#beacon hills justice league

[redjaybathood]

Beacon Hills was a sleepy Californian town where nothing ever happened, complete opposite to Gotham - and that's why Jason chose it for his new place of residence. Talia didn't get it.

"You have spent a year with the All Caste, trained with swords and mysterious arts that are forgotten everywhere else on Earth..."

He refrained from reminding that he was kicked out by the cult she put him in when she just restored his higher brain function. For reasons such as prophecies foretelling the doom of said cult.

"And I can give you resources, contacts, everything you need to get revenge..."

He put his hand up.

"I don't want revenge, I never did. I wanted justice, and I see that it's a futile pursuit. Now, all I want - I want just some peace and quiet."

"So just like that, you changed your mind." She looked at him not quite with judgment or dissatisfaction - more like she really didn't get that he wanted to stop.

He shrugged, warming his hands on the coffee cup.

"Look, All Caste? You know what sort of place it is. You were taught by Ducra. You had Trials of your own. You saw it, didn't you? Every variation of you, in 52 Universes. Was either of them happy?"

"I'm not in the League for happiness," she said, almost scandalized.

"Well, why are you in the League at all? I was pondering that, all the year I was in All Acres, a doorway from any point in my life. I could go right through and warn myself, I could go kill Joker before Joker even existed. And it never helped. Gotham's cursed. Batman is its white knight in shiny armour. I'm just..."

He shrugged.

"Poor boy," Talia sighed, cupping his face.

"Don't. I don't need your sympathy," he put his hands over hers, but didn't remove them from where she was touching his skin. "I could use your company, though. I'm serious - why are you even doing all this? Just... Go with me. Take him, and let's settle down where nobody knows us, nobody will..."

Talia froze, then took her cup in both hands.

"I will not ask how do you know about him, even as your father does not. How fast, do you think, it will take Ra's to find us? With our edges dulled, our blades rusty, how fast will he end our lives - and take him?"

Jason shook his head.

"If you want me to believe Damian is the reason you're still in the League..."

Talia put the cup down with a clunk.

"Don't. Ever. Say his name. Even if you think we're alone, if you think nobody is listening in. I will not risk him."

"You already are. You do. He is at risk, and will be until one of two things happen - and maybe even then..."

"I'm aware," Talia said dryly, standing up. "This conversation is over. Do with your life whatever you will. You will find me if you change your mind."

"You too," he said, but the room was empty already. "Jeez."

In one of these 52 Universes, they got together. Jason didn't cultivate with mystical immortals in that universe. He had taken something like a gap year, traveling, mostly Europe, and learning from the specialists League of Assassins sometimes employed. Killed most of them - for good reasons. Reasons he supplied anonymously to Interpol and Checkmate, in this universe.

Because in that world, no matter how many people Jason saved by killing "animals", "monsters", he left behind a piece of himself. At least, with the Soul Swords, he knew what was fueling them, what he was spending.

The story of him and Talia wasn't a happy one. Or even particularly romantic. Both of them were hurting, Bruce-shaped wound in their hearts, but also what was done upon them, what they were made to do, what they thought they should do. Their hearts were more sieves than anything else. One night, they had to each other, and then they never talked face to face ever again.

He didn't want that. He very much hoped, knowing it was futile, that Talia just - went with him, to a sleepy Californian town where nothing ever happened. They would raise her kid - maybe he could be her partner, maybe her son's brother, he would take it any way she could give.

But he couldn't stay for her, and she wouldn't leave for him.

So, he went alone.

***

He had fake documents, keeping the first name and changing the last, using the same day and month of birth and making himself a year younger. Only fair, seeing how he was dead for six months, and catatonic for another six. He put down a local attorney's phone number for his contact information on the school application. That same attorney, Whittermore, had helped him with emancipation, seeing how he was only 17, still, and would need to find someone to pretend to be his parents, or go into foster care, otherwise.

Enrollment in the school was easy. Finding a place to live as well - there was a lot of property built during a dot com bubble era that still was sitting empty. Rent was cheap, compared to Gotham. But without League's backing, he needed income. So he started to check jobs.

There was not a lot vacancies that could be filled with a teenager who was still in school. Waiting tables, washing dishes, making coffee, retail - that was about it. Gabby, his friend from another life - life before Bruce, even - was a waitress. So that's what he applied to. There was no real training, but he had the skills he needed already. Good memory, from the time he used to devour dossiers on criminal individuals and organizations. Coordination, from his movement training. Cheerful smile and small talk, from all the times, infrequent as they were, that he had to follow Bruce to some event or another. He didn't like them then - now, he was just grateful for experience, because life in Himalayas didn't nurture his social skills, to say the least. And good thing Bruce never allowed his picture to be taken, unlike how it was with Dick. At the time Jason was self-conscious, thought Bruce might have been - finding him lacking in some way. Not fit for the public to see, regardless of the new suits he ordered from his tailors for him, or haircuts Alfred gave him. Who knew, maybe Bruce indeed didn't want him to be recognized by anyone from Jason's past who would come knocking. Still, it let Jason feel free in his new life. Nobody will see his tag and his face and put it all together as American most eligible millionaire's dead son.

Beacon Hills was so small a town, Jason had learned the names and occupations of the regulars in his first week on the job. One of them, the local Sheriff, asked a few questions about where he moved from and how old he was. After finding out that in a few weeks he was starting as sophomore at high school ("I was held back a year, sir, after a car accident"), Sheriff asked him not to tell to his son, Stiles, that he's eating his lunches here.

"He's making me those low salt, low cholesterol lunches," the Sheriff chuckled. "His heart is in the right place, I can't bring myself to tell him that it all tastes like a wet cardboard."

"I can tactfully suggest a few recipes to him," Jason offered. "There are nutritious and healthy options that are quite tasty. There's so much you can do with chickpeas."

"What, and leave Robby without steady income? I couldn't do that, not until he sees his daughter through college. Who taught you to cook, by the way?"

"My grandfather."

It took a lot of Jason to keep the smile on his face. But it might have been a wrong choice.

"Well, pass along my greetings. There's not a lot of teenagers nowadays who have the skill."

"He... I'm alone now, after the accident." Jason didn't like to lie about anyone dying, it seemed like he was cursing them in this way, so he picked his words carefully.

"I'm so sorry, there's a foot in my mouth, I swear it's a family trait," Sheriff rummaged in his pocket, and then thrusted a card to him. "Here. If you need anything, you can reach me on a cell, it's written on the back."

Jason briefly considered - he had some cards with his personal number on it on him. Always ready to offer assistance to the needy? Or... Noah Stilinsky seemed like a good guy, and Jason, pocketing his card, hoped as hell that he was.

Because there's another kind of explanation why nothing big came up when he researched Beacon Hills. All sorts of things can be covered up and never see the light of the day when it's the police doing the covering.

He will call, he decided, as soon as he can find a suitable reason. He needed to know if the Sheriff and this town was what they seemed.

***

Before the school started, though, Jason couldn't find the time. He was a freshman when he died, and he had no access to schooling after his resurrection. Even with all the knowledge learned under the tutelage of a former Batgirl, there was a lot of ground to cover, to catch up with the rest of the class. It wasn't his first rodeo, and arguably it was way easier now than when he also had Robin training. But he had a job, now, working as long the hours as the diner's owner would allow him before the school started. Besides that, he took up running in the Preserve, as much to familiarize himself with his new habitat as to stay in shape. It also replaced the meditations, in part - he cut them down from the recommend by Ducra two hours per day, to half an hour, before going to sleep.

He met some people in that way, too. His new classmates, actually: Jackson Whittermore, son of Mr. Whittermore whose services he employed - finding that out, Jackson toned down his smirk and offered a handshake. He was running with his friend, Danny Mahealani. Both of them were on the school's lacrosse team, and invited him to the tryouts that would happen before the Spring.

"Maybe," Jason said. "I don't know much about lacrosse, though. And never played any team sport at all."

"Really? Not even football?" Danny gave him a once-over. "Seems like a waste."

"Believe it or not, I was a tiny, skinny kid up until recently." Jason shrugged.

Jackson asked him about his regimen. Jason couldn't explain that it was a magical fountain of youth and cure-all that fixed his stunted by malnutrition and smoking growth. He wasn't even sure that was it. Maybe years with Bruce, and then the time spent in cultivation, changed his body as well as his mind and spirit. He didn't need to eat that much now, although he didn't progress to inedia. So he bullshitted, recalling the diet Bruce was on.

It actually inspired him to start a side hustle. Food blog for teenagers who wanted to bulk up. He always loved writing, and he had some expertise on the topic, although he ended up posting more about training and exercises, than food. Every recipe required pictures, so he had to make everything from scratch, and sometimes redo the whole thing because his cell phone photos were simply shit, videos (face always out of the frame) not much better.

He looked up Donna's work, one of those times. But in the end, Jackson introduced him to Matt Dalaher, whose hobby was photography. Matt's advice and explanations were shit, and he was all too glad to tall about girls, topic Jason could offer nothing on.

"Come on, there's don't kiss and tell, and there's me starting to suspect where's nothing for you to say," Matt joked one time.

"That's exactly it," Jason smiled back, not even particularly trying to hide the edge anymore. "I'm saving myself for the marriage."

"What does Whittermore see in you? This, and the cooking shit..."

"I have amazing thighs, I was told," Jason spread them to empathize the point. "One of my best features."

"Oh, so it's like that, huh? He's trying to set you up with Danny? Damn, he did the same thing with me, he gotta give it a rest."

Jason wasn't aware Danny played for the home team, and wasn't particularly trilled to find out like it was a butt of the joke. He still smirked.

"Do I have a chance, you think?"

Matt sputtered, apparently not expecting him to, Jason didn't even know, freak out because of the gay cooties. That was the last time they really spoke. It was fine, though - Matt's speciality was more portraits than still life, anyway.

***

Before the school started, Jason was invited to a party at Jackson's girlfriend house. He had work that day, but his shift ended at seven, so he could, in theory, make it.

"Come on, man, the whole school will be there," Jackson said, running along him. Danny was a few feet ahead of them.

"I don't know anyone from school, except you and Danny," Jason pointed out.

"And Matt," Danny called over his shoulder.

"Matt isn't worth knowing!" he called back.

Danny laughed. Jason smiled to himself. He liked that sound.

He didn't know whether he liked boys, to be honest - he didn't even know if he liked anyone. Things with Talia were circumstantial - and not even in this universe. Before his death, he certainly flirted with girls - older, cooler, the ones he would have no chance in hell with, like Babs, like Koriand'r (and oh, here's another trait they shared: Dick's ex/girlfriends). But the only time he approached dating was with Rena. And they went out only twice: when she thought he could score her some drugs, and when he ditched her for Bruce. For a case, he meant - but essentially, for Bruce.

It was all kinds of fucked up, Jason was starting to realize, how Bruce was all over his life. His father, his boss, his teacher, the only friend he managed to keep - up until he wasn't anything, anymore. It left Jason unmoored, swayable to the winds. They blew, and here he was in Northern Africa, on the quest to find a woman who didn't want to be found. Here he was, letting her know a secret that cost him his life, when he didn't even manage to save hers.

He wanted someone, anyone, in his life. It made him blind to the red flags. He might be better off without feeling this way ever again - but with his new life finding its rhythm, he started feeling those pangs of loneliness again. Thinking of people he left behind. Meditation became more difficult again.

He needed to prevent that, he realized. He couldn't just will and discipline himself not to need people. So the only way was to... Find new ones.

It wouldn't be the same, of course. Nothing like life or dead situations forging a bond between two persons. But it would, should be enough.

"You know what?" He said, looking briefly at Jackson and then back at Danny's back. "I'm game. I will be there."

And then he sped up, to run along with Danny.

***

The party itself was everything that the early 2000s romcoms warned him about. If you were Jason, first time in this sort of environment, sober (he didn't know how he will react to alcohol, and wasn't about to experiment in this sort of environment), knowing no one - he didn't manage to find neither Danny nor Jackson yet - it was awkward and boring.

He knew how to talk to people if you wanted them to open up to you, but it was when he had a mask on his face. He tried very hard that his new life didn't become a new sort of costume, so he didn't want to construct a persona around his future classmates.

He found a relatively quiet corner where only two people were sitting, and sat down with his half full beer cup (poor rhododendron, but he wasn't drinking this shit for real, and an empty cup would attract a refill, and full - askance glances to why wasn't he drinking). He nodded and smiled at them. They stopped talking, although the one with darker, longer hair smiled back and nodded.

"Hey, I don't know you," the other guy said.

He had a shaved head and a graphic T-shirt, like the one Eddie wore. Eddie, flashed in Jason's mind - last time they were in touch, he lived in California, too, although way closer to Hollywood. But getting in touch with anyone from his old life was dangerous, so he didn't. Now, he kinda felt a short pang of regret.

Jason shook his head to ward away this dangerous feeling.

"Yeah, I don't know you either. But then again, I don't know anyone here, except Jackson and Danny. I'm Jason."

He offered a handshake to both of them. The dark-haired one responded first, albeit slightly awkward in the movement.

"Scott," he said.

"Nice to meet you," Jason nodded.

"Uh, you too?"

Shit, don't people say that anymore?

"I'm Stiles," the shaved-headed one said, shaking his hand, with the emphasis on "shake". "Though I don't know how nice it is to meet you if you're friends with Jackson Whittermore."

"Stiles," Jason remembered. "I heard about you."

"Definitely not nice, then."

And yet, he was still shaking Jason's hand.

"Don't worry, it was only complimentary. Well, almost."

His cooking was shitty, Jason recalled. Everytime the Sheriff took his lunch at the diner, Jason made a point to ask what his son prepared for him that day. Even texted his blog's URL to the Sheriff, so he could pass it along. Some of Stiles' attempts at his recipes were a success, it seemed, because as the Summer progressed to the end, Sheriff patronized the diner less and less.

Stiles scrunched his face.

"No way in hell would Jackson say anything positive about me."

"He isn't my sole source of information," Jason smirked.

Stiles looked at him for a second or two, and then snapped his fingers.

"Jason! From the Robby's!" He elbowed his friend in the side. "The dude who runs that fitness blog? We're, uh, we started some protocols you describe, to enhance our physic and all."

"Yeah, but I'm afraid it's not gonna help us, come Spring," Scott smiled sheepishly. "I really can't do some of it without wanting to cough up my lungs afterwards."

"That's, uh, that's not supposed to happen," Jason said carefully.

"It's fine," Scott said. "I have asthma, I'm used to it."

"Even more, then. I was basically describing some of what I was doing, when I had started to," train as a vigilante, to kick ass and take names. "Bulk up. But I had no underlying conditions except I was somewhat... Thinner than other kids my age. Look, it's important to talk to your doctor, but if there's, you know, issues with that - you should always start small. Steady wins the race, yeah?"

Jason shared some tips, and then the topic switched to lacrosse - Jason still had only the vaguest idea of what this sport entailed, or how expensive it was. That topic - the money - wasn't the one he wanted to broach with Jackson or Danny. They were under impression he has it - from him being able to afford Whittermore's law firm fees - and worked at the diner basically for shit and giggles, because he was sad son of the bitch who knew almost no one in town. He didn't dissuade them, not because he thought they're gonna be assholes about it, but... He didn't want to chance it either. He knew how some things about you that were quirky if you had the money, like reading newspapers during breaks between classes - they added to the character. Weird, but a character. But if you didn't have the money, reading newspapers was just another proof of it. A sign that you can't afford any other entertainment, like a cell phone.

Scott was just telling him where to find used gear and armor when someone walked up behind Jason's back. He managed to keep himself relaxed, so even when the hand lowered at his shoulder - and Stiles and Scott's faces tensed - he didn't lost his cool.

"Hey," Jason said, turning to see Jackson behind him.

"Why are you here with the loser brigade?" Jackson scrunched up his face. "We were waiting for you."

"I was lost, and I found myself some company. Jealous? Should have responded to my text twenty minutes ago."

"Ugh, come on, come on, I will introduce you to Lydia."

"Now's my turn to be jealous," Jason said, getting up.

He didn't quite know what to say, so he said everything that came to mind. Jackson was kind of used to it, from their weeks of running together. Stiles and Scott, though, gaped.

Jason hoped they weren't like Matt. He waved at them on the chance they weren't, and Scott waved back. Though, not Stiles.

Jackson noticed his sigh.

"What?" He looked back and scowled. "Stilinsky said something funny to you?"

Jason shrugged.

"I mean, he seemed pretty chill. But might have disliked my jokes about jealousy. And I don't know him enough to know if it's the gay thing as in, me treating homosexuality as a joke, or gay thing as in, he is going to stay away from the gay guy thing."

"Don't worry, Stilinsky is an asshole, but he's not that kind of asshole. If he was, I would kick his ass to the next Tuesday. But, uh, you're gay?"

Jason shrugged.

"I dunno. I don't know if I'm anything, if that makes sense. My father... Was pretty strict. I didn't have much friends, and. I dunno, it's just never came up. But," he stopped Jackson with the hand on his shoulder, looking into his eyes. "I really was joking about jealousy. You're not my type."

Jackson punched him in the shoulder, and they both laughed.

"So what's your type? I know you said it never came up, but, the best you figure."

Jason glanced at Jackson, who was trying for nonchalant but missing a beat. Maybe Matt wasn't far off when he suggested that Jackson was playing a wingman for Danny.

He smiled to himself, feeling a bit nervous. He didn't really know how to answer the question best.

"I really have no idea. It's not about the looks, for sure. I grew up around professional model-looking types. Nobody really rang a bell for me. I like chill people though. People with a nice smile. Or a mean smile, maybe. A genuine one."

Not like the one he himself wore, most of the time.

He shrugged again. He did like that, but he wouldn't call it attraction.

"Alright," Jackson said, and clapped him on his back. "You will figure it out."

***

Jason might have been mistaken in thinking that Jackson wanted to set him up with Danny. Or maybe his answers were unsatisfactory, and he changed his mind. Over the course of the night, Jackson introduced him to a shit ton of people. Presumably, to help him "figure it out".

It wasn't hard for Jason to remember their faces, names, and basic facts they shared about themselves, but it was hard to come up with the topics of conversation. Jason didn't follow sports, or celebrities, knew nothing of local gossip, wasn't even into online gaming. He talked a bit about his blog, but in the end, the topic bored him before it could bore the new people, so he just shared a link when they asked.

When Jason noticed Danny, he wanted to make his way other, but noticed a guy who struck up a conversation with him. Danny had a nice smile. Damn.

He didn't feel particularly crushed. Maybe it answered the question, maybe it didn't. He was a bit overwhelmed, and went to catch a breath outside.

There were people by the pool, but not further into the backyard, where the garden started. He almost bummed a cigarette from a random guy, just so he wouldn't feel out of place, but then he thought, fuck it. He was out of place. He wasn't relapsing his smoking habit because standing alone in the middle of a crowd of unfamiliar teenagers was unsettling. Because if he did, he would smoke all two years of high school that were left, and then he simply wasn't stopping.

It was a short lived relief, being alone in the garden, because very soon he was not alone so much. There was Stiles, and a girl with a small designer dog.

"Uh, how did your summer..."

"What do you want, Stiles."

"Nothing! Just saying hello. It's your party, after all, would be rude if I didn't even say a word to you."

"And this is why you followed me when I took Gucci for a walk. Sure. Because I'd talk to all three hundred of guests currently in my house. Otherwise it's rude."

Jason tensed. So that was Lydia. And Stiles was... Stalking her a bit?

"No, not you-rude, me-rude. Sorry. I can leave if you want."

"Oh, wouldn't it be rude of me if I sent you away."

"Not that it stopped you ever before. Like when you publicaly ignore my existence."

"And you don't think I have a reason for that?"

"Sure. Your boyfriend thinks I'm a loser, ergo, you feel I'm a loser."

"Oh, Stiles, it's not that - it's that I have a boyfriend at all, and your puppy crush is obvious from space. I don't need the drama. And FYI? That's not how you use 'ergo', unless you think I have no mind of my own."

She picked up the dog and went back. Stiles stayed, sighing frustratedly.

Jason thought for a second, whether to disappear or come out. In the end, he whistled, before Stiles turned to head back.

Stiles immediately turned around, but it took him a moment to find where Jason was standing.

"Enjoyed the show, Greenberg?" He asked, harshly.

"Not particularly, no," Jason said honestly. "I really don't like when guys don't get the hint."

"You friends with Jackson for a month and now you're going to be teaching me a lesson on his behalf?" Stiles squeezed his fists.

Jason could see that he wasn't scared, but he was expecting an attack. And that wasn't who Jason was - not now, and not ever.

He put his hands in the air, placatingly.

"You keep your hands to yourself, I keep mine."

Stiles was taken aback.

"You think I would?.. I wouldn't!"

Jason waved his hand dismissedly.

"If I got a penny every time I heard "I would never" when a guy, in fact, would or had - I'm not saying I would be a Lex Luthor, but I might have no need for a waiter job."

"I know, I'm the son of the Sheriff, you don't need to..."

"Even if you were a Sheriff yourself, I don't care," Jason cut him off. "Okay?"

Stiles huffed, and then went back to the house.

Jason, though, he decided to call it a night and went back to the place he rented.

[princeescaluswords]

Scott McCall is Not a Paragon

Someone sent me an anon request which I meant to answer, but I screwed up and posted it with only five words. So, this is the full answer, and it deals with a category error that many people, especially people who don't like Scott, make when thinking about Teen Wolf.

Scott McCall is not Superman, nor was he meant to be. Scott McCall is not Captain America, nor was he meant to be. Scott McCall is not even Izuku Midoriya, nor was he meant to be. He is not a paragon. This doesn't make him any less a heroic protagonist, of course, but it does require the thoughtful audience member to view him through a different lens then they would otherwise.

The classical definition of a paragon is a character (or actual person) who embodies a virtue in its purest most Platonic form. However, in modern cultural construction, it's taken on a more open connotation as a heroic lead protagonist who embodies every thing good in a cultural setting. Superman embodies overwhelming planet-shattering power used responsibly, arising from the embrace of the Other and being embraced by the Other in return. Captain America may be less powerful, but he embodies the strength of those who hold principled convictions. And so on. With a shallow reading, Scott McCall can certainly fit into this group, but there are several important differences.

Scott's Heroism is Not Premeditated. Superman listens with his super-hearing across the world to find people to save; he is a founding member of the Justice League. Captain America volunteered for Project: Rebirth to go fight the Nazis and then Hydra; he is one of the reasons the Avengers were founded. Izuku Midoriya dreamed of being a hero and took advantage of an opportunity to work towards being the head of an entire social system predicated around this as a career.

Scott doesn't pursue evil throughout the series and the movie; instead, he is pursued. In Season 1, he is chased by the alpha. In Season 2, he is drawn into the war between the Hales and the Argents by threats to his immediate social group. In Season 3, he is the target of the Alpha Pack and Stiles is the target of the nogitsune. And so on, with the Dead Pool, Theo and the Dread Doctors, the Wild Hunt, and Monroe, they all come after him. Yes, by the time Season 5 comes around, the villains have realized that Scott won't let the people in his town be straight-up murdered and so they have to in order to win the day, but it's not as if Scott seeks them out. If, for example, the Doctors had used the Nemeton at Toulouse, Scott would never have been involved.

Scott's Heroism is Not Professional. Superman develops resources to help him in his heroic calling: the Fortress of Solitude, an occupation that brings acts of villainy to his attention, and scientific experiments. We watch Captain America train, alone and with others, in order to be able to fight threats more effectively. Izuku Midoriya literally goes to a specialized technical school for training heroes. They view their heroism as part of their normal lives, and not a situation forced on them periodically.

Scott goes to a mundane high school. He trains to play lacrosse. He learns to help animals. While Derek and Stiles may have saddled him with the heroic charge of "Protector of Beacon Hills," it is a title he accepts only because he has to. In the movie, Scott hasn't been back to Beacon Hills in a long time. He runs an animal shelter. He is called in when there's a dog trapped in a collapsing building, but that's a very narrow situation. He's still the alpha, but that's because of his relationships with "my friends, my pack" not because he's got a territory to watch over. He does get better at heroic action over the series -- Season 1 Scott wouldn't have been able to dodge Ghost Rider bullets like Season 6 Scott could -- but we never see him train for the purpose of being a better hero.

Scott's Heroism is Not Proselytizing. Superman wears the symbol of the House of El on purpose; he attends news conferences; he's spoken to the United Nations. Captain America is draped in the flag of the country whose virtues he wishes to embody. He struggles repeatedly with those virtues (think of the Nomad era). Izuku Midoriya literally aspires to become a symbol for the people of Japan. They consciously desire others to see the value of what they stand for and to integrate it into their lives. They're not forcing their beliefs on anyone, but their behavior is designed to influence the society around them for a benevolent end.

Scott is definitely a leader, but he exhibits leadership in limited situations. Unlike Allison, he has no goal to reform the Argent code. Unlike Demon-Wolf-Era Deucalion, he doesn't want to reform werewolf society. Unlike Monroe, he doesn't want to free humanity from fear or danger. The biggest example for me is that he never tried to change or rehabilitate Peter (or Deucalion or Theo) even though he had hope that Peter would change. The biggest long-term goal he expresses interest in is encouraging Liam to step up as lacrosse captain and, when necessary, as alpha after he leaves for college. None of this requires an impact on society.

I want to be completely clear: this doesn't make Scott any less a heroic protagonist. Scott wanted to be a normal teenager and then a normal adult, but the cost of him ignoring what was going on right in front of his face would have borne by innocents, so he sacrificed his own wants and needs for others. That's his heroism. Yet far too often, I've seen Scott lumped in with Captain America and similar heroes. There's nothing wrong with the Paragon Archetype, but it simply doesn't fit. Sometimes fans do this to compliment Scott, but that's flattening the character to fit somewhere he doesn't belong. Most of the time it's used as a negative, calling Scott boring, tyrannical, judgmental, whatever the hate du jour happens to be. Such a character deserves to be looked at for what he is, not stuffed into the nearest category so the fandom can move on.

[princess-of-the-corner]

One thing to note about RWBY is that it REALLY "grew the beard" over the course of its runtime.

Volumes 1-3 were animated in Poser (software that wasn't intended for use in animation), with rougher backgrounds and more simplistic writing related to complex themes. They were also only ever intended to be an extended prologue to the ACTUAL show, with the Big Twist of the Volume 3 finale being that the climax was actually just the inciting incident to the show's ACTUAL conflict.

Starting from Volume 4, the crew switched to Maya (software that's intended for use in animation), got better at writing more complex topics (the White Fang is treated more sympathetically than in the "Beacon Arc"), and Jaune was actually an interesting character for the entirety of the "Anima Arc" that lasted from Volumes 4-6.

Volume 7 is probably the best season of the show (I don't have a Crunchyroll account and so I haven't had the chance to watch Volume 9 in its entirety yet, even if I know what happens there). It deconstructs the whole "America Saves the World" trope with Atlas, and has some pretty good political satire that wound up being eerily prophetic. Also, Robyn Hill is one of the best characters the show has ever introduced.

Volume 8 contains both the best and worst moments of the series. V8C1-V8C11 features some of the best storytelling and most tense action from the franchise ever, but V8C12 has the overall message of "Okay but, the people who dehumanized Penny over her mechanical body KINDA had a point, let's fix what isn't broken!", V8C13 is a pretty descent villain episode, and V8C14 is by far the most offensive piece of media I've ever been subjected to. But still, up until those last three episodes, it was basically flawless.

I've heard Volume 9 is pretty good, but I'm side-eying everything involving Jaune because I honestly DESPISE the direction they took his arc in. But if we ignore EVERYTHING related to Jaune's role in the Volume, I like basically everything I've heard about it.

RWBY: After the Fall is a very good spin-off novel focused on popular side characters Team CFVY and shows what they've been up to since the Fall of Beacon in Volume 3. it also has a really interesting gimmick, as every other chapter is a flashback to something that happened in Team CFVY's past, further fleshing out their minor roles in the show.

RWBY: Before the Dawn is actual garbage. Sun's character arc (wherein his hypocrisy from the show is actually acknowledged and challenged) and Coco's and Velvet's shiptease are probably the only redeeming qualities. Taking this book into account actually makes Ironwood's reluctance to call Vacuo for help look REASONABLE. 2/10.

RWBY: Roman Holiday is a prequel novel focused on Roman and Neo, but Neo is the true protagonist here. The first few chapters leading up to their first meeting alternate between their perspectives, with the book being largely Neo focused after they finally meet.

RWBY: Fairy Tales of Remnant is an anthology of in-universe fairy tales. You can read it at any point in the series, but the further into the series you are when you read it, the more hints to RWBY's overarching plot you'll notice. While all of the Fairy Tales are works of fiction, some of them are dramatizations of actual events in the shadow war that RWBY's plot revolves around.

RWBY x JL: Super Heroes and Huntsmen is a 2-part film series wherein Team RWBY teams up with the Justice League. Part 1 features the Justice League visiting Remnant (kinda) during the events of Volume 7, and Part 2 features Team RWBY visiting DC Earth after the events of Volume 9.

There's also some ambiguously canonical comics published by DC, as well as 2 explicitly non-canon RWBY/DC crossover comic series. One features alternate versions of the Justice League cast who were born on Remnant, another features Remnant and DC Earth fusing due to Salem tricking Lex Luthor into helping her by playing off of his hatred of Superman. Neither of these crossovers are in continuity with the crossover movies.

Fascinating actually

[thotpuppy]

Trick or treat!

This is the costume list for a Sterek comic-con meetcute fic I'm writing inspired by art by MultiE on twitter. (:

First ever Beacon Hills Comic Con Stiles is so excited Makes plans with all his friends to cosplay Justice League Spends months working on their costumes Plans to enter the contest as a group but Scott bails last minute.

MEANWHILE

 Cora and Erica are besties and together they bully Derek and the boys into going to comic con with them. Erica just wants an excuse to dress up really slutty outside of halloween. Cora is really into it. Isaac is kinda stoked to check out the comics. Derek bankrolls the endeavor.

Stiles: Batman Lydia: Black Canary Jackson: Green Arrow Scott: Superman Allison: Wonder Woman Erica: Catwoman Boyd: Bag Holder (lol) Isaac: carrying his own bags Cora: Lois Lane Derek: Clark Kent (he styled his hair, wore a shirt and tie, and added fake glasses)

My original concept was actually to have Stiles seriously trying to win the contest like, getting tactical gear from his dad's work supplier and stuff, but I think it would be way funnier if he was dressed as Adam West's batman and it stalled me out a bit haha

[uncannylaw]

Law’s Corner

The names Law | 21 | Black | He/They

Likes/… Blue (the color), writing, Music, Anime, Drawing, my friends, any moots I gain, any anons I gain, any asks

Dislikes/… Rude people, any thing else on my DNI list, Writers block (bc why?),

Music/… Jayz, J-cole, Kendrick Lamar, Lauryn Hill, Dpr ian, Red Velvet, Dreamcatcher, Eryka Badu, Sza, Rei Ami, Melanie Martinez, any old school (Aretha, Ann Peebles, etc), Bts, old Kanye, Bibi, Michael Jackson and many many more

Anime/… (I’ve seen) Fairy Tail, Yona of the dawn, Yuyuhakusho, Sailor moon, Dragon ball, Dragonball Z, Dragon ball GT, Naruto & Naruto Shippuden, Jojo’s, Demon Slayer, Jujustu Kaisen, Hunter x Hunter, Bleach, Chainsaw Man, My Hero, Inyuasha, The God of Highschool

And more that I just can’t remember right now😭

Other Media/…(I’ve Seen) Wanda Vision, All the avengers movies, Black Panther 1 & 2, Superman/Batman: Apocalypse, Justice League: Crisis on Two Earth’s, Train to Busan, Tempted, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Avatar (2009), The Uncanny Counter

And plenty more

Games/…(I’ve played) the entire Call of duty series as of right now, Halo Reach, Halo 2-4, Naraka Blade Point, Beacon Pines (if you like story games this one is good), Super Mario, Mario Kart 8, Smash Bros Ultimate

[vixensscream]

#notallmen

[wheredidhiseyebrowsgo]

Hello! Do you know some superman sterek fics? Like supergirl au or something like that? Derek is superman or they meet superman or something like that?

Sure I do @always-be-a-stranger!

clouds between their knees by alongthewatchtower

(1/1 I 2,559 I Not Rated)

Stiles and his alien superhero boyfriend. It's not like he left the weird behind in Beacon Hills, or anything.

I'll Be Super For You by whenshewrites

(1/1 I 2,996 I General)

Stiles really hadn’t expected Derek to dress up for the costume party, but then the man showed up full Superman.

For a moment, all Stiles could do was stare.

The Last Son of Krypton by bluepanes

(2/? I 4,115 I Teen)

Derek Hale works at the Daily Planet alongside his fellow intrepid reporter, Stiles Stilinski. That is, when he's not flying around Metropolis saving people's lives or trying to stop Peter from killing him. This will mostly be fluff, maybe with a little angst too. Also, pretty much everyone will be a part of the Justice League, just try and stop me .

Lois Lane!Stiles & Superman!Derek Story by tumtatumtum

(1/1 I 4,332 I Mature)

Stiles Lane asks Derek Kent out after a sexy and revealing encounter with Superman. Things get complicated.

What follows is angst, make-ups and a bit of smut.

SuperWolf by isthatbloodonhisshirt (wasterella)

(1/1 I 4,816 I General)

“Who are you? What are you doing? How are you doing? What is going on? Put me down!”

The man holding him let out a small chuckle, but didn’t release him until they were back on the cliff.

Where the Kappas were.

And he did, in fact, try and put Stiles down.

Stiles clung to the man tightly, arms around his neck and legs twisted so he could keep himself raised off the ground.

“Ah, not now, not now! Put me down where there aren’t any Kappas!”

Not So Super by charlesdk

(1/1 I 5,354 I Teen)

Superman has a crush on Stiles. How does Stiles know? Well, there's the fact that he can't do his damn job without Superman swooping in and saving the day. And there's the fact that he sticks around and chats him up afterward too. Stiles is a cop and knows how to read signs, so it's not just him being full of himself.

It's flattering, sure, but Superman is boring and Stiles has no interest in him. No, he much prefers the dorky reporter Derek Hale.

Falling Apart (Just To Come Back Together) by Moonbeam (luvsbitca)

(1/2 I 6,915 I Teen)

Derek Hale is a journalist. A good one, he'd travelled the world and lived everywhere. He was from a small town in California called Beacon Hills known for its corn and being the site of a giant meteor strike in the eighties. This is his story, and also the story of how he became Superman.

What's A Secret Identity? by Chrystie, imabignerd, kate882

(1/1 I 6,967 I Teen)

Stiles sipped at a mug of coffee, absently watching the news play in the break room. Because of course a news station couldn't play anything other than its own content, even in the one part of the office that was supposed to be a safe space from work. His interview with Superman was making a rerun and Stiles glanced at Derek before commenting absently, “I’d totally let Superman fuck me.”

Derek, who had been in the middle of a swig of coffee, choked violently, “That’s not something I needed to know at nine in the morning, Stiles.”

Stiles raised an eyebrow. “What time would you prefer I tell you about all of the things I would let Superman do to my body?”

Superman, Where Are You Now? by Still_beating_heart

(3/? I 13,977 I Mature)

Stiles might be new to this werewolf thing, and holy Hale, what is that amazing smell? Derek? Oh, Derek, all brood and muscles and eyebrows? He might be Superman.

------------

“It’s too much! I have too much to do and not enough time! There are too many scents and most of them are lingering around you and I need to track them all down! And I need to,” he’s stepping into Derek again, okay, so he gets it at this point that if Derek doesn’t want to be touched maybe it’s going to take more than just some words, or maybe not. He can’t blame his sudden wolfness for inappropriate or unwanted touches, but it’s Derek. And Derek smells, “so good,” like extra good today. That little bit of extra fresh air and why the hell can he still smell jet fuel?

His face is plastered against Derek’s shirt collar, those broad sexy shoulders shrug, “words Derek. I’m going to need so many words. And you can just start shouting ‘down boy!’ and hitting me with a newspaper or a baseball bat or something if you have to. ‘Cause I don’t want to touch you if you’re not wanting to be touched, but I just want to sniff you to the end of the world and back and why jet fuel?!”

Bending Steel by GrimReaperlover11

(16/16 I 25,369 I Teen)

Derek loved being Superman, and though he knew that being the man of steel came with a large amount of responsibility...there is this one person who he can not avoid..this one thief that always causes him to go weak in the knees and makes his mind go fuzzy. so what happens when he finds himself in a compromising position with this thief?

What happens when the man of steel...bends?

[takaraphoenix]

WIP Tag Game

Rules: Post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them and then post a little snippet of it or tell them something about it! And then tag as many people as you have WIPs (or as many peeps as you want, really- ‘tis just for fun!) 

Been tagged by @justonemorechapternicercy​ ...and before that too, I know I glanced at it half-asleep not thaaat long ago, I apologize to whoever tagged me I am bad at keeping track of notifications I get past midnight xD”

Oookay, let’s sort ‘em by fandom though to make it a bit more organized! (Also so I can save myself from typing out the “OS - [fandom] -” parts of every title...)

DCMK:

KaiShin - The White Collar Phantom Thief

KaiShin - Detectives-in-Law

SaguShin - Time Ticks True

KaiShin - Meeting the Professor

AkaiShin - Oceanside Omega II

KaiShin - Role Reversal Rivalry

SaguShin - ABOverse

Shadowhunters:

Malace - Demon On Your Shoulder

Jalec Bingo: safe sex

Jalec Bingo: makeup sex

Jalec Bingo: pain play

Jalec Bingo: free space

Jalec Bingo: TWI AU

Jalec Bingo: meet cute

Jalec Bingo: cursed item

Jimonael - A Union For Peace

Malace - Sex Club Escapades - Bingo

Jalec - In the Wings of His Love - Bingo

Baiace - TAoJH - The Prince and the Spies

Heronlightstar - TAoJH - Alec’s Angel and Demon

Jeliornathan - TAoJH - The Dark Seelie Knight

Malace - The White Winged Warlock

Saiace - TAoJH

Velondalewood - TAoJH

Heronbanelightstar - TAoJH - A Suburban Nightmare

Reyhillbanewoodale - TAoJH

Jagnus - The High Warlock and the Herondale Heir

Japhael - The Light of His (After)Life

Jeliorn - The Royal Consort of the Seelie King

Jordace - TAoJH

Jorenzo - TAoJH

Velondale - Ice, Ice, Baby

Verlace - TAoJH

PJatO:

Jercico - The Legacy of the Big Three

Jacksolangelo - Three Is Not a Crowd

Jacksolangelo - Healing the Heart

Minorcy - aMAZEing Encounter

Tritollorcy - TAoPJ - Hail Apollo, Defender of the Sea

Chircy - TAoPJ - The Centaur’s Perfect Brood Mare

Tartarcy - TAoPJ - Consumed By Darkness

[too lazy to type em out but basically a document for a Tritercy fic with every single song title from the Little Mermaid animated series]

DC Comics:

Olicity - Green Arrow and Batgirl

The Flash: Legacy of a Speedster

Birds of Prey Present: Siren’s Song

The Flash: Rogue City

Justice League: Gods of Olympus

Birds of Prey Present: The Last Laugh

Batman & Robin: The Last (K)Night

Birds of Prey Present: Canaries’ Cry

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow

Batwoman; Into Wonderland

Teen Titans: Rise of the Titans

Batwoman & the Supergirls

Birds of Prey: Oracle’s Vision

Green Arrow: Tales From the Quiver

Other Fandoms (most of these aside from KUWtS are teetering around the edge of abandoned, though I keep the files because I DO want to write/finish them one day):

BtVS - Spuffy - Keeping Up With the Scoobies

Jungle Book Zootopia - Sheregheera - Life in the Big City

Jungle Book - Sheregheera - Walt’s Zoo

HTTYD RotG - HiJack - Heroes of the Solar System

Merlin - Merwaine - Defying Destiny

Musketeers - OT4 - The Inseparables’ Omega

Crossovers:

Shadowhunters & Lucifer - Heronstar - Hell to Pay

Shadowhunters & PJO - Jacksangelondale - TAoJH - An Angel for the Demigods

Shadowhunters & Teen Wolf - Sterek - The Beacon Hills Institute

Taaaggging uuuh honestly, anyone who wants to do it, feel tagged by me!

[banshee-cheekbones]

The Game: List the first lines of your last 20 stories (if you have less than 20, just list them all!). See if there are any patterns. Choose your favourite opening line. Then tag some authors!

I was tagged by @elasticella (thank you! <3)

tagging: @poiregourmande, @foundyourheart, @sleepy-skittles, and anyone else who might be interested!

1. As Barry comes to a stop on the dock that extends out from Bruce’s mansion (it may not be as large as stately Wayne Manor, but it’s definitely not a mere house), they tilt their head back and take a deep inhale. (I watched the Snyder cut of Justice League and got feelings about nonbinary Barry Allen, so this happened! also, snuck in a ref to 1966 Batman, because I love that goofy show.)

2. It’s only by closing her eyes and counting backwards that Beverly is able to keep from losing control. (from a Beverly/Freddie drabble with werewolf!Beverly. getting back into writing short drabbles has been a lot of fun.)

3. Helena may be tough as hell, but she still bruises easily. (from a Dinah/Helena drabble. with these little drabbles, the first line of the fic ends up being my summary.)

4. “So, do you know anything about this woman?” (more Dinah/Helena! I think I used to start fics with dialogue a lot more than I used to, but we'll see how the next 16 fics go).

5. "There is literally sand inside of me." (From my very first Finn/Poe fic, and oops, there's another fic starting with dialogue.)

6. The following is a transcript of a holorecording that was discovered on the flight recorder of the Raddus, which was recovered in the Crait System after the cruiser's destruction. (Amilyn/Leia, written for the epistolary prompt, and this was so hard to write. It's not a format I see myself returning to anytime soon)

7. It starts off as a fairly normal night (or, as normal as can be expected in Beacon Hills). (Ah, Braeden/Melissa, the rarepair otp of my heart. I am noticing that I tend to start my fics with a single punchy line, rather than a paragraph).

8. This isn’t the first time that Pam has been in jail. (A Jessica Jones fic that's more of a case study of Pam than anything. I'm actually not a huge fan of this opener, but oh well.)

9. Ella isn’t stupid. (and the winner of the shortest opening line goes to! this is from an Ella/Maze fic that probably would have been better as actual smut, but I wasn't feeling it the day I wrote it, and so it ended up as fade to black.)

10. Helena is on her second (or maybe it’s her third) margarita, and between the unfamiliar feeling of alcohol slinking heavily into her blood and the exhaustion surely but steadily triumphing over the adrenaline still coursing through her veins, she���s feeling… strange. (from my first Dinah/Helena fic! this one is definitely an outlier lengthwise, but I like that it sets the scene.)

11. “Karen? Are you still with me?” (from a Claire/Karen fic, because we're rewatching Daredevil and I caught Feelings)

12. Camille has never met Olivia Godfrey. (from the most self-indulgent thing i've ever written, aka a Hemlock Grove/Shadowhunters crossover.)

13. Frosta knows how to be calm in the face of adversity. (another punchy sentence to start! from a gen Frosta & Glimmer fic. I've written a number of gen/platonic stuff lately, and it's been a lot of fun)

14. For weeks, Mabel has been acting suspicious. (speaking of gen fic! I fell in love with Gravity Falls in the early stage of lockdown and this was a lot of fun to write.)

15. From what Gideon has gathered from watching the rest of the cavaliers interact with their necromancers, combined with what little information she actually retained from Aiglamene, being a cavalier is nothing like what the porno magazines led her to believe. (oof, that's a long one. probably should have trimmed it. from a Dulcinea/Gideon fic.)

16. The thing is, Dani’s room looked a lot closer to the ground when she was standing outside looking up at it. (from the only fluffy Bly Manor fic I've written to date, oops. I used to start a lot of fics with 'The thing is', so I've been trying to move away from that tendency.)

17. “Are you sure that this is a good idea?” Lilith asks from where she’s kneeling between Moxxi’s legs, turning over the bright pink gun in her hands. (one of these day, I'll find someone else who appreciates this pairing as much as I do.)

18. Perfuma thinks that she may have just destroyed a Horde bot for the last time. (Perfuma/Scorpia. this sentence is a bit awkward. oops.)

19. It’s been nearly a month since they left the ocean behind, but Jaxx is still getting used to waking up to the sound of birdsong. (ah yes, the fic I wrote for The Meg, a movie I didn't even enjoy. I do like this opening line though.)

20. Despite everything, Dani didn’t think that it would end this way. (some angsty Bly Manor fic, and that opening certainly telegraphs that it's a Sad one.)

Patterns: I think I've been experimenting with some new structures lately, but my go-to is still starting a fic with a single, standalone line, that tries to set up the mood and hook the reader. I try to keep that sentence short. also, I write almost exclusively in present tense. a lot of the lines kind of open the story in the present moment, and then in the following paragraphs, I backtrack to how we got there.

Favorite: Probably number 10! It's definitely longer than most of my openers, but because of that, I think it's most effective at setting the scene! I also just really love writing Dinah/Helena.

[tigermoths]

hihi  angels   !   arden  here,  with  a  triumvirate  of  kickass  ladies   —   of  whom  i’ll  provide  glossaries  just  under  the  cut.  i  am  so  so  grateful  to  be  here  amidst  such  wonderful  writers  and  characters,  and  cannot  wait  to  get  to  know  everyone   :0)   please  leave  a   ♡   if  you’d  like  to  plot  with  hayley,  allison  or  bellatrix   (  or  perhaps  even  all  of  them  )   and  i  will  approach  you   via  ims   !   this  got  way  too  long  so  please  don’t  hesitate  to  ask  for  a  tldr  when  we  plot   :D   have  a  wonderful  day  ahead,  stay  safe   !   trigger  warnings   :   death,  murder,  pregnancy

*   arc  one,  𝐇𝐀𝐘𝐋𝐄𝐘  𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐋.

born  as  andrea  labonair  into  one  of  the  reigning  families  in  an  apex  wolf  clan  in  new  orleans

parents  were  murdered  shortly  after  her  birth  but  she  was  retrieved  from  the  city  and  spent  both  infancy  and  adolescence  in  a  loving  foster  home  —  that  is,  until  she  turned  fifteen  and  made  her  first  unwarranted  kill  under  a  full  moon,  thereby  triggering  her  werewolf  shift

from  then  on  time  started  to  crosshatch  and  coagulate  into  one  singular  endeavour  to  learn  about  her  late  parents,  and  on  that  path  she  was  swindled,  lied  to,  and,  needless  to  say,  never  found  the  closure  she  sought

she  was  still  very  young  at  that  junction  in  time,  callow  and  made  foolish  mistakes  :  tried  to  aid  someone  in  severing  ancient  sire  bonds  that  were  far  beyond  her  comprehension,  helped  the  literal  devil   (  who  then  sent  a  proxy  to  assassinate  her  )

was  saved  from  the  grasp  of  untimely  death  by  a  certain  original  hybrid,  with  whom  she  then  had  a  brief  dalliance  that  would  result  in  a  pregnancy

and  a  pretty  miraculous  at  that

cue  a  series  of  abysmally  unfortunate  events  :  had  her  throat  slit  moments  after  giving  birth,  had  to  send  her  daughter  away  to  keep  her  safe  from  her  vindictive  grandmother,  fought  like  hell  to  assume  leadership  of  a  wolf  pack,  married  a  man  to  coalesce  several  packs  so  that  she  could  protect  said  daughter  against  her  vindictive  grandaunt,  got  cursed  for  #tryingit

after  all  that  she  was  gifted  with  some  wholly  deserved  albeit  short - lived  respite

aht  aht

died  again  in  front  of  and  to  protect  her  family

on  the  cloud,  she’d  have  grown  up  and  been  happy  in  a  middle  class  family,  with  both  parents  rooted  firmly  in  the  field  of  civil  service  then  picked  up  their  mantle  to  be  a  kindergarten  teacher  which  i  thought  would  suit  her  since  she  started  out  as  a  babysitter  in  canon  and  bc  she  is  genuinely  one  of  the  strongest  tv  mothers  i’ve  seen  in  a  long,  long  time  she  definitely  would’ve  retained  that  proclivity  for  nurturing  and  protecting

*   arc  two,  𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐍  𝐀𝐑𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐓.   

as  i’m  heading  this  off  i  realise  all  my  muses  have  d  worded  on  screen  PXPZPXPZPPXZP

from  young  she’d  been  cultivated, systematically  and  clinically,  into  some  weapon  or  sharp  edge  and  sometimes  i  think  she  was  the  only  one  who  got  cut  on  it

besides  her  dad  and  maaaybe   (  and  it’s  a  hefty  maybe  )   her  mum  it’s  hard  to  conjure  the  image  of  her  receiving  much  affection  in  that  family,  what  with  a  dogmatic  grandfather  and  a  psychopath  for  an  aunt

adhering  pretty  closely  to  canon,  she  moved  to  beacon  hills  and  for  once  had  something  other  than  hissing  metal  and  bow  strings  to  latch  onto  :  made  friends,  fell  in  love  with  a  boy  who  turned  out  to  be  of  a  species  that  her  family  hunted  as  tradition

in  short  she  was  thrown  headfirst  into  an  amalgamation  of  the  supernatural  and  still  managed  to  remain  unerringly  human  and  while  she  faltered  and  strayed  many  times   (  i’m  recalling  her  hunting  down  erica  and  boyd  specifically  but  for  those  who  never  watched  she  was  gaslighted  into  being  very,  very  cruel  )   she  was  driven  near  mad  by  her  grandfather’s  boot  on  her  throat

was  the  key  in  saving  her  friends  and  cracking  the  code  of  killing  a  very  imposing  enemy  but  paid  for  it  with  her  life  

on  the  cloud,  she’d  have  grown  up  either  a  rhythmic  gymnast  or  judoka  or  something  equally  tactile,  and  then  took  the  route  to  becoming  a  physical  therapist   (  now  just  in  training  but  well  on  her  way  )   and  i  genuinely  don’t  think  she  would’ve  taken  an  interest  in  archery  before  her  memories  flooded  back  which  i  think  makes  it  all  the  more  jarring

*   arc  three,  𝐁𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐗  𝐁𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐊.

i  honestly  don’t  know  if  i’m  gonna  be  able  to  do  her  justice  but  i  am  for  sure  going  to  try  my  very  best

a  concise  exemplification  of  first  borns  being  the  bearer  of  the  brunt  of  family  tradition,  bella  was  such  a  first - born  in  a  pure - blood  family  whose  heads  were  fanatical  pure - blood  supremacists  and  as  such  she  was  raised  in  the  same  mould

a  slytherin,  highly  intelligent  and  skilled  and  with  a  penchant  for  rebellion  and  to  challenge,  even  defy  the  strictures

i  do  think  that  the  prejudice  against  muggles  she  carried  forth  from  her  upbringing  was  pivotal  in  the  exacerbation  of  her  morality  but  i  think  she  also  in  large  part  chose  the  road  that  she  took

after  graduating  from  hogwarts,  she  became  one  of  the  most  vicious  death  eaters  in  a  supervillain’s  league

died  in  a  pretty  deserving  way  but  i  believe  she  never  once  faltered  in  her  beliefs  even  if  they  were  absolutely  clapped

deviating  a  little  from  canon  here  but  i  prefer  the  narrative  that  she  didn’t  marry  rodolphus  and  instead  preferred  to  be  unshackled  by  the  notion  of  a  family

falling  asleep  on  my  ass  here  but  in  this  alternate  life  i  see  her  favouring  seclusion  and  isolation,  flitting  around  almost  like  a  nomad   —   an  art  curator  and  antiquities  dealer,  still  very  grandiose  and  with  a  profound  obsession  with  opulence  and  eldritch  horror  but  her  cunning  and  sadism  would  be  more  psychological  than  physical  bc  i  don’t  think  she  could’ve  gone  around  mass  murdering  in  this  universe  and  still  get  away  with  it  PXPZPZPZPZ

[ao3feed-sterek]

Mischief

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2IR6mxa

by Melpomene49

During day, Stiles belongs to a pack back in Beacon Hills, fighting the supernatural. During night, he takes on his identity as MIschief, being part of the Justice League's secret operation team. For two year he's lead this double life, unbeknowst to his friends. Will an upcoming alien invasion from the Reach change this? Will the pack discover Stiles' secret?

Words: 9100, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Teen Wolf (TV), Young Justice (Cartoon)

Rating: Not Rated

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Categories: F/M, M/M

Characters: Stiles Stilinski, Derek Hale, Derek Hale's Pack, Scott McCall (Teen Wolf), Batman, The Light (Young Justice), Reach (Young Justice), Team (Young Justice)

Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Scott McCall & Stiles Stilinski, Stiles Stillinski & Bruce Wayne

Additional Tags: superhero, Stiles, metahuman, Stiles Has Powers, BAMF Stiles, Stiles-centric, Meta-human Stiles

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2IR6mxa

[inxthexxshadows-archive]

Jace Herondale

Based off of Freeform’s ‘Shadowhunters’ series.

Can take place either before or after the series.

PreSeries Verse:  Jace Wayland is one of the top Shadowhunters of the New York Institute.  He’s a playboy; slowly sleeping his way through the local downworld.  Searching for himself, he and parabatai Alec are unstoppable when it comes to combat.

PostSeries Verse:  Jace Herondale is a broken man.  After losing the love of his life, he’s seeking out anything that will make him feel alive again.  Currently, he’s the Weapons Master of the New York Institute and doesn’t see much combat time due to his near suicidal tendencies on the field.  He’s looking for purpose.

Marvel / DC Verse: Raised by a group of magic using demon hunters; Jace was subjected to experimentation as a baby, given the blood of an angel.  During puberty, he grew golden wings and quickly learned how to fly with them.  Confident in both magic and combat; he is damn good at his job, weaving spells into his sword play as he fights evil supernatural forces.  (Future Member of The Avengers or Justice League)

Teen Wolf Verse:  Born and raised a hunter with a code.  The Herondale family is in no way associated with the Argent family, and are more closely affiliated with the Hale family.  In fact, Jace’s parents died the day that the Hales were murdered as they were in a meeting with them.  Raised by the Lightwoods who follow the same code, he is now stationed in Beacon Hills to protect the town from dark forces that are drawn in by the Nematon.  And more importantly, the protect the town’s supernatural forces by the hunters who don’t follow the code.

[bigskydreaming]

Scott as Vixen's sidekick? That's- I don't know what that is but it might be brilliant. Tell me more.

Okay so for those who don’t know, Vixen is a DC superheroine named Mari McCabe who has a magic amulet that lets her replicate the abilities of any animal, so she can be as strong as an elephant, fly like a bird, swim like a dolphin, etc, etc. It wasn’t a perfect fit but it wasn’t like the Justice League had any hero werewolves on speed dial. So when this newly bitten werewolf started fighting crime on the weekends in San Francisco wearing a truly hideous home made costume, it had Vixen (who is a supermodel by day, in her non-hero public persona) clucking her tongue and going nope, this will not stand. No animal-themed superhero is going out in public fighting the good fight looking like that on her watch. She was too late to do anything about Batman, but this bright young soul she could save.

And that is how Scott McCall found himself apprenticed to Justice League hero Vixen and instead of playing lacrosse, his time after school is spent chilling with other teen heroes in Mount Justice and fighting the forces of evil and whatnot. Vixen decides eventually that something has to be done about her sidekick’s self esteem issues, so she starts taking him along on business trips in her civilian persona as well, which is how Scott McCall gets discovered and becomes the next Hot Young Up and Comer in the fashion world.

Meanwhile, his classmates back in Beacon Hills have no idea what to do with the sudden rise of former ugly duckling and class pariah Scott McCall, now starting his senior year after being a summer sensation on the New York runways and strutting down the halls of Beacon Hills High decked out in all the latest fashions. Queen Bee Lydia Martin smoothly slides her arm in his and matches his step side by side as she makes a play for hitching her wagon to his perfectly tailored coattails. “You,” she declares, “are my new best friend.”

Scott however, just smiles indulgently, pats her arm, and disentangles himself without ever breaking stride. He spins in the middle of the hallway, drawing all attention, no trace of his former shyness in evidence as he laughs. “Sorry,” he says, spreading his arms wide in a careless half-shrug as though to say ‘what can you do?’ “That position’s already been filled. By Dick Grayson, you know the name right? Boy billionaire, Bruce Wayne’s heir? We’re like this. He’s sending the private jet later, we’re doing brunch in Paris.”

All the tabloids swear they’re dating. When pressed though, playboy Dick Grayson and new It Boy Scott McCall simply wink and say “Gentlemen never kiss and tell.”

Melissa took some time before coming around to Scott’s new life, mostly because she’s not thrilled about the whole ‘battling the forces of evil’ bit. It helps that the first thing Mari did on Day One of Scott’s official apprenticeship was sit Scott down in his mother’s kitchen and make him tell her exactly what he’d been up to for the past year. And well, if her stubborn, do-gooder, impossibly overly responsible hero of a son was going to be out risking his life protecting people, Melissa admits she’d much rather rest assured in the knowledge that he’s doing so under adult supervision and learning from the best. She certainly can’t deny that Mari’s influence has done wonders for Scott in many other aspects of his life; his confidence, leadership skills and creativity have all blossomed with a little attention from someone who isn’t his mother and thus (in Scott’s eyes) too biased to accept at face value when singing his praises.

And when his mom and his superhero mentor start dating, well, it’s a little weird at first, but it’s not like it’s the strangest thing to ever happen in Scott McCall’s life.

He’s a werewolf superhero slash supermodel, his best friend has a private jet, and his newest teammate has a 900 year old mom, totally bad-ass sword fighting skills, and blushes adorably whenever they’re alone in the same room.

They say foxes and wolves don’t get along, but then again, they also said Scott McCall would never be the face of the new Armani campaign, so like, what the fuck do they know. You know?

[darkshadowbeauty]

Another gif set for an upcoming scene in my new fic Beacon Hills: Justice League.

This fic will be a crossover between Batman vs Superman, Wonder Woman, Justice League Gods and Monsters, and Justice League War. I’ll be mixing and matching things up. I know its not the best gif set lol. But its my way of trying to contribute to the beauty that is our sterek fandom

Oh and btw…this was inspired by a scene in Justice League Gods and Monsters between Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor lol. In my fic its going to be a conversation between Scott’s dad and Stiles talking about Superman Derek being Stiles boyfriend and Stiles very clearly and vehemently denying that even though our Prince of Paradise Island does seem to be attracted to our Man of Steel. And yes the gifs are mine. I’m hoping to start on the first chapter very soon. Stay tuned.

[aundrawilliscarrasco]

The 1963 March on Washington: Revisiting The Speech

Sunday, August 28, 1963 - Washington, DC 

Fifty-four years ago, in what was a defining moment in our history similar to Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. stepped up to the podium, taking his place as the sixteenth and final scheduled speaker, at the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. A massive crowd of 250, 000 travel weary, wilting people of all races sat or stood in the hot summer sun, eager for his words and listening with rapt, undivided attention.  With the event being broadcast nationally on television and radio, millions more listened to what was then believed to be the first “I have a dream” refrain. But my family and I had heard the speech, nearly verbatim, two months prior, at the Great March On Detroit where we had marched with Dr. King and members of his Southern Christian Leadership Conference and over 200,000 marching Detroiters down Woodward Avenue to Cobo Hall Convention Arena, the final destination of the march.  As we had been told by my cousin, Bernard Lee, personal assistant and road manager to Dr. King, the Detroit march would be where they would “road test” the speech in advance of the Washington event.

But in both the Detroit speech and the one in Washington, Dr. King spoke of much more than “a dream” on that hot August summer afternoon. In memorable phrases laced with brilliantly constructed, visual metaphors, and borrowing portions of his opening from Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. confronted America with self-evident truths about racial inequality and the suffering of the American Negro that had gone too long ignored. With his voice soaring with passion, and reaching deep inside for the Baptist preacher within him, he succinctly brought the founding fathers’ own words into modern society, stating:  “…one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed, 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”

OPENING OF THE SPEECH:

 MLK:

 “I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.  Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean the

Emancipation Proclamation

This momentous decree came as a great beacon of hope to millions of slaves, who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity. But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. 

One hundred years later the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition." 

Many consider this speech to be his greatest, with specific reference to his searingly emotional declarations: “I have a dream that one day my four little children will be judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin…”. and "...Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, we’re free at last."  It has been named by more than one source one of the greatest speeches of the 20th Century. But what I was most impressed by in this powerful oratory was his “bad check” metaphor, as relating to economic justice. In likening the Negro’s plight to an unfulfilled promise, a “promissory note” written by the founding fathers and reneged on by their successors, he drove home his point dramatically and with stunning precision. Pausing deliberately and intermittently between carefully selected words and phrasing, visually taking the full measure of every person before him as well as millions of his listeners world-wide, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. solidified his well-earned reputation as one of the greatest orators in history, boldly declaring, as his thunderous words rang out magnificently over powerful speakers: 

MLK: “…In a sense, we have come to our nation’s Capital to cash a check. When the architects of our great republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed to the inalienable rights of life liberty and the pursuit of happiness…It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given its colored people a bad check, a check that has come back marked "insufficient funds”.

MLK: "But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and security of justice.” 

President Kennedy, along with the rest of the nation,  watches the event and King's speech from the White House.

From left, Whitney Young, National Urban League; Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Southern Christian Leadership Conference; John Lewis, Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee; Rabbi Joachim Prinz, American Jewish Congress; Dr. Eugene P. Donnaly, National Council of Churches; A. Philip Randolph; President Kennedy; AFL-CIO United Auto Workers vice president, Walter Reuther; Vice-President Lyndon Johnson , rear, and Roy Wilkins, NAACP. 

                       Bayard Rustin and Cleveland Robinson

     During the months of planning for the march, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and his SCLC traveled across the country with fundraising efforts. During a visit to Los Angeles, actor Paul Newman wrote the first donation check and was quickly joined by other supporters. In this photo by Harry Adams Dr. King and Ralph Abernathy are joined by actors, Anthony Franciosa, Paul Newman, Marlon Brando, JoAnne Woodward, singer, Polly Bergen, and Sammy Davis Jr.

VIDEO/AUDIO of The Speech

"We have also come to his hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of  “Now”. This is not the time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. 

Now is the time to make real the promise of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality to all of God's children. It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment and to underestimate the determination of its colored citizens. This sweltering summer of the colored people's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end but a beginning. Those who hope that the colored Americans needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the colored citizen is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the colored person's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating "for white only." We cannot be satisfied as long as a colored person in Mississippi cannot vote and a colored person in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, we are not satisfied and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream. I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of your trials and tribulations. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by storms of persecutions and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our modern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair. I say to you, my friends, we have the difficulties of today and tomorrow. I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed. We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal. I have a dream that one day out in the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by their character. I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of inter-postion and nullification; that one day right down in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day every valley shall be engulfed, every hill shall be exalted and every mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plains and the crooked places will be made straight and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together. This is our hope. This is the faith that I will go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to climb up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day. This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning "My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my father's died, land of the Pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring!" And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. So let freedom ring from the hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania. Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado. Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California. But not only that, let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia. Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi and every mountainside. When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every tenement and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men, and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old spiritual, "Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, we’re free at last."

[typingtess]

Tiptoeing through the “Battle Scars” guest cast

John M. Jackson as Retired Admiral AJ Chegwidden

Back from "Payback".  Seems he hung around California after all.

James Remar as Admiral Sterling Bridges

Remar has been a regular on television over the last few years.  He is Kodiak in Hulu's The Path and Cephelo in The Shannara Chronicles.  Played Jimmy Evans in Grey's Anatomy. Syd in State of Affairs, Henry in Wilfred, Harry Morgan in Dexter, Giuseppe Salvatore in The Vampire Diaries, Jonah Prowse in Jericho, Vincent Colville in North Shore, Richard Wright in Sex and the City, Det. Madjanski in Third Watch, Tiny Bellos in The Huntress and Frank Cisco in Total Security.

Appeared in episodes of Gotham, Code Black, Motive, From Dusk to Dawn: The Series, Hawaii Five-0 (2011), Flash Forward, Numb3rs, Criminal Minds, The Unit, Eli Stone, CSI: Miami, Battlestar Galactica, Without A Trace, Peacemakers, The Twilight Zone (2002), The X Files, Strong Medicine, 7th Heaven, Nash Bridges, Wheels of Justice, Tales from the Crypt, Crime Story, Miami Vice, The Equalizer and Hill Street Blues.

Provided voices for "Ratatouille" (Larousse), The Legend of Korra (Tonraq), The Batman (Black Mask), Beware the Batman (Silver Monkey), Ben 10 (Vilgax), Batman: The Brave and the Bold (Two-Face), Justice League Unlimited (Hawkman) and Justice League (Lead Manhunter).

Remar was in a number of big films over the years including "48 Hrs", "The Long Riders", "Warriors", "Judge Dredd", "2 Fast 2 Furious", "Pineapple Express", "RED" and "Django Unchained".

Carl Lumbly as Retired Navy Captain Charles Langston

Played Real Admiral Beau Hindley in the "Tell-All" season eight episode of NCIS.  Was Delavenne in Zoo in season one, Pastor Leon Wright in The Returned, Captain Joel Rucker in Southland, Marcus Dixon on Alias, Mayor Christian Davidson in EZ Streets, Dr. Miles Hawkings in M.A.N.T.I.S., Marcus Petrie in Cagney & Lacey and Dr. Morris in Going to Extremes.

Played Earl Williams, season long-defendant in L.A. Law, a college professor who was charged with murdering his female research assistant.  In an interview, Harry Hamlin, who played defense attorney Michael Kuzak, said that people still ask him if Williams was really guilty or not.

Lumbly appeared in episodes of SIX, UnREAL, Criminal Minds, Trauma, Chuck, Grey's Anatomy, Cold Case, Battlestar Galactica, The X-Files, Kate Brasher, Family Law, The Magnificent Seven, ER, Any Day Now, Touched by an Angel, Chicago Hope, Nurse, BJ & The Bear, The Jeffersons, Taxi, Lou Grant and Emergency!.

Another animated series voice actor.  Was Uncle S'Yan in Black Panther, Tornado Champion in Batman: The Brave and the Bold, J'onn Jonzz in a number of Justice League animated series with fellow guest star James Remar.  

Written by:  Jordana Lewis Jaffe and Andrew Bartels.  

Jordana Lewis Jaffe wrote or co-wrote “Honor”, “Patriot Acts”, “Dead Body Politic”, “Paper Soldiers”, “Unwritten Rule”, “Big Brother”, “Iron Curtain Rising”, “Exposure”, “Savior Faire”, “Beacon”, “Defectors”, “Exchange Rate”, "Black Market" and "Payback".  

Andrew Bartels wrote or co-wrote "Allegiance”, “Zero Days”, “The Grey Man”, “Humbug”, “Fighting Shadows”, “Driving Miss Diaz”, “Angels & Daemons”, "Where There’s Smoke…", "Glasnost" and "Old Tricks".

Directed by: James Whitmore, Jr. is back after a several season hiatus.  He directed NCIS's “Legend” part two which introduced the OSP team as well as “Identity”, “Found”, “Human Traffic”, “Empty Quiver”, “Plan B”, “Familia”, “Lone Wolf”, “Vengeance”, “Recruit” and "History".   

Whitmore has been working on the mothership, the New Orleans sibling,The Good Wife, Madam Secretary, Suits and Quantico.  

As an actor, James Whitmore Jr. appeared in "The Long Riders" with James Remar and directed Remar in an episode of Jericho.  He directed John M. Jackson in several JAG episodes along with an episode of Bones and an episode of Wiseguy.