not lasting as long as I want Ava: I'm not your average Ava: You'll see James: bold of you to assume I've ever settled for average Ava: I didn't say THE average James: I heard you say my average Ava: No need to be offended by better, is there? James: bemused at most Ava: You're welcome Ava: but you are meant to be entertaining me, not the other way 'round James: you brought up fairness James: & it's a good point Ava: How do you propose we make it fair then? James: I entertain you tonight, you entertain me whenever you've thought of your own tour worth taking me on Ava: That's actually a good idea Ava: and entirely fair James: Teddy'll cost my dad more to secure his place than I did, I've got some brains on board Ava: No doubt Ava: Gave his name to the right kid, clearly James: My sister was undoubtedly relieved James: though Diana has its own pitfalls Ava: 😬 The jokes write themselves James: they do Ava: Perks of having a relatively untouched name James: it does suit her, she's very much a martyr Ava: Did you do an English degree? Ava: You're good at painting a picture with words Ava: See 👸 so clearly James: sadly not James: maybe I'll go back & do it if I ever finish the current one Ava: Student forever vibes Ava: Fuck real life James: then again, being the kind of dad who drops their kid off for classes & pulls up his own chair at the table doesn't sound like a great idea Ava: Just make sure its not their first choice, yeah? James: oldest's already smarter than me James: won't be a problem Ava: There you go then James: where's yours? Ava: Currently undecided Ava: It's more a case of sorting the 2-5 James: & how's that going? James: this place being a solid 5th Ava: Its been a solid mix of fun and boring working it out Ava: Better than another night in Mahiki at any rate Ava: I'll have to decide eventually but even my mum can't demand I do quite yet James: don't over complicate it James: they're not all that different James: I've got friends studying all over the map and they're still basically doing the same things I am Ava: See, that's what I figured Ava: But try telling that to a woman who was Cambridge or bust Ava: It's more about the vibe of the place, the people, the ethos and the lecturers not being the worst stereotypes of boring/creep Ava: again, if I tell her vibe is on my criteria she'd actually kill me before I could apply anywhere so 🤷 James: your secret's safe with me James: even if our mothers were friends, mine is currently not speaking to me Ava: How's that? James: it's something I'm fairly used to James: she's not a big talker James: more of a fan of a dismissive hand gesture Ava: Gotcha Ava: Not a whole lot to miss James: she's got lots to say about my parenting style but who hasn't Ava: Shame you don't talk to my brother now James: I don't suppose he sees it as a shame Ava: Probably not Ava: He's not one for regrets James: me either James: it's why we started out friends Ava: Feels like ages ago Ava: Since he still lived here James: it kind of is James: he left before he left Ava: It's complicated James: it's not my business Ava: Not mine either so Ava: Whatever James: car's here James: are you going to make me get out for you? Ava: You're meant to come in here Ava: Don't you trust I can keep my lips sealed? James: I don't trust it to be entertaining in there James: hence it's not part of the tour Ava: Please James: Oh Ava James: [but does come in we all know he would] Ava: [clearly making him stay for a drink and play pool or something in this student ass bar] James: [when you're whipped for someone you're not even dating lol] Ava: [When Chloe is your missus] James: [to be a fly on the wall in their relationship tbh literally imagine] Ava: [oh lordy how you have not been missed girl] James: [at least the new kid is young enough she can dress it up still and it can't talk back so she can pretend she gives a shit and isn't blowing his phone up rn] Ava: [in full show-off-to-all-my-friends mode still, somehow still has some lol] James: [lord when you don't even like and comment on pics of your own child anymore though bye do not approve of your aesthetic choices Chlo] Ava: [so awkward, when you only get a look in for the boring/hard bits] James: [basically just get to parent Jay cos she's well over that] Ava: [poor James tbh] James: [have your fun now lad I don't blame you even though everyone else will] Ava: [lord people gonna be SO mad] James: [how far we gonna take this during the tour cos obvs flirty vibes been flying about but like he can't just jump her cos married and she's younger] Ava: [she fully initiated this whole thing lbr but maybe don't sleep with him yet babe as you are aware he's married and has kids so like, some thought even though you young and reckless that, he could always stop it at a makeout 'cos then how embarrassing for her and she'd have to leave it for a bit like what was I doing, angst etc] James: [I vibe with that cos they are gonna be drinking a lot as the night goes on so that'd make both of them give less of a shit about the consequences but because the night is going on eventually chlo is gonna be like are you coming home ever because I like to think he hasn't cheated since she got pregnant with this kid and has actually been trying even though he's miserable af clearly] James: [like maybe it was really bad before and he was actually gonna leave her so she was like simply must trap him and did] Ava: [v much a her move I support it] James: [yeah cos she's invested this much time into him she's not just gonna let him go easily] Ava: [when you have no idea what you've signed yourself up for here babe] James: [I'm rooting for them rn cos nobody else is and I'm 100% that bitch, must not get invested yet when we've only just begun] Ava: [same tho so whoops] James: [he'd be so into it though too we all know that makeout would be 💣🔥] Ava: [hence breaking it off would be hard af, Chloe gotta be blowing his shit up to the degree he thinks maybe one of the kids is hurt lol] James: [literally Chloe is the teenage girl in this situation, girl chill out] Ava: [I'd feel bad if you hadn't also cheated loads and trapped him in this sham life soooo, grant you idk how much Ava knows of that rn but she'd clearly have a rep] James: [yeah I feel like Ava would be knowing some shit cos same circles and Chlo ain't slick plus like he's gonna eventually tell her cos god knows he needs someone to talk to] Ava: [we will get there boy] James: [at least it'll be less awks for her cos it'll be obvious that he didn't wanna break shit off and how hard it was to do] Ava: [there was obvs a vibe to pursue in the first place, still tomorrow morning lmao] James: [he'd so go too hard pretending she doesn't exist like nobody's picked up on the vibe and it ain't obvious okay boy] Ava: [I hope there's some other drama gone down on this little excursion so yous can fly under the radar, someone hold hands at the cinema lol] James: [shit like that always happens don't worry you two] Ava: [thank God for teenage shenanigans when you out here homewrecking on the low] James: [you should do some Chlo texts at me for the lols even if I don't reply cos busy lol]

[machihunnicutt]

whoops i kind of failed fic-vember (so have an Anne fic)

Hey ya’ll. Finals happened and then the holidays happened and I gave up on the last week or two of fic-vemeber. Here’s an Anne fic to say sorry.

Like My Heart is Hitting the Ground

(Or read on ao3.)

Anne had been firm in her demand not to work the same shifts as one Gilbert Blythe. She’d managed to get away with it, most of the time, eyieng the schedule every time her manager made it and adjusting her availability as needed. Her intense dislike of Gilbert (Diana called it a grudge but Diana wasn’t there at the inciting moment) began his first day on the job, when, while she was dusting a new batch of scones with powdered sugar, he pulled her braid and called her “carrots.” He got a face full of powdered sugar in retaliation.

But it was Christmas (and therefore winter break at the university) and Anne and Gilbert were the only two in town to run the shop.

“This will work out just fine if you stay over there and I stay over here,” Anne said, gesturing to the imaginary line that divided the back of Avonlea Coffee and Bakery.

Gilbert’s dark eyebrow rose into the mess of curls that fell over his forehead. “So I take all the orders and you’ll make everything.”

“Yes, exactly.”

“What if you need help with something?”

“I won’t,” she said, tightly. “I can handle myself.”

“I didn’t say you couldn’t, Anne,” Gilbert said, meeting her eyes. She hated it when he did that. It reminded her that Gilbert Blythe wasn’t bad to look at. He had a crooked, self-satisfied sort of smile and his gaze was effortlessly warm and guarded by long lashes. And if she was being completely honest with herself (which she wasn’t, she usually counted on Diana for honesty) he was entirely her type: big knitted hand-me-down sweaters, dark cuffed jeans, Converse, messy hair, and a plastic watch with a million pre-set alarms. Anne was attracted to exclusively nerdy wannabe hipsters.

Gilbert Blythe had apologized for the carrots incident, profusely in fact, but Anne wasn’t in the habit of trusting too easily.

“Good, then count the cash in the register and I’ll wipe down the counters,” she said.

“The spray bottles are on my side.”

“Fine, will you please hand me a spray bottle Gilbert Blythe?”

“Why do you do that?”

“What? Say please?” She crossed her arms over her chest and planted her feet firmly on the tile. Her apron had a few leftover stains and one of her braids was starting to come undone, but she maintained her show of authority.

“Call me by my full name, like it’s some sort of comic book name,” he frowned.

“I don’t know what you’re referring to,” she replied.

“You know, Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent, Peter Parker, Charles Xavier...Gilbert Blythe,” his mouth quirked up into half a smile and Anne rolled her eyes.

“Give me the bottle, Wonder-boy,” she said, and he obliged. “And to answer your question, I’m just trying to maintain a professional work environment.” She began wiping down the countertops, briskly, with the intention of ending this conversation.

“Could’ve fooled me, Anne Shirley-Cuthbert.”

Anne had started working at Avonlea Coffee her second semester as an education major at the university. Her scholarships covered housing and a good portion of her tuition, and Marilla and Matthew had sent her off with enough money for textbooks, but she realized her summer job savings weren’t going to cut it the hard way. The second week of spring semester her card got declined when she was buying groceries. Luckily she was there with Diana (angel among men), who covered for her. The next day she sent out a slew of applications. Now she’d been at the shop for two and a half years.

“Welcome to Avonlea Coffee and Bakery. What can we get started for you?” Gilbert’s smile when greeting customers managed to hide the bags beneath his eyes.

“I can’t believe you’re open on Christmas,” the woman at the counter said. She was the twelfth to say so in the last two hours. Nevertheless, Anne had a steady stream of orders to make.

“If you want to switch, let me know,” Gilbert said, halfway through the shift. It was the third instance of Wham’s “Last Christmas” on the shop’s holiday playlist and Anne was tired.

Gilbert was counting the remaining scones in the case. They were down to five and she desperately hoped she wouldn’t have reason to put in another batch.

Outside it had begun to snow, big white clumps that reminded her of walking in Green Gables, at dawn when the snow was heavy and untouched, blanketing the grass.

She hadn’t been back to Green Gables since school started, though she called Marilla and Matthew at least once a week. She’d tried to get them set up on FaceTime, but neither was technologically savvy enough to complete a successful video call. The longer she was away the more her gable room showed up in her dreams: fluffy white comforter that smelled of lavender and detergent, tiny wood desk where she’d studied for her slew of AP exams, Marilla’s lacy curtains that just managed to keep the sunshine out in the morning, and of course the cherry blossoms outside.

“Do you have a ride home? Or are you walking in all that?” Gilbert asked. He looked out at the icy sidewalks and she watched his jaw tighten.

“I’m walking, but I’ll be fine. Thank you,” she replied.

“Are you sure? I’d be happy to...”

“What brings you to the Christmas day shift, Gilbert Blythe?” She interrupted.

“Oh,” he blinked. “Well, I could use the extra money.”

“You’re not going home for break?”

He shook his head and looked back down at the scones. “My dad died earlier this year and I...I sold the house, so I don’t really have a home to go back to. I have a friend back in my hometown, Bash, who invited me to stay with him and his wife for the holidays, but I thought it would be easier and cheaper to just stay here and pick up some extra shifts.”

“I’m sorry,” Anne said. “I didn’t know.”

He laughed nervously. “It’s fine. It’s good to be here when campus is empty, I can catch up on studying. Pre-med and all that. What are you doing here, Anne?”

“My...Matthew, my guardian, is sick and we don’t really have the money to spare for me to fly home. He’s fine, getting better I know, but having a whole big Christmas at home would be a lot right now and I didn’t want to cause my adoptive parents any trouble. Of course they protested.”

“Of course,” Gilbert smiled. “Who wouldn’t want to spend Christmas with Anne Shirley-Cuthbert?”

Anne rolled her eyes and turned away to restock the paper cups and hide the blush spreading over her face. The shop was just warm. “Are you all alone then?” She asked, after a moment.

“My roommates have all left for home, so yes,” he said.

Anne thought about Gilbert Blythe all alone in his apartment, pouring bowls of cold cereal or opening cans of Red Bull, or whatever sad, lonely, study food he ate.

“Well, if you like you can join my roommates and I. We’re all still in town and decided to do our own Christmas. They’re both working today too, so we saved the gift giving for tonight.”

“I don’t want to intrude.”

“You wouldn’t be,” she shot back, suddenly hell-bent on keeping Gilbert Blythe from a Christmas alone. It was sad enough not to have a home to go back to. “Join us, please.”

The front door bell dinged and another wave of customers came in out of the cold, putting the conversation on hold for a moment.

“What do you think?” Anne asked. It was nearly closing and she was halfway through cleaning the espresso machine.

“Okay,” Gilbert said. “If I can drive you.”

“Deal,” Anne said, extending her hand to shake his.

“You’re on my side,” he said.

***

Gilbert Blythe started work at Avonlea Coffee and Bakery at the beginning of his junior year. It was his second job. He worked assorted evenings at the automotive garage down the street from his apartment, and divided his remaining time between a full schedule of classes, homework, and the occasional handful of hours of sleep.

The day he met Anne Shirley-Cuthbert she had flour on her freckled nose and was expertly crafting a latte. She didn’t pay him any attention as their boss trained him, and continued to effectively ignore him the first shift they worked together.

“Do you know Anne very well?” He asked his co-workers during their break. Billy and Charlie were vaping in the alley beside the shop. He sidestepped clouds of vapor and tapped his foot.

“She’s bossy. She’s worked here forever,” Billy said. “I hear she’s got a whole orphan sob story. I’d keep my distance if I were you.”

“Not much to look at anyway,” Charlie put in.

Gilbert considered this for a moment. “Well, I should be getting back.”

“We have five more minutes,” Billy said.

“I know, I’d just rather spend my break inside, and not with you two.”

He tugged on her braid to get her attention. Childish? Absolutely. But he couldn’t think of another way, and he’d never purported to have the best judgment.  

He hadn’t worked with Anne much since, but he’d seen her at the end of her shifts, when he took over for her. She was great with customers; she knew all the regulars by their orders and their names. She added special touches to all the cakes she decorated: buttercream roses, dainty chocolate work, tufts of spun sugar. And Anne always looked pretty in a way that he had to try really hard not to stare at all the time. When it was warmer she wore long, flowy, floral dresses that fell to her knees and clashed with her heavy work boots. In the winter she wore the same dresses with tights and cardigans and long scarves wrapped around her neck. Her hair was almost always braided. He’d seen it down once, curled on her birthday when their boss had brought her a box of her favorite lemon cupcakes.

“You can turn here,” Anne said. She was in the passenger seat. Her dress was red with tiny black flowers. The navy cardigan and coat she had over it nearly swallowed her small frame. “My house is on the right."

This was a pity invite, he knew, but there was still something exciting about Christmas with Anne. Maybe they were turning over a new leaf.

Anne scooped up the box of discount pastries she’d salvaged and led him up the steps to her house.

“Anne’s home!” He heard a call from the kitchen and a woman with dark hair and unevenly cut bangs looked back at them. She was stirring a pot of something that smelled like apples and cinnamon and she seemed to be Anne’s stylistic opposite: heavy eyeliner, dark turtleneck and pencil skirt, nose piercing, and ruby red lipstick. “Oh, hello. Who’s this?” She said.

“Diana Barry, this is my co-worker Gilbert Blythe. Gilbert, meet my roommate Diana.”

“Gilbert,” Diana repeated, giving Anne a look Gilbert couldn’t read. “Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” he replied.

“He’s joining our band of stranded misfits for the evening,” Anne said. “If that’s alright.”

“It’s alright with me. Just be warned that Jerry’s on his third glass of rosé already, and quite torn up about his most recent breakup.”

“Jerry’s an international student. His family's in Paris. He doesn’t fly home for breaks usually,” Anne explained.

“And my family’s abroad in London,” Diana said. “A trip they planned before they knew I’d paid for January term classes already. Either way, it’s much nicer to be with my lovely Anne.”

“It’s much nicer to be alone together,” Anne concluded.

“Alone?” Came a strangled howl from the living room.

“Anne, will you tell Monsieur Heartbreak that this apple cider will be done in five minutes and he better have his present for me wrapped by then?”

Gilbert followed Anne into the living room to see her other roommate sprawled face down on the couch. He turned his head toward them when they came in and moaned.

“Anne of Green Gables how could you bring a new beau to this sacred gathering of singles?”

“He isn’t,” Anne said, at the same time as Gilbert said “I’m not.”

Jerry rolled onto his back and put his head in his hands. “I am destined for suffering.”

“Wrap your present for Diana. Cider’s ready in 5 minutes. This is Gilbert, my co-worker. Please refrain from regaling him with stories of the many sorority girls who have broken your heart until I get back. I need to get my presents from my room.”

Diana brought the cider and offered Gilbert a glass of rosé, which he accepted along with the ten minute recounting of Jerry’s failed relationship. Anne came back and sat next to him on the couch. They all had wine and cider and cookies that Anne made with a recipe from home. Diana ordered pizza and over the exchange of gifts Gilbert learned a number of things:

1) Diana was a music student who studied classical piano for class but made her own songs on synth and guitar in her spare time. She came out as a lesbian last year and went to her first Pride with Anne that summer. Thus her gifts from Anne and Jerry were (respectively) a framed photo of Anne and Diana covered in glitter with bright grins and pride flags, and a pair of musical note earrings.

2) Jerry was an English major, despite the fact that he was dyslexic and it was his second language. He met Anne freshman year in their professor’s office hours and had had a spirited debate about Jane Eyre, which they continued over lunch every week while she edited his (otherwise excellent) essays for typos. He had the unfortunate habit of falling for sorority sisters and writing them embarrassing poetry that often found unsympathetic audiences on ex-girlfriend’s Instagrams post-breakup. Anne got him a mug covered in Brontë quotes and Diana got him a journal and a mood ring she insisted was stuck on “love struck.”

3) Anne’s friends really cared about her. They got her a joint gift, a silver heart locket that made her face light up when she opened it. “For all your love, kindred spirit,” Diana said. Gilbert couldn’t take his eyes off of her.

“Could you do the clasp for me?” She asked him.

“Of course.”

Anne swept her curtain of red hair from her neck and Gilbert undid the clasp and put the necklace on her. He had some trouble doing the clasp up again because his hands were suddenly very sweaty and Jerry, seated next to Diana and thoroughly drunk by now, started laughing as Gilbert could feel his face heating up.

“I’m cutting you off, Jerry,” Anne said as Gilbert finished with the clasp. “I’m going to put on some music,” Anne said. She rose to her feet and turned around to look at the three of them. Her form was glowing in the light from the kitchen and her hair became a halo of orangey light around her head. “Any requests?”

Gilbert shook his head dumbly and Anne disappeared into the kitchen.

“Mon amie, you are gone on her. I can tell,” Jerry said. He got up with Diana and the two of them began swaying to the song Anne had chosen.

“I’m not...I don’t...”

“Oh leave him alone,” Diana put in. She winked at Gilbert.

Anne had returned. “What do you think? It’s my usual playlist.”

She outstretched her hands and pulled him up off the couch. “Do you dance, Gilbert Blythe?” She asked. Her face was flushed too, no doubt from the wine, and she held him by his waist.

“Sometimes...” he muttered.

“I’ll have you know that tonight means nothing in the grand scheme of things.”

“The scheme of things meaning you’re always going to be angry with me?”

“If you keep giving me reasons to be,” she said, but she was smiling.

“What song is this?” Gilbert said. His head was buzzing.

“It’s called Townie,” Anne said. “I put Mitski on all my playlists.”

“We rotate,” Diana said. “Whenever we’re all together and need to play music.”

“Like at work,” Gilbert said.

“Like at work,” Anne repeated.

There's a party and we're all going And we're all growing up.

Anne swayed close to him. “I’m sorry, again, by the way. For pulling your hair like a grade schooler. I really didn’t want to get off on the wrong foot with you.”

Somebody's driving and he will be drinking And no one's going back.

“You didn’t?” She asked. “I was sure Billy and his goons had turned you against me.

'Cause we've tried hungry and we've tried full and nothing seems enough.

“Billy’s a dumbass."

So tonight, tonight The boys are gonna go for   More more more.

“Well I guess we can agree on one thing.”

And I want a love that falls as fast As a body from the balcony, and I want a kiss like my heart is hitting the ground.

I'm holding my breath with a baseball bat, though I don't know what I'm waiting for. I am not gonna be what my daddy wants me to be.

The rest of the night blurred out in a haze of laughter, dizzy dancing around the living room, and Jerry pulling him aside to lecture him in slurred, half-French about the perils of love.

“Merry Christmas Gilbert Blythe,” Anne said, as she saw him off.

“Merry Christmas.”

***

The next week Anne and Gilbert had more shifts together. When it was his turn to pick the music Anne heard Mitski on his playlists, in between his old music.

“Why is it that all of your music sounds like it belongs in a 50s diner?”

“Hey, I don’t complain about your music.”

“Yeah, because my music’s good,” Anne said. She was assembling a batch of macaroons as quickly as she could. Since Christmas they’d been engaging in a number  of competitive games. Right now it was timed macaroon preparation. Yesterday it was who could make the most complicated latte art.

“I’ve got to beat you now since you beat me yesterday.”

Gilbert leaned against the counter beside her. “What did you expect, Anne? A doctor has to have steady hands.”

“Yeah, yeah, time! How fast was that, Gil?”

“Gil?” Gilbert repeated, smile growing wide on his stupid face. “Since when do I have a nickname?”

“You don’t! I...didn’t. Did I beat you?”

Gilbert glanced down at the time. “You got me, Anne. Well done.”

As it had turned out, Gilbert Blythe wasn’t the absolute worst. The past couple of times they’d worked together she’d let him drive her home. He had one of those tree shaped air fresheners hanging from his mirror; it smelled like apples and cinnamon. He always cranked the heat up to make sure she wasn’t cold, though she never was. That’s what Gilbert Blythe was becoming to her: apple cinnamon and warmth, wrapping her up as he turned into her driveway.

“Do you have plans for New Years?” He asked.

“Diana’s spending the night with her girlfriend and Jerry’s with his French friends. They both said I could tag along but I don’t want to feel like the odd one out,” Anne said. She’d been the odd one out against her will for years; she wasn’t about to do it voluntarily.

“Well, if you want...I mean I was going to ask you if...uh, if you wanted to come to my place for New Years, in exchange for Christmas.”

“You don’t owe me anything.”

“I know that. I’m just...” he flushed. “Asking, Anne. I didn’t really have a plan. Pizza, probably, and champagne, watching the festivities on TV.”

“And at midnight?” She met his eyes.

“At midnight I can drive you home,” he said quickly.

“Okay,” Anne said, before her brain fully processed what she was agreeing to. She didn’t want to ring in the new year by herself, not when every day of the past year had been nothing but work (good, rewarding, exhausting work) and the coming year promised more of the same.

“Okay?” Gilbert replied. “That easy? I thought I was going to have to bribe you.”

Anne rolled her eyes. “Don’t make me change my mind.”

Diana insisted that Gilbert Blythe’s invitation was more than it seemed.

“He obviously likes you,” she said, sprawled on Anne’s bed playing Nintendogs on her beat up DS.

“He’s my friend,” Anne said, flipping through the hangers in her closet.

“Then why are you so concerned about your outfit?”

Anne sighed.

“It’s okay if you like him too, you know?” Diana sat up and looked at her. “I know you think you don’t have time for romance, with school and work and Green Gables, but you deserve something all consuming and tender and warm and...” Diana trailed off. They’d known each other for years. Maybe Diana knew her better than Anne knew herself. “I don’t mean to pry. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” she said. “Thank you. Happy new year.”

Diana hugged her goodbye. Anne stared at herself in her bathroom mirror and debated whether or not to put on red lipstick. When she was younger she’d look in the mirror and hate her face: mud splatter of freckles, tired eyes, fiery hair framing her features. Now she and her face were on better terms. Would lipstick tonight be overkill? She looked at herself intently. An all consuming love, that’s what Diana had said. Anne smiled, and put on the lipstick.

***

Anne sat cross legged on Gilbert’s couch with a breadstick in one hand and wine glass in the other. He tried not to grin.

“What? Why are you looking at me like that?” She said, but she was smiling. There was a crescent of lipstick on her glass’s rim. “I thought you were making dessert.”

“About that...” he said, taking a seat beside her. He held up a package of Oreos. “I’m not much of a baker on my own time.”

She laughed and selected a cookie from the package. “I’ve got you beat in the desert arena then. I make pies back at Green Gables.”

It was 11:30. She’d spent part of the night teasing him for the poorly hidden heap of laundry in his bedroom and overly animated voice on the phone when ordering pizza, part of it playing cards and watching TV with him at his living room coffee table, and part telling him stories of Green Gables.

“I’m sorry my New Years is so boring,” he said. On TV crowds were huddled in the snow, waving noisemakers and throwing confetti.

“It’s not,” she said. She moved so her shoulder was pressed to his on the couch. “Thanks for having me. It’s nice not to be alone. I wanted to have the holidays at home this year. I feel like all I do is work and go to class now, like I'm racing to an invisible finish line. It’s hard to be away. And with Matthew sick I...anyway, thanks.”

"And what if you get to the finish line and it isn't everything you thought it would be?" Gilbert added. "I know the feeling." He sucked in a breath. “It’s the first holiday without my dad,” he said. “I’m glad I’m not alone either.”

Anne put her hand over his. It was small and warm and he didn’t move a muscle for fear she would take it back.

“What’s that song?” He muttered. “That Mitski song, from Christmas?”

“It’s called Townie,” she replied.

“Do you want to listen to it? Would you dance with me, Anne? Like at Christmas?"

She looked over at him and smiled. “It’s nearly midnight, Gil.”

He’d become Gil, so quickly, without either of them knowing. He’d become someone she looked at softly. She’d become someone who made his heart feel like it was jumping around in his chest.

“But okay,” she said.

He didn’t know when the clock struck midnight. He was swaying with Anne in his living room. Her head was on his shoulder. His heart was hitting the ground. When the song was over she tilted her head up to blink at him.

“I have to work tomorrow,” she said. “At 7, But I don’t even care.”

“Can I kiss you, Anne Shirley-Cuthbert?”

“Yes, Gil, you can.”

He did, and she kissed him back. He took her face in his hands and kissed her for a long time. It still felt too short.

“You have lipstick on your face,” she told him. Her own face was flushed and her lipstick was smudged. “Happy new year.”

“Happy new year, Anne,” he said. He could hear fireworks, but it could just be in his head. It was a firework kind of night, new year or no new year.

“It’s going to be a good one,” she said. “I have a feeling.”

[puzzlepcice-a]

𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙍𝘼𝘾𝙏𝙀𝙍 𝙎𝙃𝙀𝙀𝙏.

————  repost, don’t reblog !

𝙗𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙘𝙨.

FULL NAME.    clementine marigold wright. PRONUNCIATION.    kl-em-en-ty-ne. NICKNAME.    clem. “sweet pea” --- ( exclusively from lee. ) GENDER.    cis female. HEIGHT.    5′2. AGE.    17   ZODIAC.   scorpio. SPOKEN LANGUAGES.    english

𝙥𝙝𝙮𝙨𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙨.

HAIR COLOR.    dark brown. EYE COLOR.    hazel. SKIN TONE.    olive. BODY TYPE.    lean, athletic. ACCENT.    american. VOICE.   sweet in pitch, but mature, leveled ( ref. - melissa hutchison ) DOMINANT HAND.    right. POSTURE.    hands on hips, or arms crossed, but slouches when she sits. SCARS.   a bullet wound on her shoulder, an initiation burn marking on her left arm, a wound on her cheek from a whizzing bullet. TATTOOS.    a symbol on her left arm. BIRTHMARKS.    none. MOST NOTICEABLE FEATURE(S).    a ratty, dodgers baseball cap atop her head, petite features permantantly in a scowl.

𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙙.

PLACE OF BIRTH.   atlanta, georgia. HOMETOWN.    suburban, atlanta. FIRST WORDS.   apple, doggy, and mama!  SIBLINGS.    only child. PARENTS.    ed and diana wright. PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT.    with her dad being an engineer, and her mother being a doctor, their demanding jobs had occasionally left clementine either in the care of her grandparents, or with her personal babysitter, sandra. and due to her increasing loneliness of not having another sibling to bond and play with, clem often asked sandra to play games with her in their backyard, specifically “secret sisters”. but from her loneliness grew independence that would follow her throughout her life, and she took to using her imagination to make-believe stories with her treehouse as her own headquarters, so much so, even during the free days her parents had at home, clem would prefer to color, or play outside.

𝙖𝙙𝙪𝙡𝙩 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚.

OCCUPATION.    survivor-co leader, supply-runner, fisherwoman, formerly patrol-woman, hunter at wellington, and  “paid” scavenger at prescott. CURRENT RESIDENCE.    ericsons boarding school for troubled youth. CLOSE FRIENDS.    aj, violet, louis, omar, willy, tenn, ruby, aasim, marlon and mitch. RELATIONSHIP STATUS.    single. ( verse dependent ) FINANCIAL STATUS.    middle class, pre-apocalypse. CRIMINAL RECORD.    none. post-apocalypse - murder, robbery.  VICES.    has a tendency to become too defensive and harsh in her conversation sometimes, too serious, overprotective, prone to having an attitude, a smart-mouth. 

𝙨𝙚𝙭 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚.

SEXUAL ORIENTATION.    bisexual. ROMANTIC ORIENTATION.    biromantic. PREFERRED EMOTIONAL ROLE.    submissive |  dominant |  switch. PREFERRED SEXUAL ROLE.    submissive  |  dominant  |  switch. LIBIDO.    average. TURN ON’S.    sense of humor, someone who is also not afraid of laughing at themselves, empathy, compassion, loyalty, confidence, but also likes someone who is more on the shy and modest side, feistiness = someone that's not afraid of standing up for not only themselves, but their friends and loved ones, loving gestures, kindness. you also cant go wrong with someone who knows their way around taking out a couple walkers. TURN OFF’S.    disloyalty, cowardice, ignorance, recklessness, showing a disregard for other lives, arrogance, a sense of entitlement, rudeness. LOVE LANGUAGE.    requesting to spend quality / alone time, sneaking lingering glances over and looking away when caught, trying to make terrible puns in order to make them laugh, pinky-holding / hand holding, leaning into their space. RELATIONSHIP TENDENCIES.   as affectionate as she is, clem’s really shy when it comes to pda! but is not opposed to cheek-kisses/forehead kisses. when on one-on-one time with her s/o, she loves cuddling up with them, playing with their fingers/hair while she or they talk, asks them on “date nights”, spooning them, or go out of her way to make them something homemade --- as her way of showing how much they mean to her. or wanting to find something for them, instead! she likes giving.

𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙚𝙤𝙪𝙨.

CHARACTER’S THEME SONG.   waiting around to die — be good tanyas. HOBBIES TO PASS TIME.  archery, hunting, reading, gardening, drawing and playing card games with her friend. MENTAL ILLNESSES.    ptsd, depression, anxiety, survivors-guilt. PHYSICAL ILLNESSES.    none. LEFT OR RIGHT BRAINED.    right-brained. PHOBIAS.   aquaphobia --- fear of great bodies of water. cynophobia --- fear of dogs. ( dependent ) SELF CONFIDENCE LEVEL.    moderate. she doesn't think of herself as confident person a lot of the time! generally, she just thinks she's outspoken, and steps up to make sure her voice and intentions are heard and utilized if someone recognizes her as a valued member of a group, not so much for herself., but for the people she cares about and sets a “tone” for how she carries herself that most people don’t initially see as welcoming---as far as she's been told. VULNERABILITIES.   her immense fear of being alone eats her up inside and almost sends her into panic-mode, because she knows that when shes alone, bad things tend to happen--- which is often the trigger for her nightmares. it renders her into self sabotaging herself and pushing people away ( save for aj + who is on the other side of that coin with how much emotional weight and dependency she's put into him ) who wanna try and get close to her. on top of enduring through countless people that's betrayed her, its given her a cynical and sometimes aggressive approach of groups and trust issues.  following that is her own guilt about the past deeds she’s done to ( unbeknownst to her ) innocence people that she hasn't confronted, and actively tries to avoid it. its made her self-esteem take a complete nosedive, and doubt her self-worth to the point where she thinks she doesn't deserve strokes of luck, or the love and care people have for her. but her taking responsibility over their deaths, telling herself that she’s to blame and that shes a murderer is the biggest weight on her shoulders, and is the only thing that can really get under her skin that makes her completely emotionally, and mentally break her defenses down. tagged by: @merceditaes! (ty a bunch!) tagging: the dash!

[lsgingasblog]

Of Sunshine and Woes

Once again late entry. In this I tried combining day 3 laughter with day 4 spoiling akko.

To read in AO3:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15380559/chapters/35693691

Goodness. I finally finished having a conference call with representatives of the noble families.

Ever since our last summit with the UN the agreements reached were less than satisfactory and as a result the heads of each house were rather put-off to say the least.

In a sense I do understand where they are coming from but with the anti-magic terrorist and the magic superiority one at odds it’s only reasonable that tension is high between the magic and non-magic community. It’s been like this for years already.

And that’s discounting all the alien invaders, which luckily enough is the reason why the magic and non-magic community isn’t at war yet, the mutual enemy of sorts gives them a reason for cooperation.

Space patrol is also present but they are seen with even more animosity than anyone else. Also it doesn’t help that they don’t stick around.

Luluco has of course, but after one particularly disastrous press-conference she and the rest of the galactic force opted to help in private if we ever do need it.

The organization Ursula had roped me in that summer after our first year, Star Nobles has a fairly good cooperation with Space Patrol forces and they have gotten us and the world out of some pretty fatal binds.

One in particular I was sure Akko and I were goners.

We luckily survived, but we would come to find out a consequence of that event.

2 yeas ago when we started to try for a family. We tried everything from various potions, spells and even in-vitro and nothing would work out with either of us.

We found out both of us got irreversible damage in our system concerning procreation.

This left both Akko and I rather crestfallen.

However things between Akko hardly turn out predictable.

I stare at my wife. The television is on and she’s sound asleep. No surprise there.

The amazing charion kids show is on, followed by the Constella friends, the show based on the children constellation book Akko co-wrote with Ursula.

I notice the blanket falling down and I go grab it to cover Akko and her protruding belly.

It would seem miracles never do stop occurring when we are in proximity of each other.

Good thing Luluco suggested a space trip to make us get away from all the tension and sadness a few months back.

We did consider adoption of course, but we needed time to come to terms with how things were.

It was like a honeymoon again and we’ve been to space previously already a few times.

Despite it all being away from our respective jobs did wonders and about 2 months after our 2 week trip in space I noticed akko having puking spells, dizziness and other symptoms.

Having known our particular conditions I could never imagine what it actually was, even having done a quick check-up for akko, it left me baffled and we went to the doctors and even they couldn’t explain it, but there it was with no amount of uncertainty. We were going to be parents.

I look at my wife’s lovely features as I softly move away a stray hair. We had the day off today and we had gone for a short walk and to a nice restaurant to eat. The rest of the day was spent relaxing at home, until I got called and practically demanded to be in the conference call. Akko wasn’t too happy to have her pampering cut short.

She’s too adorable and I still feel dazed at times thinking this is our reality. That we found each other again at Luna Nova, found love and support in each other, married and now we are embarking on another adventure together.

“Mhmmm….Dia…?” she reaches out for me. Her eyes are still shut, I smile and proceed to grab her hand and slowly sit down next to her.  “I’m here love”

Akko squints her eyes open and starts pouting. “You’re late” she petulantly announces while having moved away from me a bit.

“Hmmm…the conference call ran late, you know how it gets with them….”

“Yeah those old windbags don’t know when to stop nagging” Akko dramatically throws her head back but starts peering sideways back to me.

“Might I remind you I’m am technically one of the noble families love? Am I to assume you are calling me an old windbag as well? And what about Croix and Ricardo?”  

“Yup all of you’s” she announces boomingly despite only being us two in the room. My wife is as incorrigible as she is adorable.  I can’t even stay mad and my smile slips through trying to feign offended.

Akko notices and smiles my way. She leans again to my side on the coach.

Our lives are still hectic and all the new nine witches have been fairly busy these last 10+ years after luna nova.

Various breakups, marriages, adoptions, deaths, births and wonderful new experiences as well as perilous and life threatening ones.

Despite all of this, through all the ups and downs I always find myself gravitating and finding solace, peace and happiness in the woman now wrapped in my arms.

The blanket while not immensely big is just about enough to cover us both.  We finally open our eyes, reveling in each other’s presence and the sheer luck and miracle to not only be having a child, but to even be able to have this special and dare I say idyllic moment.

We focus back on the tv. It looks like re-reruns of Amazing Charion and Constella Friends are over. It would appear Andrew is on. Well a re-run of yesterday’s press conference anyway.

‘Our nation’s and planet's progress is important, but so is communication, cooperation and communication.’

Goodness, a mere 15 years back if anyone had told her Andrew would be a liaison for the magic and non-magic world I would laugh at them, but people change. I am one such example as well. While I am always grateful of the people I go to help as a medical practitioner, it is amazing the amount of people Akko manages to positively affect and bring joy to just by existing in their life.

“We made that happen” Akko points at the screen. I am brought back to present. Andrew has brought his little 3 year old boy up the podium. Andrew’s dad no doubt coaxed him into using child for the campaign for minister of state. Andrew prefers his privacy after all, but the pride on his face while holding his son couldn’t be more genuine.

Akko has a huge smile on her face so I curl my lips into a teasing smile.

“Don’t think we played a part in little Michael’s conception Akko”

She pouts but then smiles towards me with a mischievous glint in her eyes

“Well technically we did though! If we hadn’t set up-“

“If you didn’t setup Andrew and Blair up you mean” I quipped back

“Don’t try to be coy with me Dia!” she flares up her nose and has a determined look on her face.

To be fair it was a team effort. Although it was Akko that started seducing me on the idea.

“I can assure you both are the guilty parties”

“Andrew!” we both said in unison.

“Auwntie Diana, auwntie Akko!” the little 3 year old comes running clumsily towards us, but stops from jumping on us, remembering the caution Andrew told him about Akko and the baby.

So he gingerly climbs on the couch right in the middle of both of us. We both proceed to give him a kiss on either check and he adorably goes into a giggling fit. This being so infectious we had a laughing spell as well in the process.

He is a precocious little boy, light brown hair and sea green eyes like his dad, his lighter hair color no doubt from his witch mother.

As much as I adore little Michael there is something to be said about someone just barging in

“I take it you forgot how a doorbell works Andrew?”

Akko doesn’t even bat an eye at us anymore and is too engrossed in playing patty cakes with Michael.

Although to be fair since Akko and Andrew ended up working so many years together in the liaison department they both had keys to each other’s house and long distance relationship for both Andrew and Akko with Blair and I bonded them more together.

Can’t say I’m not jealous by the time I couldn’t be there to keep Akko company, but we each have our own dreams and goals to work on, of course while supporting each other as well.

Also luckily we haven’t stayed apart ever since 1 year ago, hence why we decided to start a family.

“My apologies Diana. I did ring a few times, but since I got no answer I decided I would leave these fresh soursop and coconut water for Akko anyway since I though you guys might be asleep. Also Michael was being rather insistent on wanting to see both of you”

Akko looks up while continuing the patty cakes motion with Michael. She shoots Andrew a huge smile of gratitude and he nods in return.

She has been craving those particular food these past 3 weeks. Figures it would take something like pregnancy to make Akko have healthy and balanced eating habits.

I mean sure she instilled some nice eating habits into Akko and so did Andrew, Lotte and Ursula, bless them.

“Thank you this is very much appreciated” I direct towards Andrew with an amicable smile. All things considered Andrew and I have come a long way, in large part due to the lovely person I can amazingly enough call my wife.

“Think nothing of it. Blair also had a peculiar craving for exotic fruits so I frequented this particular fruit vendor. I had exchanged contact information back then, in case of any late night cravings or anything of that sort”

I offered Andrew to sit down on one of the other couches but he declined saying it’s already a bit passed Michael’s curfew and Blair will have his head.

So he proceeds to scoop Michael up while the boy protested, but you can see him starting to rub his eyes, trying to get the sleepiness out just so he can stay up a bit longer.

He gives us a wet cheek kiss each and a hug goodbye. Luckily Andrew doesn’t live far away from us so Blair shouldn’t be too angry.

Just as Andrew was about to leave the front door he turned around, Michael already dozing off in his arms.

“You know as much I was initially annoyed at both of you for the whole setting up scheme, I do have to say thank you for making this happen”

We smile, but Akko had a cheeky smile on. Goodness.

“No need to be so descriptive Andrew, that’s all you and Sarah. Also the kids’ right there, have some decency” Akko deadpans.

Andrew rolls his eyes. “Goodnight Atsuko, Diana” smirks as he closes the door behind him.

“It’s Akko. We’ve known each other for almost 15 years. You did that on purpose Hanbridge” Akko mutters, although I’m sure she would’ve said in high volume if a slumbering Michael wasn’t present.

“Let’s go to bed” I pass a soothing arm on her back. Akko leans into my touch.

“Mhmm…kay....Di…I love you”

I swear those words coming from her never gets old, if anything my heart swells even more every time I hear it now as impossible as that might seem.

“Love you too Akko”

So we head up to bed. Having Michael over I’m sure has made us looking even more forward to have a giggling child of our own. We already have laughter, crying and playing around here, with Akko its hard not to after all, but adding another member to our family sure feels lovely.

[chronicbatfictioner]

Theater of the Soul - Chapter 17

He could sense the tension in the air - even the bird boy was a little tense. There were people with white lab coats, and the nice lady doctor, who pricked him with numerous needles. It was only the boy's and the lady doctor's presence that made him reconsider punching them all and run away.

Well, that, and the fact that his legs still hurt a lot. It might not be a good idea to run while he could only hobble. The bird boy walked around a lot, and even if he'd walked slow enough to be caught up on, the too-much-walking still taxed his legs.

The boy would press his body onto his side while they were pricking him with needles, saying soothing things. At least they were in soothing tone, because his brain is too cloudy to know what they were talking about.

He has always had trouble sleeping, that much he remembered. Even under drugs, he would always be on alert - the smallest of noise would wake him up. Maybe it was due to the fact that he had never felt safe - living on the floors of the alleys of the city tend to sharpen one's instinct to the point of semi-paranoia.

This time, thought, he could tell that he was being drugged. But at least, the bird boy was there, holding his hand.

For the first time in his life, he succumbed to the blackness of sleep; knowing he would be safe. The bird boy would guard him, he was sure. Whatever it is they were trying to do by drugging him to sleep, the bird boy would make sure he would not be harmed in any way.

More bad news came from Dinah, just as Jason was about to be wheeled for the surgery. Tim, Barbara, and Dick eventually decided to hold their meeting while Bruce was holding vigil in front of Jason's surgical theater. 

Somehow, Bruce had even managed to joke, "this is the worst theater I've been in." 

And Tim really wanted to know what he would be thinking if he'd heard that his son was a suspect in a murder. No, that his son was the main suspect in a murder. 

"His prints and biologicals were found there - in the house where they had found Napier's body." Barbara said grimly, pointing out to the screen of her laptop that was showing police and Crime Scene reports.

"Okay, counselor, wouldn't that be obvious if he was detained there?" Dick countered. "Were they found on Napier's corpse?"

"They couldn't tell yet. They found the body decomposed, you know. Mummified, actually. I'm... not sure what to think of with the term 'mummified' and how... But I reckon the area he was found at was dry enough to make him mummify instead of fully decompose. They couldn't even determine time of death and put it on a very wide bracket of three months to a year." Barbara replied.

"The bright side is that I found clips that said Napier was alive by the time Danny met Jason three months ago." Tim showed them a clip from an info-tainment channel, showing Napier arguing with somebody out of sight right outside the Harley Club. "Supposedly - if the tabloids were to be believed, he'd left for LA right the next day. I haven't found anything from LA that can corroborate that." he admitted, a little begrudgingly.

"Right, I'll take that one, then. I've a friend who can poke out some alibis. You know him," Dick smirked at Barbara.

Barbara suddenly groaned. "Ugh... ick. Won't it be a little too obvious for you if you call him up and start asking about Napier?"

"He, who?" Tim wanted to know.

"Jason Bard, Private Investigator Extraordinaire," Dick smirked mischievously. "A.K.A. Babs' ex boyfriend."

"Oh," Tim winced. "Yeeeah, I agree. Might be a little too suspicious if you call your girlfriend's ex to investigate something involving your adoptive brother." Tim pointed out. "Other option?"

"There's Ralph Dibny, but if we ask him, he'll definitely report to Bruce." Dick huffed. "He and Bruce are like, BFWBs. Best Friend With Benefit - and said benefit comes in dollar signs."

"Victor Sage." Tim suddenly remembered. "He was an investigative journalist. He was really good and fair - he would expose either side of the suspicions fairly."

"...and place Jason in more stress?" Barbara said softly.

"Won't he be more stressed if he was to be named as a murderer when he couldn't defend himself? Jason is catatonic. He's not an idiot." Tim reminded them. "He's thinking, just not expressing. He'd talked to me once. Bruce had heard it, too."

Both Tim and Barbara landed their gaze on Dick, who was pinching the bridge of his nose tiredly.

"Alright," Dick finally decided. "Victor Sage. No punch pulled. We prepare ourselves for Jason's defense, right?"

Barbara nodded solemnly. "Always. I have Kate Spencer, Rachel Keast, and Jean Loring on speed dial."

"And all-girls squad, Babs?"

"Works for the heart, Dick." Barbara smirked. "If all else fails, go for the heartstrings. Orphaned, homeless, stardom, dumped broken and back on the streets... I'd cry if if were in the jury selection."

They continued chatting, plotting, scheming; interrupted only when Bruce finally came amongst them, looking gaunt and even older than his mid-30s.

"Did it work?" Dick demanded.

"Hm? Oh, the surgery itself was... 'easy', so Pieter said... the drama will begin once he wakes up." Bruce told them, sighing. "Alfred is waiting with him, in case he wakes up and get distressed." He did not imply anything, but Tim could sense Bruce's glare landed on him.

"I'll take over from Alfred once I'm done eating," Tim assured him, pointing to the takeout boxes Barbara has had on the table next to the laptop, didn't even realize that he has been devouring a box of noodles while talking. Dick, ever the mother-hen, had probably placed a box in Tim's hands and he'd started eating out of... well, it had smelled nice.

"He-- I would appreciate that, Tim, thank you." Bruce acknowledged. "Now, you kids maybe can fill me up on what schemes you've been running to prove Jason's innocence on Napier's death."

Dick dropped his fork halfway to his mouth. Tim nearly choked on his fry. Barbara just glared at Bruce.

"How." she demanded. Not asked.

"Diana Prince is a good friend of mine. She'd come here from Themiscyra under my parents' sponsorship." Bruce explained. "She had warned me that the investigation might hit too close to my home, and my son. And told me to prepare the defenses accordingly."

If Dick or Barbara had heard the same thing Tim did, of the words 'just don't tell me how the investigation going' that were not said, they did not show it.

"I'm thinking Kate Spencer, Rachel Keast, or Jean Loring on Jason's behalf." Barbara said. "They'll have to face... whoever's the DA in LA?"

"I think you can include Harvey Dent, too." Bruce said contemplatively. "He's... quite fond of Jason. And his position as a former Gotham City's DA would make him a formidable opponent."

"Whoa... that's heavy." Dick huffed.

"I'll consider Dent, if all else fails." Barbara replied, not detailing what 'else' might include. "The thing is, Dent defends crooks, too, nowadays. So I'm not comfortable with him."

"All lawyers would end up defending crooks at one point or another of their career, Barbara. It's a matter of how many hours they've booked. I'm presuming you'll co-chair with the Manhunter?" Bruce said. "I'd exempt Keats, though. Her link to Diana Prince - being from the same country - might be used against her investigation and us in general. Loring should be your last option - she would defend anyone with money and that could turn against you."

"Co-chair?" Tim echoed. "'Manhunter'?"

"Well yes, you didn't know Babs has a law degree?" Dick smirked at him. "Kate Spencer's nickname is the Manhunter, since she's pretty much vicious and relentless in proving some people's guilt."

"Of course I will. I'm partial to Kate, too, and just keep Keats and Loring as reserve. I might consider taking over Jason's custody temporarily while I'm at it." Barbara remarked.

"What for?" Dick asked, an eyebrow cocked in curiosity. "You're not even old enough to be his mom."

"Just for the simplification. If I have custody, all and any documents will be sent to me instead of Bruce. That way, nobody can imply 'parental ignorance' or neglect." she explained. "Sometimes when they're losing, the prosecutor would delay sending notices on new evidences, to rattle the defendant's defense."

"...so by sending them to Jason's actual legal guardian, Bruce, they would expect said notice to be actually lost." Dick clarified. "That actually kinda makes sense."

"Yes," Barbara nodded sagely. "I, on the other hand, do not let any envelope go past me and accepts my own mail. Their argument therefore will not be valid."

Tim sighed, "legal stuff hurts my head." he admitted at Barbara's glare. "Not like I don't understand them, I just... don't understand the necessity for scheming."

"I second that," Bruce agreed. "But then again, we're all law-abiding citizens here, so what do I know." he added blithely.

Barbara nodded slowly. "Hence you need the despicable breed that is Homo-Legalis to think dirty for you." she said with a smug smirk. "Think Jason would be awake by now?"

"Pieter-- Dr Cross said he should be fully sedated for at least three hours. So yeah, he could be starting to wake up now." Bruce looked at Tim expectantly.

"Pffft... alright. I know when I'm not wanted because the adults want to talk." Tim scowled playfully and dumped his empty noodle box into the bin. Bruce smiled. "I'm gonna keep Jason company, because at least he's still considered a kid. Like me."

[sheminecrafts]

Extra Crunch roundup: CEO Twitter etiquette, lifting click-through rates, edtech avalanche

Yesterday, China ordered ride-hailing company Didi to stop signing up new customers after regulators announced a cybersecurity review of the company’s operations.

As of this writing, Didi’s stock price is down 5.3%. In today’s edition of The Exchange, Alex Wilhelm suggested that the move wasn’t a complete surprise, but it still “puts a bad taste in our mouths,” since the company went public days ago.

Full Extra Crunch articles are only available to members. Use discount code ECFriday to save 20% off a one- or two-year subscription.

When Didi filed to go public, it listed several potential pitfalls facing Chinese companies that go public in the U.S., including “numerous legal and regulatory risks” and “extensive government regulation and oversight in its F-1.”

What does this news signify for other Chinese companies that are hoping for stateside IPOs?

We’ll be off on Monday, July 5 in observance of Independence Day. Thanks very much for reading, and I hope you have an excellent weekend.

Walter Thompson Senior Editor, TechCrunch @yourprotagonist

Chinese cybersecurity probe validates Didi’s pre-IPO warning to investors

3 guiding principles for CEOs who post on Twitter

Image Credits: NeONBRAND/Unsplash (opens in a new window)

Did you hear about the CEO who made misleading claims about a funding round and got sued? How about that pharmaceutical executive whose taunts to a former Secretary of State led to a 4.4% decline in the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index?

In case it isn’t clear: Startup executives are held to a higher standard when it comes to what they post on social media.

“Reputation and goodwill take a long time to build and are difficult to maintain, but it only takes one tweet to destroy it all,” says Lisa W. Liu, a senior partner at The Mitzel Group, a San Francisco-based law practice that serves many startups.

To help her clients (and Extra Crunch readers) Liu has six basic questions for tech execs with itchy Twitter fingers.

And if the answer to any of them is “I don’t know,” don’t post.

3 guiding principles for CEOs who post on Twitter

The 2021 edtech avalanche has just begun

Image Credits: Kari Shea/Unsplash (opens in a new window)

A report from Brighteye Ventures on Europe’s edtech scene shows that this year’s deal flow is on pace to meet or surpass 2020, when remote instruction exploded.

According to Brighteye’s head of Research, Rhys Spence, the average deal size is now $9.4 million, a threefold increase from last year. Still, “It’s interesting that we are not seeing enormous increases in deal count,” he noted.

The 2021 edtech avalanche has just begun

How Robinhood’s explosive growth rate came to be

Image Credits: TechCrunch

Trading platform Robinhood has attracted enough users and activity to change the conversation around retail investing — economists will likely be discussing the 2021 GameStop saga for years to come.

After the company filed to go public yesterday, Alex Wilhelm sorted through Robinhood’s main income statement to better understand how it scaled year-ago revenue from $127.6 million to $522.2 million in Q1.

“Those are numbers that we frankly do not see often amongst companies going public,” says Alex. “300% growth is a pre-Series A metric, usually.”

So: where is all that revenue coming from?

How Robinhood’s explosive growth rate came to be

As EU venture capital soars, will the region retain future IPOs?

Image Credits: Nigel Sussman (opens in a new window)

Given the valuation gap between U.S. tech markets and those overseas, it’s easy to see why some foreign startups would head to our shores when it’s time to go public.

But Anna Heim and Alex Wilhelm found that a record increase in European venture capital activity is picking up the pace of IPOs this year, and many of these companies are content to go public in their native markets.

To gain some insight into where European investors believe they have an advantage, Anna and Alex interviewed:

Franck Sebag, partner, EY

David Miranda, partner, Osborne Clarke Spain

Yoram Wijngaarde, founder and CEO, Dealroom

As EU venture capital soars, will the region hold onto future IPOs?

How VCs can get the most out of co-investing alongside LPs

Image Credits: Diana Ilieva (opens in a new window) / Getty Images

In a recent private equity survey, 80% of respondents said their co-investments with people outside traditional VC firms outperformed their PE fund investments.

Alternative investors are highly motivated, and because they’re seeking higher returns than are generally available in public markets, they are less daunted by risk. In return, they benefit from less expensive fee structures and develop close ties with VCs, enlarging the talent pool as they build investment skills.

These relationships have direct benefits for VCs as well, such as more flexibility with diversification and consolidated decision-making power.

“With the right deal structure, deal selection and deal investigation, co-investors can significantly increase their returns,” says C5 Capital Managing Partner William Kilmer, who wrote an Extra Crunch post for VCs considering an alternative path.

How VCs can get the most out of co-investing alongside LPs

Dear Sophie: How can I bring my parents and sister to the U.S.?

Image Credits: Bryce Durbin/TechCrunch

Dear Sophie,

My husband and I are both U.S. permanent residents.

Given what we’ve gone through this past year being isolated from loved ones during the pandemic, we’d like to bring my parents and my sister to the U.S. to be close to our family and help out with our children.

Is that possible?

— Symbiotic in Sunnyvale

Dear Sophie: How can I bring my parents and sister to the US?

How to cut through the promotional haze and select a digital building platform

Image Credits: Andreus (opens in a new window) / Getty Images

Smart-building products include everything from connecting landlords with tenants to managing construction sites.

Given their widespread impact on the enterprise — and the novel nature of much of this new technology, selecting the right digital building platform (DBP) is a challenge for most organizations.

Brian Turner, LEED-AP BD&C, has created a matrix intended to help decision-makers identify the fundamental functions and desired outcomes for stakeholders.

“When it comes to the built environment, creating those comfortable, healthy and enjoyable places requires new tools,” says Turner. “Selecting a solid DBP is one of the most important decisions to be made.”

How to cut through the promotional haze and select a digital building platform

Demand Curve: 7 ad types that increase click-through rates

Image Credits: Octavian Iolu / EyeEm (opens in a new window)/ Getty Images

One perennial problem inside startups: Because no one on the founding team has significant marketing experience, growth-related efforts are pro forma and generally unlikely to move the needle.

Everyone wants higher click-through rates, but creating ads that “stand out” is a risky strategy, especially when you don’t know what you’re doing. This guest post by Demand Curve offers seven strategies for boosting CTR that you can clone and deploy today inside your own startup.

Here’s one: If customers are talking about you online, reach out to ask if you can add a screenshot of their reviews to your advertising. Testimonials are a form of social proof that boost conversions, and they’re particularly effective when used in retargeting ads.

Earlier this week, we ran another post about optimizing email marketing for early-stage startups.

We’ll have more expert growth advice coming soon, so stay tuned.

Demand Curve: 7 ad types that increase click-through rates

To guard against data loss and misuse, the cybersecurity conversation must evolve

Image Credits: Jose Fontano/Unsplash (opens in a new window)

Locking down data centers and networks against intruders is just one aspect of an organization’s security responsibilities; cloud services, collaboration tools and APIs extend security perimeters even farther. What’s more, the systems created to prevent the misuse and mishandling of sensitive data often depend heavily on someone’s better angels.

According to Sid Trivedi, a partner at Foundation Capital, and seven-time CIO Mark Settle, IT managers need to replace existing DLP frameworks with a new one that centers on DMP — data misuse protection.

These solutions “will provide data assets with more sophisticated self-defense mechanisms instead of relying on the surveillance of traditional security perimeters,” and many startups are already competing in this space.

To guard against data loss and misuse, the cybersecurity conversation must evolve

from iraidajzsmmwtv https://ift.tt/3yhkVTJ via IFTTT

[words-writ-in-starlight]

I have to say that I love this PJO/Diana fix! I'm bummed that it didn't occur to me before to think of that crossover! But totally validated by your interpretation. I can't decide if I want more of Diana with Percy & co or at Camp Halfblood as she figures it all out or if I want more flabbergasted/ bemused Justice League interactions. Lol can you see Diana and Bruce watching PJ&co and all the Robins together?!

Uhhhh….this is not at all what you asked for but here, have some unsolicited Dick Grayson.

Read the rest of this AU here!

“So, I hear you’re a god.”

Diana pauses halfway through her chana masala, a bite hovering in the air on her fork.  The young man across from her has a crooked grin like he’s maybe had his jaw broken, but he’s handsome and dressed in plain but expensive clothes, and he looks completely serious.  

“I…beg your pardon?”

“Right,” he says.  “Sorry.  I’m Dick Grayson.”

Diana sets down her fork and shakes the offered hand.  If there was going to be a place to have a conversation like this, she supposes this isn’t a bad one–a back corner of a noisy Indian restaurant, squirreled away in a New York alley.  Annabeth recommended it.  Diana is technically on chaperone duty.  

“Diana.  Can I ask how you know who I am?”

“Mm,” he says, stealing a piece of naan and stuffing it into his mouth.  “Yeah.  I’m Bruce’s oldest kid.  We haven’t been talking a whole lot lately, but we’re working on it, you know what I’m saying?  And he’s been trying to figure you out, but I said–hey, B, maybe we should just ask.  You’ll have to forgive his paranoia.”

“I expect it comes with the job,” Diana says graciously.  “So you decided to walk up to a stranger and just…ask if I was a god?”

“I mean.  Yeah.  Pretty much.”  Dick looks expectantly at her.

“Can I ask why that was the conclusion you jumped to?”

“Sure,” Dick says, and he straightens up, like he’s giving a report.  “You’re clearly immortal, or at very least you age so slowly as to be next to immortal–we have photographic evidence and anecdotal reports dating back to World War I.  You demonstrated enough speed and strength during the Doomsday event to face down a monster that ultimately killed Superman.  You can either fly or generate enough power on a jump to simulate the effect.  You–”

“That’s enough,” Diana says coolly.  “May I ask why you chose this moment to ask if I am a god?”

Dick grins at her and links his hands together, resting his chin on his fingers.  “Because I’ve been following you for three hours.”

Diana keeps a scrupulously straight face at that and does not demand to know how he can see through the Mist.  Perhaps Bruce has been teaching his students (sons?) this skill, as he seems almost as clear-sighted as any halfblood.  “So?”

“Well, I know there’s some kind of base an hour or two out of the city, and I picked you up there, and now you’re here and you’re alone, so it seemed like as good a moment of any,” Dick says.  “You’ve got a weird number of kids out there by the way–and listen, when one of Bruce’s kids is saying you’ve got a weird number of kids, that’s a bad sign.  Bruce thinks you’re training some kind of child army that you pulled out of your ass during the battle with Steppen-whatever.”

Ah.  Well.  That explains a few things, including the way that Bruce has been avoiding her of late.

“And what do you think, Dick Grayson?”

Dick smiles.  “I think that sometimes kids need training, and that doesn’t make them a child army.”  His smile fades.  “They’re well-trained kids, from what Bruce said.  You should be proud of them.”

“I am,” Diana says gravely, looking over Dick’s shoulder to the door as it swings open.  She raises a few fingers and Percy wanders over, his hands in his pockets and a forbidding look on his face.  Percy, Diana has learned over her months working at the camp–almost a year now–is generally speaking far friendlier than his resting expression would suggest.  Apparently, he takes after his father, and more than one person has made a joke in her hearing about the Sea God Scowl.

This is not such a moment, though, because when he comes to a stop beside the table, Percy is spinning a cheap pen between his fingers and gives Dick a suspicious once-over.

“Who are you?” he asks bluntly.

“Dick Grayson,” Diana cuts in.  “He’s come to ask if I’m a god, and if I’ve been hiding a child army in upstate New York.”

Percy’s frown deepens into a glare and he taps his pen a couple times against the table’s edge.  “She didn’t force us to come fight,” he says, and Dick raises his hands in surrender.  

“I never said she did, okay?  I’m just here because Bruce wants answers, preferably sooner than later.”

Percy unsheathes Riptide and sets it down on the table, a glowing bronze blade that doesn’t draw so much as a glance from anyone else in the restaurant, and takes a seat beside Diana.

“Here,” Diana says, offering some of her naan, and Percy takes it while Dick gapes shamelessly at Riptide.

“Hey,” Percy says curiously, the suspicion fading from his face.  “You can see my sword.”

“Uh, yeah,” Dick says, like Percy’s being a fool.  “It’s right there.  How’d you manage to disguise it as a pen?”

“Magic,” Percy says dismissively, studying Dick.  “How are you doing that?”

“Bruce isn’t bothered by the Mist,” Diana volunteers.  “But he’s not a halfblood.  Maybe he can teach others how to ignore the Mist.”

Dick rolls with the change of subject with admirable grace, reaching out to poke Riptide with a finger.  “I’ve always seen better than Bruce.  When I was a kid, I just figured I had a vivid imagination, and then when I was working with Bruce usually it was because of one of the Rogues.  Harley has some weird ass dogs.”

Diana reaches out across the table and catches Dick’s chin in a movement like lightning, and studies his eyes–bright and blue and…clear, in a way that she knows well.  Steve Trevor saw clearly, too, unmuddled by the Mist, as does Bruce, but Dick’s eyes have the unmarred clarity that can only be inborn.

“Who are your parents?” Percy asks.

“Mary and John Grayson,” Dick says, allowing Diana to manhandle him with a patient look on his face.  “I take after my mother.”

“You might,” Diana allows, letting him go.  “But I expect your father was someone else entirely.”

[newstfionline]

Using Billions in Government Cash, Mexico Controls News Media

By Azam Ahmed, NY Times, Dec. 25, 2017

MEXICO CITY--Running a newspaper, radio station or television outlet in Mexico usually means relying on a single, powerful client that spends exorbitant sums on advertising with a simple warning: “I do not pay you to criticize me.”

That client is the government of Mexico.

President Enrique Peña Nieto’s administration has spent hundreds of millions of dollars a year in government money on advertising, creating what many Mexican media owners, executives and journalists call a presidential branding juggernaut capable of suppressing investigative articles, directing front pages and intimidating newsrooms that challenge it.

Despite vowing to regulate government publicity, Mr. Peña Nieto has spent more money on media advertising than any other president in Mexico’s history--nearly $2 billion in the past five years, according to government data compiled by Fundar, a transparency group. It found that his administration spent more than twice the generous media budget Mexican lawmakers allotted it for 2016 alone.

And that is just the federal money.

Leaders from all parties marshal hundreds of millions of dollars in state money for advertising each year, money they dole out to favored news outlets, Fundar calculated. According to the executives and editors involved in the negotiations, some government press secretaries openly demand positive coverage from news organizations before signing an advertising contract.

The result is a media landscape across Mexico in which federal and state officials routinely dictate the news, telling outlets what they should--and should not--report, according to dozens of interviews with executives, editors and reporters. Hard-hitting stories are often softened, squashed or put off indefinitely, if they get reported at all. Two-thirds of Mexican journalists admit to censoring themselves.

“If a professional reporter wants to cover the dirty elements of what is happening in the country today, neither the government nor private companies will give them a penny,” said Enrique Krauze, a historian who edits Letras Libres, a Mexican magazine that receives government money. “This is one of the biggest flaws in Mexican democracy.”

Mr. Peña Nieto’s Institutional Revolutionary Party, also known as the PRI, pioneered this system during its 70 years in power. Former President José López Portillo explicitly laid out the government’s expectations decades ago--he was even quoted as saying that he did not pay the media to attack him--and the practice continued when the opposition claimed the presidency in 2000, then again in 2006.

But the government’s influence over the media goes well beyond the advertising spigot, with officials sometimes resorting to outright bribery. In Chihuahua, the former governor spent more than $50 million on publicity, officials say, in a state saddled with huge public debts. Yet that was just the official figure.

Prosecutors have also collected signed receipts for bribes to local journalists--payoffs so common that some reporters were even listed as government contractors, documents show. With so much government money circling around, entire news websites sprang up with a single purpose, prosecutors contend: to support the former governor’s agenda.

“The relation between the media and power is one of the gravest problems in Mexico,” said Javier Corral, the new governor of Chihuahua. “There is collusion, an arrangement, in terms of how the public resources are managed to reward or punish the media. It’s carrot and stick: ‘Behave well, and I’ll give you lots of money and advertising. Act bad and I’ll get rid of it.’”

Pick up a newspaper, tune into a radio station or flip on the television in Mexico and you are greeted with a barrage of government advertising. In some papers, nearly every other page is claimed by an ad promoting one government agency or another. At times, as much airtime is dedicated to venerating the government’s work as it is to covering the news.

The extraordinary spending comes at a time when the Mexican government is cutting budgets across the board, including for health, education and social services. The federal government spent as much on advertising last year, about $500 million, as it did to support students in its main scholarship program for public universities.

The co-opting of the news media is more fundamental than any one administration’s spending on self-promotion, historians say. It reflects the absence of the basic pact that a free press has with its readers in a democracy, where holding the powerful accountable is part of its mission.

“It’s a common problem in the developing world, but the problem is much, much graver in Mexico,” said David Kaye, the United Nations special representative for freedom of expression. “It’s remarkable what the government spends.”

Most news outlets have relied on public advertising for so long that they would not survive without the government, giving officials tremendous leverage to push for certain stories and prevent others, analysts, reporters and media owners say.

“This is an economic problem,” said Carlos Puig, a columnist at the newspaper Milenio, which receives substantial government funding. “The classic American model does not exist here.”

Last year, a public outcry erupted after a top official in the Peña Nieto administration went to Milenio’s offices to complain about a story. The article, criticizing a national anti-hunger initiative, was taken down from the newspaper’s website right after the visit.

The piece later went back up, with a far less damning headline. The newspaper says the reason was simple: The article was “deplorable,” an inaccurate and “vulgar” attempt to smear an official, requiring an apology to readers. But journalists and democracy advocates, citing the power of government advertising, cried foul and the reporter resigned in protest, claiming to have been censored. Eventually, the original headline was restored.

Overt government interference is often unnecessary. Sixty-eight percent of journalists in Mexico said they censored themselves, not only to avoid being killed, but also because of pressure from advertisers and the impact on the company’s bottom line, according to a three-year study by Mexican and American academics.

Francisco Pazos did. He worked for years at one of the largest papers in Mexico, Excélsior. One of his most frustrating moments came in late 2013, he said, when the government was in the throes of a fight with commuters over a transit fare increase.

Mr. Pazos said he tried to explore the commuters’ anger in detail, until an editor stopped him, telling him the paper was no longer going to cover the controversy.

“I came to understand there were issues I simply couldn’t cover,” Mr. Pazos said. “And eventually, I stopped looking for those kinds of stories. Eventually, you become a part of the censorship yourself.”

Many media owners and directors say they have so few independent sources of income outside the government that they face a stark choice: wither from a lack of resources, or survive as accomplices to their own manipulation.

“Of course, the use of public money limits freedom of expression, but without this public money there would be no media in Mexico at all,” said Marco Levario, the director of the magazine Etcétera. “We are all complicit in this.”

The model means that some media outlets in Mexico can scarcely afford their own principles. Twenty years ago, the newspaper La Jornada was one of the most beloved in the nation, a critical voice and a must-read for intellectuals and activists who carried the tabloid around town, tucked under their arms.

But the years have not been kind to the paper. A few years ago, it was on the cusp of financial ruin. Then the government intervened, rescuing the publication with more than $1 million in official advertising and, critics say, claiming its editorial independence in the process.

“Now they own them,” Mr. Levario said. “The paper has been like a spokesman for the president.”

Other business ties link news outlets to the government. Many media companies are part of larger conglomerates that build roads or other public projects. The same person who owns Grupo Imagen, which includes radio, television and print media, also owns a major construction firm, Prodemex. It has earned more than $200 million in the past five years building government facilities, and will play a role in the construction of the new Mexico City airport.

La Jornada, Excélsior and Excélsior’s parent company, Grupo Imagen, did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

As the editor for recruiting at the newspaper Reforma, Diana Alvarez has grown accustomed to the flexible definition of journalism in Mexico.

A few years back, she said, she interviewed one young woman from a large paper in Mexico City. The woman, who had a master’s degree in journalism, said her job at the paper consisted of creating files of negative press clippings on governors across the country.

Those files were turned over to the paper’s sales department, which then approached the governors to sell them “coverage plans” to improve their public image, the young woman explained.

Mrs. Alvarez rattled off more examples. One applicant, an editing candidate, boasted that he knew how to work his relationships with politicians to score more advertising money.

He called it “heating them up,” which involved showing the target a critical story that his newspaper was planning to publish. Then, as he explained to Mrs. Alvarez, an advertising contract with his paper would help “put out the fire.”

Yet another applicant, a former state government employee, said he knew how to “deal with the press,” Mrs. Alvarez recalled. He told her how he had been in charge of distributing envelopes filled with cash for reporters as bribes.

“I wish I could say these are isolated cases, or just a few, but it isn’t the case,” Mrs. Alvarez said. “There have been many like these, where they come and speak about these practices in a way that makes you realize they have normalized them.”

Daniel Moreno, the director of the digital publication Animal Político, says he receives almost nothing from the federal government, and relatively small amounts from state governors.

It’s not because he doesn’t want the money, Mr. Moreno says. It’s just that the kind of critical coverage his news team does is not rewarded with government contracts, he contends.

Recently, Mr. Moreno said he received a call from officials in the state of Morelos, which spends about $3,000 a month with him on advertising. The governor’s wife was going through a rough period over claims that she was politicizing aid for earthquake victims--an accusation she rejected--so a state official suggested that Animal Político do a few positive stories on her.

Mr. Moreno politely declined.

“They were pretty offended,” he said with a shrug. “And I’m pretty sure that money is gone.”

On Aug. 23, Ricardo Anaya, the president of the opposition National Action Party and now a candidate for president in next year’s election, woke up to find his name and family splashed across the front page of El Universal, a major newspaper.

The story went into details about his father-in-law’s real estate empire and, more pointedly, the ways in which Mr. Anaya’s political career had helped propel that fortune.

The narrative was a familiar one in Mexico: A political leader had used his influence to enrich himself and his family. El Universal laid out the addresses and values of the various properties, and even published head shots of his entire extended family, 14 people in all. News outlets across the country carried the story.

The only thing missing, a court ultimately decided, was accuracy. Mr. Anaya managed to show that much of the information was flawed, skewed or simply wrong. While his in-laws clearly owned a number of properties, many had been in their possession before his political career began, public deeds showed.

Even more puzzling, Mr. Anaya said, were the photographs of his family. They had not been public before, as far as the family knew. In fact, they looked an awful lot like passport pictures.

Given that such photos were held by the foreign ministry, which issues passports, Mr. Anaya suspected that his rivals in the government had leaked the pictures to the newspaper.

“They are trying to destroy my political career with this campaign,” he contended. “You can’t compete with a government that pays $500 million a year to the media.”

For the next two months, the newspaper dedicated more than 20 front pages to Mr. Anaya, accusing him of misusing public funds, benefiting financially from his position and fracturing his party.

Mr. Anaya filed suit. In October, the court found that El Universal had misrepresented his in-laws’ wealth and wrongly accused Mr. Anaya of using his office to benefit them.

El Universal claimed that it was entitled to publish the story under the right to freedom of expression, an argument the judge questioned because the paper “had not based its investigation in facts.” The newspaper has appealed the court’s decision.

The case raises national questions of trust in a country where the news media receives so much money in government advertising.

El Universal receives more government advertising than any other newspaper in the nation, about $10 million last year, Fundar found. Critics argue that the newspaper has become something of an attack dog for the government ahead of presidential elections next year.

The suggestion is “false and offensive,” the newspaper says. Government advertising “does not affect in any way the editorial line of the newspaper,” it says, adding that “thinkers of all political parties” are represented in its pages.

Not all its journalists agree. In July, a half-dozen columnists announced their resignations in protest over what they called biased coverage, saying the owners had destroyed the institution’s credibility.

Salvador Frausto, an investigative editor who earned the paper many awards, also left. The person who replaced Mr. Frausto as the new investigative editor was most recently a press officer at the foreign affairs ministry, according to his LinkedIn profile.

And the news director of El Universal had close ties with the new candidate: His wife was Mr. Meade’s international press chief at the finance ministry.

The paper says that there is no conflict of interest, and that it does not tolerate biased coverage of any kind.

But it isn’t the first time the paper’s journalists have challenged its independence. In January 2015, Laura Castellanos, an award-winning reporter, was sent by editors at El Universal to cover a pair of shootouts involving the federal police.

At the time, self-defense groups had taken up arms to fight against organized crime, and Ms. Castellanos, who had written extensively on the subject, was considered an expert.

She spent 10 days reporting the story, tapping old sources and interviewing witnesses in the state of Michoacán, where 16 had been killed and dozens wounded.

The issue was especially delicate because a close ally of the president, Alfredo Castillo, who had been appointed to oversee the security situation in Michoacán, claimed that the deaths came from a shootout with armed assailants.

Ms. Castellanos said she recorded interviews with 39 people--victims, bystanders, hospital workers--and came to a different conclusion. The federal police had summarily executed unarmed suspects, including some as they surrendered on their knees with their arms in the air, she said her reporting showed.

After days of editing and fact-checking, she said the story was ready to run. Only it didn’t.

Ms. Castellanos and her editors were not surprised. Mr. Peña Nieto was already under heavy public pressure for his handling of the disappearance of 43 college students, as well as his wife’s purchase of a multimillion-dollar home from a major government contractor.

But after two and a half months--during which time one of her sources was tortured and killed, she said--Ms. Castellanos worried her story would never run.

Working with lawyers, she said she discovered a loophole in her contract--one that allowed her to publish the material elsewhere.

One of the few publications willing to take the story was a new website founded by Carmen Aristegui, another award-winning reporter, who had lost her radio station job after breaking the story about the president’s wife.

But the morning the Michoacán story was scheduled to publish, under the headline “It Was the Feds,” Ms. Aristegui’s website went dark.

Eventually, they figured out what happened: The website had been hacked.

The two eventually published the story, but the case again raised questions about independence in a country awash in government advertising.

Neither the killings, nor the hacking, have been fully resolved. El Universal said it had not published Ms. Castellanos’s story because it did not meet the newspaper’s standards.

The next year, Ms. Castellano’s article was awarded Mexico’s most coveted journalistic prize: the national award for investigative reporting.

[irregularjohnnywiggins]

Random Wondy Series Thoughts, Part the Second

Okay, so, second part of the Wonder Woman thing that I’ve elected to call Woman of Truth.

Last Time:

The Amazons sensed a great evil approaching, whilst Steve Trevor and the American Military and Etta Candy and the Holiday Girls were deployed by their godly patrons – Ares and Aphrodite respectively – to either fuck up the Amazon’s shit or stop that from happening. Etta was taken capture, and Steve crashed on Themyscira, thereby breaking the island’s defences and making it visible to the aircraft carrier staffed by Ares’ men just outside the barrier.

Warning: More than the last one, this will cover spousal abuse, mass murder and some disturbing imagery. You have been warned.

(Riordan fans, I’m so sorry. This was the first thing that came up.)

So, the island is revealed. We open on Olympus, where the gods are in session – all twelve Olympians, and of course Hestia, are present. Artemis, literally shaking with rage, is demanding Ares’ head for his actions, and the other patrons/most of the other Olympians are backing her up. Zeus, however, is taking Ares’ side, and claims that his son’s actions are not indicative of his feelings. He then accuses Aphrodite of interfering, and Aphrodite sniffs and says that she thought they established a parent is not responsible for their child’s actions?

Cos, yeah. Etta is a demigod daughter (Scions, they’re called here, because I love that RPG) of Aphrodite. The rest of the Holiday Girls? They’re Scions too. Btw, if you thought I made the unashamedly fat woman the Scion of the Goddess of Beauty by accident? You were wrong.

Regardless, we now cut to Etta, still locked up on the ship. A man walks in, unlocks the doors and tries to kill her, his face melting off in the process to reveal a grinning skull. Etta, in response, punches him in his skull-face, steals his gun and shoots him with it. She runs out of the room, praying her plan worked…

Cut to Themyscira, where Phillipus is marshalling the Amazons to war (though less gayly than this panel). Hippolyta forbids Diana and Donna from taking part, then hurries off to prepare. Donna asks Diana if they’re going to sneak out, but Diana says that Donna should go alone, she wants to speak to the prisoner.

Back on the ship, the army is preparing for war, because a) the captain is Phobos, Ares’ second son, b) as far as their concerned this island swallowed two of their men and c) they’re America, this is kind of what they do. They aim their cannons, Phobos is ready to start laughing in glee, but… the guns don’t work. Neither does anything else on the ship. All the power had gone. Phobos is irate, and demands to know what happened.

What happened was… the other Holiday Girls, who used Etta getting captured as a diversion to access the ship’s engines and disable them. ‘Woo! Woo!’-ing along, Etta and the others meet up and start escaping the ship.

On Olympus, Ares is irate. He quickly leaves, and as Athena congratulates Aphrodite on a masterful plan (p.s. all of the patrons are a little bit gay for each other, I don’t make the rules) Hephaestus asks what will be done about Themyscira. Zeus declares that Themyscira will have to live without his protection of it (ignoring, Athena mutters darkly, that he didn’t put up any protections) and then starts throwing a Trump. I’m sorry, but that’s what he does.

So, that plot from Rucka’s run that Zeus and the other gods are losing power in favour of Aphrodite, Athena and Ares? Now that we live in a world that has several world leaders who would do worse than Zeus given the same chances, I’m calling bullshit on that.

Back on Themyscira, Diana enters the cell as Steve is healed. She starts talking to him, asking how to get the army to stop threatening her home. Steve, half delirious, mutters something about a flag… Diana leaves, but not before he mistakes her for an angel.

As Zeus is going on about… none of the rest of them are sure, honestly they’ve given up at this point, there is a defiant snap of fingers. Zeus turns to his right. Hera is standing up now, her face like stone. Themyscira’s image is surrounded by a globe once more.

Realizing as Themyscira blinks out of view that he best cut his losses, Phobos fingers a remote detonator. He is stopped by the Holiday Girls, one of whom, a Scion of Athena, extrapolates his plan – hit Themyscira with missiles, aimed at its armoury and forge, then blow up the ship – the US government investigates, sees the ruins of the boat and the clearly technologically advanced island, and declare war. The Holiday Girls attempt to stop him, but he quickly overpowers them, removing a scrap of Etta’s shirt in the fight. He blows up the ship, but they and the mortal crew are saved by Nereids under the employ of Thethys, Titaness of the Seas, who rules the coasts of Themyscira since the Amazons and Poseidon… don’t get on.

On Olympus, Zeus is still struck, glaring at Hera who is glaring right back. Then he backhands her, storming (literally) out of the council. The patrons hurry to Hera’s side, as Athena predicts that whatever Ares has planning, it’s bigger than just attacking Themyscira.

At the ruins of Areopagus, Ares arrives, meeting with his children – Deimos, Phobos and Kydoimos, God of Battlefield Confusion. As Phobos gives his excuses, Ares snaps his neck, coldly stating he’ll heal. He then demands that his other children move on to the next stage of the plan, and leaves in a gout of flame.

Themyscira, a couple of days later: As the Holiday Girls were recovered, the mortals were wiped of their memories, and Steve has healed of his wounds, the Amazons meet to decide their next move. Some call for immediate action, reasoning that if one man could breach the island, others could. Others call for the killing of Steve, saying that his death would result in the Status Quo being restored – besides, maybe Ares has played his hand. Finally, Menalippe points out that they have a solution – hold the games, find a champion.

Hippolyta agrees, the council disperses, and once more Diana approaches her mother and asks her to allow Diana to take part. Hippolyta refuses again, and Diana brings up her defeating Ares in World War II. Hippolyta rounds on her, finally revealing the truth: there was no climactic battle with Ares. Ares wasn’t there. Hippolyta joined the war, fought alongside the Justice Society (especially Dinah Drake, yes I’m putting that in here), saw the fucking concentration camps, and in the end realized that there was no supernatural force other than the ones the Nazis used. There was no Ares, only people.

Shocked, Diana leaves and Hippolyta falls apart, being comforted by Phillipus. She realizes that she’s turning Diana away, and asks if Diana’s ready. Phillipus admits she doesn’t know, but says that Diana believes it.

Diana, in tears, confronts Steve about what she’s learnt. Steve admits it – he goes one further, in fact. He tells her about the millions of Jews America turned away, the racism, sexism and hatred that still pervades America to this day, and when Diana asks him how he can defend such a place, how he can expect her to, he says he expects nothing of her – he can’t convince her, he can only tell her that for every asshole, every jackass like him and the soldiers on the boat stubbornly following orders, there’s people like Etta and the Holiday Girls, who stand up and say no.

The Games begin again, and Phillipus inspects the lines of hopefuls. Her eyes fall on one, in the back, helmet stubbornly down, trying to not be seen. She approaches, places a hand on her shoulder, and Diana looks up.

“Good luck out there, sister.” Phillipus says.

Diana smiles and clasps her shoulder as well, as close to a hug as the two can get.

“Thank you, mother.” she whispers.

The games begin, and one Amazon outstrips them all. It isn’t until the final test, a melee brawl, that Hippolyta sees this anonymous Amazon use a move only she and one other know. She looks at Phillipus, but Phillipus says nothing.

Eventually, Diana wins the games. She removes her helmet, and above the gasps of the crowd, she looks at the three faces trying – and failing – to look shocked (because Donna knows her sister too.)

Hippolyta whispers “They don’t deserve you.”

Diana replies, looking at Steve and Etta “Some do.”

Thus, several days later, Steve, Etta and the Holiday Girls are packing up to leave, Etta jabbering along about a doctor she knows that can help them in Patriarch’s World (I’m calling it Patriarch instead of Man’s World because that leaves less room for misinterpretation). Diana walks up in the Swimsuit of Power, shyly telling Steve that she took what he said about a flag to heart – for she has dressed herself in the traditional garb of his countries’ fictional women warriors. Steve and a square half of the Holiday Girls are too dumbstruck to tell Diana this isn’t what women soldiers actually wear, and Etta thinks they don’t have time. (This is all, btw, based on this idea, which I still like.)

Hippolyta, Phillipus and Donna walk up. Donna begs to join Diana, but Diana gently refuses, saying that their mothers (Phillipus starts) have already lost one daughter. She embraces all three, then climbs on the boat, sailing off as, because I’m me, an all-female cover of Bring on the Monsters plays.

As we close, Deimos and Kydoimos stand ready as Phobos heals and wakes up. Kydoimos leaves, saying he’ll find Orpheus��� gateway, and Deimos informs Phobos about Diana leaving the island. Phobos asks if Etta was with them, and as Deimos says yes, walks towards Medusa’s Heart, holding up the scrap of Etta’s shirt. A bony grey hand reaches out of the heart, grasping the scrap, bringing it up to where eye level should be, as Phobos informs the creature inside that this isn’t her target, the Amazon that’s with her is. The episode ends with Decay stepping out of Medusa’s Heart, shrieking as she flies off.

So, when I said the pilot would probably be two parts, I didn’t account for how much time it would take. As with the first one, please feel free to leave any comments you want, I’d love to hear them!

Links, when I get them done:

First Part (Pilot #1)

Third Part (Pilot #3)

Fourth Part (Season 1)

Fifth Part (Seasons 2 + 3)

[thegirlsinthefirehouse]

Descendants, Chapter 40

----- Erin and Patty had taken the flowers and such down to the Ecto-1 and brought up the car seat the morning Abby and Eliana were discharged. 

Abby was definitely happy to be going home. Nurses coming in and checking on her was definitely something she could do without. She just wanted to go home with Holtz and their daughter and relax. If she was going to become the on demand milk machine for their little one, then she wanted to be able to be on her own couch with Netflix and her Amazon Video account.

And at least she could go downstairs and see how things were going in between feedings. Abby sighed to herself. Ever since the baby was born, she was really struggling privately with feelings of resentment for her decisions about starting a family again. It was really hard since she loved her child already and enjoyed watching Holtz interact with Ellie. She was so in love and already making plans for Eliana’s future. She didn’t mention this to anyone, figuring it’d go away in a few days when things weren’t so hectic and crazy. Baby Blues and Postpartum Depression were very real things and she knew her hormone levels were fluctuating rapidly so it’d take some time to get back to normal.

However normal her life could be with the Ghostbusters. And Holtzmann.

"Okay, going home momma," said Holtz, gesturing to the wheelchair and waiting staffer. They already had Ellie in the car seat, despite her cries of protest at such. It had almost broken Holtz's heart to have do so. But Patty was waiting downstairs with the Ecto-1 and Holtzmann really wanted to get home herself. Once Abby had gotten sat down in the chair, Holtz had deposited the car seat in Abby's lap. She adjusted the plaid shirt on her daughter with a soft laugh. The little beanie type hat and the clothes almost made her look like a little lumberjack. All she needed was a mini axe. She got Holtzmann to hand her cell phone out of her stuff and took a picture to send to her family. Her brother and Ariel and her parents had tons of photos and video already, but one more wouldn't hurt. They were all planning to come up and see their new grandchild and niece. Abby couldn't wait to introduce her daughter to her brother's kids. They were definitely excited about having another kid to play with. Abby was smiling at the sight in front of her as she pocketed the phone. She held onto the handle as the staffer left the room and headed for the elevators.

"It's a good thing you're getting an early start," said the staffer, whose name tag Holtz noticed said he was named Jake. "Snowstorm is coming in sometime after four."

"Maybe we won't have much work then," said Holtz cheerfully. "And I can make you sit down instead of trying to coordinate."

"Like you're going to sit down?" said Abby, eyeing Holtz.

"I have work to do," she said teasingly. "I'm two weeks behind since someone decided to stay inside their other momma for longer than they should."

Abby groaned. She had already forgotten that it had been that long. She was just relieved Ellie had been born. She had definitely been right when she had told Patty that before about the forgetfulness. They waited for the elevator to ding and open so they could go downstairs. The rest of the trip and going out to the car was quiet. Once Erin and Abby had gotten Ellie buckled into the backseat, Holtzmann had demanded the keys from Patty, who shook her head no and pointed to the passenger seat. Holtz pouted, which made them all chuckle at the engineer. Erin sighed from the back and promised Holtz she could use the siren at least.

-----

Diana, Angie, Beth, and Jen had all gushed over the baby once they had stepped back into the firehouse. They had even gotten together and picked out baby gifts. Holtz had loved the stuffed rocket ship, making it swoosh around Eliana’s head. But after a few minutes of work talk, Holtzmann quickly ushered her wife upstairs. She pointed to the couch.

“Sit,” she said. “I’ll go get the co-sleeper so you can keep Eliana beside you.”

Abby was amused when she saw Erin had left the flowers and gifts that had been sent to her in the hospital on their coffee table. She had figured Erin would “forget” the flowers and leave them on her desk so she could look at all the roses while she was working. Holtzmann and Abby had even gotten a visit from one of the childbirth class instructors who had been there visiting a friend who had also given birth as well. After a few minutes, they had figured out she was kin to Jennifer Lynch. In fact, they were sisters. So they had all been amused when a bouquet and a cute teddy bear had appeared later from Penelope and Jennifer Lynch.

Holtz came back out of the baby’s room as Abby was getting Eliana out of the car seat. The blonde strolled into the bedroom and came back out with pillows. She helped Abby by holding Eliana as she sat down.

“Rest, relax. I know you are still very sore.”

“And what are you going to do?” said Abby, eyeing her wife.

“Once I unpack and get out everything we might need for the day, I’m sitting my butt down on the other end of this couch and be at your beck and call.”

“I figured you were going downstairs to your lab,” said Abby, unbuttoning her plaid shirt.

Holtz shrugged. “Not today. Wife and child come first.” She kissed Abby on the cheek and headed towards the bedroom. The paranormal investigator laid Eliana on the breastfeeding pillow they had bought and set her to eat. She lovingly rubbed her daughter’s cheek as she began to suckle.

“I can’t get over the fact that she’s already waking up on her own to eat,” said Holtz, coming into the room with a load of dirty laundry.

“Not like you wouldn’t wake up for food,” mused Abby. “Especially if you were being fed about 8-12 times a day by breast...”

“I would be the happiest gay woman alive,” teased Holtz with a wink as she went through to the bathroom.

“You do realize newborn stomachs are only about the size of an acorn,” said Abby a little loud so Holtz could hear her. “Could you imagine only eating an acorn?”

“No, because then I would be a squirrel,” said Holtz, coming back through. “And I’m already nuts enough as it is.”

Abby groaned, shaking her head. Holtz laughed as she went into the kitchen and got some water. She sat it down beside her wife and kicked off her boots before sitting down on the couch.

“Do you want to get out the ring sling and start trying it?” asked Holtz.

“Maybe in a couple of days,” Abby said. “I think I need the downtime.”

“For good reason,” said Holtz. “You’ve done a major thing to your body. It needs recovery.”

Abby nodded. After she was certain Eliana was finished, she held her upright and started rubbing her back. Holtz scooted closer and took Ellie from her wife.

“You want something to eat?” asked Holtz. “I think Erin and Kevin were going to grab food for everyone, but I can make you something.”

“I think I can wait, but I do have a request for the future meal,” said Abby. “A thick rib eye, medium rare. Mashed potatoes with garlic and rosemary and portabella mushroom gravy. Oh, and that crab and bacon mac and cheese.”

“Ah, the deluxe menu,” grinned Holtz. “Shall I get the wine and dessert list?”

“Only if there are eclairs involved.”

“I think I need to call Cheyenne to do a catered celebratory meal here at the firehouse,” mused Holtzmann. “You must be regaining your appetite after all that nausea.” She rubbed their daughter’s back to help with digestion.

“I think it’s the boobs,” said Abby. “Feeling full is kind of making me hungry.”

“With good reason,” said Holtzmann. “You’re making food so you need to eat.” She patted Abby’s knee. “I know it’s slightly uncomfortable, but...”

“Feels very warm and full,” said Abby, breaking in.

“Booooooooobs,” teased Holtz. She got up and laid a sleeping Eliana in the co-sleeper before kissing Abby on the forehead and running a hand down her cheek.

“Happy to be home.”

“Me too,” said Abby with a soft smile as Holtz straightened her shirt collar.

-----

“Hiiiiii,” said Erin, her eyes marveling at the sight in front of her as she came upstairs the next morning. Eliana was resting on Abby, her eyes looking around. Abby was halfway lying on a bunch of pillows with her daughter facing up and out while nestled in one arm. She had a tablet in the other hand.

“Someone was just fed and hasn’t gone back to sleep,” said Abby, smiling. “So she is investigating the ceiling for cracks and listening to Mommy read to her. I’m sure Michio Kaku is probably very entertaining.”

“But Mommy is saying it, so it can’t be that bad, can it Ellie?” She gestured to the baby. “May I?” Abby nodded and let Erin take Eliana, who whimpered a little at the movement. Erin smiled at her and wrapped her up a little more as Abby sat up and moved her feet to make room for Erin.

“Just enjoying a little quiet time huh?”

“Getting her to rest so I can rest,” said Abby. “Up and down all night. She is not taking well to the environment change. She is alright as long as Holtz and I are holding her, but she does not want to be put down. Our arms are both tired today.”

“Coming home is not going so hot then huh?” said Erin.

“No,” Abby whined. “Someone is fussy.” She sighed. “I know this is a thing newborns do because they don’t know what’s going on, but you don’t realize how annoying it is until nothing seems to want to calm them down. You feel... helpless.”

“I know you know that Eliana has only been in this world for less than 84 hours and you’re all three still learning to respond to each other.” Erin nuzzled the front of Eliana’s little hat. “You and your mommies have just got to learn each other's language.”

The gesture earned Erin an ear splitting cry as Eliana wailed, her tiny face going red.

“Okay, that is definitely a note to self to never do again,” said Erin, bouncing and rocking Ellie a little to try to calm her down. Abby sipped on her bottle of water and smiled, not saying anything.

-----

“She’s asleep,” said Holtz softly as she walked into the bathroom. “I know you’re enjoying that shower Abs, but we all should be sleeping at this point.”

“I know, it’s just--” She sighed from behind the frosted glass. “Do you think you could come in here and help me with something?”

Holtzmann perked up at that.

“Whatever my naked lady desireth,” she said. Abby could already see her shedding her clothes as she was throwing them up in the air. Holtz opened the shower door.

“Now I know Abs that the doctor said--”

“Just get your ass in here,” said Abby. Holtz grinned and climbed in. She ducked her head under the warm water.

“What do you need?” she asked, knocking water out of her ear by banging on the other.

“Massage,” said Abby. She pointed to her chest. “These. I feel so full and it’s uncomfortable. You’re better at this than I am.”

“Roger,” said Holtz. She stood sideways against the wall, deciding to pull on the shower head and aim it at a better angle than her wife had it. She held Abby’s close, who sighed and nuzzled Holtz’s neck and laid a kiss on her jaw. Holtzmann took a hold of the left one and gently began to rub it. She could see where Abby would think it would be like a rock. It definitely was still hard even with all the heat and moisture.

“Just got to put a little love into it,” she teased Abby. “Gentle and smooth.”

“You can do that so well,” said Abby, leaning against Holtz a little more, who got a mouthful of Abby’s wet hair. She blew it out of her mouth with a disgusted look, which made Abby snort at her wife.

“It’s not like you haven’t gotten a mouthful before.”

“Just not that wet and tasting like shampoo,” said Holtz, blowing a raspberry at her wife. She could feel Abby relaxing against her.

“None of that. No napping in the shower.”

“Spoilsport.” Holtz could feel Abby moving a little under her touch.

“Still very sensitive?”

“Mmhmm.” Holtz switched breasts. Abby’s milk was starting to come in and she had been feeling so heavy and full, which was very uncomfortable. Warmth had helped so far, and it was looking like massage was doing a good job too. After a few minutes, she could tell Abby was feeling a little better. She wasn’t squirming under her fingertips as she went between the two.

“Thank you.”

“Not a problem Abs. A beautiful woman asking me to jump naked into the shower with her and massage her breasts. How can a lesbian ever turn that down?”

“As long as it’s just one beautiful woman,” said Abby, teasing Holtzmann. Holtz chuckled and kissed her wife lovingly on the side of the cheek.

-----

“... Syracuse.”

The catch in Erin’s throat made her feel strange for a moment. That meant...

“They’ve found a home.”

“Great rental property,” said Abby, rocking Eliana gently in her arms. All four of the Ghostbusters were sitting around the conference table in the firehouse. They were having a meeting after hours of just the four of them to go over a little bit of business without being interrupted. “State just signed off. It’s downtown, with four floors. Two of them are apartments so they’ll have space to live and work there. The funny thing is that it used to be a club on the bottom floor so there’s a bar. I guess they don’t have to go far to have libations after work.”

“You know, I could build a bar for us.”

“I don’t think so Holtzy. We really don’t have space,” said Patty. “Besides, you can have all the alcohol you want upstairs in your apartment.” Holtz’s eyes lit up at that. It seemed liked she had forgotten she already had free access to booze if she wanted it. Erin grabbed a hold of her collar before she could get up and leave the conference table.

“It doesn’t seem right, does it?” she stated, sitting Holtzmann back down.

“It doesn’t,” agreed Patty. “They’ve become a part of our lives.”

“Except Jen. She can go,” pouted Holtz. “She keeps standing in front of the lab door and not letting me in.”

“She is great at staring Holtzmann down,” Erin teased.

“I just wanted some tools,” grumbled Holtz. “Ladies, I’m dying of boredom here.”

“And how old is your baby now?” asked Patty.

“A week?” said Holtz hopefully, trying to look pitiful.

“We’re going to have to let her go back in the lab so she won’t go stir-crazy,” said Abby. She passed her daughter to Patty so she could get what she needed.

“Let me rephrase that. Before she drives me stir-crazy.” She got up from her chair. “Okay, onto the next order of business, although it’s only semi Ghostbuster related.” She started opening a box that was sitting on the table before picking up a bottle of champagne and four glasses from a chair and placing them beside it.

“Oh, now there are drinks,” said Holtzmann. Abby rolled her eyes.

“You knew it was down here. You went and bought the bottle.”

“Still...”

“What is all this Abby?” asked Patty.

“It is the culmination of a semi-solo project you girls knew I was working on. Finally came from the printers. You all know I’ve been kinda quiet about this. And it was worth it, I think,” said Abby. She started opening the box.

“Erin... you know I love you.”

“Oh here we go,” said Holtz with a sigh, sounding pitiful as she took off her yellow tinted glasses and put them on the table. “I always knew this day would come.” She looked mopey for a second before both Erin and Abby gave her the finger for her comment without hesitation. The nuclear engineer was absolutely delighted in their synchronicity as she grinned widely, eyes dancing between the two. Patty just shook her head and looked at Eliana in her arms.

“You sure you wanna be a part of this world?”

“Yes she does,” cooed Holtz as she leaned into Patty and kissed her daughter’s tiny forehead.

Abby opened the box and started handing out books, making sure to hand the first one to Erin.

“What is this?” asked Erin, looking at the cover.

“Afterlife Assistance: For When Ghosts Come Into Your Life?” repeated Patty.

“A doctor of psychology contacted me online,” said Abby. “Through Ghost News. She was looking for research. She’s been dealing with the aftermath of her own family having to deal with ghosts in their home after everything with Rowan. She noticed the toll it was taking on her children and even though she knew it was probably going to make a laughingstock of her in the community, she wanted to write about how to help those who have been affected. So I helped her with research and we ended up spending a lot of time talking about things... a good bit of it about you.” Abby reached up and scratched the inside corner of her eye under her glasses while looking at Erin. “And how you were so tortured and hurt that people didn’t believe you. Didn’t even want to believe you. I ended up telling her how much I had wanted to help you in high school and how I felt like I couldn’t do anything. So this... turned into a co-author project. Apparently I’m like a magnet for that sort of thing.”

“So is this about me?” asked Erin, feeling dubious.

“No,” said Abby. “It’s a lot of... coping techniques and such to help people or yourself. It’s really new territory. But some of the anecdotes and stories are mine. I helped her gather the rest through the website and contacting former clients for interviews. It’s really a big group project to make people realize they aren’t alone. Especially those who do not know how to help themselves.”

“Dude...” said Patty. “This could be helpful to a lot of people.”

“That’s what we were trying for,” said Abby. “And I think it was Erica wanted to convey all along.”

Erin ran her hand across Abby’s name on the front cover. She was honored that her best friend had taken on this project because she had felt she needed to do so because of their friendship in the past. She opened the front cover and flipped through the two dedication pages, stopping on the one she knew was Abby’s.

To All the Ghost Girls Out There: We Believe You.

Erin hopped up out of her seat and hugged Abby tightly. Tears were spilling out of her eyes as she buried her head in her best friend’s shoulder.

“I could have helped,” she said after a moment. Abby started laughing.

“I know, but it sort of took on a life of its own and really, it’s not my project per se. I just helped it along.”

“It was enough you got a co-author,” said Erin. “Oh my god Abby...”

“I know,” she said. “I didn’t say anything and--”

Erin shook her head, smiling. “It’s great. I wish something like this could have existed before. But I guess it had to wait on us for it to come into existence.” She grinned, leaning into her best friend.

“So do I get the first autographed copy?” Abby rolled her eyes and pulled out a pen out of her pocket. Holtz got up and grabbed the bottle of champagne.

“Bubbly for everyone!” She started handing out glasses after uncorking the bottle far away from the conference table, trying not to make a loud pop which would startle Eliana. It thankfully didn’t, much to both her mothers' relief.

“None for you sweet pea,” said Holtz, kissing the top of her daughter’s head after handing a full glass to Patty. “You can have some milk later.”

“Erica will be here next week,” said Abby after handing Erin back her book. “She wants to meet everyone, so I invited her and her family to come visit. I thought you ladies would like to meet them. She and her husband adopted too.”

“Should be fun,” said Holtz, coming up beside her wife, handing her a glass. “A toast to a new book. This is what, like....”

“Our 10th?” laughed Patty, teasing. “Between us all.”

“Should have gotten a cake then,” said Abby, smirking.

“Sushi!” said Holtz suddenly. “I’ve been craving some Abby, but I knew you couldn't eat it, so...”

“Ordering in for dinner?” said Abby, looking between her friends. “Will David and Cheyenne mind?”

“Cheyenne’s working,” said Patty, who handed off the newborn to Holtz. Erin shrugged.

“He’ll live. He’s still got a lot to make up for.”

-----

Holtz winced when she heard Eliana cry. She started to move and Abby’s hand was on her shoulder.

“Go back to sleep.”

“It’s my turn,” Holtz said softly, trying to wake up.

“She’s just hungry.” Holtz looked up at her alarm clock and saw that Abby was probably right. She rolled over and watched as Abby unfastened her nursing bra while holding their child.

“You can do the diaper afterward.”

“Input and output. You and me,” said Holtz, half-asleep. Abby snorted.

“You would find a joke in getting woken up in the middle of the night.” Holtz frowned at that.

“Abs?”

“It’s nothing,” she sighed. “I was just sleeping well, and-- I’ve just got to get used to the scheduling.”

“Yeah, you’re going to have to keep sleeping when she sleeps,” said Holtz. “Even during the day. I know you don’t like it, but...”

When she heard Abby grumble under her breath, Holtz chuckled. She leaned up and kissed her wife softly. She ran a hand through Abby’s hair, which was down around her shoulders.

“I know it sucks Abs, but it is what it is. We’ve got to learn to work together as a team.”

“Team Input/Output?”

Holtz sighed loudly. “Can we trade?”

“Do your boobs feel heavier than watermelons and are producing milk?”

“That would be a no.”

“Diapers,” said Abby. She wrinkled her nose a little as she moved Eliana carefully. “And I think she needs it.” <– Prev | Next –>