#Jason 80s to the present

[kaattlin]

i’ve been making a lot of fake comic issue covers lately—i swear they don’t all look like this

nightwing | batgirl | red robin

[cantsayidont]

Hateration and holleration in a galaxy far, far away:

THE ACOLYTE: The unexpectedly decent ANDOR showed that a Mouse-infested Star War could still be thoughtful and even intermittently compelling, but everything since then (and a fair bit before) has been plumbing new depths of awfulness. This depressingly wretched new show, set 100 years before the movies and chronicling the adventures of former Jedi apprentice Osha Aniseya (Amandla Stenberg) whose evil twin Mae has just murdered a Jedi Master (Carrie-Anne Moss), is another for the garbage pile: unimaginative visuals (is the best they can do really warmed-over wuxia moves from 25–30 years ago?), painfully dreadful dialogue, and a who-cares plot whose clichés are too dull to be worth summarizing.

The principal cast (discounting Moss, who's killed off in the first scene) is embarrassingly bad, but such inept direction would leave even more competent actors drowning in a sea of cheap-looking CGI blandness. Worse, the story seems to lean into some of the most conceptually dreary aspects of the prequels; it feels like THE PHANTOM MENACE, from its framing of the Jedi Order as a collection of sociopaths to its ghastly racist Trade Federation caricatures. The only mitigating factor is that unlike AHOSKA or OBI-WAN KENOBI, it doesn't appear to contain any familiar SW characters to assassinate. CONTAINS LESBIANS? The Amandla Stenberg characters are from an all-female outlaw sect (and have two moms, one of them apparently trans) that's presented as ontologically evil and then genocided. VERDICT: Do even diehard SW fans still give a shit? If so, why?

[jasontoddenthusiastt]

I always smh at people who dub Jason as “whiny” “and therefore ooc” in tt 29. If you died and all everyone did was taint your legacy, and not a single person remembered you fondly or deemed you worthy of commemoration after your death, wouldn’t you be a bit upset too?

[coldilikeit]

Yandere Batfam x Camp half-blood

(Neglected reader)

DC x Pjo

Part 10

______________________________

Present

"This is so unfair" Percy says as he scrubs the pots and pans

It would be fine if it was normal dirty dishes and normal water...

But it's magical dirty dishes and you have to wash them with molten magic iron...

Great.

Percy sighs "I have been getting dreams... Of Grover, he tells me he's trapped on an island being held hostage by a... Cyclops, and the thing we need to save Thalia's tree is there as well- golden poncho or something"

"golden fleece. Percy, it's a fleece" you smile

"right. Fleece"

"so this calls for a quest" Annabeth says with a hint of excitement in her voice

"but..." She says

"but?" Percy questions

You grumble and scrub harshly "Tantalus won't allow it, he wants Thalia's tree to die so the barrier breaks completely, thus putting all of us at risk"

Annabeth smirks as she places the last of the dirty pot "Then we have to propose the quest to him in a way he can't say no"

______________________________

Past

"it's not (Name), maybe they switched them out, or cloned them, I just don't believe it" Damian says as he glares as the sitting figure in the garden of their house

The office is dark and a bit humid, Jason speaks up "When 'it' got out, they couldn't remember anything and 'it' only started to remember after a few minutes, like it was processing memories, 'it' could be a clone"

"Even if it is a clone, it doesn't matter, same DNA, same memories, 'its' a carbon copy, if it keeps Bruce from crashing out, 'it' can stay" Stephanie says

A "mission gone wrong", that's all it was, reports of people going missing after entering a certain hotel

We investigated, Batman sent (Name) inside the hotel to see the area, but comms were cut the moment they entered

Tim tried to hack, but there was no gadget to hack, not one inside the Hotel, Damian got so fed up, he threw a grenade at a window, but the hotel didn't budge, (Name) still hasn't come out of the building

Then they saw it, through a window, hundreds maybe even thousands of people, in one hotel, some were wearing ball gowns from like the 1700's, some were in punk 80's style, some were dressed in ancient Greek clothing, like time was mixed in the hotel

The problem was workers, no one paid them any mind as they just stood at a rooftop from a building near the hotel

Tim went to the entrance and was greeted by workers "Sir! Would you like to come in? We have a spa, a bar, a golf course, a race track, a pool, a climbing area, an arcade-" the worker continued to ramble

"Hello sir, would you like to try some of our lotus candies? They're complementary" another one smiled

It was creepy.

He immediately went back to report "It's like they want people to go inside, and none of the evidence shows that everyone who went missing was forcefully shoved in the hotel, they went in willingly, I think it's best to not enter, there's this weird vibe to it, like the hotel itself is the problem"

The silence was deafening, and Batman whispered "So you're telling me I sent my kid to a trap?"

They tried everything, they went back almost everyday, bombing the hotel, shooting it, the hotel would remain pristine, the only way was to enter

And it was after two years that passed that (Name) walked out of the hotel, they were out of their bat costume, instead they were in some clothes you'd wear to go gambling

Their minds were fuzzy at first, it didn't matter to Bruce, all he saw was his kid that he sent to hell and god knows what happened in that hotel

'it' would try to make inside jokes that (Name) made during missions

Batsibs were all happy when Bruce laid 'it' off from the vigilante job

Cassandra couldn't bring herself to talk to (Name), avoiding 'it' by closing her eyes

(Name) didn't act differently, no signs of trauma, in fact they testified the hotel was awesome, (Name) claimed that the hotel was so breathtaking they forgot about the mission, but it was fine, (Name) claimed they were only gone for 20 minutes

This was not (Name), no way...

______________________________

Present

"We know how to heal Thalia's tree! We know the place to go and everything!" Percy announced at the dinner table

Everyone murmured and Percy continued "Me and a select group of friends will go on a quest"

Tantalus roared "I didn't approve of this! I'd rather you all die in this wretched camp than- I mean..." He stopped yelling

But now the campers were yelling as well

"You already went on a quest, give others a chance!"

"You just want all the glory again!"

"Greedy Poseidon child"

With the new uproar Tantalus smirked "Well... The quest shall be approved, if! I choose who's going, and I choose you! Clarisse Daughter of Ares! You may choose two selective friends to go with you"

"But I was the one who-" Percy tried to reason

Tantalus glared "Do you all know a story? Where stupid children, anger the Great and smart and beloved me? Do you know what happened to that kid? You want it to happen to you?"

With that Percy shut up

I leaned in and whispered to Annabeth, Percy and Tyson, "So we are still going right?"

"Oh definitely" Percy said

______________________________

Okayss man there's this hurricane in our city and it hit yesterday, while I was outside, literally got the storm warning at school, so school was dismissed early but it was too late, it was flooded, then we had to parkour on some of the cars (not a joke, the car owners were like so understanding and let a bunch of students step on their hoods so we can pass) to get to higher ground

It was fun ngl

@delias-stuff @sadslasher13 @ellaprime7 @wpdarlingpan @mountvesuvu @chinxinsomnia @nathaly36 @vanessa-boo @bat1212 @ceramic-raven @sweetconnoisseurgardener @dhanyasri @bella-wolf100 @shortnsweetsposts @roseapov @d3sperate-enuf @d3kstar

[brie-annwyl]

Bruce Wayne ideas because I can!

Bruce’s biggest fear is his children being hurt or dying of something he has no control over. Like no matter how much money he drains from his accounts, he cannot save them. This would be if his kids were diagnosed with a chronic illness that would eventually kill them or how Jason was originally supposed to die in the 80’s (AIDS).

Bruce is desperately touch starved but doesn’t know how to ask for affection, and obviously none of his kids (except for Cass) can read him well enough to know what he wants.

Bruce can only communicate when he’s being drugged by truth serum or fear toxin, it’s during a trip on truth serum that Bruce openly admits to Dick that he has adoption forms already signed in his office but he didn’t want to overstep. (If Bruce let out a few tears when he saw forms signed by Dick on his bedside table, no one would know)

Bruce has gotten Alfred a Father’s Day gift every year since he was 7 but hasn’t started giving them to him until Dick gave him one. Alfred definitely found the room Bruce put all of the unused presents, he may or may not have cried too.

Bruce gets his kids gifts on Father’s Day because “I wouldn’t be celebrating today if it wasn’t for you.”

Bruce CAN actually cook okay but purposely does it shitty so Alfred feels he still has a purpose in the manor.

Bruce doesn’t know how to properly apologize to his kids so he does the rich parent thing and uses his money. For Dick he will make donations to elephant charities and orphanages. For Jason he will give Crime Alley children scholarships to go to school and will donate 1st edition classic literature to the library Jason frequents. For Tim he invests in the Photography program and technology programs at his school. For Damian he will rent out art museums in Gotham and Manhattan for the day and will take him there for the day (a new animal will show up in the manor as well). For Steph (yes Steph is his child to me, deal with it.) he will make accessories (batarangs, etc) purple. Once he went out in a purple Batman suit whilst on patrol with spoiler. Cass got a ballet studio in the manor, like mans DEADASS got Clark’s kyptonian(?) ass to come help him too. Duke gets upgrades to his suits, random little gifts left in his room (could be something simple like chocolate or one time Bruce bought him an entire gaming set up.)

[wandixx]

Ghost of fries and hero of cookies part 6

All work words count: 14 643

Words in this part: 2 686

Summary of whole work: Duke wasn't expecting to wake up from his quick rooftop nap to some meta kid with fries. He also wasn't expecting kid to stay

Or

Danny asked Dani to stay safe while she was in Gotham. Where would she be safer than under the wing of local hero? And he looked like he needed bad day combo anyway

This part summary: Batman wants an explanation. His kids however, wouldn't be themselves if they did add some chaos

Beta read by @audhumla-sailor though English is second language for both of us, so proceed with this in mind. I also know all of the charaters through fics alone, so probably ooc. Stay catious if it's something you don't like

First part, Previous part

“Signal.”

Duke bit back a sigh as his last hope to leave Cave undiscovered disappeared. He shot Steph message of:

Having The Talk. Come as moral support

and turned around to face Bruce.

“Yes?”

B grunted in disapproving and ‘Signal report’ way but Duke decided to buy some time and answer only questions that were actually asked. He slowly sat at the briefing table and looked at the man expectantly.

Lift chimed and moments later Tim and Cass went to Batcomputer and training mats respectively. Duke was, like, 80% sure they were there to eavesdrop. He knew them well enough. He knew them well enough.

“The girl”

“Izzy?” Was Duke annoying on purpose? Yes. He really didn’t want to have this talk. Like, at all. Psychological warfare it was “I mean, I know she is civilian and you don’t approve but at least she isn’t doing anything illegal, right? Like, you know, robbing museums or killing people?”

Bruce looked repulsed and Tim snorted.

“Low blow Narrows, low blow” Jason announced through speakers. He was slightly winded as if he just finished a fight “Good job kid”

“So you’re listening too, great” Duke muttered under his breath before louder he added “Is everyone who wants in on a show, here already?”

“Give me a sec- here Dick you’re going live now”

“Thanks Babs, you’re the best”

“I know. Donuts, you know which one”

“Of course. Glad we’re finally going to talk about Duke’s kid”

“Shut up, she is not my kid!”

“Steph ETA 2 minutes” Cass interrupted.

At least Damian didn’t show up- as if summoned by this thought Damian stomped down the stares, Alfred the Cat curled in his arms. Maybe others had a point, calling him Demon kid and stuff.

“What is an emergency?” he demanded and Duke decided to take what little relief he could from the fact that Bruce seemed equally defeated by sheer number of people around for this talk. 

“It seems like… oh, literally everyone lost an adoption bet” Babs explained. Huh, so Steph didn’t change her stance.

Damian looked genuinely terrified as he muttered “No” eyes darting between everyone present in silent calculation.

“Oh, shut up” Duke whined knowing all too well his stalling had to come to the end. Maybe it was wishful thinking but he almost heard roar of engine of Steph’s motorcycle. Her presence would be double edged sword but she would help him advocate for Dani and that was more important.

“Thomas, what have you done?!” if it was anyone other than Damian, Duke would call sound he made a whine. As it was, he preferred his entrails to stay inside and since the boy showed up, called by thought, the older boy preferred not to take risks.

“Nothing, Babs is overreacting”

“Don’t deny it. She went about it kinda Tim Lite style but it worked”

“I don’t even know her surname, where she stays or really, anything about her life outside of our patrols, how do you expect me to go about adoption?!”

“B knew even less about me when he decided, yes this tire thief is my new son!” Jason chimed in and Duke knew he was grinning despite voice modulator.

“What from my origin story was lost to make Lite version?”

“Identities weren't breached as far as we're aware. Just ‘came one day and refuses to leave’ part and some light stalking. She was smart about it, invisible, keeping out of sight and to the hot spots. Wouldn't find her if I didn't know she was there”

“She could still just not tell, I mean I knew for years before telling anyone…”

“There is no way. Believe me, she has no brain-mouth filter, I swear”

“But-”

“She introduced herself by her first name,” Duke deadpanned ”She told me civilian names of heroes from her hometown, in context that didn't require me to do any actual research to clue me. I did anyway. I don't think she even realized she did it. If she knew our identities we would know already”

There was a moment of silence as everyone digested the thought of just how gigantic breach Dani accidentally caused.

“Well, it's as good of a proof as we can get for now,” Babs bristled. 

“Who let her in on such secrets then?!” Damian sounded genuinely appalled and Duke wasn't too surprised.

Like on a cue, Steph stormed inside on her Spoiler in civies. Bruce looked about ready to get aneurysm. Duke was a bit glad that everyone was doing such good job in distraction department.

“IT’S OKAY, WHY? BECAUSE I AM HERE!” Steph yelled, jumping from before her vehicle fully stopped. She threw something small in general direction of Batcomputer “Timmy plug it in, I made a PowerPoint!”

Duke felt blood leave his face. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know what Steph put together but he probably didn't. Tim opened it anyways.

WHY HOOPOE IS ADORABLE&CHAOTIC BEAN AND SHOULD BE PART OF THE TEAM

The title slide said, one of the clearest photos of Dani from before she started wearing mask in the background. It was close-up of girl smiling, bits of brownie on her cheeks.

“Was this photo taken with a goddamn calculator?” Tim asked with disgust so clear Duke could taste it. Metaphorically of course.

“Nah, just body-cam. Her powers mess with technology a bit”

Tim still looked displeased at the craftsmanship.

“Don't worry, it's not  a bad photo. Baby Bird is just being perfectionist,” Dick placated.

Duke didn't realize that Damian froze until he unfroze and made his way to the screen, stopping less than one foot away from it. His movements were rigid, his face scrunched with distress. Alfred the Cat escaped its master probably due to hoe tense he was. Everyone in Cave quietened as soon as boy took first step and expecting mood had to run through microphones because nobody from the on-line crowd quipped in.

“This is the green of Lazarus” he whispered finally, sounding actually scared. Jason swore. Bruce and Cass visibly stiffened. Tim choked and he wasn't even drinking. Dick did his whinny breezy name saying thing when he wanted explanation and felt lightly betrayed. 

It was Duke's turn to freeze because… it wasn't. Of course he wasn't all that well versed in the Pit, less alone its color but he did bust quite a few trafficking rings with Jason and he saw his eyes afterwards all raging, toxic, neon green glory and it wasn't the same as Dani’s. As much as he liked English and how good he was at it, it failed him at simple task of describing the obvious difference between each other. He'd have more luck describing tastes with set of color samples from IKEA or something. And really, even if he tried he would lose the fight of competence with Damian. Who wouldn't.  But-

“There is no way she has any connection with LOA”

“Why is that?” Damian seemed to misinterpret it as challenge like he always did when emotions were running high. Duke took a deep breath. Well, it was a moment to use all of his diplomatic skills and speak in the language of the demons.

“I've seen her fight. She would be utter disgrace”

“It does not prove-”

“It does” Duke interrupted with the tone and mimic of person who saw too much because he did ”None of you have any say until you watch a tiny and I mean tiny ten year old tackle five Joker goons like it's a joke, by sheer virtue of super strength and intangibility-means-I-can-ignore-bullets-Signal-don’t-be-such-worrywart. She should get shot, like, three times at least. And she kept laughing!” he was low key wheezing at the end because even after all this time (a week) it was fucking horrifying. Bruce made a huff that meant he was laughing and put a hand on his shoulder as a sign of support. Dick's lighthearted laugh sang from the speakers.

“Don't worry Duke, it never gets better” B said with mirth.

He refused to elaborate whether he meant ‘kids keep jumping into danger like there is no tomorrow‘ or ‘it's equally terrifying every time’ and Duke decided to reflect on that sentiment later. It put some things into perspective. A lot of things if he was being honest.

Also, he was not ready for stuff like that to become even semi-normal occurrence. He was ready to give her all of his Alfred cookies if it could change anything. He knew it wouldn't. 

“Do you have any other evidence that your new acquaintance does not just fake being less experienced to make you lower your guard?” Damian asked warily.

“I had to teach her out of putting her thumb in her fist,” he deadpanned. Several people hissed in empathetic pain. Steph coughed to bring attention to where she stood in front of Batcomputer, other slide of her Power Point open. Duke recognised video from his body-cam.

“Exhibit A” she announced. She played a video with Dani’s first mugging attempt he witnessed. Let it be said, it was a disaster.

“Exhibit B '' One of Dani’s most epic fails at side-kick that ended with her falling face first to the ground.

“Exhibit C” Dani fumbled with zip-ties, looking at him utterly at loss.

“Exhibit D” the talk about her prior training.

“What’s was that sound?” Dick obviously on the verge of cooing when girl on video growled. Steph stopped video.

“Very angry kitten” Tim stated with soft smile.

“Honestly, furious girl” Cass corrected “She was really mad at you”

“Yeah, I know but promise of Alfred’s cookies was enough to placate her”

“You gave her Alfred’s cookies?!”

“She started by giving me a lot of food on a really shitty patrol, had to repay somehow”

“Was it from your share or-” Dick asked like it was most important thing in the world.

“Miss Hoopoe was added to my plans after she picked her new name” Alfred explained and shit, Duke really should get used to how man just appeared sometimes. Jumpscare the original.

“Alfred, you knew?” Bruce sounded so utterly betrayed.

“I have yet to meet her but I was informed about her presence about two weeks ago”

“He caught me printing mask for her”

“About that” Steph clapped and skipped her slide show “Look at thi clueless child with such horrible disguises and codename ideas” There was whole list of every name Dani wanted to try out and photo of her bare face.  Duke kinda repressed his memories of it. It was worse than he remembered.

“Did she really tried kenting that?”

“Got it after her cousin. He used his first name as part of his alias for almost half a year” Duke admitted in carefree tone, knowing it would cause a mess.

“Cousin?!” several people yelled in surprise.

“Caped cousin?!”

“Yup. Small time hero from Illinois. As far as I’m aware she’s alone in Gotham but they’re in regular contact and she has strong believe that he can and will help her if she used her panic button”

“Who in their right mind let’s kid alone in Gotham?!” Jason sounded about ready to strangle Phantom.

“He seems to be fifteen himself. And has anti-meta parents if I’m picking things up correctly. She didn’t mention them much. I highly doubt she has present parents at all, so…”

“What the hell Narrows.”

“I don’t know, it’s just a wild guess”

“Does it call for the rescue?” Steph asked eagerly.

“We’re not going to Illinois to rescue Phantom if he doesn’t ask for it. He has means to it” Bruce interrupted with bone deep sigh.

“How do you know I meant Phantom?” Duke perked up because he never mentioned this name.

“He is from Illinois, looks almost the same as far as I can tell from the photos and they share a lot of powers”

“I didn’t know you knew about random kid hero from other state?”

“He dropped by on few Justice League’s mission. There is still dispute whether we should approach him in his city or not. He was very clear on his opinion that we should stay away. I think we really shouldn’t”

“How you haven’t gone or sent anyone there yet?” Tim teased.

Bruce just stared at him then gestured at mountain of cases they were currently working on. Yes, they were printed. Apparently for man it made it easier to work on them like that.

“Can we focus back on untrained child you let join you on patrol, Duke?”

“You act like I could stop her from doing her own thing if I didn’t  let her. Plus, even though she doesn’t have combat training, she can handle herself well enough. And has this damn intangibility that makes her really hard to punch”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t tell anyone other than Alfred and Steph and I wanted to wait a bit before leaving her to the wolfs”

“The bet”

“Shut up Steph”

“When did you plan on letting us know?” Bruce ignored what blonde insinuated. Duke was utterly grateful for that, he knew he would get lecture for that later but he was more than happy to leave it be for now.

“Somewhen next week. I hoped to introduce her gradually but apparently everyone knew already?”

“Kids tell me things. Hoopoe made a good impression on them” Jason explained.

“Hero sightings on Twitter” Dick admitted without a shadow of shame.

“What he said” Tim agreed “This person from crochet dolls made one for your kid too, so in public eyes she’s our already”

“For the last time, she isn’t my kid!” Duke groaned but as always went ignored.

“Nobody expected old man’s tendencies to rub on you so fast, Narrows”

“Shut up and this is half a reason I didn’t let you meet her. All of you”

“With all due respect Duke” Babs started teasingly “You gave us ammo yourself. You improved her diet, you brought her to The Food Track Of Mental Breakdowns, you teach her stuff, you check in on her almost as often as her cousin and their friends do…”

“How did you hack her pho- No, wrong question, why?!”

“We’re all paranoid bastards, I needed to check out the newest bird. She legally doesn’t exist btw so I suspect some shady stuff with her birth but otherwise nothing sus about her. Comms and trackers for her are waiting in drawer C19. You will give it to her tomorrow”

“Aye, aye captain Oracle ma’am” he joked.

“Wait, you showed her The Food Track?”

“She deserved it” he gritted out.

Before this could turn into a fight or something, Alfred demanded:

“Since we are all on the same page now, I would like to extend an invitation for family dinner to miss Hoopoe”

“We’ll eat it down here in full costumes”

“As you wish master Bruce. Master Duke make sure to let her know”

“Of course Alfred”

And he planned to do that but Dani didn’t show up. He hadn’t thought much of it because she was unpredictable like that. She tended to disappear from the face of the Earth for a day or two and return with tales of her “autograph hunting trips”

But then she didn’t show up on the next patrol too. It was unprecedented. And she hadn’t responded to the check in. Three times in the row. He was getting kinda sick from the stress.

He knew Dani well enough, she wouldn’t ghost him like that and in Gotham disappearing meant three things: getting kidnapped, trafficked or six feet under. To their knowledge, Dani didn’t have anyone who would pay ransom for her other than Signal and no demands were made so the first option was out.

Bats launched full fledged search.

Duke himself found and busted two trafficking rings in three weeks which was around how much he did in two months on a daily basis.

Thanks to Oracle, they found Dani’s utterly crashed phone in the dead end in the Narrows. It didn’t look any better.

Duke really hoped they wouldn’t be too late.

With each day it seemed more likely.

********

Bruce: *wants to have private conversation with his son about unknown child he's been working with*

All of the Batfam: Hello there

Duke: I managed to keep Dani secret my family of detectives!

Everyone other than Bruce: I knew for past two weeks, but goood job kid

Random o Twitter: I'm sooo disappointed with Signal for letting Hoopoe fight crime. She is just a little child, she shouldn't have to witness Gotham's worst

Other Random: Have you heard about Robin????? Have you seen teories that Signal is teenager???? With proofs????? Are you mad at child for not taking proper care of the other child????? That's messed up my dude/gal

Yell at Batman

Signal: You act like she isn't personification of feral cat I try to coax home so I can prevent her from getting in trouble. I dare you to try and stop her

Phantom: I do too, 100$ if you manage. It would save me from so much stress

Random: Now, who the f*ck are you?!

(Guess who never touched Twitter with 20 meters stick in her life)

Next part

Tag list: @pickleking8 @mynameisnotlaura

[cyberghostdraws]

⩩﹕🩵៹ Yume Sieheart ; CALL OF DUTY: Black Ops/Cold War OC

Name: Yume Sieheart (夢ジーハート)

Alias: Angel - Angel of the Morning.

Date of Birth: December 16, 1945

Age:

• Black Ops 1 (1968): 22 years old

• Cold War (1981): 35 years old

• Black Ops 2 (1986-2025): 40 - 80 years old

• Current (2024): 79 years old

Place of Birth: Osaka, Japan.(Although during part of her adolescence she was briefly in Liverpool, England. Her father was British and her mother Japanese.)

Height: 1.70

Weight: 60kg

Hair color: Black (natural)

Eye color: Sky blue

Languages spoken: Japanese (native language), English and Spanish.

Personality (MBTI): ISFJ (Defender).

Faceclaim: Nanao Arai

Backstory: Yume Sieheart was born in Osaka, Japan, the daughter of George Sieheart and Himari Sieheart.Yume showed at an early age to be quite observant and intelligent with her surroundings and to know what she used to observe. Yume was attracted to medicine since she was 8 years old when she went with her mother to houses around the town where she would attend to sick and wounded people at that time as well as hand-to-hand combat which was one of her greatest strengths and her father taught her the use of weapons. Her mother taught her different methods of healing with plants/herbs and knowledge in the area of medicine in general until Yume entered the medical academy. Due to Yume's great career as a doctor over time, she was allowed to join the CIA; her father had contacts with MI6 as well as the CIA so it was not a problem for Yume to join his team being assigned as a combat medic.

Personality: Yume is a very calm person, mostly she is quiet, however she is someone kind, friendly, nice and understanding, she will not hesitate to help others. However, she can be strict and sometimes tends to have a sadistic and cruel side with her opponents.

Affiliations:

CIA

• Alex Mason

• Frank Woods

• Jason Hudson

• Adler Russell

• Eleazar "Lazar" Azoulay

• Lawrence Sims

• Bell

MI6

• Helen Park

Other affiliations:

• Aleksandra "Aleks" Clarke R. (@alypink ©)

• Anastasia Perez Ivanov (@alexa-mwll ©)

• Vasili "Bell" Solokov (@welldonekhushi ©)

• Oscar "Wolf" Yamaha ( @piouswolf © )

History during the events of Black Ops 1: During the Vietnam conflict, Yume spent most of the time with Alex Mason, Frank Woods and Joseph Bowman. Being a fundamental piece for the cure of Mason's brainwashing; since, for Yume, his case was unusual in order to find some kind of cure or treatment for the symptoms he presented with the issue of Reznov and his flashbacks that relate the numbers with Jason Hudson. Although during that time Yume continued working on a treatment of which Mason was still practically amnesiac and with the issue of Reznov's whereabouts although in the end Jason mentioned to him that he is dead something that Yume was about to tell him however this generated discussions between both.

History in Cold War:During January 1981 Yume was entrusted with Alex and Frank during missions, she was briefly next to her other companions with Lazar, Sims, Adler, Bell and Helen. However, she had been working on the brainwashing that had occurred with Mason next to Jason Hudson. To which that led her on occasions to be closer to Hudson.

History in Black Ops 2: Yume was working with Frank and Alex in the 80's until, after the events of the kidnapping of Menendez, she decided to leave the CIA since she had decided to go to Mexico with the objective of getting away after what happened. On that journey, she meets Manolo Reyes, a corporal in the Mexican army, Yume decided to work as a hand-to-hand combat instructor who took a liking to him and took him as her apprentice. In 2025 she is 80 years old, sometimes she traveled to visit Frank Woods and David Mason whom Yume knew since he was a baby as well as was a great help for the labor and was present at some moments with him when he was a child.

Profession: Doctor with specialties in military medicine such as internal medicine and general surgery. Likewise, she is a martial arts instructor who has great knowledge in techniques of the variety of disciplines.

Skills: Yume is quite observant, she knows when someone is lying to her or being honest. She can read people with great ease and has good qualities in terms of reflexes.

Defects: Yume tends to have self-destructive behaviors by drinking until the next day even though she knows that it can be harmful to her own health.

Fun Facts:

-Yume loves rabbits, in her childhood she only had two, one called Rin and the other Haru.

-She is a big fan of billiards and alcohol, especially sake although she usually goes with her two friends Mason and Woods.

-Yume's favorite food is Teriyaki and Onigiri with tuna filling.

-She has a preference for Western clothing but she also combines it with formal clothing and jewelry of the same type.

-There were times when Adler he was injured Frank and Mason begged Yume to cure him in exchange for a bottle of sake (she eventually agrees).

Yume's outfits when she is in the office or at the medical agency.

Her uniform on missions.

Thanks To read! :)

.ೃ࿔*━━━━━━ 𓏲ֹ۪❪ ⿴ꯨ❛ 🌸 ❜˚❫ 𓏲ֹ۪━━━━━━.ೃ࿔*

[cipheramnesia]

Genuine question from a newbie just dipping her toes into horror film: If Candyman isn't actually a slasher (which is all I've seen it called), what is it? And how come it keeps being misidentified as a slasher flick?

Candyman is probably misidentified as a slasher both because of its original marketing, landing in the tail end of the 80s video cassette slasher boom, and having two mediocre sequels.

Generally a slasher has a limited region and a victim pool mainly consisting of teens. For example the big three - Jason, Freddy, Michael - are all somewhat geographically fixed and almost exclusively kill kids. Usually the slasher is specifically intertwined with fears pertaining to the transition between childhood and adulthood such as increasing independence and of course burgeoning sexuality. The victims typically are killed for transgressions of the child-adult boundaries such as rebelliousness, drinking, sex and so on. By and large the slashers have a character which is malevolent in a way that's divergent from mere human emotions because they are often larger than life figures of mortality and social moral codes.

On the cinematic side, most slasher movies have a very consistent plot formula and even similar shots. Usually there is an early on warning, the harbinger. This is followed by stage setting the particular vices of the victims, and some minor fake out scares, before the actual killing starts in earnest. There's inevitably some kind of POV / voyeur shot, several similar victim chase safe / fake out death sequences. A slasher subgenre is not necessary predictable but by nature it is a little bit formulaic - it's a type of character and a plot structure.

Candyman is a different kind of movie. I'm not sure it falls into a specific subgenre. It could be called horror noire, urban legend horror, and in some ways it's almost a ghost story. However there are some crucial differences.

Victim type is obvious. Candyman is not teen exclusive - nearly all of the victims in the film are full adults. Not only that, but his purpose for existing is different. He is not a governor of the transition to adulthood or a symbol of sex and mortality. Candyman exists as an urban legend and is more symbolic of the hidden secrets of ourselves and our cultural history which we try to cover over and forget.

As a personality, Candyman is not malicious, but rather tragic and romantic. His history is as a wronged man, a brilliant man horrifically killed in an act of racist violence. People who call him are summoning this combination of a deeply intellectual and passionate artist, and the history of racial oppression in the USA. And his acts of murder are not brutal enforcement of social norms, but rather keeping his story and the horrific truth of our own past alive - being remembered.

There is nothing either metaphorically or structurally in Candyman that conforms to the slasher subgenre. The slasher killers irrevocably tie sex and death together because of how they are fundamentally linked in our lives. Candyman ties the past to the present, carrying a promise that even his victims are immortalized in legend. The slasher killers are tied to teenagers and related transitional spaces where morality and control are in flux. Candyman is tied to his own legend and the reflection of ugly truths.

Both Candyman and the slasher subgenre have deep and fascinating ideas under the surface, but they are not the same ideas, and structurally Candyman is only as passingly similar to a slasher as to any other movie. Incidentally the recent Candyman also gets this, and I highly recommend both movies. They tell horror stories that are very different from most others, and I think both are vital films to see.

[thegayhimbo]

Stranger Things (1x02): “The Weirdo on Maple Street” Review

Just like the previous episode, this one contains neat homages and references to different 80s movies that help lay out the structure of the show and its story without overshadowing it. It also incorporates unique call-forwards to future episodes (specifically in season 4) that, when viewed again on rewatch (especially having seen the play The First Shadow), recontextualizes the entire mytharc.

Ironically, despite the name of this episode deriving from a famous Twilight Zone episode, “The Monsters are Due on Maple Street,” they have very little in common plot-wise with each other, and the themes present in that particular episode will come into play later in season 4, specifically with Jason’s witch hunt against the Hellfire Club.

Part 1: Mike, Dustin, and Lucas meet El

The interactions at the beginning between El, Mike, Dustin, and Lucas is a combination of both amusing (since they’re 12 year old boys who are implied to have never really talked to girls their age) and gives some initial insight into each character.

Mike is the one who comes off the most empathetic to El’s plight in this situation (note that he took off his coat earlier and wrapped it around El to keep her warm). He’s genuinely concerned over why she’s out in the rain looking scared with barely any clothes on (save Benny’s T-shirt), and he’s the the one who gives her clothes to wear. I also think it’s interesting that, when El refuses to have the door to the bathroom closed for privacy, Mike agrees to keep the door open slightly.

I know this is often attributed by most of the fandom to Hopper since he’s the one who makes a big stink in season 3 about El having her door open three inches (something that’s played as a recurring joke), but this episode introduces it first with Mike’s arrangement with El, as well as El’s desire for a semi-open door due to the trauma of being locked in solitary confinement at the Lab (as we’ll see later on).

By contrast, Lucas and Dustin come off as insensitive, even though that likely wasn’t their intention. Dustin’s dialogue about El, from asking out-loud whether she has cancer due to short hair, or if she’s deaf, or even if she slept naked, indicates he views her in the moment as a curiosity. That curiosity certainly peaks when he later finds out she has powers, and he will eventually move past this initial perception of her. Lucas is a lot blunter in openly noting that El doesn’t act like a normal girl, speculates that she came from Pennhurst (the asylum which would later make an appearance in the season 4 episode “Dear Billy”), and uses phrases like “psycho” “freak” “weirdo” and “something wrong in the head with her” (The latter phrase would later be used by the Duffer Brothers to describe Angela in S4, although that had less to do with mental illness in Angela’s case and more to do with her being a genuinely vile human being).

While we're on this topic………let’s discuss Lucas’s initial attitude towards El, and how the fandom reacted towards it.

I am aware of the negativity that got directed at Lucas in the first season because of this, to the point that even Caleb McLaughlin was not only painfully aware of it, but was even on the receiving end of fandom racism because of it. It doesn’t help that some of these fans who trashed Lucas in this season would later go on to defend Billy in season 2, and either pretend that his racism towards Lucas wasn’t a thing, or use Lucas’s initial behavior towards El as a justification for why it was okay for Billy to treat Lucas like shit. I am deeply sorry Caleb was on the receiving end of that at a young age, and he deserved a helluva lot better than having to put up with that kind of racist bullshit.

While I wasn’t happy about the terminology Lucas used to describe El, it’s important to note he is 12 at this point. Like any kid his age, he is going to say stuff that, in hindsight, comes off as insensitive at best, and hurtful at worst. A lot of this can be chalked up to ignorance surrounding mental health issues and abuse, as well as the fact he’s facing a freaky situation with someone who isn’t acting in a way considered ‘normal.’ The result is falling back on stereotypes and cliches about abnormal people that he likely picked up from movies like John Carpenter’s Halloween (which is referenced in the comparison Lucas and Dustin make between El and Michael Myers) and other kids his age who discussed that stuff with the same levels of ignorance.

Third, just like with Steve (who acts callously insensitive at different points in this episode), Lucas is being presented with flaws and biases that he must overcome. This is how a character arc is supposed to work. They start out one way, undergo a journey, are forced to confront their flaws, realize they need to make a change, and apply those lessons to become better people than they were before. It's why I find it eye-roll inducing how many idiots in this fandom fall into this Puritain-esque way of thinking where, if a character has ever said or done anything remotely uncaring in the past, the idea is they should never live it down, EVEN IF they have long since apologized and put in the work to be better.

I want to be careful not to infantilize Lucas the same way fans have done with Billy or Angela to try and absolve them for their disgusting behavior. Unlike those two, whose intentions were based on getting a kick out of sadistically hurting others to make themselves feel superior, all the while never apologizing and doubling down, Lucas’s initial attitude was more rooted in seeing El as an inconvenience to their goal of finding Will as opposed to just wanting to make El’s life a living hell (like Angela) or taking his anger out on others (like Billy).

Again, I’m not saying this attitude was okay. It was immature in the same way Steve’s initial reaction towards Jonathan putting up Missing Posters for Will was callow. However, it’s not rooted in the mean-spirited cruelty some fans have accused it of being, and it’s supposed to be a point for both Lucas (and Steve) to grow from.

Speaking of El, just like there was the implication El was intentionally starved at the Lab, we get more subtle signs of how she was abused: Her reaction to putting the fresh pair of clothes Mike gives her on her cheek (indicating she’d been in that hospital gown for quite a while). Her panicked reaction later in the episode when she’s forced to hide in Mike’s closet, triggering a PTSD flashback to when Brenner forced the orderlies to lock her up in solitary confinement. Her flinching at little things, like when Dustin claps in her face, or the lightning outside (though that is likely due to never having been outside the Lab before now and being unfamiliar with lightning), or when Lucas points to the blood on her, or when he later angrily demands from El to know where Will is. Even the scene of her almost stripping in front of the guys, while played for laughs, all but spells out how she never had access to privacy and was under constant watch (I can’t remember if there was a security camera in her room at the Lab, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there was).

El’s situation and reactions remind me of Genie, a real life case we studied in my psychology class in school involving a feral girl from Los Angeles who'd spent 13 years of her life locked in a room and chained to a toilet by her parents (specifically her father, though her mother and brother also enabled this due to being at the receiving end of his abuse as well). She was constantly subjected to the rage and neglect of her father, including beatings, malnourishment, isolation from the outside world, and constantly being kept in the dark. It’s even been speculated he may have sexually abused her at various points as well. The dude was a real piece of work, and the damage he did to her severely affected Genie's physical, mental, and emotional development, to the point she learned not to make any noises (lest her father beat her with a wooden plank) and didn’t develop the language and communication skills kids her age would have picked up by that point. She was eventually discovered in 1970 by a social worker, who alerted authorities and had her taken to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. The case got public attention and the father, who was unable to handle the media scrutiny, committed suicide, all while leaving behind a note where he refused to take responsibility for what he did to his daughter.

It's unclear whether the Duffer Brothers based aspects of El’s character on Genie, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they did (If this is true, and there was an interview I missed talking about this subject, feel free to link to it in the reblogs). Both girls are abuse survivors who were stunted in their growth and development because of what they were put through. In the case of Genie, her father’s abuse of her caused lasting physical damage, including having limited gross motor skills (i.e. basic functions kids learn during development like standing, sitting, walking, etc) and impairing her ability to communicate and learn new words and vocabulary.

In El’s case, she also has limited vocabulary and is unfamiliar with certain words (like “friend”) but she’s shown to understand concepts even if she doesn’t have the words to name them. The abuse Brenner subjected El to was along the lines of Operant Conditioning (i.e. rewarding and punishing behavior, and behavior based on the removal or addition of stimuli), and was done as a way of molding her into the weapon he wanted (in stark contrast to Genie’s father, whose abuse stemmed from wanting nothing to do with his daughter and resenting her existence). Unlike with Genie, we see that El did develop gross motor skills (i.e. the flashback Terry has where she sees a three year old El playing with Kali/Eight, and the rainbow room in season 4 with the special kids playing with toys), and there clearly was some attempt at raising El to make sure El could understand and communicate with Brenner and the orderlies in order to spy on the Russians. The abuse in question was specifically tailored by Brenner: Keeping El isolated from the outside world, and limiting her knowledge to only what Brenner wanted her to know. Drilling into El that she was expected to perform certain tasks on his command, and punishing her with solitary confinement if she disobeyed or refused. Allowing the other kids at the lab to bully El because she was slow in the development of her powers and hoping that the ostracization would produce the results he wanted.

There’s also the trauma associated with memories El has repressed, but have slowly started to seep through. For story related purposes, we don’t yet see the flashbacks to the Massacre at Hawkins Lab and the events leading up to that (at least not until season 4), but it is subtly alluded to in the scene where Mr. Clarke finds a piece of El’s hospital gown in the tunnel she used to escape. AKA the same tunnel Henry/One/Vecna led her to in 1979:

Like I said, this episode contains several call-forwards, and this is one of them. It explains how El knew where to go to escape the Lab once the gate opened, and “The Monster” elaborates on WHY she finally did.

It’s pretty clear Mike and El’s interactions at the house during the day are meant to invoke Steven Spielberg’s E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, with Mike faking sick to stay home (the difference being Karen sees through it, but allows Mike the day off because of what happened to Will, while also telling him he can always talk to her if he needs to), showing El around his house, introducing her to Star War toys the same way Elliot did with E.T., and even making food for her. There’s even the later scene of El wandering the house during dinner and Karen nearly missing her, similar to Elliot’s mom having near misses with E.T. when Gertie brought him downstairs. These scenes have a nice charm to them, and have always been fun to watch.

Another movie this episode pays homage to in one particular scene is a 1985 Harrison Ford film called Witness:

Witness centers around a German Amish boy named Samuel Lapp who, after the death of his father, travels to Baltimore with his mother Rachel to visit her sister. Like El, this is Samuel’s first time in a new environment other than his Amish community, and his initial reaction is one of quiet curiosity. While at 30th Street Station in Philadelphia, waiting for a late train, he ends up using the restroom and becomes an eyewitness to the murder of a detective that takes place there. Because Samuel saw the culprit of the crime while hiding in one of the stalls, Samuel and his mother are forced to cooperate with a police detective named John Book (played by Harrison Ford) in helping to track down the killer. When El points to Will in the science photograph next to Mike’s trophies, this is a direct homage to the scene when Samuel points to a photograph of Lieutenant James McFee, indicating to Book that McFee is the murderer.

In both scenarios, what follows is the untangling of a massive conspiracy: In Witness, it centers around police corruption and illegal drug dealings. In Stranger Things, it’s centered around government corruption and the Upside Down. The big difference is that while Samuel is still present in Witness, the movie shifts focus to John Book as the main character, especially when he’s targeted by corrupt cops and forced to go on the run and hide within the Amish community to protect himself, Rachel, and Samuel. Meanwhile, El remains central as a character, and ironically enough is the one working to protect Mike, Dustin, and Lucas from Brenner and the Demogorgon while hiding among them.

Speaking of Brenner (who has physical similarities to Chief Paul Schaeffer, the main antagonist of Witness, as well similar personality traits of demanding loyalty from his men without feeling obligated to return it), his reaction towards Will’s disappearance and finding the ooze in the shed at the Byers house takes on a whole different context after having seen The First Shadow (or Season 4 for that matter). The play reveals that, as far back as the 1940s, Brenner was aware of the Upside Down. Granted, he hadn’t actually seen the dimension with his own eyes. The most information he got was from his own dying father (who was a part of the fateful Philadelphia Experiment in 1943) and maybe even Henry/One/Vecna (depending on what kind of information Henry willingly or unwillingly provided to Brenner). In any case, his lack of surprise over Joyce’s phone call to Flo about Will and some kind of animal on the other end indicates he knew Will was in the Upside Down and was being hunted. Not that Brenner truly cared about Will in the grand scheme of things.

In regards to Will, for those who are interested in what exactly happened in the end scene with Joyce and the lights flickering and the recorder playing “Should I Stay Or Should I Go,” this is how things looked like from his perspective in the comic The Other Side:

The show already implied this is what was going on, with Will hiding and the Demogorgon chasing him, but it helps give more context to why the Demogorgon temporarily turned its attention to Joyce and stopped pursuing Will.

I am curious about the Demogorgon’s decision not to go after Joyce despite trying to tear through the wall: Was it just trying to scare her away in the moment, or did Joyce manage to outrun it quick enough that it went back into the Upside Down because it decided she wasn’t worth it? Is this even the same Demogorgon that would later attack Barbara, or was that a different one considering the distance between the Byers House and Steve’s House?

Speaking of which, let’s talk more about the Byers family, including Lonnie and Hopper:

Part 2: The Byers, Lonnie, and Hopper

I forgot about the tense exchange between Joyce and Hopper in this episode. Her insisting that it was Will’s voice on the other end of the phone and, when Hopper remains skeptical, bringing up how she’d recognize Will's breathing the same way Hopper would recognize his daughter’s breathing. To her credit, she does regret that and realizes how low of a blow that is, and Hopper, despite being hurt, doesn’t take his anger out on her, and recognizes her outburst as coming from stress and frustration over her son’s disappearance rather than vindictiveness. Add in how these two have history with one another (especially from their interactions in The First Shadow when they were attending high school and were already starting to realize they were attracted to one another) and there’s a lot both Joyce and Hopper are willing to overlook when it comes to each other’s flaws.

Hopper’s depression is hard to watch. I’ve never had a kid, and I have no intention of having one either (especially with the way our world has gone), but I understand what it’s like to be in that kind of mental state between wanting to care and yet being so beaten down by life and what it has taken from you that it’s hard not to slip into apathy.  Compared to his time in New York City, where Sara was still alive, his wife was married to him, and he felt rejuvenated with a purpose, Hopper in the beginning of this show is directionless, burying himself in booze, drugs, and women, all while putting in the bare minimum into his 4 years as chief of police. Then, after Joyce's son disappears, and his best friend Benny is murdered while it's staged to look like a suicide, Hopper is forced to realize he still cares, and no amount of drowning himself is going to change that. As he bitterly notes to the woman he’s sleeping with:

BTW, note how he never references the last time a person got murdered in Hawkins. That was a clever way for the Duffer Brothers to later lay the groundwork for the Creel murders in 1959. As depicted in The First Shadow, Hopper saw the bodies of Virginia and Alice Creel around the time the police arrested Victor for their deaths.

I will go more in detail about Joyce’s arc as it develops this season, but there is one comparison that is relevant to this episode: Her similarities to Florence “Rusty” Tullis from the 1985 film Mask, which is based on the real-life story of Rocky Dennis. The Duffer Brothers have cited the movie as an inspiration for how they wrote Joyce’s character, as well as how Joyce’s costumes were designed. Both women are single mothers working to provide for their sons, both of them have sons who deal with mistreatment because of their physical appearance (Will because of his clothes and Rocky because of his Craniodiaphyseal dysplasia (CDD)), both of them are overworked and stressed and turn to drugs (Joyce’s chainsmoking in this episode and Rusty’s addictions, which becomes a source of conflict between her and Rocky), both of them worry constantly about the well-being of their sons, and both of them are perceived as being “unstable” when in fact they are fiercely determined and would go through hell to keep their sons alive and safe. In Joyce’s case, that involves going back inside her house at the end of this episode to keep in contact with Will despite a monster lurking within her walls.

On the other side of the parenting spectrum is Lonnie Byers, and his establishing character moment tells us everything: He’s dating a woman half his age (though Cynthia doesn’t appear to be a teenager as Joyce implied in the previous episode), his first appearance is shoving Jonathan into a wall before making a half-assed introduction between Jonathan and Cynthia and makes a pretense of trying to hug Jonathan despite Jonathan not wanting him to.

Then there’s Jonathan looking for Will throughout Lonnie’s house, including in the trunk of Lonnie's car:

Just this scene alone makes me question what kind of child custody dispute went on between Joyce and Lonnie during their divorce, and if Lonnie at one point took Will without Joyce’s permission. I can buy he’d do it for financial reasons (and we’ll see that aspect rear its ugly head when he later comes to exploit Will’s funeral and file a lawsuit to get money to cover his debts) but other than that, he just comes off as a lazy bum who wants nothing to do with his sons. Makes me question why on earth he even wanted kids with Joyce in the first place.

I talked about this in my review of The First Shadow, but Lonnie in this episode pretty much is the same as he was in the play: He’s lazy, he has no desire to make anything of his life, he’s costing off other people, and he’s a douchebag. The only difference is instead of being a teenager, he’s a grown-ass adult well into his 40s, and a deadbeat father on top of that. I know a lot of people hate Lonnie (and rightfully so), but the most I can muster for him is contempt as opposed to the burning hatred I have for characters like Angela.

Jonathan is a mixed bag in this episode. On the one hand, his love and devotion to his brother is on full display, and it’s a combination of sweet and sad given the circumstances. His interaction with Nancy at the school and her giving genuine condolences to him over Will’s disappearance was a highlight (and was when I started to care about Nancy the first time I watched the show), as well as the flashback to his conversation with Will and the playlist he introduces to him.

One of those bands he recommends btw is The Smiths, and one of their songs, “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now,” has been used in the marketing for season 5, specifically in reference to Jonathan:

I’m sure plenty of fans have already made speculations, but all I can say is I hope this doesn’t foreshadow something bad happening to Jonathan because…………YIKES!! “Why do I give valuable time to people who don’t care if I live or die?” I’m not really surprised that Jonathan has depression and self-confidence issues, partly because of his parents’ failed marriage, his worries about becoming like his father, and being an outcast, but if his perception is that people don’t care, he is DEAD WRONG. And I’m not just talking about his family when I say this.

In any case, his attempts to boost Will’s self-confidence despite struggles with his own, and to encourage Will to chart his own course regarding things Will likes vs what other people tell him he should like, is one of the best moments in the show, and a life lesson that needs more applicability (especially when it comes to fandom culture).

The part where Jonathan loses me is towards the end of the episode. You all know what I’m talking about: The photographs he takes of Steve’s pool party.

First off, I want to make clear that, in spite of what he did, this wasn’t a deal-breaker for me in terms of liking his character. Yes, I agree it was creepy and wrong to take the pictures without the others knowledge or consent, and to his credit, he does acknowledge later that he shouldn’t have done it. The only good thing that came out of that was inadvertently capturing the Demogorgon on the picture he took of Barbara at the pool, but that in no way excuses the other photos he took. Contrary to what my time on Tumblr may suggest, I’m a private person, and I’m someone who does NOT like having pictures taken of me without my permission. I also imagine plenty of other people feel the same way, and I get why some fans were upset by this scene. It doesn’t help that the screenplay contains this tidbit regarding Jonathan’s motivations:

This does hearken forward to what Robin later tells Steve in season 3 about how outcasts like herself still desire to be popular and normal (which is specifically associated thematically in the show with being accepted). As much as Jonathan has embraced the identity of outcast, I don’t think it’s completely out-of-character for him to want that as well, especially if it’s tied to being accepted for who he is. At the same time though, out of all the ways he could have expressed that, this was the worst way to go about it. Again, the reason I don’t hold it against him is because of his apology to Nancy, similar to how Steve would later apologize to Nancy and Jonathan for his behavior, and Lucas would apologize to El for his. Characters start out in a flawed way and go through an evolution. That’s how it works.

Speaking of Steve and Nancy………..

Part 3: The Pool Party

We get our introduction of Tommy and Carol in this episode, and I completely forgot that the first thing Tommy does is stick his finger in Barbara’s ear to be a dick. Charming. 😒 And you have Carol being snide to both Nancy and Jonathan. Lovely. 🙄

They say you are judged by the company you keep, and they take that principle and run with it here with Steve. Whenever Tommy and Carol are around, we see a callous side to Steve fueled by those two’s toxicity, and it’s not pleasant. I even question how much of the Pool Party was his idea vs Tommy and Carol’s who wanted the excuse to party hard and shack up in Steve’s huge house. It reminds me of Risky Business when the Tom Cruise character, Joel Goodsen (whom Steve shares parallels with) has his parents leave for a trip, and he's put in charge of watching over the house, all while his friends pressure him to exploit the opportunity to party and have sex. The big difference is while Joel’s friends try to help him once the shenanigans go over the top, Tommy and Carol would have left Steve out to dry. The pool party was for their benefit as opposed to Steve’s.

Steve’s line about how his mom is traveling with his dad because she doesn’t trust him makes me question what goes on in Steve’s family. We’ve never seen Steve’s parents (they don’t appear in The First Shadow either), so we have very little information to go on, but that line alone makes me wonder how much his dad’s cheating has impacted Steve. It reminds me of the fractured relationship between Ted and Karen, where emotions get suppressed and it’s hard for anyone to say they “love" someone because that entire marriage is NOT running on love. In Nancy and Mike’s case, they act like this is the norm, and we will see how it impacts their relationships with Steve and El in the future. In Steve’s case, I wouldn’t be shocked if he picked up the womanizing aspect from his dad. As for why his mom would stay with his dad if he was cheating on him………..there’s an episode of Freaks and Geeks (a show that was a big inspiration for Stranger Things) where one of the main characters, Neal, finds out his dad (whom he’s looked up to in the past) has been cheating on his mom. Angry and betrayed, he publicly lashes out at his dad through mean-spirited jokes at his expense during a party, and later flees to his room in tears. When his mom later goes to visit Neal to comfort him, it’s revealed she is aware of her husband’s infidelity, but is working to keep the peace, noting that it’s a complicated situation for the both of them. Given that Steve's mom hasn't divorced his dad yet, it's possible their situation and how they're handling it could be similar to Neal's parents.

I remember there was a period prior to season 4 where there was this idea in the fandom that Steve had actively gone out of his way to bully others, including Jonathan. I agree that there were instances of him being self-absorbed and dickishly insensitive, but I never got the impression from watching the show or reading the supplementary materials that he actively went out of his way to make others lives a living hell the way Billy and Angela did. Tommy was certainly guilty of that on a constant basis (something the Eddie Munson prequel Flight of Icarus explores), but the two instances Steve was antagonistic towards Jonathan (i.e. the camera incident and when he thought Nancy had cheated on him with Jonathan) had more to do with specific circumstnaces rather than getting his kicks making other people miserable like Angela did with El. Otherwise, his entire attitude towards Jonathan seemed rooted in indifference.

Like I’ve said, it’s not great, and I’m not surprised there were multiple characters like Robin, Keith, and Eddie who referred to Steve as an asshole and a douchebag (because that's the image he projected), but this isn’t the same thing as active maliciousness. We even see Steve get uncomfortable with Tommy when he makes a nasty joke about Jonathan killing Will, and Steve tells him to shut up, indicating he finds that inappropriate and crossing a line.

Speaking of projecting an image…..we see plenty of that at the pool party, with Steve smoking (which I don’t think he does again at any other point in the show) and shotgunning beer cans to impress Nancy and the other partygoers (with the exception of Barbara). Even his answering the door for Nancy and Barbara in dramatic fashion while “Raise a Little Hell” by Trooper plays in the background is a cliché unto itself. However, it’s noteworthy Nancy doesn’t seem bothered by this, and the exchange between her and Steve in that moment makes it clear she knows he’s purposefully being a cliché, but finds it amusing, which is why Steve continues with it.

In fact, if we look at Nancy’s behavior in this episode, it comes off less like she’s throwing herself at Steve (as the Montauk script depicts) and more like she’s thought this through and decided this is what she wants. Apart for Barbara, Nancy doesn’t particularly care for what Tommy and Carol think of her. We got hints of that in her discussion with Barbara in the previous episode, and we see it in the scene where she talks with Jonathan in front of them despite their snide comments about him.

This is a big reason I strongly disagree with the idea Nancy’s interest in Steve has anything to do with wanting his approval (or Tommy and Carol’s approval for that matter) or even elevating her social status in high school. She certainly didn’t give a damn about what they were thinking of her in this moment with Jonathan, or how it would look to others to be interacting with the local outcast. She genuinely felt bad for what Jonathan was going through and wanted to offer some words of comfort.

On top of that, she’s seen Steve without Tommy and Carol by his side enough times to recognize he is a different person without them around. She has enough intuition to trust that, even if she’s still navigating the way this relationship is going, there are desirable qualities in Steve beyond his good looks (in contrast to the Montauk script where she barely knew him and was only going by his good looks and charm). So her making the decision to have sex with Steve comes off less like she’s operating under pressure and more like she’s made the decision that this is what she wants, even against Barbara’s protests.

Speaking of Barbara, I’ve never understood this idea the fandom has perpetrated about how Barbara was worried over being left behind by Nancy to join the popular crowd.

First of all, if Barbara really pegged Nancy as that superficial, there is no way she would have remained friends with Nancy for so long.

Second, the idea of Barbara being jealous of Nancy climbing the social ladder comes in direct contrast with how she acts at the pool party. Barbara makes it clear at the beginning that she’s only there for Nancy because Nancy asked her to be, and doesn’t make the effort to socialize with anyone else there, all the while looking disgusted with Tommy and Carol and unamused at Steve showing off. That does NOT translate to jealousy. That sounds like someone who doesn’t want to be in the same room with these people. The only reason she even makes an effort at shotgunning a beer can (and getting a deep cut on her thumb that attracts the Demogorgon's attention) is because Nancy pressured her into doing so. This was not done because she gave a damn about impressing Steve or Tommy or Carol.

Third, Barbara’s concern for Nancy wanting to have sex with Steve isn’t entirely invalid, and it sure as hell does NOT constitute slut-shaming like some fans have framed it as. Barbara knows that Tommy and Carol are toxic people, and the fact that they’re hanging around Steve doesn’t make Steve look good. While she is interested in Nancy’s relationship with Steve (as we saw in the previous episode) it’s natural for her as a friend to be worried about whether Nancy is rushing into this too quickly, especially because Barbara doesn’t know Steve very well and has no clue how Steve is going to treat her. As we see in later episodes, some of her concerns were valid and others were not.

I get everyone is entitled to their opinions, but sometimes I wonder how much of these takes from fans are rooted in projection and bad-faith interpretations. 😒

I should quickly talk about the sex scene between Steve and Nancy, and how it was changed from the Montauk script from being a rape scene to consenual. I am fine with this change for several reasons:

I have never been a fan of shows that use rape as a plot device to drive another character’s arc (especially a female character). I have seen plenty of shows that have done this where it ends up going horribly wrong in the writing process and comes off as gratuitous, as well as enforcing the idea that this kind of trauma is necessary for a person to stop being naïve and grow up. Just…………YUCK! 🤮

 When it comes to the subject of rape, there are plenty of shows out there that try to tackle this subject and either end up being extremely tone-deaf, or perpetrate the rape culture aspects they were trying to avoid. True Blood. Game of Thrones. 13 Reasons Why. General Hospital. The Umbrella Academy. Even The Boys wasn’t immune from this: Contrast the somber way Starlight’s assault from The Deep is depicted on that show to how Hughie’s sexual assault and rape at the hands of Ted Knight and the shapeshifter in season 4 is handled. That's also including how The Boys showrunner, Eric Kripke, admitted that Hughie's assault was intended to be played for black comedy. There are so many pitfalls with this subject matter that it would have reflected badly on the show if the Duffer Brothers had fallen into them. There’s also the question of whether the Duffer Brothers had any interest in actually depicting Nancy’s trauma over being raped in a thoughtful intelligent manner, or if was simply a means of driving Nancy into Jonathan’s arms while glossing over the ramifications of what happened to her.

As I stated in the previous episode, changing Steve’s character not only improved him, but also improved Nancy and Barbara by extension. Steve’s motivations for wanting a relationship with Nancy become more complex than simply wanting “another notch under his belt,” Nancy’s crush on Steve is a lot less shallow and more about seeing through the image he projects and wanting to get to know the real Steve Harrington, and Barbara has more of a personality here where she’s caught between wanting to support Nancy but also being wary of Nancy’s relationship with Steve and this new side to Nancy that she’s seeing. She also isn’t someone who abandons Nancy like in the Montauk script, but is reluctant to leave Nancy at Steve's house alone (and only does so at Nancy’s insistence), making it much more heartbreaking when she’s later dragged into the Upside Down.

Part 4: Song Choices

We get a nice selection of songs in this episode, including the one that would become the signature song for season 1 and for both Will and Jonathan: “Should I Stay or Should I Go?” by The Clash.

While The Clash has refused to assign meaning to the lyrics, especially in regards to whether those lyrics were in reference to events going on in the band at the time, my interpretation of the song is that it’s about someone in a relationship where they’re not sure if the other person wants them there, and is demanding a more direct answer about where they stand. “One day it’s fine and the next it’s black,” certainly gives the impression their relationship is tumultuous, and “this indecision is bugging me” makes it sound like both parties can’t agree on where to go from here. Ironically enough, it doesn't seem to apply at all to Jonathan and Will’s situation, where neither of them have been in a romantic relationship yet, and both brothers are supportive of one another in spite of their parents' messy divorce.

“Raise a Little Hell” by Trooper is played in the scene when Steve answers the door for Barabara and Nancy. Initially, the song seems to foreshadow that this is going to be a rumbustious party, but in comparison to the Montauk script, the party in this episode is tame. On top of that, the song itself really isn’t a party anthem, but a motivational one encouraging the listener to change their circumstances if they’re not happy about their situation and “raise a little hell” in the process. It's a big reason why it's been adopted as a sports anthem. Considering that Steve is an athlete himself, I'm not surprised he likes it.

“I Melt With You” by Modern English has always been a personal favorite of mine, and I was happy with its use in this episode. Despite being a dance song, the lyrics have a dark undertone to them, depicting two people falling in love as the world is coming to an end. It’s similar to Prince’s “1999” and R.E.M.’s “It’s the end of the world as we know it (and I feel fine)” where the singer has accepted the inevitability of their world being screwed, and is more content with living in the moment rather than worrying about what can’t be changed. In the context of this episode, with a group partying while (unbeknownst to them) the Upside Down is beginning to leak into Hawkins, and even claims one of the attendees later on (Barbara), the song is appropriate for that scene.

Finally, we have “Hazy Shade of Winter,” by The Bangles, which plays when Nancy and Steve have sex for the first time.

This was a remix of one of Simon and Garfunkel’s songs from the 60s, and while I like the original, I’m a bigger fan for The Bangles version. It has a very eerie tone to it, dealing with regret and the passage of time over the seasons as the singer lambasts about opportunities and hopes slipping away. It’s not exactly an uplifting song to be playing during what’s supposed to be a romantic moment, and given what happens to Barbara the same time Nancy is consummating her relationship with Steve, it’s dark foreshadowing for the guilt she’s going to be feeling later on over Barbara’s death.

Final Thoughts:

One more thing I wanted to mention before closing out this review is the poster of The Dark Crystal in Mike’s bedroom:

The Dark Crystal is a 1982 fantasy film set on a distant world that, while once green and fertile, has become desolate and corrupted due to a fracturing of the eponymous Crystal, which has created two different races: the Skeksis, who act as the tyrannical rulers of the planet, and the Mystics, who act in opposition to them. The main plot deals with a Gelfling named Jen who is tasked by the Mystics to retrieve the broken shard of the crystal and return it to the original source, thereby bringing balance and stability to their world. All the while, he’s brought into conflict with the Skeksis, who killed his parents in the past, and want to use the crystal for their own selfish desires.

Given Mike’s love for fantasy, I’m not surprised this is a favorite movie of his. However, I’m curious if the themes and story of that movie could have been used by the Duffer Brothers as inspiration for how they mapped out the Upside Down.

I remember having a theory back in season 3 that the Upside Down was once a prosperous world before the Mind Flayer showed up and turned it into its personal hellhole. While I still think that’s true to some extent, there’s also the question regarding why this dimension, which was depicted as a hellscape when Vecna arrived, and even before when the USS Eldridge was transported to it in 1943, suddenly replicated the exact image of Hawkins and the rest of Earth the night El opened the gate and Will disappeared: November 6th, 1983. This has been presented by season 4 and The First Shadow as an anomaly that hasn’t been explained yet, and could possibly have connections to Will’s disappearance.

In regards to how this ties back to The Dark Crystal, is it possible the Upside Down may have been “a green and fertile land” at one point, like the planet in said movie, before some catastrophic event happened that threw that world into chaos and desolation? Just like with the Skeksis, the Mind Flayer is taking advantage of the situation to impose its rule, but maybe that tyranny has been upset somehow by Will’s arrival, similar to how Jen’s quest in the movie threatens the Skeksis’s hold on power. There’s also how the Skeksis are responsible for the creation of the Garthim, which involved using the dark crystal to splice different species together and turning the resulting creatures into their personal attack dogs, as well as creating crystal bats which act as their spies in the sky. Likewise, it's possible that the Mind Flayer, through its own power, may have been responsible for twisting, or even creating, the inhabitants of the Upside Down to become Demogorgons, Demobats, and other hideous monsters that serve it.

The only difference I see has to do with how the main antagonists are dealt with:

In the movie, there’s an established connection between the Skeksis and the Mystics, where the death of one results in the death of the other they are connected to. Skeksis are essentially the worst aspects of their former counterparts, the urSkeks, in contrast to the Mystics which represent their positive aspects. They are one being split into two extreme animated personalities. As the movie reveals, the solution isn’t killing the Skeksis, but healing the crystal to allow the two parts to reunite.

In the show, they have not introduced a positive counterpart to the Mind Flayer (at least not yet), and since the Mind Flayer is interconnected with every part of the Upside Down (including Vecna), there’s a real chance its permanent destruction would result in the total annihilation of the Upside Down (similar to how Sauron’s downfall led to the destruction of Mordor in Lord of the Rings). While they could go this route in season 5, the names for the last two episodes (i.e. “The Bridge” and “The Rightside Up”) imply that dealing with the Mind Flayer and the Upside Down is more centered on fixing something that’s broken between the two worlds, similar to fixing the crystal in the movie, which could be the key to permanently defeating the Mind Flayer instead. Just like with Jen, that could be Will’s role in this story for season 5.

And to officially close out this review, this is what I ended up getting for my birthday! 🥰

[bloomeng]

dick wasn't really flirty when he was white

I agree that Devin Grayson’s time writing him amped him up several notches but it didn’t come from nowhere either.

One thing I want to acknowledge is that Dick didn’t just suddenly become a non-white character after Grayson introduced that, for many writers at the time this was another piece of canon that went ignored. For instance in the 2008 Titans run (not written by Grayson but is post 1996 run that she did write for) I don’t remember them ever mentioning his heritage but he’s treated as a white character as far as I can tell and yet he’s still flirty… not that I personally like this version of him.

But to not split hairs I’m going to look at the 80’s version of him.

So starting off Nightwing has always been drawn as a sexy character who women want. Most super suits tend to be skin tight but the “discowing” look from 1984 that he was first introduced in also has that iconic V-neckline. Even when it’s changed later I always got the impression they were trying to aim for someone who felt trendy. I mean his girlfriend is literally a model and a princess. He’s supposed to be this cool attractive dude.

Then there’s the fact that DC has been fighting the Dick Grayson gay allegations for years because while he was Robin parents were concerned that his relationship to Batman was too…. well. Anyway if I’m not mistaken that’s why they ended up making Robin younger and Batman’s ward so as to combat that. But they still to this day try to constantly pair him off with women and it’s a huge focus of his character. See while Jason and Tim have also had multiple female love interests the writers often have a hard time selling that they really care about the romantic relationships in their lives. With the exception of Tim and Steph their stories don’t revolve around their romantic interests as much. Versus Dick who is constantly shown to be interacting with women. His relationships— romantic or platonic— just tend to be richer. He appears to be a very tactile person which isn’t necessarily flirtation but it definitely lends itself to that. (Dw I’m not implying that he’s flirting with Donna here)

It’s intentional that they make him have these conversations with Kory while naked in bed. They really need you to know that Dick fucks. Nothing they’re saying here is inherently flirty but the way things are staged lends an impression. And even when he doesn’t have agency the writers are still inventing ways for him to kiss women.

The point is he’s a bit of a sex symbol. But that’s just the context.

Flirting doesn’t have to be over the top or hypersexual. Dick isn’t out here using pick up lines or anything, but we got to see a lot of his relationship with Kory and they are sickeningly sweet. They profess their love to each other frequently. They use pet names. They’re shown generally being in love. And just because that flirting is happening in the context of a committed relationship doesn’t make it not flirting.

Anyway 🤷‍♀️ hope this made some sense. I don’t thinks he’s a casanova type character but the flirting is present.

[spencerwayne-todd]

Keeping up with the Waynes, Christmas special, part 2

(Resolution to the slight angst last part, happy ending!)

(Christmas morning, Wayne Manor)

Damian: NO!

Tim: YES!

Damian: CLEARLY, IT SAYS "DAMIAN" ON THE TAG!

Tim: CLEARLY, IT SAYS "DRAKE"!

Alfred, taking the present: Clearly, young sirs, it says "Duke". I believe master Dick is to blame for this atrocious handwriting.

Dick: Hey! My handwriting isn't that bad!

Steph: Except that it is, and nobody knows whose gift is who's because of it.

Dick: Et tu?

Steph: Something in that sentence was wrong.

Cass, walking over to Bruce: Dad. Gift.

Bruce, taking the present: Aww, Cassie.

*Bruce opens it to find a handmade navy blue scarf with his initials sewn into the corner*

Bruce, tearing up: Did you make this for me?

Cass: *nods*

Bruce: *hugs her while crying*

*Crash*

Bruce: Dick! Be nice to Jason!

Dick: NOOOO! You can't make me!

Bruce: Alfred can.

Dick, sitting down: Touché.

Jason: It's his fault. Milk chocolate is not better than dark chocolate. It's not a hill you need to die on.

Dick: How terribly dull for you to live your life without any hills to die on.

Jason: I have plenty of hills I'd die on.

Dick, raising his voice and standing on a couch arm like a stereotypical orator: You! on your vast, flat, barren plains of compromise, acceptance, and accommodation-

Jason: WHO'S COMPROMISING??!!

Dick, even louder: BARREN PLAINS! BARREN, WHILE I REIGN SUPREME OVER THE LUSH, ROLLING HIGHLANDS OF INCREDIBLE OPINIONS I HAVE ELECTED TO STAKE MY ENTIRE IDENTITY ON!

Jason: *Starts running at Dick*

Dick, quickly, as Jason tackles him off the couch: THE HILLS ARE ALIVE WITH ALL THE FUCKS I GIVE ON SELECT TOPICS!

*More Crashes*

Bruce: Ok, let's continue with the presents!

Damian, unwrapping a present from Selina: A bell?

Selina: Every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings.

Damian: Oh, I am aware. I've created a robot that rings 40 bells 80 times per hour.

Duke: Oh, no.

Damian: I've been running it nonstop for three years.

Bruce: Tired Dad Sigh (TM)

Damian: Soon, all of the angels will have wings.

Tim: Oh, god.

Damian: Heaven's hierarchy is in shambles.

Duke: No

Damian: The chorus weeps

Bruce: Please stop.

Damian: God knows I'm coming for his throne.

Me: OK! That's enough. August! You haven't opened anything.

August: Oh, sorry! I was reading this news article.

Bruce, hopeful that one of his children is normal: Oh? What is it?

August: "Spiders blamed after broken siren played creepy nursery rhymes randomly at night to UK townsfolk."

*Bruce visibly loses all hope*

Steph: Could any word in that headline get any more terrifying?

Me: Probably. Multi-legged horror hamsters, anyone?

Damian: *raises hand*

Bruce: *Lowers it*

*All the gifts were opened, food had eaten, and Christmas movies put on the TV as the family gathers to watch in the living room. Jason notices Spencer's absence and goes to their bedroom, finding her sitting on the floor. He closes the door and leans on the frame*

Spencer, facing the fireplace: Jay, I- we need to talk.

Jason: I figured. You never leave Christmas movie night.

Spencer: Two months ago, I was on a mission in Rome. While on that mission, I was stabbed, as you know, and I was severely injured.

Jason: I remember.

Spencer: What I haven't told you is that I found out later that I was pregnant. The wound cost me the baby and any chance of having more. I'm so sorry I didn't tell you before. I just didn't know how.

*Jason walks over to Spencer, and sits down behind her, pulling her into his arms in a back hug.*

Spencer, sighing: How long have you known?

Jason: Gideon sent me the file last night.

Spencer: You must be furious.

Jason: No. I understand. I do wish you had told me before, but I understand why you didn't.

Spencer, scoffing quietly: You do?

Jason, pulling her closer: You were scared. You knew that it would hurt, and you didn't want to imagine what might happen. You knew you could trust me, but could you trust me? Would I be comforting or would I lash out in anger and drive a wedge between us? You told yourself "That's silly! Of course he won't be angry at me!" But, what if I was? Would you be ok? Would we be ok? Emotions are so hard. Why can't everything just go back to normal?

Spencer: Every single one of those thoughts have been on replay in my head for the past two months nonstop, in that exact order.

Jason: I know. But you don't need to be scared. It hurts, but it's going to be ok. You can trust me with your whole life and all of your secrets. I promise you I will never lash out at you. I will always be here to comfort you. I'm not angry at you. You're going to be ok. We're going to be ok. Emotions are hard, but you're stronger than the hardships you face. It's ok if nothing is normal. I'm here for you. I love you.

Spencer: I love you, too. *kisses Jason* I think we'll make it in time for the second movie.

Jason: Wonderful plan, love.

(@august0bone)

[donnahinkleystaceytroy]

Fred Armisen, cast (2002–13)

Alec Baldwin, 17-time host (1990–2017)

Vanessa Bayer, cast (2010–17)

Candice Bergen, five-time host (1975–90)

Aidy Bryant, cast (2012–22)

Dana Carvey, cast (1986–93)

Chevy Chase, cast and writer (1975–76)

Michael Che, writer (2013–present), cast (2014–present)

Ellen Cleghorne, cast (1991–95)

Billy Crystal, cast (1984–85)

Jane Curtin, cast (1975–80)

Pete Davidson, cast (2014–22)

Rachel Dratch, cast (1999–2006)

Nora Dunn, cast (1985–90)

Jimmy Fallon, cast (1998–2004)

Tina Fey, writer (1997–2006), cast (2000–6)

Will Forte, cast (2002–10)

Janeane Garofalo, cast (1994–95)

Ana Gasteyer, cast (1996–2002)

Bill Hader, cast (2005–13)

Darrell Hammond, cast (1995–2009), announcer (2014–present)

Marcello Hernández, cast (2022–present)

James Austin Johnson, cast (2021–present)

Leslie Jones, cast and, writer (2014–19)

Colin Jost, writer (2005–present), cast (2014–present)

Chris Kattan, cast (1996–2003)

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, cast (1982–85)

Steve Martin, 16-time host (1976–2022)

Kate McKinnon, cast (2012–22)

Tim Meadows, cast (1991–2000)

Seth Meyers, cast (2001–14), writer (2003–14)

Tracy Morgan, cast (1996–2003)

Garrett Morris, cast (1975–80)

John Mulaney, writer (2008–13), six-time host (2018–24)

Mike Myers, cast (1989–95)

Laraine Newman, cast (1975–80)

Don Novello, writer (1978–80 1985–86), cast (1979–80, 1985–86)

Cheri Oteri, cast (1995–2000)

Chris Parnell, cast (1998–2006)

Nasim Pedrad, cast (2009–14)

Jay Pharoah, cast (2010–16)

Joe Piscopo, cast (1980–84)

Amy Poehler, cast (2001–8)

Maya Rudolph, cast (2000–7)

Andy Samberg, cast (2005–12)

Molly Shannon, cast (1995–2001)

Sarah Sherman, cast (2021–present)

Martin Short, cast (1984–85)

Sarah Silverman, cast and, writer (1993–94)

David Spade, writer (1990–91), cast (1990–96)

Cecily Strong, cast (2012–22)

Jason Sudeikis, writer (2003–5), cast (2005–13)

Julia Sweeney, cast (1990–94)

Terry Sweeney, writer (1980–81 1985–86), cast (1985–86)

Kenan Thompson, cast (2003–present)

Christopher Walken, seven-time host (1990–2008)

Kristen Wiig, cast (2005–12), five-time host (2013–24)

Casey Wilson, cast (2008–9)

Bowen Yang, writer (2018–19), cast (2019–present)

Sasheer Zamata, cast (2014–17)

[bcacstuff]

Even after a two-day nightmare, L.A. girds for more days of fire weather

Flames from the Eaton fire consume a home in Altadena on Wednesday. (Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)

Much of Los Angeles County remains under a red flag warning, with forecasters warning of critical fire weather to last through Friday night.

Firefighters Thursday were continuing to fight the Palisades fire, which has burned more than 17,200 acres, and the Eaton fire, that has burned through Pasadena and Altadena areas, charring at least 10,600 acres.

But Los Angeles caught a break Wednesday, with firefighters able to limit the Sunset fire, which broke out near Runyon Canyon above Hollywood on Wednesday, and keep a house fire in Studio City from spreading.

A firefighter sprays water on the Sunset fire, which prompted evacuations in the Hollywood area. (Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)

Unlike during the catastrophic conditions on Tuesday night, when wind gusts of up to 100 mph were recorded, on Wednesday night, aircraft were able to make water drops on the Sunset fire, which broke out shortly before 6 p.m. Wednesday. Officials initially ordered a mandatory evacuation of a swath of Hollywood north of Hollywood Boulevard but are expected to lift all evacuation orders Thursday morning. The Sunset fire has burned 60 acres, according to CalFire.

Officials urged people to still be vigilant.

Wind speeds weakened across the Los Angeles region Thursday morning, with isolated gusts reaching 35 mph in the Malibu area and 58 mph in the San Gabriel Mountains, said Mike Wofford, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard.

But, the reprieve is expected to be brief. Winds are anticipated to strengthen Thursday night.

“We’ll get a little bump up in winds as we get another little push of offshore flow,” Wofford said. “Nothing like we saw [Wednesday] with the gusts of 80 to 100 mph winds, but certainly enough to present some issues for the fires. ... It’s kind of like a day on, day off sort of thing. At least until the middle of next week we’re going to be in that pattern.”

Late Wednesday, the National Weather Service downgraded the fire weather outlook for the region from “extremely critical” to “critical.” Wofford said Los Angeles residents should be prepared for a succession of sustained high wind events that could intensify fire risk. Humidity levels remain low and no rain is in the forecast in the coming days.

None of the four fires burning in Los Angeles County have any containment and the cause of each is being investigated.

article source LA times

At least it looks like some good news for the residents in the Hollywood Hills (including Alex)

[brian-in-finance]

… to @bcacstuff and her Anon who said

Looks like Cait is on an interesting path in HW not just as member of The Academy of Motion Pictures and actress but also making things work in this industry from BTS.

ACADEMY REVEALS 2024 NICHOLL SCREENWRITING FELLOWS

Posted: Monday, September 30, 2024

LOS ANGELES, CA – Four individuals and one writing team have been selected as recipients of the 2024 Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting. Each individual and writing team will receive a $35,000 prize and mentorship from an Academy member throughout their fellowship year. They also will participate in a week of virtual seminars, a virtual meet and greet with the Nicholl Fellowships committee, and in-person networking events, including a celebration in Beverly Hills on October 29. The Nicholl Fellowships were established in 1985 through the support of Gee Nicholl in memory of her husband, Don Nicholl.

The 2024 Nicholl Fellows are (listed alphabetically by author):

Alysha Chan and David Zarif (Los Angeles, CA), “Miss Chinatown”

Jackie Yee follows in her mother’s footsteps on her quest to win the Los Angeles Miss Chinatown pageant.

Colton Childs (Waco, TX), “Fake-A-Wish”

Despite their forty-year age gap, and the cancer treatment confining them to their small Texas town, two gay men embark on a road trip to San Francisco to grant themselves the Make-A-Wish they’re too old to receive.

Charmaine Colina (Los Angeles, CA), “Gunslinger Bride”

With a bounty on her head, a young Chinese-American gunslinger poses as a mail order bride to hide from the law and seek revenge for her murdered family.

Ward Kamel (Brooklyn, NY), “If I Die in America”

After the sudden death of his immigrant husband, an American man’s tenuous relationship with his Muslim in-laws reaches a breaking point as he tries to fit into the funeral they’ve arranged in the Middle East. Adapted from the SXSW® Grand Jury-nominated short film of the same name.

H (West Chester, PA), “The Superb Lyrebird & Other Creatures”

A neurodivergent teen who envisions people as animated creatures, battles an entitled rival for a life-changing art scholarship, while her sister unwisely crosses the line to help.

A total of 5,500 scripts, from 80 countries, were submitted for the 2024 competition.

The 2024 finalists are (listed alphabetically by author):

Kelly Beck-Byrnes, “Where the Boxelders Grow”

Tate Hamilton, “Delivery Girl”

Jamie Murphy, “Lights over Idaho”

Adele Smaill, “No Ghosts Tonight”

Justine Suh, “Deep”

The five fellowships are awarded with the understanding that recipients will complete feature-length screenplays during their fellowship year. The Academy acquires no rights to the works of Nicholl fellows and does not involve itself commercially in any way with their completed scripts.

The Academy Nicholl Fellowships Committee is chaired by Julie Lynn (Producers Branch). The members of the committee are Aldis Hodge and Caitríona Balfe (Actors Branch); Julien Thuan (Artist Representatives); Susan Shopmaker and Academy governor Kim Taylor-Coleman (Casting Directors Branch); Andrzej Bartkowiak (Cinematographers Branch); Allison Anders (Directors Branch); Bruce Hendricks and Marcus Hu (Executives Branch); Blaise Noto (Marketing and Public Relations Branch); Jason Michael Berman, Susan Cartsonis, Julia Chasman and Linda Reisman (Producers Branch); Sue Chan (Production Design Branch); Bobbi Banks (Sound Branch); and Destin Daniel Cretton, Susannah Grant, Ehren Kruger, Adele Lim, Justin Marks, Zak Penn and Katie Silberman (Writers Branch).

The global competition, which aims to identify and encourage talented new screenwriters, has awarded 186 fellowships since 1986. In 2024, several past Nicholl fellows added to their feature film and television credits:

Aaron Chung is a staff writer on Apple+’s “WondLa.”

Elizabeth Chomko directed the docuseries “Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints.”

Eric Nazarian wrote and directed “Die like a Man.”

“Holy Irresistible” is from Andrew Shearer and Nicholas Sherman’s 2007 Nicholl-winning script.

“Interstate” is from Anthony Jaswinski’s 1997 Nicholl-winning script.

Jason Micallef is an executive producer and writer on Disney+’s “The Acolyte.”

R.J. Daniel Hanna wrote and directed two features: “Succubus” and “Hard Miles,” which he co-wrote.

For more information about the Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting, visit oscars.org/nicholl.

Oscars Press

Brian 29 June 2022

Remember Caitríona’s latest Academy role?

[farshootergotme]

Do you know if Dick has ever struggled with drinking in canon?? Besides when he was Ric maybe (bc he consistently hung out in a bar). Bc I've seen a few people say he has in the past but I haven't seen any comic panels/proof saying or implying he did. Just curious :3

I don't think I've ever heard of him having any trouble with an alcohol addiction before?

As far as I'm aware, he only drinks every once in a (long) while, most often when he's hanging out with friends, which is as often as the average person (legally) drinks.

Nightwing 1996 #141

Nightwing 2016 #15

(Tried to find more moments, but only found these two with Wally. It's possible there's more though, but as you can see, it isn't so common as to easily find anything about it)

And here's yet another moment with Wally in which they go out together to a bar but this time don't order any acholic drinks, which shows he isn't all that inclined to drink even if he has the chance to.

Nightwing 2016 #21

(Or perhaps he only feels comfortable doing so in a safe space where danger is much less likely to be present? Since we can see both times he's seen with alcohol he's at his house)

One more example of this: Dick drinking water while Bruce is holding a glass of wine.

Tales of the Teen Titans #50

(but it could be possible that in this occasion it's because Dick wasn't old enough to drink since I believe he's around 19-20 in this panel, and during the 80's the legal age was already raised to 21)

So, yeah, no struggles with drinking from Dick. I'd even say we've seen him more often drinking coffee or preferring tea without even considering alcohol.

From what I know, Roy is the only one who's dealt with an addiction in the main Titans team. And in the batfamily, Jason is the one I'd say has a liking for drinking, but not to the point of it becoming a struggle. Or perhaps Bruce you could also count as he often attends dinner parties in which is courtesy to drink something, but knowing him he'd probably avoid drinking too much since most nights he needs to go out patrolling and alcohol certainly wouldn't help with that.

If there's anything Dick's addicted to is work. He's the biggest workaholic you'll ever meet. To him relaxing means doing missions and capturing criminals, and when he should be resting because he's in no shape to do that, he's solving cases or working out because he can't stay still without doing anything useful with his time.

And well, can't really blame him when work is really one of the few things he's known since little. It wasn't what one would picture when someone says "job", but at the circus he was technically working with his parents by being part of the act.

But this isn't related to what you asked, so I'll stop myself there.

Hope this helps answering your question!