#Natali Pearson (person)

[southeastasianarchaeology]

ASEAN Maritime Museums Collaboration

Dr. Pearson's SEA-Collections project fosters ASEAN-Australia maritime heritage collaboration, highlighting shared histories.

via University of Sydney, 06 March 2024: Dr. Natali Pearson secures a $50,000 Australia-ASEAN Council Grant for the SEA-Collections Project, aimed at enhancing cross-cultural understanding through maritime museum collaborations in five ASEAN countries and Australia. The initiative will foster collaborative museological skills and develop digital exhibitions showcasing over 25 significant maritime…

[beavtifvltragedies]

[ hailee steinfeld | she/her ] Another face is seeking safety in New Orleans. Make sure to welcome GEMMA MIKAELSON to the home of the resilient. Rumor has it that they are an 18/22 year old VAMPIRE/WEREWOLF, who is one of the SACRIFICED but we’ll keep that a secret. They are said to be ARGUMENTATIVE, but that’s all a façade to cover up their MAGNANIMOUS nature. We’ve heard that they can be found listening to INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS by NATALIE JANE, which sums them up pretty well. Let’s hope that they can find a way to survive this harsh new world. 

NAME: Gemma Reign Mikaelson NICKNAME: Gem AGE: 18/22 BIRTHDAY: SPECIES: Vampire/Werewolf hybrid GENDER: Cisfemale PRONOUNS: She/Her SEXUALITY: Pansexual FACECLAIM: hailee steinfeld HAIR COLOR: Brown EYE COLOR: Hazel FAMILY:

Declan Bishop ( biological father )

Autumn Pearson ( biological mother )

Freya Mikaelson ( adopted mother )

Keelin Malraux ( adopted mother )

Briggs Mikaelson ( adopted brother )

All the Mikaelsons are extended family. You know the ones.

tw: kidnapping, arson, death, torture

HISTORY:

Gemma’s parents had her at a very young age and tried their best to care for the young wolf, but ultimately fell short. For the majority of her young life, Gemma was left to fend for herself as her parents were working non-stop just to be able to keep a roof over their head. With Gemma being left to her own devices, she often got herself into trouble, especially when her rage got the better of her. One day when the young untriggered wolf was wandering around the city, a figure came up from behind her and grabbed her, covering her mouth so she couldn’t scream and she was never taught to defend herself; so her attempts were futile.

The longer Gemma spent in the house of her kidnappers, the more she came to terms that this was where she was going to die. She would never have a real family, never fall in love, never have anything that a person should have. More and more children were brought into the house, some as young as toddlers, and Gemma knew she had to do something. She didn't want to die. She still had a whole life she wanted to live. She was too small to fight back so there was only one idea left.

While the guards were distracted, Gemma started a small fire that quickly spread before her captors were able to get it under control. It was then that the older kids that had been taken enacted the plan that they had curated over the previous days to get all the kids out. During their escapte, Gemma had been grabbed by one of the captors and she managed to remove herself from their grasp and push them into the fire. So not only was it the night that she was saved and her life could truly begin, but it was the night that she triggered her wolf gene.

Hearing of the lot of supernatural children that were taken, the Salvatore School stepped in and took in the ones that didn't have their parents collect them to keep them safe and learn more of their supernatural nature. There, Gemma met Nathan Kenner and the two would become inseparable, arguing like brother and sister, but would defend the other to the death if need be. Since Gemma's parents clearly weren't coming back for her, Gemma began going home with Nate on school breaks for some semblance of "family time". It was during breaks in New Orleans that Gemma met and formed a connection with Freya and Keelin. Over the years, their connection only grew and eventually the pair adopted Gemma and she finally felt as if she belonged with people.

On the night of her 18th birthday, Gemma just wanted one night to run around in her wolf form instead of getting locked up for the night. She had spent her whole life feeling trapped and she just wanted one night of freedom. Little did she know that there was a crowd of hunters roaming the woods, waiting for any opportunity to attack on the full moon. Luckily, she had asked Nathan to cover for her. Though he wasn’t able to prevent the attack, he was able to save her and fight off the hunters. Unknown to Gemma, Nathan had stolen a vial of vampire blood from the school and fed it to the wolf, hoping that it would heal her as he brought her back to the school. Unfortunately, she succumbed to her injuries in their travels, waking up in transition as a hybrid, the blood given to her being Hope Mikaelson’s.

Gemma went to college with Nathan, unwilling to leave his side. When she came home on a break, she was ambushed by a group of witches and tortured, wanting to have some fun with her before she was sacrificed and sent to the prison world. Right before she was sent, she learned of the reason. The witches wanted to get back at Freya for not following them and the best way to do that was to attack her family, starting with her children.

[rpxgifs]

[ hailee steinfeld | she/her ] Another face is seeking safety in New Orleans. Make sure to welcome GEMMA MIKAELSON to the home of the resilient. Rumor has it that they are an 18/22 year old VAMPIRE/WEREWOLF, who is one of the SACRIFICED but we’ll keep that a secret. They are said to be ARGUMENTATIVE, but that’s all a façade to cover up their MAGNANIMOUS nature. We’ve heard that they can be found listening to INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS by NATALIE JANE, which sums them up pretty well. Let’s hope that they can find a way to survive this harsh new world. 

NAME: Gemma Reign Mikaelson NICKNAME: Gem AGE: 18/22 BIRTHDAY: SPECIES: Vampire/Werewolf hybrid GENDER: Cisfemale PRONOUNS: She/Her SEXUALITY: Pansexual FACECLAIM: hailee steinfeld HAIR COLOR: Brown EYE COLOR: Hazel FAMILY:

Declan Bishop ( biological father )

Autumn Pearson ( biological mother )

Freya Mikaelson ( adopted mother )

Keelin Malraux ( adopted mother )

Briggs Mikaelson ( adopted brother )

All the Mikaelsons are extended family. You know the ones.

tw: kidnapping, arson, death, torture

HISTORY:

Gemma’s parents had her at a very young age and tried their best to care for the young wolf, but ultimately fell short. For the majority of her young life, Gemma was left to fend for herself as her parents were working non-stop just to be able to keep a roof over their head. With Gemma being left to her own devices, she often got herself into trouble, especially when her rage got the better of her. One day when the young untriggered wolf was wandering around the city, a figure came up from behind her and grabbed her, covering her mouth so she couldn’t scream and she was never taught to defend herself; so her attempts were futile.

The longer Gemma spent in the house of her kidnappers, the more she came to terms that this was where she was going to die. She would never have a real family, never fall in love, never have anything that a person should have. More and more children were brought into the house, some as young as toddlers, and Gemma knew she had to do something. She didn't want to die. She still had a whole life she wanted to live. She was too small to fight back so there was only one idea left.

While the guards were distracted, Gemma started a small fire that quickly spread before her captors were able to get it under control. It was then that the older kids that had been taken enacted the plan that they had curated over the previous days to get all the kids out. During their escapte, Gemma had been grabbed by one of the captors and she managed to remove herself from their grasp and push them into the fire. So not only was it the night that she was saved and her life could truly begin, but it was the night that she triggered her wolf gene.

Hearing of the lot of supernatural children that were taken, the Salvatore School stepped in and took in the ones that didn't have their parents collect them to keep them safe and learn more of their supernatural nature. There, Gemma met Nathan Kenner and the two would become inseparable, arguing like brother and sister, but would defend the other to the death if need be. Since Gemma's parents clearly weren't coming back for her, Gemma began going home with Nate on school breaks for some semblance of "family time". It was during breaks in New Orleans that Gemma met and formed a connection with Freya and Keelin. Over the years, their connection only grew and eventually the pair adopted Gemma and she finally felt as if she belonged with people.

On the night of her 18th birthday, Gemma just wanted one night to run around in her wolf form instead of getting locked up for the night. She had spent her whole life feeling trapped and she just wanted one night of freedom. Little did she know that there was a crowd of hunters roaming the woods, waiting for any opportunity to attack on the full moon. Luckily, she had asked Nathan to cover for her. Though he wasn’t able to prevent the attack, he was able to save her and fight off the hunters. Unknown to Gemma, Nathan had stolen a vial of vampire blood from the school and fed it to the wolf, hoping that it would heal her as he brought her back to the school. Unfortunately, she succumbed to her injuries in their travels, waking up in transition as a hybrid, the blood given to her being Hope Mikaelson’s.

Gemma went to college with Nathan, unwilling to leave his side. When she came home on a break, she was ambushed by a group of witches and tortured, wanting to have some fun with her before she was sacrificed and sent to the prison world. Right before she was sent, she learned of the reason. The witches wanted to get back at Freya for not following them and the best way to do that was to attack her family, starting with her children.

[ear-worthy]

New Daily Podcast “THE BRIGHT SIDE” Offers A Much-Needed Dose of Inspiration & Positivity

Do you watch local news on TV? Recent data shows that the current generation does not. That's a step forward because local news paints an ugly, grimy, and violent picture of our reality. Things may not be great, but according to local news, we are close to the Apocalypse.

 Don't get me started on the 24/7 news networks. The world sucks, people suck, and they know just the people to blame for it -- those who look different, act different, and were born in another country.

Thank goodness for the announcement that --In celebration of International Women’s Day -- Hello Sunshine, a part of Candle Media, and iHeartPodcasts, have teamed up to launch “The Bright Side” – an innovative, new, female-led audio project that will inspire listeners and add joy to their morning routines. Debuting March 25, “The Bright Side” is co-hosted by journalist, TV host and podcaster, Danielle Robay and Emmy-nominated journalist, host and producer, Simone Boyce who will deliver a daily morning show-style podcast created to inspire, educate and empower women as they tackle life each day. This new format will bring the Hello Sunshine community together for a daily dose of entertainment, culture, wellness, fashion, books and more. The announcement was made during a conversation at the SXSW Festival in Austin, TX. 

 Reese Witherspoon will serve as executive producer on the podcast alongside Maureen Polo and Natalie Tulloch for Hello Sunshine; and Ali Perry and Conal Byrne for iHeartPodcasts.

“The Bright Side” is a funny, approachable and intimate forum that will tackle life with optimism. Did you know that March is National Optimism Month? 

An American study of 2,564 men and women who were 65 and older also found that optimism is good for blood pressure. The results of that research also show that compared to optimists, pessimists nurtured little hope for the future and were more at risk for depressive and anxiety disorders, with subsequent impairment of social functioning and quality of life. 

Committed to exploring the world through a female-centered lens, Robay and Boyce will share fresh, nuanced and playful perspectives on everything from pop culture to wellness, lifestyle and beyond. For 30 minutes each day, listeners will join the hosts as they share the bright side of life, alongside experts and celebrity guests.

“We have found that our audience makes it a point to seek out positivity in their personal and digital lives, with 59% of female consumers agreeing that they want content that makes them feel joyful,” said Maureen Polo, Head of Direct-to-Consumer at Hello Sunshine. “Podcasting offers a level of thoughtful engagement you can’t really get in other media types, which is why it is such a perfect medium to launch ‘The Bright Side.’ We have been tracking the exploding podcast medium for a while – seeing new audiences, formats and genres everyday – and know that iHeartPodcasts is the best partner given its unmatched production, marketing and sales acumen at a level few others in media can deliver.”

“Hello Sunshine is the perfect partner for this ambitious project, given their incredible sense of cultural issues and trends, and their astute, highly engaged fanbase,” said Will Pearson, President of iHeartPodcasts. “Podcasting has managed to reinvent a few genres now – from fiction to sports to health and wellness – and we believe it can also innovate on this idea of a daily “morning show,” a format that is prevalent in TV, but is still missing in the podcast medium. With Reese and her team at the creative helm, we are excited to launch this show together.”

The Bright Side will debut beginning March 25 on the iHeartRadio app and everywhere podcasts are heard.  Listeners can hear the official podcast trailer now, here.

Think positive. Be inspired. 

[fandomshatelgbtqpeople]

What gets me about the queerbaiting accusations with regards to Valkyrie in TLAT is that they never gave anyone a reason to think she would get together with any particular woman, and actually if Valkyrie can be "king," a "queen" doesn't have to mean a woman, but they did repeatedly say from Ragnarok's release through the rest of Phase Three that Valkyrie and Thor were written as a romance, which ended up being sidelined in TLAT. But fans who throw around the word "queerbaiting" do not care that the Black bisexual female lead of the previous film has as of now been denied her love story with the protagonist and was altogether diminished in TLAT for a white straight woman. They also follow the promotion of the film enough to know that Natalie and Taika, both straight, said the film would be gay, but their interest in the WLW character apparently stopped short of paying attention to the bi actress playing her to know that Tessa requested the script be changed because being queer was initially all Valkyrie had in it and Tessa found it dehumanizing.

I had to do some digging for sources for the quotes you're mentioning, and it looks like you might be misremembering what was said back during Phase 3. According to Thor: Ragnarok's writers, Thor and Valkyrie's relationship was written as romantic in the original draft of the script but that subplot was scrapped when the movie was still in development (i.e. probably before casting) because they decided they wanted to focus on Valkyrie as character independent of Thor and didn't want to commit to a romance between them right away. From Thor: Ragnarok writer, Eric Pearson:

“But we didn’t want to start from that place [a romance]. It was like, Let’s give Valkyrie her own story that connects with Thor … and if it makes sense for them to get together, then great. You’ve got two really good-looking people who can fight and who’d probably be [good together] if the story went there, but it just didn’t. It became more about the mutual respect, and also dealing with her PTSD."

[source]

So it seems like it's less that an in-progress romance was removed and more like the door was left open for a romance and they chose not to pick it up (yet?). But I definitely agree that Valkyrie herself was backburnered in favor of Thor and Jane's romance, and I really hated that she got left out of the final battle. She wasn't written as a sidekick in Ragnarok, but I feel like Love and Thunder used her as one. We really didn't need to spend all that time rehashing romantic Thor/Jane. They could have just been two people who were very important to each other but weren't in love anymore. That would have worked just as well, and it would have freed up more time for Valkyrie to have her own character arc.

It seems that you might also be slightly misremembering what Tessa Thompson said about Valkyrie's bisexuality. From her interview with Yahoo:

“We talked about it a lot, it was big topic of conversation, because I think rightfully there’s this real want in audiences to see characters be very clearly queer or LGBTQIA inside these spaces. And I think it’s hugely important to have representation. And also as humans I think that we are not defined by our sexuality, and by who we love. And so sometimes I think to hang a narrative completely on that is a way of actually diminishing the humanity of the character. Because you don’t allow them to be anything else.”

[source]

Unless this is not the interview you're referring to, she never mentions asking for the script to be changed or for anything to be removed. She's just talking about working with Taika Waititi during the writing process to make sure Valkyrie's bisexuality struck the right balance between being visible but not being her whole personality. Crucially, she does outright say that Valkyrie doesn't have a romance, which undercuts the accusations of queerbaiting pretty significantly, so it is clear that no one making those accusations read this interview.

However, I do want to give people the benefit of the doubt in that it's possible they weren't following the promotional material at all and just heard about the "super gay" thing through the grapevine (like I did, lmao). People have been talking about that on this website for weeks. If it makes you feel better (sarcasm), Tessa Thompson also got accused of queerbaiting by one of our anons this morning, so she hasn't been completely ignored.

[mimiduncanbooks]

every other monday at 8PM EST, TO ALL THE MEN I’VE TOLERATED BEFORE will be doing livestreams on FIRESIDE 🔥

natalie, her guests, and the audience ruminate on the negative and manifest the positive. you can join in with reactions, questions, and your own experiences on the week’s topics!

💘 March 7th

Chicago artist ANNIE SIEG

talking art and its effects on personal wellness

💘 March 21st

Poet LISA PEARSON

poetry reading + discussion of how these works reflect their relationships

💘 April 4th

yrs truly~ MAJ, aka MIMI DUNCAN

chatting abt my romance books/romance in general, indie publishing, and creative growth

come join the discussion!

*fireside is currently only available in the apple store. if you don’t have an apple device, you can still watch the livestreams on youtube! feel free to DM me here, or @majicmarker with any questions 🥰

[reidslibrarybook]

my beloved sydney/@reidsacademia

i love you with my whole coochie haart and with my whole coochie suol. youare so gullble, my name relaly is natalie i swear. yourea' my favorite person and my best pearson and i love you beaustiful girl alwoal over the worlad by baby.

love yours baby nat

[reddeaddufus]

Chapter 7: Supposition

Summary: She’s a woman with a secret and a goal. And Arthur has no idea the trap he’s fallen into. Can they survive each other, or are they in over their heads?

Author’s Notes: This is part seven of the Red Dead Pursuit series. You can find the full series on AO3 here. 

Word Count: ~6,600

Tags: Medium honor Arthur, porn with plot (but not this chapter), mutual pining, lovers to friends to romance, sex work, so much angst, whump

Content warning: This chapter contains callous regard for sex work, slurs against sex workers, potential hinting at past violence/sexual assault, anti-Dutch sentiment

“Arthur?”

Arthur looked up from beside his cot, watched as Abigail stood at the entrance to his tent. Her face was drawn and worn with exhaustion. Dark hollows lingered below her eyes, deepened and colored by the events of the last twenty-four hours. He was sure he looked no better.

“Abigail,” he acknowledged quietly. He didn’t rise from his seat, slumped as he was with his arms heavy over his knees. He hadn’t slept, knew he needed to.

“Do you want a smoke?” She asked. Her voice was equally soft, rough with fatigue.

Arthur shook his head, gesturing the offer away.

Abigail nodded stiffly. A soft clink on the crate next to Arthur revealed that she’d placed his revolver there. He’d nearly forgotten that she’d taken it, ripped it from his holster as he stood beside her when they first heard Jack scream. Arthur had raced on Abigail’s heels, down the hill and to the shoreline, to find Jack inconsolable and incomprehensible in Tilly’s arms. Only then had they heard the yowls and snarls of a predator. Jack had pointed, and all Arthur had seen was a frenzied blur of tawny hair, copper fur, and the flash of light glinting off teeth and blade. The shock of crimson blood flowing free and fast had been an afterthought among the volume and shock of the onslaught.

For the first time in Arthur’s life, he’d been struck dumb by the sight of bloodshed. He’d been moving of course - moving for the gun on his hip that was not there. To his horror, his hands had closed on air. In the empty space he found only a wave of desperation and the shock of being powerless. He’d begun to run, hands already unsheathing his hunting knife on his belt, when Abigail had fired.

There’d been the indescribable fear he’d felt as he watched a misting of blood cloud and obscure the vistage of woman and predator, and then the crippling wave of relief when the woman fell beneath her inert attacker. There was no time to worry about why he’d felt so relieved. There was no time to think at all. Fortunately, Arthur Morgan was a man whose instinct had carried him largely through years of events which should have killed him.

The rest had been intuitive. It was natural to slide his arms around Nathalie’s, natural to slip her legs over his elbow. As easy as breathing. She fit perfectly in his arms, warm and soft. But the image, the feeling, was all wrong. This wasn’t what he wanted. Like a dream turned nightmare, Arthur felt her skin beneath his hands run and drip with heat and red. Fractal-like, blood began to progress its way through the weave of her linen blouse. It made Arthur remember seeing the ocean for the first time and the way he’d been mesmerized by the incoming tide.

He didn’t remember much beyond that point. He remembered running back to camp, recalled Tilly trying to keep up as she patted Nathalie down in effort to survey the extent of the damage. There had been people in the way, folks he’d pushed his way through and aside. Hosea, there beside him. Grimshaw, trying to usher him to the women’s tent. The suggestion had been ridiculous, and he must have shouted. He must have, because he’d laid Nathalie down on his cot and watched, useless and enraged, as Hosea and Grimshaw repositioned the woman’s slack body. They’d peeled away tatters of cloth from freckled shoulders and revealed the cascading cross pattern of long, ragged tears through the expanse of Nathalie’s back.

Someone had ordered him to leave, to get supplies, he thought. He wasn’t sure. Looking back, he could only think of ridged, ripped skin and the glimpse of meat and muscle below. They’d had to scrub the dirt from those gouges, to gently hush her as she moaned. They’d held her as the burn of straight alcohol on open wounds brought Nathalie back to consciousness and away from it again. In the end, Hosea and Grimshaw had done what they could, and left him here to watch her for signs of fever. By the end she’d been just a small form whose breath rose and fell shallowly beneath a mound of wool blankets.

Bloody gauze, suturing supplies, and tattered clothing littered the ground around his feet. He’d intended to clean it up, he really had, but at the moment he couldn’t bring himself to do more than stare hollowly at the macabre debris.

After a moment, Abigail spoke over her cigarette.

“I just wanted to bring your gun back. Maybe see how you’re faring.”

She studied his face. She’d always been good at that, almost supernaturally so. Abigail had a knack for seeing right through Arthur’s thoughts, and he hated it. He supposed she needed that skill and more to manage John. It was to the entire camp’s benefit that the fool had occupied her so well. As it were, it had been some time since she’d evaluated him like this.

Arthur did not look up.

“It was a hell of a shot,” He spoke casually, sidestepping her implied question.

“Hm. Maybe,” Abigail assented.

“Just an inch or two more to the right and we wouldn’t be here,” Arthur grunted.

Abigail studied him, dark eyes narrowing. The cigarette in her hands hissed as she extinguished it on one of the crates and shot him a calculated look.

“Wouldn’ thought you would have minded,” she spoke.

Arthur looked up from where he had been pointedly studying the dirt on his boots and flashed her a scowl.

“You here to return the gun or to write a damn essay about it?” He snapped.

Abigail didn’t reply to that. The tiny lines forming around her eyes tightened, ever so slightly, and she stepped back, away from the cover of his tent.

“Let me know when she wakes.” It wasn’t a question. Arthur watched her leave.

When he could no longer see her, he pulled his hat off his head and dropped it onto the floor. Slumping forward, he dropped his forehead into his hands and rubbed it. Something gritty rasped against his skin. Already knowing what it was, he pulled his head from his hands and regarded the thin, cracked layer of dried blood which covered them.

It was heavy in the cracks of his callouses, darker still in each furrow and line of his palms and cuticles. He stared at it blankly, rubbing his thumb and forefinger together and watching as it flaked away into mahogany dust. Nathalie shifted on the cot, and Arthur regarded her with growing debility.

It was happening again. He’d seen this a hundred times. Someone who had a chance, a life, being dragged forcefully and violently into this lifestyle of theirs. He never should have brought her into camp in the first place. She plainly wasn’t a threat, their bounties be damned. Further, it was painstakingly obvious to Arthur that Natalie did not belong here in this lifestyle.

He’d watched her with the chores, watched her try and struggle in her work. Noticed her blanch at Pearson’s dull cooking, observed her face turn green at the sight of the gutted animals that she was meant to help process. Still, she’d tried. She’d struggled to keep up with everyone and not voiced a word of complaint. Watching her around camp had been like watching a bird beat itself against a window. He’d felt sorry for her.

When Arthur had seen her around the fire and with the other women, it had been obvious that she was much better suited for a life of a different class - One with parties and jokes and soft hands. Nathalie was a veritable wealth of jokes and interesting experiences, and had quickly proved to be an excellent storyteller. In addition she’d shown herself to be a keen reader of people. Over the last few weeks, he’d watched her use that ability to pick up other’s moods and deftly uplift them. Her place in the gang was growing by the day before Arthur’s eyes.

It was only a matter of time before even Dutch began to accept her presence in camp for what it was. He didn’t know what her life or profession was like before this, but before he’d dragged her to camp, he was positive that Nathalie had still had a chance to become some politician’s pretty wife. However, what with this…

Arthur eyed her form again, frowning at the starch white of her bandages where they peeked over the edge of the blankets. He could see in his mind’s eye that same color and the way it had embraced every person in this camp at some point or another. He’d seen it on Tilly’s arm when she’d first joined, on Javier’s neck. He’d grown up seeing those wrappings on himself and on John. Hell, the cloth was even around the reverend’s arm as he pulled his veins tight for his needle every night. They marked the beginning of Nathalie’s hard turn into a life he was positive she didn’t deserve.

What she’d done for Jack - Arthur really hadn’t been expecting that. The cat on its own was surprising enough, but that Nathalie had been so ready to face death to save him? Of course he had noticed how well she got on with the boy, but Arthur never would’ve expected that she would have fought with an apex predator for him. At best guess she’d only really started talking with Jack a month ago. She’d seemed so delicate, soft. Polished. Yet, she had thrown herself headlong into this violent world and now had the scars to prove it.

A firm hand on his shoulder startled him from his thoughts. He blinked, shook away the cloud of foreboding, and looked up to see Hosea. The man was holding something, motioning to him with the object. Arthur blinked again, trying to knock himself out of the daze he’d apparently been in. Hosea’s presence wasn’t the only change - at some point, it had apparently fallen dark. Hushed camp noises flooded Arthur’s awareness. No one was singing tonight. Of the gang Arthur could see, they sat in quiet, tense conversation. It seemed no one had been comfortable with the events of the day.

Arthur focused back on Hosea, on the bowl he offered. Slowly he took it, rolled the stew in his hands and evaluated it. It was lukewarm and almost burned, likely the bottom of the stewpot. Arthur grimaced. He knew from experience the bottom was a bitter collection of what spices Pearson did use but so often failed to stir in.

Hosea moved past him to stand beside the cot. He stooped to rest the back of his hand over the woman’s forehead. She had not moved from the position she’d been set in, and so was still on her side and facing the two men. As he watched her eyelids flickered, the pupils moving in her sleep. She didn’t look so troublesome like this, Arthur thought. She was just a woman. Her hair had largely slipped free of the band holding it in place. Flyaways slicked themselves against her skin, dark with sweat.

“‘She woken up at all yet?” Hosea asked. Arthur shook his head and Hosea hummed in thought. Evidently satisfied with her temperature, Hosea moved back towards the entrance of the tent. He paused beside Arthur, appraising him with the same look Arthur was sure that the older man had just given Nathalie.

“You need to eat, son,” Hosea spoke quietly.

“Not hungry,” Arthur murmured, eyeing the bowl in his hands. He was fairly sure he wouldn’t have felt hungry even if the stew had been something more palatable. Attracted by movement over Hosea’s shoulder, Arthur stilled as Pearson and Sean lent towards one another at the butcher table. They were talking about something, and Pearson was gesturing towards Arthur’s tent. As he watched Sean turned to look in Arthur’s direction.

“What?” Arthur asked. His attention snapped back to the older man as he realized that Hosea had been speaking.

“I said try,” Hosea warned. The lines canvassing his face were harsh, sharp as the man’s voice had been. The tightness in his eyes belied his words, and Arthur was well aware of his quiet concern.

Arthur nodded once. Hosea and Arthur both knew that he would likely set aside the meal as soon as the older man left, but Arthur knew better than to fight him on it. The bowl would spend the rest of the night untouched, but it served nicely as a rapidly cooling, salty gesture of Hosea’s mothering disquiet. Hosea left Arthur to ponder it without saying more.

The figure of the older man melted back into the dark, leaving Arthur with his dread and his thoughts. Arthur knew he should be doing something, anything. Working with his hands, maybe. Sleep was unlikely, but he figured he should at least prepare for it. After appraising Nathalie for movement, Arthur conceded to the growing urge to pull his journal from his satchel. He leafed through it until he found a blank page and, by the light of the kerosene lamp, Arthur began to write.

Thoughts, worries, and frustrations poured from his pencil, convalescing into a cacophony of unease which spanned several pages. The act of writing soothed him, at least somewhat. On parchment his thoughts made sense. There they were, all laid out flat and sequential. Just words. Harmless. Ordered. Rational. Arthur did not feel rational. God, he felt tired. Bone tired and stupid. He poured his soul into the vellum and graphite until his eyes began to drift shut. It was only then that he kicked out his bedroll down alongside the elevated surface of the cot and slipped into it. He didn’t bother to change his clothes, just slipped off his shirt and kicked his shoes to the foot of the bedroll. Sleep came on the heels of the sound of Nathalie’s labored breathing and the sharp scent of lamp oil.

He was woken from his sleep by a quiet mewling. The pained sound was nearly silent, but Arthur shot awake and scrambled for his pistol for a moment before he remembered where he was. Breathing hard, he stared at the woman sleeping beside him.

The night he had met her in the saloon he had written her off as a whore. That had been all the categorization he’d needed to disregard her looks. He’d merely established that she was a woman, a prostitute, and had found no need to look further. As that night and the whiskey had worn on him he had been loosened, had dared to appreciate her body and her apparent interest in him. The following day and the tryst he had been so flabbergasted to be propositioned again that he’d followed her just for the promise of the touch of a woman. He had not taken the time to really, really look at her.  

As she lay now, she didn’t seem so intimidating or frustrating. She was just a slip of a thing, barely taking up space on his cot. He didn’t need to look at her body, swathed as it was in a pile of wool blankets. But this…. As far as he recalled, he could not remember seeing her like this. He would have remembered.

She must have been wearing some sort of powder the day of their tryst in the woods. She wore no such powder now, and the warmth of the night and the ongoing hard work in the sun had elicited a litany of freckles across her flushed face. They were densest across the bridge of her nose and over a set of high, round cheekbones. Her brows, furrowed as they were in her sleep, were proud and haughty over tensed eyelids. A set of small, full lips, currently pulled into a grimace, lay underneath an impishly pert nose.

Nathalie was, admittedly, the loveliest woman Arthur had ever seen. He didn’t doubt that wherever Nathalie had come from, she had likely held a voluminous and expensive cast of clientele. Awake and passionate she had almost been overwhelming to look upon. Up close and asleep Arthur could take his time studying her. Ultimately it was the blemishes on her face that made her human rather than perfect, and it was these that Arthur couldn’t bring himself to look away from.

Frizz and flyaways tangled across her pillow, casting the sunburn on her cheekbones into bright contrast. Arthur had to resist the thought of capturing her chin with his hand. He wanted to trace those wild freckles she’d clearly worked to cover. He imagined skimming his thumb along their surface, dipping it gently along the dark hollow circles beneath her eyes. Maybe brush over those chapped lips, feel them part against his skin.  

In another life, another reality, he might have done so. But in this moment he was distracted from her features by the expression they bore. Her lips were pressed tight into a white line, brows furrowed and upturned. Arthur frowned, noting the way strands of hair and her garments clung to her body with a thin sheen of sweat.

Nathalie was silent under his gaze. Arthur might have thought he had imagined the pained noise which had woken him if not for the tension in her body. Still laying on her side, she had slid into a tight ball. Her legs were bundled beneath that defiant chin, her hands clenched into white-fingered fists in front of them.

Arthur lent closer towards her hands, noticing now a tremble shiver along the delicate digits. As he watched she whimpered, the sound rising weakly. It was a subdued, quiet noise, and with it came a full-body flinch. Unbidden, Arthur was already reaching for her shoulder even as he noticed the shadowed smears of blood seeping from where her fingernails had furrowed into her palm.

With an oath, he gently gripped her shoulder. He was careful not to pull on the skin where the starched stretch of bandages covered her wounds, but his touch woke her immediately. Grey eyes shot open, wide with panic. She immediately recoiled from him, body arcing away as if he’d touched her with hot metal.

The movement must have torn at her back, as she cried out again, this time in obvious pain. Still and small on the cot, Nathalie cowered against the canvas.

“Hey, you’re okay,” Arthur murmured. He let go of her and held his palms out slowly, as if placating an animal. Voice as calm as he could manage, he spoke gently. “It’s gone, Nathalie.”

She studied him, breathing hard.

“You’re okay. Jack’s okay. You killed it. You’re safe.”

Her eyes shot over his face, his hands, the tent behind them. Slowly, almost imperceptibly, her shoulders began to slump out of their tense position.

“You’re safe, girl. You’re okay,” he continued, slowly dropping his hands. She watched him warily as he rolled onto his knees. With an unhurried, smooth movement he lent away to flick the oil lamp on. The low light permeated the enclosed tent, filling the space with a reassuring and soft yellow glow.

“You killed it,” he soothed, repeating himself. “You’re safe.”

Her breath slowed, evidently calming. Grey eyes blinked as Nathalie registered his words and her surroundings.

“I killed what?” She asked hoarsely.

Arthur was reaching for his medical kit from one of the boxes beneath his cot when he saw the surprise flit across her expression. That stilled him for a moment as he produced balm and clean cloth. Slowly and carefully he searched her face. Whatever her nightmare, it evidently wasn’t about the cat.

Now was not the time to wonder what she’d seen in her life to induce such a visceral response. With careful motions he turned towards her and presented the items for her to see. Gesturing to her palms, he indicated his purpose.

“Can I sit beside you?” Arthur asked gently.

Nathalie studied his face. Whatever she found there reassured her, and she nodded once shallowly. Arthur rose slowly, mindful of her space. She attempted to shuffle her way to the side to give him some space, but froze suddenly. Her mouth twisted in a pained grimace, and Arthur quickly took his place on the edge of the cot. The bed creaked underneath their combined weight, but Arthur wasn’t about to push his luck and sit more comfortably and fully on the canvas. This would have to do.

He gestured for her fists and ever so slowly, Nathalie slid them to him. Her bones creaked as the outlaw cupped his hands around the tense fingers. Nathalie’s hands looked brittle and white in his, as fragile as birds. Very gently Arthur worked to help her uncup them.

“The cougar,” Arthur murmured, studying the blood on her skin. White fingertips shook in his palms. “Jack’s safe. You did quite the thing, woman.”

A dry sound, an almost bark-like laugh, was his response. Arthur lowered her hands to his lap and unscrewed the lid of the healing balm. They rested there on his knee, still furled into a tense half-open grip.

“I don’t feel like I did quite the thing,” Nathalie watched him guardedly, a tight almost-smile on her own lips.

“Yeah, probably not. But it ain’t everyday someone kills a cat with a butter knife,” he responded, shooting her his own wry smile. She didn’t meet his eyes, instead staring down blankly at the rough canvas. Arthur’s smile slipped away, and he dabbed the balm against the crescent cuts carved into Nathalie’s palms. She didn’t flinch, so the work went fast. When he wiped away the excess and the drying blood from her skin, the rag revealed a myriad of pale half-moon scars across her palms.

There was nothing to say in the face of that. He wrapped her hands with excess gauze and, when done, tied them in place. He was left cupping her hands for just a second too long before he gently slid them back beside Nathalie. She didn’t seem to notice, lost as she was in a presumably darker place.

The emptiness in those misty-day grey eyes haunted him. She seemed to look right through him, watching something long since done but not yet gone. Arthur knew what ghosts looked like in a man. He had his own of course, and had seen them in himself and others everywhere he’d gone. He hadn’t expected to see them tonight, but here he was. As of today, Nathalie would certainly bear physical scars. He hadn’t figured that she already had so many. Maybe she’d been readier for this life than he had cared to admit.

Sliding the covers back over Nathalie’s body, Arthur was appreciative for the dim light. Hopefully it hid the strain he felt.

He murmured something to her after that, but what even he wasn’t sure. She did not respond, but had at least huddled herself further in the wool blankets. Arthur left the cot for his own bedroll and slowly turned the gas lamp down. The knob slipped lower and lower still in his fingers until the flame finally spluttered and died, leaving him to face his thoughts in the dark.

~~~

The following morning brought with it blue skies and the sounds of a waking camp. It seemed that it promised to be a burning hot day, summer not quite ready to give up just yet. Folks were scrambling to get chores done and out of the way early before the Lemoyne heat set in. When Arthur rose to tug on a fresh overshirt on, Nathalie was not yet awake. He was grateful for that; he wasn’t quite ready to face her after last night anyway. He needed to think. Nodding to Lenny he slipped to the hitching post and gathered Blodduwedd’s lead. She whickered softly and butted his hands with velvet lips. Jericho had been taking up much of Arthur’s time recently, something Arthur was amused to find had drastically increased Blodduwedd’s affection.

One scratch behind the ear and a set of tack later and Blodduwedd was carrying him smartly away from camp, her head raised high and eager. When Arthur returned late in the day with Blodduwedd’s haunches heavy with a pronghorn buck, both man and horse’s spirits were relatively high. The mare had tired some, and the man had found solace in the hills. It was boiling hot by the time Arthur had rid his arabian of her tack. Her coat was slicked in cowlicked, frothy swirls of sweat across her haunches. Sweeps of his curry comb eventually returned the gloss to her hide and gave Arthur the time he needed to steel himself for the considerations which awaited him back in his tent.

He needn’t have worried about facing those empty grey eyes again. Jack’s voice rose louder the closer he walked to the ammunitions wagon. He paused under the guise of evaluating the waterfront, but watched as the reverend stooped over Arthur’s cot, barely visible in the stark shade left by the hour of the day. A skirt swished beside him, revealing Abigail crouching beside the pale smiling face of the woman reclined there.

Jack’s bubbling chatter was interrupted by Nathalie’s laugh, which quickly cut itself off. Abigail leaned closer, blocking Arthur’s view as she chided the other woman. When she finally leaned away Arthur saw the harsh glare of sunlight glinting off of a glass syringe. A distinctly relieved murmur came just a few seconds later.

As Abigail ushered her son from the tent, Arthur took comfort in the boy’s good cheer. The reverend followed them out. He fingered the tent flap closed behind them, dropping Nathalie from sight. Arthur turned to look away, miming absentmindedness, and swept his gaze only to meet Abigail’s sharply knowing look. Immediately Arthur could feel heat rising along the back of his neck. She left before he could think of something to say, towing Jack in her wake.

“Arthur, my son!” Dutch’s voice boomed across camp. “Nice buck you brought in!” The clap of the man’s hand on his back was a welcome reprieve from the wave of embarrassment Arthur could feel churning in his gut. What did he have to be flustered about, anyway? Abigail didn’t know a goddamn thing, no matter how unsettlingly canny she seemed. Arthur assuaged his uneasiness with the thought, allowing himself to relax a little in its wake.  

“Now I noticed you haven’t brought anything for the safebox recently, but I’ve got an idea about that…” Thoughts of Abigail and Natalie melted away in the onslaught of Dutch’s words, leaving Arthur with blessedly straightforward purpose and renewed focus. Natalie was a problem for another time. He’d figure out what to do with her later. For now, there was work to be done.

“What is this?” Nathalie asked. Her voice was hoarse, but Jack didn’t seem to notice. Her pleased smile would have belied the roughness of her tone had he cared. He did not. Eager to have a captive audience, Jack clambered up onto the cot to sit beside Nathalie.

She fingered the object Jack had placed into her hands, a large ring of interwoven grasses and flowers. She didn’t know any of them, but their fragrance was mild and sweet. Yellow, white, and pink flowers dotted the entirety, each one a pop of bright color. It was very well constructed, especially considering that it had been crafted by a four year old. Jack had clearly had a lot of practice.

“You wear it, silly! It’s a flower crown!”

“I see that,” She said, flashing him a fond smile. “What’s in it?”

“Well this one’s yarrow, and the yellow is dandelion. The pink is oleander sage,” Jack pointed out. “Don’t eat it. Charles says it could kill a horse.”

The abrupt contrast between his casual cheer and the concerning information about the deadly plant in her hands made her choke on a startled laugh. Oblivious, Jack scrambled closer. With clumsy fingers he slipped the wreath of flowers atop of the crown of her head and then sat back with a satisfied smile.

This was Jack’s third visit of the day so far, and it wasn’t yet three o’clock. His first visit he had accompanied his mother, who had grasped Nathalie’s hands and unexpectedly cried as she thanked her. That had left Nathalie stammering and flushed. By the time Abigail had left, promising to return the following day, she’d been strangely relieved. As a general rule Nathalie had no problem being the center of attention. It usually meant she was accomplishing whatever she desired. Abigail’s gratitude and tears had been entirely foreign, but she did appreciate the company.

There wasn’t much to do in her condition. She’d gathered from being woken by Arthur on the first night that she was on his cot. The realization had left her cautious at first, but boredom had quickly worn away any initial concern she’d had that she might overstep the outlaw’s privacy. The small set of books on his trunk had been the first to be studied. She’d quickly lost interest in The Medicinal Value of Prairie Plants (A History) and A Geology of Northern Ambarino. The collection of portraits and newspaper clippings had been significantly more interesting, but ultimately provided more questions than answers. Laying in bed wondering about Arthur Morgan was almost worse than laying in bed bored.

As a result, Jack’s almost clockwork-regular visits were a godsend. Jack beamed at Nathalie, admiring his handiwork. When she grinned back at him he shot off the cot and away to the entrance of the tent. He returned triumphantly carrying Arthur’s shaving mirror.

“What do you think?!” He crowed. The face looking back at Nathalie in the mirror bit back a grimace. Nathalie had been doing an excellent job so far of avoiding her image, having dreaded what she would find. Here was confirmation that she was founded in her trepidation. Gaunt, tired eyes gazed back at her. She could see the stiff bandages twining around her shoulders and neck, ‘could wonder again about the damage beneath. Her hair, at least, was clean and tied neatly back. Abigail had braided it, incapable of lifting her arms as Nathalie was, and she had done a fine job.

Admittedly the flower crown was lovely. The flowers had already begun to wilt, but the sentiment and effort which had gone into the gift struck Nathalie with a thick, unidentifiable emotion. She grinned at Jack and thanked him before she could think on it any further. Jack bounced at the praise, beaming again. He shoved the little mirror stand aside onto the floor and crawled back onto the cot. This time his knee slid against Nathalie’s side. A white wave of hot pain flashed through her body, temporarily short-circuiting all train of thought. She hissed at the sensation, forgetting her company. When she could focus again, Jack was staring at her, eyes wide and mouth agape with horror.

She grit her teeth against the pain and swallowed the litany of oaths on the tip of her tongue. Poor damn kid. Guilt was already heavy in his eyes, and he looked ready to cry in a second.

“Jack, my boy. How about we give Miss Findlay a little space for a bit?”

The smooth voice of Dutch van der Linde was unexpected, but not totally unwelcome in the face of Nathalie’s pain. Jack wiggled readily off the cot and nodded solemnly to the gang leader. Dutch smiled at him and, not unkindly, ruffled his hair as the little boy passed. Both adults watched Jack’s receding figure. When Nathalie finally looked away, she found that Dutch was already looking at her.

Having Dutch’s full attention on her felt a bit like being stared at by a full amphitheatre of people. Nathalie had not liked Dutch when she had first met him, but she had not liked much of anyone in that moment. She had not talked to him since then, but she had not forgotten the man. Dutch was a formidable presence, and it took a moment for her to identify why. He was certainly a good height, but he was not particularly tall. He wasn’t nearly as broad as Arthur, nor as wiry and quick as John. From what she had overheard of his speech he had been long-winded and pompous. Yet, he was undeniably magnetic.

It was the way he carried himself, Nathalie decided. Dutch Van der Linde stood, talked, and moved like a man who was used to being listened to. That confidence was intoxicating. That, paired with dark, sharp eyes, made him a commanding figure. He was impossible and dangerous to ignore, and Nathalie could feel her instincts warning her to tread carefully. He was just as likely to feed her to the wolves as he was to smile.

“Miss Findlay, may I sit?”

Nathalie nodded. She sat as straight as she could, reclined though she was. When she tried to lift herself into a more upright position Dutch was there, gently ushering her back into a more comfortable position. She conceded, but bit back a frown. While she may have not truly spent time with Dutch before, she was very much familiar with men cut from his same cloth. It bothered her that he should see her like this, weak and incapable of pretending otherwise. Still, she met his unreadable gaze with as proud and unwavering an expression she could manage.

The man sighed as he lowered himself to the crate on her left. He stretched his legs out before him and smiled. It didn’t reach his eyes.

“Do you mind if I smoke, my dear?”

“Be my guest,” Nathalie spoke, inclining her head to him. Dutch nodded, seemingly satisfied, and produced from his vest pocket a dark cigar. He struck a match on his boot and puffed it to life, filling the air with the sharp scent of acrid smoke. It swirled around him, daring her to flinch on the taste. She did not.    

“I can’t tell you how much we all appreciate what you’ve done for the camp,” he began. “Young Jack is the light of this camp. You know, when Abigail first had him, we weren’t sure how we were going to manage.” He paused, waiting for her to respond. She gave him a veiled, careful smile.

“A child? In an outlaw camp?” His hands gestured as he talked, sending swirls of smoke to undulate and stream around his movements. “We all thought we had enough on our plate. But, as you see, he’s the reason we keep doing what we do.”

Nathalie resisted the urge to ask exactly what Dutch thought it was the gang did, instead only offering a vague tilt of her head. Dutch could discern that as he would. He smiled and paused to take a deep drag off his cigar.

“It’s for this reason I owe you so much. We can’t imagine camp without him. That being said,” Dutch paused, looking at Nathalie meaningfully. Ah. Here it comes, Nathalie thought, meeting his look with equal unwavering intensity.

“This camp doesn’t run on just bravery and chores. Everyone’s got to do their part.”

“Hm.” Her voice was disinterested. “More than chores, I see?”

Dutch nodded, face grave. “As soon as you’re healed you’re going to have to pull your weight around here if you want to stay.”

“If I want to stay?” Nathalie smiled thinly. “I was under the impression I was a prisoner here.”

“You will continue to have to stay here until you have proven you can be trusted, yes.”

“Are you still worried I’ll turn you in?” Nathalie barked a laugh at the idea. The movement pulled at her back, further emphasizing the absurdity. “After nearly dying for Jack?”

Dutch didn’t answer, but the skin around his eyes tightened almost imperceptibly.

“Ah,” she paused. “I suppose I have my answer then. When will I be free to leave, Mr. Van der Linde? How can I possibly demonstrate my undying loyalty?”

The gang leader did not react to the sarcasm bleeding into Nathalie’s tone.

“That remains to be seen. It would go a significant way towards repaying your debt if you contributed more significantly to the camp.”

“Contributed more significantly,” she repeated.

“Monetarily speaking. We all have our part here, my dear. Many of the men run jobs to bring in financial support. Some of them, like the reverend, offer services where they can as befitting their talents. Karen frequently participates in jobs, as do the other girls as needed. Perhaps, if you find work with Pearson too taxing, you could provide your services in camp and around town to help contribute.”

There it was. She’d been waiting for this. Natalie suppressed the rising urge to laugh and instead flashed the gang leader a cool, dismissive look.

“My talents, Mr. Van der Linde, would be worth a lot more than my continued patronage in this camp.”

Dutch raised his hands, ducking his head slightly in a mocking shrug. “No offense meant. If you would prefer not to contribute at all, there is always the tree again.”

A cold smile slipped tightly over Nathalie’s lips.

“Pearson’s work will suit me just fine.”

“Fair enough,” Dutch smiled humorlessly. “However, we will expect you to contribute to the books once you are back on your feet. Not much, of course. We can't expect you to donate much initially, but we do, as I’m sure you see, need everything we can get around here.” He gestured around them to Arthur’s wagon as if indicating their poverty. From beyond the canvas overhang Nathalie could just barely see the opulence of Dutch’s own tent.

“I will contribute,” Nathalie ascertained, “Just as soon as I am capable of joining your men on jobs.”

A flicker of surprise slipped across Dutch’s face but was suppressed so quickly Nathalie almost missed it. She would have smirked if she was so determined to control her expression. Dutch wanted her working, and he would have it. She’d open her legs all right, but only to ride. She would not be fucking bullied. It didn’t seem like Dutch desired her personally, but he clearly saw her at least as a cash cow. He would have been correct in his evaluation several years back, but Nathalie would be damned if she ever gave a penny of whoring money to another self-appointed autocrat.

“See to it that you do,” Dutch nodded. The idea didn’t seem to bother him for her being such an untrustworthy ward. He clearly didn’t think she’d actually manage to follow through. Damn them all, she’d show him. He wanted money, she’d get him money. Dutch rose then, slowly and disjointedly, as if he was just an aging guileless fellow laborer. He flashed Nathalie another winning smile around his cigar and gently slid a hand to her closest shoulder. He patted it, mindful of the starched gauze beneath his touch.

“I’m glad we could finally have this talk, Miss Findlay. I’m looking forward to seeing what you have to offer.”

“I as well, Mr. Van der Linde,” Nathalie smiled back. Her eyes were steely and empty, smile more bared teeth than anything else. If she had revealed her disdain too much he had no way of noticing, as the man was already striding away.

[mrmonkhimself]

December 4th, 2019

Here is a look and the new series being released on December 4th, 2019. Some are mini-series and some are ongoing. I’ll usually leave out one-shots and annuals since they are typically related to an ongoing series. Descriptions are directly from the Previews Catalog. If you see something interesting, click the link to order. New Series Favorites – December 4th, 2019 There are a few interesting looking #1’s out this week. By far my favorite is probably the Power Rangers/TMNT #1 that is coming. I grew up on TMNT and my son loves the Power Rangers so that's going to be fun to read together. James Bond #1 has also caught my attention. Remember if you didn't get your LCS to pull a series you can always click on the link and order online.

20XX #1 - OCT190019 (W) Lauren Keely, Jonathan Luna (A/CA) Jonathan Luna From JONATHAN LUNA (ALEX + ADA, GIRLS, THE SWORD) and LAUREN KEELY, in her writing debut, comes an all-new ongoing series! This sci-fi thriller for mature readers imagines a not-so-distant future-a world of norms and syms, divided by fear. Syms, a small percentage of the population with telekinetic abilities, form gangs to survive. But division only breeds more division, and Mer and Nuon experience this firsthand as they become entangled in the often dramatic, sometimes violent, but always complex social landscape of sym gang rivalries in Anchorage, Alaska.

Butchers of Paris #1 - OCT190298 (W) Stephanie Phillips (A) Dean Kotz (CA) Dave Johnson In 1944, as Swastikas flew over Paris, one of the most notorious and prolific serial killers in history turned the occupied city into his personal hunting ground. Under the guise of opportunity and freedom, a killer preys on those desperate to flee . . . until a gruesome discovery alerts the police. In a city on the brink of war, the hunt for a serial killer begins as a French detective races to catch the villain before the Nazis beat him to it. Written by Stephanie Phillips (Descendent, Devil Within) with art by Dean Kotz (Mars Attacks), The Butcher of Paris is a historical, true crime thriller about a killer wanted by both the Nazis and allied forces for the death of nearly two hundred victims.

Kill Whitey Donovan #1 (of 5) - OCT190296 (W) Duncan Sydney (A) Natalie Barahona (CA) Jason Pearson After Anna Hoyt's sister commits suicide, she sets off for Atlanta to kill the man responsible for destroying her family-her fiancé, Jim "Whitey" Donovan. But Anna, a spirited though pampered daughter of a prominent doctor, can't do it alone. To get through the hell that lies between her Alabama home and Atlanta, she makes a deal with one of the Donovan slaves, Hattie Virgil, who has an agenda of her own. In exchange for a chance at freedom, Hattie, a survivor, will lead this unlikely pair on a quest that will change them both forever. o The comic-book debut of writer Sydney Duncan, author of the critically acclaimed fantasy trilogy The Revelation Saga, and artist Natalie Barahona!

Deathbringer #1 - OCT190479 (W) Zoe Quinn (A) Brent Peeples (CA) Viktor Bogdanovic Donna Troy is a hero. She fought alongside friends, led the Titans into battle, and buried more friends in the line of duty than she cares to remember. She's strong, she's brave, she's one of the fiercest warriors on the planet...and she's the Batman Who Laughs' next target for infection! Spinning out of the events of The Batman Who Laughs and Batman/Superman comes the story of a hero who is done with bringing peace to a world that cannot be trusted with it. A woman who's past has been her greatest adversary, and whose newly awakened dark side is ready to burn it all down and forge a new destiny. No more peace. Only...Deathbringer!

Conan: Serpent War #1 (of 4) - OCT190892 (W) Jim Zub (A) Scot Eaton (CA) Carlos Pacheco THE WRATH OF THE SERPENT GOD! WARRIORS ACROSS TIME DEFY THE ELDER GODS! JAMES ALLISON will soon die. But it's not his first death. He's lived many lives, in many places - lives he can recall in vivid detail. But when an Elder God called the WYRM reaches across time to James, an ages-spanning quest begins! The serpent god SET plans to usher in an eternity of darkness, and only the chosen warriors across time and space have a hope of stopping him: CONAN THE BARBARIAN, SOLOMON KANE, DARK AGNES, and the man known as MOON KNIGHT! In an unprecedented comics event, Robert E. Howard's characters join forces along with Marvel's Moon Knight, in an all-new saga built on REH and Marvel lore from across the ages! PARENTAL ADVISORY

James Bond #1 - OCT191221 (W) Vita Ayala, Danny Lore (A) Eric Gapstur (CA) Jim Cheung New series, new team, new missions! VITA AYALA (Morbius, Age Of X-Man), DANNY LORE (Queen Of Bad Dreams) and ERIC GAPSTUR (James Bond 007) present a fresh take on the world's greatest secret agent. When a priceless piece of art is found to be fake, investigations lead down a rabbit hole of international crime and corruption. But what the hell does James Bond know about the world of art forgery? Featuring a cover by superstar JIM CHEUNG (Justice League, Young Avengers), that will be revealed as an interlocking image over the first three issues!

Power Rangers/TMNT #1 - OCT191380 (W) Ryan Parrott (A) Simone Di Meo (CA) Dan Mora * THE MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS AND THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES MEET FOR THE FIRST TIME! * The Power Rangers arrive in New York City to find Tommy Oliver (a.k.a. The Mighty Morphin Green Ranger) but soon discover he's joined forces with the villainous Shredder and the Foot Clan! * As the Rangers are sent reeling by this betrayal, they 're confronted by another (fr)enemy... the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! Can these heroes find a way to work together to defeat the bad guys and save the world from total destruction?! * Written by Ryan Parrott (Power Rangers: Necessary Evil) and illustrated by Simone di Meo (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Venom Annual), the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers fight - and maybe team up with - the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for the first time. Read the full article

[southeastasianarchaeology]

[Paper] Diplomatic Timebombs? Southeast Asia’s sunken warships

Exploring the diplomatic stakes of Southeast Asia's sunken warships through heritage diplomacy, this project redefines maritime heritage's role in global relations and policy-making.

via Australasian Journal of Maritime Archaeology, 2023: A new project by Natali Pearson focuses on the diplomatic implications of maritime war heritage in Southeast Asia, particularly sunken warships, through the lens of heritage diplomacy. It aims to understand the diplomatic value and consequences of these heritage sites, which are intertwined with issues of sovereignty, colonial legacies, and…

[beavtifvltragedies]

[ hailee steinfeld | she/her ] Another face is seeking safety in New Orleans. Make sure to welcome GEMMA MIKAELSON to the home of the resilient. Rumor has it that they are an 19/24 year old VAMPIRE/WEREWOLF, who is one of the SACRIFICED but we’ll keep that a secret. They are said to be ARGUMENTATIVE, but that’s all a façade to cover up their MAGNANIMOUS nature. We’ve heard that they can be found listening to INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS by NATALIE JANE, which sums them up pretty well. Let’s hope that they can find a way to survive this harsh new world. 

NAME: Gemma Reign Mikaelson NICKNAME: Gem AGE: 18/22 BIRTHDAY: SPECIES: Vampire/Werewolf hybrid GENDER: Cisfemale PRONOUNS: She/Her SEXUALITY: Pansexual FACECLAIM: hailee steinfeld HAIR COLOR: Brown EYE COLOR: Hazel FAMILY:

Declan Bishop ( biological father )

Autumn Pearson ( biological mother )

Freya Mikaelson ( adopted mother )

Keelin Malraux ( adopted mother )

Briggs Mikaelson ( adopted brother )

Billie Mikaelson ( sister-in-law )

All the Mikaelsons are extended family. You know the ones.

tw: murder, kidnapping, torture

HISTORY:

Gemma’s parents had her at a very young age and tried their best to care for the young wolf, but ultimately fell short. For the majority of her young life, Gemma was left to fend for herself as her parents were working non-stop just to be able to keep a roof over their head. But she didn't really mind. She grew up to be independent, maybe growing up a little too fast.

* . ⊹  THE TRAUMA:

When Gemma was only 13, tragedy struck and it was a day that would change her and her outlook on life forever. It started off as any normal day, but quickly took a turn for the worst when her parents were brutally murdered right in front of her. The intruder believed it to be just adults in the house, but when she came out of her room wondering what was going on, she saw the whole thing and they turned on her. But their plan was much more sinister for the young teen and everything went black.

When she came to, she was locked in a dark, nondescript room. And in that room, in that house was where she would stay for the better part of two years. She was provided food and water, she was let out of her room occasionally. There were even a handful of times that she was allowed to leave the house. But it was always under supervision and she always had to wear some sort of hat and glasses. By the end of the first year, she knew better than to act out; she had learned the consequences.

While she wasn't acting out as much, she was slowly and calculatingly coming up with a plan of escape. Her werewolf temper created a fire within her that was only fueled with each passing day. At the age of 15, she had enacted her plan of revenge, waiting for a moment that her captors' guard was down on one of her days out of confinement. It wasn't without a fight, but she wasn't about to let a year worth of planning go to waste. She triggered her curse while escaping, but she escaped nonetheless.

Found wandering the streets, someone noticed her as a missing person, called the authorities and she was taken to the hospital. This was were she met Keelin and formed an immediate bond (think Vanessa Morano's character and Meredith Grey in that one episode of Grey's). She was lucky that Keelin and Freya were willing to take her in and eventually adopt her when she needed safety and comfort the most.

* . ⊹  THE HEALING AND THE TRANSITION

The next few years took a lot of work, but Gemma eventually learned to cope with her trauma, learned to control her werewolf side with the help of Keelin. She would never be the person that she was before, but she was okay with that. She took the time to heal what was needed, bond with her new family, and figure out who she was as a new person.

One weekend she and Hope went out on a girls' weekend to just get away for a while. But, now being a Mikaelson, nothing could ever be easy. The pair were ambushed by a group of hunters who claimed to be part of a "movement". A movement that would eventually become the OEA. The pair put up one hell of a fight as they had been taught to. But they were no match for the wolfsbane laced bullets and arrows coming from every which direction. While Hope had managed to take down most hunters, forcing the others to retreat at the power of the tribrid, Gemma had gotten hit with a couple bullets, the shrapnel getting lodged in her heart. There was no way she was going to make it to any semblance of help before it was too late. In that moment, Hope knew was she had to do and fed Gemma her blood just before her heart had stopped. And just moments later, she was successfully in transition.

* . ⊹  THE BETAYAL

Coming from the family of vampires, Gemma had no problem with her transition. She had plenty of people with plenty of experience around that she could lean on. But the party wasn't quite over.

A few years later, when Gemma was coming home, she was ambushed by a group of witches and tortured, wanting to have some fun with her before she was sacrificed and sent to the prison world. Right before she was sent, she learned of the reason. The witches wanted to get back at Freya for not following them and the best way to do that was to attack her family, starting with her children.

— ☆ — ONE YEAR LATER — ☆ —

After everyone was released from the prison world, Gemma took some time to get acclimated to real life again. In this time, she learned of the passing of her biological grandmother. She had been absent her entire life, the hybrid had never met her. But she still had her Gemma's biological mother listed in her will. Being the next of kin, that money went to Gemma.

Having a large sum of money in her pocket was burning a hole in her pocket and the last thing she wanted to do was stay in New Orleans with everything that was going on. So she took that money and spent a year traveling to wherever her little heart desired. Though she kept in touch with the important people, she was more or less a stranger to the rest of the world.

With her Roxy being on tour with Sebastian, Jagger, and Riley, Gemma would often meet up with them whenever she could under the guise of wanting to support Riley. But it was undeniable that when Jagger was on stage, she couldn't look away, a smile plastered to her face until the last round of applause. Their meetings usually ended with the pair getting a little two close, falling into some old habits, and a few hook ups here and there. But each time Gemma found herself falling under his spell, she knew it was time for another trip, separating herself from the group. Yet she kept coming back, his magnetic pull with her undeniable.

With funds running lower than Gemma would like and the promises off free drinks at the ball, Gemma made her way back to New Orleans, slightly nervous to see what she was coming back to.

[rpxgifs]

[ hailee steinfeld | she/her ] Another face is seeking safety in New Orleans. Make sure to welcome GEMMA MIKAELSON to the home of the resilient. Rumor has it that they are an 19/24 year old VAMPIRE/WEREWOLF, who is one of the SACRIFICED but we’ll keep that a secret. They are said to be ARGUMENTATIVE, but that’s all a façade to cover up their MAGNANIMOUS nature. We’ve heard that they can be found listening to INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS by NATALIE JANE, which sums them up pretty well. Let’s hope that they can find a way to survive this harsh new world. 

NAME: Gemma Reign Mikaelson NICKNAME: Gem AGE: 18/22 BIRTHDAY: SPECIES: Vampire/Werewolf hybrid GENDER: Cisfemale PRONOUNS: She/Her SEXUALITY: Pansexual FACECLAIM: hailee steinfeld HAIR COLOR: Brown EYE COLOR: Hazel FAMILY:

Declan Bishop ( biological father )

Autumn Pearson ( biological mother )

Freya Mikaelson ( adopted mother )

Keelin Malraux ( adopted mother )

Briggs Mikaelson ( adopted brother )

Billie Mikaelson ( sister-in-law )

All the Mikaelsons are extended family. You know the ones.

tw: murder, kidnapping, torture

HISTORY:

Gemma’s parents had her at a very young age and tried their best to care for the young wolf, but ultimately fell short. For the majority of her young life, Gemma was left to fend for herself as her parents were working non-stop just to be able to keep a roof over their head. But she didn't really mind. She grew up to be independent, maybe growing up a little too fast.

* . ⊹  THE TRAUMA:

When Gemma was only 13, tragedy struck and it was a day that would change her and her outlook on life forever. It started off as any normal day, but quickly took a turn for the worst when her parents were brutally murdered right in front of her. The intruder believed it to be just adults in the house, but when she came out of her room wondering what was going on, she saw the whole thing and they turned on her. But their plan was much more sinister for the young teen and everything went black.

When she came to, she was locked in a dark, nondescript room. And in that room, in that house was where she would stay for the better part of two years. She was provided food and water, she was let out of her room occasionally. There were even a handful of times that she was allowed to leave the house. But it was always under supervision and she always had to wear some sort of hat and glasses. By the end of the first year, she knew better than to act out; she had learned the consequences.

While she wasn't acting out as much, she was slowly and calculatingly coming up with a plan of escape. Her werewolf temper created a fire within her that was only fueled with each passing day. At the age of 15, she had enacted her plan of revenge, waiting for a moment that her captors' guard was down on one of her days out of confinement. It wasn't without a fight, but she wasn't about to let a year worth of planning go to waste. She triggered her curse while escaping, but she escaped nonetheless.

Found wandering the streets, someone noticed her as a missing person, called the authorities and she was taken to the hospital. This was were she met Keelin and formed an immediate bond (think Vanessa Morano's character and Meredith Grey in that one episode of Grey's). She was lucky that Keelin and Freya were willing to take her in and eventually adopt her when she needed safety and comfort the most.

* . ⊹  THE HEALING AND THE TRANSITION

The next few years took a lot of work, but Gemma eventually learned to cope with her trauma, learned to control her werewolf side with the help of Keelin. She would never be the person that she was before, but she was okay with that. She took the time to heal what was needed, bond with her new family, and figure out who she was as a new person.

One weekend she and Hope went out on a girls' weekend to just get away for a while. But, now being a Mikaelson, nothing could ever be easy. The pair were ambushed by a group of hunters who claimed to be part of a "movement". A movement that would eventually become the OEA. The pair put up one hell of a fight as they had been taught to. But they were no match for the wolfsbane laced bullets and arrows coming from every which direction. While Hope had managed to take down most hunters, forcing the others to retreat at the power of the tribrid, Gemma had gotten hit with a couple bullets, the shrapnel getting lodged in her heart. There was no way she was going to make it to any semblance of help before it was too late. In that moment, Hope knew was she had to do and fed Gemma her blood just before her heart had stopped. And just moments later, she was successfully in transition.

* . ⊹  THE BETAYAL

Coming from the family of vampires, Gemma had no problem with her transition. She had plenty of people with plenty of experience around that she could lean on. But the party wasn't quite over.

A few years later, when Gemma was coming home, she was ambushed by a group of witches and tortured, wanting to have some fun with her before she was sacrificed and sent to the prison world. Right before she was sent, she learned of the reason. The witches wanted to get back at Freya for not following them and the best way to do that was to attack her family, starting with her children.

— ☆ — ONE YEAR LATER — ☆ —

After everyone was released from the prison world, Gemma took some time to get acclimated to real life again. In this time, she learned of the passing of her biological grandmother. She had been absent her entire life, the hybrid had never met her. But she still had her Gemma's biological mother listed in her will. Being the next of kin, that money went to Gemma.

Having a large sum of money in her pocket was burning a hole in her pocket and the last thing she wanted to do was stay in New Orleans with everything that was going on. So she took that money and spent a year traveling to wherever her little heart desired. Though she kept in touch with the important people, she was more or less a stranger to the rest of the world.

With her Roxy being on tour with Sebastian, Jagger, and Riley, Gemma would often meet up with them whenever she could under the guise of wanting to support Riley. But it was undeniable that when Jagger was on stage, she couldn't look away, a smile plastered to her face until the last round of applause. Their meetings usually ended with the pair getting a little two close, falling into some old habits, and a few hook ups here and there. But each time Gemma found herself falling under his spell, she knew it was time for another trip, separating herself from the group. Yet she kept coming back, his magnetic pull with her undeniable.

With funds running lower than Gemma would like and the promises off free drinks at the ball, Gemma made her way back to New Orleans, slightly nervous to see what she was coming back to.

[saturdaynightmatinee]

CALIFICACIÓN PERSONAL: 7.5 / 10

Título Original: Thor: Love and Thunder

Año:  2022

Duración: 118 min

País:   Estados Unidos  

Director: Taika Waititi

Guion: Taika Waititi, Jennifer Kaytin Robinson. Historia: Taika Waititi. Cómic: Stan Lee, Jason Aaron

Música: Michael Giacchino

Fotografía: Barry Idoine

Reparto:   Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Christian Bale, Tessa Thompson, Chris Pratt, Taika Waititi, Jaimie Alexander, Karen Gillan, Dave Bautista, Pom Klementieff, Russell Crowe, Sean Gunn, Akosia Sabet, Simon Russell Beale, Kieron L. Dyer, Kat Dennings, Sam Neill, Matt Damon, Luke Hemsworth, Melissa McCarthy, Daley Pearson, Ben Falcone, Clariza Vicente, Chayla Korewha, Sean Rohani, Mark Casimir Dyniewicz, Jason Jago, Aiden Mckenzie. Cameo: Idris Elba, Brett Goldstein. Voz: Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper

Productora: Coproducción Estados Unidos-Australia; Marvel Studios, Walt Disney Pictures, Fox Studios Australia

Género: Adventure, Action, Comedy

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10648342/

TRAILER:

[cntcrtainmcnt-blog]

lmao never trust my words when i say no more muses. so anyway, under the cut are brief intros.

ABIGAIL MACQUEEN looks an awful lot like VICTORIA JUSTICE. SHE is TWENTY-THREE and while they’re DETERMINED, they have a tendency to get pretty PASSIVE. You’ve probably seen them around Kola listening to SOLITAIRE by MARINA&THE DIAMONDS.

so i can definitely see how she resembles victoria’s character on eye candy. i actually created that muse before and then when the show came out, i modified it to look similar.

Older of two, she’s always been very energetic and outgoing. And very very damn good with computers.

When she was 16, her younger sibling went missing, and she started developing her hacking skills to try and track her online activity to find her.

But she never did, at least no in time, since they found the body of her younger sister washed up on some shore on the East Coast two months later. 

She decided to not let it stop her, and decided to use her skills to actually help others who might need it. So she opened some sort of underground business, and gets paid to hack for people(as long as it’s not like... government, or the person isn’t meaning any harm by it).

Buuuuuut she got caught, although they gave her some kind of second chance. She’d be free, as long as she decided to use her hacking skills to help cyber crimes rather than doing illegal jobs. So now she’s a hacker for cyber crimes in Kola(which is where she grew up btw).

ARINA KOLOSOVA looks an awful lot like NATALIE DORMER. SHE is THIRTY-TWO and while they’re SUAVE, they have a tendency to get pretty VINDICTIVE. You’ve probably seen them around Kola listening to YOU DON’T OWN ME by DUSTY SPRINGFIELD. 

Born and raised in Moscow, both her parents worked for an underground agency, think something similar to Kingsman, but with a Black Widow twist.

While her childhood was fine, when she became older, her parents started training her to become the perfect agent.

They became harsher on her, often depriving her of a real meal or even bed sheets at night when she wasn’t doing good in her training.

It was becoming a lot to deal with, but she knew better than to go against her parents. So she just tried harder and harder in trainings until they judged she was old and skilled enough to pass the entrance test for the agency.

Which she did, she aced it. While Arina never really thought about doing the same job her parents did, she did have a job now, at 21, so why give it up?

But it was underground, not very legal, and so they got busted when she was 24. She wasn’t there when they showed at the HQ, but her mother was, and she destroyed all files linking to Arina before the authorities saw them.

Due to her parents being arrested and her job not existing anymore, she managed to get a visa to move to the states for political protection.

She landed in Kola, and joined a biker’s gang, which is the best thing she did in her life.

Due to being deprived of meals often when she was younger, she now has a very large appetite, although she does burn off all excess by training.

Probably gets paid to help people get revenge on whoever did them wrong.

ARWEN DAE SHEEN looks an awful lot like ARDEN CHO. SHE is TWENTY-NINE and while they’re FUN-LOVING, they have a tendency to get pretty CLUMSY. You’ve probably seen them around Kola listening to WEIRD PEOPLE by LITTLE MIX. 

Dae was born in Korea, but before she was even 5, her parents were targetted for a crime they did not comit, but the culprit created false proofs, so they had to flee the country.

They landed in England for a few years, building a new life. And by doing so, they all changed their names. They didn’t want to be traced back, although they did keep their last names. She was only 5 though and would only come up with random names, so her parents named her after a character from their favorite book series.

Her father later on got a job offer in Kola, California, so the family moved there. Arwen was probably about 8-9.

And she’s been in Kola since, and doesn’t plan on moving out, since she fell in love with the town.

She currently works as an elementary school teacher, as well as a fencing instructor by night.

CARSON MCALLISTER looks an awful lot like ALEXANDER KOCH. HE is TWENTY-SEVEN and while they’re IDEALISTIC, they have a tendency to get pretty DERANGED. You’ve probably seen them around Kola listening to WICKED by BOY EPIC. 

My fucked up son I haven’t played in ages.

Son of the police chief in Kola, and a high school teacher, who sadly passed away giving birth to him.

His father was not a good man. Carson grew up seeing him bring in women, at first acting like a true gentleman, until he became abusive with them and they left. And that did rub on him with time.

During high school, he fell in love with this girl, she was the light of his life. They were together for nearly 5 years, before they broke up. He was training to become a police officer like his dad, and she felt their paths were diverging.

He... did not take it, and locked her up in one of the rooms of his very large house. His father working crazy hours and that room being empty, never realized it until a few weeks later. A missing notice person was filled, and his father suspected him. The house was searched, they found the girl, and Carson was arrested.

He did time, and is only coming out of jail now, has no job, probably couch surfing since his father won’t talk to him.

Still wants his ex back tbfh.

GENESIS FERRER looks an awful lot like ZOE SALDANA. SHE is THIRTY-SEVEN and while they’re LOYAL, they have a tendency to get pretty OPINIONATED. You’ve probably seen them around Kola listening to SORRY NOT SORRY by DEMI LOVATO.

Her parents moved to the states before she was born. But they later on got deported, although since she was born there, she was placed in foster care. (would’ve much rather prefered to be taken with her parents)

Was intentionally bad with all foster families because she was salty. She’s always been kind of a brat.

After graduating, she started studying management, while also working as a part time security guard at the mall. 

One thing lead to another, and when she graduated, Genesis decided to start her own security company. So now she owns a company, who people basically employ to guard their buildings, malls, shops, zoo, whatever.

Was never able to get a serious relationship because she’s very distant with people. BUT I SWEAR SHE HAS LOVE TO GIVE.

Also I’m making her a green alien in the future verse because I CAN.

MADELEINE STOKES looks an awful lot like KYLIE BUNBURY. SHE is TWENTY-SEVEN and while they’re CHARISMATIC, they have a tendency to get pretty JUDGEMENTAL. You’ve probably seen them around Kola listening to BO$$ by FIFTH HARMONY.

This character was originally an April Pearson fc? But she has like no good resources? So here we have the lovely Kylie instead.

Filthy rich family, she was spoiled to death. And it got to her head. But her parents also thought her that she’ll have to work for her own money when she’s older.

Queen Bee all through her school career. People looked up to her, but also feared what she could do.

Currently works as weather girl for the local channel.

That character was also originally inspired by Regina George, so she does keep a Burn Book, which she’s had since high school, and still adds stuff to it.

MARGARET BALDWIN looks an awful lot like DAISY RIDLEY. SHE is TWENTY-FIVE and while they’re METICULOUS, they have a tendency to get pretty INDIVIDUALISTIC. You’ve probably seen them around Kola listening to CAN’T BE TAMED by MILEY CYRUS.

Daughter of Gustav, he used her as one of his test subjects.

When it got debunked, her mother and her changed identities, and while it did mess with her head, it was nothing compared to her mom.

It wasn’t much later that her mom had to be sent to a psychiatric rehab center, and is still there. As for Nicoline Margaret, her neighbour was kind enough to take her in for as long as it might take.

They already had two kids, so she grew up with two people she now considers her siblings.

She always did good in school, but was horrible at following simple rules and orders. So after graduating, she went into journalism and is now an investigative journalist.

She hates her dad, and wished he would still be in jail. Actually erased him from her life and didn’t even know he was out until she went to see her mom and she mentioned he visited her.

She’s very bad at relationships but I swear if you bring me John Boyega, Adam Driver and/or Oscar Isaac, as exes, current crushes, FWB, or whatever you can think of, I will forever love you.

[squaredcircleconfess]

Talking Christ #3

𝗕𝗥𝗢𝗨𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗧𝗢 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗕𝗬 𝗦𝗤𝗨𝗔𝗥𝗘𝗗 𝗖𝗜𝗥𝗖𝗟𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗙𝗜𝗗𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗔𝗟

𝗛𝗢𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗗 𝗕𝗬 𝗟𝗢𝗚𝗔𝗡 𝗙𝗘𝗡𝗜𝗫 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗞𝗜𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗙𝗥𝗔𝗨𝗦𝗧

Kiersten Fraust: Hey! What's up guys? It's me, Kiersten Fraust and my co-host on this crazy ride Logan Feniiiiiix! We are finally back to talk everything Christ with our great viewers, wherever you may be. 

Kiersten turns to Logan with a smile.

Kiersten Fraust: I got a question for you, Logan... Are you ready?

Logan Fenix: Oh I’m ready…  wait, for what?  This show right?

Kiersten Fraust: Yes. We got a lot to cover from the CCW show that happened. 

Logan Fenix: A lot happened on that super show, we never thought it would air due to technical difficulties even, but it happened!  Where to even begin?!

Kiersten Fraust: Well, we got a huge surprise when Natalie and Paris Traeger showed up to the dismay of Brennan Devlin. That feud is starting to take a turn.

Logan Fenix: I never thought in my life I would see a baby attack a grown man and take him to the mat, to the point the roster had to come break it up.  Then that 450 Splash from Devlin on Paris..

Kiersten Fraust: I am always for girls doing their thing, so I support Paris for what she’s doing and standing her ground against Brennan. She’s iconic as the city she’s named after.

Logan Fenix: Paris is a no good neanderthal and a degenerate.  She doesn’t work here!

Kiersten Fraust: Paris is a sweet angel that Brennan maliciously targeted

Logan Fenix: I saw Santana teaching her how to hide knives on her person before she came out there.

Kiersten Fraust: It’s a bit much. But we also have the Christ Centered Combat that happened before the show. It was just as crazy as CCW. 

Logan Fenix: And on Christ Centered Combat, we had a new Combat Crown Champion crowned in Azi, who beat Jacob Kuntz in the Sandcastle Deathmatch, and general manager of CCC Faith McKinsey has been challenged to a best of seven series with Tinsley Marshall.

Kiersten Fraust: I really feel for Faith. I mean I can only imagine running a show is tough, but to also have somebody wanting your head and want nothing more to embarrass you on television. Tinsley needs to chill out.

Logan Fenix: Tinsley is trying to assert her dominance, it could have been her in charge of the show and Faith got it all.  But at the end of CCW Christ Centered Combat, we saw Heather Haze, the current Golden Ticket Champion attack the new Combat Crown Champion, Azi.  Could we see a title vs. title match at Wrestling With Christ?

Kiersten Fraust: It is possible. Although Azi is capable of defending the Combat Crown championship to whoever dares step up to her, Heather Haze has taken that challenge. Maybe it could turn into a champion versus champion situation? Wrestling With Christ could settle that real quick.

Logan Fenix: And then we have several new contenders for the CCW championships.  Rika seems to have been picked to face off against C.J. Sweet for the Christcore, and the self proclaimed Golden Ticket, Rivers, has won his opportunity to face Siberia Zombie for the Television championship.  And who can forget the tags, the hot ones, Children of the Moon have gotten their shot at Brew Collar by defeating the Killer Baes.

Keirsten Fraust: I find this to be very interesting because C.J. has been on a rampage ever since she's won the christcore championship and she's picked up a few along the way. How do you think Rika will fare in their future match up?

Logan Fenix: Rika has been a force, and I mean, I don’t know.  If this were any other company, and in the Tokyo dome, Rika would win because Japan.  But who’s to say?  She couldn’t even go to Saudi Arabia last time, something about being banned, which Essence did first.

Kiersten Fraust: Then you have to factor in that girl gang of hers....

Logan Fenix: The trio of CJ Sweet, Rimadonna and Astraea are hot, literally and figuratively right now.  I wouldn’t want to be Rika.  But okay, Siberia Zombie has been a force, she has been to Saudi Arabia and won the Television Championship in the past.  She bizarrely claims this place ‘spawned’ her, and now, the Golden Ticket, the man who holds the record for most Golden Ticket Championship reigns, Rivers, looks to drown her in the depths for the CCW Television Championship…

Kiersten Fraust: Looking at both competitors, this match is very hard to predict. Siberia has that heart and fight in her- two things that got her the television championship. Then we have Rivers, who has just as much fight in him as Siberia does and puts everything on the line in the name of independent wrestling. Like you said Rivers has the most golden ticket reigns to his name so he knows what it takes to win a championship.. If you had to choose one, Logan, who would you choose?

Logan Fenix: I’m going to go with Siberia Zombie, she’s proven, Rivers still has questions about if he’ll crumble under the pressure.  Now, Kiersten, you pick?!

Kiersten Fraust: Like gun to my head... Probably... Rivers. I mean I like Siberia and she's such an amazing wrestler but I could see Rivers walking away with the Television championship, especially if Belle Valentine is at ringside. She could be the reason why he wins.

Logan Fenix: Hmm, that’s fair…  but then for the last one I mentioned.  Brew Collar, Wilkow and Danielson taking on Bex Thoreau and Julie Miri, the Children of the Moon.  Everyone has an opinion on how this will go, and since the COTM came here, these two groups have been on a collision course.  Who ya got?

Kiersten Fraust: The tag team division has been really hot in CCW right now and it's all thanks to Children of the Moon and Brew Collar. Not trying to take anything away from the Killer Baes, they're great despite their little annoyances. But wherever Children of the Moon go success seems to follow them. My pick is pretty obvious. Children of the Moon hands down. 

Logan Fenix: Brew Collar for me, but, there is another question.  The Killer Baes have mentioned having friends, we’ve seen Astrid and Corrie interacting with two other girls on Twitter…  could we see their tag team grow into a stable, and what would that mean for this match?  Clearly the feud isn’t over between them and the COTM…  but the COTM and Brew Collar have their own problems.  What a mess.

Kiersten Fraust: More girls added to The Killer Baes? That only spells trouble for everybody. And speaking of trouble, Conor Machina made his grand appearance on CCW television with an open challenge. A challenge that was answered by Void Walker. Watching the whole thing gave me the creeps. 

Logan Fenix: Bun Bun is Void Walkers brother, Kiersten.  A Southern religious mans’ brother is a man who wears a rabbit mask over his head.  And at the end, Conor accidentally unmasked him…  and now Bun…  I guess Ben Walker is more dangerous than ever alongside his brother?

Kiersten Fraust: Oh, right. Bun Bun Ben Walker definitely made his presence known when he hit Conor with a chair and proceeded to viciously beat him with it. Either way, Void Walker said he would see Conor at Wrestling With Christ. Sounds like a match will be set between the two. 

Logan Fenix: I like Bun Bun Ben Walker.  Let’s see…  after that, there’s something weird going on with Neve.  Did you see her reacting to that guy heckling?  She should have gotten him thrown outta here!

Kiersten Fraust: Yeah, I saw him and that huge sign he was carrying. She must have known him? I mean you can say that about literally most of the fans in the venues. Most of them are there to watch and react to what's going on, then there's the hecklers. Moving on, we have to discuss what took place after Mitch McMaster stumbled into the venue. While Angel was trying to compose her father, Chellsea showed up to tell Angel who her next opponent would be and that is Mykie  Villanueva! Angel didn't look too happy.

Logan Fenix: I hope those people Mitch ran over are okay too.  But yeah, Mykie Villanueva, she hasn’t been seen since that tour Rock Pearson did back in Guatemala.  Apparently it’s gonna be a main event of CCW Sunday School, the morning before Wrestling With Christ?

Kiersten Fraust: We heard it from Chellsea's own mouth. So, Angel McMaster versus Mykie Villanueva is official for CCW Sunday School. Considering the outcome of the Mitch and Santana match, Angel is going to be a very busy champion come Wrestling With Christ. You saw what happened in that match, right?

Logan Fenix: An old man was caught on fire, there was an attempted drowning, stabbing, and more.

Kiersten Fraust: Now Santana Johnson is the number one contender for the CCW heavyweight championship at Wrestling With Christ. Let that sink in.

Logan Fenix: Nate Paxton was visibly angry at ringside, he’s been professional but he’s a outspoken critic of deathmatch wrestling.  People on the internet are mad.  All 47 of Santana's daughters are ecstatic, though.

Kiersten Fraust: I do not want to be Angel right now. Defending your championship is one thing but to defend it against a guy like Santana is another. The CCW heavyweight championship match is going to be a roller coaster ride.

Logan Fenix: As if being in Saudi Arabia wouldn’t make you nervous enough.

Kiersten Fraust: Speaking of making someone nervous, I know our next guest will. Please welcome our guests at this time, one of the many bosses in CCW Chellsea and her lovely husband Daequan!

The cameras pan over to where Chellsea and Daequan walk from as she takes his arm, leading to the table to join Logan and Kiersten. Both given microphones.

Kiersten Fraust: Thanks for joining us guys.

Chellsea: Thank you so much for having us. Your outfit is so cute.

Daequan didn’t speak, silently looked between Kiersten and Logan, then down at Chellsea’s rear end.  Then he looked up to Kiersten and Logan and gave them a thumbs up.

Logan Fenix: Uh…  hi to you too Daequan.

Kiersten Fraust: He's just showing love and appreciation for his wife. I just gotta ask now, what made you bring Mykie Villanueva to CCW?

Chellsea: It was my Dae's idea actually. I know he doesn't speak much but when he does, he says the most beautiful and intelligent things. Plus, Angel likes to talk herself up to anybody who'll listen to her and as a boss here, I have the unfortunate duty of finding her an opponent before defending the CCW heavyweight championship against Santana. 

Logan Fenix: Are you not worried Santana will go too far?  He’s known for…

Daequan makes a stabbing motion, while standing behind Chellsea in an uncomfortable seeming manner and seemingly mesmerized by her.

Logan Fenix: Yeah that, stabbing.  And how about unfairness?  She has to face Mykie before she can even get to that murderer?

Chellsea: I did set up the match between Mitch and Santana because it was fair. Mitch lost in the end which means that Santana gets his shot at Angel's championship. I don't see the problem with that. Yes, Santana is so out there with his antics and I was always under the impression that Angel is up for any challenge. My first priority to any wrestler who steps into our CCW ring is their health and well being. 

Daequan: Men and women of action are favored by the Goddess of luck.

Logan Fenix: What.

Kiersten Fraust:  I think he means that you get what you get... Daequan, who's your favorite tag team right now?

Daequan paused and thought about it for a moment before pointing at Chellsea’s chest.

Logan Fenix: Yes we get it you love your wife but an actual tag team, please.

Chellsea: Calm down, Logan. My husband is a little camera shy. But we absolutely enjoy Farm Fresh Beef. I hope we see more of them.

A sudden scream echoed out, the voice of none other than Sydney Vahle who was a known Farm Fresh Beef fangirl.

Sydney Vahle: “YESSSS!”

Logan Fenix: “Hi Sydney, bye Sydney.”

He waved as she passed by the door.

Kiersten Fraust:  She's crazy about that team. Anyway, what can we expect from the upcoming Wrestling With Christ? Any surprises planned? Because judging from the last time CCW was in Saudi Arabia literally all hell broke loose.

Daequan: When Chellsea got her titties out, everyone goes all out.  I think that answers your question.

Logan Fenix: That does not answer our question and please don’t have those out over there Chellsea, they’re very old world and it would be unsafe.

Chellsea: Dae likes to joke around. And I am very well aware of how they live in Saudi Arabia and I will be respecting their culture for the safety of the roster that will be traveling with us.

Logan Fenix: Okay, just a few more questions, I think.  You’ve been sort of running the show alongside Brennan Devlin.  How is that relationship working out?  At first it seemed like you were butting heads but, you two were actually seemingly getting along at Thot for Christ?

Chellsea: Brennan and I have an understanding, and yes we've been friendly. We'd rather be working together than butting heads. The work environment is so much better because of it and the product has gotten better because of it. We like seeing results with the hard work our roster puts in.

Logan Fenix: Anymore questions, Kiersten?

Daequan remained behind Chellsea, hands on her rear end now.  They were a bit uncomfortably in love and made it awkward for everyone.

Kiersten Fraust: Who are you wearing?

Chellsea: Chanel.

Daequan: She’ll be wearing my *bleep* in a second.

Before they could ask much else, Daequan lifted Chellsea up onto the table and actually started undressing her while they kissed passionately.  Several cords being torn down or loose as Logan and Kiersten looked on in horror.

Logan Fenix: Shit, cut, cut, we can’t show this.

Kiersten Fraust: Cut the feed now, this has been Talking Christ!  See you guys next time!

A blur coming up on the screen at some sudden nudity as the feed slowly shut off.

[twh-news]

★★★★☆

[spoiler free review]

Judging by his box-office figures, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is one of the least popular of Marvel’s cinematic superheroes. It’s all relative, of course. The God of Thunder’s first two films made around $200 million (£152 million) each, so they’re not what you’d call flops. But compared to his buddies in the Avengers, Thor has never quite taken flight. And even in his own vehicles, he is in constant danger of being upstaged by his own brother and smarmy arch-enemy, Loki (Tom Hiddleston).

Thor: Ragnarok should change all that. Undoubtedly the best of the character’s three films, it’s more confident than the others, more kaleidoscopically colourful, and more eye-catching in its design. It has more coherent fight sequences and more impressive digital effects than its predecessors did. And while it takes its hero’s story to surprising new places, it has an endearing reverence for his comic-book roots: he keeps calling himself “The Mighty Thor”, because that used to be the title of his monthly comic.

lt presents us with the comforting notion that outer space isn’t all that different from a glam rock-themed disco

More importantly, this sequel, or threequel, establishes its blond leading man as somebody who’s fun to hang around with for two hours. Not for him the geopolitical debates or the personal angst of Iron Man and Captain America. This time around, Thor is a hearty lunk who is swaggeringly sure of how heroic he is, even if he keeps bumping into things and knocking them over. Whenever he makes a speech about the importance of his noble mission, you can be pretty sure he is going to be hit on the head moments later - and Hemsworth is just as willing to be a stooge in this film as he was in last year’s Ghostbusters remake. The credit for the knockabout tone should probably go to the director, Taika Waititi, a New Zealand comedy specialist who made the sublime vampire mock-doc, What We Do in the Shadows. In his hands, Thor: Ragnarok is so knowingly daft that it almost qualifies as a parody.

Norse to meet you

In fact, it has less in common with the previous Thor outings than it does with the Guardians of the Galaxy films. Like them, it’s a light-hearted intergalactic romp full of aliens of all shapes and sizes - the director himself appears as a mild-mannered rock-skinned giant. And like Guardians of the Galaxy, it presents us with the comforting notion that outer space isn’t all that different from a glam rock-themed disco. A few scenes near the beginning are set on Earth, because Thor and Loki drop in on Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch). But afterwards the action hops so easily from planet to planet that watching the film feels pleasingly like flicking through a pile of comics. Nor is there any sign of Thor’s ex-girlfriend Jane (Natalie Portman) or the other earthlings from his original supporting cast. Liberated from those mere mortals and their everyday concerns, the film derives much of its humour from the idea that the cape-wearing, mallet-swinging Norse deity is more ordinary, and certainly more conservatively dressed, than the weirdos he meets on his travels.

If Loki has been the most memorable villain in Marvel’s canon so far, Hela at last gives him some competition

It’s not all fun and games, though. Thor’s father Odin (Anthony Hopkins) has gone missing, and his utopian homeworld of Asgard is conquered by Hela (Cate Blanchett), the strutting Goddess of Death. She isn’t the most complex of baddies, but she looks fabulous in her range of black catsuits and her chandelier-shaped headgear, and Blanchett relishes playing her as a bored, drawling, English aristocrat. If Loki has been the most memorable villain in Marvel’s canon so far, Hela at last gives him some competition.

It’s up to Thor to save the kingdom, of course. But he is stranded on a distant planet ruled by an omnipotent dandy known as The Grandmaster. Played by Jeff Goldblum with all of his quizzical, hesitant Jeff Goldblum-ishness, and sporting a golden wizard’s outfit that would have been rejected as being over-the-top by Elton John in the 1970s, The Grandmaster forces Thor to take part in a brutal gladiatorial contest, but the thunder god runs into two people who might just help him get back to Asgard: a mysterious warrior (Tessa Thompson) with a link to his past, and his old pal the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo).

Thor: Ragnarok is the wittiest and most straightforwardly enjoyable of Marvel’s blockbusters. The screenplay, by Eric Pearson, Craig Kyle, and Christopher Yost, gives each of the characters something worthwhile to do and something amusing to say, and when its various strands are tied together in time for the momentous finale, even the most superhero-wary viewers will have smiles on their faces.

The only snag is that it’s all so bubbly and inconsequential that it can feel as if you’re watching a hugely expensive sitcom episode. For much of the running time, the heroes are bantering and squabbling on the Grandmaster’s glittery planet, and they seem to be light years away - emotionally as well as geographically - from anything that’s happening on Asgard, let alone on Earth. In theory, the fate of the universe is at stake. In practice, you’ll care more about Thor’s new haircut than Hela’s reign of terror.

Part of the problem is that Thor: Ragnarok is too familiar to be truly thrilling. It may seem like an odd thing to say about a psychedelic sci-fi comedy in which a Viking god wrestles monsters in a coliseum on the far side of the cosmos, but it serves up a lot of what you’d expect from Marvel: aliens, uneasy allies, cities being levelled by a vastly powerful villain, and so on. Perhaps the trouble is that the superhero trend is finally running out of steam. But if Thor: Ragnarok is anything to go by, at least it will be fun while it lasts.