#and i think it's more meaningful for batman to be retired because he's not needed now he has a family now gotham has protectors now

[lanternbats]

I've been thinking about how much I actually dislike Damian becoming Batman as an adult and how I think it would be way more impactful for his character if he broke away from both of his parents and formed his own identity, which led me to "Well, who should become Batman then?" and well. What if nobody becomes Batman after Bruce steps down. The family carry on his mission, his message, but not his title, because Bruce helped them become something else, helped them become better than him. The goal was never to become the next Batman, it was for them to grow and learn and become their own people. Batman never dies, he is an eternal symbol, but one that they all wear instead of physically inhabit. I think as Bruce ages he should realise that Gotham doesn't need Batman, because now it has so much more than just Batman.

[roobylavender]

i read your post about a potential harvey murdersueicide and while that is a fantastically tragic idea i cant help but notice you always believe bruce should meet his demise early😭 as in, he doesnt get to experience true old age.

its not actually that i disagree or even not understand where youre coming from. i feel like, since dc insists batman has to exist and has to be a big player, the main character, gotham can never truly improve. because stories need to be told with him. theyre stuck, the city is stuck, and thus bruce is stuck, he only continues because he feels he is needed. in order for him to retire i think hed have to look at the progress hed made and go, yes ive done enough, but that will never happen because books need to be sold.

i think there could be potential for him to reach this conclusion and retire in a more limited series like a show or movie series, but do you think hell ever get to a point where he feels comfortable naturally retiring, and if so what would you think needs to happen?

i should probably clarify the reason i'm so invested in the idea of bruce dying early is bc denny o'neil said that by his early 40s bruce would either be married to talia or be dead and since he vehemently opposed the former i imagine had his editorial stint continued that he would have led us to a conclusion of the latter. so in my case it's less about a supposed impossibility for him to ever escape the life he leads as batman and more me being morbidly intrigued by this ultimatum denny set for the character. i'm not sure what his intended end for bruce might have looked like but ig in my imagination i either love the potential drama of the bruharvey murder sewercide or the sheer inconsequential nature of bruce dying while saving a life. not anything too grand or complex but simply being caught in the wrong place at the wrong time and dying as anyone would, while doing something he wholeheartedly believed in. like a car crash. the dark knight rises for all of its faults has a few plot decisions i dearly love, bruce's retirement and passing on of the mantle being one of them, but i think that's a development that, complementary to what you said, works more in a medium where things have to end. the trilogy was finite so it made sense for bruce to move on. comics however are never-ending. and even beyond that ig i don't think bruce would be the type to retire even if he did sort out a lot of his emotional issues or feel like the city was on the right path. he's a very stubbornly selfless person and so long as he has a working body he'll be putting it to use. in that sense batman beyond definitely took a logical path in that bruce only gave up the mantle when he could no longer physically maintain it. the only problem there was that the timmverse's bruce is progressively depicted as an isolated loner so his retirement feels almost like a defeat that is subsequently revived once terry enters his life. and maybe there is a world where bruce could sort out his issues and retire of his own volition instead but for some reason i find there to be more meaning in bruce dying doing what he believes in. and maybe he's happy and gotham is on a path to being better bc he's reconciled with his children and maybe he's slowly trying to dedicate more of his time towards abolitionist work on the ground rather than encompassing all of his spare time in vigilante work. but i would like to think if he died in the mask at a point where his life is like that that it would still be meaningful. bc the mask would no longer be a prison. it would be what it was always intended to be: the truest representation of himself and his desire to help others

[wh33zy]

Why I'm Writing NO GOOD DEED: Series 2 RANT!

Look, I thought series 2 was fun and I liked it but HOT DAMN am I the only one left all kinds of unsatisfied??? Like it's cool they gave us an ending to the story (of sorts) BUT I found it kinda disappointing, the grit from the first series missing, and there were quite a few loose ends that weren't tied up (especially concerning Ouroboros).

Maybe it's because of ALL the other hero media I consume (mainly DC, The Boys, Spider-Man, Black Panther, and Moon Knight) that I found it lacking and rushed in some parts, story and action wise. Instead of a meaningful backstory for Wild Tiger, where we got to see old villains, childhood/teenage years, and early hero accomplishments - we got a season of friendship episodes, confusing Yuri/Jake look-alike twins with a rushed and random-feeling Golden Ryan backstory.

Nothing against Ryan here, the new season actually made me LOVE him, but I would have MUCH RATHER seen old Wild Tiger villains want revenge and see Kotetsu rise to the top again, or something akin to the Batman: Arkham Knight storyline where some villain is like 'you're old, you're predictable, and I KNOW how to beat you!'. I would have liked to see the roles between Kotetsu and Barnaby switch, where now Barnaby is in the support/advisory role to help his partner put his old villains back in prison.

I also think L.L. Audun would not have felt like such a random obstacle if he was an old Wild Tiger villain. Like, he could have been THE arrest that got Wild Tiger a King of Heroes crown, as just five minutes was all he needed to take this limitless Hundred Power vigilante out. So then we get to see: can he do it again with just ONE minute this time? The face off would have made more sense and been edge-of-your-seat cooler all around. We also would have actually gotten to know L.L. Audun so much more, and he would have been the antithesis of Mr. Legend (who also had Hundred Power) for Kotetsu as well.

With Lunatic, I honestly wanted his identity to remain secret or at least revealed in a much more meaningful way, see what happened after Yuri killed his father, see his vigilante job become more complicated the closer he is to Wild Tiger, and not make himself well-done and crispy. But also, you're gonna tell me this guy WOULDN'T have a gang of supporters?? The same with L.L.A! There are A LOT of people who believe horrible criminals should just be put to death to stop tragedies from ever happening again!

Not to mention ALL the baiting of Barnaby promising to make Kotetsu fried rice, the two going out for drinks, and NEVER getting to see either! LIKE COME ON! If the second series was about Wild Tiger as much as it was about Barnaby in the first series, it would have been so cool to see them get closer as Barnaby learns more about his partner's past, and in the process, learn more about heroism that wasn't academy produced.

And the fact that Kotetsu being almost forty and having no powers being the reason he ends up retiring is just SO FRUSTRATING TO ME!! I also know he was passing the mantle to Barnaby, but jfc can Barnaby (and the blond characters in general) STOP being the writers' favourite character(s) for one goddamn minute? Like I KNEW from MILES AWAY that he was gonna somehow still be a great hero, continue to have the most 'cool' moments, continue to have more positive attention, and Kotetsu was going to end up having to leave AGAIN.

Dude doesn't NEED powers or be 20-something to be a hero (COUGH BATMAN, WILDCAT (he's OLDER THAN KOTETSU), CATWOMAN, ROBIN, NIGHTWING, REDHOOD, GREEN ARROW, BATGIRL COUGH). I mean, you know how POWERFUL it could have been if Kotetsu was the first powerless hero? Who, now that he was back on the saddle, is kicking ass REGARDLESS?

But NO, we get: no skeletons in his closet, no villains of his own who want revenge, not nearly as much backstory as Barnaby, no backstory on his friendship with Antonio, nothing on how he met/rescued his wife in high school, nothing on how he got to be on HeroTV, nothing about his first KOH crown, he ends up retiring AGAIN, his daughter will most likely not even make it on HeroTV since she's powerless for the most part because she can only copy people's powers ONCE, and we got baited with a possible serum to bring Kotetsu's powers back but got NOTHING!

this is what experts and peer reviewed studies call:

A LOAD OF BARNACLES!

SO, I am writing NO GOOD DEED: OLD FRIENDS AND FOES to provide literally everything I wanted out of the new season above that we didn't get (and dare I say SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN) because instead they gave us: random new hero kids no one asked for, Oprah Winfrey Yelling 'AND YOU GET A PARTNER AND YOU GET A PARTNER', Creepy The Shining Twins, and Booster Gold Knock-Off VS Space Dandy's Creepy Uncle.

If you're interested in Wild Tiger facing off against old villains, Barnaby making him fried rice, Lunatic gaining a following and blurring the line of being Kotetsu's opposition, future hero plans for Kaede, Kotetsu getting back on top, first series loose end ties/callbacks, and some BACKSTORY HOLY MOLY: then I hope you'll give my story a shot! Each chapter is about 10K-15K words and so far there are 15 out of 20 chapters!

Read Chapter 1 HERE!

(while there are OC's, they are DEF not the main focus, the story is Kotetsu-centric written in 3rd person, and there's some canon divergence that is coming more towards the end because MAYBE Kotetsu and Kaede don't need HeroTV to be a hero!)

Once the story is fully written, there will also be an audio version for it since I'm all for making art and media accessible (honestly, if I was fluent in any other language than English, I'd also have this in other languages)! This story will also have some later visual art too along with a Spotify playlist!

If you read this far, thank you! Would love to hear your thoughts!

[romanticizingmurder]

i know ur blog has more of a jason focus not a dick focus but since u posted NTT it unlocked a memory: at some point (i think batman year 3?) dick compares loving bruce to loving an alcoholic father, like directly compares bruce's dependency on crime/he can be a good dad sometimes but he just... gets wrong sometimes! it's a take that i personally am obsessed with but idk what ur thoughts on it are/were, maybe esp w/r/t say, jason's backstory? >:3c

I've seen that page!! I really like it. So I think this is one where I have to make the disclaimer that I think actual canon on Bruce as a parent is incredibly inconsistent. Especially wrt Jason, his post-crisis time unfortunately was just so short I don't think we had time to see how that dynamic might have played out. The Cult has some interesting stuff in it (and gorgeous art) with Jason having to be in charge at points while Bruce is unable to be but that's only a 4 issue series.

So! Headcanon central:

I tend towards the idea that Jason was the kid Bruce most acted like a parent towards as a child. I don't think the level of parentification that Dick had was nearly so present for Jason and I think that kind of reflects in how they think about Bruce! Dick has this fear of disappointing Bruce but also of his absence harming Bruce. He feels like he needs to be there to watch out for Bruce and be his support.

Otoh, Jason's major post-resurrection crisis is fueled by this belief that Bruce has failed him as a father by not avenging him. In some ways I think part of why Jason can hurt Bruce so badly is that Jason doesn't feel that obligation to protect Bruce or be in any way the bigger or more mature person - that's his Dad.

I think one of the tragedies of Jason and Bruce is that they can't go back. Some things change who you are so completely you can never turn the clock back. Jason is still Bruce's son, but they'll never be like that again. I actually desperately want canon to have them both acknowledge that - that they're both grieving the loss of each other, and the loss of the boy Jason was who will never return. And maybe they can't have that story back, but they can write a new one, figure out how to exist with each other in ways that don't hurt, how to fit their sharp edges together. Okay sorry that was a tangent I have a lot of thoughts on changing and mourning re: Them.

In terms of the alcoholic analogy I honestly think Jason could go either way with it? Something I was thinking about with this is I think out of the Gotham vigilantes, Jason, Cass, and Bruce are the least likely to put down the mask. I'm not going into Cass because I'm not qualified but! For Jason, his civilian life is...over. He's been removed from the non-cape world for years. I don't think he's ever going to build it back up in a meaningful way - even when I picture him retired, I can't really picture him with non-cape friends. That's just me, though. But Bruce... Bruce can't stop, because he can't. He has a life outside Batman, but the guilt and fear and shame and sense of duty won't let him leave the cowl behind. So I think on one hand Jason might agree with the alcoholic analogy because his situation is different to Bruce's, on the other hand he might kind of just view them all as dependants on this lifestyle. They're all going to die in their masks (some of them twice).

And just in general, my preferred Bruce is deeply flawed but trying Bruce. I think Bruce is at times a pretty terrible father, in canon. Not for lack of love, but because he's a man with severe mental health concerns who refuses to get help and spends his nights in an endless and largely futile quest fueled by survivor's guilt. That doesn't make the best formula for a stable father but, at least for my headcanons, I like to think that he tries so damn hard. He loves his children. The tragedy is never a lack of love.

Sorry I don't know if I really answered your question but I guess here's a long ramble on Bruce and Jason's family dynamics?

[emotionallyits2009]

deancas fic rec list!

hello everyone! happy christmas to those who celebrate it, my gift to you is my fic rec list that i said i would make like a month ago. the only thing it is organized by is canonverse vs alternate universe. tried to cover a variety of subjects but there are in particular many fics of the genre “postcanon where cas is human and he and dean live together and slowly finally get their shit together” because i know what i’m about, son. HOPE U ENJOY. and if you wanna talk about any of them or rec me other fics please do. :) 

Canonverse:

where the weeds take root by deathbanjo, 30k, explicit “Are you happy? Y’know. Just—being here,” Dean says, gesturing to the yard with his beer bottle. “Being with—I mean, you used to fight in celestial wars and—and save the world. Now you’re growing vegetables and talking about chickens.” There are many fics set in a post-canon universe where Cas is human and he and Dean live together and slowly fall into a relationship. Imo this one is the best of the best of that genre. This was one of the first fics I read back in July when I was getting Back Into Supernatural where I was like oh fuck I’m like in this. Dean builds Cas planters and bookshelves and a chicken coop and they fight and work through it.

Cuckoo And Nest by komodobits, 10k, explicit For a long time, Castiel thought that every earthly possession other than the immediately necessary was excess to requirement. But Dean – Dean who named his car, who keeps a photograph of his mother in his wallet, some thirty-plus years after her death, who still has the crumpled ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign with a sleeping pelican emblazoned on it from the Microtel outside of Roanoke where he first kissed Castiel, clumsy and unsure, under the unsteady fluorescence of an exhausted bathroom bulb – is sentimental. It puzzles Castiel, where Dean draws the line between what is meaningful and what it is worthless. Really Gets the dynamic of Cas doesn’t think Dean wants him to stay/Dean thinks Cas will leave the first chance he gets. Also a nice example of Cas thinking he’s not wanted if he’s not useful/powerful and being told otherwise. Another all-time fave!

lonely hearts by outphastthemoat, 4.5k, gen He thinks he might give up having his own anything just to be able to step foot inside the room next door and sit on the edge of Dean’s bed instead. This one is for the CAS GIRLS who know what LONELINESS feels like.

Helionneiros by aeli_kindara, 24.2k, mature In which Dean visits his mother, and Claire takes Cas on a hunt. I’m always on the lookout for more fic with Claire and Jack. Jack doesn’t show up until the end here but the relationship between Cas and Claire is really nice.

Crawl by aeriallon, 11k, explicit It’s been almost four years since Castiel left Kansas; he'd eventually settled in an island town where he has a job, a house, and a life without the Winchesters. Every winter, Dean drives down to the coast to see him. Another fic where Cas is human but in this one he took some time for himself and got some distance from the Winchesters! He gets to be competent and weird as a human and we love that for him. I must warn you all that this fic contains one use of the phrase “making love” which would normally put me right off but it’s still worth reading. The first of a three-part series.

home where you hold me by microcomets, 1.6k, gen Cas and Dean, in the moments between their battles, ache for quiet spaces. Technically this is a coda to 10x20 but you don’t need the episode for context. Short and very sweet.

Build a Home by domesticadventures, 20.1k, teen After they save the world, Dean expects Cas to come back to the bunker with them. He doesn’t. This one is so cute it’s like what if once they were done saving the world Sam and Dean actually invited other hunters to move into the bunker with them. Obviously Dean wants that to include Cas but doesn’t know how to use his words.

the taste of gravel in the mouth by deathbanjo, 22.4k, explicit This is what Cas gave up Heaven for: greasy diner food, shitty motel rooms with even shittier cable, long car rides spent in complete silence except for the same six tapes playing over and over again, and a burnt-out husk of a man who can barely hold a conversation anymore. Angst fic! They go on a road trip and Dean is severely fucked up post-Mark of Cain.

Unknown Quantities by xylodemon, 8.6k, explicit No one ever tells Dean anything. Another nice getting-together fic.

Creature of Habit by trinityofone, 5.2k, teen The more you love someone, the more you want to kill them. Or: How Cas developed some bad habits, and Dean coped surprisingly well. This one is ancient by destiel standards (written during season 5) but it manages to nail the married couple vibes they give off in later seasons. Cas is a bitch and Dean likes him so much. <3

The (Mostly Accidental) Courtship of Dean Winchester by Tuesday, 11.2k, mature Angelic marriage rites were never intended to go quite like this. Another old one that is a lot of fun! They get Accidental Angel Married and if you don’t enjoy dumb fanfiction tropes like that I don’t know what to say to you.

Vena Amoris and Other Old-Fashioned Bullshit by pyrebi, 4k, teen In which angelic marriage bonds are apparently stupidly easy to trigger, Cas wages multidimensional war in Heaven, Dean can't catch a break like ever, Sam rather enjoys being a dick, love saves the day, and nobody consummates anything. The OTHER accidental angel marriage fic written in 2010. 

Crazy Diamonds by pantheon_of_discord, 24.8k, explicit A week ago, Dean was pulled out of Hell. Now, he’s apparently woken up in 2018, and the angel that a mere twenty-four hours beforehand had threatened to chuck him back into the pit is sleepily pouring himself coffee and wearing Dean’s second-favourite Zeppelin shirt. It all seems like a perfect happy ending, but with Hell’s scars still so fresh, Dean can’t imagine how he could have possibly gotten there. At the same time, the Dean who went to sleep in the bunker, right next to Cas, wakes up on Bobby’s couch in 2008. He’s instantly bombarded with questions by a Lilith-obsessed brother and a man who’s been dead for years, and must decide between keeping his finally-perfect life intact, and the lives he could save by re-writing history. Regardless of these choices, both Deans are trapped in the wrong decade, and their only way back lies with a Castiel still very much under Heaven’s thumb – one who might find the future Dean describes difficult to believe. Time travel is FUN. There’s an excellent part where (minor spoilers) future!Dean is like, “Guess what, asshole? You like me so much you marry me!!!!!!!!!!!” to 2008!Castiel that made me laugh out loud the first time I read it. Also just a good reminder of how most problems in life are temporary and if you could go back in time to talk to your younger self you’d be like, “Hey man. Chill out. You get through it.”

The Path of Fireflies by museaway, 63.7k, mature After his humanity is restored, Dean wakes up in bed with Castiel, a wedding ring, and no memory of the past twelve years. There’s a lot of amnesia fic and djinn fic out there were Dean wakes up ~suddenly together with Cas~ but I like this one in particular because he’s initially very confused and kind of a dick about it until he acknowledges that being with Cas makes him happy.

take the long way home by dothraki_shieldmaiden, 95k, explicit Three months ago, when Dean decided to retire, he thought his life was going to end up differently. He'd thought that he might get to have it all, Sam, Cas, Jack, and nice little place to live. Instead he gets Sam and Jack off on their Summer of Love Tour, radio silence from Cas, and a never-ending road trip consisting of himself. Still reeling from the loss of his grace, Castiel travels the country in search of hunts. Driven by a need to prove his usefulness, he pushes himself beyond all limits of endurance. Together, with the help of a few friends, a crumbling Victorian house, and a stray cat, Dean and Castiel patch themselves back together and create a home together. Do you wanna read almost one hundred thousand words of Dean and Cas having extremely intense feelings but refusing to voice them aloud? Haha of course you do that’s why you’re here. There’s also a lot about Cas adjusting to being human and being depressed about it which might resonate if you’ve ever felt weird about having a body. To be honest the author could stand to use a few more commas but there were also half a dozen moments that made me put my phone down and drag my hand slowly over my face and whisper “oh my god” to myself which is like, the ultimate measure of a good fanfiction so it gets to be on the list.

like moses and batman and james dean by saltyfeathers, 31.6k, explicit dean used to turn tricks. over a decade later, he met cas. Have you seen the fanon (apparently pioneered by Mr. Jackles “Original Deankin” Ackles himself) that Dean used to prostitute himself to feed himself and Sam when they were younger? Are you interested in exploring that concept in fanfiction? Well, this is the only fic you need. Mind the tags on this one! It’s not what I’d call happy but it’s good.

Some Assembly Required by narrow_staircases, 47k, mature It’s September of 2005, and Dean Winchester, in an attempt to outrun old mistakes and painful memories, finds himself in southern Kentucky on a wild goose chase. He’s completely certain this weird religious movement he’s “investigating” is a hoax, despite the miraculous healings people report, and he’ll be back on the road in a day or two. Things are looking up when he meets Cas, an awkward (and gorgeous) graduate student who’s actually doing honest-to-god research into the local tent revival meetings. When that research takes a weird and personal turn, Dean’s left to face two very serious realities: one, this may be a real case after all, and two, he’s fallen way harder for Cas than he should ever have let himself. Stanford-era AU of Dean trying to avoid his father and getting in over his head on a case.

Alternate universe:

And This, Your Living Kiss by opal_bullets, 57k, mature Only a very few people in the world know that the celebrated and reclusive poet Jack Allen is just Kansas mechanic Dean Winchester, a high school dropout with a few bucks to his name. Not that it matters anymore; life has left him so wrung out he never wants to pick up another pen. Until, that is, a string of coincidences leads Dean to auditing a poetry course with one Dr. Castiel Novak. The  professor is wildly intelligent, devastatingly handsome...and just so happens to be academia's foremost expert on the poetry of Jack Allen. Mundane AUs in this fandom have to be really, really good to catch my attention and this one is! It’s exactly what it says in the summary and the characterization is spot-on. 

Out to Drift by deathbanjo, 20.9k, mature Dean drives a black car with a loud engine. He lies too easily. He keeps a gun in the back of his jeans, and Castiel isn’t sure, but he wouldn’t be surprised if Dean has killed someone before. Two people in fucked-up unstable situations meeting and forming a connection. Honestly guys I really just love deathbanjo.

[logicalbookthief]

Now that Outsiders is over, a moment of silence for the Team characters arcs we could’ve had:

Stephanie Brown was abducted by the Reach and rescued by the Team last season. Does she feel survivor’s guilt over kids who weren’t? Her father is the Gotham villain, Cluemaster. Could he be involved in trafficking, and maybe that’s why she became a vigilante in this universe? Did she struggle to be acknowledged by Batman, like in the comics, or was she recruited to join the Team by someone else?

Speaking of villain parents, which YJ loves, why not touch on the fact that Lady Shiva – the Light’s new handler – is Cass Cain’s biological mother? Cass was raised to be a weapon used like the Light’s using her mom, yet she defied her upbringing and chose to be a hero instead. Hello, Megan! Parallels to Artemis and Kaldur. And you know what would’ve been the most symbolic, most amazing gesture to cement this journey??? Babs handing down the Batgirl mantle.

Speaking of hero legacies, how is it that in a show brimming with ‘em, nobody acknowledged on-screen that Cissie King-Jones became a hero after being inspired by Artemis way back when? Her arc in the comics could easily be adapted for this season’s drama: she once came VERY close to killing the person responsible for her friend’s death, which affects her so deeply she retires Arrowette. So what if in the show, this friend was a metahuman, killed/maimed by traffickers, and Cissie decides that jailing them isn’t enough, if it’ll just keep happening to other kids? This would force her, her teammates and her mentors to confront a moral quandary that would divide quite a few.

If they expanded on the Virgil & Jefferson relationship even just a little more (instead of the weird Jefferson/Jace affair) we could’ve had a neat arc for Virgil, too. His mentor, the main reason he joined the Team, abandons him because he can’t cope with guilt over failing the girl he killed; yet in doing so, he basically fails the mentee he was responsible for. Of course Virgil would be eager to join the Outsiders – a team of metakids, operating by their own means and specifically not tied to any mentors – if he’s feeling hurt, and more than a bit cheated. It would make a reconciliation with Jefferson more meaningful if these feelings were explored, or lead to Virgil having a moment of growth/realization of his own, maybe about being his own hero with his own legacy on the world?

Cassie was the greenhorn last season, and now, she’d be the most experienced member of the Team. Show us her being M’gann’s go-to, her right hand! Show her being a mentor, especially to younger/newer/less confidant members, like Steph and Traci! Show us a friendship with Cissie, which was a major point in the comics! And while I don’t particularly ship them, if the Anti-Light arc is going to ruin an apparently otherwise healthy 2-yr relationship, SHOW us Cassie reacting to this! Show her being angry, show her venting to her mom, show her loving the openness of the Outsiders because she’s sick of secrets and lies!!

Traci should’ve at least had a few scenes of being mentored by Zatanna, since it’s outright stated she’s not in full control of her powers. And in the comics, I’m pretty sure Traci’s father objects to her magic for fear she’ll be killed, which is totally a parallel to Zatanna, and also fits right into the themes of parental concern! ALSO, while she and Jaime are fine as a couple (but again, it could use a lot more development) why not hint at her canon sexuality? Heck, show her EXPLICITLY questioning her sexuality! What does it hurt to have her freaking out over meeting Queen Perdita just as much as Gar because ohmygod, she’s so regal and gorgeous! Have her watch a clip of Infinity Inc on the news and be like, “wow, she’s amazing” when one of the girls (coughNatashaIronscough) is on-screen, etc. Just, acknowledge her attraction to women!

Speaking of Jaime, couldn’t we have gotten a glimpse – throwaway lines, a scene or two – of his life, after everything that happened to with the Reach? Let him be excited about college, given that 2 years ago, he was afraid of becoming a pawn in the apocalypse and couldn’t even focus on school! Let us see how scared he is when they find that Reach ship, his panic, his oh please no, not again. Let him audibly enjoy being an Outsider, since the last time he had public exposure, he was on mode and now he has total agency in choosing what side he’s on.

I don’t mean to Bart Allen fan on main, but imo, he remains one of the most underutilized characters. This is a kid born into the worst case scenario outcome for metahumans. Is he noticing any horrifying similarities to the enslavement/exploitation of metas in his time? Let us see his worry, his desperation, his determination not to lose his family again, especially after Joan dies. Give us a flashback, a conversation, something along the lines of “you think this is bad? It can be so much worse, if we don’t do something about it now” that makes the heroes realize how much is riding on this. (And with how much flak the Anti-Light got for its deception and ends justify the means tactics...we’re really not going to acknowledge that was Bart’s story last season? That was his entire mission??)

I’m glad we got to see Eduardo as much as we did this season, but him and the Meta Human Youth Center were still criminally underused! The Youth Center was one of this season’s best ideas, and it really should’ve been the heart of it, given how much metahuman trafficking – and by extension, the degree to which kids with these abilities are manipulated or used by both sides, heroes and villains – was the focus of this season. Ed provides such a nice contrast to other members of the Team/Outsiders, too. This is a kid with no mentor, no legacy. He was just a victim of trafficking and manipulation himself who decided, “no, you know what? I’m going to fight this, any way I can.” I think that’s really where he gives inspiration and hope to other trafficked kids, this idea that you don’t need to have a hero affiliation to do right, or stand up and fight.

Speaking of former Runaways, Roy was?? Featured in like one episode, really? I mean, I’m glad he’s doing well from what we’ve seen! But it would’ve been cool to learn what he’s doing, if he’s not on the Team or part of the Outsiders (which. The Outsiders seems exactly like it would’ve been his type of gig, but whatever). Is he retired? Does he work exclusively with Ollie while they repair their relationship? Does he live with him and Dinah and his adopted siblings, Connor Hawke and Sin Lance? Or, how about, instead of the grossly forced UST between Artemis and Will, I present to you: Roy and Jim move in to help Will raise Lian, and we get sitcom-esque shenanigans of her, her dad, and her two uncles. I’ll call it-Three Harpers and a Baby.

[heartofaquamarine]

Man of Steel: A good ending to Superman

The first time I saw Man of Steel, I was suffering from a migrane, so I wasn’t particularly in a good state of mind to be sitting in a cinema. Still, after the legimately enjoyable prologue on Krypton, I decided that I couldn’t go to a Superman movie and not stick around for at least the first flying scene. You can’t go see a Superman movie and ditch it before you actually see Superman. I left the movie theatre happy, if in pain, looking forward to catching up some other time. This is not going to be a post entirely based around ripping apart Man of Steel, since I still don’t really dislike the movie. My problem is not so much with the movie itself but rather it’s positioning, both in the DCEU and in the Superman mythos in general.

Man of Steel is a confused movie. It is trying to be the first movie in the DCEU, trying to to set up it’s own version of the Superman mythos, and it is also trying to use the existing mythos to give itself pathos. Themactically it is trying to set up the battle in Batman vs Superman by introducing the idea of humanity fearing Superman while its own plot is based around his relationship with Krypton.  Those two themes aren’t inherently unrelated, but they are kept completely seperate by the plot itself; after the first half is entirely thematically about Clark’s relationship to humanity, but this isn’t given nearly enough focus in the second half. The closest we get is Superman making a token gesture towards the military, but even the soliders stop being meaningful once Zod arrives properly. It’s really only there to set up the themes for the following films, which is unfair to Man of Steel as a movie in its own right. But the weirdness in positioning doesn’t just extend to it having a different movie’s main themes pushed into it, but also in its relationship to the character of Superman. It goes out of its way to present a different version of both Superman and Pa Kent. The problem is that it is trying to set up its own version of Superman, but is heavily leaning on Superman in general to make that meaningful. This is most obvious in the finale, when Superman (SPOILERS) kills General Zod. The problem is that this scene is trying to use the fact that everyone knows Superman doesn’t kill...despite spending the rest of the film on making it clear that this is not your standard version of Superman. By the time I got to the scene, I wasn’t particularly impacted by him killing Zod because, well, it was an action movie where the hero kills the villain. That’s not exactly unusual or particularly emotionally damning, particularly not when after Superman has had his scream of rage he starts making out with Lois Lane in the middle of a crater.

Heck, even aesthetically I don’t think Man of Steel looks like a movie to start a franchise. The colours are all very washed out and the music is far less trimphant than even the forgettable Avenger’s main theme. By the end of my full watch of the movie, I wasn’t ready to go see the next chapter of the story, I wanted to tuck Superman into bed since he felt so tired.  Man of Steel is a bad opening for a movie series, but I think it actually works in a slightly different context; as a final hurrah of a Superman movie series that was never made. You wouldn’t need to change that much of the script; yes there are some holes but nothing insurmountable. Have the movie be Superman looking back much more honestly on his childhood and history. Have Zod be the first opponent that Superman has to kill after a franchise setting that up. Have this be Superman remembering a different side to Pa Kent, more of a father worried about his son. Even the asthetics fit the mood of a movie that is getting ready to retire. It’s the right film in a completely wrong position in the story.

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DGB Grab Bag: Look Out, Mitch Marner, Easter Bunny Larocque, and Everyone Re-Lax

Three Stars of Comedy

The third star: Artemi Panarin. I don’t fully understand what’s going on here, but I’m pretty sure he’s making fun of the Edmonton Oilers so I’m in.

The second star: Brody Marleau. That would be Patrick Marleau’s nine-year-old son. He got to spend his birthday with the Maple Leafs, which was adorable. He’s also apparently working on stealing Mitch Marner’s girlfriend, which is somehow more adorable.

The first star: Guy Boucher’s face. Fun fact: He’s not even reacting to anything in particular here, he’s just been making this face constantly since mid-November.

Outrage of the Week

The issue: Washington’s Evgeny Kuznetsov tried to score with the behind-the-net lacrosse move this week.

A few nights later, Filip Forsberg tried it, too.

The outrage: That move is disrespectful and anyone who tries it should eat an elbow for their troubles.

Is it justified: OK, I’m overselling the outrage here a bit—it’s not like anybody went nuclear on Kuznetsov or Forsberg. But that’s mainly because their moves didn’t work. If either guy had scored, you can bet that plenty of old-school hockey types would have pulled out their soapboxes and pontificated about hot-shot glory boys disrespecting the game and showing up the other side.

And here’s the thing: It’s going to happen. It’s kind of amazing that it hasn’t happened already.

The move has been around for a while; most of us saw it for the first time when Mike Legg scored with it in college back in 1996. But as best we can remember, nobody’s ever scored with it in a meaningful NHL game. Kuznetsov may even have been the first player to try it all. That’s kind of weird, because it’s not like today’s players can’t do it. Many of them weren’t even born yet when Legg pulled it off, and they’ve grown up trying it; Sidney Crosby did it all the way back in junior. Every NHL team has a few guys who can pull the move off reasonably well in practice. Heck, your beer-league team probably has a few guys who claim they can.

But nobody ever does, at least not in the NHL, because it’s one of those things you’re just not supposed to do. When Crosby did it in 2003, he was ripped by Don Cherry and others for showboating, and he hasn’t broken it out since. Plenty of fans still feel like there’s something wrong with the move.

If you’re one of those fans, I’ve got bad news for you: We’re probably a few years away from players doing this all the time. It’s going to be like the between-the-legs shot that nobody ever tried until the 90s. At first, you couldn’t believe what you’d just seen. Within a few years, Marek Malik was doing it in the shootout, and now it’s just a standard play that everyone tries.

The same thing is going to happen with the lacrosse move. (My personal prediction: One of the many guys who can already do it is going to wait for playoff overtime to break it out for real.) When it does, the old school will complain the first few times, but then we’ll get used to it, and the next generation of fans will wonder why there was ever a time when players weren’t supposed to score with moves they knew would work.

If that bothers you, get your complaining in now. In five years, we’ll look back and wonder what the problem was.

Obscure Former Player of the Week

Happy Easter weekend. Today’s obscure player is Bunny Larocque.

Larocque, who’s given name was Michel, was a junior star with the Ottawa 67s in the late 60s and early 70s. He was drafted with the sixth overall pick by the Canadiens in 1972—yes, yet another case of the team using a high pick on a goalie they didn’t really need. Unlike poor Ray Martynuik, Larocque at least got to play in Montreal, where he served as Ken Dryden’s backup during the late-70s Habs dynasty and took over as the part-time starter after Dryden retired. He even won the Vezina four times. Granted, that was back when it was awarded automatically to the goalies on the team with the fewest goals against, like the Jennings is today, but saying “four-time Vezina winner” sounds impressive so we’ll go with that.

His run in Montreal came to an end in 1981, when he was traded to Toronto. The Leafs were terrible, but it gave Larocque a chance to finally be the full-time starter, playing a career-high 50 games in 1981-82. He was traded to the Flyers in 1983 and later had a short stint with the Blues. In all, his NHL career lasted 11 seasons and 312 starts. He began a front-office career in junior hockey, but died in 1992 at the age of 40 after a battle with brain cancer.

Although all those Stanley Cups and Vezinas in Montreal were nice, it goes without saying that his true career highlight came as a Maple Leaf. On January 16, 1982, he got to face down Wayne Gretzky on a penalty shot.

Larocque stood on his head that whole night, and the Leafs won 7-1. Meanwhile, the great 1976-79 Habs “dynasty” never beat the Oilers, not even once. You tell me which team was better.

Be It Resolved

Be it resolved that it’s OK to just say the Golden Knights are the best expansion team ever, in any sport.

Really. It’s fine. Honestly, it’s probably not even up for debate. It’s also a great story, one the NHL should be singing it from the rooftops.

And to their credit, the league is trying. But it has run into a problem: The whole concept of an “expansion” team turns out to be a lot murkier than you might think, and that makes comparing the Knights to what’s come before tricky. Sure, teams like the 1998-99 Predators and the 1974-75 Capitals were expansion teams. But what about the 1979 WHA merger? Or the new teams that showed up in the 1920s and 30s? Do the 1991 Sharks even count, since they got to start with half the North Stars roster?

And so the league has had to go through contortions in order to recognize the Golden Knights without leaving anybody out. For a while they kept using the phrase “inaugural season.” More recently, it’s just “first NHL season.”

That clears up the semantics, but it doesn’t really do the Knights justice. It also leads to weird stuff like that tweet having to include teams from the league’s very first season, which hardly makes sense.

And if you try to expand the argument to other pro sports, it goes even more off the rails:

You can see what they’re trying to do, but I’m pretty sure I wrote essays in college that were shorter than that tweet. And let’s be honest, the NBA can say whatever it wants, but the 2002-03 Hornets aren’t an expansion team. Nor are teams that join from other leagues, or that show up in 1923 because some railroad tycoon got together six friends and $100 in cash and was granted an NHL team to play out of his backyard.

The Golden Knights are an expansion team. And they’re the best one ever, in any major sport. It’s fine to just say that.

Classic YouTube Clip Breakdown

Sunday is April Fool’s day. The hockey world isn’t much for pranks these days, beyond the beaten-into-the-ground “make the rookie call-up skate a lap by himself” joke and the occasional trying-a-bit-too-hard social-media bit. There was a time when hockey folks were allowed to have a sense of humor, though. We saw it last year when we unearthed an old Buffalo Sabres clip. This year, let’s hear from Dave Taylor and the Los Angeles Kings.

We start off with MSG throwing it to a clip from LA. Our host is longtime Kings play-by-play man Nick Nickson, and he’s sitting with veteran winger Taylor. They’re reminiscing about the very first interview they ever did together, way back in 1977, and Nickson has the clip. This should be fun!

Hey, wait a minute…

Yes, our trip back to 1977 has been accomplished via some special effects, a terrible fake mustache, and a fantastic mullet wig. It’s actually a pretty decent setup, and I’d be willing to bet that at least a few viewers took a minute to catch on to what was happening.

In his first answer, Taylor suggests that the Kings should someday switch over the black-and-silver uniforms like the Raiders. Get it? He’s predicting what happens in the future. I hope you enjoyed that joke, because it’s basically the only one they have for the next four minutes.

They also trip over which city the Raiders are supposed to be playing in, but they just keep rolling. The bit is good, but not “worth trying more than one take” good.

Taylor’s next answer “predicts” that he should play on a line with Marcel Dionne and Charlie Simmer. That would of course be the Triple Crown Line, which turned out to be one of the best of the 1980s. It was also one of the last great lines to get a decent nickname, instead of today’s lazy treatment of taking the first letter of each guy’s name and being done with it. We’re lucky this line didn’t come along today—I’m not sure I could have handled cheering on the STD Line.

Taylor’s next prediction is that the Islanders will be good, at which point Nickson jumps in to wonder if they’ll make an important trade someday. That’s a reference to the infamous Butch Goring deadline deal with the Kings, but to Nickson and Taylor’s credit they don’t come right out and hit you over the head with the punchline. Mainly because they’re saving that for the next question.

Yes, we arrive at the inevitable Wayne Gretzky bit. You knew it was coming. Taylor manages to predict all of Gretzky’s scoring records, at which point Nickson wonders what would happen if Gretzky ever wound up in a big market like Los Angeles. Taylor responds, “We probably still wouldn’t win anything and then end up trading him for Roman Vopat,” but I think that part accidentally got cut.

We mercifully make it to the last question. Nickson wants to know what players do in their spare time. Taylor answers that he likes reading comic books, and as luck would have it happens to be holding one in his hand right then. It’s a Batman comic, and Taylor predicts that someday it could make for a good movie, which is funny because… You know what, I think you get the idea.

I think we can agree that this whole bit isn’t exactly the most subtle premise, but there is a neat moment at the very beginning that’s easy to miss. Go back to Taylor’s first answer at the one-minute mark, and note how he stutters through the first few words. As a real rookie back in 1977, Taylor had a speech impediment, and often avoided doing interviews. He worked on it over the years to the point where it was rarely noticeable, but he sure seems to slip in an intentional reference to it here. I thought that was cool.

We close with Nickson pointing out the few things “rookie” Taylor failed to predict, and Taylor responding that he wasn’t asked about those. They then pull off the “fake laugh and look at the camera” moment that ended each episode of every 1980s sitcom, and we’re done.

In case you’re wondering, this YouTube clip doesn’t mention the date that it originally aired, but I think we can piece it together. We know it was during Taylor’s career but after the Gretzky trade, that it was a game against the Rangers in New York, and that the two teams were tied 1-1 after one period. That leaves two possibilities, one from 1993 and the other from 1990. I think we can safely go with the latter, since the Batman movie came out in 1989. So that means this aired on March 12, 1990, which isn’t quite April Fools territory but is close enough. Don’t say you never get any investigative journalism out of this column.

By the way, Taylor ended up scoring a goal in a Kings’ win that night. Who could have predicted that?

Have a question, suggestion, old YouTube clip, or anything else you’d like to see included in this column? Email Sean at nhlgrabbag@gmail.com.

DGB Grab Bag: Look Out, Mitch Marner, Easter Bunny Larocque, and Everyone Re-Lax syndicated from https://australiahoverboards.wordpress.com

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10 Things I Didn’t Expect in Early Retirement

[Happy Friday! Please welcome today, a good blogging bud of mine, ESI from ESIMoney.com. He recently retired at 52 and gained a whole new appreciation for what life has to offer. And spoiler alert: it doesn’t involve money or a high-powered career! Both of which he retired from once he realized enough was enough (his “enough,” btw? $3 million :)) Take it away, ESI!]

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When I retired last fall at 52, I thought I knew exactly what retirement would be like. Many of the expectations I had did come true, but there were several surprises as well.

Today I’ll share my revelations in hopes those of you considering early retirement might be better prepared for it.

#1. Mondays Became the Best Day of the Week

Monday was my archenemy for decades.

I worked as a marketing executive for 28 years, many of them in high-pressure jobs. The sinking feeling would start about 4 pm on Sunday — dreading the work week to come.

Then Monday would hit and it’d be the low point of my week. Each day got better than the previous one until we hit Friday. It was all great from there. Until Sunday at 4 pm again.

Now, Monday is my favorite day of the week. It signals the beginning of five days of peace and quiet. The gym is less busy, the stores are less busy, restaurants are less busy, everything is less busy — because people are at work. It’s quiet, and I like it.

#2. My Colleagues Can’t Accept I’m Retired

There’s a whole host of reactions you get when you retire early. Most of them are quite comical because people are literally stunned. This is especially the case when you’re a C-level executive (or higher), and you retire during your most lucrative decade of earning power.

I expected people to be a bit shocked, but I didn’t foresee them constantly pushing new jobs at me like I needed to work or my life was over. Colleagues after colleagues send me new job openings all the time now. I have more recruiters than ever even connecting on LinkedIn and forwarding me job listings (some are pretty good actually!).

Even people I just meet aren’t satisfied with my retirement.

I had coffee the other day with a friend of a friend because the original friend said we should meet. The new guy spent the whole time brainstorming how he could help me find a job. Ugh. I feel like an unmarried, 30-year-old woman whose Jewish mother keeps pushing bachelors her way so she’ll get married even though she doesn’t want to be married.

#3. I’m Busier than Ever

When you work 50+ hours a week for most of a career and have a family along with personal interests, you’re very busy. Life is hectic. That’s just the way it is.

I expected things would calm down dramatically when I retired, but I now seem to have more to do than ever.

The difference is that I went from doing things I HAD to do, though, to doing things I WANT to do. Which makes all the difference in the world.

Still, I’m swamped.

I’ve been ramping up my blog writing (which is quite fun and gives me a creative and intellectual outlet). I started working out at a faster pace. I developed a plan to climb Pikes Peak this summer. I got involved in more aspects of planning my daughter’s college career. I started helping my son find his life calling. I dramatically upped my video game playing time (from virtually nothing to an hour or so a day at the present time (Horizon Zero Dawn FTW!!!)). I joined a non-profit board that helps the homeless. And I’m planning several trips with various members of my family.

On and on it goes. Most of the things on my to-do list simply move to the next day’s undone.

I was one of those people who used to think “What will I do all day in retirement?” I then moved to “I’ll find things to do”, so I made the leap. Now, I’m wondering, “How will I get it all done?”

But I am doing what I want, which makes this a “fun busy”. So I don’t mind.

#4. I’m In The Best Physical Shape of My Life

I started working with a trainer about 18 months ago. Up until retirement, I had made tremendous progress. I added 20 pounds of muscle and dramatically improved my cardio conditioning (which has always been good.) As a result, I almost completely eliminated back issues that I had for over 20 years.

I thought I’d continue on the same pace during retirement, but the freedom of time and lack of stress has really taken my workouts up a notch.

In addition, since I’m at home more, I can control better what I eat — which has always been my weak spot as it’s so hard to eat well at the office (at least for me). They say being in good shape is 80% nutrition and 20% exercise. I so wish the percentages were reversed!

When I was younger, I could work out and eat pretty much whatever I wanted. No longer. As I gained that extra muscle, I didn’t lose much fat, so my weight went up (even while my waist size shrunk).

After retirement, I decided to get serious about eating well. I went high protein and low carb. Since the start of the year I have lost 16 pounds of mostly fat. In addition, I was given my third cardio test and my VO2 max was in the “excellent” range for my age. It was so good that it’s even in the “good” range for a 20-year-old.

Who would have thought my best physical years would be after 50?

#5. I’ve Gotten Very Comfortable Wearing Casual Clothes

I’m not going to say I have always been an uptight dresser. Let’s just say I was always dressed for the occasion. I like to look nice and professional whether at work, church, or even out shopping. I’m not wearing $1,000 suits by any means, but I like to be dressed “nicely” wherever I go.

Cue the workout pants. You know, the baggy, comfortable ones similar to what basketball players wear during warm-ups? They refresh my soul.

It took me about three days to go from button-down Bob to casual Clyde.

Do you know how comfortable workout pants are? Answer: VERY comfortable. These are for colder temperatures. Do you know how comfortable shorts are? Answer: VERY comfortable. These are for warmer temperatures.

Both are accompanied by a t-shirt and/or a Columbia thin pullover depending on the temperature.

These are now my clothing wear of choice. I haven’t donned even a pair of Dockers more than twice in eight months (I did wear a pair to a funeral, however). I’ve gotten to the point where even putting on jeans feels like I’m “dressing up”. And they just aren’t as comfortable as I like.

We even joke at my non-profit board meetings that I dress up for them by wearing my “nice” workout pants or shorts.

But what do I care? I don’t have anyone to impress.

Consider Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, and the like. No dressing up there. They don’t (didn’t in Jobs’ case) care what they are wearing, they just want to be comfortable. And while I don’t have billions like they do, I am financially independent and can wear whatever I want.

Much different than my pre-retirement days…

#6. My Family Relationships Are Much Better

I assumed that retirement would give me more time with family, but I didn’t know how meaningful and far-reaching this time would be.

Here’s a sampling of the impact so far:

My wife and I take two 45-minute walks a day now (we live in Colorado, so even much of winter is walkable). It gives us lots of time to connect and talk. Great for our relationship.

I developed a reading plan for my son to help him discover what career he wants. We discuss each book and his notes on it. He’s also my Tuesday movie buddy (half-priced tickets!) since we like the same kind of shows.

My daughter and I go out regularly to eat (we both like Mexican), shop (she’s hooked on Bath and Body Works), or have coffee. We talk a lot about what she wants to do with her life, what to expect in college, etc. She’s totally prepared. We’ll be taking her senior trip to Seattle and Portland this summer and I’ll be dropping her off at college in the fall.

I have been able to see my parents a few times since retirement — way more than the twice-annual visits we had before. In addition, my dad will be coming to see us in June.

I was able to re-connect with my cousin on one trip to see my parents. I had the time (of course) that I never had before, so I asked if he was available. He was and we had a great breakfast. It was awesome!

I was able to attend my Aunt’s funeral, and even be at the hospital right before she passed. Having a job would have not afforded me the time (or at least as much time) for either of these.

In addition to helping connect with family, being retired has allowed me to connect with friends. I attended my college reunion last fall and got to see my three best friends from that time. I would have NEVER spent a week doing that had I been working. And I hadn’t planned on it even once I retired, but the new, more relaxed, me thought “what the heck!” and I went. So glad I did. I’ll be headed back to college homecoming this year too!

This is probably the most rewarding part of early retirement for me and completely unexpected. It’s been a great surprise.

#7. I’m Learning and Growing More than Ever

Retirement is the time to kick back, down-shift, and relax, right? The time to coast on all the work we’ve done up to this point, similar to the Falcons in the second half of the Super Bowl? (Oh wait, that didn’t work out so well)

Well, let’s just say that coasting is not for me. I’m pushing forward more than I ever have and am loving it! I am learning and growing in ways I completely didn’t expect.

Some examples:

I’m reading more than ever. The library and I are on a first-name basis. I’m there several times a week. I’m reading on personal growth, fitness, blogging, and a whole host of non-fiction topics. I also have time to read fiction and am catching up on John Grisham’s stuff, as well as a Batman graphic novel here and there.

I’m learning from YouTube. You can find videos on how to do anything these days. Now that I have time, I’m learning how to cook (especially grill), how to do simple repairs around the house (I’m not “handy” yet, but I’m getting there), how to travel hack (still a neophyte but learning), and on and on.

I’m heading up Pikes Peak. I told you I’m planning on walking up Pikes Peak this summer. So I’m learning about the physical challenges (and training accordingly), the equipment, weather, etc. It’s a blast to learn new things as well as have some big, physical challenge to look forward to.

I’m planning loads of travel. My wife used to handle most of the travel planning, but I’m now becoming the expert. This year we have trips planned to Seattle, Portland, back to Iowa (where I’m from), Dallas, and, the crowning touch, a month in St. Thomas early next year. There are various decisions to make, and of course I want to make the trips as great as possible, so I’m doing lots of reading about each place and searching for great deals.

I’m consuming podcasts. As I train for Pikes Peak, I’m walking a lot. Some of that is alone, and when I walk alone I listen to podcasts. I’m learning about a whole host of topics, plus getting lots of input on financial issues that keep me sharp. I really look forward to this time each day.

I’m playing chess. I now have time to do daily chess puzzles, play chess, read chess books, and even watch chess videos. I know some of you are close to falling asleep simply reading that last sentence, but chess thrills me. The strategy and complexity gets my juices flowing.

I’m interested in a lot of things, and now I have the time to learn about them too. I thought I would have some time for this, but the amount and diversity of learning has really surprised me.

#8. I Can’t Go Back To Work Anymore

When I retired I thought I’d only take a year or two off, but would then likely go back to work at some point — even if just part-time. After all, I was a high-power executive and work was what I did!

Now I can’t imagine ever going back.

If I did, I’d hate Mondays again. I’d have to dress in something other than comfortable clothes. I’d miss the time with family and friends. I’d have to cut back on fitness and learning. I’d have to live by a schedule. That all sounds like a colossal pain in the rear now.

I’ve since eased into my new normal, and I love it.

#9. The Stress is Gone

We all hear about stress and how it impacts our health, and so forth. But having lived with it for so long, it was normal to me. I didn’t realize just how much it was impacting me.

Sure, every once in a while I would realize my temples were tight and my jaw was clinched while laying in bed. I’d try to relax my facial muscles and could for a bit, but even trying to fall asleep, the tension would come back. It was the stress of work.

Once I retired, I could literally feel the stress melt away. It was that tangible. I was destressing after 28 years of constant pressure.

It took several months to go completely away (it was that bad!), but I eventually got to a low point of stress I never thought I would reach. I started sleeping better. My head wasn’t tight all the time. Life was more relaxing overall.

I was surprised at just how noticeable it was. Something that simply was there for most of my life, is now almost nonexistent.

#10. I’ve Turned Into a Morning Person

There are morning people, and there are night people. I have been a night person my whole life. My ideal world was to stay up until 3 am and get up around noon. Not bad, right?

But I had to go against that grain during my career. Most companies expect you to roll in well before noon, so I was up early every day and I hated it.

I didn’t think I’d sleep to noon every day once I retired, but I did think I’d sack in until at least 9 or 10am.

Nope. I’m now up and at ’em by 6 am most days. Sometimes I’ll got to 7 am if I had a really hard workout the previous day or stayed up late the night before. But that’s rare. I can’t remember the last time I slept until 8 am. And I’m certainly up more days before 6 am than after 7 am.

The big difference now, though, is that life is so much more exciting.

I’m getting up to do things that I want to do. It’s a blast — almost like the night before Christmas. I’m excited about the next day and simply can’t sleep longer.

Plus, the working out and lack of stress helps my sleep to be more restful, so I feel better with less sleep now than I did with more sleep while working. (But don’t worry that I’m robbing myself. I’m a regular 10 pm to 6 am sleeper, so I still get eight hours most nights)

My kids think I’m crazy (“why do you get up so early?” they ask) but that’s what happens when you are excited about life.

My wife has always been a morning person, but I’m now up an hour or so before her each day. It’s so quiet and peaceful at 6 am and the day is full of promise. It’s my favorite time of the day. 6 am on Monday is heaven.

As a bonus, I heard somewhere that getting up early can make you wealthy.

[EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the reason I started waking up at 5am every day! The peace is unparalleled! And as ESI mentioned, it’s far easier to do so when you get to do things for YOU than for others :) You can read about the other things I learned too when first starting this schedule here if you’re new to the site: What I Learned Working Like Benjamin Franklin For a Week]

So those are my ten surprises from early retirement!

I’m only nine months in so I’m sure I’ll find many more in the months and years to come, but hopefully I’ve given you a good glimpse into what retirement is like.

If you have any questions I’d be happy to answer them in the comments below.

Otherwise, I’ll see you at the gym on Monday morning at 7 am. :)

****** ESI is the founder of ESI Money, a blog about achieving financial independence through earning, saving, and investing (ESI). It’s written by an early 50’s retiree who achieved financial independence, shares what’s worked for him, and details how others can implement those successes in their lives. You can learn more about him, and get his free ebook, here: Three Steps to Financial Independence.

10 Things I Didn’t Expect in Early Retirement posted first on http://ift.tt/2lnwIdQ

[heliosfinance]

10 Things I Didn’t Expect in Early Retirement

[Happy Friday! Please welcome today, a good blogging bud of mine, ESI from ESIMoney.com. He recently retired at 52 and gained a whole new appreciation for what life has to offer. And spoiler alert: it doesn’t involve money or a high-powered career! Both of which he retired from once he realized enough was enough (his “enough,” btw? $3 million :)) Take it away, ESI!]

********

When I retired last fall at 52, I thought I knew exactly what retirement would be like. Many of the expectations I had did come true, but there were several surprises as well.

Today I’ll share my revelations in hopes those of you considering early retirement might be better prepared for it.

#1. Mondays Became the Best Day of the Week

Monday was my archenemy for decades.

I worked as a marketing executive for 28 years, many of them in high-pressure jobs. The sinking feeling would start about 4 pm on Sunday — dreading the work week to come.

Then Monday would hit and it’d be the low point of my week. Each day got better than the previous one until we hit Friday. It was all great from there. Until Sunday at 4 pm again.

Now, Monday is my favorite day of the week. It signals the beginning of five days of peace and quiet. The gym is less busy, the stores are less busy, restaurants are less busy, everything is less busy — because people are at work. It’s quiet, and I like it.

#2. My Colleagues Can’t Accept I’m Retired

There’s a whole host of reactions you get when you retire early. Most of them are quite comical because people are literally stunned. This is especially the case when you’re a C-level executive (or higher), and you retire during your most lucrative decade of earning power.

I expected people to be a bit shocked, but I didn’t foresee them constantly pushing new jobs at me like I needed to work or my life was over. Colleagues after colleagues send me new job openings all the time now. I have more recruiters than ever even connecting on LinkedIn and forwarding me job listings (some are pretty good actually!).

Even people I just meet aren’t satisfied with my retirement.

I had coffee the other day with a friend of a friend because the original friend said we should meet. The new guy spent the whole time brainstorming how he could help me find a job. Ugh. I feel like an unmarried, 30-year-old woman whose Jewish mother keeps pushing bachelors her way so she’ll get married even though she doesn’t want to be married.

#3. I’m Busier than Ever

When you work 50+ hours a week for most of a career and have a family along with personal interests, you’re very busy. Life is hectic. That’s just the way it is.

I expected things would calm down dramatically when I retired, but I now seem to have more to do than ever.

The difference is that I went from doing things I HAD to do, though, to doing things I WANT to do. Which makes all the difference in the world.

Still, I’m swamped.

I’ve been ramping up my blog writing (which is quite fun and gives me a creative and intellectual outlet). I started working out at a faster pace. I developed a plan to climb Pikes Peak this summer. I got involved in more aspects of planning my daughter’s college career. I started helping my son find his life calling. I dramatically upped my video game playing time (from virtually nothing to an hour or so a day at the present time (Horizon Zero Dawn FTW!!!)). I joined a non-profit board that helps the homeless. And I’m planning several trips with various members of my family.

On and on it goes. Most of the things on my to-do list simply move to the next day’s undone.

I was one of those people who used to think “What will I do all day in retirement?” I then moved to “I’ll find things to do”, so I made the leap. Now, I’m wondering, “How will I get it all done?”

But I am doing what I want, which makes this a “fun busy”. So I don’t mind.

#4. I’m In The Best Physical Shape of My Life

I started working with a trainer about 18 months ago. Up until retirement, I had made tremendous progress. I added 20 pounds of muscle and dramatically improved my cardio conditioning (which has always been good.) As a result, I almost completely eliminated back issues that I had for over 20 years.

I thought I’d continue on the same pace during retirement, but the freedom of time and lack of stress has really taken my workouts up a notch.

In addition, since I’m at home more, I can control better what I eat — which has always been my weak spot as it’s so hard to eat well at the office (at least for me). They say being in good shape is 80% nutrition and 20% exercise. I so wish the percentages were reversed!

When I was younger, I could work out and eat pretty much whatever I wanted. No longer. As I gained that extra muscle, I didn’t lose much fat, so my weight went up (even while my waist size shrunk).

After retirement, I decided to get serious about eating well. I went high protein and low carb. Since the start of the year I have lost 16 pounds of mostly fat. In addition, I was given my third cardio test and my VO2 max was in the “excellent” range for my age. It was so good that it’s even in the “good” range for a 20-year-old.

Who would have thought my best physical years would be after 50?

#5. I’ve Gotten Very Comfortable Wearing Casual Clothes

I’m not going to say I have always been an uptight dresser. Let’s just say I was always dressed for the occasion. I like to look nice and professional whether at work, church, or even out shopping. I’m not wearing $1,000 suits by any means, but I like to be dressed “nicely” wherever I go.

Cue the workout pants. You know, the baggy, comfortable ones similar to what basketball players wear during warm-ups? They refresh my soul.

It took me about three days to go from button-down Bob to casual Clyde.

Do you know how comfortable workout pants are? Answer: VERY comfortable. These are for colder temperatures. Do you know how comfortable shorts are? Answer: VERY comfortable. These are for warmer temperatures.

Both are accompanied by a t-shirt and/or a Columbia thin pullover depending on the temperature.

These are now my clothing wear of choice. I haven’t donned even a pair of Dockers more than twice in eight months (I did wear a pair to a funeral, however). I’ve gotten to the point where even putting on jeans feels like I’m “dressing up”. And they just aren’t as comfortable as I like.

We even joke at my non-profit board meetings that I dress up for them by wearing my “nice” workout pants or shorts.

But what do I care? I don’t have anyone to impress.

Consider Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, and the like. No dressing up there. They don’t (didn’t in Jobs’ case) care what they are wearing, they just want to be comfortable. And while I don’t have billions like they do, I am financially independent and can wear whatever I want.

Much different than my pre-retirement days…

#6. My Family Relationships Are Much Better

I assumed that retirement would give me more time with family, but I didn’t know how meaningful and far-reaching this time would be.

Here’s a sampling of the impact so far:

My wife and I take two 45-minute walks a day now (we live in Colorado, so even much of winter is walkable). It gives us lots of time to connect and talk. Great for our relationship.

I developed a reading plan for my son to help him discover what career he wants. We discuss each book and his notes on it. He’s also my Tuesday movie buddy (half-priced tickets!) since we like the same kind of shows.

My daughter and I go out regularly to eat (we both like Mexican), shop (she’s hooked on Bath and Body Works), or have coffee. We talk a lot about what she wants to do with her life, what to expect in college, etc. She’s totally prepared. We’ll be taking her senior trip to Seattle and Portland this summer and I’ll be dropping her off at college in the fall.

I have been able to see my parents a few times since retirement — way more than the twice-annual visits we had before. In addition, my dad will be coming to see us in June.

I was able to re-connect with my cousin on one trip to see my parents. I had the time (of course) that I never had before, so I asked if he was available. He was and we had a great breakfast. It was awesome!

I was able to attend my Aunt’s funeral, and even be at the hospital right before she passed. Having a job would have not afforded me the time (or at least as much time) for either of these.

In addition to helping connect with family, being retired has allowed me to connect with friends. I attended my college reunion last fall and got to see my three best friends from that time. I would have NEVER spent a week doing that had I been working. And I hadn’t planned on it even once I retired, but the new, more relaxed, me thought “what the heck!” and I went. So glad I did. I’ll be headed back to college homecoming this year too!

This is probably the most rewarding part of early retirement for me and completely unexpected. It’s been a great surprise.

#7. I’m Learning and Growing More than Ever

Retirement is the time to kick back, down-shift, and relax, right? The time to coast on all the work we’ve done up to this point, similar to the Falcons in the second half of the Super Bowl? (Oh wait, that didn’t work out so well)

Well, let’s just say that coasting is not for me. I’m pushing forward more than I ever have and am loving it! I am learning and growing in ways I completely didn’t expect.

Some examples:

I’m reading more than ever. The library and I are on a first-name basis. I’m there several times a week. I’m reading on personal growth, fitness, blogging, and a whole host of non-fiction topics. I also have time to read fiction and am catching up on John Grisham’s stuff, as well as a Batman graphic novel here and there.

I’m learning from YouTube. You can find videos on how to do anything these days. Now that I have time, I’m learning how to cook (especially grill), how to do simple repairs around the house (I’m not “handy” yet, but I’m getting there), how to travel hack (still a neophyte but learning), and on and on.

I’m heading up Pikes Peak. I told you I’m planning on walking up Pikes Peak this summer. So I’m learning about the physical challenges (and training accordingly), the equipment, weather, etc. It’s a blast to learn new things as well as have some big, physical challenge to look forward to.

I’m planning loads of travel. My wife used to handle most of the travel planning, but I’m now becoming the expert. This year we have trips planned to Seattle, Portland, back to Iowa (where I’m from), Dallas, and, the crowning touch, a month in St. Thomas early next year. There are various decisions to make, and of course I want to make the trips as great as possible, so I’m doing lots of reading about each place and searching for great deals.

I’m consuming podcasts. As I train for Pikes Peak, I’m walking a lot. Some of that is alone, and when I walk alone I listen to podcasts. I’m learning about a whole host of topics, plus getting lots of input on financial issues that keep me sharp. I really look forward to this time each day.

I’m playing chess. I now have time to do daily chess puzzles, play chess, read chess books, and even watch chess videos. I know some of you are close to falling asleep simply reading that last sentence, but chess thrills me. The strategy and complexity gets my juices flowing.

I’m interested in a lot of things, and now I have the time to learn about them too. I thought I would have some time for this, but the amount and diversity of learning has really surprised me.

#8. I Can’t Go Back To Work Anymore

When I retired I thought I’d only take a year or two off, but would then likely go back to work at some point — even if just part-time. After all, I was a high-power executive and work was what I did!

Now I can’t imagine ever going back.

If I did, I’d hate Mondays again. I’d have to dress in something other than comfortable clothes. I’d miss the time with family and friends. I’d have to cut back on fitness and learning. I’d have to live by a schedule. That all sounds like a colossal pain in the rear now.

I’ve since eased into my new normal, and I love it.

#9. The Stress is Gone

We all hear about stress and how it impacts our health, and so forth. But having lived with it for so long, it was normal to me. I didn’t realize just how much it was impacting me.

Sure, every once in a while I would realize my temples were tight and my jaw was clinched while laying in bed. I’d try to relax my facial muscles and could for a bit, but even trying to fall asleep, the tension would come back. It was the stress of work.

Once I retired, I could literally feel the stress melt away. It was that tangible. I was destressing after 28 years of constant pressure.

It took several months to go completely away (it was that bad!), but I eventually got to a low point of stress I never thought I would reach. I started sleeping better. My head wasn’t tight all the time. Life was more relaxing overall.

I was surprised at just how noticeable it was. Something that simply was there for most of my life, is now almost nonexistent.

#10. I’ve Turned Into a Morning Person

There are morning people, and there are night people. I have been a night person my whole life. My ideal world was to stay up until 3 am and get up around noon. Not bad, right?

But I had to go against that grain during my career. Most companies expect you to roll in well before noon, so I was up early every day and I hated it.

I didn’t think I’d sleep to noon every day once I retired, but I did think I’d sack in until at least 9 or 10am.

Nope. I’m now up and at ’em by 6 am most days. Sometimes I’ll got to 7 am if I had a really hard workout the previous day or stayed up late the night before. But that’s rare. I can’t remember the last time I slept until 8 am. And I’m certainly up more days before 6 am than after 7 am.

The big difference now, though, is that life is so much more exciting.

I’m getting up to do things that I want to do. It’s a blast — almost like the night before Christmas. I’m excited about the next day and simply can’t sleep longer.

Plus, the working out and lack of stress helps my sleep to be more restful, so I feel better with less sleep now than I did with more sleep while working. (But don’t worry that I’m robbing myself. I’m a regular 10 pm to 6 am sleeper, so I still get eight hours most nights)

My kids think I’m crazy (“why do you get up so early?” they ask) but that’s what happens when you are excited about life.

My wife has always been a morning person, but I’m now up an hour or so before her each day. It’s so quiet and peaceful at 6 am and the day is full of promise. It’s my favorite time of the day. 6 am on Monday is heaven.

As a bonus, I heard somewhere that getting up early can make you wealthy.

[EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the reason I started waking up at 5am every day! The peace is unparalleled! And as ESI mentioned, it’s far easier to do so when you get to do things for YOU than for others :) You can read about the other things I learned too when first starting this schedule here if you’re new to the site: What I Learned Working Like Benjamin Franklin For a Week]

So those are my ten surprises from early retirement!

I’m only nine months in so I’m sure I’ll find many more in the months and years to come, but hopefully I’ve given you a good glimpse into what retirement is like.

If you have any questions I’d be happy to answer them in the comments below.

Otherwise, I’ll see you at the gym on Monday morning at 7 am. :)

****** ESI is the founder of ESI Money, a blog about achieving financial independence through earning, saving, and investing (ESI). It’s written by an early 50’s retiree who achieved financial independence, shares what’s worked for him, and details how others can implement those successes in their lives. You can learn more about him, and get his free ebook, here: Three Steps to Financial Independence.

10 Things I Didn’t Expect in Early Retirement published first on http://ift.tt/2ljLF4B